• Pooja Bafila
• Gita Bisla

The first year of an infant's life is a critical period for health and development, and exclusive breastfeeding alone cannot meet their nutritional requirements. Complementary feeding, which introduces solid foods alongside breast milk, becomes essential at around six months of age. This study aimed to develop nutrient-dense porridge to supplement breast milk, focusing on locally sourced ingredients and innovative preprocessing techniques and then analysing them for sensory and nutritional attributes. A variety of ingredients, including cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, nuts, roots and tubers, were subjected to preprocessing techniques such as soaking, malting, germination, roasting, dehusking, cooking and straining. Porridge variants were prepared by combining different cereals and pulses combinations and assessed using a 9-point hedonic rating scale. The most accepted variants were further incorporated with fruits, vegetables, nuts, roots and tubers. The nutritional analysis revealed that the most accepted variant (variant A), comprising 80g of ragi, 20g of soybean, 10g of papaya, 10g of pumpkin, 5g of sesame, 5g of sweet potato, and 70g of sugar, had lower moisture content (4.8g/100g) and higher fat (6.2g/100g), ash (3.11g/100g), and protein content (15.21g/100g) compared to the control C4. However, it had lower fiber (0.97g/100g) and carbohydrate content (69.71g/100g) than the control C4. This research demonstrates an innovative approach to complementary feeding by utilizing locally sourced ingredients and novel preprocessing techniques. The nutrient-dense porridge variants developed in this study have the potential to address nutritional deficiencies in infants, particularly in low-resource settings where protein-energy malnutrition remains a critical concern.

complementary feeding, nutrient dense, complementary foods, nutrition, malnutrition

"Developing Nutrient Dense Porridge for Optimal Infant Nutrition: A Local Resource Based Approach to Improve Nutrition ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 4, page no.313-322, April-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1904W43.pdf

"Developing Nutrient Dense Porridge for Optimal Infant Nutrition: A Local Resource Based Approach to Improve Nutrition ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 4, page no. pp313-322, April-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1904W43.pdf