Homemade Garlic Powder 自制蒜头粉末

I made some garlic powder last night and I must say that, making homemade garlic powder is much easier than I thought!

While the oven was running, my kitchen and living hall was filled with the wonderful aroma of roasted garlic that I find rather comforting. I don't usually like garlic, especially raw garlic, never a garlic person. However roasted garlic is a totally different thing. I can't explain why but it just work for me, and my Big Guy too asked me what was the nice smell coming from the kitchen...



What is the garlic powder for, you asked? Well, I am going to use it for:

• Sprinkles onto baby's porridge, fried rice, fried noodles for that extra aroma and nutrition.
• Garlic bread, my favorite!
• Roast chicken with herbs 
• Saute vegetables or saute chicken dishes

While ready-made garlic powders are easily available in supermarket, homemade ensure there is no added salt nor preservative, it is as natural as can be. Since the making is simple, I do not mind to make this at home once in a while, just like the anchovies powder.

Creamy Cheesy Multi-Colors Alphabet Pasta 芝士蔬菜意面

Now that baby has past 1 year old and confirmed no allergy reaction with cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese, I am serving her creamy cheese pasta instead of the usual soup pasta. I love the cheesy smell and the creamy taste of this little pasta... When I was cooking it in the kitchen, even my little boy couldnt resist to ask for a try..

I used four different types of vegetables here for the mixed nutritious, you can replace with vegetables of your choice, but do try to maintain the variety of colors.

Vermicelli Soup with Minced Pork 肉碎米粉汤

Vermicelli (米粉) is a kind of traditional Chinese thin noodles made of rice, it is easy to digest and cook fast within few minutes. I  usually keep a package of vermicelli as it can be used to make soup or stir fried with meat or vegetables, always come in handy. 

When serving for my duo today, I served it with mixed vegetables soup and top with some minced meat. I used organic pork but you can replace it with minced chicken meat too.

Here's the serving for my 4 years old. My baby girl had the same but in smaller portion.

I made extra of the minced meat and served it with the blanched Bak Choy for me and my big guy. When cooking at home, I always try to cook dishes that are suitable for the entire family so I can keep my cooking time to the minimal, otherwise I may have a frustrated baby clinging onto my legs like a little koala.  :)

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serving for: 2 little ones


Ingredients: 
1 palm-ful of vermicelli (or adjust according to your little one's appetite)
1 palm size of minced meat
1 table spoon of olive oil
2 glove garlic, finely chopped
A dash of sesame oil

2 tea spoon of corn starch (to achieve  smoother texture)

For Marinate:
1/4 onion, finely chopped

A dash of salt

1 tea spoon of soy sauce

A dash of Shao Xin wine (I usually skip this when cooking for little one)

For Soup:

3 cups of water 

1 stalk of celery, chopped into small chunks 

1/2 medium carrot, chopped into cubes

1/2 onion, finely chopped 

20-30 anchovies (pre-washed) or 2 table spoon of anchovies powder

Step by Step Guide:

1. Marinate the minced meat in a bowl, set aside.
2. Boil a pot of water (about 3 cups), add the soup ingredient and boil for 5 minutes on high heat then switch to medium heat and let it shimmer for about 15 minutes. 
3. While the soup is boiling, stir fry the chopped garlic until fragrance, toss in the marinated minced meat and a dash of water, stir fry for 3 minutes. Once the gravy has thickened, add the corn starch and a dash of sesame oil, the meat is now ready.
4. Toss the vermicelli into the soup, cook for about 2 minutes and turn of the heat.

To serve, just put the minced meat on top of the vermicelli, or mix well if serving for young infant, and remember to cut the vermicelli into bite size using a clean kitchen scissors.

It's a really simple dish that is suitable for young infant and elder kids. The minced meat complements the vermicelli which is plaint in taste. You may choose to skip the sesame oil when serving for young  infant however elder kids usually like the aroma and taste of the sesame oil.

Bon appetite peeps!

What is Sodium, Really? 什么是纳？

Last week I wrote a post about feeding cheese to baby and had received quite some feedback about the post, hence this is a sequel to the post. You may read more about it here.

Now, What is Sodium?

Sodium exists in salt and is essential to maintain the fluid level in our body and providing channels for nerve signaling. Deficiency of sodium is rare but over-consumption of sodium is common due to the modern diet. Young infant needs very little sodium in their diet because breast milk and formula milk alone provides sufficient sodium for a 12 month old's daily sodium intake requirements, hence it is really not necessary to add extra salt into the little one's diet.

According to the 2012 publication by UK Food Agency, Feeding Your Baby In the First Year, it was mentioned where:


Don’t add any salt to the foods you give your baby because a young baby’s kidneys can’t cope with it. Some foods, such as cheese, sausages and bacon, are high in salt, so remember to limit how much of these foods you let your baby eat.

Baby foods aren’t allowed to contain added salt. But any foods you buy that aren’t aimed at babies, especially sauces and ready-made porridge, can often be high in salt, so also limit how much of these you let your baby eat and remember to check the label. 

It’s best not to encourage a liking for salt at any age, so when you’re cooking for the family,  leave out the salt so your baby can share the food.

For first time parents, I would encourage you to read the publication as it has rather comprehensive information on baby's first food that I find quite informative.

What is so Bad About Sodium, really?

Baby's daily sodium requirement is very low - up to 1g salt or 0.4g of sodium a day, which can be met through drinking breast milk or formula milk.

Babies's kidneys are not mature enough to handle excessive salt, among the potential side effect of excessive salt / sodium include:

• the risk of kidney damage in long run
• may lead to high blood pressure in later life
• introducing salt in baby's early food also indirectly training their palate to saltier flavors, which has no added benefit at all.

How Much Daily Sodium Consumption is Consider Enough?

According to NSH UK, the maximum recommended amount of salt for babies and children is:

up to 12 months – less than 1g salt a day (less than 0.4g sodium)
1 to 3 years – 2g salt a day (0.8g sodium)
4 to 6 years – 3g salt a day (1.2g sodium)
7 to 10 years – 5g salt a day (2g sodium)
11 years and over – 6g salt a day (2.4g sodium)

Note: 0.1g = 100mg

As a general guide according to Baby Center:

• any food containing more than 0.6g of sodium per 100g is considered to be high in salt.
• any food containing less than 0.1g of sodium per 100g is considered to be low salt level.

 Since I posted about cheese last week, let's use cheese as example for comparison.

Option 1
Based on nutrition information below. 1 slice of cheese (23g) contains 150mg / 6% of sodium. Assuming your little one is 4 years old where the max daily sodium intake is 1200mg, offering 1 slice of the cheese should be considered acceptable, as it only takes up about 10% of total daily requirements.

Option 1: Slice Cheese

Option 2
Comparing to this one, where 1 slice of cheese (21g) contains 320mg / 13% of sodium, consuming 1 slice is already meeting 1/4 of a 4 year old's daily sodium consumption. Assuming you serve it with cured meat or ham which contains around 200mg of sodium per slice, the little one would have consumed nearly 520mg or 45% of his daily sodium need in 1 single meal.

Option 2: Slice Cheese

Considering its calcium content is also considerably lower than the Option 1 (8% Calcium vs 15% Calcium per slice), my personal choice will be to go for the Option 1.


According to Healtaliciousness.com, these are among the top 10 food with highest sodium content:

1. Table salt, Baking soda and Baking powder
2. Bouillon (stock) cubes, Powdered Broths, Soups, and Gravies
3. Soy Sauce, Other Sauces, and Salad Dressings
4. Yeast Extract Spread (Marmite)
5. Salami, Bacon, and Cured Meats
6. Sun dried tomatoes
7. Cheese
8. Snack Foods (Pretzels, Cheese Puffs, and Popcorn)
9. Pickled foods
10. Salt water crabs

From the list of these food, one common point is they are either processed or preserved food, hence addition of sugar or salt does not come as surprise. However, it does not mean you have to cut down consumption of these food altogether, just serve them in smaller quantities and reduce the frequency.

You may want refer to the website for more nutrition information about these 10 types of food.

So, what is the right thing to do?

• When introducing solid food to babies, do not add salt or sugar into the food. 
• Avoid offering adult food or processed food to young babies; even for baby food purchased over the shelf, always check the nutrition facts and choose wisely.
• Avoid salty snacks such as chips, biscuits, sauces etc. Instead try to opt for healthy finger food such as fruits, fresh vegetable sticks, low salt baby food where possible.
• Home cook food using fresh ingredient is the best option as you know exactly what your babies eat and most importantly, you can be assured that no junks is given.
• Avoid adding ready packed gravy or thick sauce into toddler's food (or give sparingly if you must), as you are offering extra fat, salt and sugar into their diet which is not necessary.

For the long term benefit of the little ones, do have a mindset change and if possible, share with the care-taker or nanny so they understand why they should refrain from adding salt or sugar into the little one's meal.

While doing my reading on all the nutrition facts I started to revise the food that we consume daily, I'm glad that I had chosen to serve home-cook meal for my little ones as often as possible. I am not a strict dietitian as I do believe life need some enjoyment and indulgence of delicious food, however I do believe as parents we can do our part to encourage healthy eating in the family.

Hope you find this post helpful, till the next post, Happy Labour's Day! :)

Reference Materials:

1. http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/publication/yourbaby0210.pdf
2. http://www.babycentre.co.uk/x555836/can-i-put-salt-in-my-babys-food
3. http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/824.aspx?CategoryID=51
4. http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/adding-salt-to-baby-food.html
5. http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/what-foods-high-sodium.php

Cheese for Little Ones 乳酪与小宝

Do you or your little ones like cheese? How much do you know about cheese like what cheese to offer to little ones and when is the right time to introduce cheese? To be honest, I knew so little about cheese all these while until I decided to spend sometime to read and learn more about it. This post is all above cheese. So if you are not a cheese lover or have no intention of introducing cheese into your little one's diet, you may opt to stop here...

World of Cheese. Photo originally from http://gizmodo.com

I introduced cheese to my duo after they turned 1 year old as I wasn't quite into cheese. I baked cheese crackers using natural cheddar cheese block for my girl when she was 14 month old, she liked it and so is the elder brother. Both of them showed no sign of allergies at all.

So I thought, she is fine with cheese.

Organic Alphabet Pasta with Goji Berries

Today's meal for Baby Claire - Organic alphabet pasta with celery, carrots, onions and goji berries cooked in anchovies soup.

Goji berries, 枸杞, also known as wolfberries, are high in antioxidant and is believe to be good for eye sights and brain development. I soaked them in water for about 5 minutes before cooking, just in case there is any coloring used in the making of the dried goji berries, this shall wash any residues away (I know some may think its totally unnecessary but I rather be safe than sorry...)

The berries have a soft texture after cooking and tasted tangy and sweet, so no resistant faced although this was the first time I introduced this to my 15 months old.


The preparation is simple, takes only about 20 minutes including all the washing and chopping.

Ingredients:
2 palmful of organic alphabet pasta
10 goji berries
1 stalk celery
1/4 medium carrots
1/2 medium onions
1 tea spoon of homemade anchovies powder

Serving size: 2 feeding

1. Soak the goji berries in warm water for 5 minutes, set a side.

2. Cut the remaining vegetables into small cubes.

3. Cook the berries and vegetables in a pot of boiled water for 10 minutes. First 3 minutes of high heat and change to medium heat subsequently. Add a teaspoon of homemade anchovies powder and mix well.

4. Add 2 palmful of organic alphabet pasta, cook according to the time indicated on the packet (I cooked mine for 10 minutes).

Just that simple. Baby Claire loves her pasta and ate up most by herself. Now that she has good eye hands coordination, I started training her to self feed and she is making good progress thus far. Just need to make sure I have many bibs to standby and a wet hanky on stand by :) Needless to mention, I have to supervise her closely to avoid the possibility of chocking.


Note:
Personally I will not give the goji berries to my kiddos on regular basis, as it is a type of herbs so it is always safer to give in moderation to avoid long term side effect.

Happy New Year and a Sum Up for 2012. 回顾2012

Happy New Year to all my blog fans. I know it's a bit late but still better than never right? ;)

Thanks for sticking with me for the past few months. I have not been cooking as frequent as I would like too due to work, kids, family and new found interest (yes, crafting & sewing!), however when making these photo collage I realized I have managed to try my hands on quite a variety of food within the past few months.

Here are the photo gallery and the quick links for you to direct access to your favorite recipe.

I hope to hear from you more as blog writing is quite a lonely journey (perhaps because I always blog when everyone is asleep :). While I'm grateful that my Facebook fan page have grown to 51 members as of today, I look forward to hearing feedbacks from you on the meals or recipes I have shared so I know where to improve..

Happy Meals
Real Happy Meal

Real Happy Meals 2

Happy Food Face Series

Happy Kiddie Sandwich

Baby Early Food

Baby First Food - Purée

Alphabet Pasta in Tomato Paste

No Fuss Baby Porridge for Busy Mom

Healthy Alphabet Pasta with Steamed Cod Fish

Happy Face Rice with Steamed Punter Fish

Roasted Dried Anchovies Powder

Kids & Family Meals

Homemade Rolled Sushi

Homemade Quiche

Thin Crust Pizza

Teriyaki Chicken Fillet and Avocado Sandwich

Easy Spaghetti Bolognese

Pockets of Gold - Cheese Baked Rice

Dory Fish Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce

Rainbow Rice with Fish Nuggets

Tuna Burger

Honey Roast Whole Chicken Thigh

Crispy Salmon Cake

Stir Fried Udon Noodle with Mixed Veggies

Finger Foods & Snacks

Homemade Cheese crackers

Simple Dory Fosh Nugget

Hotdog In A Blanket

Mini Pancakes

Moist Chocolate Orange Butter Cake

Toasted Breakfast Wraps

Easy butter Cookies

Banana Toast Wrap

Fluffy Almond Cupcakes

Eggs and Sausage Rolls for Breakfast


Dessert
Avocado Smoothies

Frozen Avocado Popsicles

Chocolate Banana Popsicles

Frozen Mango Popsicles



Hmmm, that's quite some achievement within just 6 months (considering I only have chance to cook on weekends or holidays). These are not perfect but are certainly easy and healthy options to serve for little ones and the one you loved.

My new year aspiration? Laugh more, travel more, craft more, cook more and love abundantly. May God bless us all :)

Happy 2013!

Roasted Dried Achovies Powder 江鱼仔粉末

*updated with pictorial guide*
I made these anchovies powder for baby C's porridge few weeks ago, been too busy lately that I have no time to write about it. Besides, I would like to find out more about the benefits of anchovies before sharing it with others.

Anchovies are commonly known as ikan bilis to the locals, dried anchovies with head and tail attached are commonly available in most hypermarkets or wet markets, and come in different grades depending on the size and types of fish used.

Some of the known benefits of anchovies:

• Despite its tiny size, anchovies is packed with nutrients: iron, calcium (as it can be consumed with edible bones), protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
• Due to the small size which translate to relatively shorter life cycle , it’s possibly less prone to heavy metal contamination in the ocean unlike other bigger fish.
• However, due to the high sodium content, I soak and wash the anchovies to wash away some of the salt content before cooking them. This also removes any potential dust or dirt residues on the anchovies. Besides, most articles I read encourage removing the head and entrails which have higher content of cholesterol.

Apart from the benefits listed the above, other reasons why I choose to make anchovies powder for my baby:

• It's convenient, especially on days where I am out of the house with baby the whole day. Once blended, the anchovies powder can be stored in air tight container for a month or more.
• It adds taste and nutrient into the porridge. When going out with baby C, I usually put 1/4 tea spoon of powder into a container and add them into the porridge right before serving. The porridge smells and tastes so nice that even I like them :)

So, what do I used the anchovies powder for?
I usually add about 1/4 tea spoon of the anchovies powder into a small rice bowl of porridge for taste. You may also use the powder on fried rice, sushi, sandwiches or even soup for a richer aroma. I prefer using this homemade flavoring than those commercially packed chicken stock which I am sure is full of preservative and MSG. No food is better than homecook food. :)


Preparation Time: 5min
Cooking Time: 10-15min
Recommended age: 8 months onwards

Ingredients:
500gm of Dried anchovies just like in picture below, about 5 palms full (enough for a month's usage).

Step-by-Step Guides:

1. Preheat oven to 120c/140c (gas/fan).

2. Wash the anchovies, remove the heads and tails (I bought those that had the heads and tails removed, save a lot of time). Dab the fish using a kitchen towel to remove as much access water as possible and spread them out evenly onto a baking tray

3. Roast the anchovies in the oven for 15-20 minutes. You can open the oven to check the fish, once it's golden crisp you may remove them from the oven. Let it cool before blending them.

I got 2 full jars of these crunchy anchovies.

4. In a food processor / blender, blend the roasted anchovies into powdery form.


The anchovies powder can be stored in air-tight container for up to a month or more. Keep it in a cool and dry place for longer shelve life. I placed mine in a clear glass container and stored in the fridge to ensure freshness.

Reference Links:
These are some of the websites I referred to, for your reference only.

http://www.moh.gov.my/images/gallery/Garispanduan/diet/km6.pdf
http://www.asiaone.com/Health/Eat%2BRight/Story/A1Story20090409-134369.html
http://www.menshealth.com.sg/weight-loss-nutrition/ikan-bilis-protein-rich

Until the next post, happy feeding! :)

No-Fuss Baby Porridge for Busy Mom 简易婴儿米粥

*updated*

Being a full time working mom with 2 little ones, week day morning is always hush hush time, cooking mushy porridge for my baby girl seems like a real challenge if I need to be early and beat the morning traffic.

Instead of cooking in a rush in the morning, I decided to use slow cooker to slowly cook the porridge overnight. After trying for 2 nights, I finally find the right method that works.

Pumpkin and sweet potato porridge, soft and mushy

Here's how.

Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 6 hours
Serving size: 2 small bowls
Suitable for: 8 months onwards=

Ingredients:
1 palmful or 1/4 cup of rice (adjust according to your baby's eating portion)
3 rice bowls of hot water
1 cup vegetables, cut into big wedges (refer below on possible choices of vegetables)

The Steps:
1. Soak the rice in water for 20 minutes so it's soften. Put the rice into the slow cooker, fill with 3 bowls of hot water. Add the cut vegetable, make sure they are covered with water.

2. Set temperature to "High" and let it cook for 30 minutes.

3. Turn to "Low" temperature, let porridge cook overnight for about 6 hours (note: "Low" is different from "Auto" mode).


A soft and mushy porridge will be waiting for you the next morning. Just lightly crush the vegetables with the back of the ladle. I usually cook the porridge at around 11:30pm, switch to low temp 30min later and by 6:30am - 7am I'll just turn off the cooker.

Store the porridge immediately into vacuum food jar and it shall be good to keep for 6-8 hours, depending what type of food jar you used. Rinsing the food jar with hot water before storing the porridge helps to extend the keep warm duration. 

When feeding, scope just enough in a clean bowl, do not reheat unfinished portion or overnight porridge to serve to baby as you won't want to risk feeding your little one contaminated food.

You can mix and match the following (remember to apply the 3-days rule when introducing new food). All portions are roughly chopped unless mentioned otherwise:

Pumpkin / butternut

Broccoli stem (finely chopped)

Sweet Potatoes

Carrots

Potatoes

Sweet Peas (finely chopped)

Asparagus stems (peeled and finely chopped)

Onion (finely chopped)

Green or Red Cabbage (finely chopped)

Celery (peeled and finely chopped) - use sparingly

Long beans (finely chopped)

Tofu (bean curd), finely chopped

Note: above are the vegetables that I had tried personally hence I add them in the list, you may include other ingredients of your choice, for example I have friends who add mushrooms, corns, butternut, peas etc for their little ones' meal.


I usually mix 2-3 vegetables of different colors in a single cooking for mixture of nutrition, no salt or sauce added. If you would like some natural flavoring for the porridge, you may add pre-washed anchovies when cooking or add half a tea spoon of this homemade anchovies powder when feeding. Do avoid using ready stock cube as those usually contain preservative and MSG.

You may read here to understand why adding of salt and sauces are not recommended for young infant.

For first time parent, do read about the Feeding Essential for Little Ones before you start your shopping spree... :)


Lesson about Fish Porridge...
After baby past 8 months old, I introduced fish into her diet. I have tried adding fish into her porridge and cook with the above method, and I would advise DO NOT USE  this method for fish. Firstly, fish only requires short cooking time (about 5 minutes) and by storing it in food jar it has a fishy smell that I really dislike;  I doubt babies would like that too.

So I have changed my approach. Instead of cooking the porridge for baby everyday, I prepare the ingredient for daily portion and past it to the care taker. This way, I know exactly what my baby is eating and can ensure she has balance intake of nutrients.


On The Go?
When bringing baby to the care-taker's house before work, or bringing her out for a short visit, I'll just pack everything i need into a keep warm food carrier, simple and sleek looking! 

As seen here: Food jar, BPA safe food container and feeding spoon and bib, all in a trendy looking, insulated food carrier.

This Fuel food warmer carrier with all the feeding stuff I need

Sharing with Parents and Caretaker...
I will always taste the porridge to find out if it taste nice and if the texture is just right for baby. Don't just follow books or advices blindly, find out for yourself what works best for your precious little one (at least this is what I believe).

Feeding variety of food in earlier age will avoid a picky eater, this will also ensure your little one absorbs balanced nutrients during their growing years.

Besides, some wonder why I only used the broccoli stem and not the florets? Well, I avoid florets for my baby due to the fear of any pesticide residues. You may choose to include the florets if you are certain on the  source of broccoli. It's probably just me being extra cautious. :)

Happy feeding!

Baby First Food - Vegetable Puree 婴儿初食

I created this post to keep track of the puree I prepared for my baby C. These puree are added to the rice cereal where I introduced a new veggie/fruit on every 3 days gap (some suggested 4 days rule but I decided to observe for 3 days as per what the pediatrician advised).

For babies above 8 months old, they are ready for non pureed food, you may refer to this post instead - No fuss baby porridge for busy mom.

Soft and mushy rice cereal

The veggies are introduced in the following sequence,you may choose to vary. However, do avoid citrus fruits (e.g. Orange, kiwi) and eggs for baby under 1 year old. As baby was 7 month old when I first wrote this post, I will update from time to time:

Day 1-3: Plain rice cereal
Day 4-6: Carrots, steamed
Day 7-9: Pumpkins, steamed (mix with carrots)
Day 10-12: Broccoli stems, steamed without florets (mix with pumpkin)
Day 13-15: Potatoes, steamed (mix with carrots)
Day 16-18: Sweet potatoes, steamed (this is really tasty! However, some mommies reported their little ones had constipation problem after consuming sweet potato while it was alright with my baby)
Day 19-22: Apple, steamed (for snack time)
Day 23-25: Banana, uncooked (for snack time)
Day 26-28: Pear, steamed (baby had watery poo 4 times within same day so I have stopped this the next day)
Day 29-31: Fresh Avocado with milk, uncooked (for snack time)
Day 32-34: French beans, steamed
Day 35-37: Melon, steamed (for snack time)
Subsequently: Asparagus, steamed (used stem portion only)


Preparation Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: 30 min
Equipments Required:

• Food blender/processor
• baby food containers (BPA Free, can stand -4c to 100c)
• covered ice tube tray
• If you are first time parent, check out my article on Feeding Essentials for Little Ones before you begin your shopping spree.. :)

Step-By-Step Guides:

1. Cut your choice of veggies into approximate 1"x1" cube size, wash thoroughly. Put in a small porcelain bowl. Fill the bowl with just enough boiled water to cover the veggies. Only 1 type veggies in each bowl.
2. Place the bowls of cut veggies into a steamer, boil on high heat then change to medium heat once water is boiling.
3. Steam the veggies for about 20min. For carrots, steam up to 30min for softer texture.
4. Let the steamed veggies cool to room temperature. Then put the veggies plus a bit of water into blender, blend till no lump observed (about 10-15 seconds on high speed).
5. Pour the puree into a clean ice cube tray / baby food container. Store in freezer with lid covered. 
6. When serving, take the cubes out and thaw with the container on the bottle warmer or a bowl of hot water (need at least 30min so prepare ahead of time). Mix well with the rice cereal.

Happy Feeding! 


Methods to Prepare Rice Cereal:

1. I cook the porridge (1/6 - 1/4 cup rice with 3 rice bowls of water) for 30 minutes (the porridge should be slightly watery), let it cold down and blend it for about 10 seconds on normal speed. This method is as per suggested by Asian Parenting Guide and I find it easy.
2. Another common method is to grind the rice / brown rice into powdery form using a food processor, store the rice powder in air tight container. To cook, add 1/4 cup rice powder into 1 cup of boiling liquid, whisk constant and cook for about 10 minutes. Refer for more info on wholesomebabyfood website.
3. Alternatively, you can buy instant rice cereal available in supermarket which only requires adding of water or milk. When going on a short trip with baby, I bring along few packs of instant rice cereal (individual packs) from Happy Bellies, it is convenient and hassle free.

Notes to Parents / Caretaker..

1. Make sure your equipment is thoroughly cleaned, use separate chopping board and knife for baby food if possible.
2. Avoid storing your puree with raw meat to prevent contamination.
3. To ensure freshness, I usually prepare portion enough for 4 days feeding (young baby only take 1 cube in beginning, then gradually increase to 4 cubes, or more).
4. You may mix up 2-3 puree with rice cereal in a single feeding; however only if confirm your little one is not allergy to that veggie.
5. 8 months onwards you may introduce meat / fish in the porridge. It is also not necessary to blend the veggies anymore, just cut them into small cubes and cook till really soft; or press the veggies with the back of a spatula/spoon when feeding.
6. Always prepare the following before feeding your baby:

• ensure baby is seated securely
• feeding spoon
• bib
• wet hanky or tissues

Useful Tips!

To save time, I steamed veggies in a steamer on top tier and cook porridge in the bottom tier. After removing the steamer about 20 minutes of cooking, I continue cooking the porridge for another 10 minutes so it is muddily soft.

When preparing puree, you can make extra to serve as dip for fresh cut veggies (pumpkin, sweet potatoes which are naturally sweet) or smoothies (banana and avocado are excellent choice, refer to avocado recipes here for ideas 

Watch out for allergy reaction...

Whenever you introduced a new food to young baby, best feeding time is around 11am as it may takes several hours before any allergy symptom shows up and you would not want that to happen in middle of the night.

Possible allergy reactions: skin rashes/itchiness, nappy rashes, swollen skin, diarrhea, constipation etc. Stop the newly introduced food for a few days before re-introducing it to baby (best to consult your pediatrician on such matters).

Important Reminder: Any information obtained from Internet, including this blog, shall be used as reference only and not taken as actual medical advice. Always seek advice from your doctor when in doubt.

Steaming 2 veggies together.

I used Electrolux hand blender, no mess and easy to clean.

Thaw the puree in a bowl of hot water.

Storing the puree before freezing. Seen here are broccoli, potato and rice cereal puree.

Apple Puree, I didn't add any lemon juice nor salt so the puree looked brownish, but it tasted nice and baby C loved it. .

Seen here, I steamed 4 different types of veggies at once for more variety. .