What can I add to oatmeal to make it appealing to a 7 month old?

[LillianB]

Is cinnamon ok? Maybe mash in some banana? I put homemade maple syrup on mine but am assuming that's a no-no for the girlie. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[mamapigeon]

How about applesauce/softened apples? Blueberries and other seasonal fruit might be tasty too!

[ammiga]

I would (and do) add cinamon, apple pie spice, banana, fresh berries, cubed mango or plum, apricots, and anything else that sounds good to me.

[mambera]

My kid loves steel cut oats mixed with Greek yogurt (Total brand with full fat, no sugar - more like sour cream than like regular yogurt).  Now that she's older we sprinkle with raisins.

[mommy212]

DS ate his plain for a long time, but now we usually add grated apple and/or blueberries (you can mash this up if you need smoother cereal). I added cinnamon at that age as well, and coconut milk, wheat germ, sometimes grated pear...If you add thinly sliced bananas at the beginning of cooking and stir a lot, they break up and add a really nice sweetness to the food. At 11 or 12 months I started to make ours the same, with maple syrup, soaked raisins, etc- but I also only at a very small amount of sweetener in my oatmeal.

On the note of breakfast cereal, quinoa adds a lot of healthy goodness, and we just mix it with oats- make some at the beginning of the week and keep it in the fridge, add it about half and half to oatmeal we are cooking to add protein and stuff. It is really easy to digest too.

[nstewart]

Ditto the full-fat plain greek yogurt, mashed bananas or soft apple, and cinnamon or other spices.  Breast milk (or formula) is also a good option. The yogurt is SO yummy though, makes it nice and creamy!  (If you want a great summer treat, try freezing it in an ice cube tray and putting a frozen cube in a mesh feeder.  Great for teething babies or just for a yummy treat).

[Wolfcat]

Originally Posted by LillianB 

Is cinnamon ok? Maybe mash in some banana? I put homemade maple syrup on mine but am assuming that's a no-no for the girlie. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

We use maple syrup (not homemade, though), blueberries, and anything else that sounds good. I've also used butter and salt with a little milk.

[1love4ever]

I mix DD's with Stonyfield organic baby yogurt and some ground flax seed.  She still loves it.  I would not hesitate to add any type of organic fruit or cinnamon, that is great!!

[sunnygir1]

You could just offer it plain for starters.  I don't see any reason to sweeten foods if children will eat them as they are.  There is so much unnecessary sweetening in our food system.

When my kids started wanting something on their oatmeal I used homemade unsweetened applesauce or frozen blueberries.  It's really good just like that, imo.

[hildare]

never underestimate the sweetness power of (in this case pre-cooked) carrots. 

the banana trick mommy212 mentioned works too, as does smashed blueberries!  you can put breastmilk in, too, if you've got some handy.