Steamed Sweet Potatoes with Pear Puree

Due to the recent contamination of apples from US, some mummies have expressed their concerns & refrained from buying apples for now eventhough the AVA has commented that Singapore did not import the affected batches. Since I had just ran out of apples and there were some nice juicy pears sitting in my fridge, I decided to substitute the apples with pears for BB's fave puree.

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult)

2 sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed

1 Asian pear, cubed

Directions:

1. Steam the sweet potatoes (I'm using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender) for 10 minutes.

2. Add the pear & steam for another 5 minutes.

3. Blend & serve warm.

This combination is just as good as the apple version, if not, better! As pears tend to be juicier than apples, this purée has more moisture in it & is very sweet-tasting too.

Pre-Xmas Dinner of Roasted Chicky, Baked Kale Chips & Cheesy Pumpkin Mash for my BB

The recipe for the roasted chicken thigh has been shared previously at Basil Baked Chicken Thigh for BB.

Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables but it's not commonly eaten in Singapore. One reason could be that it's not readily available. Only selected Cold Storage outlets actually carry them. My mum tried to stir fry it once with pork in Chinese style for BB but it turned out too chewy so we didn't feed it to him. It actually has quite a sweet taste to it. I recalled seeing it being baked as chips on TV once & it seemed pretty easy so I tried it out previously. However, after putting it into the oven, I had to nurse my boy to sleep. When I asked my hubby to check & remove it as the time was up, they had already turned yellowish & tasted slightly bitter so they ended up in my tummy instead. 

My "Mummies group" friend was so kind to give me some this time round, so they were being 'monitored' constantly & they turned out perfecto! Crispy with a unique fragrant aftertaste. I'll definitely be making more of them as healthy chips for the family (~.^)v

Ingredients (1 toddler meal portion):

1 stalk of organic kale

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Wash & try to dry them as much as possible (if not, the residual water will have a 'steaming' effect & they'll not become crispy).

3. Carefully tear the leaves from the thick stem into bite-sized pieces.

4. Drizzle & toss with oil & spread out as a single layer then bake for about 5 to 8 minutes till the edges are slightly brown but not burnt.

5. Let them cool for about 3 minutes to further crisp up & it's snackies time!

In addition, I also attempted on something different - cheesy roasted pumpkin mash. As expected, the toasted pumpkin has a stronger flavour then the usual steamed version. &, BB likes them both ;)

Ingredients:

Half of a wedge of organic pumpkin, cubed.

EVCO

Some organic cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Drizzle & toss with EVCO then bake (can be steamed too) for 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Mash the pumpkin then add in cheese & mix well till cheese has melted.

BB's BLTD on 8th October 2014

It was a day out with my in-laws so I prepared & brought out BB's lunch, tea break snacks, and dinner as well.

B-reakfast: 

Apple cinnamon smoothie topped with toasted wheat germ

Steam, blend & cool down an organic apple. Add 3 tbsps of Greek yogurt (I'm using Farmers Union), top it off with some toasted wheat germ & mix well.

(Note: Don't add the yogurt to the hot steamed apple purée so as not to destroy the nutrients in the yogurt.)

L-uncheon: 

Spaghetti Bolognese mixed herbs couscous with salmon, peas with organic yellow capsicum & cherry tomatoes

Let 3/4 cup of water come to a boil before adding the salmon & diced capsicums. Remove salmon and flake once it's cooked after around 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size & thickness of the meat. Add in diced tomates, peas & lastly, mixed herbs. Cook for another 2 minutes till water boils again then add in 1/4 cup of couscous. Cover the pot & wait for about 2 to 3 minutes till all the water has been absorbed by the couscous. Remove cover, fluff it up with a pair of chopsticks & mix in the flaked salmon. Serve warm.

The actual portion was double that shown in the picture below. I love the vibrant colours which reminds me that this is a nutritious meal with all the different vegetables in it. My MIL had never eaten couscous before so she tried some. I was thrilled that she finds it nice & fragrant & she likes it! BB enjoyed it too but could only finished half of it. The remaining ended up in my tummy as usual ;)

T-eabreak:

Organic blueberries

It has been quite a while since BB had the chance to enjoy this favourite of his as the season for the organic ones seem to be over. I couldn't find them in NTUC outlets & only selected Cold Storage outlets carry them. Plus, a couple of times we chanced upon them in CS, they weren't very fresh.

D-inner: 

Double-boiled 10 multi-grains with organic minced beef, pumpkin & French beans

Soak the Simple Natural Organic Ten Multi Grains in 3/4 cup of water within a ceramic pot overnight to remove phytic acid. Place the ceramic pot into a metal pot with a pot stainer (or on top of a steamer stand) & fill it with water to match the height of half the ceramic pot. Bring water to boil, then let it simmer for 1 hour (please check occasionally to ensure that there is water left in the metal pot, especially for the first few times that you are attempting this method until you're certain on the required amount of water that would be needed without steaming away completely during the cooking process). Place the diced French beans into a bowl / plate before putting it on top of the ceramic pot to steam for 10 minutes (I prefer to do this so that I can cool the vegetables down before packing them in another container so that they don't become overcooked in the thermal flask). After 20 minutes from the starting time, add the diced pumpkin into the ceramic pot & give it a good stir together with the grains. At 10 minutes left to the countdown, add in the minced beef marinated with sesame oil & stir it in too. Transfer immediately to your thermal flask once it's done. Add in the French beans before serving.

Beneficial Combinations:

Beef + Pumpkin = Tonifying spleen & replenishing qi as well as detoxify & alleviate pain

French Beans + Millet = Clear heatiness & cure for insomnia

My 15M20DO BB Self-Feeding Sweet Potato & Organic Apple Purée with a Spoon

I prepared one of BB's favourite purees for breakfast - steamed sweet potato with apple! Sweet potatoes are packed full of nutrients but can be a tad too dry though. Apples seem to be a perfect complement to them as they introduce more moisture to the purée. This purée can also be added into oats porridge, used as a dip or even as a jam to be spread onto bread.

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato, peeled & cubed

1 organic apple, cubed

Some toasted wheat germ

Directions:

1. Steam the sweet potato cubes for 10 minutes.

2. Add the cubed apples & steam for another 5 minutes.

3. Blend (I'm using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender), top up with wheat germ & serve warm.

After feeding BB a couple of mouthfuls, I noticed that the mixture sticks on to the spoon which made it an excellent choice for him to learn how to spoon feed himself. I hesitated no further to let him give a go at it. He did manage to scoop some to feed himself but still tends to fall back using his hands many a times. It was a wonderful sensory exploration experience for him but I couldn't say the same for myself. Yes, you probably guessed it. The cleaning up of the aftermath was certainly no joke. As the purée dried up, it actually stuck to whatever surface it was on, which happened to be almost everywhere..lolz! Straight to the showers he went, of course. Well, it could have been worse, right? At least it wasn't oily..hee ~.<

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).

Oats: Nutritious, Fast to Cook & Good to Eat

During my confinement, I was blessed with a superb nanny. Other than taking good care of BB & me, she even imparted some of her recipes to me. One of them was savoury cooked oats. Such a simple but yet nutritious food. It even turned out to be a saviour for me during the month after she left as BB was going through his growth spurts & I could barely find time to cook myself a decent meal.

Upon doing more research, I realised that oats are in fact packed with more nutrients than the usual brown rice cereals. This chart was shared by one of the mummies in one of the FB groups which I'm following & oats is actually ranked as the third highest in nutrient points.

The only preparation you'll need is to blend 2 weeks' worth of organic rolled oats which is to be kept in the fridge, ready to be used anytime. Sweet or savoury, the sky is the limit for any creative variation that you can conjure up. 

Ingredients:

Ratio of blended rolled oats : amount of liquid 

= 1 tbsp of oats : 1/4 cup of bm / water / milk 

Directions:

1. Bring liquid to boil then add oats in.

2. Whisk away to get a smooth texture & simmer in a low fire till the oats look expanded & have achieved your desired consistency.

3. You may then add on fresh fruits as toppings or vegetable purees before serving.

As your baby grows, you can add on other ingredients like fish or meats (Beefy pumpkin oats with broccoli) to serve it as porridge.