At six months of age, babies usually start having solid food, initially some at around four.
Whilst mothers often dash to the stores to get cans of baby cereal at this stage; it’s healthier for your babies to enjoy freshly prepared homemade cereal.
If you were not familiar with the facts that your baby’s cereal could be made at home, now you understand that you sure can.
Steps to prepare Homemade Cereal for Babies
Popularly rice cereal may be the best alternative for mothers, but it is definitely not an exclusive piece for your baby to eat a solid diet.
Sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, and mashed avocados are equal to prepare ideal first foods for your baby and are super nutritious.
You can also give these tasty homemade cereals recipes a try at home.
1. Apple and Oats Cereal
- Age: Six months
- Cooking period: 15 minutes tops
Ingredients Needed
- Half an apple, trimmed and chopped
- ¾ cup, water
- ¼ cup ground oats
How to prepare
- Boil the oats, apple, and water for exactly 10 minutes. Make sure to cook the apples up to the point that it is easy to squash
- Instantly turn down the heat and let to cool down when cooked. Breast milk or formula can be added to dilute the meal, as you desire
Preservation process: The paste can be kept in a jar and place in the refrigerator; it is preferable to be served fresh.
2. Rice Cereal and Dal
- Age: Six months
- Cooking Period: 15 minutes
Ingredients Needed
- 1 tbsp, dal
- 3 cups of rice
Preparation process
- In separate bowls, rinse and dry the dal and the rice properly
- Fry the dal and the rice separately on a dry pan without adding anything
- Grind it into powder form when cool
- You can prepare by adding water to 2 tablespoons of the powder content to make a paste when ready to use
Preservation process: Store the powder in an airtight container for about 10 to 15 days.
3. Oatmeal Cereal
- Age: One year
- Cooking Period: 15 minutes
Ingredients Needed
- ¼ cup, Oats (ground in a food processor).
- 1 cup, Filtered water
- Formula milk/Breast milk
Preparation process
- Boil water in a pot, then add the oats
- Stir in a consistent manner
- Bring to boil on a low heat up till the preferred texture is acquired
- Add milk/formula milk, after cooling down
- Add some fruits and nuts as desired
Preservation process: Preferably served fresh, Can be store in a fridge in an airtight jar.
4. Barley Cereal
- Age: One year
- Cooking period: 15 minutes
Ingredients Needed
- ¼ cup of Barley powder
- 1 cup of water
- Formula milk/Breast milk
Preparation process
- Add in the barley powder to a pot of boiling water
- Frequently mix to avoid lumps
- Boil for ten minutes up till the preferred texture is acquired
- Turn down the heat, then allow cooling
- If desired, you can add nuts and fruits
Preservation process: Preferably served fresh, Can be store in a fridge in an airtight jar.
5. Rice Cereal
- Age: Six months old
- Cooking Period: 15 minutes
Ingredients Needed
- ¼ cup of brown rice powder
- 1 cup, water
- Formula milk/Breast milk
Preparation process
- Mill the brown rice to powder using a food processor
- Add the rice powder slowly to boiling water; then mix repeatedly
- Allow boiling on a low fire for 10 minutes
- Turn down the heat, then allow to cool
- Add an adequate amount of breast milk or formula to get the best texture for your baby.
Preservation process
Should be canned in a covered jar and be refrigerated in advance until you are ready to add breast milk or formula. Regardless it is better to serve fresh.
6. Multi-Grain Cereal
- Age: Seven months
- Cooking process: 20 minutes
Ingredients Needed
- 1 cup of hand pound rice
- ½ cup of foxtail millet
- ½ cup of moong dal
- ½ cup of Kodo millet
- ½ cup or gram dal
- ½ tsp of dry ginger powder
Preparation process
- Apart from the dry ginger powder, separately dry roast each ingredient
- Grind into a perfect paste after it cools down
- Then mix in the dry ginger powder
- Mix in clean water to one spoon of powder to form multi-grain cereal
Preservation process: Tightly store in a jar.
7. Homemade Lentil Cereal
- Age: Eight months
- Cooking period: 30 minutes
Ingredients Needed
- 1 ½ cup of brown rice
- 1 cup of brad dal
- 1 cup of green gram
- 1 cup of moong dal
- 1 cup of ghuna chana
- 1 cup of masoor dal
- 1 cup of dalia
- ½ cup of sabudana
- ½ cup of chana dal
- ½ cup of corn
- ½ cup, Almonds
- ½ cup, Cashew
- 10 pods of cardamom
Preparation process
- Apart from the cashews, almonds, and cardamom, submerge everything else in water overnight
- Toast the rice grains until soft and big
- The dalia and pulses must be toasted until golden brown
- The sabudana must be toasted up to a point it turns a bit dry and crispy
- Toast the bhuna chana up to the point that it becomes crispy and dry
- Fry corn till it becomes crispy
- The almonds and cardamom should be toasted until you can perceive the aroma
- Cashews should be fried up till they turn golden brown
- Blend all ingredients together to create a powder substance once all ingredients cool down
- Combine powder with lukewarm milk into a paste to feed your baby
Preservation process: If stored properly, it can stay for up to three months. So place in a jar with a lid.
8. Wheat Cereal
- Age: Eight months and older
- Cooking period: 20 minutes
Ingredients Needed
- 3 tbsp of Wheat flour
- 200 ml, water
- 1 small Banana
- 1/8 tsp of ghee
Preparation process
- Add flour to water and stir into a fine paste
- Prepare on low heat up to a point it becomes solid
- Turn off the heat and add in ghee
- Add mashed bananas when cooled
Preservation process: Best preferred to be made fresh.
9. Ragi Cereal
- Age: Nine months
- Cooking period: Two minutes to prepare, 30 hours (to dry ingredient)
Ingredients Needed
1 kg of Ragi
Preparation process
- Wash the ragi, and then soak for a maximum of 12 hours or overnight
- Make a potli by putting the ragi in white cotton cloth
- Put aside to cool down for up to 12 hours
- Once sprouts start growing, transfer to a plate and leave it in the shade for another six hours until it is completely dry
- Fry dry and then put aside to cool
- Grind into powder form, then filter it with a sieve; when it is cool
- Add a few spoons of the powder into a pot of boiling water, and prepare nicely
Preservation process: The powder can be kept in a jar approximately for three months
10. Sooji Cereal
- Age: Six months and older
- Cooking period: 15 minutes
Ingredients Needed
- 1 cup of Sooji
- 1 pinch, Elaichi powder
- Three cups of water
Preparation process
- Sooji should be dry toast
- Gradually put the toasted sooji into a pot of boiling water
- Continuously stir to avoid lumps from developing
- When properly cooked put down, your toddler can either enjoy it with milk or formula
Preservation process
The fresher, the better, but it can be stored in a jar and place in the refrigerator
Home Made Cereal FAQs
1. What kind of rice can be used for processing Homemade Cereal?
Babies cereal can be created with oats and whole grains also with rice, but the most commonly used amongst mums is rice. Rice cereal is mostly used by mums when considering their baby’s first solid meal. Some are sold in the markets, but they contain lots of artificial sweeteners, which is not suitable for toddlers.
Because of this, mothers are searching for a better way to produce their baby’s food in their own space. Rice cereal can be produced with any kind of rice; especially brown rice is more suitable for health benefits. Basmati and jasmine rice are used frequently to make baby cereal
Also, short-grained rice is the best to buy when selecting as it becomes softer than long-grained rice when cooked.
2. Should Homemade Cereal be Frozen?
It is advisable to just toast and blend the cereal to a powder form and cook the right amount of food your baby can eat, instead of preparing it over to freeze later. Even if you like to store in the refrigerator, try making it in small quantities just so you are not pleased with the outcome. Using the ice cube method, you can preserve it.
3. What is the easiest way to prepare Homemade Cereal For a Baby?
It’s advisable you start by making ready cereal powder of all kinds and stores. Anytime you can, just add them to boiling water and stir. Fruits, milk, and nuts can be added if your babies are mature enough to have them.
4. Should I Cook Cereal Powder before I Serve It?
Most definitely, it is important to cook your powder mixtures in boiling water before serving it to your baby. Because the rice or grains were not cooked before they were blended to powder, it makes it hard for babies to digest. Babies need meals that are simple to digest and swallow.
Though it might look like an additional work that is attached to your task while caring for a new baby, preparing homemade cereal is vastly important; in a way, you will be feeding your child with healthier and good food prepared with much love, instead of stocking your baby system with unhealthy proceed artificial foods.
