Through today’s post I am sharing the importance of brown rice for baby. I am also giving you brown rice moong dal porridge mix recipe that you can make at home and store for your little one.
Nowadays people are becoming more and more health conscious. Many of us have even started healthy diet in our families by choosing organic and unprocessed foods over processed pesticide injected foods.
Majority of us Indians, especially South Indians, have rice in our daily menu and most of us prefer to have the much popular white rice.
Have you ever thought of replacing white rice with brown rice that is more nutritious and less processed?
Well… after reading this post you will
Brown rice vs white rice:
When only the outermost layer of the rice grain (the husk) is removed, we get the brown rice. So it is a whole grain.
The bran and germ layers underneath the husk are removed, leaving mostly the starchy to produce white rice. Though white rice looks better, several Vitamins and dietary minerals are lost in this removal and the subsequent polishing process. So it is very clear that, we miss a lot of nutrients and minerals due to all those polishing and processing done to get the white rice.
Brown rice nutrition:
Brown rice is the top choice in terms of both nutritional and other inherent health benefits.
Brown rice is
- Rich in selenium
- High in manganese
- Rich in naturally occurring oils
- Rich in anti-oxidants
- High in fiber
From one cup of brown rice we get 88 % of manganese, 27.3 % of selenium, 20.9 % of magnesium, 18.7 % of tryptophan and 12 % of calories. It also has Vitamins like A, C, B1, B2, Niacin, folate and minerals like potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sodium and iron.
Health benefits of brown rice for baby:
Having a much better nutritional value it is not surprising that brown rice has many health benefits than white rice.
Brown rice is said to
- Lower the risk of diabetes
- Lower cholesterol
- Considered as the best baby food
- Reduce the risk of childhood asthma
When using brown rice to make rice, wash the rice first and soak the rice with required amount of water. It is advisable not to drain the water after you soak it. The same can be used to cook the rice to preserve the nutrients.
You can combine any cereals, vegetables or even fruits with brown rice for your baby.
How I use brown rice for my baby?
I started to include brown rice in my baby’s food from her 7th month.
When I went for vaccinating my baby, her pediatrician recommended a branded baby food that was very new to me. When we went to buy the recommended baby food, I noticed that it was a just a moong dal and white rice powder mix.
As we always prefer home made food for our baby, I and my hubby decided not to buy that packaged processed baby food. Instead we decided to prepare our own porridge mix with the same ingredients as in the recommended baby food.
Knowing all the benefits of brown rice, I took brown rice instead of white rice for making a much healthier version of the prescribed baby food. We also added moong dal/mung dal/split yellow lentils to enrich the nutritive value of the porridge.
The recipe came out so well and it was an instant hit with my little one.
Below is the recipe for the brown rice- moong dal porridge mix.
How to make brown rice moong dal porridge mix?
Brown rice moong dal porridge powder mix
For making this porridge mix you need only two ingredients brown rice and moong dal.
Dry roast moong dal and brown rice separately. Once cooled, mill to a fine powder. You can also sieve to get the fine smooth textured powder.
- Brown rice - 1 cup
- Moong dal - 1 cup
- Dry roast moong dal and brown rice separately
- Powder it once it is cools down
- Your porridge mix is ready
- Store in an airtight container
Method to make the brown rice moong dal porridge with the powdered mix:
Brown rice moong dal porridge
1. Dilute 1-2 spoon of our porridge powder mix to 200 ml of water
2. Cook until you get the cooked smell
3. Add salt or sugar
4. Add ghee or coconut oil
You can also add a pinch of jaggery powder/ salt which is purely optional.
This is one of the easiest and quickest preparations.
Yummy and healthy brown rice-moong dal porridge is ready. Isn’t that easy?
Note:
- Can be given to your baby even if she/he is down with fever
- When your baby has fever, make this porridge with salt and coconut oil instead of ghee and sugar
- You can also add a little chana dal to your porridge mix
- Not advisable for babies below 6 months
- Any vegetable mash or juice can be added to the porridge
Do try out this easy brown rice moong dal porridge and let me know if your little one liked it or not.
If you are looking for rice based recipes for your baby, you can try tomato rice and rice bhardi.
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