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Offline momma.bear

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homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« on: September 05, 2011, 01:44:46 am »
I'm planning to start my LO on solids in about 6 weeks and want to make my own baby food. I'm comfortable with making veggies and fruits, but am a little lost when it comes to cereals.
How do you grind oatmeal and barley? I have a large blender but it won't grind flaxseed so I'm a little concerned at how it would grind oatmeal or barley. Also, I've read that the texture changes when you refrigerate/freeze cereals. Do you then make this every day? Because that would turn me off from wanting to make my own! And how often do you feed cereal to your LO? Do you aim to include it at each meal once LO starts eating 3 meals a day?
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Offline Lemonthyme

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2011, 11:10:48 am »
I just feed at breakfast time.  To be honest I used to use Ready Brek from 6 months, occasionally having weetabix.  I did try some Bircher Muesli the other day but you would need to miss out (or whizz up) the fruit until they could cope with soft lumps and in the UK they don't recommend oats till after 6 months and tell you to use formula or breastmilk in cereal if you do give it before 6 month (but  I know this varies from country to country!)  http://mamacook.blogspot.com/2011/09/bircher-muesli-for-babies.html

What's your motivation for making your own?  I think before 6 months I would use the stuff specifically for babies but after 6 months I'd make sure I was choosing something without sugar or salt and mushy enough but apart from that, I'd just give 'normal' cereal with full fat milk.  I'm not sure there's any real benefit in grinding your own and I think oats are treated with steam to make them more digestible and cut cooking times when they're rolled?

That all said, I am very much a fan of making other foods myself.  If you're going down the puree route, I definitely recommend giving veg and fruit purees a go. 

As for the mealtimes, I tended to give cereal at breakfast and sometimes bread at lunchtime when he was on finger foods or pasta at one meal but it was more giving 'a carbohydrate' rather than deliberately choosing cereals.  Potatoes and rice are fine too.
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Offline Buntybear

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2011, 20:56:54 pm »
Oats are easy to whizz up in a food processor and I imagine you could do it in small amounts in the liquidiser. They keep in an air tight container well. Not sure about barley thugh. They are hard aren't they? I guess you would need a proper grinder like to grind coffee beans?
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Offline *Kara*

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2011, 03:39:43 am »
You can certainly use a coffee grinder...

I use commercial baby cereals... my DD lost interest in baby cereal a couple of months into solids... once they start to taste yummy fruits and veggies, cereal is pretty darn boring!
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Offline momma.bear

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2011, 11:46:58 am »
My mom has a coffee grinder so maybe I'll use that. I have looked everywhere for Heinz organic cereals but have had no luck. I want DD to get whole grains!
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Offline firsttimemummy

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2011, 12:06:39 pm »
Remember though that whole grains do fill them up a lot - M's dietician said to give white bread etc mainly so that he didn't fill up on just that, and give more variety of food along with it (but to give some wholegrain too to get used to the taste and goodness etc).

Baby/commercial cereals are also fortified with vitamins, etc too which is good for them.  I do sometimes give Oliver porridge with gluten free oatmeal (I think if you soak the oats for ages first they are softer) but I didn't start his solids until almost 6 months and started oats after that .... we tend to just use Ready Brek though as it's a good texture and has lots of added calcium etc
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Offline *Kara*

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2011, 14:40:41 pm »
Don't use a coffee grinder that has been used for coffee - you really can't get the oils out of them and you don't want baby getting coffee in with breakkie :)

Go buy a new one just for cereal:)
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Offline momma.bear

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2011, 14:54:09 pm »
i was hoping to avoid extra costs. i just found ground oatmeal, not quite powdery but it's ground pretty fine and it's whole grain. maybe i'll just buy organic baby brown rice then...
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Offline *Kara*

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2011, 17:38:51 pm »
The cost of a new grinder would be totally worth it compared to purchasing baby rice alone :)
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Offline Lemonthyme

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2011, 20:06:56 pm »
I only bought one pack of baby rice then didn't buy any more!
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Offline *Kara*

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2011, 22:50:42 pm »
Must be nice!  I am back to buying it for DD to end her loose pooper issues ::)
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Offline momma.bear

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #11 on: September 11, 2011, 00:23:40 am »
Quote from: Lemonthyme on September 10, 2011, 20:06:56 pm
I only bought one pack of baby rice then didn't buy any more!

Did your LO just not like it or did you use something else instead of rice cereal?
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Offline Lemonthyme

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #12 on: September 11, 2011, 18:41:51 pm »
He wasn't that fussed, I included it in some things then moved to oats when he was 6 months.  I agree with making my own stuff as far as possible but making my own rolled oats is along the lines of grinding my own wheat to make bread in my book; laudable but there is the dusting to do ;o)
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Offline Buntybear

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Re: homemade cereals- how do you do it?
« Reply #13 on: September 11, 2011, 20:20:15 pm »
I don't think we finished a rice cereal box either - blocked him up IYKWIM
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