Recipe: Porridge Bars (snack time!)

These porridge bars are sort of like a soft cereal or granola bar. They mix up really quickly and freeze well.   These bars are adapted from the porridge bites I posted here and also inspired by my pal Fiona, who has her own version of them. I think they are better for slightly older babies (we first gave them to MiniMe at 9 months) who are confident chewing because the bar is much denser than the bites.  

Ingredients:

Makes 8-10 bars

1 cup oats
1 mashed banana mixed with enough milk to make 1 cup of liquid
handful of blueberries

PRE HEAT Oven to 180F
Line a 2 lb loaf tin with parchment paper or foil

In a bowl mix all ingredients together and let rest for about 10 mins, until it starts to look like porridge.
Spread evenly into the loaf tin.

Bake for about 25-30 mins until the top is golden and the mixture feels firm.

Allow to cool completely before removing from tin and slicing.

I would suggest freezing most of these in a ziploc bag once they are cooled and storing the remainder in an airtight container in the fridge.  They don't keep fresh long so it is best to freeze them.  The up side is that they defrost really quickly (like within an hour).

Recipe: Porridge Bites

I have been scouring Pinterest for links to recipes for MiniMe.  I've looked at Baby Led Weaning Boards, Toddler Food Boards, and boards for Kids' Food. One of the nice things about going down the Baby Led Weaning path is that I can make things for MiniMe that older babies and children might eat. 

I found a lovely food blog called What's On The Menu and have been drooling over all the baby led weaning-friendly recipes, especially this recipe for porridge cakes. 

Banana Porridge Bites

When I tried to offer MiniMe some porridge in Week 2 she was extremely underwhelmed by it.  I don't know if it was the texture, or the taste, or the squishy sound it made...but there was something about it that she just wasn't interested in.  I think it was the feeling of oats she didn't like...remember she avoids most slimy, squishy foods (bananas, avocados, weetabix).  So when I saw the recipe for porridge cakes I was really keen to try them out. 

They are super simple. 

To make 6 mini porridge bites you need 3 TBSP OATS and 3 TBSP of milk (whole milk, breast milk, formula).  Mix those together and let them sit for a bit, and then add in some chopped fruits, squished berries, mashed banana, maybe some grated apple, carrot or courgette and then spoon into your mini muffin tin and bake at 180C for about 15-20 mins.  

The outside bakes together to form a crust, while the inside stays soft, making it easy for little hands to pick up and gum.  Even though they are MINI I've been ripping the bites in half for MiniMe so that she can "bite" into them more easily.  

These are super easy to make and keep well stored in an air tight container for a couple of days.  I've just been making 6 at a time since we are still in the early days of weaning but I'll double the recipe to make a larger batch once MiniMe gets the hang of the swallowing thing.