When it comes to starting solids, many moms like to begin with baby cereals, and for good reason — their smooth texture and bland taste make them great first foods. But store bought baby cereal, while convenient, isn’t exactly cheap. Standard infant cereals cost around $.40 cents per ounce, and if you want organic, be prepared to pay even more! Organic baby cereals are closer to $.65 or $.70 per ounce.
So how can you enjoy all the benefits of baby cereal without the hefty price tag? Three words: make your own! Sure, making infant cereal requires a few more steps than, say, making mashed bananas 😉 But once you know the basics, you’ll find that it’s not difficult. And the best part? You can use these techniques to make baby cereals out of many types of grains.
Let’s get started!
Homemade Oatmeal Cereal
- 1 oz. 1/4 cup oat powder
- 8 oz. 1 cup water
- breastmilk or formula (for thinning)
To make the oat powder
- Grind a small quantity of oats into a fine powder. You can do this in a food processor or blender, but we recommend using a coffee or spice grinder to get the finest powder possible.
To make the oatmeal cereal
- First bring the water to a boil.
- Add the oat powder, whisking constantly as you add it. It’s important to whisk, whisk, whisk, so that your powder doesn’t lump together and stick.
- Once you’ve added all the powder, reduce the heat to low and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Don’t forget to keep whisking!
- Finally, stir in enough breastmilk or formula to achieve the consistency you want.
- Allow cereal to cool completely before you serve it to your baby.
Homemade Rice Cereal
- 1 oz. 1/4 cup rice powder (You can use brown or white rice, but we recommend brown. You can read more about why brown rice is healthier than white here.)
- 8 oz. 1 cup water
- breastmilk or formula (for thinning)
To make the rice powder
- Grind a small quantity of rice into a fine powder. You can do this in a food processor or blender, but we recommend using a coffee or spice grinder to get the finest powder possible.
To make the rice cereal
- First bring the water to a boil.
- Add the rice powder, whisking constantly as you add it. It’s important to whisk, whisk, whisk, so that your powder doesn’t lump together and stick.
- Once you’ve added all the powder, reduce the heat to low and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Don’t forget to keep whisking!
- Finally, stir in enough breastmilk or formula to achieve the consistency you want.
- Allow cereal to cool completely before you serve it to your baby.
For tips on how to properly and safely store your leftover baby cereal, check out this article.
*Note: Store-bought infant cereal is fortified with iron, a mineral that babies need much more of starting around 6 months of age. If you decide to use homemade baby cereals instead of the store-bought varieties, talk to your pediatrician about whether your baby needs supplemental iron.
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