Superb Cheesy Avocado Egg Rolls

Inspiration came as I was prepping a simple lunch for BB. Instead of the Open Faced Sandwich with Avocado & Cheddar Cheese Scrambled Egg which I intended to replicate again, I decided at the eleventh hour to change the method to pan-frying the egg since I was kinda craving for it. The image of an egg-roll immediately appeared in my mind so that's how the end product came about ;)

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult):

4 kampong eggs

1 avocado, slightly mashed

1 tbsp of grated organic cheddar cheese (can double the amount if you prefer it to be more cheesy)

1 tbsp of organic virgin coconut oil (EVCO)

1/8 tsp of freshly grounded black pepper

Directions:

1. Mix 1/2 tbsp of cheese into eggs & beat well. Combine the remaining cheese with the mashed avocado.

2. Heat pan till hot then pour in the EVCO & turn to medium heat to prevent it from smoking. Once the oil starts to 'ripple' very slightly, pour in the egg mixture.

3. Once the egg is almost fully cooked, spread the avocado mixture & sprinkle the pepper over it. 

4. Off the fire & let it cool down slightly before using a spatula to carefully loosen the egg from the pan. 

5. With the help of the spatula & a pair of chopsticks, carefully roll it up from one side to the other. 

6. Transfer to a chopping board (for cooked food / fruits) & cut into 3cm pieces.

I'm quite thrilled with the outcome of my first attempt at an egg roll. As my boy was snacking on some cheese when I was busy grating it, I used cheese sparingly to ensure he doesn't consume too much sodium within the day. I'll definitely add more the next time to up the cheesy factor! BB did like it too but he 'complained' that it was spicy & was thus more interested in another of his fave, tomatoes, instead. My  other 'boy', on the hand, told me that it looks super yummy & asked me to cook it for him soon..hee >.~

In addition, I can't help but mention that I'm getting better at cooking with my WMF stainless steel pan. Practice really makes perfect! At least I don' have to worry about toxic materials being emitted at high temperatures or due to scratches in non-stick pans. So, Mummies or Daddies who feel that you can't cook well, persevere & one day I'm sure you can do it too..keep fighting!!!

Open Faced Sandwich with Avocado & Cheddar Cheese Scrambled Egg

I was brain-storming as to what I could do for breakfast with the remaining few slices of my bread. When I came across the ripe avocado on my countertop, this idea came to me instanteously!

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult):

3 slices of homemade purple sweet potato bread

3 kampong eggs

3 tbsps (for eggs) + 1 tbsp (topping) of shredded organic cheddar cheese

1 avocado, pitted & mashed

1/2 tsp of lemon juice

A dash of freshly ground black pepper

Some organic extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO)

Directions: 

1. Add lemon juice to the avocado & mix well. Spread generously onto 2 pieces of bread (may lightly toast the bread if desired) & set aside.

2. Beat eggs with the cheese. 

3. Heat up some EVCO till hot. Pour in the eggs & lower the fire to lowest heat. Use a spatula and push inwards to the centre from around the edges. Switch off the fire when the eggs are softly set but yet slightly runny & scoop out the adult's portion. Continue to stir fry the remaining eggs till fully cooked for BB. 

4. Scoop on top of the avocado spread, top with some more cheese & pepper then serve immediately. 

BB finished his with a dollop of plain yogurt & some organic raisins in no time at all. It was a blessing in disguise that BB was having a bit of running nose & I decided not to let him drink the fresh milk which is supposed to create more mucus.

(Note: best not to consume milk with this meal. Refer to 'Harmful Combination' below) 

Healthy & delicious homecooked breakfasts always make the start of our days a better one...I hope they'd have the same greatness on you too! Enjoy!

Beneficial Combination:

Egg + Milk = Improve memory skills

Harmful Combination:

Lemon + Milk = Can affect gastrointestinal function

B-L-D for my 15M5DO BB

B-reakfast: 

Bananacado milkshake with toasted wheat germ topped with Cheerios

My closest family & friends all know that I'm a very strict mummy when it comes to food. I didn't even give any commercial puffs (not even the organic ones) to BB during his 1st year. However, since he has already turned one, I'm gradually loosening the reins. Other than giving him the freeze-dried fruits, I decided that it's time to introduce breakfast cereals to him but definitely not the sugar loaded unhealthy ones. I've been following one of the mummies' posts on the Healthy Food for my Baby Facebook group & she shared that she's giving Organ Multigrain O's with Quinoa. It actually contains 80% wholegrains, 15% protein rich legumes & no added cane sugar. With all the healthy ingredients, there is not a single doubt that it fits all my criterias so I bought a box for BB. Oh boy, did he like it! It has since become one of his favourite breakfasts & a good snack to keep him occupied while we dine outside too. 

This particular morning, instead of giving him his usual Farmhouse Fresh Milk to go with it, I gave it a lil' twist. As I've some nicely ripen avocados & bananas, I blended an avocado, 2 medium-sized bananas with half a cup of milk. To further up the nutritional value, I added some toasted wheat germ to the milkshake. Last but not least, I topped with some Cheerios. BB, being the usual anti-fan of avocado, only opened his mouth after much scrutinising to ensure that there's a 'Ball, ball' (what he calls them for now) in each & every spoonful -_-lll His dear mummy here, on the other hand, prefers the plain bananacado milkshake..so good even on its own..slurp slurp!!

L-uncheon: 

The following were cooked simultaneously in my Tecno 3-Tiers Electric Steamer & were shared by the 2 of us.

Organic ten multi-grains (Simple Natural brand found at most Cold Storage outlets) with wolfberries

5 tbsps soaked overnight in 100ml of water. Steam for 20 minutes then sprinkle some wolfberries on top of the rice & continue to steam for another 15 minutes.

Steamed corn-fed chicken thigh fillet with organic grapes

I marinated half a chicken thigh with 10 small grapes overnight. Steam for 20 minutes.

Steamed pomfret with organic cherry tomatoes

Drrizle some sesame oil over the pomfret & top with 10 cherry tomatoes cut into quarters or eighths depending on their sizes. Steamed for 15 minutes (10 minutes is usually enough but due to the recent massive deaths of fishes at the local kelongs, it was advised to cook fish thoroughly so I increased the steaming duration).

Steamed Australia asparagus

Shave off the fiberous exterior layer & dice 3 thick stalks of asparagus. Drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil & steam for 10 minutes.

The chicken marinated in the grapes had a light sweet taste to it. Another great tip learned from the same mummy mentioned above. BB finished almost all the rice, asparagus as well as 1 pomfret & 3/4 of the chicken. Not forgetting the bowl of grapes in chicken 'broth' (essence from the steamed chicken as I accidentally poured the water droplets formed on the lid during the steaming process into the bowl when I opened it) which he finished all ;)

D-inner: 

Organic rolled oats porridge with broccoli, free-range pork, organic capsicum & kampong egg (no picture as Mummy forgot to take..heehee)

Ever since BB prefers food with more texture, I've stopped blending his oats. Therefore, it takes a slightly longer time, about 15 minutes, to cook them nowadays. I brought to boil 3/4 cups of water & then added 3 tbsp of oats. Let it cook for about 5 minutes under low fire before adding 40g of minced pork, 1/6 diced capsicum & diced stalks of 3 florets of broccoli. Cook for another 5 minutes. Pour in the rest of the broccoli as well as the kampong egg. Stir in the egg & cook till its fully cooked. Serve warm.

Weaning from 6MO

The list of foods you can consider giving your 6MO baby is as follow:

Cereals - barley, oats, rice

Fruits - apple, apricot, avocado, banana, mango, nectarine, peach, pear, plum, prune & pumpkin

Vegetables- acorn / butternut squash, carrot, green beans, parsnip, peas, sweet potato & yellow squash / zucchini 

Dairy - plain whole milk yogurt

There's a new school of thought when it comes to weaning known as Baby Led Weaning or in short, BLW. I first saw it in practice when a girlfriend of mine gave her then 6MO gal a slice of apple to gnaw on. As the date drew nearer to the recommended weaning of 6MO for BB, I started doing more research online & I stumbled upon it again. Upon reading more about it, I decided to give it a try but decided to adopt a two-pronged approach. I would let BB explore & 'play' with his food but would feed him some purees if he still wanted more subsequently.

2 weeks before he turned 6MO, I started spoon-feeding him some breastmilk to test if he had lost his tongue-thrust reflex as well as to let him get used to drinking from a spoon. He showed more & more signs of readiness & with advices from some experienced mummies, I decided to start him off a few days short of him reaching 6MO.

His first encounter with solid food was actually avocado mixed with breastmilk. Avocado is one of the best food for babies as it has a high nutrient content & good fats too. I'm actually blessed as my boy turned out to be a food lover just like his parents & he accepted it readily. 

Ingredients:

1/2 of a ripe (brown & slightly soft when pressed) avocado, mashed

Breastmilk (or formula milk)

Directions:

1. Mix some milk bit by bit into the avocado till you get the desired consistency (mine was quite watery for the first try & I gradually thicken it for the next 3 days).

I also followed the 4 days rule when introducing every new food to check for any allergies & it always seemed like an eternity >.< For his first month on solids, I only managed to introduce 5 foods, namely avocado, butternut pumpkin, sweet potato, peas & oats, to him (partly he was unwell during the CNY period so I stopped his food intake temporarily & instead directly latched him throughout).

Ingredient & Direction:

A small piece of organic butternut pumpkin, diced & steamed by my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender.

(Note: easily squashed)

Ingredient & Direction:

A small Japanese sweet potato, cut into long strips, steamed & half blended by my Avent.

(Note: may be a bit dry so get ready some water to feed in between)

Ingredient & Direction:

A small handful of Watties frozen peas steamed & half blended by my Avent.

(Note: add a bit of room temperature water for it to be blended more smoothly)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp of blended organic rolled oats

1/4 cup of breast / formula milk or water

1/2 avocado, 1/4 sliced & 1/4 mashed

Directions:

1. Oats cooked as per normal. 

2. Add in mashed avocado, mix & serve warm.

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).