Oatmeal is very popular with many adults and is considered a healthy food. And when it comes time to feed with cereals, mothers are interested in how old you can give oatmeal to your baby and how to cook such a dish correctly for a small child.
Oatmeal in the children's menu is a source of essential carbohydrates, dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins and proteins
Oatmeal is contraindicated in children with gluten intolerance, obesity, diabetes and celiac disease.
Acquaintance with cereals containing gluten, which include oatmeal, is advised to start no earlier than 8 months. Before that, the baby should get acquainted with gluten-free cereals - rice, buckwheat, corn. These types of cereals can be given from 6-7 months. If you are prone to allergies, oatmeal should be offered to a child only after a year.
Oatmeal porridge for a child can be dairy-free if it is boiled in water or diluted with clean water, as well as dairy if milk is used in its preparation. When cooking milk porridge for children of 10-11 months, cow's milk is diluted with water 2-3 times until the baby is one year old. A one-year-old child can cook porridge in whole milk, if the crumb tolerates this dairy product well.
You can try to introduce oatmeal into complementary foods from 8 months, starting with a minimum amount
Calculate Your Complementary Feeding Chart
Like any new product, a child should be given oatmeal for the first time in an amount of no more than one spoon. With normal tolerance, the volume of the dish is gradually increased to the appropriate age. First, oatmeal is given in the form of a one-component dish, and when the child is completely used to it, such cereals can be mixed with other cereals, fruits and even vegetables.
Children older than a year can diversify oatmeal with berries and fruits (allowed by age)
Oatmeal, which is given to a child of the first year of life, can be not only cooked independently, but also out of the box (industrial production). To dilute ready-made porridge for a baby who tries it for the first time, breast milk or infant formula is usually used. If the child is going to be given milk porridge out of the box, purified water approved for baby food is also used to dilute it.
To make your first oatmeal at home from oatmeal, grind it into flour. Pour a teaspoon of such flour into 100 ml of water brought to a boil and stir constantly for 20-30 minutes. Add 15-30 ml of the mixture familiar to the child or mother's milk to the cooled dish.
Milk for cooking oatmeal begins to be used from 7-8 months of age. First, the child is cooked porridge from cereals, which is ground into flour, and from a year you can use flakes and whole cereals.
Here's a recipe for making oatmeal for a child over a year old:
Also, it is very convenient to cook milk porridge from oatmeal in a slow cooker, since with such preparation there is no need to constantly stir the dish and make sure that the porridge does not "run away".
When it comes time to introduce porridge into the child's diet, many mothers ask themselves the question "how to cook porridge for a child?" We will try to find answers to this question.
How and when to introduce porridge to a child?
Porridge is a very useful and necessary product in the baby's nutrition. This is due to the fact that baby porridge consists of milk and cereals, and, as you know, milk is a source of vitamins, calcium and protein, and cereal is an irreplaceable source of slow carbohydrates, which replenishes the baby's energy supply.
As a rule, the second product, after vegetable puree at the age of 6-7 months, however, if the child does not gain weight well and have allergic reactions, then the porridge can be introduced earlier.
To start introducing porridge, you need, like any new product, with one teaspoon and monitor the reaction. If no reaction followed, then the amount can be increased to 100-150 grams.
Porridge should become a full-fledged breakfast, after which the child should not be supplemented with breast milk or formula.
What kind of porridge to cook for a child?
When choosing what kind of porridge to cook for a child, you need to take into account what effect this or that cereal has on the body.
So, for example, rice envelops the mucous membrane and fixes the stool, while buckwheat and oatmeal containing a lot of fiber, on the contrary, weaken. Corn has no pronounced effect on intestinal motility. And modern pediatricians do not recommend offering traditional semolina porridge to babies earlier than a year. Semolina binds calcium and also contains too much gluten.
How to cook porridge for a child?
It is very important for the baby to cook the porridge correctly. Before cooking, the cereals must be sieved and washed. Porridges are friable, viscous and liquid. They are prepared in milk, milk mixed with water, and if the child has lactase deficiency, then they are boiled for porridge in water. a huge amount, you can add fruits, honey, candied fruits to it.
Also, the cooked porridge is ground with a blender until smooth.
How to cook rice porridge for a child
Rinse the rice thoroughly, put it in boiling water and cook for 5-8 minutes, then put it in a colander or sieve. As soon as the water drains from the rice, transfer it to a saucepan with salted hot milk and, while stirring, cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, add sugar, stir, close the lid and put in a water bath for 10-15 minutes.
When serving, put butter on the table.
How to cook buckwheat porridge for a child
You need to take one part of the cereal and pour it with two parts of water or milk. The lid of the pot must be tightly closed during cooking. Until the buckwheat boils, it is boiled over high heat, and then the fire is reduced to a minimum. When cooking buckwheat porridge for children, it is important not to lift the lid of the pan so that steam does not escape. After all, this cereal is cooked with steam, not water. It is advisable to leave the finished porridge under the lid for another five minutes for full taste.
How to cook oatmeal for a child
Pour the flakes with cold water, add salt and boil until viscous, constantly skimming off the foam. Or a more convenient option - do not put on fire, but simply leave it until it swells for several hours. Then bring to a boil, add milk. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, then add sugar and insist for 5 minutes under the lid.
Baby cereals as complementary foods are introduced into the child's diet from 7-10 months. After all, it's time for the baby to receive a more complete and balanced diet. You can buy special instant baby cereals, but you cannot give "quick" cereals, such as muesli, with various fillings. They are not adapted for the stomach of a small child, they contain dyes, flavor enhancers and other food substitutes. Which can cause your toddler to have allergies or upset stomach. It is best to cook porridge yourself from natural cereals. And you can start with rice. This cereal does not contain gluten, is completely hypoallergenic, does not irritate the intestines at all. And then gradually you can introduce porridge from other cereals into the menu. For children under one year old, they boil porridge of a liquid consistency.
If you are preparing meals for children, then the processing and preparation of products should be approached with special care. All cereals, except for semolina, are sorted out, i.e. it is inspected visually to exclude the ingress of foreign small objects, and then washed several times. If vegetables or fruits are included in the dish, they must be thoroughly rinsed under water and cleaned. And then, according to the recipe, they are cut into pieces or grated.
If there is a small child in the house, it is advisable to immediately buy a measuring cup with graduations so that it is convenient to measure the amount of cereal or liquid. For children under one year old, whole grains of any cereal must be ground to a state of flour, and then boil the porridge. It is convenient to use a coffee grinder for this. If there is no coffee grinder, then the finished porridge is wiped through a sieve or grinded with a blender and diluted to the desired consistency with water or milk mixtures (breast milk).
Baby porridge - the best recipes
Such porridge can begin to be introduced into the baby's diet from six months. And older children will eat it with pleasure. Rice porridge can be cooked with or without an apple. From a year old, children can cook rice in milk and add a little sugar, fructose or jam to a plate. Rice grains must first be ground in a coffee grinder or blender.
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons of rice, 250 ml of water, butter, a small apple.
Cooking method
Pour chopped rice with water, add an apple (it must first be peeled and cut into pieces). Boil the porridge for 15 minutes, then beat in a blender until puree, add butter. If porridge is cooked for babies under one year old, you can add formula or breast milk.
It is recommended to give semolina porridge to children from one year old. Milk is diluted in half with water. From the age of three, you can cook porridge in one milk. It is believed that semolina is cooked for 10-15 minutes. During this time, she manages to boil well, but also loses a certain amount of protein and nutrients. Therefore, it is better to change the cooking technology: boil the porridge for two to three minutes, then remove it from the stove and wrap it in a towel for 10-15 minutes. During this time, the porridge will swell and come to readiness.
Ingredients: semolina - 4 teaspoons, 250 ml of liquid (125 ml of milk + 125 ml of water), sugar (fructose), butter - 5g.
Cooking method
Bring the liquid to a boil and add semolina. It is convenient to do this through a sieve. Firstly, the cereal is sifted in thin streams and lumps are not formed, and secondly, if any debris gets in the cereal, it will remain in the sieve.
Let the porridge boil for about two minutes, remove from heat and wrap in a towel or blanket for 10 minutes. Add butter, sugar or jam to a plate of porridge and mix well.
To prevent oatmeal from becoming boring, you can serve it with jam, honey or various fruits - a banana, grated strawberries, or an apple.
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons of oatmeal, a glass of milk, ½ banana, salt, 1 tsp. Sahara.
Cooking method:
Boil the milk (you can dilute it with water), add sugar, a pinch of salt, add oatmeal. Make a small fire and cook for half an hour. Allow the finished oatmeal to cool slightly, add the chopped banana and beat with a blender.
Porridge for children over a year old. If you are going to cook it for babies, the cereal should first be ground to the state of flour in a coffee grinder or beaten ready-made porridge in a blender. If the porridge is being prepared for children over a year old, add butter to a plate and sweeten with jam, sugar or honey.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp. spoons of cereal, 250 ml of water, 100 ml of milk.
Cooking method
Stir 3 tbsp in water. spoons of cereal, boil. Make a small heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Beat the porridge in a blender (if necessary).
For children's cereals, it is better to buy not fried buckwheat (light yellow-green) - it contains more nutrients. But ordinary buckwheat is also suitable.
Ingredients: buckwheat groats - ½ cup, water - 1.5 cups, ½ cup milk, 10 g butter, sugar and salt to taste.
Cooking method
Pour buckwheat with water, bring to a boil. Reduce the fire and cook, covering it with a lid, until the water boils away, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, wrap in a towel for 10 minutes, so that the buckwheat is cooked. Add milk to the porridge, salt, sweeten and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add butter. Serve warm.
Fresh pumpkin is stored until spring, without losing its useful properties. Therefore, during the winter months, she will help the child to receive the necessary vitamins. Casseroles, pancakes are made from it, porridge is boiled. They turn out to be juicy and tasty and are liked by many children.
Ingredients: ½ cup millet groats, a glass of milk, 2 small pumpkin slices (about a glass, if cut into pieces), sugar and salt, butter.
Cooking method:
Pour water over the millet so that it covers the grain by about 2 centimeters. Cook for 15 minutes, turn off the heat, leave the porridge on the stove. At this time, you can do the pumpkin.
Cut the pumpkin into small pieces, pour over the milk and cook. As soon as it is cooked and becomes soft, it must be poured and added to the millet porridge. Salt, sweeten, if the porridge turns out to be thick, add hot milk and boil for 3 minutes. Add oil and serve.
If the baby does not eat well, you can interest him - make a drawing on porridge from drops of jam - a sun, a car, a bunny, a flower. Or garnish with pieces of fruit or berries.
In the first months of life, the child feeds on breast milk or artificial formula. At a certain age, complementary foods need to be introduced, because the child needs to grow and develop, for this breast milk and artificial mixture are not enough. Expansion of the diet is carried out with the help of cereals and vegetable purees. Somewhat later, cottage cheese, meat and fruit puree are introduced.
All over the world, pediatricians believe that it is necessary to start feeding porridge from five months. Naturally, you do not need to put on a full plate and stuff the baby with porridge until he becomes ill. The new dish should be tasted in the size of two teaspoons. The task of complementary foods is to introduce the little man to a new meal. You can not introduce complementary foods if the child does not feel well after vaccination or is sick.
Porridge is a source of carbohydrates, protein and minerals. From five months to three, children must eat porridge. The most delicious is semolina porridge, however, doctors consider it harmful for children, especially for those who have not yet turned one year old. If the baby is constantly fed with it, he will develop colitis or chronic gastritis. Semolina porridge interferes with the absorption of calcium and vitamin D.
One of the most useful is buckwheat porridge. It is easily absorbed by the baby's stomach and is the most nutritious. Buckwheat contains potassium, protein, magnesium, iron and phosphorus.
How to cook porridge for babies? This question is not difficult to answer. It is necessary to pour milk into a ladle, boil it, then make a slow fire and gradually introduce the cereal. In order for the porridge not to burn, you need to stir it all the time. Recently, many mothers have been using multicooker, in which it is possible to cook porridge for the whole family without unnecessary effort and waste of time.
The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for babies up to two years of age. This does not mean that in addition to milk, the baby should not receive anything else; complementary foods are introduced at five months. Gradually, the menu becomes more varied, and the portions are larger. The age at which complementary foods are introduced depends on the individual characteristics of the child, some even at seven months do not want to eat anything but milk and at the same time feel good and gain weight.
When to give porridge to babies? If a child looks with curiosity at an adult who is eating something, then the time has come for the introduction of complementary foods. The reflex of pushing food out by the tongue should be replaced by a swallowing reflex. The appearance of the first tooth is a signal that the baby is already ready to grind and grind food. Some mothers introduce complementary foods at this time.
The easiest way is to dilute a special porridge for babies in boiling water. After all, what is sold in children's stores is designed specifically for kids. These cereals are expensive, but they last for a long time. At first, the baby will not eat much.
If it is not possible to buy special baby porridge, you can cook it from ordinary cereals. Just preparing porridge for babies, recipes can be found on the Internet or in a special cookbook.
How to cook oatmeal? It is necessary to bring a small amount of water to a boil, then sort out and wash the cereals, which then need to be poured into boiling water. When the porridge is cooked, it should be thrown onto a sieve and wiped. Then boiled milk is added, and the whole mass is boiled again. You can add a teaspoon of butter or fruit puree before serving. Oatmeal contains a lot of potassium, phosphorus, protein, iron, magnesium and B vitamins.
Porridge for babies should be prepared in the following proportions: for 100 ml of vegetable broth or water, you need to take a teaspoon of cereal. Rice and buckwheat are poured into cold water, and oatmeal and semolina into boiling water.
Buckwheat porridge is considered hypoallergenic and nutritious, so it can be introduced first. Buckwheat is rich in iron, calcium, phosphorus, manganese, iodine, PP and B vitamins. It contains protein and 18 amino acids.
Buckwheat porridge for babies is easy to prepare. First, the cereals need to be sorted out, then rinsed and dried. After it is completely dry, the cereal must be turned into flour with a coffee grinder or blender. Next, 100 ml of water is poured into a saucepan and a teaspoon of ground cereal is poured, brought to a boil and cooked over low heat for about fifteen minutes. Then pour some milk and cool. This porridge can be drunk from a bottle, because it turns out to be liquid. When the baby begins to eat with a spoon, you need to take two teaspoons of cereal per 100 ml of liquid.
From a year on, the cereals can no longer be grinded. Half a glass of buckwheat needs to be sorted out and rinsed, pour the buckwheat into a saucepan and pour a glass of boiling water. After the buckwheat boils, it is necessary to drain the water and fill in a new one. Cook for thirty minutes, close to the end of cooking, add a little milk and sugar.
Corn porridge can be given from eight months. Corn is not as healthy as buckwheat, but it contains a lot of fiber, which works in the stomach like a vacuum cleaner. If the baby's tummy is swollen and it is assumed that it is fermenting, you need to introduce corn porridge into the diet.
Baby corn porridge is prepared as follows. First of all, you need to rinse the cereal and fill it with water. After boiling, simmer for thirty minutes. If it turns out that the corn is harsh, you need to cook some more. Finally, add milk, sugar, butter and blend it all through a blender.
In order to cook rice porridge, you need to take twenty grams of rice flour, fifty milliliters of water, a glass of milk and a teaspoon of sugar. You don't have to go shopping for rice flour, you can just grind the rice in a coffee grinder. Rice flour is diluted in cold water, then gradually poured into boiling milk. In order to avoid lumps, the porridge needs to be stirred all the time. Cooking time is five minutes.
Rice porridge for babies can be fraught with constipation, so it can be given rarely and in small portions.
Semolina is considered the least healthy of all cereals. In addition to starch, there is nothing in it. Many children love semolina because it tastes good, especially when boiled in milk and jam.
Semolina porridge for babies at first becomes liquid, gradually its consistency becomes thicker. It is better not to give it to children under one year old, since semolina contains substances that are poorly digested in the stomach and can lead to various diseases of the digestive system.
Parents should remember that proper nutrition is the key to the health of their children. Soups, cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables should be in the child's diet every day.
Milk porridge for babies is not prepared immediately. First, give dairy-free cereals, or add skimmed baby milk, expressed breast milk, or formula.
You can give porridge to a crumb from 4 months. Thanks to this complementary food, the baby will receive all the necessary vitamins and minerals.
For babies 4 months of age, complementary foods are often prescribed. For more than 20 years ago, WHO recommended feeding children only breast milk for up to 6 months. All pediatricians adhere to these recommendations, explaining to young mothers that a baby with breast milk receives all the necessary vitamins and minerals for growth.
Complementary foods at 4 months will not be the same for different babies. If the baby is underweight, then porridge is prescribed for him, and vegetable puree is administered to babies with good weight. Therefore, to the question: is it possible to give porridge to a child at 4 months old, only a pediatrician can answer.
Important: If a child is allergic to a vegetable, it should be canceled and the child should be referred to a pediatrician.
Important: At 4 months, you can give mixtures and cereals of industrial production (such as "Kid" and others). They are sold dry and are ready to eat only after reconstitution with water or breast milk.
Important: When introducing a new product into complementary foods, observe the baby. If an allergic reaction occurs, the product is removed from the diet. In addition, you need to seek advice from a pediatrician.
At 5 months the child will benefit from porridge made from oats, rice, buckwheat and corn.
At 6 months continue to cook the same porridge as in 5 months.
At 7 months the diet is the same as at 5 and 6 months. If the child has unstable stools, then give preference to rice and corn porridge, and in case of constipation, cook a dish of oats and buckwheat.
At 8 months you can try to cook barley porridge if you are confident that the child is well tolerated with gluten grains. You can also combine several grains: barley and oats, wheat and rye, and so on.
At 9, 10, 11 months introduce millet into complementary foods. Continue to give cereals from other cereals: oats, barley, rice, buckwheat and corn. In addition, at 9 months, one breastfeeding is completely replaced by 200 grams of porridge.
Important: By 11 months, your baby will already be consuming almost all cereals, except semolina. It contains a lot of gluten and almost no vitamins and minerals. Therefore, if you still want to introduce semolina into the diet, then do it not earlier than a year.
Please note that semolina reduces calcium absorption, and if given to a child under one year old, rickets may develop. Therefore, as mentioned above, semolina should be introduced into the baby's diet no earlier than at 12 months.
What other cereals can be given to complementary foods to a one-year-old, 1.5 and 2-year-old child, and how to cook? Here are some tips:
Advice: At this age, syrup and butter up to 5 grams can be added to the porridge. You can also add applesauce or banana puree instead of sugar for flavor.
After 1.5 years, the baby can be given porridge that does not need to be cooked. These mixtures are sold in diet food departments. It is enough to pour boiling water over the dry porridge and put it in the microwave oven for a minute - the porridge is ready.
Important: But be sure to look at the composition of dry porridge. Flavors and flavorings are often added to it. You cannot give such porridge to a baby!
It was said above that semolina can be given to a child no earlier than a year. However, doctors and nutritionists are advised to completely abandon this cereal. If, after all, you want to give your child semolina porridge, then it is very easy to cook it.
Milk recipe:
Recipe on water:
For taste, you can add mashed apple or banana to such porridge.
Buckwheat porridge will be the healthiest food for a baby after breast milk. Therefore, every mother should cook such a dish for her baby every day. At what age you can give a child buckwheat porridge was written above - from 5 months. At this age, ready-made porridge must be wiped through a sieve, and at 8-9 months, when the child has several teeth, you can feed him whole porridge.
How to deliciously cook buckwheat porridge in milk and water for children - a recipe in a slow cooker:
Your child will like this kind of porridge, as it will turn out soft, tasty and healthy.
Millet is also a useful cereal for the growing body. It is packed with nutrients and is completely gluten free. But millet porridge can be given no earlier than 9 months, since millet is a heavy food product for the baby's delicate digestive tract. How to cook millet porridge for children with milk and water? Multicooker recipe:
If the baby is already big (more than a year), then you can put steamed dried apricots and raisins cut into small pieces into the dish. Instead of sugar, half a teaspoon of honey is added to the finished dish.
Oatmeal can be added to complementary foods as early as 4 months. But it must be liquid. How to cook oatmeal in milk and water for children? To start the feeding, the recipe for this porridge was described above. If the baby is older, then prepare him such porridge from oatmeal:
During cooking, raisins or dried apricots, previously washed and finely chopped, can be added to such porridge, and honey instead of sugar, but only in the finished dish.
Remember: When heated, harmful substances are formed in honey, so it is put in a dish when it cools down a little.
For small children, try not to sweeten the porridge, but add a little chopped banana or a scraped apple.
Introduce barley porridge into the baby's complementary foods, starting at 8 months. It will turn out delicious if you boil it in water. Barley porridge recipe - how to cook deliciously in water for children? Follow these instructions:
Such porridge will turn out to be tender, soft, airy and juicy. The child will definitely like it.
Children are given pea porridge at the age of 1 year. Peas are useful, but they are very difficult for the digestive tract of the crumbs, therefore, it is not recommended to introduce such porridge into complementary foods before a year. How to cook pea porridge deliciously for children? Here is the prescription:
Porridge according to this recipe will turn out to be tender, soft and tasty. You can diversify this recipe by adding vegetable puree to the porridge. Cook onions, carrots, bell peppers. Grind in a blender and put a tablespoon of this puree in porridge, mix a little.
Wheat porridge can be started at 8 months. Wheat is high in fiber as well as gluten. Therefore, when introducing wheat porridge into the child's diet, watch him. If there are signs of allergies, a rash, bloating, gas, constipation, or, conversely, diarrhea, then you should not give the child wheat porridge. If the baby tolerates this product well, feel free to cook such a dish for him 1-2 times a week.
It is better to cook such porridge in water, with the addition of milk and butter. Buy cereals for your child's porridge, as they will make the dish softer and more tender than cereals. How to cook wheat porridge deliciously in water for children? Recipe:
If the porridge is hot, then you first need to cool it, and then feed the child.
Cornflake porridge can be given to a baby at 5 months. At this time, liquid porridge is cooked, and older children can cook thick porridge and add vegetable puree. How to cook corn porridge in milk for children? Recipe:
You can not add sugar to such porridge, and when the child grows up, make a dish with honey or steamed in boiling water and chopped dried apricots and raisins.
Corn porridge is cooked on water simply and quickly:
Boiled and ground pumpkin, carrots and broccoli can be added to corn porridge. The result is an excellent varied menu for a small child.
Barley contains a lot of gluten and is poorly absorbed. Therefore, it is better to start introducing pearl barley porridge into complementary foods from 1 year. How to cook barley porridge in milk and water for children so that the dish turns out to be soft and tender? Milk recipe:
You can also add butter to this porridge. A barley dish is cooked in water in the same way as in milk, only without adding sugar. It is better to serve such porridge with stewed and ground vegetables or meat soufflé.
Rice is very beneficial for the entire digestive tract, especially for the baby's stomach and intestines. Rice porridge is introduced into complementary foods from 5 months. Remember rice cooks 5 times, so cook one serving to prepare a fresh meal the next day. Accordingly, for 1 part of rice, 5-6 parts of liquid are taken: milk or water. How to cook rice porridge deliciously in milk and water for children? Multicooker recipe:
When the child grows up, such porridge can be served without grinding in a blender, and when cooking, add raisins and dried apricots. Add meat soufflé or meatballs to porridge boiled in water, which must be poured with a fork in advance. This second course will suit your child's taste.
If the child has constipation, then flaxseed porridge is indicated for daily use. A flax dish can be introduced into complementary foods from 1 year old. But carefully observe the baby, if after eating this porridge, he has a loose stool, then it is worth postponing with such complementary foods, and postponing it until 2-3 years old. Before introducing complementary foods, consult your pediatrician.
It is better to cook not whole-grain porridge, but first make flour from flax, and then cook the dish. How to cook flaxseed porridge in milk and water for children? Recipe:
In flaxseed porridge, sugar can also be replaced with honey - it is tasty and healthy.
Every mother wants her baby to be healthy and feel great. After all, the mood of the child depends on his mood, as well as the mood of the mother and all household members. What cereals can be used for constipation, diarrhea, allergies for children? With this dish, made from a specific grain, you can stop diarrhea or help with constipation.
Porridge is an important dish for a child's body. With its help, you diversify the menu and the baby will receive all the necessary trace elements and vitamins, which means that it will develop correctly and grow quickly.