“You CAN’T FEED A RUSSIAN MAN WITHOUT PORRIDGE”

This is exactly what one of the old folk proverbs says. In general, there are a great many proverbs and sayings regarding cereals: “Where there is porridge, there are ours”, “Dinner is not lunch without porridge”, “Nuts are not our food, ours is porridge”, “Small, ate porridge, but grew, and crackers in honor”, ​​etc. It is even difficult to say exactly when cereals entered the daily diet of Russians. Back in the 17th century, there was the word “kashnik”, which in Russia was called a small child who “still eats, but does not work.” According to the definition of Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl, “porridge is a thickish food, cereals boiled in water or milk.”

DIFFERENT CEREALS – DIFFERENT PASSAGES

So, porridge. They are widely used in the nutrition of infants and young children (1–3 years old) not only in Russia, but throughout the world. Why are they so good? Porridges are undoubtedly one of the main sources of vegetable protein, vitamins (mainly group B), as well as carbohydrates and minerals.

What types of cereals are considered the most preferred in the nutrition of babies? Buckwheat cereals are the absolute champion in nutritional properties. In addition to the high content of vegetable protein, they are also characterized by a significant content of salts: phosphorus, magnesium and potassium, as well as iron. In buckwheat, it is 6–7 times more than in rice or, for example, semolina.

The second place in nutritional value is oatmeal. It is also high in protein, B vitamins, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. In addition, oatmeal contains the maximum amount of vegetable fats. If earlier, for the preparation of oatmeal for babies, cereals such as “Hercules” or oatmeal (oatmeal) were mainly used, today “ready-made” children’s cereals are increasingly being used.

Rice porridge is extremely popular because it is considered hypoallergenic. However, it contains less protein than the two cereals described above, and it is also relatively poor in vitamins and minerals. Rice porridge is not recommended for regular use in children who are prone to stool retention.

Porridge made from wheat flour for many years in our country was presented in the form of manna. At present, there are good reasons to recommend abandoning semolina when feeding children in the first or second years of life. It’s connected with the fact that, despite the relatively high protein content, semolina contains little fiber and much less salts and minerals than, for example, buckwheat and oatmeal. In addition, despite the pleasant taste, semolina has a pronounced “rachitogenic” effect, that is, it contributes to the formation of rickets in children of the first two years of life. Wheat-based industrial porridges in Russia are rarely prescribed to children before the third quarter of the first year of life, although in some European countries it is with wheat porridge that solid food is introduced into the diet of infants.

Corn porridge is not necessarily hominy, traditional for some regions. Baby porridge made from cornmeal is rich in starch and iron, but the content of calcium and phosphorus is not too high. Such porridges usually require a long cooking time, so they were rarely used in the nutrition of infants in the past. Soluble corn porridge does not require long preparation, it is easily digested. Nevertheless, domestic pediatricians usually do not recommend this porridge until 9–10 months of age.

The last recommendation also applies to rye and barley porridge. In young children, such cereals, as a rule, are not used, although they are high in vegetable proteins, potassium, phosphorus and iron. I must say that bran from wheat or rye flour is often successfully used in the nutrition of children suffering from constipation or overweight.

Millet porridge (based on millet) is somewhat heavy. It is inferior to most other cereals due to poor digestibility. Therefore, it can be given to children older than one and a half to two years.

The introduction of complementary foods is recommended when the child reaches 5 months of age, about two weeks after vegetables.

WHEN TO START?

The timing of the introduction of solid food (in this case, porridge) is determined not so much by the age of the child (although age too), but by his needs. It has now been established that porridge is not an absolutely essential food for children under the age of 4-6 months. However, the vast majority of children (including premature babies) need to “enrich” the diet by the fifth month of life (for this reason, one should not stubbornly try to prove that breast milk is the only food for children in the first six months of life). The introduction of complementary foods (and porridge in Russia is traditionally a second food dish, after vegetable puree) is recommended when a child reaches 5 months of age, that is, about two weeks after vegetables. The fact that a child begins to receive porridge instead of breast milk at one of the feedings does not in any way mean that breastfeeding stops. There is evidence that in the absence of so-called “chewing” foods in the diet of 6-month-old babies (cereals are their main representatives), later these children may have problems with independent chewing and processing of solid food.

“Ready-made” cereals enriched with iron are introduced in a number of countries as the first complementary foods, since they not only provide the need for energy, protein, but also vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, cyanine, as well as essential minerals (calcium, phosphorus, etc.). Studies conducted in the United States confirm that infants digest and assimilate the starch that is part of cereals quite satisfactorily.

FEATURES OF THE NATIONAL “CASH EATING”

In Russia, today they prefer to use foreign-made cereals. This is due to the fact that back in the early 90s, domestic cereals were not of very high quality. They were inconvenient to use: they were not among the quickly soluble and required cooking, and the vitamin and mineral composition was far from ideal.

Modern cereals for feeding children of the first year of life, firstly, are the so-called “instants”, that is, they are quickly soluble like breast milk substitutes, and secondly, they have such undeniable advantages as a given composition (stable), and secondly,third, enriched with essential nutrients such as iron, vitamins and minerals.

It should be noted that the most popular in the country are cereals produced by those companies in which national traditions of feeding young children participate. Among such manufacturers are Samper, Humana, Heinz and some others. In particular, the Swedish company “Samper” produces both liquid cereals and the so-called “wellings”, the preparation of which takes into account the age-related features of the formation of the gastrointestinal tract. children.

Instant porridges of industrial production are recommended in Russia for children up to 12–15 months of age. Subsequently, it is planned to gradually switch to ordinary cereals prepared by conventional cooking at home. However, in countries such as the United States and Canada, “manufactured” cereals with a high iron content are recommended for children under 2 years of age (it is believed that such a diet is an effective measure to prevent iron deficiency anemia).

HOMEMADE porridge

And what to do if, for some reason, you still have to limit yourself to home-made porridge?

At first, porridge for babies is prepared exclusively on water or vegetable broth. At the same time, it is completely unacceptable to cook porridge “by eye”. The initial concentration of such porridge should correspond to 5 g of flour (1 standard teaspoon without top) per 100 ml of water (or vegetable broth). It is clear that a larger volume of liquid is usually taken (200-300 ml), that is, 2-3 teaspoons of flour will be required. Let me remind you that rice and buckwheat are immersed in cold water, and oatmeal is boiled in boiling water.

If a gas stove is used, then the porridge will have to be cooked on low heat (to avoid evaporation of water), with constant stirring, for at least 25-30 minutes. The use of a microwave oven is not recommended!

You can prepare flour from cereals using a coffee grinder or an ordinary kitchen pestle.

It is customary to add butter in the amount of 4–5 g to homemade cereals (for children suffering from food allergies, it is advisable to replace butter with vegetable oil). You can “spice up” the taste of such an unappetizing porridge by adding 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 ml) of breast milk or formula (women’s milk substitute). With regard to sugar and / or salt, their use should be avoided as long as possible (to avoid the formation of premature taste preferences in the child).

THE CHOICE IS YOURS.

But industrial porridges are less troublesome, quicker to prepare, and undeniably preferable.