Fortified Oat & Kale Porridge Fingers
Allergen lists cover the priority allergens in the recipe as written. Always check your own ingredient labels, and introduce each new allergen on its own first.
Ingredients
- 100 g (1 cup) porridge oats — choose oats labelled gluten-free if you are avoiding gluten cross-contact
- 350 ml (1 1/2 cups) unsweetened calcium-fortified oat drink (shake the carton hard first; never a rice drink under 5 years, and no plant drink as a main drink before 12 months)
- 50 g (1 cup loosely packed) kale leaves, thick stems removed, finely chopped
- 1 small ripe banana (about 90 g), mashed, for natural sweetness — no added sugar
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Method
- 1. Line a small loaf tin or shallow container with baking paper — not cling film, since the mixture goes in hot.
- 2. Steam or boil the chopped kale for 6-8 minutes until it is completely limp and squashes to nothing between your fingers, then drain very well and chop finely again.
- 3. Simmer the oats with the fortified oat drink over low heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring, until very thick and no loose liquid remains.
- 4. Stir in the mashed banana, cooked kale and cinnamon. Cook 1 more minute.
- 5. Press the mixture 2 cm deep into the lined tin, smooth the top and chill for at least 1 hour until firm enough to slice — this chilling is hands-off and sits on top of the cooking time.
- 6. Turn out and cut to size (see age guides). Warm the pieces briefly in a pan with the oil for a firmer edge if you like, then cool to lukewarm and press-test a piece before serving.
How to serve by age
6–8 months
Slice the chilled slab into finger-length bars roughly 8 cm long and about 2 cm wide — an adult finger's width — and thick enough that a good chunk protrudes from baby's fist. That is what the palmar whole-hand grasp can actually manage before pincer skills develop.
9–12 months
Dice into 1 cm pea-sized cubes and offer 4-5 at a time so baby can practise the pincer grasp, picking up each cube between thumb and forefinger without overwhelming the tray.
Paediatric note
Fortified plant drinks are fine as an ingredient cooked into food from 6 months, but no plant drink or cow's milk should be given as a main drink before 12 months — breast milk or formula stays the milk feed. Always shake fortified cartons, since the added calcium settles at the bottom, and never use rice drinks under 5 years because of inorganic arsenic. Pick an oat drink labelled unsweetened, as many are sold sweetened. As written this recipe is free of the Top-14 allergens: it uses oat drink and olive oil rather than soya drink or butter, so swapping either of those in would add Soy or Dairy. Oats are not wheat, but they are commonly milled alongside gluten grains, so use gluten-free-labelled oats if gluten is being avoided.
Source guidance: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/
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