A newborn baby's first food is mother's breast milk. But the child is growing. He needs more vitamins and nutrients. A few months after the baby is born, his diet needs to be expanded. Many mothers choose porridge for their first complementary feeding. And there is an explanation for this. After all, most cereals are nutritious, rich in vitamins and useful minerals. Oatmeal for children is a tasty and healthy treat for children. We will talk in more detail about why this is so.
In terms of its benefits, oatmeal is second only to buckwheat. Oats contain antioxidants that help the body fight infections.
Oats are a cultivated plant rich in magnesium, methionine and phosphorus. These substances are necessary for the normal functioning of the central nervous system and bone tissue.
The fiber and proteins contained in oatmeal stimulate metabolic processes in the body one year old child. And a substance such as biotin helps improve skin condition. This is relevant for children with skin rashes.
Despite everything beneficial properties, oatmeal also contains a dangerous element - gluten protein. In children with an immature digestive system, it can provoke an allergic reaction. Therefore, oatmeal for children under one year old should appear on their table no earlier than 7 months.
If a child has a reaction to oatmeal, then at first replace it with other cereals. For example, buckwheat, rice or millet.
Rules for introducing into the diet
Each child is unique and has its own developmental characteristics. If parents find it difficult to determine the time when it is time to introduce a particular product into the baby’s diet, pediatricians will come to the rescue.
Regardless of the type of feeding, doctors recommend introducing it no later than 5–6 months. It is from this age that breast milk or an adapted milk formula ceases to provide the child with all the necessary minerals and trace elements. As for oatmeal for babies, there are certain rules. Knowing and taking them into account, parents can decide for themselves whether the child is ready for a new dish or not.
- For children under one year old, offer oatmeal no earlier than they are introduced to gluten-free cereals (corn, buckwheat or millet) and fruit purees.
- Oatmeal is introduced into complementary foods from half a teaspoon until full feeding.
- Give your baby oatmeal porridge only if he is healthy. Keep in mind that a week before and a week after introducing oatmeal, infants cannot be vaccinated.
- If your baby doesn’t appreciate the taste of the porridge, don’t insist. Offer it in a month. Most likely, then the baby will accept it with a bang.
- Offer your baby only freshly brewed porridge.
Recipes
Methods for preparing porridge for babies up to 12 months and after differ.
Up to a year
So, we learned when and how to introduce oatmeal into the diet of a child under one year old. Now it’s time to talk about how to choose and properly prepare a new dish:
- Choose cereals labeled “baby oatmeal.” Products with this designation are given more attention in production.
- Before cooking, rinse the cereal in cold water several times. Make sure there is no debris or husk in the cup. Then grind the cereal in a coffee grinder or blender.
Recipe for making oatmeal for babies. Pour into a saucepan cold water(1 cup), then add ¼ cup of ground oatmeal and stir constantly. Wait until the water boils and cook the porridge over low heat for 20 minutes. The porridge is ready!
Please note that the recipe assumes that oatmeal for infants is cooked from already ground flakes. If you grind the cooked flakes with a blender, the mixture will turn out viscous and dense. It will be more difficult for the baby to digest it.
After a year
For children over one year old, offer a more varied menu. If the child is not prone to allergies and atopic dermatitis, then his diet can be supplemented with berries, honey and nuts. Cook your child oatmeal with milk and add these healthy treats to it.
Recipe for making oatmeal for children after one year. Pour water into the saucepan. Add a pinch of salt. Wait for the water to boil and gradually add 3 tbsp. l. oatmeal. Reduce heat to low and stir the dish constantly. After the porridge boils, pour in 250 ml of milk. After the next boil, remove the porridge from the heat and add 1 tsp. butter.
Now pour the porridge into bowls and beat it with a spoon. Then it will turn out airy and homogeneous. Add crushed peanuts or walnut. A little crushed strawberries or honey will bring benefits and pleasure to your child.
Oatmeal for a child in a slow cooker. Using this technique, you can also prepare delicious oatmeal porridge for your baby for breakfast. It’s convenient that you don’t need to stand at the stove and constantly stir the porridge, but just need to load all the ingredients into the bowl. The multicooker will do everything for you.
For 3 servings of oatmeal you will need:
- half a glass of oatmeal;
- 2 glasses of milk (or milk with water in a ratio of 1/1);
- 1 tbsp. l. honey;
- 20 g butter.
Replace sugar with honey. It has more benefits and taste.
Oatmeal in a slow cooker for a child is prepared as follows:
- Fill up oatmeal into the multicooker bowl and add butter.
- Add milk or milk diluted with water to the bowl.
- Mix all ingredients.
- Turn on the multicook mode in the multicooker. Set the weight to 90 g and time to 10 minutes.
After the multicooker beeps, add a little honey and stir. In this mode, the dish will not burn and a milky film will not appear on it.
Parents of children know that stores sell ready-made porridges from various cereals. They contain many vitamins and minerals added. Of course, they are easier to prepare, because you just need to dilute them with warm water. However, they contain many synthetic additives. It is not known how they will affect your child's future health.
But if you have time, it’s better to prepare porridge for your baby yourself. After all, this is how you invest a piece of love and care for the most important person in your life.
Useful video about oatmeal for children
It is a source of fiber and proteins that help improve digestion and promote weight gain. That is why it is recommended to start complementary feeding with cereals for babies who are underweight. Oatmeal also contains a lot of vitamins and microelements, including potassium, phosphorus, iron and more. You can cook for your child as usual oatmeal, and use porridge for baby food. The latter allow mom to save her time, prepare porridges of uniform consistency and are no less healthy than those cooked from whole grain.
Children's oatmeal can be additionally enriched with vitamins and microelements, and also include milk formula, which should be taken into account when purchasing.
When can you start giving oatmeal to your baby?
Despite the fact that oatmeal gently envelops the gastrointestinal tract, it is quite difficult to digest, so it should not be introduced before 5 or 6 months. Also, oatmeal, like other cereals, contains gluten, which is often the cause allergic rashes. That’s why they usually choose rice, buckwheat or corn cereals and only then proceed to preparing oatmeal. So, in many ways, the question of whether s can be given to a child depends on the individual tolerance of this component.
If gluten does not cause allergies, then from 6 months oatmeal can be present in children's menu regularly. Subsequently, it can be diversified with various fruit additives.
How to cook oatmeal
Millet. For lovers of liquid or well-cooked porridge, a ratio of 1:4 is suitable. If you do not need to cook millet porridge, but crumbly cereal, we suggest taking 3 parts water for 1 part cereal.
Oatmeal. Hercules porridge traditionally prepared based on a 1:3 ratio. For those who like a more liquid dish, a ratio of 1:4 is suitable.
Spelled Undeservedly forgotten porridge from is prepared in a ratio of 1:2. The cereal does not overcook, and the dish can serve as an excellent side dish.
Milk is an incredibly valuable and healthy drink for baby nutrition, containing a huge amount of calcium. However, many parents are concerned about the timing of introducing it into the baby’s diet.
What pediatricians say
Most children's doctors unanimously argue that cow's milk can be included in the list of food products for children no earlier than they reach the age of 1 year. Until this time, the baby's main food is mother's milk, which contains all the necessary vitamins and microelements. If natural feeding is not possible, the baby is given an adapted formula. Cow or in no case can be an alternative to the mixture.
You need to introduce milk into your child’s diet gradually and very carefully, carefully observing the baby’s reaction to the new product. The fact is that milk protein is very allergenic and can cause various reactions from the immune system of a still fragile organism.
Which milk to choose
Children under three years of age are recommended to be fed with specialized baby food products. Therefore, you should not start introducing your baby to cow’s milk by buying a whole, unpasteurized drink. At first, give preference to a special one designed for children. Currently large number manufacturers of dairy products has baby food in its assortment. When your baby turns 3, try offering him whole milk.
Thanks to the process of pasteurization or ultra-pasteurization, milk is purified from various microbes.
Goat milk
According to popular belief, goat milk can be given to a child from the first days of life. The Russian Ministry of Health denies this and provides other information. Goat milk contains the main protein casein. It is quite heavy for the body to absorb. Therefore, before the baby turns 10, and his gastrointestinal tract has not become stronger, it is not recommended to include the drink in question in his diet.
Goat's milk can cause anemia in a child if given too early. early age.
In addition to protein, milk contains fats. Fats goat milk are absorbed much faster and easier than cow's milk. Therefore, it often happens that children who are allergic to cow’s milk tolerate goat’s milk just fine.
The benefits of milk
This healthy drink contains more than just calcium. Milk is also rich in magnesium, protein and vitamins A, D and group B: B2 and B12. In order for the milk to be noticeable, it is necessary that the baby drinks at least 350 ml of the drink per day. Milk derivatives are no less useful: fermented baked milk, kefir, cottage cheese, natural yogurt and cheeses.
“” Flakes are considered the most delicate and thin, they are suitable for people with sensitive stomachs or. These flakes take no more than 10 minutes to prepare. Another type called “Hercules” is designed for thick and satisfying porridge, which is explained by the thicker flakes of this type of oatmeal. “Hercules” takes a little longer to prepare, but the porridge turns out tastier.
Before preparing oatmeal, rinse flakes or whole oat grains thoroughly.
Cooking process
To properly prepare oatmeal, you will need one glass of oatmeal or flakes, two or three glasses of milk, possibly low-fat, a pinch of salt and sugar to taste.
The first stage of preparation is to soak the cereal or flakes in water in the evening. You should do the same with porridge. instant cooking, although the packaging usually indicates a cooking time of up to 10 minutes. This procedure will give the porridge softness and tenderness.
In the morning, drain the water from the cereal or flakes, then add milk, salt and sugar to taste. Then the container is sent with all its contents over low heat. As soon as the cereal boils, reduce the heat to the minimum level, and the almost finished porridge is constantly stirred and cooked until tender. Before serving oatmeal, butter is added to it. If desired, you can add sour cream, condensed milk or honey to the porridge.
If you are fasting or have milk intolerance, you can replace it with water, but the preparation principle does not change. Sugar can also be replaced with honey. If you add dried fruits or nuts to the porridge, you can not only increase the amount of vitamins in it, but also give the dish more calories and nutrition.
How to make oatmeal even tastier
If oatmeal is being prepared for a little one, you can improve its taste with the help of fruit and berry fillings or cream. Moreover, the cream is introduced into the finished product gradually, otherwise it will simply lose its taste. Kids eat this kind of porridge with pleasure, and if you change the fruit fillings, the porridge will be different every time and won’t get boring.
Sources:
- Proper preparation oatmeal in 2018
Cooking rice remains difficult for inexperienced housewives. full of secrets and surprises in the process. Whether it turns out crumbly or sticks together into a lump, boils or remains half-baked - until the very moment of testing, the result of cooking rice remains a mystery. However, it can be predicted and improved if you follow some simple technology.
Powdered talc, which is produced for long-term storage and transportation. It is a carcinogen and, if consumed regularly, increases the risk of stomach cancer, so the container with rice must be filled with water, after which the contents must be thoroughly stirred with a spoon. The liquid is drained and to achieve best result the procedure is repeated.
Soaking is recommended to reduce cooking time, but is not at all an indispensable condition. It must be taken into account that the volume of rice infused with water increases, and the amount of liquid poured into the pan decreases.
Cooking process technology
To obtain porridge from crumbly risk, the following proportion is used: 1 cup of product to 2 cups of water. However, these values may vary depending on the evaporation of water. If the dish is cooked over low heat in a closed pan, then the amount of liquid must be reduced.You can lower the cereal into either cold or boiling water, but the cooking technology changes greatly. If you pour rice into cold liquid, then close the lid of the pan, and after boiling, reduce the heat to low, after which you should wait until the water is completely absorbed. The cereal lowered into boiling water is cooked over medium heat in an open pan, and the moisture should not be absorbed, but boil away. After it disappears, close the lid, reduce the heat, and steam the dish a little more. Instead, the pan can be removed from the stove and wrapped in a towel.
Cooking time for dry washed rice is 15 minutes, pre-soaked rice is 10 minutes or a little less.
On the surface of the rice grain there is thin layer fiber, which is easily destroyed by scalding and subsequent cooling, as well as mechanical impact. Therefore, to prepare crumbly porridge in water, the cereal should not be stirred and it is not recommended to add salt. You should leave it as is until it cools and serves as a side dish.
Which cereals to start complementary feeding with?
Experts do not recommend starting your baby’s acquaintance with adult food With fruit purees, in their opinion, vegetable purees are much healthier. They are in no way inferior to porridge in this regard, because they are one of the main sources of carbohydrates, iron, dietary fiber, selenium, various vitamins, fats and proteins.
Porridges for first feeding should not contain gluten, i.e. food gluten protein in cereals, because it is not always well tolerated by children. Rice, buckwheat and corn do not contain gluten.
The most useful of the listed cereals is rice. It contains a lot of dietary fiber. Its only drawback is its tendency to cause constipation. You can avoid this if you choose rice porridge for your first complementary feeding. industrial production– it is made from rice flour, the preparation of which does not use crushed rice.
Corn contains slightly less dietary fiber, but is much richer in protein, iron and fiber than rice. Buckwheat is considered one of the safest porridges. It is easily digested, charges the body with energy, is rich in B vitamins, does not cause allergies, contains many proteins and minerals, and is especially indicated for children suffering from anemia.
How to cook and when to give
In industrially produced cereals to facilitate absorption complex carbohydrates are broken down into simpler ones, in addition, this helps preserve the sweetness of the grain. When purchasing such cereals, you don’t have to worry that they contain pesticides or salts heavy metals. However, they can cause unexpected reactions child's body, especially for cereals with the addition of milk and fruit.
It is best to cook porridge with water, without adding salt and sugar. If the child is breastfed, you can add a little mother's milk to it, if he is bottle-fed, then his favorite formula.
It is best to introduce your baby to new food in the morning - after all, there is a time of activity ahead, and cereals charge you with energy. In addition, this makes it possible to observe the child’s body’s reaction to a new product. It is best to offer complementary foods to your baby at the end of feeding, so as not to cause stress by giving him milk or formula.
"Dangerous" cereals
Porridge, like any other product, can cause allergies. The most allergenic are rye, oats and wheat. Proteins that can cause similar reactions are gluten found in wheat and rye, hordein in barley, and avenin in oats.
Allergies can also be caused powdered milk and various fruit additives in industrially produced cereals, so for the first complementary feeding you should purchase cereals on a dairy-free basis and without additives.
In addition, you should not cook porridge with cow's milk for children under one year of age. Milk contains sodium, which is difficult for the child's body to absorb, putting a strain on the kidneys. Porridge made with cow's milk can contribute to the development of anemia in a child, and sometimes cause slight bleeding in the intestines.
We will look at porridges in the mid-price category, about 120 rubles. per pack. Let us note that almost all manufacturers of children's cereals produce milk and dairy-free cereals and with various additives (fruits, etc.), we will not dwell on this in detail. Based on personal observations, we will describe the main pros and cons of baby cereals.
The best, in our opinion, are Bebi and Heinz cereals.
Porridge Bebi (Baby). Great porridge! It dissolves and swells well. Convenient to cook: no lumps at all! Does not contain artificial flavors (surprisingly, they are found in certain brands of baby cereals, see below). There is a “Premium” option, which, as the manufacturer claims, differs in composition. But in the process of use and consumption we found no differences.
Heinz porridge (Heinz). Also very good porridge. It doesn't swell as much as Bebi, but it still swells. It dissolves well, sometimes lumps appear. It is better to use a fork to stir the porridge during cooking.
Baby. The main advantage of this brand is that milk porridges are produced on the basis of a partially adapted milk mixture. It doesn’t dissolve very well; you have to either pick out lumps or grind the finished porridge through a sieve. Another drawback is that it doesn’t swell well and therefore runs out quickly! But very tasty!
Agusha. The main advantage is inexpensive. The second is definitely made from cereals (buckwheat smells like buckwheat!). But it doesn’t dissolve well, all lumps.
Nestle porridge (Nestlé). The main advantage is that it dissolves well, but sometimes also with lumps. The rest is not much of a mess. And we saw a lot of shortcomings. The first is dear. The second is something completely unnatural. Third - highly flavored!
These are, of course, not all brands and manufacturers, but the most popular in the mid-price category.
The World Health Organization recommends that parents introduce complementary foods to babies starting at six months. At this age, children no longer have enough macro- and microelements contained in breast milk. More and more is required nutrients, capable of compensating for the costs of children's energy, the amount of which grows in geometric progression. Oatmeal porridge is one of the first to appear on the complementary feeding market for infants.
Oats are one of the first plants on earth that man learned to grow everywhere. Moreover, since ancient times, this cereal has been revered not only as a healthy food, but also as a medicine for a number of ailments. In Tibet, for example, it is still believed that this ancient culture prolongs life. Traces of oats have been found in ancient burial sites around the world.
Oats are one of the most ancient crops grown by humans
IN lately“oatmeal” has been elevated almost to a cult; from television screens and from the pages of newspapers we are given a sufficient amount of information about the benefits of oatmeal for breakfast. Indeed, compared to other cereals used in the nutrition of children under one year old, oatmeal has a number of advantages. The table below shows comparative characteristics nutritional and energy value of oats as opposed to other cereals (per 100 g of cereal).
Table 1 - Nutritional and energy value of cereals used in the nutrition of children under 1 year of age
As can be seen from the table data, oatmeal actually has unique properties compared to other cereals. It contains all the elements necessary for the growth and development of the baby, and in fairly significant quantities: 100 g of oats provides the baby’s body with protein from 39% (for the age of 6 months) to 28% (for the age of 12 months) from daily norm, protein composition is close to the proteins of buckwheat and contains everything essential amino acids, including methionine, an amino acid that affects normal functioning central nervous system. Carbohydrates in oatmeal are an order of magnitude lower than in other cereals, however, they contain 2-3 times more useful fiber. In addition, there is also much less starch compared to other cereals. Significant content of B vitamins - compared to the popular semolina, vitamin B 1 is 3.5 times more, vitamin B 2 is 2.8 times more. The amount of minerals that make up oatmeal is also significant: especially phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, which are so necessary for babies during their formation muscle tissue and growth of the bone apparatus. In this cereal, these indicators are among the highest. Of all the cereals presented, oatmeal contains relatively a lot of lipids, so porridge from this crop can be recommended for underweight children.
Oat grain is used to produce three types raw materials: oatmeal, oat flakes and oatmeal. Cereals are produced shelled and polished, flakes are produced using special treatment and technology that subsequently makes it possible to reduce the heat treatment time when producing porridges. Oatmeal is oat flour with pleasant smell, which has improved taste compared to ground oats, as well as high nutritional value.
Industrially produced porridges are produced, most often using grain or oatmeal, for homemade mothers mainly use Hercules oatmeal.
Is oatmeal always good for a baby?
Taking into account the mass of useful substances that are part of “oatmeal”, scientists have drawn conclusions about the influence of this cereal on the work and proper development of many organs and systems of a growing child’s body:
But despite the beneficial properties of oatmeal, pediatricians recommend introducing oatmeal into the baby’s diet a little later than other cereals - usually at 7–8 months. Some experts even recommend later introduction of this porridge for infants - at 10 and a half months if the child is “artificial”, at 11 months if the baby is breastfed, after the child’s stomach has digested buckwheat and rice porridge. There are a number of reasons for this that call for careful inclusion of “oatmeal” and experts believe that in some cases such porridge can harm a growing body.
Here is the opinion of a well-known doctor in Russia and Ukraine about products with gluten highest category, Dr. E.O Komarovsky
What is gluten (opinion of Dr. Komarovsky)
Reviews from parents about rolled oatmeal flakes as complementary foods
Reviews from mothers on forums regarding the introduction of oatmeal into complementary foods, when and why to do this, are, of course, different. But more often they confirm the opinions of specialists and doctors.
We are at 9 months. introduced, dairy-free. At first they tried at 6 - but the allergies broke out, apparently the gastrointestinal tract was not ready. Now we are eating, it seems normal.
Alexandra
mm, I immediately introduced buckwheat, rice, corn, and oatmeal))) by the way, she loves oatmeal the most) there were no allergies... and I introduced it at almost 5 months)
Vladahttps://www.babyblog.ru/community/post/baby_food/3037533
I introduced oatmeal a week ago. We started like everyone else with buckwheat, rice and corn. I don’t think oatmeal should be eaten until one is a year old. If the child has never had any allergies, why is gluten prohibited? Is he harmful? Some people start with oatmeal. Well, for the really extreme ones, gw and willow are replaced with oatmeal broth.))) To make it tasty, I dilute the porridge with a mixture. The first few times I gave it on the water, my daughter even cried when I tried to push it into her.
Nataliahttps://www.babyblog.ru/community/post/baby_food/3037533
Choosing the right oatmeal for a newborn
Pediatricians advise introducing oatmeal no earlier than 7–8 months of a child’s life.
So, your baby is healthy, has tried and calmly mastered other types of this dish, you decide to include “oatmeal” in his diet. How to do this correctly so that the new product benefits the baby’s body. Firstly, you have two options:
In practice, both ways take place, but each has its own pros and cons, which parents focus on.
Industrially produced porridges for infants: with and without milk
Today, manufacturers offer a wide selection of this type of porridge in different combinations and options. Experts have classified porridges into the following types:
Dairy-free oatmeal is suitable for babies with allergies to milk protein or lactose
Porridge oat milk high nutritional value due to a combination of cereals and milk
Prebiotics in the porridge will help improve your baby’s digestion. Adding fruit to the porridge can increase the amount of vitamins. 
Oatmeal is mainly recommended for babies from 6 months
In addition to oatmeal, manufacturers use various fruits and berries The composition can contain either one fruit or in combination with others
Multigrain porridge combines useful substances multigrain
Today, instant porridges that do not require cooking are becoming increasingly popular; you can simply fill them with water heated to 100 degrees or hot milk - and the porridge is ready. The range of manufacturers producing similar products, as well as the porridges themselves, is very wide - with different fillings, with and without milk. These cereals are sold in beautiful bags, per serving.
Instant porridges do not require cooking, but they are of little use for infants
Use of this type of product for feeding children infancy Doctors do not recommend it for several reasons:
The main advantages of using industrially produced cereals:
Disadvantages of using cereals from the manufacturer:
What to look for when purchasing porridge
The issue of choosing porridge for a baby in a store must be approached extremely responsibly
Any product must be carefully studied before purchasing, especially for those products that we buy for children. When purchasing porridge for baby food, use the following recommendations:
How to read packaging correctly (using the example of oatmeal with apple)
Cooking porridge for baby at home
If you are against cereals produced in industrial scale, or there is no opportunity to purchase it, it is quite possible to prepare porridge yourself at home, the main thing is to know how to do it correctly.
First, let's define the advantages of homemade porridge:
You can cook porridge at home for the whole family at once
Disadvantages of cooking porridge at home:
Selecting raw materials for preparation
The main raw material for the production of oatmeal is often Hercules flakes. How to choose and what to look for when buying cereal in the following video:
How to cook the right porridge
For the first oatmeal for babies, we cook it, according to doctors’ recommendations, in water. The basic principle of preparing porridge is the minimum loss of nutrients that oatmeal is rich in. This can be achieved by minimal and short heat treatment. There is nothing tricky about making oatmeal, like any other porridge. First, the “base” is prepared - porridge with milk or without milk, and the remaining components are added before consumption.
Many adults who prefer oatmeal porridge for breakfast do not cook it at all - they pour boiling water or hot milk over Hercules overnight and leave it in the refrigerator until the morning. The next day, all you have to do is heat the porridge in the microwave and add fresh fruit or berries. This method, of course, allows you to preserve the maximum beneficial substances of oatmeal, but it is not suitable for children. Primarily for the reason that there is no 100% guarantee of the safety of the raw materials used (cereals, water or milk) and giving the dish without heat treatment to children is strictly prohibited.
Preparing the Components
Before use, all ingredients must be carefully prepared:
Porridge recipes for infants:
How to make oatmeal without milk
From cereals
Soak the prepared oatmeal in warm water overnight (take 3 parts water for 1 part oatmeal). Before use, cook for 1 hour. If desired, you can add a little salt. Next, for kids, it is recommended to grind the porridge through a sieve, or grind it in a blender to the required consistency. If the consistency of the porridge is quite thick, you can add hot boiled water. When serving, add butter (pediatricians allow from 8 months, on average 5 grams per day). You can also initially cook porridge from ground oatmeal, for example, in a coffee grinder.
From cereal
If you use Hercules flakes, after preparing them, you can also soak them in water overnight, but boil them for 10-15 minutes in the morning to make this dish safe for your baby.
If your baby digests dairy-free oatmeal well and there are no problems, you can try preparing this dish with a mixture of milk and water, or with pure milk. But it will not be possible to cook cereal purely in milk, since cereal requires long-term cooking, in this case the milk will all evaporate, so first boil the cereal in water, and then add milk.
Oatmeal milk porridge
As a base, use oatmeal "Hercules" or flour from crushed oat grains
Ingredients:
Oatmeal "Hercules" - 1 cup
Water - 2 glasses
Milk - 2 cups (for infants you can use baby milk)
Butter - 4–5 g (1 tablespoon)
Other ingredients as desired
Cooking technology:
Here is another way to prepare baby oatmeal porridge with milk and olive oil:
In a slow cooker
Today, the multicooker has firmly established itself in the kitchen of many Russian families and, as its owners say, it’s a mess. modern equipment it works without problems. Oatmeal for a baby can also be cooked in any type of multicooker.
In a slow cooker, the porridge turns out tender and fluffy
Ingredients:
Cooking technology:
From flour
This flour can be obtained by grinding oatmeal in a coffee grinder or blender until it reaches the consistency of flour. For babies, the best ratio of flour to water is 1 teaspoon (average 5 g) per 100 ml of water. This porridge is called 5%, and as the baby’s age increases (around 12 months), you can cook porridge with a concentration of 10% - take 100 ml of water for 2 teaspoons (10 g).
Porridge made from oatmeal, unlike porridge made from flakes, has a uniform consistency, which is perfect for children from six months of age
Ingredients (for ten percent porridge):
Cooking technology:
Cooking porridge with baby formula
To reduce allergic manifestations problems that appear in infants when drinking milk or you are not sure of the quality of milk from the store, you can completely replace this product with baby formula, better than that one, which is intended for children from 6 months. To do this, you must first cook the oatmeal in water and cool it. After this, add the mixture, previously diluted with a small amount of boiled water and cooled to 40 degrees, at the rate of: per 100 grams of porridge - 1.5 tablespoons of the mixture. The mixture cannot be placed in hot cereal, much less boiled, as some of the beneficial substances will be lost. Many parents, as a matter of principle, prepare porridge for children under one year old only using infant formula.
Delicious additions to oatmeal
During the period when the baby has already mastered oatmeal as a basis for porridge, you can enrich this dish with various ingredients that improve the taste, aesthetic appearance and nutritional value of oatmeal. But only if the baby does not have an allergic reaction to one or another component. First, enter single-component additives, then you can combine products, getting tasty, beautiful, and most importantly, healthy dish, which the baby will eat with pleasure. Although experts believe that with oatmeal It is better to combine one type of fruit. The table shows the recommended fillers and substances with which the porridge will be enriched. When a child does not yet know how to chew, fillers are administered in the form of purees; for older children, in the form of grated or finely chopped.
Oatmeal in combination with fruits or berries is wonderful and healthy breakfast for baby
How to cook porridge for children up to a year and older: features
So, to summarize, let’s note the main features of preparing oatmeal for infants of different ages. Such information is presented in Table 3.
Table 3 - Specifics of oatmeal at different age periods
Thus, oatmeal, loved by many as a healthy breakfast, can be introduced into a child’s diet from 7–8 one month old(as pediatricians recommend). As you age, combine oatmeal with healthy fruits and berries, which are well tolerated and loved by the child. This combination will allow you to create a dish containing a lot of useful elements: vitamins, protein, minerals, fiber, which is simply necessary for proper development and baby growth.
There is still no consensus among mothers and doctors about what kind of porridge can and should be switched to after starting complementary feeding for infants. Among the current options is oatmeal for infants as one of the most useful and time-tested methods of complementary feeding. We all know from childhood that only porridge can provide the body with the same amount of carbohydrates, fats, microelements and vitamins as all other “adult” food.
Why oatmeal for babies?
Of course, for infant you need to cook not ordinary rolled oats, but a special children's oatmeal porridge, which is based on the regular cereal that you and I eat. Baby oatmeal looks like flour. A typical misconception of most mothers is the belief that the powder form is easier for an infant to digest, since it is homogeneous and light. In fact, the insidious protein gluten, contained in oat products may cause bloating and discomfort in the stomach, so if your child’s body has not established a stable digestive process, then you should refuse porridge.
When can you give oatmeal?
Many young mothers are concerned about the question of at what age it is appropriate to start cooking porridge, because it is impossible to determine by eye whether the baby’s body is ready for such changes or not yet. Here children's doctors unanimously declare - 5 months. It is from this age that the child’s stomach can switch to something more substantial than milk.
If you are still in doubt whether to cook porridge or not, then a more specific way to determine the child’s readiness for complementary feeding is the most superficial stool analysis. If the infant eats well and does not suffer from constipation or allergic reactions, then you can start cooking oat porridge for him. If, on the contrary, the baby has difficulties with digestive process, constantly cries due to constipation and is susceptible to allergies, then it is better to postpone oatmeal until better times. The fact is that oatmeal contains gluten, a type of protein that causes allergies. You should not expose your baby to such danger, even if it seems to you that he is already big enough.
Another signal that your child is ready for more serious food is his immediate eating behavior. If the feeding process begins to take less time than before, and the child asks for food more and more often, it means that his stomach has grown. It is at this moment that you should start complementary feeding. Just introduce oatmeal into the menu gradually, cook it in small portions so that the child does not feel any changes.
How to cook oatmeal for babies?
Prepare oatmeal infant today it is not particularly difficult for the reason that stores offer a huge assortment of instant cereals, ready-made cereals, and so on. This is where sensible mothers immediately have a question: what is better - to cook porridge yourself or buy it in a store? Since sometimes the manufacturer himself cannot vouch for the composition of instant porridge, it is obvious that it is better to allocate time for self-cooking porridge.
The oatmeal recipe is quite simple. To prepare oatmeal, you must first rinse the cereal and dry it. Oatmeal is prepared using a coffee grinder or blender. The finished flour is boiled in water, breast milk or vegetable broth.
Oatmeal for babies must follow a strict recipe:
- grind a teaspoon of flour;
- heat 100 ml of liquid (about half a glass) to a boil;
- Add flour to the liquid and cook over low heat.
Attention!
Usage microwave oven undesirable!
If your child has an allergy, stop eating oatmeal for a while.
- If a child is sick or in the process of recovery, then it is better to wait to change the diet, since any change in the usual menu is always acutely perceived by the delicate body. You will always have time to cook the porridge, so it is better to be patient for two to three weeks until the baby’s condition returns to normal.
- At the very first feeding, let your baby choose his own menu. Common mistake For many young mothers, this is an attempt to suddenly switch to a new type of diet and shove a spoon of porridge into the poor child’s mouth with all their might. If your child, after trying the porridge, turns away from the spoon, do not try to put pressure on him. Instead, try making porridge with breast milk next time to get a more familiar taste. In fact, this advice is more psychological than practical: when you let your child choose something for himself, even from such an early age, you instill in him independence, the ability to make decisions and take responsibility for his choices.
- Feeding should be done in tiny portions; there is no need to cook a whole pan for the first time. In the fifth month of life, the baby can only eat one teaspoon of porridge!
- Of course, you cannot replace breastfeeding with porridge immediately and irrevocably, and you won’t succeed, since the baby will constantly ask for the breast. It is assumed that one dose breast milk replaced with a spoon of oatmeal according to the above recipe.
Before starting complementary feeding, it is, of course, better to consult with your pediatrician. The most correct decision is to follow the action plan that your attending physician, who is already familiar with the developmental features of the infant’s body, has developed for you and your child.
From the first days after birth, the baby eats only mother's milk, which contains useful substances and vitamins. But already closer to, the baby needs to be introduced into daily diet expanded nutrition - juices, vegetables and cereals . One of the healthy and nutritious dishes is oatmeal for infants, which is ideal as complementary food. It is only important to know how to cook it correctly and at what age you can give oatmeal.
At what age can oatmeal be given as complementary foods?
Pediatricians recommend starting to give as the first complementary food to a baby who is on artificial feeding, only upon reaching the age of 5-6 months. If a baby under 1 year of age is on breastfeeding, then oats are introduced no earlier than 8-9 months.
Important to know! The first porridge should be buckwheat and only after that you can begin to introduce oatmeal into the baby’s diet. Start with small portions, monitor the condition of the little one, so that in case of intolerance to the product, remove it from the daily diet in time.
At first, it is better to cook the dish yourself, according to a proven recipe, than to buy a ready-made product that contains salt, sugar, etc. When choosing ready-made porridges, pay attention to their composition, as well as at what age they can be given to infants.
It is also necessary to start offering porridge in cases where the baby is not gaining weight well or is often tormented by colic.
If the baby has allergic reaction on “gluten”, then offering oatmeal at too early an age is strictly contraindicated.
How to cook oatmeal for babies
In its preparation, mother can use various recipes- grandmother’s, from magazines, books or taken from the Internet. In the first month of complementary feeding, it is not recommended to add spices, sugar, muesli and fruits to the porridge. This is important for digestive system child so that she gets used to the new dish in his natural form, and there were no problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
Cereals, which require long-term cooking, are considered the most useful in complementary feeding for infants. This cereal is not susceptible heat treatment, which means that the entire storehouse of vitamins is preserved in it.
The finished porridge can be additionally diluted with mother's milk or so that the consistency is similar to sour cream. Such a product will not cause upset to the baby and is easier for his stomach to digest.
Recipe for making oatmeal with milk
To cook a tasty and nutritious dish for the baby, mom will need: 2 tablespoons of oatmeal, a small piece of butter, 1 glass cow's milk(200 ml) and 1/4 tsp. salt.
Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then add the cereal, crushed in a blender, and cook over low heat (about 20 minutes), stirring constantly with a spoon so that no lumps form. 5 minutes before the end of cooking, add a piece of butter.
Cool to 35 degrees and feed this yummy to the baby.
To improve taste qualities For children over 1 year old, you can add crushed (ground) fruits, berries, a little sugar or fructose to the porridge. Such food not only strengthens the child’s immune system, but also serves prophylactic from many diseases.
