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Today I'd love to talk about baby breakfasts. The first meal of the day is such an important one and also such a fun one – your baby is (hopefully) well-rested and happy to start the day and probably already has some morning milk in his little belly and therefore isn't freaking out with hunger. The best time to experiment with new foods, I think. But am I alone in sometimes feeling uninspired about what to make?


If it were up to Hugo (and maybe it should be), he'd have a scrambled egg (with a side of avocado) every morning. He loves scrambled eggs. L. O. V. E. Loves them. But I want his diet to be a little more varied, so I change things up every few days: oatmeal, French toast (without any sugar or maple syrup), yogurt and fruit topped with puffed brown rice for texture, even just plain old buttered toast (with dark German rye bread). And if I've got an avocado in the house, I always give him some of that, too.

This past weekend, I made buckwheat pancakes, but Hugo wasn't entirely convinced yet. ("Fine by me!" Max crowed, forking two more onto his plate. He's our resident buckwheat pancake fiend.)

Yesterday, facing a bunch of blackening bananas, I decided to make these muffins, leaving out the brown sugar and swapping in applesauce for the butter. I gave one to Hugo in the morning, who grabbed it with glee and then proceeded to shred it to bits, strewing it dramatically around his highchair. I'm not sure that he actually even tasted any of it.

Weirdly, I feel like the internet doesn't offer up much in the way of baby breakfast inspiration. So I'm turning to you, dear readers, who always have the best answers. What are your favorite baby breakfast ideas? What did or does your baby love to start the day off with the most? What do your many cultures feed babies for breakfast? I can't wait to hear.

Scrambled Eggs:

1 large egg
1 small splash of milk
1 teaspoon unsalted butter

Whisk together the egg and the milk. Melt the butter in a small, nonstick pan over medium heat. Pour the egg in and, using a plastic spatula, stir the egg until cooked through. Chop into small pieces and serve. 

Yogurt, Fruit and Rice Parfait:

Few spoonfuls of plain, whole-milk yogurt
Few spoonfuls of puréed fruit and/or chopped fresh fruit
Few spoonfuls puffed brown rice

Layer all the ingredients in a bowl and serve.

French Toast:

1 large egg
1 small splash milk
1-2 slices sandwich bread (white or whole-grain)
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Puréed fruit for serving, optional

1. Whisk together the egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Put the bread slices in the bowl and turn a few times, letting them soak up all the egg.

2. Melt the butter in a small, nonstick pan over medium heat. Slide the bread slices into the pan and cook until puffed and golden brown on both sides. Put on a plate, cut off the crusts, cut into bite-sized pieces and serve plain or with some puréed fruit for dipping.

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71 responses to “Cooking for Hugo: Baby Breakfast Ideas”

  1. Chris Wold Avatar
    Chris Wold

    Love it. Fantastic options. And man, does that kid have a head of hair on him.

    Like

  2. Brittany Avatar
    Brittany

    Oh, Luisa, he’s such a cutie!
    Breakfasts are my favourite meal of the day for my 1 yr old daughter. She’s crazy for oatmeal with raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon right now. Like, sobbing between spoonfuls b/c she just can’t wait for the next one. Ridiculous. And, you’re right, ANYTHING to do with eggs. I usually do scrambled with cheese, or soft boiled and mushed on toast.
    You could try apple sauce on the pancakes to add a little sweetness for Hugo. That’s how Eliza likes hers 🙂
    Smoothies are good too! A really thick one with added ground flax seed is a favourite around here. And now that she can have peanut butter, spreading it on a wrap with sliced banana and rolling it up, and then slicing it, has been popular. Oo! And cream cheese! Bagels with cream cheese and sliced tomatoes!
    I’ve also been known to serve left over home made pizza for breakfast, because, you know, what’s better?
    Hi from Vancouver Island! Loving the baby food posts 🙂

    Like

  3. Brittany Avatar
    Brittany

    Oh, also, apparently mashing 1 banana with 2 eggs makes an awesome gluten-free pancake. Who knew? Haven’t tried it yet, but me thinks the kiddo and I would both love it. Pinterest is all abuzz over it.

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  4. Ceri @ Sweet Potato Chronicles Avatar

    First of all – Hugo is delicious! What a sweet face! I also get into ruts at breakfast, particularly during the week. But my kids like eggs, too, so I’ll make a batch of mini quiche on the weekend and you can add some finely chopped veggies to mix it up. Or sometimes I bake a batch of these Breakfast Cookies – they’re low in sugar but it’s fun to offer a cookie at breakfast. Please ignore the fact that my photographer forgot to photoshop out the tiny bit of burnt edge at the bottom!
    http://www.sweetpotatochronicles.com/wordpress/2012/01/breakfast-week-almond-butter-banana-breakfast-cookies/
    Good luck with baby food adventures. It looks like it’s going great!

    Like

  5. Giulia Avatar

    I made apple muffins which went over really well and breakfast burritos (eggs and a bit of cheese and soft tortilla) cut into slices so they look like snails. These no flour Strawberry Muffins: http://dashingdish.com/recipe/strawberry-shortcake-muffins/
    And egg/biscuits made in muffin pan with ham,peas and cheese in them.
    And bread pudding without the sugar: http://www.audrey74.com/2012/11/15/croissant-and-panetone-bread-pudding/

    Like

  6. Marjolijn Avatar
    Marjolijn

    Our favorite breakfast contains the following ingredients. Ok, my baby is already 11 years old, but I think that’s no problem 😉
    oatmeal
    almond milk (due to lactose intolerance)
    finely grated apple
    cinnamon
    linseed
    sesame
    honey if desired
    Actually I’m not sure all the ingredients are suitable for babies. If not, wait a while, but remember the recipe! You do not want to miss it 🙂

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  7. Celeste Avatar
    Celeste

    My toddler liked to dip foods, so I gave her waffle chunks to dip into fruit puree. Her favorite was an apple-blueberry mixture that I bought prepared, but plain applesauce works well too. I think you could use toast or any other breakfast bread that is stiff. Dippy eggs were a standard growing up but I guess scrambled are less messy. I think that a protein start to the day is great since they are so drawn to carbs early on. My personal feeling is that hot cereals take longer to learn when they are in the finger food stage and want to feed themselves and bite the crunch. But it may just be a personality/temperament preference as well.

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  8. Lyn Avatar
    Lyn

    He is so bloody cute! Have more of those please.

    Like

  9. Katie Avatar
    Katie

    Oh, that face! So adorable.
    I don’t have a child myself, but noticed a friend mixed very finely chopped vegetables–carrots, zucchini, etc–into her daughter’s scrambled eggs when I was at her house, to subtly slip in some extra nourishment.

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  10. Zu Avatar
    Zu

    Our mom used to feed us with apples and carrots grated very finely and mixed with some lemon juice to stop apples from browning, eggs cooked in a glass with the tiniest teaspoon of butter on top, curd cheese or quark softened with a spoon and mixed with some home made jam or fruit jelly. I also remeber my grandmother making sandwiches with chocolate, we didn’t even dream of nutella back then, she used to grate some dark chocolate on a buttered toast or bread. But it had to be when we were older, otherwise I wouldn’t remember it 🙂 In Poland kids eat farina for breakfast, we call it grysik or kasza manna. But it is not very healthy, I suppose. But soooo good. 🙂

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  11. Tina Avatar
    Tina

    Whole wheat toast with almond butter is a favorite in our house. We serve it with yogurt and fruit on a regular basis.

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  12. Tracy via the mini traveling cupcake Avatar

    My daughter (10 mos) loves waffles and pancakes, plain no syrup or butter. Also, my go to breakfast that I know she never turns down is an oatcake inspired by Amy from Simple Bites. I put 2T oatmeal, 1T puréed baby food and 2T water in a small bowl. Stir to combine and pat down into the bottom of the bowl. Microwave for 1.5 mins (depending on your microwave, mine is 1150w) use a spoon to remove the cake and let cool. Once it’s cool let the baby have at it! This way I know she gets whole grains and at least a little fruit/veggies esp if she is rejecting them that day/week! Good luck and remember to keep trying new foods, it can take up to 10x for a baby to decide if they do or don’t likes certain food 🙂

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  13. Emily Avatar

    I think I may have had an idea or two, but that beautiful baby plum knocked them out of me! What an adorable child you have! Ahem. Anyway. Yes, breakfast. Henry usually has an egg in the mornings, but carrot muffins (mind the sugar– most recipes have waaaaaay too much) have been popular, as have pancakes (no syrup) and yogurt with fruit. Homemade applesauce has never gone over well. Who is this child of mine?

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  14. mllelobster Avatar

    i won’t be any help, no baby to inspire me at home (yet!), but i just can’t help leaving a note just to say out loud how Hugo is turning so handsome!

    Like

  15. Aline Avatar

    My Linnea (she is going to be two in a few weeks) loves scrambled eggs too but they have to be soft scrambled and preferably with some grated cheese in it. She also really likes them with truffle salt (definitely my daughter). And avocado with a bit of lime and salt is always a favorite.
    She is such a picky eater but in such a strange way, like she won’t eat fish sticks but she will eat roasted salmon. She doesn’t eat potatoes, not even fried, not even as a potato chip. She likes bread but not every bread – preferably German bread I made myself (I make two loaves every week). Soft bread or sandwich bread, she won’t touch. She doesn’t eat pancakes, neither Austria (crepe) style, nor thick American ones but she loves multi-grain waffles from Trader Joe’s with some peanut butter on it. I guess that’s good (apart from her not eating ANY visible vegetables). But the problem is that I never know what she is going to like or not and that most of the time she won’t even try something new.

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  16. Aline Avatar

    And my god, Hugo is such a beautiful boy!

    Like

  17. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    Danika (15 months) loves whole wheat toast with mashed avocado on it or cream cheese or peanut butter or mashed banana. We do a lot of scrambled eggs as well. I’m not a big breakfast eater and prefer savory food first thing in the morning so I have definitely been known to feed her leftovers from our dinner for breakfast (this morning she had some leftover chicken, polenta with a little melted cheese and honeydew melon).

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  18. Jennifer Jo Avatar

    I just fed my kids whatever we were eating. I’m lazy that way.
    My mom soaked homemade granola with boiling water and then cranked it through the food mill. She reports that I ADORED it. (Still am a big granola eater.)

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  19. Anna Avatar
    Anna

    Very handsome baby boy! By the way, I’m loving your Friday links.

    Like

  20. Bake Avatar

    Caspar loves pancakes with mashed banana (weekend breakfast, really), whole wheat toast with avocado and a little cream cheese, yoghurt and blueberries, omelette with cheese…I struggle with breakfast (unless I have had my morning coffee!) so am grateful for your suggestions 🙂 What a cutie pie you have too!! xoxo

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  21. Honeybee Avatar
    Honeybee

    Bread with butter and honey was and is our daughter’s first choice of breakfast. She likes Birchermüseli, too and would probably eat several (!) hard-boiled eggs if I let her. To be honest, I can’t say I even try to vary our breakfasts much, shame on me… I just sit and nurse my coffee mug. 😉

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  22. Pixi Avatar
    Pixi

    We love these: http://www.allthingsgd.com/2011/06/blueberry-protein-pancakes/
    We also do the two eggs + one banana pancake, and my son LOVES them, especially with a little nut-butter on them.
    We do yogurt with berries, mixed with puffed kamut cereal.
    We do cottage cheese mixed with spinach.
    We do waffles (I use this recipe, but I add pureed squash and a little oil for the crunch factor: http://living-4-love.blogspot.com/2012/01/baby-friendly-waffles.html) as well.

    Like

  23. Daytona @ Outside Oslo Avatar

    What a great topic. I’m glad to read your post and get some ideas from both you and your readers. Whether one has a baby, toddler, or preschooler, the ideas will probably be inspiring across the board! Breakfast in our house almost invariably includes a banana–the quintessential kid favorite. Other options in the mornings are toast with peanut butter and jam, cottage cheese, plain whole milk yogurt with pureed stewed prunes or honey, etc. Basically, breakfast usually involves a combination of fruit and protein, sometimes with some sort of wholegrain bread. We keep it pretty simple in the mornings.

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  24. Jenna Avatar

    Logan (14 months) loves these pancakes when I have a lot of brown mushy bananas. I swap in almond butter sometimes for variety.
    http://ohjoy.blogs.com/my_weblog/2013/02/rubys-currently-snacking-on.html

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  25. kathy Avatar

    my g’kids looooove these…
    http://blog.williams-sonoma.com/mini-banana-maple-pancake-muffins/
    and they nibble (well sometimes even I do) on them all day long-they are great right out of the oven or later cold

    Like

  26. Stephanie-Oh Avatar
    Stephanie-Oh

    Hugo is absolutely beautiful! What a sweetie pie!
    I’m well past the age of fixing baby foods , although I do have 3 grandchildren. I agree with other posters about muffins being a good option as long as they contain nutritious ingredients like carrots, etc. Another food that my kids liked was greek yogurt. I used plain and added a little honey and fresh fruits. I remember my daughter loved french toast.

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  27. Hannah Avatar

    Two words: baked oatmeal. My 2-year-old son loves oatmeal with raisins but trying to get out the door in the mornings makes it hard take the time to either feed him with a spoon (when he was a baby) or deal with the resulting mess after he feeds himself with a spoon. Starting around 9-10 months (when he had two teeth), he could totally pick up and eat cubes of baked oatmeal, so I’d just make a bunch and then chip away at it for days (great for mom, too, since I could grab a slice and eat it on the way to work, and the oats were great for keeping my milk supply up).
    I use a recipe from a friend, which I think is from Nourishing Traditions, that goes something like this:
    3.5 C rolled oats
    1 C whey or yogurt
    2.5 C water (or more depending on how much water the oats soak up – the oats should always be in liquid)
    Soak for 12-24 hours, unrefrigerated
    Add:
    3 or 4 eggs, beaten (4 makes it more custardy)
    1/4 C maple syrup (optional, and you can use less too)
    ½ C melted butter or coconut oil
    ¾ c raisins or other chopped dried fruit
    2 apples, grated
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
    1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    Pour into two greased pie pans or a greased casserole dish and bake for around an hour at 350, until the center is firm to touch. Let it cool before slicing.

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  28. Gretchen Avatar
    Gretchen

    Breakfast is our favorite meal because it’s the meal where my picky 16-month-old will reliably eat whatever we are having. Egg dishes and oatmeal are favorites (loving the oatmeal you posted recently–instead of sweetener I stir frozen berries into my son’s portion, which cools it down perfectly). On the weekends we make either yeasted waffles or Dutch baby pancakes. Neither has much sugar and he gobbles them down plain. Living in the American South we also eat our share of biscuits! We have grown fond of a veggie-laden butternut squash version (adapted from a scone recipe in this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Finger-Foods-Babies-Toddlers/dp/1848990154).

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  29. Jaimie Avatar
    Jaimie

    My Dianne loves rice pudding with raisins – sans sugar, sometimes with mashed sweet potato stirred in to sweeten it up a bit.
    Or grits (or creamy polenta) with cream cheese and toast sticks for dipping!
    Or, oatmeal pancakes (add some flour to oatmeal to thicken it, and pour mini puddles on a griddle. Less messy, too!).

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  30. Fiona Avatar
    Fiona

    Porridge is a big favourite with my daughter. Cheap, healthy and can be served with a variety of toppings.
    Pancakes and waffles are great too. Also muffins like pumpkin or carrot for that extra serve of vegetables.
    Bagels are also a favourite and also English Muffins or crumpets.
    Hugo is a sweetie – those lovely big eyes!

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  31. Angela Wagner Avatar
    Angela Wagner

    I have been making veg pancakes for my little one (hear me out!)–I just process some greens (the odds and ends of whichever I have on hand, i.e. turnip, collards, spinach, kale, etc.), carrots, an egg, some milk, cinnamon, some flour, and a bit of sweetener (usually maple syrup) to offset the bitter greens. Just whip it up to the consistency (more or less) of pfannkuchen… my son goes crazy for it! I’ve done it without sweetener too and just with carrots, as a sort of carrot cake pancake. It’s an extremely forgiving little concoction and very easy.

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  32. Gerlinde Avatar
    Gerlinde

    Hi Luisa,
    During my recent visit with my mom in a very cold Germany , I fed my 5 year old grand nephew the leftover coco puffs from my husbands last visit. My little Hannes is the middle child of three and lives on my parents farm. He loves the attention he gets from me when I visit and I love him for keeping me company with my 90 year old mother. . Ok, ok , I only did this once but he also loves fried eggs ,healthy granola with yogurt and there is nothing better than the wonderful German bread with quark and jam, yummy.
    Your Hugo is adorable and I’m on his side when it comes to pan cakes,but I will eat them if they have banana in them.

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  33. Annie Avatar
    Annie

    Loving the comments – and the handsome Hugo himself! My contribution, devised by my mom, beloved by my now 3-year-old and my 11-month-old, and my personal favorite since… always is scrambled eggs with cottage cheese. Eggs, cottage cheese, a little milk, fresh black pepper (my kids love this), bits of whatever cheese you like (or none). Throw in some croutons if you have them (though not for my daughter); a bit of chopped tomato is good, too. Whole grain toast alongside. Best breakfast, lunch or dinner around.

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  34. jenna Avatar
    jenna

    My son is 9 months old. For breakfast he usually has either oatmeal with various mix-ins (applesauce is a favorite), dry cereal (Cheerios or Kix, typically) and banana or other fruit, or a toasted English muffin or piece of bread, sometimes with preserves, and once a week we have pancakes. We’ve enjoyed several varieties of pancakes, including coconut-banana and oatmeal. My pediatrician advised no egg whites until 1 year old, but E got his hands on something with whole eggs in it and had no averse reaction so we haven’t been strictly avoiding them.

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  35. Sissy Avatar
    Sissy

    Do you have Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book? Fabulous and extensive book and recipes for breakfast from a wonderful cook.

    Like

  36. Hannah Avatar

    Oh that Hugo, he is cuteness on toast! That face!
    Our guys would also eat scrambled eggs with avocado every day given half a chance. But oatmeal scores well here too, or whole grain waffles (we do give them a tiny bit of real maple syrup now for dipping) or pancakes. They also like egg-in-a-hole (fried in lots of butter, my husband’s specialty) and they always get a side of whatever fruit is in season. Whole grains, eggs, and fruit get much play, but I am always trying to figure out how to get some veg in there. No brilliant ideas – they don’t like “dirty” eggs (that is, eggs with anything mixed in) and other than potatoes don’t seem keen on savory breakfast sides. They do love homefries though.
    I know I already said it, but your boy really is darling. Kiss those cheeks mama.

    Like

  37. Charlotte Avatar
    Charlotte

    Oh Hugo is such a sweetie. When my boy was little he loved yogurt parfaits. Or oatmeal with applesauce. Or waffles and strawberries. Sorry – not much help.

    Like

  38. Sofia Avatar
    Sofia

    Hi Louisa!
    My 15 month old loves these peanut butter banana pancakes:
    http://ohjoy.blogs.com/my_weblog/2013/02/rubys-currently-snacking-on.html
    Being Chinese, and having Cantonese grandparents, he also loves dim sum items like turnip cakes, dumplings, congee/jok with chicken, or other Chinese foods like steamed eggs (eggs + chicken stock) or silent tofu with soy milk.
    Hugo has the most beautiful face!
    Sofia

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  39. Reemski Avatar

    Hannah’s suggestion of the baked oat slice is spot on. It got me through the first 6 months of new baby whirlwind, and now making a modified version for now 17 month old for her breakfasts.
    http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2004/03/oatmeal_breakfast_clafoutis.php

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  40. Katrin Avatar

    I have no idea about baby breakfasts, but I do know that Hugo is very very cute 🙂

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  41. Anna Avatar
    Anna

    I would highly recommend replacing non-stick pans (teflon) with white ceramic, even less costly ones (not cheap knock-offs, though) are excellent.

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  42. Luisa Avatar

    That’s what I use. Love it.

    Like

  43. sarahkeith Avatar

    What a cutie!!
    I made those “pinterest pancakes” (2 eggs blended with 1 banana) this morning and they were excellent– sweet and crepe-like.
    My baby girl, 7.5 months, hasn’t actually tried any solid foods yet, so I have no advice, but wanted to share that many of my friends with little ones seem to serve smoothies a lot (fruit, greens, maybe yogurt, a raw egg yolk..you know)

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  44. brittney Avatar
    brittney

    I love, love, love these posts. My little guy is just five months old, so he’s not eating solid foods yet, but I love these posts as a resource. Hugo is so dang adorable!!!

    Like

  45. Andrea Avatar
    Andrea

    My son, 21 months old, loves granola for breakfast. He calls it “nola.” I make it loosely following Smitten Kitchen’s recipe- the one in her cookbook. He also loves eggs and we most often do them fried and chopped into bite size pieces.
    The kiddo won’t eat oatmeal or pancakes which I find sort of appalling but I’m not losing hope yet!
    He also likes cereal with milk- we give him Nature’s path Ancient Grains.
    Good luck with this. And keep trying things that he might not like because I’ve found that what Micah rejects today, he’ll eat like a fiend another day!

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  46. carissa Avatar
    carissa

    I almost always put some chopped spinach in the scrambled eggs, along with some shredded cheese. My daughter probably thinks eggs come out of the shell flecked with green.
    English muffins with fruit spread or puree, frozen waffles that I made over the weekend topped with yogurt and a touch of maple syrup, yogurt with chopped fruit and crushed almonds mixed in…
    I also really like to make a batch of breakfast muffins and freeze them to eat over the next week or so. I throw all the good things in there I can think of: nuts or seeds, chopped or pureed fruit, yogurt, shredded carrot or zucchini, different flours/grains, coconut or olive oil. I do a similar thing with pancakes–traditional pancakes are for special occasions only. Usually there’s all manner of whole-wheat-carrot-walnut-coconut-oil-laden nonsense on the griddle. And it’s delicious.
    Oh, and I second (third) smoothies! So many things you can throw in there (in addition to the usual fruit and yogurt): spinach (you can’t taste it), beets (taste good with citrus), a handful of raw oats or flaxseed, nut butters. I usually serve it with a 1/2 piece of toast with peanut butter. (A smoothie with peanut butter toast is MY favorite weekday breakfast, actually!)

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  47. carissa Avatar
    carissa

    Also, I really love the way Hugo is air-punching at the camera, and the pops of blue all over the photo! So adorable.

    Like

  48. Shvetha Avatar
    Shvetha

    What an adorable baby he is!!
    I’m Indian, so I stick to traditionally South Indian breakfasts like dosa, idli (steamed rice-lentil cakes), and porridge (we call it kanji- this is a powdered mix of 7-8 different whole grains and nuts). We’re not big on sweet breakfasts so pancakes/muffins are a once in a weekend-thing. My daughter loves cornflakes with milk though, so she has that a couple of times a week. I like to use jaggery in lieu of sugar where I can.
    Happy feeding! Oh, and if you ever visit Singapore, please drop in for masala dosa!

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  49. E Avatar

    Am currently making a thick smoothie out of ripe bananas, frozen berries, a hand full of kale or spinach and very warm water. Spoon in hand and good to go. Milk or yogurt creates that runny nose little kids get so the creamy ripe banana eliminates the need for it.

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  50. Živa Avatar
    Živa

    I experiment with “cooked cereal” – millet, buckwheat (I use half milk half water and sometimes add seasonal fruit cut in chunks). My baby and I like it, husband not so much 🙂

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