Throwback of Pear with Mi Zao & Chinese Almonds Soup

Readers of my blog would most likely know that one of the earliest natural remedies I've tried was the Double-Boiled Asian Pear since it has been the most popular post till date. I would say that this is a "tweaked" recipe of that. I was quite reluctant to add mi zao when my mum first introduced it to me as the dates are soaked in a raw sugar solution during the preservation process. However, since BB is already two, a bit of sugar now & then won't hurt I guess ;) There're various reasons why this is an ideal soup for the recent haze. First & foremost, pears help to nourish our lungs. Furthermore, other than lung nourishing properties, Chinese almonds also help to relieve cough & asthma as well as to dissolve phlegm. As for the benefits of mi zao, it has already been explained in my earlier post Apple Corn & Honey Dates Soup to Combat the Hazy Skies.

Ingredients (serve 2 adults & 1 toddler)

1.5l of water

2 Asian pears, skinned & cut into chunks

30g of Chinese almonds (premix of sweet & bitter almonds with a higher % of sweet ones)

3 Eu Yan San mi zao

Directions:

1. Bring the ingredients in water to a boil then simmer for 2h & serve warm.

Addition of the mi zao definitely adds another layer of sweetness to this drink. My 'boys' slurped up theirs & both devoured the dates in no time at all..lolz! 

Apple Corn with Honey Dates Soup to Combat the Hazy Skies

Hello, everyone! I'm back after a seemingly long 'break'. First & foremost, thank you all for sticking around for the past few months!!! Despite the absence of new posts, I know some of you have still been referring to my blog for recipes & some inspirations. 

Many of you must have been wondering where I had MIA-ed to? Well, business was more or less as usual in my kitchen..lolz! My coming to 26 months old still essentially feeds on home-cooked food but I'll have to admit that I've started to close 1 eye to outside food since he's older now.Yes, only 1 eye, and not both. He may have an allowance of 1 to 2 'indulgences' per week, having the same food as us outside but I'll try to request for no salt & MSG for his portion. So far, our favourite restaurant with food that may be prepared as per the above requests is Fish & Co. Simply place an order of baked salmon or cod fish without any seasonings & sauces and he's ready to have them  (~.^) 

Food aside, I've been spending more time on his development for the last few months. With his rapid development in speech & his growth in awareness, my lil' BB is no longer that little..hee! His demand for attention has kinda increased exponentially. Thus, the focus in my blog may change slightly as well, with more emphasis on the 'Growth' aspect.

We've been more sociable as well. As my boy has not officially attended school yet, I've been meeting up with other SAHMs for playmates. These are good avenues for BB's social development & to learn how to share & interact with other children. Well, mummies need some support groups too, don't we?

Other than the Busy Bags exchanges which I've shared previously on Facebook, I have also made a Quiet Book for his 2nd birthday. This Quiet Book activity has only recently started to take off in Singapore. I've been wanting to share more but haven't quite gotten down to doing it. I promise though that it won't be long now : )

Lastly, I've also embarked on a wellness journey which I've procrastinated for like forever. I shall keep all of you in suspense for now but do stay tuned!

Enough for the catching up, let's dive straight into the recipe you've been awaiting for. With the bad hazy weather looming over our heads for the past few weeks, I have prepared this simple soup for my 'boys' at home. Consuming apples & corn together helps to boost our immune systems. In addition, mi zao helps to prevent the common cold as well as reduces allergic symptoms such as asthma & nasal inflammation by strengthening our lungs which I believe is what our bodies need most currently.

Ingredients (serve 2 adults & 1 toddler):

1.5l of water (2l if you prefer mild sweetness like myself)

2 organic apples, cut into wedges

2 organic corns, cut into thirds

2 Eu Yan Sang mi zao

Directions:

1. Bring the ingredients in water to a boil then simmer for 2h & serve warm.

I find this to be very thirst-quenching & throat soothing but a tad too sweet, especially for BB as his diet is still without much sugary stuffs. In view of this, I'll increase the volume of water to 2 litres for future attempts. Njoy the drink & bid the haze goodbye..soon, I hope!!

Beneficial Combination:

Apple + Corn = Can make skin glow & improve immunity

Natural Remedies for Runny Nose & Cough: Cut Raw Onions & Double-Boiled Asian Pear

Recently, I keep hearing of my friends' little ones falling sick and so I thought I'd share a natural remedy which I'd learnt from one of the mummies from the "Healthy Food for my Baby" Facebook group. During CNY, my boy was down with a very strong virus attack. His stuffy & runny nose couldn't stop dripping & he was coughing quite badly too. After 2 visits to his paediatrician & almost completing his course of medication, he didn't show any signs of recovering. 

I then decided to try out some natural remedies & to my relief, they worked! After he had fallen asleep, I cut some raw purple onions & placed them near to him. Believe it or not, he could breathe much better that very night! I continued the treatment the next day during his nap again. Word of caution though: the strong pungent onion fumes will difuse throughout the entire room : / My hubby hated it but tolerated for the sake of our boy. Thank you, my dearie ;*

With the positive results from the onions, I was also encouraged to try a new food therapy for him - double-boiled Asian pear, which actually helps to nourish the lungs.

Ingredients:

1 Asian pear, sliced (was advised by my mum subsequently to peel off the skin).

Directions:

1. Place the sliced pear into a ceramic pot. Put the ceramic pot into a bigger pot of water to double-boil for 2 hours.

2. Feed some pear as well as some of the pear essence that is secreted during the double-boiling.

BB really started getting better & recovered in no time. It even helped to ease the process of feeding medicine to him. He can accept the taste of paracetamol but not for the others & will struggle & keep his mouth shut whenever we try to feed them to him. As a last resort, I added some of the pear essence into his medicine & he drank them up without any resistance. The sweetness probably made it more palatable ~.^

I've since shared this with many of my mummy friends & some of them have remarked to me that it's truly indeed effective. In fact, it has become one of our favourite homemade dessert. Given Singapore's hot weather all year round, I think it helps to cool our bodies down too. Now, I'll prepare it for supper almost fortnightly, with an added Chinese almonds for our "adult" version.