Iron from Infant Cereal Helps Support Learning Ability and Brain Development

Infant Cereal is an Ideal First Food and an Important Source of Iron During the Whole First Year

• The number of infants falling short on dietary iron is growing.¹
• The iron fortified infant cereal provided by WIC helps ensure infants get enough iron, especially for breastfed infants.²
• Fully and partially breastfeeding infants who do not eat infant cereal may not get enough iron.³

Around six months of age (when starting solid foods), the iron stores babies are born with begin to deplete and need to be replenished. At this stage, babies need iron from foods to meet their iron needs and help support learning ability.

Pediatricians and nutrition experts recommend iron-rich foods like infant cereal for both breastfed and formula fed infants.

Add the Nutrition of Infant Cereal to Easy Recipes for Older Babies (8-12 months)

Peaches and Yogurt Pancakes

• ⅔ cup GERBER® Oat with Banana & Mango Baby Cereal
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ ripe large banana
• 1 egg
• ⅓ cup plus 2 tbsp 3.25% milk
• 1 tbsp oil or butter

Step by step

Step 1: In a medium bowl, mix together GERBER® Oat with Banana & Mango Baby Cereal, flour and baking powder. In a large bowl, mash the banana, and whisk in the egg and milk. Add the cereal mixture to the egg mixture and mix until combined. If batter is too thick, add a little more milk until it thins sufficiently.

Step 2: In a pan over medium heat, heat the oil or the butter . Once the pan is hot, pour or scoop the batter into the pan, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake, cook 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Step 3: Cut pancakes into small pieces before serving.
Egg can be substituted for 1 cup or 2 x 128ml pouches of your favourite GERBER® Organic Puree and you can also use any GERBER® puree of your choice as a dip with the pancakes.

Footnotes and References

1. Eldridge A. et al Journal of Nutrition 2019.
2. Finn K. et al Nutrients 2017.
3. Finn K. et al American Society for Nutrition 2019.