Berlin Bites: Overnight Super Porridge

I didn’t start feeding grains to Berlin until after she was one years old. There is much misguided information about baby’s first foods, but after talking to my pediatrician and doing a little research of my own, I discovered the typical “rice cereal” was actually the last thing you should be introducing to your baby’s diet, rather than the first.

Through my research I found babies actually lack the ability to digest grains properly. The enzyme necessary to breakdown starches, called amylase, is absent until approximately the first year of life, or the presence of molars.

What this means is when you feed your baby any type of grains; cereals, oatmeals, quinoa…these grains are causing possible issues with their gut and making it impossible for them to properly digest other nutrients.

This is obviously a personal decision, but I decided it was worth waiting the extra few months, until Berlin’s molars developed. Its been many months that Berlin has been enjoying all types of grains now and oatmeal is one of her favorite breakfast foods.

I was originally sticking with the tried and true steel cut oats for awhile, but then I decided to shake it up a bit by adding different types of grains to the mix and topping with more highly nutritious ingredients such as flax and wheat bran.

This particular recipe can easily be done on the stovetop, however I love the idea of throwing the ingredients into a slow cooker before bed and rising to breakfast already made and ready to go.

Overnight Super Porridge

1 cup of organic steel cut oats

1 cup of organic wheat berries

1/2 cup millet

1/2 cup raisins

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon brown sugar

6 cups of water

2 cups of Almond Milk (or milk of choice)

3 tablespoons ground flax seed

2 teaspoons oat bran

Toppings of choice: banana, dried fruits, honey, toasted almonds or walnuts

Add all dry ingredients (minus the flax and wheat bran) to a slow cooker, then add liquid and mix well.

Cook in slow cooker for 6 hours to overnight.

In the morning you will wake to the aroma of cinnamon and roasted raisins and you will be thanking me!

To eat, add the ground flax to the cooker and mix well, then fill your bowl with the porridge and layer with wheat bran and toppings of your choice.

This recipe makes a large batch of porridge, up to a week’s worth for baby and yourself.

P.S. Did I mention I made into the final round for the Best Family-Friendly Cooking Blog on the kitchn? Well, thanks to all of you I did! I couldn’t more thrilled about this, I just love the kitchn! Voting ends tonight and the blog with the most votes wins. I would love your support. If you would like to vote please do so here.