Note on complementary feeding: The Federal Centre for Nutrition recommends introducing complementary foods no earlier than the beginning of the 5th month and no later than the beginning of the 7th month. The evening porridge is the second step in introducing complementary foods, after the midday porridge. A cereal porridge in the evening can replace a breastfeeding meal or the bottle before bedtime. Cereals are an important source of nutrients.

From the 6th to the 8th month, evening porridge is the second step in introducing solid foods. Your baby now needs more energy than before. This is probably because your little one has grown about 20 centimetres since birth.

Keep in mind that when you and your baby start introducing porridge between 5 and 7 months, it is best to begin with a vegetable porridge made with carrots, zucchini, broccoli or pumpkin. This allows your baby’s digestion to gradually adapt to new foods. By the way, lunchtime is the ideal time for the first porridge, so start with a midday meal.

Evening porridge replaces another breastfeeding or bottle-feeding.However, breast milk and/or infant formula should still remain part of your baby’s diet.

With little spoon for little spoon, a new taste is added to the menu with cereal. However, the oral motor skills are also trained by the new consistency. After all, porridge, whether rather liquid or rather solid, is simply different to swallow than liquid breast milk or formula.

Due to its cereal content, the evening porridge is above all a valuable source of nutrients that your baby needs for normal development. Cereal porridge contains many carbohydrates that provide plenty of energy to the brain and muscles. In addition, especially whole grains also contain important vitamins and minerals.

Evening porridge traditionally refers to a milk-cereal combination that is usually fed in the evening.

As for cereals, oats, spelt, wheat, barley, and millet are suitable. Although rice porridge is also well digested by babies, caution is advised. Depending on its geographical origin, rice can contain relatively high levels of inorganic arsenic. To reduce exposure to inorganic arsenic in toddlers and children, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment recommends not relying exclusively on rice-based foods, but rather varying between different types of cereals.

For evening porridge, water can be used instead of whole milk, depending entirely on your baby's needs. If your baby cannot tolerate cow's milk or milk formula due to an increased risk of allergies, you can, for example, pump breast milk, use water, or occasionally a plant-based drink.

The following types of cereals are used:

• Oats

• Spelt or wheat

• Millet

• Barley

You can add the following liquids to the cereal:

• Whole milk, i.e., cow's milk (maximum 200 ml per day)

• Breast milk

• Milk formula, i.e., infant formula or follow-on formula

• Water

• Unsweetened plant-based drinks such as oat drink or almond drink

For an extra serving of vitamins, feel free to add a fruit such as a grated apple or a banana mashed with a fork to the cereal porridge. It is important to add the fruit to the porridge at the end and not cook it with the porridge – this way, all important vitamins are preserved. Especially vitamin C helps your baby to metabolize the iron in the cereal porridge better. In our magazine you will also find delicious milk-cereal porridge recipes. 

The best time to feed the evening meal is when the whole family is sitting at the dinner table in the evening. This way, you can eat together, your baby can have their evening meal, and everyone else can have whatever they feel like at the family table. Eating together is a wonderful family ritual.

Of course, you can buy cereal and make the porridge yourself. Ready-made milk-cereal porridge options are also available. However, some instant cereal porridge packets contain additional sugar, which in our opinion has no place in baby food. Instant cereal porridge also has a lower nutrient content than freshly prepared porridge.

To prepare it, you can use whole milk, water, or plant-based drinks. Breast milk and infant formula should only be added once the porridge has cooled slightly. So, first boil the porridge with water and then add the mixed infant formula or breast milk. That's how quickly you can prepare cereal porridge yourself. 

You can find delicious recipe ideas in our magazine: Baby Porridge Recipes.

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