After talking about vegetables, vegetables and fruits today we will talk about cereals (the title is “cereals (II)” because some time ago Mireia told us about them in a very interesting entry that you can read previously).
The cereals They are foods rich in carbohydrates, which contribute to the diet not only energy, but also proteins, minerals and vitamins.
When can they start eating cereals?
Cereals can be offered to babies by six months (so that they do not hinder milk) although if the baby is being breastfed and the mother is going to start work and for whatever reason milk is not extracted, they can be given after four months.
We already commented in another post that the best thing for breastfed children is to give them breast milk and, if it is not possible, start AC before giving artificial milk, which is more allergenic.
Cereals without gluten
If you start giving them cereals before six months, it is recommended that they be gluten free. Rice, corn, millet and tapioca are gluten-free cereals. Rice can also be bought in the form of semolina, smaller than conventional grains and boiled with water, then adding a splash of oil to flavor it. If what we want is to take corn, we can buy cornmeal (which we all know as cornstarch).
Dried cereals can also be dried, although as Mireia already told us, they are more expensive. There are dextrinated and hydrolyzed being best option hydrolysatesThey taste better with less sucrose and are better absorbed and digested.
Cereals with gluten
They are wheat, rye, oats and barley. Among the industrial preparations we can also find the cereals with gluten which are the multigrain preparations that contain gluten.
Some of these preparations carry unnecessary substances such as honey or cocoa, which add cariogenic potential to the already characteristic of carbohydrates, so it would be better to avoid them (honey, in addition, should not be given to a baby until 12 months).
They can be prepared with water (it sounds strange, but rice is a cereal and we boil it with water), with broth or with breast milk or artificial milk (if it is a child who has not tried artificial milk, as we have said, it is better take them with water or broth).
There are prepared five cereals and even eight. Neither is better than the other and logic says that the five is more than enough. Humanity usually feeds on wheat, rice and corn. Rye, barley, millet and sorghum were traditionally destined for animals. This does not mean that they are bad, but if our baby is not going to take them in childhood or adulthood (who eats millet?) It is not especially necessary to take them.
About gluten and the ideal time to offer it, I will speak in a few days in another post.
I have been sent to gain weight
Due to their high caloric content they are often offered to babies at an early age (from 4 months) in order to achieve weight gain.
The truth is that It is a practice advised against since it involves displacing a qualitatively superior food, milk, with the added risk of making the baby eat more calories than he really needs.
As we have mentioned in previous entries, breastfeeding on demand or the bottle on demand make children take all the food they need and that their growth (and fattening) is correct.
Many babies, in addition, tend to lengthen the time between doses when they are given cereals, even skipping some milk (as I have taken so many calories with cereals, I will eat less or nothing in the next dose or I will not ask until it passes a good time).
