There are just so many great reasons to make oatmeal a regular part of your baby’s diet!
It’s a super-nutritious whole grain that provides your little one with lots of vitamins and minerals. It’s also a great, natural immunity booster.
It’s quick and easy to prepare and very versatile, so you can use it as a base and add all sorts of ingredients that your baby enjoys. Plus it can be pureed to a lovely, smooth texture that’s easy for even baby food beginners to manage!
Adding flavor to oatmeal – without sugar
Some babies are happy to accept a very basic oatmeal made with just rolled oats and water. Whilst our little ones were happy with this at first, as their taste buds developed so did their need for a little extra flavour.
The good thing about oatmeal is that it’s really simple to turn it into something special without adding undesirable ingredients like sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Here are 4 fabulous ways to add a little ‘oomph’ to baby’s oatmeal and make it taste extra special!
Add a fruity fix!
There are 2 really easy ways to make a bowl of oatmeal taste a lot sweeter!
The first is to add mashed or pureed banana
Banana is, of course, a fabulous fruit for all sorts of reasons. It provides a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals – including B vitamins and iron – and ripe bananas contain the soluble fibre pectin. Pectin keeps things moving throughout the digestive system, helping prevent constipation.
Banana is also deliciously sweet, making it the perfect partner for oatmeal.
You can find more banana baby food recipes here
The second option is to use pureed raisins
Raisins are easy to puree – just soak them first in a bowl of warm water until they are plump and soft.
In addition to their sweetness, raisins add lots of iron to baby’s oatmeal.
Discover more about raisins and how to use them in your recipes
Go nuts!
Smooth peanut butter is a great addition to oatmeal. Not only does it add loads of flavour, it provides all-important protein, too.
The rules over introducing peanuts to your baby have changed quite a bit over recent years. Whereas doctors used to recommend avoiding nuts completely until your child reached 5 years of age, experts now suggest that – in some cases – the early introduction of nuts can help prevent allergies.
Learn when to offer peanuts to your baby
Add cinnamon
Adding a pinch of cinnamon is such a simple way to make a dramatic difference to baby’s breakfast!
It adds a natural sweetness and a lovely flavour that all our babies enjoyed – but did you know that cinnamon has health benefits of its own?
Rich in antioxidants, cinnamon is also a great aid to digestion – good to know if your baby is gassy! It’s also believed to be beneficial in easing cold symptoms and has antiseptic properties too.
Learn more about using cinnamon in your baby food recipes
Make it creamy
Oatmeal instantly becomes more appealing if it’s made with milk instead of water.
You can use breast milk, formula, or regular cow’s milk – and you can either substitute all of the water with milk, or just some of it.
Learn more about introducing dairy
For an extra boost of flavour, why not try coconut milk instead? Yum!
More oatmeal tips and ideas
To learn more about oatmeal – and the best type of oats to use – visit our Baby Oatmeal page