Millet porridge for weight loss - diet menu for a week with recipes, beneficial properties of the dish for the body. What cereals need to be soaked and for how long? Is it possible to have millet porridge overnight?

“Good advice from nutritionists is misleading.”

The good advice of nutritionists to consume grains in their whole form (instead of preparing them from premium white flour and polished rice, “purified” of nutrients), if implemented incorrectly, can result in harm to your body.

What's the matter? The fact is that our ancestors consumed whole grains, but they never prepared them the way they are described in modern cookbooks: in the form of baked goods with “quick” yeast, muesli and other quick-cooking dishes.

It is advisable to soak small grains (rice, millet, buckwheat, etc.) for 15 minutes before cooking. It is better to soak especially hard large grains (peas, beans, whole wheat, etc.) overnight, then drain the water and cook in new water.

Water for soaking should be filtered, not straight from the tap (since the latter contains harmful substances)..

If the cereal hatches and sprouts, this is normal, but not necessary. Moreover, the seedlings are difficult to digest food, and eating them every day (as some healthy eating advocates advise) is not recommended. Not every day - it's possible.

Soaking cereals has existed in different cultures since ancient times. Our ancestors soaked or fermented grains before preparing porridge, bread, pies and grain dishes. One look at the recipes of the peoples of the world is enough to confirm this point of view.

In India, rice and lentils are fermented before they are made into rice dish idli or fritter dosa.
In Africa, locals soak coarsely ground corn overnight before adding it to soups and broths, and they ferment corn and millet for several days to make a porridge called orgi.
A similar dish, but made from oats, was traditional among the natives of Wales.
In some Eastern and Latin American countries, it is customary to ferment rice for a long time before cooking it.
Ethiopians make their outstanding injera bread by fermenting grains called teff for several days.
Mexican corn tortillas called pozol are fermented in banana leaves, sometimes for two weeks.
Before the invention of instant yeast, Europeans made their bread with fermented sourdough.
The first settlers of America were famous for their bread, pancakes and sourdough pastries.
Finally, throughout Europe, grains were pre-soaked overnight, and sometimes for several days, in water or sour milk before being made into porridge or mush. (Many people of the older generation probably remember that Oatmeal packages used to say about pre-soaking overnight.).

There is no point in speculating what intuitive feeling made our ancestors soak and ferment grains before consuming them. More importantly, this ancient technique fits well with what modern grain science has recently discovered.

All grains contain phytic acid (an organic acid that binds phosphorus) in the outer shell of the grain. Unneutralized phytic acid can combine in the intestines with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc and thereby interfere with their absorption.

Therefore, a diet that includes consumption of unfermented whole grains can lead to severe mineral deficiencies and bone loss. The fashionable and incorrect practice of consuming large quantities of unprocessed bran often initially improves digestion and relieves constipation, but can later lead to irritable bowel syndrome and then other undesirable consequences.

Soaking allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other friendly microorganisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid. Just 7 hours of soaking in a warm, slightly acidic environment neutralizes most of the phytic acid in the grains. Simply soaking ground grains and flakes overnight greatly improves their nutritional value.

Soaking in warm water also neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors that are present in all seeds and promotes additional production of a number of enzymes. The action of these enzymes, in turn, increases the amount of vitamins, especially B vitamins.

Scientists have discovered that the proteins in grains, especially gluten, are very difficult to digest. A diet high in gluten-rich, unfermented whole grains, such as wheat, puts a lot of stress on the digestive tract. Soaking promotes better absorption and digestion.

When the digestive process is disrupted due to age or heavy workload, painful conditions develop in the form of allergies, celiac disease, mental disorders, chronic gastrointestinal diseases and the growth of candida albicanis.

Recent research has linked gluten intolerance to multiple sclerosis. During the soaking and fermentation process, gluten and other difficult-to-digest proteins are broken down into simpler components for better absorption.

Grains can be divided into two categories. Those containing gluten, such as oats, rye, barley and especially wheat, should never be consumed without first being soaked or fermented. Buckwheat, rice and millet do not contain gluten and, in general, are much better digestible.

Muesli, like all industrially modified breakfast cereals, is best replaced with whole grains. Breakfast cereals are made using an extrusion process where small flakes and different shapes are formed using high heat and pressure. The extrusion process destroys many valuable substances in the grain, makes unstable oils rancid, and makes some proteins toxic. To raise a healthy generation of children, we should return to the breakfast of our ancestors - pre-soaked cereals and slushy porridge.

From the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

For the diet to be effective, you need to choose a set of the right foods that will not only help you lose weight, but will also allow your body not to experience constant hunger. It is also important to make sure that you meet the needs for microelements, proteins, and the necessary carbohydrates for normal human life. For such purposes, porridge is ideal; cereals are a source of essential amino acids, fiber, proteins and complex carbohydrates. Eating cereals blocks the feeling of hunger for a long time, since carbohydrates from porridge are absorbed gradually, replenishing energy reserves, and fiber, like a vacuum cleaner, draws in waste, toxins, bad cholesterol and even excess sugar, thereby cleansing the intestines. But what kind of cereals can you eat while losing weight? Most cereals are suitable for this; the most important thing is to cook them correctly.

Porridges you can eat while on a diet:

millet;
wheat;
barley groats;
pearl barley;
oatmeal;
brown rice;
corn grits;
buckwheat.

The most important task is to cook the porridge correctly so that it is actually dietary and healthy. Cook the cereal only in purified water, do not overcook it, let it be better if it is a bit hard; porridges with a liquid consistency are more suitable for the diet, they additionally coat the walls of the stomach. Cereals such as buckwheat and oatmeal do not need cooking at all - pour low-fat kefir or hot water over the cereal overnight. Add sea salt to the finished dish or add fresh berries.

Is it possible to gain weight from oatmeal?

Not so long ago, nutritionists unanimously argued that you can gain weight from porridge, including oatmeal. In fact, cereals can only affect the growth of muscle mass; they do not increase fat tissue. Of course, a dish with added butter, sugar and full-fat milk will provoke the appearance of fat, but not at the expense of cereals.

Is it possible to eat porridge at night?

Even during a diet, hunger cannot be tolerated; this will only contribute to the deposition of fat on the sides. The body, fearing, makes reserves for the future. If before going to bed the feeling of hunger does not give you rest, eating the right porridge in a small amount will give you a feeling of fullness, good restful sleep and benefits for the body, not a single gram of fat will increase, so eat dinner without remorse.

Porridge is a valuable product; be responsible when choosing and preparing dishes, then your figure will become slim and your body healthy.

From article to article we are convinced that there is no item on earth more useful than breakfast. Breakfast should make up 25% of the daily diet. The topics discussed in the forum show: people’s, especially women’s, morning psychology of food consumption is very different from the evening one. In the morning, it seems to us that a dense meal will cause a storm of indignation in the body and excess weight. In the evening it no longer seems so to us; the ranks of the evening “guzzlers” are constantly replenished and growing. Did the evening eater have breakfast? – most likely, I made do with a cup of coffee. Or grabbed some candy. And a small child who refuses food all day - did he manage to have breakfast? Would you eat THIS yourself (for example, viscous porridge with pitifully poured sugar, generously flavored with butter)?

Many parents do not know how to cook porridge either for themselves or for their children. Porridges are gradually going out of fashion, and no one wants to mess with them in the world of fast food. They say that a cash boom has begun in the most advanced and glamorous restaurants in the capital. People want homemade food. And restaurateurs treat them exclusively to homemade dishes - for example, “turbot fillet on pearl barley risotto with cuttlefish ink.” Or “buckwheat with baked salmon and wasabi.” It’s as simple as shelling pears, just like your mother’s or grandmother’s. So, let's try to rehabilitate porridge - a wonderful original Russian product.

Porridge rich and poor

The “richest” cereals, that is, saturated with proteins and minerals, are rice, oatmeal and buckwheat. Poorer ones are millet, semolina and corn. Oatmeal and buckwheat contain a lot of fiber, which means B vitamins and minerals. It’s true that vitamins from cereals are poorly absorbed, and you shouldn’t rely on calcium. Porridge is eaten in the morning, at this time calcium - an element that loves evening and night - is especially capricious. There is less fiber in semolina, rice and rolled oats; these products are easily digested, so they are used to fatten people up after and during illnesses. The “poorest” porridge is corn porridge; it contains neither fiber, nor complete protein, nor vitamins. But corn porridge does not cause - and reduces - fermentation in the intestines; it is useful to give it to children and adults suffering from bloating.

Packaged or loose?

Your choice. Packaging is not an indicator of quality, although many people notice that packaged cereals are much cleaner. There is an opinion that commercially packaged cereals are not susceptible to pest attack - this is not true. If a manufacturer or reseller stores a product incorrectly, there will always be a pest. Nasty barn butterflies easily pierce the packaging with their ovipositor nose.

Storage

At home, be sure to pour the cereal into plastic (or other) containers with a tight lid. Stick a piece of paper with an expiration date on the can of cereal, otherwise you will simply forget it. The shelf life of cereals is very different: flakes are not stored for more than six months, whole cereals can last 12-18 months.

How to cook correctly?

All types of cereals - except buckwheat and rice! – should only be placed in boiling water. This improves the taste. Another great method: cook the porridge until half cooked, drain the water and add milk, butter, spices or other additives. Leave to swell over moderate heat. Some grains (rice, pearl barley, millet) are washed before cooking with warm and even hot water (are you still washing with cold water? - stop this thankless task) to separate starch and fat.

Do porridges make you fat?

It is not true. There is no such thing as unhealthy or healthy food, only food that is consumed incorrectly. People do not get fat from cereals and bread; these are two irreplaceable products containing vital substances. Under no circumstances should they be removed from the diet. The lowest-calorie porridges are: buckwheat, rice, rolled oats and corn. Don’t add sugar to porridge, learn to use spices and cook it correctly, eat porridge during daylight hours - and you will never gain weight from porridge. It is impossible to gain weight from fiber; it, like a hard broom, sweeps away everything unnecessary from the body.

The best food for the sick is not always

Quote from the book by Georgy Bolotovsky, a St. Petersburg gastroenterologist: “If you have ailments of the gastrointestinal tract, especially irritable bowel syndrome, it is better to avoid porridges. This purely domestic “panacea” is not only not useful, but also harmful, as it aggravates fermentative dyspepsia.” Conclusion: after illness, they “eat up” on porridges containing a minimum of gluten (gluten-free porridges and oatmeal broth).

Types of cereals and what to do with them

Semolina

Contains: a lot of starch (70%), proteins, very few vitamins, minerals and fiber. Semolina is widely used for gastrointestinal diseases, in the postoperative period, for myocardial infarction and other diseases that require gentle diets with easily digestible dishes.

How to cook? Everyone knows that semolina porridge sometimes turns into lumps during cooking. To prevent this from happening, add the cereal into boiling water (milk) using a sieve, do not pour it into the center of the container, but scatter it, stirring continuously. Cook for no more than one or two minutes! (at the rate of half a glass of cereal per half liter of water). Remove from heat and leave for 10-15 minutes to swell. This is how we get the grain-to-grain porridge. Before cooking, semolina can be heated in a frying pan until it turns yellow - try it, it’s delicious.

What you can add: spices (barberry, cinnamon, vanilla), dried fruits.

Semolina casserole with fruit

Milk 2 1/2 cups, semolina 1/2 cup, granulated sugar 2/3 cups, fruits (3 apples or pears, a handful of dried fruits), eggs 3 pcs., butter 60 g, ground crackers 2 tbsp. salt to taste.

Cook thick semolina porridge in milk, in which you first dissolve salt. Peel the washed fruits and cut into thin slices. Grind the egg yolks with sugar and softened butter, combine with the porridge and add the beaten egg whites to the mixture. Fill a mold, greased with oil and sprinkled with breadcrumbs, with half the amount of semolina porridge, put apples on top, and then another layer of porridge. Sprinkle sugar on top of the casserole and bake in the oven.

Pearl barley

Contains: a lot of protein and starch, B vitamins, vitamin A, E, D, iron, calcium, copper, iodine, phosphorus. Another advantage of pearl barley is the abundance of lysine. This amino acid has an antiviral effect, especially against microbes that cause herpes and acute colds.

How to cook? Pre-soak the porridge overnight (10-12 hours). Proportions for cooking: 1 glass per 2 liters of water (milk). Proper pearl barley is brought to a boil and cooked in a water bath for 5-6 hours. Incorrect, but fast boiled just until soft. At least once in your life, try to cook pearl barley in a water bath, and you will realize that you could unknowingly deprive yourself of the divine taste of this dish.

What to add: pearl barley goes well with all savory additives: spices, vegetables, mushrooms, meat. Butter is preferable to vegetable oil.

Stuffed cabbage rolls with pearl barley

8 cabbage leaves, 200 g boiled pearl barley, 50 g bacon, 1 large onion, 2 tbsp. raisins, a bunch of green onions, dill, 1 liter of chicken broth, 2 tbsp. olive oil.

Cut the bacon into cubes. Chop the onion and dill. Place cabbage leaves in boiling water one at a time to avoid damaging them, and cool immediately. Fry onion and bacon in oil for 3 minutes. Add pearl barley, half the dill, raisins and 2 ladles of broth. Simmer covered for 15 minutes. Wrap the filling in cabbage leaves, tying them with onion shoots. Place the rolls in a saucepan, add broth and simmer covered for 30 minutes, adding broth as needed. Serve with sour cream.

Oatmeal and rolled oatmeal

Contains: proteins, lecithin, linoleic acid, minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium) and vitamins. Oatmeal contains less gluten than wheat and is high in fiber, which helps reduce blood cholesterol. Stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, preventing the risk of various types of cancer in this part of the body, and prevents the progression of gastritis and stomach ulcers. "Hercules" contains fewer nutrients than whole oatmeal, but it is easier to digest.

How to cook: the grains are washed in hot water 6-7 times. Boil in any amount of water until half cooked, drain the water and add milk. “Hercules” is brewed according to the instructions on the box, there are no special secrets.

What you can add: onions, chopped egg, meat, any fruits and nuts.

Oatmeal with oranges

(for 4 servings): 3 oranges, 500 ml milk, 3 tbsp. l. sugar or honey, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 50 g almonds, 150 g oatmeal, 150 g yogurt, 100 g full-fat milk

Pour boiling water over an unpeeled orange and cut the peel into strips. In a saucepan, boil milk with orange peel, sugar, liqueur, cinnamon and almonds. Add oatmeal and leave to simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. Remove the saucepan from the stove and let cool. Combine yogurt with full-fat milk. Peel all the oranges and divide into slices. Set aside 6 slices, cut the rest into pieces and add to the oatmeal along with the juice. Then put in the refrigerator for 1 hour, then garnish the dish with the reserved orange slices and serve.

Contains: a lot of starch, proteins, salts (K, P, Mg, Na, Ca), a small amount of vitamins. Rice proteins are complete in amino acid composition and are close to proteins of animal origin, which is why rice is called “vegetarian meat”.

How to cook? The only correct recipe: for a glass of rice - 1.5 glasses of water. Cover with a tight lid to prevent steam from escaping. Cook for exactly 12 minutes. First, cook over high heat, after two minutes – over moderate heat, and finally over low heat. Do not stir! Then remove the rice from the heat and let it brew for the same amount of time. Now you can mix it with oil and salt.

What to add? Sweet rice: dried fruits. Add any vegetables to unsweetened porridge - or nothing. Only butter.

Rice porridge with pumpkin

Pumpkin – 500g, rice – 200g, milk or cream – 400g, water – 400 ml, granulated sugar – 2 tbsp.

Rinse the rice, pour boiling water (the water should be 2 cm above the grain) and cover with a lid. When the rice swells, put it on low heat in the same water, bring to a boil, add milk or cream and cook until tender. Wash the pumpkin, remove the peel and seeds, cut into small cubes and sprinkle with granulated sugar. After the juice has separated from it, put it on low heat and cook until softened. Then mix with cooked rice and bring to a boil. Serve with cream or butter.

Buckwheat

Contains: starch, proteins, fats, minerals, rich in potassium, sodium, calcium, iron salts, B vitamins, vitamin E and lecithin. Buckwheat strengthens the immune system, improves blood circulation and lowers cholesterol levels.

How to cook: sugar should not be added to buckwheat porridge; it neutralizes the numerous beneficial properties of this cereal. It also spoils buckwheat and milk - you don’t need to cook it in it, it’s better to pour milk over it afterwards. Buckwheat is cooked in a 1:2 ratio with water. Under a tight lid. After boiling, cook over moderate heat until the water is completely absorbed. You should not stir during the cooking process.

What you can add: butter, onions, mushrooms, chopped eggs, grated vegetables. Buckwheat with beets and onions is especially tasty. A crumbly porridge is prepared from whole buckwheat, and “slush” from whole buckwheat.

Tomatoes stuffed with buckwheat porridge

12 small tomatoes, 200g buckwheat, 120g sour cream, salt, parsley.

Cook crumbly buckwheat porridge. Wash the tomatoes, cut off the tops and remove the core, leaving fairly thick edges. Rub the core through a sieve, mix with the porridge, add salt, stuff the tomatoes, cover each with a cut off top, put in a saucepan, bake for a little while, and then pour in sour cream and put in the oven to brown.

Corn porridge

The most “empty” mess. The nutritional value and culinary merits of corn grits are lower than others. Corn grits contain a lot of carbohydrates and poorly digestible protein, poor in essential amino acids, and few vitamins and minerals. But corn porridge is the lowest in calories and perfectly soothes restless stomachs in children and adults.

How to cook: corn porridge takes a long time to cook, the porridge from it quickly becomes chapped, becomes hard and starchy. Just a gift of fate, not a mess. Cook it until soft, periodically asking ourselves why we need this.

What you can add: dried fruits.

Corn porridge

Corn grits - 1 cup, water - 2.5 cups, butter or ghee, salt, sugar, raisins (seedless) - 3-4 tbsp.

Rinse the cereal thoroughly, add hot water, add salt, sugar, butter and pre-soaked raisins. Mix everything, cover with a lid and put in the oven. Cook until soft. Then you can put it in the oven without a lid and cook until golden brown.

Pshenka

Contains: proteins and carbohydrates, silicon, iron, magnesium, phosphorus. The rich fiber content ensures the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, cleanses the body of waste and toxins, and reduces cholesterol levels in the blood. In dietary nutrition, porridge made from millet cereals is recommended for diseases of the cardiovascular system, liver and nervous system.

How to cook: sort, rinse in boiling water until the water becomes clear after rinsing. Then pour boiling water over it, put it on the fire, add salt, skim off the foam, and quickly evaporate all the water before the millet has time to boil. After this, add hot milk and continue to cook the porridge over moderate and then low heat until completely thickened.

What you can add: vegetables, mushrooms, dried fruits. Millet goes well with rice.

Millet and rice balls with carrots

Millet – 200 g, rice – 200 g, water (for porridge) – 2 l, carrots – 2 pcs., egg – 3 pcs., vegetable oil – 120 g, breadcrumbs – 1/2 cup, salt, sour cream – 1 /2 cups.

Chop the carrots into strips, sauté with some oil and pass through a meat grinder. Cook a viscous porridge from a mixture of millet and rice, add carrot puree, eggs and mix. Divide the resulting mass into meatballs or cutlets, bread them in breadcrumbs and fry in oil. Serve with sour cream or milk or sour cream sauce.

What is "quick porridge"

This is flattened grain that has been steamed. The grain is flattened, sliced, kept under infrared rays, dried... Is it true that such porridge is less healthy than whole porridge - yes. The more complete the product, the more benefits it will provide. However, flakes are also needed, especially for people with gastrointestinal problems. Well, many people simply don’t like porridge - at least they can eat flakes. The greatest harm to quick cereals comes from additives, so read the ingredients carefully. Avoid cereals with sweeteners and flavorings. Flavored porridge should also contain live dried fruits, and not just a smelling powder. A well-known myth: “quick” cereals are lower in calories than regular porridge and are better suited for diets. This is not true, because cereals contain virtually no fiber, which cleanses the body of excess fat. After processing, only the hardiest vitamins (group B and vitamin E) remain in the cereals, so it is better to choose quick cereals with vitamin supplements.

Can quick cereals harm your health?

“They cannot be considered a full-fledged replacement for ordinary cereals, and they do not have any advantages over them. But it’s better to eat instant porridge than to snack on a sandwich,” says Valentina Meshcheryakova, Doctor of Medical Sciences and head of the Department of Clinical Dietetics at the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Yes, doctors admit, occasional consumption of instant cereals like Bystrov is even beneficial. “They have an enveloping effect and help normalize the secretory function of the stomach,” explains Tatyana Polunina, Doctor of Medical Sciences. “But if you resort to dry porridge regularly, the effect will be the opposite.”

With prolonged and systematic consumption of fast cereals, allergic dermatitis, stomatitis, vitamin deficiencies can develop, and the immune status decreases. Choose muesli, quick cereals and breakfast cereals made from unrefined grains or grains with bran. Always finish the liquid that is poured into the flakes - the largest amount of useful substances settles in the liquid.

Cereal breakfast cereals

Those stars, rings and glazed crunchy cereals that need to be doused with milk or yogurt are practically worthless in terms of nutritional value. They can be called a pleasant variety in the diet. The grains used to make breakfast cereals are not only freed from fiber, but also ground into flour. There is practically no fiber, vitamins, minerals and oils in them, but there is a lot of starch, which contributes to the appearance of excess weight. Many breakfast cereals contain food additives with index E - acidity regulators, leavening agents. Some contain flavorings, and you need to understand that these are synthetic substances, although they are listed as identical to natural ones. Some popular brands contain between 37 and 46% sugar. This means that a classic “quick” breakfast, which is made from, say, 30-50 g of crispy cereal, contains three tablespoons of sugar.

Don’t be lazy – prepare porridge for your family in the morning, especially for children. Winter is ahead. Quick breakfasts - instant cereals, various “balls” or instant porridges, when consumed regularly, weaken the immune system due to excess starch, synthetic additives and sugar. Whole grains increase it.

PORridge IN BABY FOOD

In the days of our parents, it was customary to feed children semolina porridge. Precisely fattening, since weight was the main indicator in the development of children. In local clinics, many doctors, unfortunately, still worship this indicator. In our time, semolina porridge has been canceled and stigmatized. Why? Because this mess is pure ballast. There are very few vitamins and minerals in it, but there is as much starch and “empty” calories as you like. Semolina porridge contains phytin, which binds calcium salts, that is, it prevents calcium from entering the blood. When there is little calcium in the human body, the parathyroid glands “remove” it from the bones and send it into the blood. All porridges, one way or another, bind calcium - which is also why they are recommended to be introduced after vegetables and meat. But semolina tries harder than anyone, having a pronounced “ricketogenic” effect, that is, it contributes to the formation of rickets in children in the first two years of life. Semolina porridge is also rich in gluten. As you know, gluten is the strongest allergen; it is found in five grains: wheat, rye, oats, millet and barley. Therefore, the first complementary feeding begins with gluten-free and dairy-free cereals. Milk is allergen No. 2, in addition, dairy gluten porridges are quite hard on the stomach, so they are introduced closer to a year or after a year.

How and when to introduce porridge?

Let's listen to Larisa Vasilievna Levchuk, Ph.D., assistant at the Department of Propaedeutics of Childhood Diseases of the Ural State Medical Academy (information taken from the website ymama.ru).

Porridge appears in the diet of children of the first year of life at the age of 6-7 months and is the second complementary food. At this age, the first complementary food has already been fully introduced: vegetable puree. Porridges gradually replace another breastfeeding, and if the baby is bottle-fed, then porridges replace feeding with an adapted milk formula.

This new type of food begins to be introduced to the child before putting him to the breast with 1-2 teaspoons, gradually increasing the volume to 150 grams. Parents of a baby always have many questions about the rules for introducing complementary foods. One of the most frequently asked questions is which porridge to prefer: home-cooked from regular cereals or use ready-made industrially produced dry porridges; what type of porridge can you start with; What is the difference between dairy and dairy-free porridges?

Taking into account modern achievements of science and clinical practice, it is optimal to use industrially produced cereals, the so-called instant ones, in the nutrition of infants. Such porridges are distinguished by the fact that they are prepared from environmentally friendly raw materials and are additionally enriched with essential vitamins and microelements, since it is in the second half of life that the baby’s growing body has a high need for these nutrients.

So: porridge is introduced two months after the introduction of the first complementary foods. If complementary foods are introduced at six months, it means that you should start porridge closer to eight months. Sometimes doctors advise starting complementary feeding with porridge according to individual indications: for example, a child has unstable stools, some kind of stomach problems, in which case vegetables and fruits will only do harm. Welling can help here. This is a very liquid porridge that can be drunk from a bottle if desired. Welling does not contain harmful additives (sugar, salt and flavorings) and is enriched with useful substances.

Rice, buckwheat or corn porridge is introduced first. Then - oatmeal. Mixtures of cereals are introduced closer to the year, semolina - after the year. Millet is considered the heaviest and is only offered to children aged two years. Buckwheat is considered the healthiest porridge for a child. “Adult” instant cereals (such as “Nordik”) can be tried closer to a year.

Porridges most suitable for first feeding (do not contain sugar or milk): hypoallergenic Heinz series (on the box there is a picture of a hippopotamus in a doctor’s coat), dairy-free porridges BabySitter and Nutricia (“Baby”, etc.).
What additives may industrial baby cereals contain:

Maltodextrin is a mixture consisting of glucose, oligosaccharides and malt sugar. Improves digestion, helps increase insulin, and gives the porridge a natural sweetness.

Glucose, dextrose - fruit sugars, dextrose - grape sugar.

Vanillin is an odorous substance from the vanilla fruit. Unfortunately, manufacturers often use synthetic vanillin without specifying it. Vanillin may be an allergen.

Cooking porridge at home is also easy. The cereal can be pre-grinded in a coffee grinder to the state of flour, or the already prepared porridge can be broken in a mixer until a homogeneous mass is obtained. It is better to cook the cereal in water, and immediately before feeding, add 20-30 ml of breast milk or the formula that the baby usually eats. This will improve the taste of the dish and make it more “familiar” for the child. If you use industrial cereals, choose the most gentle composition without sugar and other unnecessary additives. Porridge with whole milk is offered to children closer to two years of age; before that, it is advisable to cook porridge with milk formula.

Collection of popular misconceptions

1. “If the child is low birth weight, you need to introduce porridge as early as possible.” As surveys on mother’s websites show, out of hundreds of children, 2% of children gain weight from the introduction of cereals. If a child is really behind in weight (not by 100-500 g from the norm, but by at least 2 kg), you need to understand the reasons, and not fatten him up like a pig.

2. “Porridge at night promotes long sleep.” Doctors laugh: there is no scientific evidence of this folk “wisdom”. In the time of grandmothers, children were fed semolina porridge with butter and sugar at night. It’s no wonder that after such a blow, the child slept all night, stunned. We no longer live in the last century and understand that such a cocktail at night is very harmful.

3. “Children’s cereals are less healthy than homemade ones.” If you have time to grind cereal in a coffee grinder, and your child eats this porridge well, great. But it is better to feed a child up to one year only with fortified foods. Because he has an actively growing body. And vitamins are always in place. Complementary feeding with porridge can replace breastfeeding; in this case, if the porridge was homemade, the child will not receive enough valuable substances.

What to do if your child doesn’t like porridge?

Leave the child alone. Or reconsider your cooking methods. Perhaps you are preparing a tasteless porridge: it is too viscous (children do not like viscous foods) or it hurts the throat (the flakes did not absorb water well). If your child prefers one type of porridge, try mixing another cereal into it. After one year of age, children can add chopped vegetables and spices to the porridge. Avoid spoiling food with sugar and salt. Your task is not to shovel porridge, especially when the child is not yet a year old, but to make sure that the child receives the maximum amount of nutrients from food. Sugar kills many vitamins. For a child under one year old, porridge is not a mandatory dish, but if you really want it (but your child doesn’t), try looking for “your” porridge by looking through different brands. Make the porridge more liquid. If you clearly don’t like porridge, you can add cereals to soups and casseroles (after a year, of course).

Little secrets:

Your child is over a year old and you don’t yet use spices in cooking porridge? You are missing out on a lot. Add anise, star anise, cinnamon, vanilla or barberry to the porridge on the tip of a knife; you can experiment with several types of spices. Put marmalade in the porridge - this will improve the taste and enrich the dish with pectin. Don’t throw away lemon and orange peels: zest and grind it into powder; the zest perfectly flavors the porridge. And always keep bags of dried fruit on hand for supplements.

Svetlana Markova

Beauty is like a precious stone: the simpler it is, the more precious it is!

Among the large number of diets, diet options based on cereals can be included in a separate category; for example, millet porridge is used very often for weight loss, because it has cleansing properties and satisfies hunger. This is an alternative to mono-diets on buckwheat or rice. Using millet for weight loss, you can additionally provide the body with many useful substances. There are many options for diets on such cereals - for one or three days, for a week. You will learn more about each of them and about preparing porridge below.

The benefits of millet porridge for weight loss

The first thing that is taken into account when losing weight on any product is calorie content. The energy value of millet porridge is 348 kcal per 100 g of dry cereal. During cooking, it increases approximately 3 times. For this reason, the calorie content of the finished porridge is reduced by three times and amounts to 116 kcal for the same 100 g. When losing weight, millet is useful only in reasonable quantities, especially in sprouted form. You can start with a fasting day, and only then try a full-fledged diet. The benefits of millet for weight loss include satisfying hunger, accelerating metabolism and removing toxins.

Composition of millet

In addition to its pleasant taste and benefits for weight loss, millet has an incredibly rich composition. The amount of trace elements and minerals in it is enough to maintain good health, especially during a diet. The composition of millet cereals includes the following substances with certain properties:

insoluble fiber has a cleansing effect - removes toxins, waste, and undigested food residues;
thanks to vitamin B, millet affects metabolism, participates in the breakdown of fats, and improves skin condition;
magnesium helps develop muscles;
manganese normalizes metabolism;
vitamin PP improves the condition of the skin and mucous membranes;
fluoride has a beneficial effect on teeth;
copper makes fabrics elastic;
silicon improves the condition of hair and nails;
iron increases blood circulation.

This is not the entire list of substances. The composition of millet cereal contains elements in the following percentages or grams:

starch – 70%;
protein with amino acids – 15%;
fats – 3.7%;
fiber – 0.5-0.8%;
sugar – 2%;
vitamin A – 3 mcg;
vitamin E – 0.3 mcg;
folic acid – 40 mcg;
beta-carotene – 0.02 mg;
potassium – 211 mg;
sulfur – 77 mg;
calcium – 27 mg;
sodium – 10 mg;
chlorine – 24 mg;
zinc – 1.68 mg;
aluminum – 100 mcg;
titanium – 20 mcg;
tin – 9.8 mcg;
nickel – 8.8 mcg;
cobalt – 8.3 mcg;
iodine – 4.5 mcg.

Useful properties of millet for weight loss

The vital substances in cereals not only have a beneficial effect on a person’s well-being, but each one contributes to weight loss to a certain extent. In general, the beneficial properties of millet porridge for the body are as follows:

cleansing of excess fluid, toxins, waste, especially from the kidneys;
acceleration of metabolism and fat digestion;
satiation, thanks to which you do not feel hungry for a long time;
stabilization of carbohydrate metabolism;
maintaining healthy hair, nails, skin and teeth, which is very important on any diet;
fat is not just burned, but stops accumulating;
maintaining muscle volume and even activating their growth.

Millet diet

Within a week of eating millet it is possible to lose 5-7 extra kilograms. It all depends on the initial weight. Plus-size girls will be able to lose a little more. In any case, the volumes will begin to go away quickly, because at the first stage the body is cleansed of excess fluid. Then fats will begin to break down. A millet porridge diet for weight loss also allows the consumption of some other foods. To effectively burn fat, your diet should be varied:

low-fat fermented milk products;
boiled eggs;
seafood;
green tea, unsweetened coffee and juices;
fresh fruits;
berries;
vegetables, herbs;
lean fish and meat.

Three-day millet diet

The next option for losing weight is a sequence of three fasting days with only an expanded diet. When on a diet, millet porridge can be boiled in water or steamed in the evening. 100 g of cereal is simply brewed with 2 cups of boiling water, wrapped and left overnight. This way she will retain the maximum benefit. You can diversify the taste of porridge by adding walnuts, pumpkin, dried fruits, and cottage cheese. You should not use grapes, bananas, pears and melon, because they contain a lot of sugar, although sometimes it is still possible. Approximate diet options for 3 days:

Breakfast. Millet porridge with low-fat yogurt and banana or boiled egg whites.
Dinner. Again, porridge combined with vegetable salad or stew and vegetarian cabbage soup.
Afternoon snack. A serving of raw vegetables, an orange or an apple to choose from.
Dinner. Millet porridge with any fruit or kefir or fermented baked milk.

Millet diet 7 days

Judging by the reviews of the following diet, it allows you to lose 10 kg in a week, but it is worth noting that this is serious stress for the body. The peculiarity of the diet is that it is necessary to change the type of cereal used for food every day. Millet diet 7 days - 10 kg can be lost on it if you alternately use the following cereals:

on the first day - oatmeal;
in the second - buckwheat;
in the third - millet;
in the fourth - rice;
in the fifth - lentils;
on the sixth and seventh days, repeat the menu of the first two days.

Fasting day on millet porridge

If it is difficult for you to follow long-term diets, then use a simpler option - spend a fasting day on millet porridge. It can be carried out as often as once a week. By following the rules, you can get rid of 1 kg. This option is suitable for those who are looking for an effective method of losing weight that maintains results for a long time. You will have to eat unleavened porridge all day, cooked from 100 g of cereal without adding butter, sugar and other products. It is allowed to dilute the dish with only a small amount of raw vegetables. Chamomile or green tea are allowed as drinks.

Pros and cons of the diet

Millet porridge has more advantages than disadvantages when losing weight. The advantages include the absence of hunger, because the cereal is very filling, although low in calories. A variety of diet options is also considered an advantage. You can choose the duration that suits you - 1 or 3 days or a whole week. In any case, the body will not feel vitamin and protein starvation.

Thanks to the very healthy composition of cereals, you won’t be tormented not only by hunger, but also by a bad mood. In addition, the condition of hair, skin, and nails will not worsen. The downside of the millet diet is the impaired absorption of iodine, but only with continuous and long-term consumption of porridge. The result may be memory impairment and problems with the endocrine system.

How to prepare dietary millet porridge

In addition to following the rules of the diet itself, it is important to follow the technology for preparing cereals. Millet for weight loss can be cooked not only in water, but also in milk. It is important not to add high-calorie foods, especially sugar and butter. Pumpkin or fruit will help make the dish sweet. For lunch, millet porridge for weight loss can be served with lean meat or fish.

It is worth considering that when you add additional ingredients, you increase the calorie content of the porridge. It doesn’t matter whether water or milk is used for cooking, it is important to carefully sort out the cereal from debris and rinse it several times to remove the bitterness. The last time this is done using hot water. To obtain crumbly porridge, the cereal is not washed, but is first lightly fried in a dry frying pan.

With milk

Only milk porridge can be cooked sweeter. In such recipes, pumpkin or fruit are added. But the dish will be more dietary without any additional ingredients. Millet porridge with milk on a diet requires the following products:

water – 2 tbsp.;
millet cereal – 1 tbsp.;
milk – 2 tbsp.

Cooking method:

Sort the grains from pebbles and other debris. Rinse it until the water runs clear.
Next, pour the grains into a saucepan, add water, and simmer over medium heat until all the liquid has evaporated.
Bring the milk to a boil in a separate saucepan and remove from the heat.
When all the water has boiled away, you can pour in hot milk. You are allowed to add a little salt.
Next, simmer the dish until it thickens, then remove from heat, wrap and let sit for about 20 minutes.

On the water

Millet porridge with water for weight loss is considered more effective, because its calorie content is much lower. And the dish is prepared a little easier and faster. For the recipe you will need:

cereal – 1 tbsp.;
water – 3 tbsp.

Cooking method:

First of all, sort the grains again, clean them of debris, then rinse them in several waters.
Next, scald the grains with boiling water, then transfer to a saucepan.
Fill with the required amount of water according to the recipe.
Boil, then simmer over low heat for about a quarter of an hour.
Before serving, you can season the porridge with honey.

Contraindications

There are several cases when you should not abuse such cereals. Contraindications for millet porridge include constipation and reduced stomach acidity. You need to be careful with this cereal during pregnancy - it is better to replace it with oatmeal. Men who have problems with potency should also avoid losing weight with millet porridge. It can also cause harm to people suffering from hypothyroidism, a disease involving dysfunction of the thyroid gland. Millet porridge is not suitable for weight loss in this case. It can make the situation worse because it interferes with the absorption of iodine.

Video: What are the benefits of millet porridge?

We have all known for a long time that eating at night is harmful. But have you ever thought, why is it bad to eat at night??

All food that enters our body is spent either on the construction of tissues or gives the body energy.

Modern man consumes too many simple carbohydrates. They are absorbed very quickly and raise blood sugar levels.

If a person moves actively after eating, then all this “sugar” is spent on muscle function. But if a person goes to bed after eating, then the muscles do not work during sleep, which means that blood sugar is not used for energy, but goes to the liver, where it turns into fat.

This fat is then distributed throughout the body, deposited in various parts of the body, and most importantly, causes obesity even in the internal organs. The further result, as a rule, is the following: the occurrence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and atherosclerosis.

That It's bad to eat at night, a lot has been written and said, but there are more and more overweight people every day. Many people have long stopped paying attention to their diet. In the morning you don’t want to eat, at lunch you have no place or time, and in the evening you need to replenish the energy lost during the day! So everything is swept away indiscriminately at dinner.

Let's say you came home from work and, after eating everything you found in the refrigerator, went to bed. But you didn’t go to bed alone, but together with your duodenum, into which you stuffed a decent bolus of food. The intestine sleeps and does not produce any substances necessary to move food through the gastrointestinal tract. Your entire dinner stayed in it until the morning!

The intestine sleeps sweetly, but the rest of the organs have no time to sleep. After all, the intestine is distended by food, and this is already a signal for the gallbladder that it needs to produce bile to digest food. Moreover, it “awakens” the pancreas, and it begins to produce enzymes that break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

But bile is not able to break through the duodenum clogged with food, because it is not even going to contract in a dream. As a result, bile stagnates in the gallbladder, thickens and gradually turns into stones.

The pancreas has it even worse. Its enzymes are sent to the duodenum to digest everything you eat, and no one is waiting for them there. Disappointed, they return back to the pancreas, where they immediately begin to “digest” its tissue. As a result, the gland becomes inflamed (pancreatitis), and in the worst case, it simply becomes dead (necrosis).

In addition, if digestion is impaired, putrefactive fermentation processes develop in the intestines, which leads to allergies and intoxications when decay products begin to be absorbed into the blood. But all this can be avoided very simply.

Have dinner 2-3 hours before bedtime. After dinner, don’t sit in front of the TV, but do housework, walk with the dog or, finally, with your wife.

Do not eat buns, potatoes, rice, cakes and pastries at night - all those simple carbohydrates that are quickly absorbed. Replace them with complex carbohydrates (carrots, cabbage, rutabaga, radish, buckwheat, millet porridge). They take longer to digest and do not cause a sharp increase in insulin levels.

Eat while distributing the load on your body. Eat 25% of your daily calories at breakfast, 30-40% at lunch, then a light afternoon snack, and 15-20% should come at dinner. This is the normal distribution of calories throughout the day. The most important thing is that you should eat approximately 60-70% of the calories of your diet before four o'clock in the afternoon. At this time, you are active, all glucose will be processed and leave the body, and will not be stored in fat.