Many parents ask “can babies have Ready Brek?” because they want to ensure that the food they’re giving their children is healthy and forms part of a balanced diet. Ready Brek is a cereal product that’s aimed at children and has been highly refined to ensure that it has a smooth, lump-free consistency. This texture tends to appeal more to children than regular porridge, thus making it a popular breakfast food choice for baby led weaning.
The good news for parents wanting to know “can babies have Ready Brek?” is that yes, babies over the age of 6 months can indeed start eating Ready Brek for breakfast. Do not offer this product to babies under the age of 6 months as the high fibre content can cause stomach upsets and other illnesses. In fact, Ready Brek is a branded cereal product owned by Weetabix, and their own website states that: “Weetabix, Ready brek and Oatibix are not suitable for infants under six months, and are not produced specifically for infants or young children.”
Everything You Need To Know About Ready Brek
Before offering your child Ready Brek, you will want to read the following article to ensure that it is the right fit for your child’s diet. We’ve put together some answers to the most commonly asked questions regarding Ready Brek, so take a look at the queries below before deciding on the best course of action for you and your family.
- What’s the difference between porridge and Ready Brek?
- Is Ready Brek healthy for my baby?
- Can I Feed My Baby Ready Brek Instead Of Baby Porridge?
- How do I serve Ready Brek to my baby?
Let’s take a look at each of these queries in turn.
What Is The Difference Between Regular Porridge And Ready Brek?
The main differences between regular porridge oats and Ready Brek is the texture and the price.
Ready Brek has been refined to ensure that the rolled oats have been crushed and the regular oats have been milled into a powder in order to give it a smoother texture. Porridge, on the other hand, is made from whole oats that have been rolled or cut, before being packaged up for our consumption. This means that Ready Brek is more processed than regular porridge oats and that porridge oats have a lumpier texture when compared to Ready Brek.
When asking yourself, can babies have Ready Brek?, it is worth noting that Ready Brek is also fortified with vitamins and minerals, whereas porridge is not.
Is Ready Brek A Healthy Breakfast Choice For My Child?
We know that the answer to “can babies have Ready Brek?” is a yes, but is it a healthy breakfast choice? Well, you may be surprised to find out that Ready Brek and regular porridge oats have very similar nutritional values.
Both are high in carbohydrates, helping to keep babies and children full until lunchtime, and they’ve got a similar calorie count per serving. They’re also both low in fat and contain a similar amount of protein per 100g.
Nutritionally speaking, both types of cereals are good sources of vitamins and minerals, such as iron and magnesium, however, Ready Brek is fortified with additional vitamins and minerals. These additions include calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, and iron.
In summary, yes, Ready Brek is a healthy breakfast choice for your baby as it contains plenty of important vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy development, and is low in salt and sugar.
Can I Feed My Baby Ready Brek Instead Of Baby Porridge?
One thing that parents ask is can babies have Ready Brek instead of baby porridge? As long as your baby is over the age of 6 months, feeding them Ready Brek instead of baby porridge is actually the healthier option.
When comparing the sugar and salt levels between the two cereal products it’s shocking to see that the average baby porridge product contains 38.9g of sugar per 100g, whereas Ready Brek contains only 1g of sugar per 100g.
When looking into the salt levels between Ready Brek and baby porridge, Ready Brek also comes out on top with 0.03g of salt per 100g compared to the typical baby porridge’s 0.3g per 100g.
Ready Brek does contain slightly more fibre than the average baby porridge product, however as part of a balanced healthy diet, this shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
How Can I Serve Ready Brek To My Baby?
After establishing that it is a healthy and safe breakfast option, many parents then want to know how can babies have Ready Brek? What’s the best way to offer it to them, and how much is too much?
The Original Ready Brek product is healthy when served on its own, it’s only when additions such as flavourings or sugars are added to it that it starts to become less nutritionally viable for your baby.
In order to keep your baby’s bowl of Ready Brek healthy, avoid adding sugar, honey (babies under 1 year should not eat this anyway), or syrup to the mix. Instead, opt for fruit toppings such as strawberries or bananas as a natural way to sweeten the product. Ready Brek can, of course, be offered without any additional toppings, alternatively, fruit puree can be mixed in to offer a variety of interesting flavours for your baby to try.
Ready Brek can be made with your baby’s preferred choice of milk. Some parents mix up a small amount of formula milk, some use breast milk, and others use cow’s milk. One bowl of Ready Brek per day is fine for your baby, but do bear in mind the fibre content when planning your baby’s meals for the day. Too much fibre could cause your baby to experience stomach pain and discomfort.
Could My Baby Be Allergic To Ready Brek?
Can babies have Ready Brek if they have allergies? If your baby is allergic to cow’s milk, wheat, barley, oats or rye, it’s probably best to avoid offering them Ready Brek, or seeking medical advice from your GP or health visitor before offering it to them.
Other Breakfast Ideas For Babies
Ready Brek is just one of the many breakfast ideas to try out when beginning your baby led weaning journey! We’ve put together a brilliant post called The Ultimate List Of Baby Led Weaning Breakfast Ideas that lists some seriously tasty breakfasts for babies such as:
- Baby led weaning pancakes
- Muffins for babies
- Smoothies
- Toast Ideas
- Crumpets
- And much more!
Can Babies have Ready Brek?
Yes, as long as they are over the age of 6 months and do not have allergies to any of the key ingredients. In fact, Ready Brek is a good breakfast choice for those at the beginning of their baby led weaning journey thanks to its smooth texture and high vitamin and mineral content. There are plenty of ways to offer it to your baby, including on its own, with fresh fruit, or with fruit puree mixed throughout.