Can I eat glutinous rice balls during breastfeeding?

Tangyuan is made from glutinous rice and mixed with water to form a crust. The filling of glutinous rice balls can be made from many ingredients, such as sesame lard filling, or It can be brown sugar filling, etc. In the past, you could only eat glutinous rice balls during the Chinese New Year and holidays, but now you can eat them whenever you want.

Lactation requires a lot of nutrients and a lot of calories. From a nutritional point of view, glutinous rice balls are mainly carbohydrates, and the heart of glutinous rice balls does not contain too much protein. In a word, the nutritional content of glutinous rice balls is incomplete. Of course, any pregnant woman will not just eat glutinous rice balls. But glutinous rice balls are very high in calories, which are the most important thing to maintain the body's life. Nutrients can only perform their nutritional functions when we consume enough calories. From this point of view, there is certainly nothing wrong with eating some glutinous rice balls. Suppose the mother has a bad taste and is tired of eating too much chicken, duck and fish. If glutinous rice balls can adjust the taste of the mother, then eat some without hesitation. You can eat glutinous rice balls. Glutinous rice balls are made of glutinous rice. Glutinous rice has the effects of replenishing qi, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and stopping sweating. It can provide certain relief to lactating women with poor appetite, bloating, diarrhea, sweating, blood deficiency, and dizziness. effect.

Breastfeeding mothers must pay attention to balanced nutrition. Once the confinement period is over, they should eat more fresh vegetables and fruits. Breastfeeding babies are the most important period of brain development in a person's life. When the baby arrives Complementary food should be added in a certain month so that the baby's nutrition can keep up. You can eat a certain amount of glutinous rice balls during lactation, but don't eat too much.

2 Introduction to Tangyuan

Tangyuan is one of the representatives of traditional Chinese snacks. It is a spherical food made of glutinous rice flour. It usually has fillings and is cooked and eaten with soup. It is also the most distinctive food of the Lantern Festival. It has a long history.

It is said that glutinous rice balls originated in the Song Dynasty. At that time, Mingzhou (now Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province) started to eat a novel food, which was filled with black sesame and lard, a little white sugar was added, and the outside was rolled into a round shape with glutinous rice flour. After cooking, it tasted sweet and delicious. Very interesting. Because this kind of glutinous rice dumpling floats and sinks when cooked in the pot, it was first called "Floating Yuanzi". Later, in some areas, "Floating Yuanzi" was renamed Tangtuan, and in Guangdong it was called Tangwan. [1] It is said that glutinous rice balls symbolize a better family reunion, and eating glutinous rice balls means family happiness and reunion in the new year, so it is a must-have delicacy during the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. In some areas of the south, people are also used to eating glutinous rice balls instead of dumplings during the Spring Festival.

3 The origin of glutinous rice balls

Tangyuan originated in the Song Dynasty of China. At that time, Mingzhou (now Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province) started to eat a novel food[1], which used black sesame seeds, lard, and white sugar as raw materials. First, the black sesame seeds were ground into powder, and then lard, white sugar, etc. Add sugar to the mixture one after another and knead it into a ball to make a filling. Use glutinous rice flour to roll the outside into a round shape. After cooking, it tastes sweet, delicious and interesting. Because this kind of glutinous rice ball floats and sinks when boiled in the pot, it was first called "Floating Yuanzi", and later "Floating Yuanzi" was renamed Tangyuan.

4 The difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan

The making of Tangyuan is a bit like making dumplings:

First add water to the glutinous rice flour and knead it into a ball (same as when making dumplings) Same as above), leave it for a few hours to "wake up". Then mix all the ingredients for the stuffing and put them in a large bowl for later use (you don’t need to cut them into small pieces like making Yuanxiao). The filling of glutinous rice balls contains more water than that of Yuanxiao, which is one of the differences between the two. The process of making glutinous rice balls is also like dumplings, but without a rolling pin. Wet glutinous rice flour is extremely sticky, so you have to grab a small ball of wet noodles with your hands and squeeze it into a disc shape. Use chopsticks (or thin bamboo-like tools) to pick a ball of filling and place it on the glutinous rice slices, then use your hands to turn and close the dough to make glutinous rice balls. The surface of the well-made glutinous rice balls is smooth and shiny, and some have a sharp point, like a peach shape. The skin of glutinous rice balls already contains enough water, which makes them very sticky and difficult to preserve. It is best to make them fresh and eat them.

The softer and smoother the glutinous rice balls are, the better, so the raw materials of glutinous rice are very particular. Choose varieties with strong stickiness. There is also a saying in the processing technology that "water mill powder" should be used. That is to say, after soaking the glutinous rice grains in water, grind the water and rice together (like grinding soy milk), and it is best to grind it with a stone grinder. The ground powder is hung up in a gauze bag and drained. It can be refrigerated for three or four days (it will become sour over time). It can be seen that good glutinous rice balls are difficult to produce industrially, which is another feature that makes them different from Yuanxiao.

The fillings of glutinous rice balls are richer, covering sweet, salty, meat and vegetable. On the basis of traditional sweet fillings, diced pork, diced ham and other fillings are added.

There are many "schools" of glutinous rice balls in the south. The most famous one now is Ningbo's "Black Yang Su" glutinous rice balls. The so-called "black foreign cake" is a mixture of lard and black sesame powder. Moreover, the lard is not boiled pure oil, but the original "suet" taken from the pig's belly. After tearing off the omentum outside the "suet", squeeze and knead it by hand, and then add black sesame powder little by little. This stuff is absolute crap from a modern health perspective, but it tastes great: smooth, waxy, soft and hot, so it's worth a try.

5 Nutritional value of glutinous rice balls

Tangyuan is not only a traditional food, but also has medicinal value for nourishing and health-care for the human body. Ancient Chinese medicine experts suggest: the glutinous rice used in making glutinous rice balls is neutral in nature, sweet in taste, nourishes deficiency and regulates blood, strengthens the spleen and appetite, replenishes qi and stops diarrhea, and has the functions of warming the middle, promoting body fluids and moistening dryness. Glutinous rice “tonifies the spleen and stomach and replenishes lung qi. When the spleen and stomach are nourished, the bowels will be warm and the stool will be firm.”

Warmth can nourish qi, and when qi is inflated, the body will become hotter. In addition, various kinds of glutinous rice dumpling fillings, such as rock sugar, yam, jujube, walnut, rose, osmanthus, hawthorn, etc., have varying degrees of nourishing functions and certain medicinal properties for the body. effect.