At what age can you give your child millet porridge and how to prepare it? Millet porridge for a child: benefits and harms Timing of introduction of porridges for complementary feeding of infants

01.03.2022

In the morning, it is customary to prepare porridge for breakfast for a child one year and older. So that the baby does not refuse cooked food, the porridge must be prepared tasty and correctly. With the help of simple recipes you can learn how to properly cook milk porridges with various cereals.

Porridge is necessary in the diet of a one-year-old baby every morning. At this age, you can cook porridge using milk, alternating between different cereals. But how can a 1-year-old child cook porridge without him turning away and refusing to eat it? And what kind of cereals can a one-year-old baby have for a not fully formed digestive system? There are several simple and quick recipes for tomorrow morning porridge.

Semolina porridge recipe

The recipe for semolina porridge is the simplest and easiest. And if you follow this recipe, the porridge will turn out without lumps. To cook semolina porridge with milk you you will need:

  • 200 ml. milk
  • 1 tbsp. semolina
  • 5 g butter
  • ½ tsp. Sahara

Pour the milk into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Gradually add semolina, stirring all the time. Stir for about 2-3 minutes until the porridge thickens. After this, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid. After 10 minutes, the porridge will reach the required consistency. You can add butter and sugar. You can prepare semolina porridge with milk and water.

Rice porridge recipe

Do not give rice porridge often to children who are constipated. But consuming it once a week will only benefit the child’s body. To cook rice porridge take:

  • 200 ml. milk
  • 1 tbsp. rice
  • 5 g butter
  • ½ tsp. Sahara.

If you want to cook rice porridge with milk, add the milk to the pan and bring to a boil. Rinse the rice thoroughly and place in a saucepan with milk. The heat should be medium, and the porridge should be cooked for 25 minutes; there is no need to stir it. The readiness of the porridge can be seen by its consistency. At the end of cooking, add sugar and butter. You can add pieces of fruit or a little jam.

Recipe for wheat and millet porridge for a 1 year old child

Wheat and millet porridges are only similar in name, but they are prepared from different grains and in different ways. Millet porridge is prepared from millet, and wheat porridge is made from wheat. The process of preparing milk porridges using these cereals varies in duration and cooking method. To prepare these porridges for you you will need:

  • 200 ml. milk
  • 1 tbsp. cereals
  • 5 g butter
  • 5 g sugar or a little jam

The cooking process is very simple. Add washed cereal to boiling milk and continue cooking for a certain time. Millet porridge takes a long time to cook - about 30 minutes. And after cooking, it should stand for another 10-15 minutes. Also, during cooking, millet porridge must be stirred occasionally. Wheat porridge is prepared a little differently.

When the milk boils, add the wheat and reduce the heat to low. So the porridge will simmer for about 40 minutes. There is no need to stir it, but it is important to cover the pan with a lid. After cooking, add oil to the porridge, stir and leave for 10 minutes.

Oatmeal for a one-year-old child


To prepare this porridge you you will need:

  • 200 ml. milk
  • 2 tbsp. oatmeal
  • 5 g sugar
  • 5 g butter

Pour milk into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add oatmeal and reduce heat to low. The porridge cooks for 5-7 minutes, but do not forget to stir it periodically. When the porridge is cooked, turn off the heat, cover the pan with a lid and leave for 5 minutes. At the end you can add sugar and butter. This oatmeal recipe is perfect for a one year old child.

Many people mistakenly believe that millet and wheat are the same thing. However, millet groats are actually millet seeds. Since this product has a large amount of useful vitamins and microelements, and is also less likely than others to cause an allergic reaction, millet porridge is often used as baby food. In this article we will look at the benefits it brings to the child's body, possible contraindications and recipes for preparing millet porridge.

Features of millet cereals

As a rule, all cereals place a significant burden on the digestive system, but not millet cereals. It is this property that explains the addition of this product to the diet of people with stomach diseases. Most of the composition of millet is starch. It is about seventy percent, which includes fifteen percent protein and vital amino acids (valine, leine, lysine). The fat content of millet cereals can vary from two and a half to three percent. Sugar takes up only two percent.

Among microelements, a significant silicon content can be noted. This substance is extremely useful and necessary for the proper development of human bones and skeleton, especially for the small growing body of a child. Phosphorus, present in millet, enhances the effect of silicon and promotes brain activity. It also plays an important role in strengthening the heart and the walls of blood vessels. Thanks to the B complex of vitamins, the brain is activated, the immune system is strengthened and carbohydrate metabolism is stimulated. In terms of fat content, millet groats are significantly inferior to oat groats. The amount of protein in millet is greater than in the same porridges made from rice or barley. There is much more vitamin B9 contained in millet porridge than in porridges made from corn or wheat groats. Also, millet is extremely necessary for iodine deficiency in the body or diseases of the thyroid gland. The composition of millet is also rich in zinc, sodium and bromine.

For infants - children 1 and 2 years old, such porridge is undesirable.

For a one-year-old child, it is, first of all, tasteless, and allergies can also occur.

Benefits and contraindications

First of all, millet porridge is healthy for babies due to its rich protein and amino acid content. It is thanks to them that intensive development of muscle fibers occurs, as well as strengthening of bones and skeleton. The presence of fiber in the composition helps to cope with constipation in the baby. Millet, from which millet cereal is produced, has special substances that help remove antibodies from the body that form during the course of any disease. In this regard, doctors introduce this product into the diet of a sick baby. Millet porridge is a kind of additional remedy in treatment, where antibiotics are already involved. This type of cereal helps, does not reduce the effect of the medicine, but also does not allow excess toxic substances to accumulate in the body. The great benefits brought by the consumption of millet are explained by the presence of the lipotropic effect that it has on the human body.

The beneficial properties of millet are as follows:

  • it helps remove excess fluid and relieve swelling;
  • has a diuretic effect on the human body (it is recommended to use it in the presence of a disease such as dropsy);
  • if an inflammatory process occurs in the pancreas, it is necessary to consume millet at least once a day;
  • promotes healing of injured bone, cartilage tissue and various wounds;
  • the condition of the skin improves if you add millet to the diet (this is due to the rich content of vitamins and minerals, and the skin acquires firmness, elasticity, and resistance to various types of inflammation);
  • the presence of a vitamin B complex in millet cereals helps reduce the nervousness and temper of a restless child;
  • that with regular consumption of millet, the baby develops an appetite (this has been noted by many parents);
  • millet is a rich source of microelements such as iron;
  • its excellent compatibility with the group of B vitamins improves the process of hematopoiesis in the human body;
  • copes well with removing poisonous and toxic elements (heavy metal ions) from the body.

As mentioned earlier, cereals are a fairly common cause of allergic reactions. Millet is the weakest allergen of all possible cereals used for making porridges. As a rule, an allergic reaction occurs exclusively in children. This is due to the fact that the baby’s digestive organs are not yet strong enough.

You will learn more about at what age you can introduce millet porridge into your baby's complementary foods below.

Introducing millet porridge into baby's complementary foods

Experts recommend that parents of their baby introduce millet porridge into complementary foods after he has been taught to eat buckwheat or rice porridge. A baby on artificial nutrition can start eating millet porridge as early as the seventh or eighth month. With natural nutrition, it is recommended to introduce millet from eight months to nine months of age. Despite the fact that millet cereal rarely causes an allergic reaction in a child, it is still advisable that the first serving should be no more than one tablespoon. Later, the portion of millet must be increased, naturally, in the absence of any unpleasant reaction from the child’s body. Ultimately, you should get a portion, the volume of which will be one hundred and fifty to one hundred and seventy grams per meal.

There are several tips regarding introducing this product into a baby's complementary feeding:

  • For the first tasting, it is advisable to cook the millet porridge so that it has a liquid consistency. To do this, increase the volume of water or baby formula.
  • It is recommended to serve millet for breakfast for the first time. This way you will have the opportunity to observe the body’s reaction to this product throughout the day.
  • In the absence of an allergic reaction, the portion of millet porridge should approximately double with each meal.
  • In order to diversify your child’s diet, cook soup from millet instead of porridge.

When the child turns two years old, boiled pumpkin, prunes or various fruits can be added to the millet. And make a delicious casserole from millet. For an eight- to ten-month-old baby, it is recommended to first grind the millet cereal before cooking. To do this, use a coffee grinder.

For older children, it is permissible to cook porridge from larger millet. However, whole millet grains are acceptable for children over one year of age.

Preparation

For the traditional recipe for preparing millet, you need to acquire: two hundred grams of cereal, thirty grams of cold-pressed vegetable oil, four hundred low-fat milk, two tablespoons of granulated sugar (or honey), four hundred milliliters of boiled water and a pinch of salt.

The algorithm for preparing millet is as follows:

  1. The cereal is thoroughly washed two to three times in water until the water becomes clear. Since millet cereals tend to have a bitter taste, before cooking, it is advisable to soak them for thirty minutes in cold water. This will get rid of the unpleasant taste. Next, the cleaned millet is poured into a pan with a tight bottom and filled with water. The power of the burner should be medium.
  2. When the water boils, you will need to remove the resulting foam and reduce the power of the burner. Continue cooking the millet until the water begins to evaporate.
  3. Meanwhile, boil the milk separately and pour it into the porridge being prepared in a small stream. Reduce heat again.
  4. Before the cereal has time to swell, add salt and granulated sugar (or honey). The cooked porridge becomes very thick, so it is necessary to sweeten the dish in advance.
  5. Then remove the pan from the stove and season with vegetable oil, since millet tends to have a dry texture.

When preparing millet for a baby less than one year old, you will need to almost double the volume of milk used, or reduce the amount of millet.

During the cooking process, regularly stir the contents of the pan, this way you will avoid burning the cereal towards its walls.

In order to diversify your baby’s diet, try preparing a tasty and healthy soup for him using millet and vegetable broth. Ingredients you will need to get: three medium-sized potatoes, small carrots, parsley, two hundred milliliters of milk, one tablespoon of millet, dill, a pinch of salt and twenty grams of low-fat sour cream.

To obtain a delicious soup, you must strictly follow the sequence of the following steps:

  1. Millet cereals are washed and poured into a pan. Then water is poured in. You must wait until the water boils.
  2. Meanwhile, in a slightly larger saucepan, you need to cook pre-finely chopped vegetables. To make the broth richer, it is advisable to take a smaller volume of water so that it barely covers the vegetables.
  3. Then the boiled vegetables and millet are poured into a mixer bowl and thoroughly crushed until a puree consistency is obtained.
  4. The resulting mass is poured with pre-boiled milk and brought to a boiling state. After which the finished soup is removed from the stove.
  5. It is advisable to add salt upon completion of cooking. Depending on your preferences, you can add greens. Sour cream is added before you feed the baby.

Another tasty and healthy option involves adding pumpkin to millet porridge. The ingredients you will need are one hundred and fifty grams of pumpkin, a tablespoon of butter, a pinch of salt, two hundred milliliters of milk (or water), half a glass of millet. First, do not forget to thoroughly rinse the cereal and vegetables. Then the pumpkin is cut into small cubes and placed together with the millet in a pan. The contents are filled with water (or milk) and brought to a boil.

As in the first recipe, you will need to remove the resulting foam and add a pinch of salt. Then you need to wait until all the liquid has evaporated. After which you can add pre-boiled milk, it should be hot. Be sure to cover the pan with a lid and leave the contents to simmer for the next ten to fifteen minutes. Before feeding your baby, it is advisable to season the millet with a spoon of butter. The porridge will be delicious and nutritious!

You will learn more about how to prepare millet porridge from the following video.

How is millet porridge beneficial for a 1 year old child? Millet is a product of processing millet grains using a special cleaning method. The beneficial properties of cereal have been known since ancient times, and this porridge was very popular in Rus'.

Millet is useful for the rapid growth of a child. Fluorine contained in the structure of grains has a beneficial effect on the growth and formation of the skeletal system. Silicon strengthens bones, and manganese ensures the functioning of metabolism. Millet also contains:

  • two types of fiber;
  • folic acid;
  • essential amino acids;
  • carbohydrates and vegetable fats.

Millet porridge can be given to improve the functions of the gastrointestinal tract; it normalizes microflora and accelerates intestinal motility. The ability to remove toxins and antibiotic residues from the body puts millet at the level of therapeutic and prophylactic nutrition.

A contraindication to feeding a baby millet is individual intolerance to cereals, which practically never occurs. Another contraindication may be a poorly formed infant digestive system. The question of whether it is possible to give your baby millet in this case will be decided by your pediatrician.

When to introduce complementary foods with millet

When can you give your child millet porridge?

From the age of 8-9 months, it is recommended to introduce complementary foods only from millet flour, and the flour should be of different degrees of grinding depending on the age of the baby. An eight-month-old child should cook porridge from the finest grains. The millet is washed, dried and ground in a coffee grinder. A portion of the finished flour can be stored in a sterilized jar with a lid.

When the baby turns one year old, you can feed porridge made from coarser grains, and from one and a half years old - cook porridge from whole grains.

Complementary feeding should be introduced to a one-year-old child very carefully. Start with one coffee spoon and watch carefully to see if:

  • allergy;
  • constipation;
  • bowel disorder.

If everything went well, the child’s portion of porridge is increased by a spoon per day, gradually increasing to a volume of 150-200 grams.

Serving size of porridge

What size should be the correct portion of porridge for a baby? Pediatricians recommend following this regimen:

  • 150 grams - at 6 months;
  • 180 grams - at 8 months;
  • 200 grams - per year;
  • 250 grams - over a year old.

You should start complementary feeding with a new type of cereal with one teaspoon or coffee spoon, carefully observing the baby's reaction to complementary feeding. If bowel problems or rashes on the face occur, millet should be removed from the diet. The baby may have an intolerance to the components of the grain.

Stool disorder (constipation) can be caused by an imperfect digestive system, which is not able to digest this type of cereal. Also, a negative reaction can be caused by improper grinding of flour - for the initial intake of millet porridge, the cereal must be ground very finely.

How to properly feed your baby new porridge? To do this, you need to add a spoon or two of millet to a portion of your usual food. The next day, the baby is given 3-4 spoons of millet for the main portion of breakfast. So they gradually replace the already familiar porridge with millet, bringing it to the required volume.

A new type of food cannot be introduced into the baby’s diet if he feels unwell, is capricious, or is recovering from an illness. Also, you should not feed your baby new food after a preventive vaccination.

Millet porridge recipe

Millet porridge for children is a valuable food product that provides energy for vigorous activity. In one year, the baby actively explores the world, is interested in everything and spends a lot of calories on movement. Porridge can provide a growing baby’s body with everything necessary for growth and development.

You should choose millet very carefully. It is necessary to focus not only on the bright color of the grains, but also on the date of packaging of the product. Old millet is bitter and will discourage the child from wanting to eat.

Until the baby is one year old, the porridge is cooked to a liquid consistency. To do this, dilute 10 grams of flour in one hundred grams of water and cook for 3-5 minutes over low heat. Make sure that the porridge does not burn - stir constantly with a spoon.

After the baby is one year old, you can cook porridge at the rate of half a glass of flour per 200 grams of water. If your baby is used to eating porridge with milk, you can dilute the water with milk. To improve the taste, add fruit or vegetable puree and a spoonful of melted butter to the finished dish.

Wheat porridge recipe

Wheat cereal is no less valuable and healthy for a baby who is one year old. Wheat porridge replenishes energy consumption, and it contains much more iron and phosphorus than millet. It is necessary to cook wheat porridge for a child under one year old in the same way as millet porridge.

First, you should wash the cereal and dry it, then grind it in a coffee grinder. For babies over a year old, we use a coarser grind of flour, and for a one and a half year old baby, you can cook porridge from whole washed cereals.

If the baby refuses porridge, you should not force feed it. Gradually get used to new foods so that you don’t develop a negative reaction when eating. Try adding breast milk or formula to the porridge: the familiar taste will help you adapt to new taste sensations.

Important! You should not offer your baby food prepared yesterday or the day before. All dishes must be freshly cooked.

Porridge is a very “important” food for growing babies. Any porridge, be it rice, buckwheat, corn, oatmeal or millet, is rich in fiber, carbohydrates, vegetable proteins, as well as vitamins and minerals. In order for cereals to benefit the child and be fully absorbed by his body, it is necessary to introduce them into the child’s diet at a certain time.

I suggest cooking millet porridge for the children today. Millet porridge is introduced into the diet of children after one and a half to two years, as it is difficult to digest and absorb by the body. When purchasing millet cereals, be sure to pay attention to the quality and degree of grinding of the grain.

Let's prepare the products according to the list.

We carefully sort the grains and rinse them until they come out with clean water. Pour boiling water over it.

Pour the prepared millet into a thick-bottomed pan, add water and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the water is absorbed into the cereal.

Do not cover the pan with a lid.

In another container, bring the milk to a boil and pour it into the pan with the millet. Add salt and sugar and mix. Heat until boiling and cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes, remembering to stir.