Semolina. Benefit and harm. Correct recipes. Semolina porridge for feeding babies: benefit or harm

Hundreds of millions of people started the morning with semolina porridge Soviet Union. In our country, perhaps there is no person who would not try it. As a child, our parents fed us with semolina, now we feed our children with semolina. Why is our beloved semolina unpopular in Europe and other countries of the world?

Harm of semolina

Briefly about semolina

Semolina, or semolina, is a coarse wheat groat with an average particle diameter of 0.25 to 0.75 mm. Manka - by-product in production wheat flour when, after grinding, about 2% of small fragments of grain remain.

For the manufacture of semolina, both hard and soft varieties of wheat are used. You can find out what kind of semolina you are holding in your hands by marking on the package: M - from soft varieties, T - from hard ones, MT - from a mixture of varieties.

Grade T semolina contains more protein, less starch, takes longer to cook (10-15 minutes versus 5-8 for soft varieties) and produces a porridge with a noticeably grainy structure. These are, in fact, two different cereals - both in taste and in usefulness.

Semolina is the only cereal that is digested in lower section intestines and only there it is absorbed into its walls. Liquid semolina is included in diets prescribed for diseases gastrointestinal tract and after operations on the stomach and intestines.

Manka in Rus' and Europe

In Rus', semolina appeared in the XIII century and was very expensive. Everything changed in the USSR when semolina began to be made from wheat processing waste. A cheap, and therefore a publicly available product, quickly fell in love with millions of Soviet citizens.

Most often, semolina was used for cooking, that is, for making semolina porridge. This dish has become a key dish in the menu of kindergartens, schools, technical schools, universities and public canteens.

In Europe, semolina is used for the most part for making puddings, desserts, pastries, various sweets. So, in Italy, coarse durum wheat flour is called semolina. Semolina is used to make pasta, puddings, Italian gnocchi dumplings, and add it to pizza dough.

In the East, sweets are prepared from semolina, mixing it with almonds, sugar, butter and pine nuts. In Turkey, irmik helvasi halva is made from semolina.

In Finland, vispipuuro is a popular dessert - cold semolina whipped with berries.

In India, for various festivals and holidays, Rava Ladu is prepared - homemade sweets made from semolina.

In Germany and Lithuania, bubert is popular - semolina pudding with an egg. Unlike cereals, bubert is not boiled, but only brewed. The brewed cereal, removed from the fire, is left to swell for some time under the lid. Yolks pounded with sugar are introduced into the cooled cereal. On last step cooking add beaten egg whites.

Benefit or harm

To date, there is no unequivocal opinion is semolina useful. On the one hand, semolina is 70% starch, it contains a lot of proteins, various vitamins and minerals. Semolina cooks very quickly, so all the trace elements contained in it are preserved. It contains almost no fiber, it can be recommended in the postoperative period.

Nevertheless, it is worth introducing this dish into your diet with caution. Semolina contains a lot of gluten protein, which can cause food allergy. In addition, about one in 800 Europeans suffers from severe hereditary disease- celiac disease, or gluten intolerance.

Celiac disease is insidious in that it skillfully disguises itself as many other diseases. The disease usually first appears in childhood when the child begins to eat foods with gluten.

Gluten causes mucosal atrophy small intestine, due to which it is violated intestinal absorption and develops chronic diarrhea. Inflamed intestine unable to absorb even processed substances, which leads to various problems with health.

Very often, semolina porridge is prepared for children, but it should be noted that high content starch for a child's body is not required, and moreover, children's stomach not ready to digest starchy carbohydrates, which are rich in semolina.

Therefore, young children who are fed semolina porridge two or three times a day receive less calcium and often develop rickets, while older people suffer from osteoporosis. Against semolina porridge and pediatricians. Children older than a year are advised to give semolina porridge no more than once every 7-10 days.

For some reason, parents put the most sugar in semolina. Because of this, it turns out sweet, and children love sweets. Abundant use of semolina porridge in the mornings and evenings is fraught with constipation.

Semolina is a carbohydrate food, and carbohydrates tend to turn into adipose tissue. Thus, instilling a love for semolina, you really contribute to the obesity of the child.

Of course, semolina is not useless - how else would so many children have grown up on it, including you and me? It is a wonderful dietary product, improves the absorption of proteins, is indispensable for chronic insufficiency kidneys.

Can children eat semolina, should, after weighing all the pros and cons, parents decide. Pediatricians recommend not giving semolina to children under one year old and strictly limiting the use of semolina to children under the age of three.

All the troubles that semolina porridge hides in early childhood are not at all terrible for an adult, and in old age the shortcomings of cereals devoid of protein turn into virtues. For the elderly, semolina is very useful - it helps to avoid hypermineralization blood cells, prevents colon cancer, does not irritate the stomach and perfectly saturates.

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Semolina traditionally considered the most children's dish. On her in literally many generations have grown up. And, of course, they seek to include her in complementary foods as one of the very first. However modern medicine States that do not give semolina porridge to children up to a year. Why did this seemingly innocent dish fall into disfavor? Let's find out!

Semolina contains 70% starch, and the gastrointestinal tract of the baby is often not ready to digest carbohydrates. Therefore, it is difficult for the child's body to digest. It takes almost as much energy for a baby to assimilate semolina as it contains. As a result, semolina porridge will linger in the child’s body for a long time, without bringing him any benefit.

There are few vitamins and trace elements in semolina, and there is no fiber - chief assistant in bowel cleansing. In addition, we should not forget that semolina is boiled mainly in cow's milk (in any case, our grandmothers do this, and they also ardently convince mothers to do the same). The bad thing is that many children are now allergic to cow's milk protein.

But the most main reason, why you can not give semolina porridge to children, lies in the fact that semolina contains phytin (vitamin B8), which binds zinc, vitamin D and calcium and interferes with their absorption. Agree, in the first year of life, calcium is very important for a child. In addition, with frequent consumption of semolina, there is a deterioration in iron absorption. This diet can lead to negative consequences, like rickets, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, and even frequent colds. All this will affect the health of the child in the future.

Of course, semolina is not useless - how else would so many children have grown up on it, including you and me? It is a wonderful dietary product, improves the absorption of proteins (due to the same “harmful” vitamin B8), and is indispensable for chronic kidney failure.

Nevertheless, pediatricians advise to wait with the introduction of semolina porridge into the baby's diet for at least a year. However, even after the baby reaches this age, one should not get carried away with this dish, let alone give it every day. By at least, up to three years, semolina porridge should be given to a child in limited quantities.

Nutritionists recommend giving babies up to a year more vegetables and fruits, especially fresh ones, and not rushing to introduce cereals into complementary foods. And the first porridge for a baby is better to make buckwheat, as it is very rich in vitamins and trace elements and is well absorbed. And, unlike rice, does not provoke constipation.

Benefits of semolina

Semolina is obtained from wheat after its threshing, so the composition of such cereals is in many respects similar to the composition of wheat. Due to the large amount of carbohydrates, such cereals are an energy-intensive and satiating product, and due to the strong grinding, the absorption of semolina occurs quite quickly and easily. Also in semolina there are vegetable proteins, fiber, vitamins PP, group B and minerals. The advantages of semolina include the speed of cooking this cereal.

Semolina contains some vitamins, minerals, as well as fiber and vegetable proteins.

Disadvantages of semolina

The nutritional value semolina is inferior to other types of cereals, since semolina contains less vitamin compounds and minerals.
Semolina contains a lot of gluten protein, which children early age hard to digest. Some children are allergic to this protein.
Due to the presence of phytin in semolina, this cereal impairs the absorption of iron, calcium and vitamin D (such an effect of semolina is called rachitogenic), Therefore, it is recommended to limit the diet of children up to a year.
Semolina contains gliodin, which can adversely affect the functioning of the intestines when feeding young children with semolina.
Since semolina is a rather high-calorie dish, its frequent inclusion in children's menu may cause the child to gain weight.

For some babies, semolina is contraindicated due to the content of gliodin in it and a large number gluten free

Should I give my child semolina porridge?

After reviewing a rather large list of minuses of semolina, many parents begin to doubt whether it is worth starting to feed the child with semolina at all. Nevertheless, porridge from this cereal has many advantages, the main of which - high nutritional value - allows us to recommend this dish for feeding children with insufficient body weight.

You should know the disadvantages of semolina porridge only in order not to introduce this product into the children's diet too early and not to give such porridge daily. If you introduce a child to semolina in right time and cook him porridge from this cereal 1-2 times in 2 weeks, there will be no harm to his health.

How many months to give semolina

Modern tactics Complementary foods do not provide for the introduction of any porridge into the diet of a baby-baby before 6 months. For healthy children breastfeeding porridge is given from 7 months of age. At the same time, it is advised to start complementary foods with porridge from rice or buckwheat, since there is no gluten in such cereals. Precisely because of high risk allergies, semolina is introduced into the children's diet a little later.

Most pediatricians believe that the minimum age at which a child can get acquainted with semolina is 10 months, and if the crumbs have a tendency to allergies, then such an acquaintance is postponed up to 1 year. At the same time, at the age of up to 3 years, they are not advised to get involved in semolina porridge. Let it appear on the child's menu only occasionally, alternating with other cereals.

Before you treat your baby with semolina, consult a pediatrician

Calculate your feeding schedule

Komarovsky's opinion

The famous pediatrician Komarovsky assures that semolina is not at all harmful product and can be included in the child's diet along with other cereals. A popular doctor calls the main advantage of semolina the ability to swell, due to which such cereals are consumed very economically and create a feeling of satiety on long time. That is why he advises feeding children with semolina in the evening, who often wake up at night due to hunger.

You can listen to Komarovsky's commentary on semolina in the video below.

How to enter into the diet

Like all new products, semolina is introduced into the child's menu gradually and carefully. Having prepared semolina porridge for the baby, for the first time they give only one spoon. They do this in the morning feeding and carefully observe the child until the end of the day. If no intolerance symptoms appear, the next time the amount of porridge can be doubled. So gradually the volume of the dish is adjusted to the amount that is recommended for the child, taking into account his age.

One spoonful of semolina will be enough as the first feeding with this cereal

How to cook porridge

For children under one year old, semolina is boiled in water without adding salt. Next, the kids begin to cook such porridge in milk diluted 1: 1 with water. And only after a good tolerance of such a dish is it worth switching to cooking with whole milk.

The process of cooking porridge from semolina looks like this:

Bring water or milk to a boil (one cup).
Pour semolina (3 tablespoons) into the boiling liquid with constant stirring.
Reduce the heat and simmer the porridge for a few minutes (usually 2-3 minutes is enough), continuing to stir.
After removing from heat, add oil to the porridge, as well as salt and sugar to taste.

To avoid the formation of lumps, you can dilute semolina with a small amount of water and send it to a boiling liquid in this form.

How to diversify semolina

To make semolina porridge even tastier, you can:

Add pieces of fruit or berries to it.
Sweeten the finished porridge with honey.
Decorate porridge with raisins, creating interesting pictures from it.
Pour it with homemade jam or jam.
Cook porridge on a mixture of water and fruit or vegetable juice, for example, apple or carrot.
Prepare unsweetened semolina porridge on a vegetable broth.
Add the yolk mashed with sugar to the finished porridge.

Other recipes with semolina for children

Manno-carrot soufflé (from 1 year old)

To prepare such a dish, take 60 g of semolina and 400 ml of water, as well as one egg, 100 g carrots, sugar to taste and 5 g butter. Carrots in this recipe can be replaced with pumpkin or apples.

Cook porridge from semolina and water.
Separate the egg into yolk and white.
Add butter to the semolina, as well as the yolk pounded with sugar.
Grate the carrots on a fine grater and add to the porridge, mixing well.
Whisk egg white and carefully fold into the mango-carrot mixture.
Place the mass in a greased mold and cook for about 30 minutes in a double boiler or in a water bath.

Potato soup with semolina dumplings (from 1.5 years old)

Such a delicious nutritious soup will become a good meal for lunch. To prepare it, you will need 1 liter of water, 2 potatoes, large carrots, a small onion, 1 egg, 2 tbsp. semolina spoons, butter, salt and herbs.

The preparation will be like this:

Finely chop the onion and grate the peeled carrots on a fine grater. Put them out in a small amount water until soft.
Peel and cut the potatoes into slices, dip in boiled water and cook until half cooked.
Brew semolina with boiling water to make a thick porridge. Cool slightly, add the egg, salt and mix.
Add stewed carrots and onions to the water with potatoes.
Take a teaspoon of the semolina mixture and dip it into the boiling soup to make dumplings.
Bring all ingredients to readiness.
Sprinkle the finished soup in a bowl with fresh herbs.

Mannik (from 2-3 years old)

This delicate and delicious pastry is made from semolina, kefir and sugar, taking 1 glass of each ingredient. also in traditional recipe there are 2-3 eggs and a teaspoon of baking powder. Apples, berries, dried fruits and other ingredients can be added to the dough.

Mannik is prepared like this:

Pour semolina with kefir at room temperature.
After 30-40 minutes, combine the swollen cereal with kefir with beaten eggs with sugar.
Add baking powder, mix thoroughly.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until golden brown.

The opinion of experts from the program “Live Healthy” on the introduction of semolina porridge into the diet of young children, see the program.

How many generations grew up on semolina? It is no coincidence that it is one of the first in the diet of complementary foods. But modern nutrition is adamant: you can not give semolina to children in the first 12 months. Let's figure out why such an innocent product fell out of favor:

Semolina is difficult to digest by a child's body: the starch content in it is 70%, and the baby's stomach is not yet ready to digest carbohydrates in such quantities. The baby spends almost as much energy on this as it does with the eaten dish. As a result, semolina complementary foods will linger for a long time in the body without any benefit.
In semolina, a small amount of trace elements and vitamins, fiber (the main assistant-bowel cleanser) is completely absent.
In addition, according to tradition (as grandmothers did, and after them - mothers), semolina is cooked mainly in milk. And a lot of kids are now allergic to it.
But the main reason why it is impossible to give semolina porridge to children is the content of phytin in semolina. This vitamin (aka B8) binds vitamin D, zinc, and calcium, making them difficult to absorb. And calcium is extremely important in the first months of life.
At frequent use of this product, iron begins to be poorly absorbed, which can lead to rickets, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and frequent colds. This will inevitably affect the future health of the child.

Attitudes towards this type of product have recently been completely different. Experts have proven the futility of this porridge, even some harm children's body. In their opinion, there are a number of cereals that are much more useful than manna. However, more than one generation of children has grown up on this product.

The benefits and harms of semolina porridge for children

Even our grandmothers began to give semolina to babies from 6 months. Many scientists are struggling with the question of what is the benefit and harm of semolina porridge for a child today. Doctors warn young mothers to be wary of semolina, considering it useless in a baby's diet.

The cereal from which this dish is prepared is processed in the lower intestine. There it is digested, absorbed, removes excess body fat. Thus, it is clear that this porridge is useful for the elderly, but not for children. What is good for some is bad for others.

Reading numerous reviews, parents doubt and do not know whether it is possible to feed semolina porridge to children. Opinions are so contradictory that many questions arise.

Useful properties of semolina porridge for children, constitute the smallest group, but their presence cannot be completely denied.

The benefits of semolina porridge for children:

The benefit is in its potassium content. He is considered vital important trace element. Thanks to him, a small heart works well;
semolina contains a lot of iron. It promotes blood circulation in the body, carries oxygen, delivering it to every cell;
another useful property considered the presence of B vitamins. They are responsible for the state nervous system generally;
she prepares quickly;
suitable for babies with a depleted body due to the low fiber content.

Children have been eating it for years, which confirms its usefulness. People tend to trust what they themselves have tried, what they grew up on. Therefore, it is not easy to refuse this product.

Harm of semolina porridge for children. If you consume a lot of this product, you can provoke the emergence of certain diseases. For example, celiac disease. It's an allergy to vegetable protein. It is not completely cured and remains with a person throughout life. Therefore, doctors advise young children not to give semolina or to monitor the amount of its consumption.

The harm of semolina porridge for children, according to scientists, is:

in the presence of phytin in it. It interferes with the absorption of vitamin D, iron, calcium. The consequences can be the most serious, since these trace elements are very important for a growing organism;
semolina contains gluten. It can provoke allergies. Therefore, if you introduce into the diet this product, treat it with caution, the dosage should be moderate.

Knowing all the pros and cons, parents themselves must decide whether to give porridge to the baby or not. It does not apply to strictly prohibited products.

Why not semolina porridge for children?

It contains 70% starch. The ventricle of a newborn is not able to digest carbohydrates, therefore, semolina porridge should not be given to children. The assimilation of this product takes all the energy contained in it. As a result, semolina will stay in the baby’s body for a long time, absolutely not bringing any benefit.

Porridge is prepared mainly using cow's milk. However, not all babies easily perceive its protein. There are cases when, because of it, an allergy to semolina porridge occurs in a child.

Allergy to semolina in a child photo

Why not semolina porridge for children under one year old? It contains phyton. It is a link between calcium, zinc, vitamin D, prevents their rapid absorption. Before the onset of a year old, the presence of calcium is important for the baby. It has a beneficial effect on bone strengthening.

Frequent intake of semolina porridge affects the absorption of iron by the body. A negative result may be the development of rickets. The activity of the ventricle will be disturbed, possible colds. The health of the baby will be weakened, which will lead to negative phenomena in the future.

Noting the benefits and harms of semolina porridge for babies, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer whether to feed the baby with it or not. Of course, it is not completely useless. Not a single generation of kids has grown up on it. How dietary product she is highly valued.

However, doctors do not advise to get involved in this food product. It is recommended to introduce it after a year and not to give it often. It is also necessary to monitor its quantity. When the time comes to introduce porridge into complementary foods, focus on buckwheat, rice.