Avocados, Brain Food for BB!

In my "Weaning from 6MO" post, I've shared that avocado was the 1st food which I introduced to BB. Like many 1st time mummies, I was at a total lost when it came to choosing a ripe avocado. I remembered buying 1 for myself when I was pregnant, and not knowing for certain if it was as yet ripe, I ate it. It was hard & tasted kinda funky. Never did I buy it again during the rest of my pregnancy. I actually had to do some homework before I went to buy them for BB subsequently.

Tips in choosing the right avocado:

- If you want to use soon, it must be entirely brown in colour. When squeezed lightly, it should feel slightly soft but yet firm. If it's too soft, it'd most likely mean that it's already over-ripe. It's best to keep it refrigerated & consumed ASAP.

- If you'd like to store more for later consumption (especially when there's a promotion on heehee), choose firm greenish-brown ones & leave them on a table or counter-top at room temperature until they are almost brown before transferring them into your fridge.

- Do not remove the stalk until you are ready to eat it. I've learnt this the hard way once when after the stalk dropped out during handling, I discovered mould growing from the exposed part when I checked on it subsequently as I was preparing to eat it.

BB used to love avocados but as he grew older & was exposed to an expanding variety of foods and flavours, he became more picky & started rejecting it. I guess he probably found it too tasteless compared to his new discoveries. Given the fact that avocados contain a lot of good fats for his lil' brain's development, I tried to prepare different variations of it for him. Here are some of them..enjoy!

(Note: all of the combinations are for BBs 8MO & above other than the pure bananacado & provided they've passed the 3 or 4 days rule for the respective foods)

Bananacado: blend (I used my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender) / mash the flesh of 1 ripe avocado with 1 ripe banana & serve immediately.

This is omzg GOOOOOOOD!!! The very 1st time BB cried for more food was for this..lolz! If you haven't tried this before, please go & buy the ingredients & try it yourself today. I guarantee you won't regret it! ~.^

Bananacado with raw wheat germ: similar to the method above except with the addition of some wheat germ to further enhance the nutritional values. To give you a heads up, the natural taste of wheat germ is one that is not readily acquired. Think along the lines of having a mouthful of raw flour. Luckily, BB finds it palatable *phew*

Bananacado with a kampong egg yolk: similar to the method above, with the addition of a steamed egg yolk.

I was trying out the recipe of avocado with egg yolk purée but to my dismay, it was too bland for him so I improvised & mashed in a banana for him.

Baked avocado with a kampong egg yolk: 

1. Pre-heat oven at 220°C.

2. Halve an avocado, remove its pit & put them on some aluminium foil to balance it and prevent it from toppling over (this means no washing up afterwards too).

3. Separate 1 egg yolk from its white & pour it into the hollow of one half of the avocado. Repeat for the other half. 

4. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes till egg yolk is fully cooked. Scoop out, mix & feed warm.

Personally, I don't quite fancy the taste of this but both Daddy-O & BB find it acceptable. And as long as he takes to it, I'm not complaining.

Avocado, cream cheese with wheat germ balls (adapted from original recipe): blend / mash the flesh of an avocado with some cream cheese (I use Philadelphia block cream cheese). Once you achieve a semi-smooth mixture, add some wheat germ & roll into small balls.

Anything with wheat germ is just not my cup of tea but BB ate quite a few of them. I think I'll try spreading it on toast next time but without the wheat germ..heehee ; P

Avocado with cottage cheese: scoop out the flesh of an avocado & mix with some cottage cheese (I'm using Mundella's which is preservative free).