Rice balls are one of the favorite foods of the kids when they start weaning. Weaning is basically transition from breastfeeding to solid or semi solid food as the kids grow over six months.
If we talk about how to make rice balls for your child, you’ll find hundreds of recipes on the internet but here I’ll provide you with the easiest yet yummiest finds.
Nutritious Value of Rice:
Vitamins including riboflavin, niacin, thiamine, and vitamin B6 are abundant in rice. These essential vitamins are needed for the development of the skin, nervous system, eyesight, and metabolism of food into energy.
Since these vitamins are soluble in water, when the rice is boiling, they dissolve into the water. So given from early ages to the kids, rice proves to be very beneficial for their growth.
Quick Recipes for Rice Balls:
If you search for rice ball recipes there’ll be many out there. I have found out some of the simplest, viral and easy picks for you from the internet that you’d love to make for your kids. These are made up of the most common everyday ingredients yet they taste delicious.
Japanese Rice Balls:
These are so delicious that once you try them, you’ll want to make them over and over again. The ingredients you need for this recipe are quite affordable and cheap too.
Ingredients:
- White Rice: 1 cup
- Water: 1 ½ cups
- Carrots: 4 ( medium sized)
- Broccoli florets: 1 cup
- Mild Fish: 1 piece
Procedure:
- Take a cup of washed rice, put it in a deep bowl and add water to it. Let it soak for half an hour.
- Now cover the pot with a lid and boil the rice for 5 minutes. After it is boiled nicely, simmer for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the rice sit in steam for 15 more minutes.
- Meanwhile take another steamer pot and add carrots, broccoli and fish to the it steaming them for 3,2 and 3 minutes respectively. Steam until everything is tender.
- Place the fish and vegetables in a food processor and pulse. Keep the mixture dry. Avoid adding any extra water.
- Take 1-2 Tablespoons of rice and 1 tsp of the vegetable/fish mixture and combine. With moistened hands, roll into a ball, about the size of a ball.
Caution:
Avoid making your hands too wet or the balls will fall apart. Garnish if you want, otherwise its ready to be served.
Spinach Rice Balls – Best for Baby Led Weaning:
You can introduce rice to your baby as early as six months, once they’ve had their first taste. It’s an excellent source of carbohydrates, which give babies the energy they require to grow and develop and also help them get the protein, calcium, and B vitamins they need.
One of the ways you can add rice into your child’s diet is by making rice balls. If you want to add egg into your child’s diet but he doesn’t like its taste, try this recipe out and add flavors to you kid’s food.
Ingredients:
- Egg: 1 (with yolk)
- Carrot: 1tbsp
- Spinach: 1 tbsp (chopped)
- Black pepper: ¼ tsp
- Cooked Rice: 1 cup
- Olive oil: ½ tsp
Procedure:
- Take a bowl and add a tablespoon of finely chopped carrot ( in cube form) and spinach in it, mix it with one egg.
- Then sprinkle the black pepper and mix all the ingredients well.
- Take another pot and boil the rice such that they become a bit sticky.
- Now mix the rice with all the other ingredients, take a small amount of the batter into your palm and make golf sized balls.
- Add some salt if you want to make them tastier, your rice balls are ready to be served.
Easiest Potato Rice Balls Recipe – The Quick Pick
Ingredients:
Butter: 1 small cube
Carrot: 1 small
Potato: 1 small
Rice: 1 cup
Black pepper: ¼ tsp
Salt: A pinch
Procedure:
- Take a pan and melt the butter cube .
- Take the shredded carrot and sauté for sometime, add shredded potatoes and cook until tender.
- Add a pinch of salt and black pepper (you can go according to your taste as well) and mix.
- Boil rice in a separate pot until they become sticky (or you can use previously cooked rice as well).
- Add rice into the pan and mix with the veggies.
- Allow the mixture to cool and then make small balls, your rice balls are ready to be served.
Benefits of adding rice balls in your baby’s diet:
- Any variety of rice that is sold in the market, including brown rice, basmati rice, white rice, and more, can be used to make rice balls.
- The fact that rice doesn’t go to waste is its best quality which makes it highly economical as well.
- Rice is rich in vitamins which are responsible for developing the skin, nervous system and vision of the child.
- You don’t have to waste too much time looking for the ingredients to make rice balls, they are made from Ingredients of everyday use.