Tropical Baby Porridge

​Tropical Baby Porridge
6+ month old, Makes 4-6 serves 

Ingredients 

1 cup of fresh Paw Paw (papaya)
1 cup of dried apricots, roughly chopped 
3 Peaches, peeled and quartered 
1/2 cup of wholegrain rolled oats 


Method 

(Assuming you have a whole Papaya), cut it in half lengthways, and remove all the black seeds. Use a spoon to remove the flesh and place the raw paw paw (say that five times fast!) in your blender. 

Cut your peaches in half, remove the seed and then peel carefully. Quarter them and set aside. 

Roughly chop your dried apricots until you have one level cup. 

Place the apricots, rolled oats and peaches into a pot and just cover the contents with water. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Keep simmering on low for 5-6 minutes to soften the apricots and cook the oats.

Once you've finished stewing the fruit, balance a mesh strainer on top of a large bowl. You want to strain the oats and fruit while preserving some of the excess cooking liquid in case you need it for thinning out the puree. Add the cooked apricot, peach and oat mixture to the paw paw that's already in the blender. Pureé or pulse until you get the desired consistency. If you had an older bub and want to make a  thicker porridge, try using the "pulse" setting instead of the purée option.

Serve immediately and/or freeze the batch in trays to defrost when needed. 

Top with a dollop of coconut yogurt, greek yogurt or serve plain. Remember no honey for babies under 1 year of age. It's quite sweet, probably the sweetest thing I've ever made for her, so I usually do a smallish serve with the added dairy free yogurt. It's a great recipe to try if your bub needs to go #2, as it's loaded with fibre thanks to those apricots. Add a few chia seeds on top for extra omega-3 fatty acids and protein. 

If you give this recipe a try, please tag #ohmmybabyfood so I can see your creation, and you'll go into a draw to be featured on my page!

EMK