How To Make Cerelac At Home For Babies

Once when your baby is six months, the first food that strikes your mind is cerelac. Cerelac is a simple food to start with. There are different brands and flavors available today in the market. But homemade foods are always best for your little one. Give this homemade cerelac a try and sure your little one will love it. It’s super easy to make and super healthy too. The ingredients are quite simple and easy to make in a few hours. We will be using rice, lentils and a few almonds. Rice and lentils are very rich in nutrients, easy to digest and also helps gain body weight, whereas almonds help in brain development. So let’s see the complete list of ingredients and let’s begin. 

Ingredients :

1. Rice – 1 cup 
2. Moong dal – 2 tablespoons
3. Masoor dal – 2 tablespoons
4. Urad dal – 2 tablespoons
5. Horsegram – 2 tablespoons
6. Almonds – 5-7

Pre preparation :

1. Wash the rice well and dry it.
2. To a bowl add moong dal, masoor dal, urad dal, horse gram, almonds and wash well and dry it. 

Preparation:

1. To a pan add the dried rice and saute well in low flame for 10 minutes . Now transfer this to another cup. 
2. To the same pan add dried moong dal, masoor dal, urad dal, horse gram, almonds and saute well for 5 minutes  in low flame. 

Once it's cooled add the rice, moong dal, urad dal, masoor dal, horse gram, almonds to a blender and make it a fine powder. Now sieve the powder and store it in an airtight container. You can store and use this powder for a month. 

To a pan add one tablespoon of the blended powder and two cups of water. Make sure it doesn’t have any lumps. Cook this mix for 8-10 minutes in low flame until it turns thick. Try this homemade cerelac for babies above six months. It’s super healthy and super tasty. 

Few important points to remember :

1. Your baby should have completed six months for any other foods like water or juice or even any other food. This is because only milk provides all the necessary nutrients. And early solid foods will lead to stomach upset and constipation and other tummy issues. 
2.  Baby’s salt requirement per day is less than 1 g per day and it is found in formula or breastmilk. Even a little excess salt can damage your baby’s kidney. So make sure not to add any salt before they turn one. 
3. When you make this cerelac for the first time, make it simple with few ingredients. As they grow you can add other ingredients, fruits or vegetables of your choice. 
4. Some babies may like to have solids and some may still like to have milk. We need to respect our baby's choices and let them take time. Each kid is different. Never force feed your baby. 
5. Have a good time gap between solids and milk. Follow a routine for their solids and milk. This will help them eat well. 

Santhoshini is a Seafarer's wife. Mom of a 4 year kid. Worked as a software engineer for 4  years. Loves to write and share parenting experience.