Wholemeal Cheddar Cheese Goldfish Crackers

The legendary goldfish crackers have always been one of my hubby's fave so I've been wanting to try this out for quite some time. I finally got down to it today. It was not difficult, just a wee bit more time consuming during the cutting.

Ingredients:

1 cup Origins wholemeal flour

8 oz (240ml) of organic cheddar cheese, grated

4 tbsps of cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 tbsps of water

Directions:

1. Add the flour & butter to a food processor & pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

2. Add cheese, 1 tbsp at a time & pulse. Then, add water, also 1 tbsp at a time & pulse. Feel the dough & if it shapes easily into a ball, it is ready.

3. Flatten between 2 pieces of greaseproof paper & chill for 15 minutes so as to make the butter cold to achieve puffier crackers.

4. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.

5. Roll the dough about 3mm thick (thinner = crispier but not paper thin), cut out your desired shapes & place them in neat rows on one of the greaseproof papers.

6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes depending on the thickness of your crackers. 

7. Cool completely on a cooling rack before storing in an airtight container for up to 1 week (mine will be long gone before that..lolz).

I did three trays' worth in total. The first tray was a tad too brown but super fragrant & crispy. I find that there's a very slight bitter aftertaste but hubby insisted that they tasted great & he liked them as they were. I took out the 2nd tray slightly earlier & they were a bit softer in the centres. I asked my hubby which texture he wants for the third tray & he chose 'in between'. In the end, the third tray turned out the most ideal & the trick here is to remove them as soon as a faint fragrant aroma starts diffusing from the oven. I'm sure I'll be baking more of these very soon as both my 'boys' enjoy them tremendously ~.^

Baked Banana Custards

Another no-hassle yet delicious banana recipe to share (adapted from Wholesome Baby Food).

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup breastmilk (or formula)

A pinch of cinnamon (may substitute with ginger or nutmeg too)

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients into food processor (I'm using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender) & blend until smooth but not runny & thin (can also hand whisk if you want to do some workout..hee).

2. Pour mixture into silicon cupcake molds (mine are from Diaso) / ramekins & bake at 175°C for about 20 minutes. Check every 5 to 10 minutes as the time can vary depending on the consistency of your mixture. It's supposed to split like a custard pie does when finished but mine didn't. It's done when a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into its centre.

BB's Puffs

I've tried baking my very own baby puffs (adapted from an original recipe) for BB when he was 9mo. However, I wasn't quite satisfied with the texture eventhough he loved munching on them.

Ingredients (1st Attempt):

2 tbsp of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO)

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup of breastmilk (may be replaced with either formula or water)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1.5 cups of blended organic rolled oats

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients by adding enough breastmilk to form a dough. 

(Note: add more oats if you have added too much liquid)

2. Load the dough into a whipped cream dispenser (from Daiso). Pipe out either 0.5cm or 5cm (easier for his little hands to hold) length segment of dough & cut off with the back of a small knife. You won't need to worry about the segments sticking to each other for now as they'll separate easily by shaking the tray after baking.

3. Bake at 170°C for between 7 to 10 minutes.

4. Allow them to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container to be stored in the fridge.

My hubby was recovering from a flu & had knocked off early from work yesterday so I decided to give it a second try. The changes made are in bold & italics for easy reference.

Ingredients (2nd Attempt):

2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO)

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice from 2 medium-sized oranges

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1.5 cups of organic unbleached flour

Directions:

1. Mix the wet ingredients together, except the juice.

2. Sieve in the flour.

3. Mix all ingredients by adding enough juice to form a dough. 

(Note: add more flour if you added too much liquid)

4. Load the dough into a whipped cream dispenser (from Diaso). Pipe out a 0.5cm long segment of dough at a time & cut off with the back of a small knife. You won't need to worry about them sticking to each other for now as they'll separate easily by shaking the tray after baking.

4. Bake at 170°C for between 7 to 10 minutes till some parts are a light golden brown (this would give a much nicer, crispier texture).

5. Allow them to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. I've decided not to store them in the fridge as there'll be condensation when I bring them out.

I also did a batch without using the whipped cream dispenser & it turned out to be easier though not necessarily faster. In fact, the smaller the balls, the better the texture.

BB has yet to try them as he's down with a slight fever & flu, probably gotten the virus from his Daddy-O who has just recovered >.< To my slight disappointment, the desired "melt-in-the-mouth" texture has still proven to be elusive after this attempt. Perhaps I could double the amount of baking powder during the next attempt to achieve a puffier feel. But for now, this will pretty much suffice as both a handy & healthy snack to keep him occupied at times..hee ;p

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).

Baked Eggplant Strips with Organic Cheddar Cheese

Eggplant: one of those vegetables which you either love or don't. My hubby happens to fall under the second category..hee ;) However, as i was baking this finger food for BB, he commented that it smelled really good. After trying a bite of it, he was totally blown away & even asked for more!

Ingredients:

1 pearled brinjal, peeled & cut into finger-thick strips

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Organic cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C.

2. Drizzle a bit of EVOO over the brinjal strips, mix well then put into oven for 5 minutes. Flip them over & bake for another 5 minutes.

3. Remove from oven & sprinkle grated cheese evenly. Return to oven & bake for another 5 minutes till cheese turn golden brown. Serve warm.

Say 'Cheese!'

I introduced cheese to BB when he was 9mo (recommended age is between 8 to 10mo). As I've been following the 'Healthy Food for My Baby' FB group, I was well aware that the sodium content should not exceed more than 680mg per 100g. Then, comes the question of which brand I should choose as there's just simply so much variety available in the market. After scouting through the cheese chillers in supermarkets, I finally arrived at one conclusion: pre-sliced cheeses are out as most of them contained preservatives :/ The 3 cheeses that I've selected are as follow:

Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese (356mg of sodium per 100g): I usually add this into my pasta sauces to give them a much richer and creamier taste. Or they are also great when mashed together with avocado as a spread.

Organic Dairy Farmers True Organic Cheddar (640mg of sodium per 100g): I chanced upon this while looking for organic tofu in the Organic chiller section. Surprisingly, it only costs $8.60 which is almost the same as some non-organic cheeses. I often use it in my baked frittatas, baked eggplants as well as to make cheddar cheese bread.

Mundella Cottage Cheese (130mg of sodium per 100g & no preservative): Till date, I've only managed to find this rather elusive ingredient at Bedok Mall's FairPrice Finest. This is one of the key ingredients for breakfast on a lazy morning. Hee ~.< Just scoop some into a bowl & top it off with any fresh fruit you can find in your kitchen.

Baked Frittatas

As a continuation to the post on Cheeses, I'd like to share one of my favourite snacks to bring out for BB on days when we're gonna be out for many hours - Frittatas! There're so many different flavours you can create from one basic recipe. Here u go!

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks or 1 egg (if your LO has passed the 3 or 4 days rule for egg white)

Any combinations of vegetables or meat you desired, finely diced or shredded

Shredded cheddar cheese

Virgin coconut oil (VCO)

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together, leaving some cheese for later.

2. Apply a thin layer of VCO on the muffin tray & pour the mixture into each individual hole, ensuring that there's sufficient egg to cover the ingredients. Top with more cheese.

3. Bake at 180°C for about 15 minutes till golden brown.

Tips: 

- the smaller they're, the nicer they'll taste.

- do not use muffin liners as they'll cause the frittatas to become soggy (refer to the last picture).

These are some of the varieties that I've created so far ;)

Organic potato, asparagus, carrot & onion

Carrot with organic spinach

Organic pea sprouts & parsnip

Salmon & peas

Organic cherry tomatoes & onion

Nutritious Teething Biscuits for 9MO BB

Backtracking to share my favourite teething biscuits for BB when he was 9mo. This is a recipe adapted from Wholesome Baby Food, one of the most informative weaning websites which I've found myself constantly referring to during BB's food journey for the past 7 months.

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1.5 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 cup breast-milk

1 tbsp uncooked organic rolled oats

1 cup organic unbleached flour

1 tbsp wheatgerm (optional, soy flour or nonfat dry milk may be added for extra nutritional value too)

Directions:

1. Whisk wet ingredients together before adding in the dry ones (dough will be stiff).

2. Roll dough into a thin layer ( I rolled mine on a cookie tray for easy cleaning up afterwards) & cut into strips or use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes, like I did.

3. Bake at 175°C for 15 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

4. Let them cool down completely on a cooling rack then store in an airtight container. Best consumed within 2 weeks.

These teething biscuits are rather crispy so supervision when feeding is required at all times. You can tell how much my boy enjoyed gnawing on them from the collage below. To be honest, I couldn't resist snacking on them myself too ~.^

Meals for my 1Y 24DO BB who has been feeling under the weather

Another gloomy day yesterday. The only thing that cheered me up was that BB was on the road to recovering from his intermittent fever & running nose which started since Monday. Thus, I cooked one of my favourite staples for him. Oats, fast to cook & very nutritious! I'll definitely be dedicating an entire blog on oats separately so do stay tuned (Oats) >_^

Ingredients (8MO & above):

3 tbsp of blended organic rolled oats

50g of organic minced beef

1 small chunk of cubed organic pumpkin

1 large floret of chopped broccoli 

3/4 cup of water (can vary the amount according to your desired consistency)

Directions:

1. Boil water then add in pumpkin & let it cook for about 10 minutes.

2. Add in the blended oats & the secret to achieve a smooth texture is to whisk it as it cooks.

3. Pour in the beef & use the whisk to separate it into smaller bits before adding the broccoli last. Simmer about 5 minutes for the beef & broccoli to be cooked. Serve warm.

As for dinner, drawing inspiration from almost out of nowhere, I whipped up a simple macaroni in egg flower soup for him. A perfect meal to warm up his lil' tummy on the chilly Friday evening. My new favourite pasta is the Bellamy's Organic Vegie Macaroni above. Love it's trio flavours! Best for days when I'm running out of vegetables in my fridge.

Ingredients (12MO & above but if changed to an age-appropriate pasta, can be used for 10MO & above BBs):

2 tbsp of macaroni

1 piece of cod fish (I bought a 1kg frozen pack of cod fish from NTUC which is already portioned out)

1 beaten kampong egg

1 stalk of white asparagus (a chance find at Nex's NTUC)

1.5 cups of water

Directions:

1. Boil water & cook cod fish for about 10 minutes. Remove cooked cod fish to cool.

2. Add macaroni & asparagus into the cod fish soup & cook for approximately 8 minutes. Meanwhile, flake the cod fish to check for any residual bones.

3. Pour egg in a slow & steady stream. Let it cook a while before stirring slowly to create the ribbon-like egg flower.

4. Mix in the cod fish & serve warm.

Let me share a little secret with you. It was actually my first attempt on creating egg flower & I'm glad I nailed it. Hee ^.~ For both meals, BB finished almost everything I gave him. I was thrilled to see that his appetite had more or less returned to normal.

BB's 1st (& Daddy said LAST) Spiced Applesauce Smash Cake

We had a small celebration at home on BB's actual birthday last month. While waiting for my hubby to knock off early from work, I prepared the batter for the cake.

Ingredients:

2 cups of organic wholemeal flour

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of cinnamon 

1/2 tsp of nutmeg

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup of VCO

1 cup of warm unsweetened applesauce (I steamed & blended 2 small organic apples using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C & generously grease an 8" round pan with VCO.

2. Sieve flour, baking soda, cinnamon & nutmeg into a medium bowl then whisk them together. Add vanilla extract into applesauce & mix well. Pour VCO into another larger bowl then add flour mixture & applesauce alternately, blending them in. Start & end with the flour mixture & mix until just incorporated.

3. Spread batter into the prepared round tin & bake for 20 - 25 minutes until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Use an overturned small bowl to cut out 2 small cake rounds.

The first activity was Pressies Attack! He had a great time tearing the wrappers apart & playing with some of his new toys. As Daddy-O helped him to set up one of his bigger toys, I proceeded to assemble the cake.

Ingredients:

1/4 block of Philadelphia cream cheese

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/8 cup (1 ounce) of unsweetened organic apple juice (the very first time I'm using a bottled juice, with much reluctance though, as there may be browning if I used fresh apple juice)

Directions:

1. Soften the cream cheese.

2. Whisk the cream cheese with the apple juice & vanilla extract until creamy.

3. Spread some evenly onto 1 of the cake rounds. Place the other cake round on top. Reserve a bit of the cream cheese & spread the remaining mixture on the top & sides of the cake. Put the reserved cream cheese in your piping bag fitted with a star tip (I'm using an icing syringe set from Daiso) & pipe rosettes on the outer edge of the top of the cake (optional). 

I also bought a block candle & cake banner set to decorate the cake. Tadah! BB's 1st smash cake is done ;)

BB was kinda lost at what to do with it initially & just played with the cream cheese. I fed him a small bite to show him that it's actually a food. However, it was much bigger than what he usually has for BLW. After some contemplation, he decided to dive head first into his treat. We were pleasantly surprised at his improvised choice of feeding method & had a really good laugh. The aftermath was not the least bit pleasant however. Eventhough we had already lined the floor, he had adorned himself with cream cheese & crumbs from his head to toes & his nostrils were of no exception. Too bad we had forgotten to take a photograph when he was done but you can imagine the sight! I seriously regretted not stripping him down to just his diaper. Straight to the showers he went. Despite the terrible mess we had to clear afterwards (mostly done by his Daddy-O actually), this would be an unforgettable memory for many years to come.