Organic Cheddar Cheesy Scrambled Eggs with Oven Baked Shiitake Mushrooms for BB

The packet of preservative-free pork chipolatas which I have in my freezer had been put to use at last! I simply grilled them in the oven for 20 minutes, turning them halfway through. Verdict? They tasted as good as their preservatives loaded counterparts, well marinated & juicy! &, the best part is that I don't have to feel guilty indulging in one of our favourite foods as I sunk my teeth into each bite d(~.<) I contemplated to let BB try some of it but decided against it after discussing with my hubby as we felt that it may still be a tad too salty for him now. One day, but not today . . . sorry, son!

I also attempted cheddar cheesy scrambled egg for the first time using my WMF long-forsaken pan. Having used non-stick pans for seemingly forever, I was quite apprehensive that it might turned out disastrous. Fortunately, all ended well.

Organic cheddar cheesy scrambled eggs: Beat 6 eggs with some shredded cheddar cheese. Heat up some extra virgin coconut oil till hot. Pour in the eggs & lower the fire to lowest heat. Use a wooden spatula to push inwards to the centre from around the edges. Switch off the fire when the eggs are softly set yet slightly runny (that's how we like ours done) & scoop out the adults' portions. Continue to stir fry the remaining eggs till fully cooked for BB. Serve immediately.

Oven baked shiitake mushrooms: Clean & cut the mushrooms. Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil & sprinkle some freshly grounded black pepper. Mix well & bake for 20 minutes.

Tadah! BB's healthier version of all-day breakfast ;)

Another Source of Good Quality Meats in SG

It had been a pretty eventful & tiring week.

Last Saturday: BB's 1st visit to Singapore Zoological Gardens & BBQ birthday party for our niece

Last Sunday: Shopping with PoPo for her birthday present at Poh Heng followed by Ikea & dinner at Chin Lee Restaurant

Wednesday: Morning 'workout' at Vivocity's Polliwogs, luncheon gathering with some July 2013 babies & their Mummies & then shopping & buffet dinner at Furama City View with parents-in-laws

Thursday: Hi-tea at Shangri-La's Rose Veranda with my BFFs cum a play date for BB

Friday: Wedding dinner at M Hotel

Saturday: Brunch at Backstage Cafe & shopping with Daddy-O at Pasar Bella, Marina Square & Suntec City

Hmmm..so many things to blog about but my eyes can barely open (@.@) I'll just share my loots from Pasar Bella for tonight. Running out of meats for BB, I told my hubby that I'd like to make a trip to Pasar Bella to see what I can find there & I was totally blown away. James' Butchery & Co has a wide selection of good quality meats to choose from & the picture below only shows about half of what they carry which excludes their range of steaks as well as sausages!

I expected to find them more expensive than other places but was pleasantly surprise. Other than the organic minced beef which is $0.29 more per 100g, the rest of the meat I bought was actually cheaper here.

Organic minced beef - $3.59 / 100g

Probiotic fed bone in chicken leg - $2.09 / 100g (cheaper by $0.21)

Probiotic fed boneless chicken leg - $2.29 / 100g (cheaper by $0.51)

Probiotic fed minced chicken - $2.79 / 100g (cheaper by $0.01)

Australian corn fed minced pork - $2.79 / 100g (cheaper by $1.84)

I like the fact that I can get everything I need in one location (including pork which is harder to find). The only problem is that I stay all the way in the east :/ I guess I'll only be able to come meat shopping here again when I'm in the vicinity. 

Meats: Corn-Fed, Free-Range & Organic

When it came to the introduction of meat (excluding fish) to BB, I actually kept deliberating as I didn't feel like feeding antibiotics & hormones loaded meat to him. I only started giving it to him when the Culina Butchery (click here for a list of their outlets) that I chanced upon within FairPrice Finest at Bedok Mall actually sold organic beef as well as corn-fed chicken.

Prices are as follow:

Organic minced beef - $3.30 / 100g

Organic stir fry beef - $3.80 / 100g

Fresh corn fed bone in chicken leg - $2.30 / 100g

Fresh corn fed boneless chicken leg - $2.80 / 100g

Fresh corn fed minced chicken - $2.80 / 100g

Fresh corn fed boneless chicken breast - $2.80 / 100g

However, I've had several "foul" experiences with their minced chicken. I would usually separate the minced chicken into 50g portions for BB's meals and freeze them. To my disappointment, they all smelled sour after thawing. I went back to their counter & told one of their staff about what had happened. He was very apologetic & immediately offered to compensate me by giving me a fresh batch with some extras too. In addition, he also explained that as the corn-fed chickens have not been injected with antibiotics, they are prone to turning racid more easily. Thus, he advised that I should take some free ice packs provided by NTUC to keep them cool during the journey home. 

Despite heeding his advice, the same thing happened once again. I went back to them again but this time another staff member attended to me. He did offer to replace them yet again but being once bitten, twice shy, I wasn't keen to go through the same ordeal again. I intended to write in to feedback to Culina for them to take the appropriate measures in ensuring the freshness of their meat but haven't gotten down to doing it..heehee ;P From then on, I've resolved to only buy their chicken thighs, clean them myself, portion them and freeze. So far, they've remained fresh.

As for pork, they only offered normal ones. Luckily, one of the mummies on the Healthy Food for my Baby Facebook group shared about free-range pork sold at The Fishwives at Cluny Court. 400g of free-range pork is sold at $18.50. Slightly on the pricey side but given that it's flown in from Australia, it still seems pretty reasonable. Not forgetting to mention their preservative-free chipolata sausages sold at 6 for $10. We can finaly indulge in one of our favourite foods without any worries. I can't wait to try the pack in my freezer soon ~.^

Organic: Yes or No?

I remember I used to have a student who only eats organic foodstuffs at home. Once, when we were having lunch together at a food court, she told me that she's not used to the taste of non-organic vegetables outside. Do they really taste different or is it just her imagination?

I grew up eating non-organic food myself but decided to feed BB with some organic produce. The reason behind my decision is that as the world becomes more profit-oriented, companies resort to more harmful & stronger pesticides to maximise their yields &, in turn, their profits. Having said that, I don't give organic stuffs exclusively as I believe that the health benefits of a balanced diet far outweighs the risk of exposure to pesticides. I don't want my boy to grow up not eating outside food just because they're non-organic. How is he going to survive his army days in time to come if he becomes so picky?

Therefore, how do I go about selecting organic or non-organic fruits & vegetables then? The answer is simple. Every year, the EWG publishes the Clean Fifteen & Dirty Dozen (12+2) lists of fruits & vegetables that contain the least & most pesticides respectively.. For those that fall under the Dirty Dozen list, I'll buy the organic version. Other than these 14 food, I'll also buy organic ones for staples or food that we tend to consume them in large quantities. In addition, I also purchase the organic versions for blueberries, lettuce & summer squash / zucchini as they were in the Dirty Dozen List 2013 & continue to rank high on the amount of pesticides they are tainted with. Last but not least, if I come across relatively cheap organic food, I'll buy them too.

The Dirty Dozen List 2013/14:

Apples

Celery

Cherry Tomatoes

Collard Greens / Kale

Cucumber

Grapes

Hot peppers

Nectarines

Peaches

Potatoes

Snap Peas

Spinach

Strawberries

Sweet Bell Peppers

Blueberries (2013)

Lettuce (2013)

Summer Squash / Zucchini (2013)

The Clean Fifteen List 2013/14:

Asparagus

Avocados

Sweet Corn

Cabbage

Cantaloupe

Eggplant

Kiwi

Grapefruit

Papayas

Mangoes

Pineapples

Cauliflower

Onions

Sweet peas (frozen)

Sweet potatoes

Mushrooms (2013)