Baby food, baby porridge

Porridge is not just for Goldilocks or the three bears but it is for the whole family. My babies love porridge! I have posted about the breakfast porridge I make during the winter but here is the goods I make for my little ones until they can chew grains.

Here is Eva helping me grind grains with a hand crank grain mill.

Her and a friend helped me so we got a lot done. This mill is super easy!
In the last post I showed brown rice, which is a first food, and from there I move on to oats. Either steel cut or old fashion. I love using mason jars and at hardware stores like Ace you can find plastic lids like the one showed here. I put scotch tape on the lid to mark the instructions.

Porridge

1 c water

1/4 c ground grain

Mix together in big pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat, lid, and cook 10 minutes. Take off heat and whisk really good to break up the lumps. I use a plastic whisk so I don't scratch my enamel. I usually double so I have enough for several days.

Other grains you can use: quinoa, millet, amaranth, barley,

Once cooled I store in glass containers. 1/4 to 1/2 cup serving is a good amount for the first few months. I like having some in the red containers ready to grab for church nights or babysitters. The blue I will scoop from on nights we are home.

This is how I do porridge. I read Super Baby Food by Ruth Yarin when Eva was a baby. I love it! She is my inspiration for these post. I would say most of this is her information with my own spin on it. I give her all the props.

Baby Food, First Foods

This is the first of many post on baby food. I follow two things on this subject; exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months (WHO & AAP) and Super Baby Food by Ruth Yarin.

First foods is the first step. I start with avocados first. Many people don't believe you can freeze them, oh, but you can. Buy them up on sale mash them and freeze. I did this months ahead and was ready to go when Wren was ready.

Next is rice cereal. I bought organic 'quick' cereal for a long time this time around because of our hectic May and June. Once our lives calmed down then I was able to make my own brown rice porridge. More details to come on this.

Other first foods in my book include organic whole milk yogurt, sweet potatoes (sweets pots), applesauce, and banana.
Here are my baby dishes. Two sizes of glass bowls, cheese jar for a glass, and spoons.

Food is not just for energy but it is also an area of training. Having a food that they learn to pinch and feed themselves is vitally important. They will not be spoon feed their whole lives so start from the get go that they are to learn to be self sufficient. I use puff easy melt things for the first month or so then move on to Cheerios.

More is soon to come. If you doubt this I dont blame you. I have the pictures uploaded so hopefully in the next few days you will learn about fruits and veggies. Until then, good night.