Porridge Recipe

When on maternity leave or paternity leave most parents are on a budget and baby porridge can be quite expensive so why not try making your own porridge for a fraction of the cost? I've been buying large bags of rolled oats from ASDA for 75p. This porridge is one of my favourite breakfasts: it's cheap, easy, healthy, delicious, filling and a great start to the day for both babies and adults - what's not to love?

Pre-prep

This recipe requires a bit of pre-prep to make the porridge oats suitable for babies. But don't worry you can do this bit in bulk and store the oat powder so that you can take what you need each morning.

1. Blitz the porridge oats in a food processor until a fine powder is achieved. (Depending on the amount of oats and the size of your food processor you may need to do this in batches. You only want to 2/3 fill the food processor, too much or too little, will leave your oat powder with chunks in it.)
2. Store the oat powder in an air tight tub.

Ingredients

• 150ml oat powder
• 300ml whole milk (skimmed or semi-skimmed milk can be used but babies need the fat content in whole milk, so this is recommended when making porridge for babies. Dairy alternatives or lacofree milk can be used for those with allergies.)
• Flavourings - some ideas are given below.

This will make enough for 1 adult and 1baby, for every additional adult add an extra 100ml oat powder and 200ml milk.

Measurements are given in ml because I use a measuring scoop when making this recipe.

Method

1. Add the oat powder and milk to a saucepan and mix together.
2. Cook on a medium heat until the oat powder and milk have fully combined into a smooth mixture, approximately 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Serve. (Once served I like to add a splash of cold milk to Isabella's porridge to help it cool down.)

Flavourings

Here are a few suggestions of flavouring we enjoy adding to our porridge but it's by no means an exhaustive list and you could add anything that you fancy.

• Mashed banana (and honey. Honey should only be give to children over 1 year old as it contains bacteria that can be harmful to babies.)
• Strawberry pieces.
• Grated apple and cinnamon.
• Blueberries and cinnamon.

The strawberries and banana should be added after cooking, the apple and blueberries should be added during cooking.



Isabella eating her morning banana porridge.