oats, porridge and babies???? confused??

[Carameli]

I was going to start giving my dd(10.5mnths) oats and fresh fruit for breakfast mixed together. But I have no idea what type of oats I should get and whether I should cook them or can I just mix them with formula/water like the packet cereals you buy for babies.

Or what have others tried for breakfasts. I have been getting the organix ones so far which are great but just wanted her to have something different for a change.

just get the scotts porridge oats. you can use water and/or cows milk.

Hi Carameli

I use normal porridge oats for my 9 month old. According to the baby organix book, banana porridge is as follows:

1/2 tbsp oats
150 ml (5fl oz) water
1 small, ripe banana, mashed
2 tsp sultanas

Put ingredients in a pan, cover and bring to boil.Reduce heat and simmer gentley for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. It then says to puree but I just stir it all together and ds loves it.

I typically stick banana, raisins, grated apple, strawberries, raspberries in porridge (not all at the same time tho'

I just buy standard porridge oats from our health food shop - you can get them in supermarkets too. Then cook them up simmering for about 4-5 minutes in a little saucepan on the stove - when dd was about 8 months I would use 1 tablespoon of oats and about 3-4 fl oz of milk. You can do it in the microwave too - in which case you'll need less milk.

If you buy jumbo oats and are worried about them being too coarse you can always whizz them in the food processor before cooking. But I never found the need to do this.

I think you may be able to get some oat-based packets that don't need cooking, but I never found anything that didn't already have 'stuff' added to it! And I just wanted simple oats so I could add my own fruit. Making porridge is very easy.

For variety I also used to make porridge from quinoa flakes (from the health food shop) - same process as for oats.

My dd still eats both these porridge types at age 2!

I use Ready Brek which you do just mix with (boiling) milk then I out an ice cube of fruit in it to cool it down.

i do that too tommy

thanks for these great ideas. off shopping now

I've never tried quinoa flakes. Just had a quick surf on Google and found some great recipe ideas - will get some next time I'm shopping.