Being a responsible parent includes fulfilling nutritional requirements for your growing infants. Are you wondering whether Quaker Oats are the right food option for your 1 year old baby?
Yes, Quaker Oats are commercially manufacture brand of oatmeal that provides a nutritious source of healthy fats, fiber and protein for a 1 year old baby. Furthermore, oats supply essential vitamins and minerals that benefit a balanced diet at any age.
When your baby is very young, he/she will mostly rely on breastmilk. However, they grow quickly and their body will demand different food options to foster overall growth and development.
That’s why you need to look for the right food options that will be safe and nutritious for your kids. If you’re looking for a pureed food that is suitable for infants, than look no further than oatmeal for babies.
Needless to say, oats are a nutritious whole grain that is easily available, can be cooked in various ways, and also offers a wealth of essential vitamins, antioxidants, fibers, minerals, and much more too. So, are Quaker Oats safe for babies to eat?
Can I give Quaker Oats to my baby?
Did you know that babies can eat oatmeal? Yes, oatmeal is undoubtedly one of the best baby foods. It’s easy to cook, serve and digest. In addition, oats offer a superior nutrition value that helps bone growth and neurological development.
Definitely, you can offer Quaker Oats to your baby without any dilemma. Although different types of oatmeal options are available to consumers, Quaker Oats are one of the most common recommendations for little babies.
Are you wondering what can be the possible reason behind the recommendation to eat Quaker Oats brand of oatmeal? Well, there are a few things that you should note:
- Include the benefits of 100% wholegrain oats i.e. it is a potent source of plant based protein, healthy fats and dietary fibers.
- Relatively less processed compared to other available oatmeal varieties. Since these Quaker oatmeals are less processed, they perfectly retain the same health and nutrition values as the original whole grain oats.
- Easy to make baby oatmeal from regular oatmeal.
- Plain oatmeal typically does not contain any additional flavors, tastes, and artificial colors.
- Trusted brand that dates back to 1850.
Of course, you should attempt to serve natural and healthy food to your baby which is less processed and does not contain external ingredients. Isn’t it? Therefore, Quaker Oats are a great option for babies to eat.
When can babies eat quaker oatmeal?
Babies can eat Quaker oatmeal once they have become at least six months old. Before they have turned six months of age, it’s recommended to offer them only breastmilk.
However, after this period, your babies growing appetite will be ready to consume oatmeal without any issue.
Rest assured that Quaker Oatmeal is very easy to digest and also helps to promote healthy bowel movements. Start with some simple preparation made only with water, as a result it won’t put much pressure on your baby’s stomach.
Babies can start to be introduced to oatmeal at six months of age without much risk of adverse reactions or side effects of oats for babies. Therefore, Quaker Oats are definitely a good choice for 1 year old baby to eat.
How to Prepare Quaker oats for babies?
As mentioned, if you are serving Quaker Oats for the first time to your baby, then you must be a bit careful about the preparation.
Only use water to prepare a simple oatmeal recipe so that it is easy to digest for the baby. After your baby gets used to eating oats, then you can start to introduce more complex concoctions.
Of course, you can’t serve raw Quaker Oats to babies. You will rather need to cook the oatmeal into a porridge mixture by adding any of the ingredients listed below as per your choice and preference:
Baby Oatmeal with Water
Plain water is the best option when it comes to starting to introduce your baby to oatmeal. Plain water is easily available and perfect to use for making a simple oatmeal porridge mixture.
As a better recommendation, you should use boiled water to hydrate precooked oats as it removes most of the germs or pathogens present in plain water.
Baby Oatmeal with Breastmilk
As you probably know, breastmilk is rich in vitamins, minerals, sugar, and protein. In addition, it is loaded with a myriad of bioactive components.
It’s indeed a good option for preparing oatmeal recipes for babies. Cook the oatmeal with plain water, then stir in the breastmilk to maintain the bioavailable nutrition.
Baby Oatmeal with Formula
Baby oatmeal can be cooked with the formula inside, however stirring formula into plain porridge will also be a nutritious addition. Formula can be mixed into precooked Quaker Oats for a nutritious meal that is easy to serve to your 1 year old baby.
In general, it’s best to start out with plain oats, and then gradually introduce oatmeal mixed with formula. Explore different baby oatmeal recipes with formula and see what works best for your infant.
Baby Oatmeal with Milk
Milk is an all-time favorite and nutrient-rich liquid that contains essential nutrients for strong bones, healthy teeth, and muscle development.
Luckily, milk is an excellent ingredient when it comes to preparing Quaker oatmeal recipes for your babies. Both milk and oats have an exceptional nutrition profile. So, please feel free to add them together and you can easily prepare a perfect recipe for your babies.
How to Make Quaker Oats for babies?
In the previous sections, we discussed four options that can be added to Quaker Oats to prepare a healthy and nutritious meal for babies to eat.
The recipes are very simple and straight-forward, all you will have to prepare is a mixture of Quaker Oats with either water, breastmilk, formula or milk. That’s it! Once the mixture is ready, you can serve it to the babies.
Best ways to make Quaker Oats for babies:
- Overnight oats: This is the no-cook method of making a simple oatmeal porridge recipe. You will need to mix Quaker Oats with liquid and let it rest overnight.
It is recommended to put the preparation inside a sealed container and place in your refrigerator for overnight. In the morning, you will find it converted in a pudding-like porridge, let it come to the room temperature, and then serve it to the baby. - Baked: This is another way of preparing oatmeal recipes. All you will need to preheat your oven first. You should prepare an oatmeal mixture, place into an oven-proof baking dish, place the in the oven, and leave it to bake for 30-35 minutes.
Ideally, you should bake the mixture until it has become golden brown and fully cooked. If it has not become too dry, simply stir a bit of extra liquid. Allow the baked oats to cool to room temperature before serving. - Microwave: It’s a simple, quick, and easy method of preparing oatmeals for babies. In this case, you will have to prepare the oatmeal mixture, place in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave the entire mixture for 2 minutes or until cooked. Stop and stir the oatmeal every 30 seconds to ensure it cooks evenly.
Make sure to cool the microwaved oatmeal to room temperature before serving to an infant. - Stovetop: Cooking oats in a pot on the stovetop is the traditional way of preparing oatmeal for babies. Pour some water in a pan and bring it to the boiling point. Stir int he raw oats and cook for about 4-5 minutes.
Take the cooked oatmeal off the stovetop and cool to room temp before you serve it to the baby.
There you have it, Quaker Oats are good for a 1 year old baby to eat. In fact, babies can eat oatmeal at anytime after six months of age.
Baby oatmeal can be prepared with water, breastmilk, formula or milk. Consider blending in juice, fruits, vegetables and other toppings once the baby has become more comfortable digesting the whole grain food.
Oatmeal is a whole grain source of plant based nutrition. Go ahead and serve up a healthy bowl of oatmeal to your baby knowing that they are getting a wholesome and well rounded meal that a growing body needs.
Related: Best Oatmeal Brands For Babies
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FATIYAH ABDUL HADI
Wednesday 16th of June 2021
Hi, for rolled oat, at what age we can just prepare the oat without cooking it. At what age that it is safe for the baby to just take oat as adult does such as overnight oat?
Joshua
Thursday 17th of June 2021
To be honest, this is a question should should consult with a professional physician or dietician. However, I think that the answer would suggest that you could slowly introduce overnight oats to a child around 1 year of age. Start with a very small amount and allow the child's digestive system to become acclimated to processing soaked oats. Over time, observe for any side effects or allergic reactions, and gradually increase the portion size if all signs are positive. Hope this response helps in your search for information. Warmly, Joshua