Nutritional Characteristics of Weaning Foods Prepared from Germinated Cereals and Legumes

Acceptable and microbiologically safe weaning food formulations prepared from 70:30 combination of germinated rice:mungbean, germinated rice:cowpea, germinated corn:mungbean, and germinated corn:cowpea were nutritionally evaluated. Germination reduced the dietary bulk of the formulations due to decrease in viscosity of gruels, hence increasing their nutrient density. All blends had amino acid values that approximated the FAO reference pattern, except for the S‐containing amino acids. The rice‐based formulations were found superior to the corn‐based ones based on the chemical score for cys‐tine/methionine, net dietary protein energy and protein efficiency ratio. Germination increased the micronutrient contents of the formulations except for calcium.