Harvest Steel Cut Oatmeal – A hearty baby cereal and tasty for the whole family

7grainbreakfast

 

Nutritious Whole Grains

When choosing oatmeal to make baby cereal, skip the “instant” or “quick cook” whenever you can. The “quick cook” or “instant” oats have been processed to enable them to cook quickly.  Many of the instant oats you find also contain flavorings as well as sugar.

While this processing may not mean that chemical processing is involved, it does mean that the oats (specifically the instant kind) may have been precooked (steamed) or dehydrated and then rolled or cut into small bits.  Some brands of “instant” and “quick cook” oatmeal may not have as much soluble fiber as others.  Even rolled oats may be steamed prior to being rolled out.  All things considered, as long as you stay away from the flavored instant oats, quick cook oats and instant and even rolled oats are fine to use if you decide to use them.

Steel Cut Oats

For this hearty oatmeal, I used steel cut oats – these oats retain all of their nutritionally important parts and are merely cut into larger sizes and the oats themselves are not steamed or flattened and rolled.  Another thing I enjoy about the steel cut oats is the hearty and chewy texture.  These oats just “feel” good and natural.  When you eat a bowl of oatmeal made from steel cut oats,  they will fill your belly with nutritious warmth and goodness.

Making baby’s cereals from whole grains will allow her to experience the texture and taste of grains as they are meant to be – full of vibrant flavor and bursting with all their original nutrients.  By using whole grains (and real foods in general) to make baby food, you’re grooming your baby’s palate and taste buds to be accepting of food as it truly is, and as it should be.   I hope you enjoy this simple oatmeal cereal with your baby and the whole family.

Harvest Steel Cut Oatmeal – A hearty baby cereal and tasty for the whole family

A tasty, hearty and nutritious oatmeal

  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 cup of steel cut oats
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla (I used the powdered kind from Madecasse?)
  • 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon
  • 1 ripe pear
  • ?1/2 cup golden raisins

  1. Bring 3 cups of water to boil in a saucepan

  2. Add the oats, vanilla and cinnamon

  3. Return to a boil and then simmer over low for 20-30 minutes – stir as needed
  4. As the oats are cooking, cut the pear into thin slices
  5. Carefully cut around the core and the seeds – peel off the skin if desired – and set aside.
  6. Once the oats are finished cooking, spoon into bowls and garnish with pear slices and sprinkle raisins to taste.
  7. For baby:
  8. Puree the oatmeal (if needed). Mash or puree the pears as needed and puree or chop the raisins into very tiny pieces according to your baby’s texture needs.

No Allergens