I was buying these little "bites" from the supermarket for my 11 month old, Luna - mostly because she was hungry one day in the supermarket and I had nothing with me.
She really enjoyed them but I do like to check labels of what I am buying for herself and our little family.
It occurred to me that a baby "organic healthy" brand had sunflower oil in the product as well as excess sodium- both things that are not ideal for us as adults let alone our babies.
So even though I was tired, even though it is easier to just buy packaged goods sometimes, I got home and made dinner and whilst it was cooking I decided to make some oats in coconut milk with some cinnamon. I figured if I just started there then I would have some breakfast ready for Luna when she woke up, and/or myself also. The plan was to make something similar to what I had bought but make it more nutrient dense, which is super easy to do when making something like this.
So I made the oats and she ended up having them for dinner, loved them!
Recipe for oats
1 cup oats, 1 tin of organic coconut milk, cinnamon to taste and a splash of filtered water.
Simmer on saucepan till cooked..
The next day they were mushy and cold and really sticky so I blended them with the following; (there would of been 3/4 of cup of them left at this stage)
If you are not a fan of oats you can also use quinoa or brown rice flakes!
3/4 cup of cooked oats (you can use water or any milk you like)
1 banana
3 pitted medjool dates
Sprinkle of hemp seeds (about a tablespoon)
Sprinkle of chia seeds (about a tablespoon)
1 tablespoon of tahini (or you could use any nut butter if bub has no known allergy - i use tahini because its so high in available calcium)
Sprinkle of cinnamon
splash of filtered water (this helps the seeds swell and bind the mixture as there are no eggs)
*I added a tsp of baking powder so that they would rise a little but you don't have to
Whizz together in high speed blender and pop into trays of choice. I had donut trays sitting there so i tried them and they worked so nicely.
Pop in oven on 180 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned but not burnt (obviously! hehe)
Mummas you can pop these in the fridge for you and bub if you are on the run, they are so nutrient dense they will fill bub up more than your store bought processed foods and you also.
Get creative too with some topping ideas!
eg,
Smashed raspberries
Avocado
Nut butter
Desiccated coconut
I also have a post of my "no bake bars" too if you don't have time for baking!
can find here
The texture will be soft and chewy - if you want them to be a bit harder you could opt for low heat over a few hours to dry them out and make more of a dryer muesli bar
Most of all, enjoy!
Love Sarah x