Rice Pudding for Babies: Recipe and Benefits

We are going to show you how to prepare a rice pudding for babies in a simple way as well as the benefits of this dish from 6 months of age.

Rice pudding for babies is an excellent food to guarantee the contribution of carbohydrates during the first stages of life. It can be included in the diet of the smallest children once they exceed 6 months of life as part of complementary feeding.

Before starting, it’s important to emphasize that from 0 to 6 months, there’s no need to offer any food to your baby other than milk (breastmilk or formula). This ensures proper growth while providing bioactive substances to improve the functioning of the baby’s body.

Having said all this, take a pencil and paper and write down the recommendations to get the best out of rice pudding for babies.

How to prepare a rice pudding for babies

Preparing a rich and nutritious rice pudding is easy and economical. Pay attention to the elaboration because it requires few ingredients that you’re sure to have on hand at home. Let’s get cooking!

Ingredients

Before mentioning the ingredients, we should note that you can use different liquids for this recipe: Water, breast milk, formula milk, or even vegetable broth. However, you’ll have to adapt to the baby’s tastes and use the option that generates the most acceptance on their part.

• 1/4 cup of rice
• 7 ounces of liquid
• A dash of extra virgin olive oil

Step by step instructions

1. First, grind the rice to a flour-like texture. The type used can vary, either yamani, basmati, or long.
2. Once this step is complete, heat the liquid you’ve chosen in a pan.
3. When it comes to a boil, add the rice flour. You can even add a couple of ladles of formula milk.
4. During the next 5 minutes, cook while stirring, to prevent the porridge from burning or sticking.
5. If you want to modify the texture, add a little more liquid (if it’s too thick).
6. When you get a homogeneous cream, stop cooking, wait for it to cool, and serve it in a dish for the baby. It is also possible to store it in the refrigerator, as it preserves well.

Some benefits of rice pudding for babies

Rice pudding offers several benefits to babies when introduced in the context of a varied and balanced diet.

First of all, it provides high-quality complex carbohydrates. These ingredients manage to meet the energy requirements while activating the anabolic pathways of metabolism, which are necessary for growth.

At the same time, we must highlight the protein content of the preparation when it’s made with breast milk or formula. In this case, we’re talking about proteins of high biological value, which contribute to the proper functioning of the organism as well as to its growth.

It’s important to note that rice itself has a significant concentration of fiber, an essential element for stimulating intestinal transit and reducing the risk of constipation. Similarly, fiber promotes the growth of microbiota bacteria and thus improves the health of the intestine.

According to a study published in the journal Nutrients, a portion of the fiber serves as an energy substrate for these microorganisms and contributes to the prevention of digestive diseases.

Prepare rice pudding for your baby

As you’ve seen, preparing rice pudding for babies is really simple and we’re talking about a preparation that has a high nutritional density, especially when breast milk is used as one of the main ingredients.

However, in the case of using formula milk, you should carefully read the labeling to ensure that it doesn’t have added sugars.

Finally, keep in mind that the baby’s diet should be varied from the beginning, from 6 months of life. In this regard, it’s best to consult with a specialist to know in depth which foods can be included in the diet and thus, offer them frequently to avoid nutritional deficits.