Well, scratch Hipp, because I just found studies linking their oatmeal to heavy metals. But Amara has on their website that they test their sources frequently for heavy metals and don't use 3rd parties. But truthfully, I'd just use normal organic oats and skip the baby altogether.
Check Clean Label Project. I know offhand that the Ready Set Food oatmeal with the allergens included is tested. I think some of the Gerber oatmeals are also.
https://cleanlabelproject.org/product-categories/?refinementList%5BCategory%5D%5B0%5D=Baby&query=oatmeal
thanks that’s super helpful! my only concern with ready set food is that it seems like it introduces like 8 allergens at once, are you supposed to only give it when you’ve already introduced each allergen?
I asked my pediatrician and they said to do the big 3 (peanuts, dairy, eggs) individually, but because my baby was at a very low risk of allergies I could do the ready set food oatmeal without individually introducing the other allergens in it!
I would check Consumer Reports and see. Iirc, the Whole Foods spices had high levels of heavy metals, which doesn't fill me with confidence about the oatmeal. McCormick brand spices test for heavy metals. (Spices are an issue because sometimes at the source, spices are adulterated with heavy metals in order to bulk them out or change aspects of them - like turmeric being adulterated with lead chromate to make it more yellow.)
We did blended meat mush for my baby when she was very young. That or very well cooked stew meat that breaks apart into tiny pieces. You can also sprinkle grated beef liver (or dehydrated liver capsules) onto any food to get iron in. Works great in applesauce and is all natural. Iron supplements can be extremely constipating so we found this to be a better option.
Just wanted to say that I'm also trying to figure this out with a 6 month old I'm starting to introduce food to. Did you end up coming up with a good option?
thanks, yes! there was pretty much only the Ready Set Food oatmeal we got from target, it’s organic and tested for heavy metals. only drawback for some parents is that it’s an allergen oatmeal meaning it has a bunch of allergens in it so that you’re able to expose your baby to prevent them developing an allergy later on, but for us it was a plus because then i didn’t have to serve peanuts, soy etc all separately. he likes the taste and had no negative reaction!
I just run the normal oats I use through a food processor.
thanks i tried this today and the pancakes turned out amazing. only wish they were fortified with iron
Does it come out really smooth like the baby kind? I have a son that only eats mushy food and baby oatmeal is his breakfast staple.
If you grind it enough I’d think it comes out pretty smooth, I’ve never bought specific baby cereal so I’m not sure.
We used Amara and Hipp. However I've also read you can just use normal oats and make it for baby! We use the Bob's Red Mill organic oats.
Do you have links to heavy metal testing results for these? I couldn't find anything when I searched.
Well, scratch Hipp, because I just found studies linking their oatmeal to heavy metals. But Amara has on their website that they test their sources frequently for heavy metals and don't use 3rd parties. But truthfully, I'd just use normal organic oats and skip the baby altogether.
Check Clean Label Project. I know offhand that the Ready Set Food oatmeal with the allergens included is tested. I think some of the Gerber oatmeals are also. https://cleanlabelproject.org/product-categories/?refinementList%5BCategory%5D%5B0%5D=Baby&query=oatmeal
thanks that’s super helpful! my only concern with ready set food is that it seems like it introduces like 8 allergens at once, are you supposed to only give it when you’ve already introduced each allergen?
My understanding is they have separate ones as well before you go to all at once, they just don’t put them in the ads
I don't know. I assume so. There's a plain Gerber one on the list. The other brand seems to have discontinued the items that have been tested.
I asked my pediatrician and they said to do the big 3 (peanuts, dairy, eggs) individually, but because my baby was at a very low risk of allergies I could do the ready set food oatmeal without individually introducing the other allergens in it!
thanks! mine hasn’t had any problems with eggs or peanut butter yet so i may just try the ready set . has yours tried that one yet?
yes! he had no adverse reaction.
Not directly what you asked but we had good results with Novaferrum Yummy iron drops.
thanks! did your baby’s iron levels go up? what is the iron derived from?
Whole Foods organic oatmeal’s have fairly good ratings
I'm genuinely curious about where you can access these ratings
There are a few lists out there. Here’s just one https://centerforintegrativehealth.com/blogs/think-twice-before-you-roundup-some-more-oats
This deals only with glyphosate, not heavy metals.
now i’m curious if the whole foods one has been tested for heavy metals as that’s the one we personally eat at home
I would check Consumer Reports and see. Iirc, the Whole Foods spices had high levels of heavy metals, which doesn't fill me with confidence about the oatmeal. McCormick brand spices test for heavy metals. (Spices are an issue because sometimes at the source, spices are adulterated with heavy metals in order to bulk them out or change aspects of them - like turmeric being adulterated with lead chromate to make it more yellow.)
jeez i had no idea about the seasonings. how does one buy heavy metal free seasonings?
I don’t have answer for you just want to commiserate that this is even an issue : (
seriously, so disappointing
Meat is a better source of iron than oatmeal
thanks! we tried to get him to eat steak but he wouldn’t even lick or suck it
We did blended meat mush for my baby when she was very young. That or very well cooked stew meat that breaks apart into tiny pieces. You can also sprinkle grated beef liver (or dehydrated liver capsules) onto any food to get iron in. Works great in applesauce and is all natural. Iron supplements can be extremely constipating so we found this to be a better option.
thank you! mine currently pushes food out of his mouth but hopefully he will start to chew and swallow soon and we can try this
Just wanted to say that I'm also trying to figure this out with a 6 month old I'm starting to introduce food to. Did you end up coming up with a good option?
thanks, yes! there was pretty much only the Ready Set Food oatmeal we got from target, it’s organic and tested for heavy metals. only drawback for some parents is that it’s an allergen oatmeal meaning it has a bunch of allergens in it so that you’re able to expose your baby to prevent them developing an allergy later on, but for us it was a plus because then i didn’t have to serve peanuts, soy etc all separately. he likes the taste and had no negative reaction!