The Good, The Bad & The Evil

I remember I used to marvel at the soup bases that mummies shared on the 'Healthy Food for My Baby' Facebook group when I was prepping myself for BB's weaning. So many ingredients were used in preparing the soup base & they would add in even more ingredients when they use it to cook porridge for their lil' ones. 'The porridges will definitely taste delicious!' was the thought that went through my head.

As I was following the 3/4 days rule for BB, it seemed to take forever to introduce new foods to him. Gradually, I was able to add in more ingredients to his porridge after he passed the respective allergy tests. Unfortunately, my parents weren't too supportive of it eventhough I was only using no more than 3 to 4 vegetables then. They were concerned that some of the combinations may bring more harm than good. Despite me explaining to them that a lot of mummies are doing the same or even more than me, they still weren't convinced. To put their mind at ease, I told them that I'd do more research on it. I then decided to look for a book shared by one of the mummies which shows foods with a list of other foods which when consume together, will either bring about some health benefits or harmfulness. To my dismay, it wasn't carried by Popular. While continuing my search for it, I chanced upon a similar book at a small book sale in Bedok Mall's FairPrice Finest so I bought it. 

After reading through the book, I realised that my parents were indeed right. For example, ABC soup, a very common soup cooked by mummies, usually contains carrots, corns, yellow onions & potatoes. However, carrots should not be eaten together with onions / corn & corn should not go with potatoes as illustrated in the following 2 pictures. I've since formed a habit of referring to this book before cooking any meals for BB. 

For mild cases, nutritional values are reduced or indigestion may develop. For examples,

Tomato + Zucchini = Reduce nutritional values

Beef + Rice = Indigestion

For more serious cases, diarrhoea or vomitting or even adverse health effects in the long run may be experienced or in worst cases, even poisoning! 

Prawn + Pumpkin / Kiwi + Milk (especially for mummies who eat overnight oats) = Diarrhoea

Chicken + Sesame = Possibility of poisoning if consume frequently

Without a doubt, the soup or soup bases will be very sweet & flavourful by adding more ingredients. However, in this context, more doesn't always necessarily mean better. On the contrary, some foods actually complement each other so do try to pair them up. For examples,

Chicken + Mango = Increase nutritional values

Apple + Corn / Cabbage + Carrot = Boost immune system

Cod + Pumpkin = Prevent flu

Lettuce + Pork = Energise 

Moving forward, I'll indicate at the bottom of each post the nutritional benefits, if any, for the dishes I've whipped up. I'll also add them on for those recipes that I've already posted previously. Cheers to healthy eating!