Porridge a´Plenty – Formula Version

For a healthy, easy, cheap and delicious meal, porridge is it. You can pack it with flavour and nourishment by switching between grains like oatmeal, buckwheat, millet and five-grain mix, and combine them with fruit, berries, spices, and oils. The possible variations are pretty close to endless, and our boys positively love it. Please note, that this recipe is for formula-based porridge. I will update the Toddler’s Tray section with a milk-based version, as soon as our boys are off the bottles. But here goes; right below you’ll find a template recipe serving three babies of one year of age, and further down a cheat-sheet with easy-to-follow guidelines for mixing it up or reducing the quantity.

Ingredients:

3 dl suitable “breakfast” grains
1 dl berries or a corresponding amount of diced fruit (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, currants, pears, apples, plums etc. Berries can be bought frozen and used directly from the freezer)
3 tsp butter or oil (coconut-oil, avocado-oil, walnut-oil etc. You can increase or decrease the amount of fat depending on your children’s age and nutritional needs)
5 dl water
12 measures of formula
Optional: 3 prunes to help digestion
Optional: spices (vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, sweet paprika etc.)

How to:

Pour fruit/berries/prunes into a microwave-safe container. Make sure the container has a vent, otherwise the porridge will most likely press the lid of and spill out.
Add the grain and then the water. And spices if you choose, and stir.
Boil for approx. 6 min. at highest setting in a microwave.
Now the porridge is crazy hot! Carefully add oil and formula, and mix in extra water if needed.
Leave to cool down until it reaches a suitable temperature. A windowsill by an open window will speed it up considerably.
Serve!

Cheat-sheet and more:

To reduce or increase the quantity of servings, use a corresponding proportion of ingredients; ie. roughly 1.7 dl water per dl grain. Accuracy is not really an issue, though: Too much liquid? Boil the porridge a bit longer. Too little? Add water afterwards.
Not all grains have the same cooking time. Millet, for example, might need a bit longer. Stir the porridge and check it – you can always put it back in the microwave for a couple of extra minutes. The same goes if cooking an alternative quantity. Cooking less porridge? Reduce the cooking time and check. Cooking more? Check after 6 min, and put it back in if its under-cooked.
If your children are too young to chew properly, you can either toss the ingredients in a blender before cooking, or you can mash the berries with a fork afterwards. Also, add more water to make it easier to swallow.
You can serve the porridge in reusable pouches, if you follow the above step.
Make a double portion, so you can use the leftovers for yummy (!) Porridge-patties.
Experiment! You can’t go wrong 🙂

∼ TDD 2015 ∼