Infant Overnight Oats

Alright, we have all seen the wonderful Pinterest posts about overnight oats so you can just grab and go the next morning right? It not totally up my alley, but when my doctor said my baby needed to start eating more substantial foods, I was desperate to find a way to get them into his diet. I knew yogurt could be a great answer since it’s high in healthy fats and proteins. So, one day I let him try mine, since I typically eat yogurt and granola in the morning and BAM, we have a winner! He loved it! Now, of course, I only eat yogurt made from grass-fed, whole cows milk since it has the highest quality of Omegas and other nutrients. I also make sure it’s whole fat – otherwise you are diminishing the food of it’s natural fat-soluble vitamins and satiating fats to help your child grow and sustain from hunger.

I could chose the easy route and go grab some yo-baby at the market.. but have you ever peeked at the ingredients list? Sorry Stonyfield, I will not support your antics or ingredients that you’re trying to shove into my child’s mouth!

<- From the YoBaby website on 1/21/16… The second ingredient is sugar? and Why, if I’m feeding my child an “organic, healthy” option is there a need for Natural Flavor? If food is real, it doesn’t need flavor, it IS the flavor! Let’s not even get in to the fact there is a preservative for shelf life and coloring added.. meaning the peach didn’t color the yogurt properly. If I’m not eating food created in a lab, you can sure bet my baby isn’t either.

 

 

 

Now at first I thought this would be easy, we could share a bowl of yogurt in the morning, but he immediately start spitting out the larger chunks of granola.. so I figured there had to be a way to create a baby food with a yogurt base. I already told myself Yo-baby and other baby yogurts were not an option. Those yogurts, especially flavored ones are riddled with un-necessary, added sugar. So instead of lining my baby yogurts with sugar, I decided to flavor them with real, fresh fruit. [sorry, not sorry sugar – you have no place in my baby food]

So, I figured breakfast yogurts – what a delightful treat! But, what could really give this dish an extra bang of those essential fats, proteins and fibers? Oats, of course!  And by making this breakfast and letting the oats soak up the yogurt overnight is the perfect way to keep my baby satiated throughout the morning.  I make breakfast smoothies for myself all the time that I blend oats into, so why have I never thought to do it with his purees?

This recipe is incredibly simple, plus I only make enough for a few days and never freeze this recipe so everything stays fresh. Feel free to mix and match different fruits to flavor the yogurt or just leave plain. If you are incorporating berries, it’s important to cook them for a few minutes in order to break them down if your child is under 15 months. I also add flax seeds for the added Omegas, soluble & insoluble fibers and antioxidant properties.

Infant Overnight Oats

• 3/4 cup rolled oats (I buy in bulk straight from Amazon)
• 3/4 cup grass-fed, full fat yogurt
• 1/2 banana
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds (I also buy in bulk from Amazon)

Toss all ingredients into a blender and puree well.  If your child can tolerate unblended oats, then puree the mixture and then stir in the oats for a thicker blend.

Store mixture in jelly jars overnight and use within 3 days, this recipe makes 3-4 breakfasts worth (depending on the size of the bananas). It’s that simple! You can even feed this the morning of, the oats will not have had much time to absorb the liquid, but I feed this fresh to my son all the time.

-Essentially a Mom