Homemade Jasmine Rice Cereal *stage 1*

So why Jasmine* rice?  Well, Jasmine rice is amazingly fragrant & the taste is incomparable to regular old white rice.  The reason I choose Jasmine rice is because I want my son to experience different tastes other than the bland, expected tastes of baby food.  Obviously you can't expose your children to spicy foods or anything over-seasoned at such a young age, so you can find healthy alternatives like Jasmine rice.  There's a big plus as well: your whole kitchen will smell like flowers!  The American palette is becoming more sophisticated & food companies are taking advantage of this by adding words like "organic," "whole grain," & "all-natural" to their labels, adding much to their price & not much to the actual nutritional-value.  However, Jasmine rice remains a cheap source of all-natural & interesting flavor.  An entire bag of Mahatma Jasmine rice is half the price of prepared rice cereal.


IS HOMEMADE REALLY BETTER FOR YOUR CHILD?


Honestly, there's not much "wrong" with prepared rice cereal other than the following: 

• you don't know who prepared it & the conditions of the factory (same goes for the rice though!)
• no flavorings besides added flavorings from processed fruits
• some prepared rice cereals contain preservatives, fillers, & other additives

Honestly, the reason behind making this rice cereal is to expose your child to the wild, wonderful taste of Jasmine rice.  I'll be blunt, it's not nearly as convenient as popping open a can of prepared rice cereal & adding hot water, but it's whole grain, easy on the tummy, & much tastier than its canned counterpart.  Jasmine rice also has less "amylopectin," a polysaccharide starch, than other white rices, making it easier to digest.  It's a small difference, but hey, anything to make a baby less fussy, right??

Homemade Jasmine Rice Cereal

¼ cup of Jasmine rice (NOT INSTANT RICE)

1 cup water

Grind rice in food processor for 10 seconds, mix up, then grind for another 10 seconds or until rice turns into a fine powder.  Bring water to a boil in a saucepan, add rice powder, bring temperature down to a simmer & whisk constantly for 10 minutes.

NOTE: Rice cereal is one of the first things a baby can be fed when introducing food.  It is a stage 1 food & can be thinned out with breast milk or formula.  Always talk to your pediatrician before introducing baby to food.

*What exactly is Jasmine rice?  Check it out! http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-jasmine-rice.htm