Homemade Sweet Potatoes Mooncakes with Mung Bean Fillings

I did a trial run today since I had to prepare the mung bean fillings in advance for tomorrow.

Ingredients:

1 big purple sweet potato (abt 200g after skin peeled which yields 4 small mooncakes), cut into big chunks

1/2 cup of split mung beans (still have leftovers for making of more mooncakes tomorrow)

1 tbsp of organic Simple Mill raw virgin coconut oil (VCO)

1/4 cup of Billington's molasses (can half it if prefer less sweet for LOs)

Some boiled water

Directions:

1. Steam mung beans for 30 minutes (I used my Avent steamer & blender) or till soften.

2. Blend to desired texture (BB likes more textured food so I left it quite chunky). If mixture is too dry, add a bit of water till it can blend smoothly.

3. Heat up the VCO then add in mung bean purée & sugar.

4. Mix evenly over low heat till sugar has melted (can add some water if mixture is still too dry to prevent it from getting burnt). Cool the mixture completely before using. Can also leave overnight in fridge once it's cooled if you're preparing it in advance too.

5. Steam sweet potato for 20 - 30 minutes till soften then mash, cool & put into fridge for at least 30 minutes.

6. Put a thin layer of sweet potato purée all around the mooncake mold.

7. Fill with the mung bean filling then cover it with another thin layer of sweet potato purée.

8. Invert mold over a plate & slowly push down the plunger (firmly so that the design is imprinted). Slowly lift up the mold while continuing to push down the plunger gently to remove the mooncake from it.

I did the first 3 mooncakes using the method shown in the video I've shared earlier on Grub n' Grow's FB page but it's quite difficult to get a thin outer layer of sweet potato as the purée breaks up quite easily. This resulted in very little filling in the centre as shown in the picture below.

Unsatisfied with the end results, I put on my thinking cap & came up with another method. Using the remaining ingredients, I gave it 1 more try & it looks much better now >.~ As for the taste, I really do like the stronger flavour in the mung bean filling due to the usage of molasses instead of normal sugar. Actually, they'll be a nice snack for normal days too if you use molds of other designs instead of mooncake ones.

Hope everyone'll hv a Happie Mid Autumn Festival celebration with your loved ones tmr!!!

Healthy Bubur Chacha - Purple Sweet Potatoes in Fresh Milk

After trying out the Milky Oats With Purple Sweet Potato for Breaky previously, I've cravings for it again but preferably a more soupy version so I omitted the oats today.

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh milk

2 middle size purple sweet potatoes, skinned & cut into small chunks

Directions:

1. Bring the milk to a boil. 

2. Add in sweet potato then simmer for about 15mins. Serve warm.

Omg!! The taste of this resembles it's counterpart, the bubur chacha even more! Without adding in oats this time, it has an even more distinct milky & sweet potato taste. Yums! Even though the little boy, a milk fanatic who very much prefers his milk straight from the source or cup, initially threw a tantrum after hearing that I was cooking a sweet potato dessert with milk; finally conceded and kept repeating 'Nice nice!!'

Beneficial Combination:

Milk + Sweet Potatoes = Prevent hypertension & arteriosclerosis

Milky Oats With Purple Sweet Potato for Breaky

I was having cravings for banana oats for breakfast this morning. To my disappointment, the bananas were too ripe & had turned brownish inside so into the rubbish bin they went. Since I've a pack of purple sweet potatoes on my countertop, I decided to try something new ;>

Ingredients (serve 2 adults & 1 toddler):

200ml of fresh milk

1/2 cup of organic rolled oats

1 medium size purple sweet potato, skinned & cut into small chunks

Directions:

1. Bring the milk to a boil. 

2. Add in sweet potato & oats then simmer for about 15mins. Serve warm.

What's the end result of my lil' kitchen experiment? The taste is kinda like a lighter version of bubur chacha. Fresh milk definitely doesn't have the strong fragrant of coconut milk but it also doesn't contain as much saturated fats present in the latter. Therefore, it's healthier too. The purple sweet potato gives the porridge a tinge of mild natural sweetness. What surprises me the most is the natural fragrant of the oats which fill my mouth as I chew on. I believe that without the addition of seasonings in my everyday meals, my palate has become more acute to the natural flavours or maybe because there aren't too much sweetness or saltiness to mask them.

Beneficial Combinations:

Milk + Oats = Has the effect of reducing fats & losing weight

Milk + Sweet Potatoes = Prevent hypertension & arteriosclerosis

Organic Apple with Purple Sweet Potato Dessert

A twist to my boy's fave apple & sweet potato purée. As my boy is not much of a water drinker, this is one way to increase his water intake.

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler + 1 adult):

400ml of water

1 purple sweet potato, diced

1 organic apple, diced

1/8 tsp of cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring the sweet potato in water to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes before adding in the apple. Cook for another 10 minutes, mix in the cinnamon & serve warm.

Without any addition of sweeteners, this actually tastes naturally sweet. I think we're just too dependant on sweeteners & seasonings in our daily lives. Once you take that leap of faith to omit them, your taste buds will adjust gradually & you'll also start to embrace the natural flavours of food & eat more healthily with your little ones ;) Happie Grubbing!

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.

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.

Double-Boiling Porridges

One of the most useful tips that I've learnt from a Facebook group 'Healthy Food for My Baby' is on double boiling oats (a big Thank You to the mummy who shared it whoever you're) which I've improvised & used it to cook BB's porridge. Why double boil u may wonder? It ensures that the temperature stays almost constant at around 100 degrees Celsius which is essential as some nutrients may be destroyed at too high a temperature. Furthermore, through this method of cooking, most nutrients from the food will be retained. For me, another added bonus would be that I won't have to 'watch' the fire to prevent my porridge from getting burnt. If you've a slow cooker at home, you probably don't need to do this but even the slow cooker at my mum's place needs the occasional stirring or else the porridge would end up sticking to the bottom. 

I have chosen to make use of my existing kitchen appliances to create my "personal double boiler" instead of buying one to add-on to the clutter on my countertop. The appliances include:

Ikea metal pot & pot strainer (any large metal pot with a steamer stand will do just as fine)

Ceramic pot (can be purchased from NTUC)

Induction cooker (stovetop of course can too)

I shall share how the above method is implemented, with the porridge recipe that I have just cooked today.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp of Simple Natural Organic Ten Multi Grains (found at most Cold Storage outlets)

3/4 cup of water

1 piece of cod fillet, thawed & deboned (I bought a big packet of cod fish chunks & defrost the required chunks whenever I need them)

1/2 of a small purple sweet potato, peeled & diced

A handful of chopped spring onions

Directions:

1. Soak the grains in water within the ceramic pot overnight to remove phytic acid.

2. Place the ceramic pot into the metal pot with the pot stainer (or on top of a steamer stand) & fill it with water to match the height of half the ceramic pot.

3. Bring water to boil, then let it simmer for between 1 hour to 1.5 hour depending on the strength of  your fire (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).

4. After 20 minutes, add the diced sweet potatoes into the ceramic pot & give it a good stir together with the grains. 

(Note: My rule of thumb is to double the respective cooking time for the ingredients as the fundamental of double boiling is cooking with indirect hear, thus implying an increased cooking time).

5. At 15 minutes to the countdown (10 minutes if the fish is not very thick), place the fish into a bowl / plate before putting it on top of the ceramic pot to steam. I prefer to steam the fish separately so that I can double check for any fine or small bones as I flake it after it's cooked.

6. Once the time is up (my induction cooker has a timer), remove the steamed fish to cool slightly. Add spring onions to the porridge & stir them in to allow it to be 'cooked' by the piping hot porridge. Flake the fish & serve it warm with the porridge.