How to make Homemade Baby Cereal

Last week I dedicated a post about Baby Cereals in general: which one to choose from, homemade vs store bought ones, arsenic levels in rice….some basic information I thought new moms might be interested in 🙂 (if you missed it out, here you are the link).

To add more to the “Baby Cereal” topic,  today I’m sharing with you the super simple recipe to make homemade Baby Cereals (any kind you like, the recipe it’s all the same!!!).

Basically all you really need is a very powerful food processor to transform the grains in flour. That’s all 😉 I don’t know how many food processors/blenders I’ve been using…and destroying through the years (I’m very rough with them, hi hi!). I think that a powerful food processor is a needed investment in the kitchen, either if you are preparing baby food or simply cooking for your family. If you are curious to know what I use, that’s my new “investment” that I’m very happy with 🙂

Here you are the simple procedure:

• Rinse the cereal under running water to remove the debris and any unwanted element on the surface
• Let them dry out on a clean kitchen cloth. It should take nothing more than 1 hour.
• Place the cereal in a food processor and blend up until you will obtain a flour consistency. It took me 5 minutes
• Now you have two options:
  • STORE the baby cereal in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 months
  • COOK the baby cereal for your little one right away
    • In a medium pan add 1 Cup of water and 1/4 cup baby cereal
    • Cook for 10 minutes at medium/low heat, keep stirring.
    • Thin the baby cereal with either hot water/breastmilk/baby formula to reached the desired consistency

Few additional information:

• You can mix the cooked baby cereal with a veggie or fruit puree to create a more complete meal for your little one
• You can store the cooked baby cereal leftovers in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to three days.
• You can freeze the cooked baby cereal for up to three months in an air tight baby food container even if I suggest to grind it in flour and simply store the flour in the refrigerator and cook a small amount when needed.
• Homemade Baby Cereal cannot be given raw to your baby, it needs to be cooked. The instant store bought baby cereal is pre-cooked, that’s why you can simply mix it with some hot liquid and serve immediately to your baby.
• If your food processor is not enough strong to create a flour consistency, don’t worry. You can always use a kitchen strainer to separate the flour from the small chunks.

If you just entered the amazing exciting world of homemade baby food, you might be interested in these videos too:

How to thaw frozen baby food
How to thin baby food
How to freeze baby food
Can I give salt to my baby?
Introducing Solids in your baby’s diet
Introducing Dairy in your baby’s diet
Baby food cooking methods
Baby Cold remedy
Baby Constipation Food Remedy
Baby Diarrhea Food Remedy

To store my homemade baby cereal I used Glass Baby Food Cubes, 4oz, by Green Spouts, you can find them here.