Baby's first porridge

Cliché of the day: Time flies when you're having fun. Well it flies whether you're having fun or not, but mostly we've had fun. What am I talking about?

Baby Erika turned 6 months already. I don't know how it works in other places but in Finland you go for monthly check ups the first 6 months. And now that it was time again, the nurse told us that now that Baby Erika has started tasting vegetable purees the last few weeks, it would be a good time to start with morning and evening porridge as well. I told her i have a porridge blog and this would definitely get to be a blog post. She commented that it's actually a very good idea because she's always surprised by how many phone calls she gets about how to cook food, porridge included, for babies and toddlers. People who have never cooked are suddenly expected to make healthy, nutricious, home cooked, versatile food for their children.

So here is what i know: Depending on how old your baby is when you start with porridge, you might want to begin with something really mild, like rice porridge. Don't confuse this with the delicious creamy christmas porridge that you make with rice grains. These are rice flakes that make a really soft baby friendly porridge. You can find it on the shelves with baby food, don't go looking where the normal grains are. This is because no one but babies would eat this since it is essentially tasteless.

Since Erika is already over 6 months i decided to start with oatmeal. That's what we had at home anyway. Here you can use the normal kind, it doesn't have to be special baby oatmeal although I'm sure you can find that on the baby food shelves as well. What i did first was to put a couple of deciliters of normal wholegrain oats in the mixer and mix it to almost flour. For the first portions i made the porridge only from the crushed grains and after making that for a few days i started mixing in some normal grains as well. When these crushed grains have all been used up i think she will be ok with only the normal grains from then on. She seems to be more particular on the amount of fluid in the porridge anyway than the consistency of the grains. She likes her porridge quite thin, this girl.

Normal oats in the big jar and a mix of crushed and normal oats in the small one. This way i don't have to take out the mixer everytime i make porridge for the baby.

Baby's first (ever) porridge
serves 1 baby, with lots left over to massage into baby's face and hair, baby chair, bib, baby's clothes, mom's clothes and whatever else you can find close by.

1 tbsp crushed wholegrain oatmeal grains
3 tbsp water (can be substituted with breast milk or formula)

Mix together in a microwave safe bowl and cook at 600W for under a minute. Keep your eyes on it, it boils over really fast. I usually put it back in and bring to a boil one more time before i take it out to cool. Be sure to let it cool enough, i bet you will not get more than one spoonful in if the porridge is too hot. Good luck!

Here we go! She ate about a third of what's in the bowl. Quite a lot that is :)

Porridge elsewhere on the web!

"Traditionally the English enjoyed their porridge with milk, buttermilk, butter and salt. In Scotland, they preferred butter, cream or beef broo' (the skimmings of beef fat from the cooking pot). In Asia, rice porridge (congee) is still eaten with a base of rice cooked in chicken stock and topped with lean pork, pig's liver and raw egg yolks." A. Forge

Found this great article by dietitian and columnist Arabella Forge. It covers lots of basic cooking and soaking tips about porridge, has a couple of great-looking recipes and is a short and easy read. 

Rolled Rye (front), Spelt (back) and Buckwheat (right)
Photo: Simon Schluter

Spelt, Rye and Cinnamon Porridge with a Pear and Prune Compote
Photo: Simon Schluter

"The preparation of grains prior to cooking can make a huge difference to their taste and flavour. Pre-soaking grains shortens cooking time and improves the creamy texture of the grain. It also makes the grains easier to digest and helps the body absorb nutrients such as B vitamins and minerals." A. Forge

"While there are plenty of “quick” porridge mixes available in the shops these days, porridge is best when it's cooked slowly, with lots of stirring. Adding the right amount of liquid is also essential to ensure the porridge is not fibrous or gluey. A good rule is to add a little water at a time and continue to stir. A generous-sized, sturdy wooden spoon is essential." A. Forge

Have a look at the article here , and if you want a detailed basic recipe for great-tasting rolled-oats porridge, look no further than to the very first post on this blog!

Overnight Slow Food Barley Porridge

I wrote about barley porridge in the oven on the blog before. I've now tried a new way of making the same thing. Even easier. You just put the porridge in the oven overnight. In the morning you wake up to the smell of delicious barley, just take out a bowl and breakfast is served.

Overnight barley porridge serves 4

2 dl whole barley grains (preferably wholegrain)
1,1 L milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
a couple knobs of butter

Heat the oven to 100°C. Put all the ingredients in an ovensafe dish. Leave the porridge in the oven overnight (8 hours). Eat with a little cinnamon and sugar and some milk. Or with fresh berries, yum.

Chocolate Banana Pecan Porridge with Rye and Oats

Todays recipe tastes like dessert but is as healthy as anything. How can you say no to that? Bananas are great sources of potassium and vitamin C and dark chocolate has a high level of iron. I used Green & Blacks organic 70% chocolate, which is really good and not too sweet.

I like mixing grains. I rarely make porridge just with rye (the Rye, Walnut and Date Porridge being a delicious exception), but mixed with regular oats, rye gives the porridge a deeper, nuttier taste. I like this especially when making a sweeter porridge recipe like todays recipe.

Chocolate Banana Pecan Porridge with Rye and Oats

Cooking time: 30min (10min if pre-soaked)

Ingredients (serves 1)

1/3 cup regular oats

1/3 cup rye flakes

1/2 cup water 

1/2 cup of milk or almond milk

pinch of salt

2 pieces of dark 70% chocolate, chopped

1/2 banana, chopped

small handful of pecan nuts, chopped

Mix the rye and oat flakes, the water, milk and salt in a non-stick pan, bring it to the boil and let simmer under a lid. Mix with a wooden spoon every now and then and add a little water or milk if the porridge gets too thick to your liking or starts getting sticky. Slice the banana lengthwise into four and then chop it chocolate and pecan nuts. After about 25 minutes, move the porridge off the heat and let stand for 5 min. Mix in half the chopped banana, pecan and chocolate, pour the mix into a bowl and top with the rest. Enjoy!

Spelt porridge with honey roasted nuts

Meet my new aquaintance, the protein rich spelt grain:

Spelt is a relative of old wheat

Spelt comes in many forms - grains, pearls, semolina, flour etc. so expect more recipes in posts to come. In this recipe i have used large wholegrain spelt grains.

Spelt porridge (serves 4)

1 L milk of choice

3 dl large wholegrain spelt grains

1/2 tsp salt

Bring the milk to the boil. Add the spelt and the salt. Let simmer for 40-50 minutes, stirring every now and then. The longer you let it cook the better the spelt flavour will emerge.

Honey roasted nuts

Two large handfuls of nuts of your choice. I used cashews and walnuts.

1-2 tbsp butter

1-2 tbsp honey

Roast the nuts in a small dry frying pan til they're hot and have some colour. Put them in a bowl. Put the butter and honey in the pan and mix to a sauce. Add the nuts and cook for a few minutes.

I used 1 tbsp of both honey and butter on the nuts and that turned out delicious. However, there could have been a little more of the "sticky stuff". If you are also a fan of "sticky stuff" try using 2 tbsp of each.

Good News About the Health Benefits of Oats

Last week there were some good news for porridge lovers, specifically concerning oats and oatmeal. Oats have long been recognized for their ability to lower levels of harmful cholesterol. Research has also shown that oats can produce a lowering of glycemic response, body weight, and blood pressure, as well as increasing satiety. In many countries products containing oats are allowed to be marketed as health products because the link to improved health has been sufficiently well researched. The main benefit comes from the beta-glucan that oats contain, but research that was presented last week suggest that there might be other components in oats that add to the health benefits. Here's The Telegraph reporting from the Annual Conference of the American Chemical Society in Dallas:

"Researchers said studies suggest that a bioactive compound called avenanthramide could stop fat forming in the arteries, causing heart attacks and strokes.

Dr Shengmin Sang, from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University said: “While the data to support the importance of oat beta-glucan remains, these studies reveal that the heart health benefit of eating oats may go beyond fibre.

“As the scientific investigators dig deeper, we have discovered that the bioactive compounds found in oats may provide additional cardio-protective benefits.”

Researchers believe that the bioactive compounds in oats could stop fat formation in the arteries, which can become a condition called atherosclerosis."

Oatmeal is not just healthy, but delicious! Check out our easy beginner's recipe for Basic Rolled-Oats Porridge that you can  eat as such or spice up with nuts, berries and whatever else you find in your cupboard; the Fridge Porridge that you make overnight and don't even need to cook; and, for the connoisseurs or on a rainy day, the fantastic Scotsman (oatmeal with whiskey, cream & honey).

Slow and lazy

If you fancy something delicious but you really don't want to work for it, go for barley porridge made in the oven. The only thing you need is time.

Ok, you also need 2 dl of whole barley grains, 1,5 litres of milk and 1 tsp of salt. You can also throw in a knob of butter, if you want. And you need an oven dish with high edges.

This is what you do: Preheat the oven to 150°. Butter your oven dish. Put the ingredients in the dish and put it in the oven, on the lowest level. Take it out 3 hrs later and let it sit for a while. Eat with some fresh berries or throw some frozen ones in a blender..

So good! And very different from the stove top barley porridge I wrote about a while ago. Not creamy and thick, but with a really nice roasted flavour.
 

When I told my dad that I had made this kind of porridge, he got nostalgic and told me his grandmother used to make it when he was little. He also recommended that you fry any leftover porridge in butter the next day and you'll get a nice treat.

Why such slow recipes?

As you might have noticed many of our recipes take quite long to make. All our recipes can be made with quick oats, crushed or pearl barley or rice flakes instead of rice, depending on how much time you have to spare and what you want to get out of the porridge. The reason we tend to use the wholegrain versions is simple: 

whole grains taste better, get creamier when cooked and are more nutritious. 

The more you process the grain, the more you loose of the most nutritious parts of the grain.
The processed grains have a higher starch content as compared to other nutrients, which is part of why they've become such a no-no for a lot of carb-conscious people. Real whole grains have a rich amount of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre, as well as protein and fats. Also, the complex structure of the carbs in unprocessed grains make them slow for the body to take up. This means that instead of the quick peak in blood sugar you get from sweets and highly processed foods, you get a more modest blood sugar rise that is easier for the body to handle. If you cook your porridge using milk the end product has a surprisingly high protein content, and if you're still not sure, go ahead and throw in some nuts and seeds or, as my body-building friend does, mix in some cottage cheese after the cooking is done.

Heres a comparison of a bunch of different whole grains and their nutritional contents from the Whole Grains Council. Looking forward to blogging about lots of these grains in the future! Linn-Sofie is just finising up a delicious barley oven porridge recipe, should be up here shortly.