A Teething Baby Cereal Cookie Recipe – a reader’s yummy embellishment

Feb 12, 2010 Baby Food Recipes Updated, Cereals, Finger Foods

Kathryn sent us an email yesterday and I thought it should be shared with all of you!  This is a great twist on our fave. baby cereal cookie recipe!  Give it a try.

I just made the Our Favorite Baby Cereal Cookie Recipe but I used 1/4 cup rice (all i had left) and the rest whole grain oatmeal cereal — added a dash of cinnamon to the batter and a sprinkle on the top and they are a hit!!!!  Pamela (almost 11 months) is loving them and I have to admit that I am holding myself back from eating them too — they are like a delicious chewier biscotti!

Thanks Kathryn!  You can view all of the Teething Biscuit recipes by clicking here

Tags: oatmeal, teething

Cereal not a good first food – Throw that Box Away!

Jan 21, 2010 Cereals, Friendly Baby Food Advice

First an apology – I thought this had been posted at the end of Dec. but I found it in my Draft folder.  Luckily, there are no other important posts hanging about in that folder!

I learned of an interview done with Frank Greer, MD [American Academy of Pediatrics's Committee on Nutrition] and was so happy to finally be able to see a respected medical authority state that

“Complementary foods introduced to infants should be based on their nutrient requirements and the nutrient density of foods, not on traditional practices that have no scientific basis”

Dr. Greer goes on to say that

“newer thinking is that the emphasis for complementary foods should be on naturally nutrient-rich foods. This includes protein and fiber, along with vitamins A, C, D, and E and the B vitamins.” and he further says that

“In light of this thinking, rice cereal is a less than perfect choice for the first complementary food given to infants”

Hooray!  While skipping cereal and choosing fruits or veggies as first foods had been a growing recommendation, the above statements are the first  I have found that directly give the thumbs up to this practice!

The article [click here] goes on to advocate introducing meat as a first food.  Meat as a first food is already a recommendation in various countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom.  In many countries, meats have always been the first solid foods that baby is introduced to.

At last, science and anecdote come together and will soon produce an AAP publication that revises it’s recommendations for what solid foods baby should be introduced to first.  Hooray!

Next up, changing our Forbidden Baby Foods Chart.  Conservative as always, the new chart will reflect the ever growing body of evidence that suggests holding off on “allergic” foods probably doesn’t work.  Foods will still be included for posterity and for those have allergy prone babies or those who still want to take it slow.

Another Warm Cereal for Baby’s Tummy – Fruity Quinoa

Dec 30, 2009 Baby Food Recipes Updated, Cereals, grains

Here is another one of our favorite “exotic” grain breakfast cereal recipes.  We love quinoa and have taken to calling it the “martian grain” due to its odd appearance when cooked.

2 cups of water
1 cup quinoa
1 apple – thinly sliced and diced
handful of raisins – pureed or finely diced
cinnamon

How to:

Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add 1 cup quinoa, reduce heat, simmer for about 5 minutes then add the apple, raisins and cinnamon.  Simmer until water is absorbed; about 15 minutes.  Blend in milk, or yogurt and serve warm.

** Some people recommend rinsing and toasting quinoa prior to cooking it to get rid of its bitterness and enable easier digestion.  We have never had an issue with bitterness nor have we ever toasted it.   We don’t know if this will help with digestion as we have never heard of babies having difficulty with digesting quinoa.  We do recommend introducing it at 8 months + **

Visit our Quinoa page to learn about quinoa and find more recipes.  Visit our Blog post to see photos of this super grain.