Rice: An Ideal Food For Children

Rice is a nutritious food, easy to chew and digest. As it is so gentle for the children, they love it and there are cases of many who for a time in their lives just wanted to eat rice. In order for you to know more about this food that is so popular in many countries, we decided to investigate and provide you with this information.

The nutritional value of rice

Rice has large amounts of starch: the most important source of calories humans consume. Contains minerals such as:

• Iron, which is so critical to children’s growth
• Phosphorus, which forms part of DNA and RNA molecules
• Calcium, which participates in the formation and good health of teeth and bones, intervenes in the functioning of the central nervous system and blood clotting
• Potassium, which maintains the normal balance of fluids within the body, participates in the regulation of neuromuscular functions and stimulates cell development

• Zinc, which participates in the metabolization of proteins and nucleic acids and influences the activity of the immune system. Likewise, it has an essential role in the synaptic plasticity of the brain.
• Magnesium, which is involved in the formation of neurotransmitters and muscle relaxation.

Rice is also a grain rich in vitamin E.

Tocopherol (vitamin E) helps in the conservation of red blood cells and in the prevention of hemolytic anemia: a disease that appears with the destruction of these blood cells. It is popularly known as the heart vitamin, because of its important role in protecting the heart.

Vitamin E enhances children’s physical development and counteracts lung diseases so common in early life. It also favors wound healing and improves the function of the immune system.

rice recipes

In order for you to get all the nutritional benefits of rice, below are some recipes that have this important grain as their main ingredient.

rice and egg balls

Both rice and egg are popular in childhood, and of course there is always the occasional child who hates them. But that’s ok, if your child is one who likes to eat these foods, don’t hesitate to offer him this nutritious and graceful recipe.

Ingredients:
Soggy rice Boiled
egg yolk

Preparation mode:

To make the rice and egg balls, you should cook the rice with a little more water than usual so that it is soggy and creamy, but not overly so. 

Boil the egg for approximately 5 minutes. Peel it and separate the white from the yolk.

Then cut the egg yolk into four pieces.

Afterwards, grease your hands with a little vegetable oil (which you normally use), take a good amount of rice and make a ball like it. Punch a hole in the rice ball and insert the egg; close the hole and continue shaping until a beautiful and appetizing ball is formed.

At dinner time, serve these adorable little balls to your child. You will find he will love it.

rice ice cream

Rice ice cream is not very common, however, it can be as appetizing as the others and very nutritious, yes. Use the ingredients and method of preparation below to make a dessert to offer to your little ones.

Ingredients:

1 cup of soggy rice

3 cups of mango pulp (in this case we choose the mango, but it can be any fruit or flavor)

1 tablespoon sugar (It is recommended to use a little sugar to protect the child’s health. If the mango is too sweet, you can suppress this ingredient)

1 cup of milk

Preparation mode:

Cook the rice with plenty of water so that it is very creamy and the grains almost melt.

Peel and cut some ripe mangoes and blend them in a blender with very little water to make the pulp. Then strain.

Then, with the mango pulp ready, add the sugar, rice and milk in a blender and blend for several minutes. We emphasize again that it is essential that the rice is very soft so that the ice cream does not have pellets.

When finished beating, strain and place in the freezer for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. After this time, remove the ice cream that should already be half frozen and mix it, joining the most frozen part with the one that is still half liquid. Then put it back in the freezer until it solidifies.

Enjoy with your child during a snack.