Ghetto Cheerios

Wow, who knew so many of you were interested in how to make third-world Cheerios? I should add a disclaimer that they don't taste all that much like the real deal. They're made with oatmeal, good for the pincer grasp, and disintegrate well in little mouths. That's about where the similarities end.

And I have to add that I must really like you guys - because Mr. Squishy isn't quite old enough for these yet, and I normally don't go to so much work for my children who have teeth.

So let's get started, Mom!

First you grind 1 cup of oats superfine - my grinder is sitting in my mother-in-law's basement right now, so we use the blender.

Shaking the blender around to get all the oats is half the fun.


Mix it with:

another cup of oats
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
3 Tbsp. oil of your choice (I use soy)
1/2 mashed banana or 1/4 cup applesauce for consistency (we don't have applesauce here, either - just thought I'd throw that in as decoration for my pity party)

It should look like moist pie crust.

Now SLOWLY add milk (I use formula - you can use breast milk if you want, but don't use regular milk unless the baby is over one year old.) Add it a few tablespoons at a time until the dough comes together.

Now you're ready to roll! A lot. This is like 1/3 of the batch:

My rolling helpers soon got bored and pursued other interests. I don't blame them.

You can also make 'sticks' using the same dough.

Bake balls at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes, sticks for 20-30.

Wow! They look like little meatballs. Mmmmmm.

My favorite cracker recipe has wheat in it, so I haven't tried it on Mr. Squishy yet. But it is as follows:

3 cups oatmeal

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup wheat germ

3 Tbsp. sugar

3/4 cup oil or melted butter

1 cup water

Mix, roll thin, cut into squares or rectangles, and back at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

And a few curious minds were inquiring about freezing baby food. Quite simple - just puree the food (or leave chunks in it for older babies) and put in an ice cube tray.

Then just put in a freezer bag and you're set! Simply take out a few cubes at a time, defrost, and it's DINNER TIME!

But in case you wanted to know, I am SO buying a huge economy bag of Cheerios when we move back.