Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal

Since oatmeal is pretty much a daily staple at our house, we have to mix it up sometimes. I found this recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal on Women’s Health Magazine and adapted it to use regular, old fashioned oats instead of instant oatmeal.

Ingredients

• 2 cups soy milk (or regular milk, I find that soy milk sweetens oatmeal more than regular)
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 2 squares of baking chocolate, 1 ounce each)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan and cook on low for about 20 minutes, or until the oatmeal reaches a creamy consistency.
2. Enjoy! Store unused portions in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for tomorrow.

Yields 2 cups.

Filed under: Berries, Fruit, Grains, Oatmeal, superfoods, baby food, baby food recipe, breakfast, healthy toddler recipe, homemade baby food, oatmeal, oats, raspberry, Recipes, soy milk, superfoods, wholesome baby food, wholesome toddler food, Women's Health Magazine

Pumpkin Oatmeal

I’ve recently roasted a few pumpkins and pureed them for use in baby foods and probably a few breads and cookies in the next few months. My toddler loves oatmeal, and even though we have been using apples primarily, we’ve started using pumpkin, both roasted and canned. She now asks for “punka” almost every morning! Great way to get baby some veggies first thing in the morning. First time roasting pumpkin? Click here to read instructions.

Ingredients
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup soy milk (or you can use regular cow’s milk)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree (if you’re using puree that you’ve stored in ice cube trays, 1/3 cup equals 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, so use either 5 or 6 cubes since a cube is roughly a tablespoon. Either way, you really can’t go wrong here.)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice, note that if you’ve already spiced your pumpkin cubes using this recipe, you don’t need the ground cinnamon)

1/2 tsp agave nectar (in a pinch, you can use honey or brown sugar to taste)

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and stir. If you’re using frozen pumpkin puree cubes, just throw them in frozen
Heat over medium heat, stirring consistently about 8-10 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.

I’ve found that this makes about 3 meals for my little one, each about 3/4 cup. Enjoy!

Filed under: Cinnamon, Dairy, Grains, Herbs and Spices, Oatmeal, Pumpkin, Uncategorized, Vegetables, agave nectar, baby food, baby food recipe, breakfast, cinnamon, Dairy, oats, Pumpkin, soy, toddler food, wholesome baby food, wholesome toddler food

One food I’ll never leave the store without…

Bananas.

Mashed, frozen, sliced, diced to bites, in a medley – you get the point.

Banana Mash

1. Mash with the back side of a fork
2. If needed, combine with juice, water or baby’s milk

Combo Ideas

• Apple puree
• Blueberry puree
• Oatmeal cereal
• Sweet potato
• Apricot puree
• Mango puree
• Strawberry puree
• yogurt

Flavor Ideas

• Ginger
• Lemon zest

Sliced Bananas (Freezer Friendly)

1. Peel jacket from banana and slice
2. Freeze slices for quick snack or to mash for a meal

Banana Bites

1. Peel jacket from banana and slice
2. Dice banana slices into quarters
3. Sprinkle with Cheerio dust or toast dust to make it easier for baby to pick up (optional)

You can also freeze a banana whole in its peel. The peel will turn brown but the fruit will not. Do you have a favorite banana recipe or tip? Let me know!

Filed under: Banana, Best Of, Finger Food, food, Freezer Friendly, Fruit, Ginger, Oatmeal, Sweet Potato, Uncategorized, baby, banana, infant, yogurt