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Does Your Toddler Need More Iron? Baby Cereal Can Help
At your little one’s one-year medical appointment, your doctor will check for anemia, a condition in which the body doesn’t have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. A common cause of anemia, especially among toddlers, is insufficient iron.
While there are many sources of iron—such as iron fortified fortified cereals, beef, eggs and some vegetables —some toddlers may not be getting enough dietary iron. Kids who drink more than 24 ounces of milk every day or follow a vegetarian diet, as well as those who have certain chronic conditions, are all considered at higher risk for iron deficiency.
If you’re trying to get more iron into your toddler’s diet, offer red meats, cook in a cast iron skillet, make sure they do not over-consume milk, and don’t forget- baby cereal! With one container of baby cereal in the kitchen, you can add iron to some of their favorite foods. Here are our top tips for including infant cereal in your toddler’s diet.
How to Use Baby Cereal So Toddlers Will Love It
1. Baking
From banana bread to zucchini muffins to oatmeal bars, baby cereal makes a great addition to countless baking recipes, giving a nutritional punch to the baked good of your choice. Replacing ⅓-½ of the flour with baby cereal or Gerber oatmeal is usually really easy.
Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal cookies
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup Monk Fruit sweetener
- 1/2 cup substitute Gerber applesauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup whole grain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups Gerber Oatmeal Cereal
Serving Size: 1 cookie (about 7g)
Total Yield: 50 cookies
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Add monk fruit sweetener, egg, applesauce and vanilla, mixing until blended.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, stirring in the Gerber Oatmeal to mix.
- Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until mixed.
- Create rounded 2 tsp sized drops (about 7g) and flatten to discs onto parchment lined baking sheets.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden and lightly firm.
- Cool on wire racks, then store in a cookie jar or airtight container.
2. Frozen Treats
If you’re making a smoothie, throw in some baby cereal—one tablespoon provides about 1.6 milligrams of iron, which is 20% Daily Value for toddlers. Freezing yogurt and fruit into adorable shapes even a toddler couldn’t refuse? Add a tablespoon of baby cereal. Also, pairing iron with vitamin C-rich foods like citrus fruit, strawberries or cantaloupe can increase iron absorption—a double win!
Frozen Yogurt Fruit Bites
Ingredients:
- Gerber Fruit & Yogurt Pouches (Variety Pack)
- Molds
Serving Size: 1 popsicle
Instructions:
- Add Gerber fruit & yogurt pouches to desired molds.
- Place in freezer until solid
3. Savory Foods
Baby cereal can even be used as a breading on chicken tenders or as a binder in child-appropriate meatballs or hamburgers. A tablespoon in their favorite pasta sauce is another great way to get iron into a savory dish.
Meatballs
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of ground beef
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked, finely chopped spinach
- 1 cup finely chopped, cooked red bell pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped basil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1 egg
- ½ cup Gerber Oatmeal Cereal
Total Yield: 36 meatballs
Serving Size: 2-3 meatballs (about 14g each)
Serving instructions: Prepare in a coin shape or make mini meatballs and slice them in half
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Chop spinach and red bell pepper and set aside.
- In a large pan, drizzle olive oil and heat to medium heat, add chopped spinach and red bell pepper. Heat until soft and tender.
- In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, cumin, black pepper, spinach, red bell pepper, basil, parsley, egg, and Gerber Oatmeal Cereal.
- Mix until combined and then roll into small ½ tbsp meatballs (about 14g each).
- Grease baking sheet and place on baking sheet ½ inch apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes flipping once halfway through.
- Allow to cool slightly and cut in half before serving to baby.
Bonus tip: When in Doubt, Pancake It
Almost anything can be added to a pancake, and with a batter made of baby cereal, you’ve got a versatile nutritional powerhouse that almost no toddler can resist. We’re not sure why the toddler brain is wired to love anything labeled pancake, but we know it’s true. Shredded, cooked carrots and cinnamon? A “morning glory” pancake. Spinach and banana? Delicious “dinosaur” pancakes. When all else fails, grab some baby cereal, make pancake batter, add whatever delicious additions you have on hand, and get creative in the name department.
Fortified baby cereal can help ensure that your tot is getting the iron they need during their key early years. From smoothies to muffins and beyond, it’s a cooking hack you and your kids will both love.
Banana Pancakes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of Gerber Oatmeal Banana Probiotic cereal
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 cup Halved Blueberries (on the side)
- 1 whole Banana, cut into ¼” sized pieces
Serving Size: strips or large coin shapes , 2”-3” in diameter
Total Yield: 4 pancakes
Serving Instructions: Ensure that the product is cut in small pieces and that all featured foods are age appropriate.
Instructions:
- Mix all cereal, egg, and banana together in a bowl, mashing bananas slightly.
- Heat a griddle or non-stick skillet over low heat (275°F.)
- Spoon batter onto griddle into desired sized pancakes.
- Cook until bottom is slightly browned and flip over.
- Let pancake cool before serving.
- Cut up the pancake into smaller portions for the baby and serve with a side of halved blueberries.
