Baby porridge recipe

Vegetable tofu and chicken porridge

Another tasty and very healthy baby porridge recipe. Broccoli is rich in Iron, Calcium and Magnesium. It also has a good amount of dietary fiber and Vitamin C. Broccoli is also said to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. Tofu is a good source of protein as is chicken meat.

age: above 8 months

Ingredients:

- 2 ounces or 55 g of Rice. My first choice is Jasmati Rice because of its great flavor and texture.

- water about 1.7 cups / 400 ml

Sesame Oil

- 2 ounces / 55g of Mori-Nu Tofu chopped into small cubes

- broccoli 1 ounce / 25g chopped into small pieces

- chicken breast meat 1 ounce / 25 g chopped into small pieces

-Some Cooking Oil. I always buy Wesson's. It's a product with good quality and comes at a cheap price.

- sesame oil

- 1 teaspoon Ginger Juice. I like to use this Ginger Juice from the Ginger People for its strong taste. (You can also produce your own juice by using a garlic press)

How to cook:

1. Use ginger juice to marinate the chicken breast pieces

2. Add rice and water into Rice Cooker and use slow cooking option to cook. I own this Rice Cooker from Aroma. Very Easy to use and it produces wonderfully cooked rice. As an alternative you can also use a regular pot.

3. Add a little cooking oil into a pan, use medium heat to stir-fry the chicken meat pieces until the color is changed

4. Add chicken meat, broccoli pieces and Tofu into your rice cooker or pot after about 40 minutes you started cooking the porridge and continue to cook until porridge is ready

5. Add a few drops of sesame oil

Read more »

How to make Chinese Gnocchi for baby food

How to make Chinese Gnocchi

Gnocchi can be eaten as a substitute for rice and noodles. They are easy to make and can also be mixed with a range of different ingredients and made into different flavored dishes. It is a choice for baby and toddlers.



Ingredients:

- regular flour 1.7 ounces / 50g (this is for one portion)

- water

How to cook:

There are two ways to make Gnocchi:

Method 1:

1. Add water slowly into flour. Make sure to stir as you pour the water in. Take care not add too much at once. Usually, I add a little bit, then stop, stir, and then add a little bit more, until the texture of the flour is not too dry but also not too wet. You should be able to form the mixture into pieces just as it is shown in the first picture.

Method 2:

Mix flour with water

1. Add water into flour, stir as you pour water in, until the consistency of the flour is similar to that in the picture above

Add mixture into boiling water

2. Boil water in a pot, use a spoon to take some of the flour you prepared in step 1, then add it into the boiling water, keep the water boiling, repeat until all of the flour mixture is used up

Boil for some minutes

3. Boil for about 2-3 minutes, then take the gnocchi out, cool down in cold water

If you plan to cook a soup, you can use a spoon to put the mixture from step 1 directly into the boiling soup, then continue to boil for a few minutes until it is ready to eat. But if you want to make more in order to store for the next meal, just follow step 1-3

Read more »

Broccoli recipe for baby

Broccoli potato and chicken mash
This broccoli recipe for baby is a good food your child as it contains vegetable, carbohydrates and meat. Your baby will be able to get different important nutritions from this mash.

age: above 8 months

Ingredients:

- Potato 0.7 ounces / 20g washed and peeled and cut into pieces

- Broccoli 0.4 ounces / 10g washed and cut into small pieces

- Chicken breast meat 0.4 ounces / 10g cut into small cubes (you can also use to pork if you have cooked one of the rib soups mentioned here, if you are using the ready-cooked meat from the soup, then you do not need to steam it again, because it is already very soft)

- a little chicken/rib soup

- a teaspoon of butter

How to cook:

1. Use a to steam the meat for 20 minutes, then add potato and broccoli inside the steamer, continue to steam for another 10 minutes until potato and broccoli are soft. I'm using this Steamer from Hamilton Beach. at my home. I can recommend it to you because it is reliable and offers several modes for cooking food. Follow the Amazon link to read more customer reviews.

2. Put ready-cooked meat, potato and broccoli into a container and add a bit soup and butter, then use hand blender to purée them, and it is ready!

Read more »

Pumpkin recipes for babies

Two healthy pumpkin recipes for babies.

1. Mashed pumpkin, egg yolk and tofu

Egg yolk is rich in vitamin A, D, B6 and B12. Tofu is rich in calcium and iron. This is a nice combination as Vitamin D in egg yolk can help the body to better absorb calcium, whereas pumpkin adds some sweetness to the dish which babies will like.

age: above 6 months

Ingredients:

- pumpkin/ butter squash 1.5 ounces / 40g peeled and cut into small pieces

- Tofu 1.5 ounces / 40g cut into small cubes

one egg yolk (taken from hard boiled egg)

How to cook:

1. Use a Steamer to steam pumpkin and tofu until the pumpkin is soft. Follow the Amazon link to see the Steamer that I use at my home. I recommend it because it comes with several features like different cooking modes and a function that keeps food warm after cooking.

2. Put pumpkin, egg yolk and tofu into a container and use a Hand Blender to mash them. Another often-used tool in my kitchen is this Hand Blender from Cuisineart. Very strong, very reliable and easy to clean.

2. Finger food - fried pumpkin strips

age: above 10 months

Ingredients:

- pumpkin/ butter squash 10 ounces / 300g

- one raw egg if your baby is allergic to egg white, you can also take the yolk

- bread crumbs

- Corn Starch

- cooking oil


How to cook:

1. Peel and cut pumpkin into strips

2. Mix pumpkin strips with corn starch until each strip is covered with a thin layer of corn starch

Cooking Oil

3. Beat the egg

4. Dip each of the pumpkin strips into the beaten egg

5. Coat each strip with bread crumbs

6. Leave the strips there for about 3 minutes

7. Put cooking oil in a Wok, use medium heat to warm up the oil, and put the strips in, fry until they turn into a light golden color

8. Take the strips out, leave there for 3-5 minutes

9. Put the strips back into the cooking oil and use strong heat to fry again until the color is golden

Read more »

Soup recipes for babies

Two healthy and easy to cook soup recipes for babies:

1. Chinese chicken soup

This is a common delicious Chinese soup that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Your baby can drink the soup and eat the fully cooked vegetables. Your child can also eat the meat if you cut it into small pieces after the chicken is ready. This soup is healthy and can help you to recover quicker when you get a cold. The soup itself can also be used as an ingredient for other baby/toddler recipes.

age: above 8 months

Ingredients:

- one corn-fed chicken or guinea fowl

- 4-5 slices ginger

Goji Berries

- 20 pieces of Goji berries


- 6-8 pieces of red Chinese Red Dates

- 15 pieces of Shiitake Mushrooms (can use fresh ones or dried ones, if you are using dried ones, wash them and soak them in water overnight)

- Optional: carrots, potatoes, sweet corn, yam

How to cook:

1. Put the washed chicken in a pot, then fill with cold water, the water level should be just above the chicken so that the whole chicken is soaked in water

2. Use strong heat until the water starts to boil, then use a spoon to get rid of the foam on the surface of the soup, then put in ginger, Goji berries, mushrooms, dates

3. Use low heat to cook for one hour, if you are using guinea fowl, then it will take probably 1.5 to 2 hours

4. Optional: you can also put in sweet corn, carrots, potatoes or yam. Carrots can be put in together with the ingredients in step 2, potatoes and yams need to be put in when the soup is about to be ready as they do not need to be cooked for very long time before they get soft.

Young babies cannot eat salty food, so take some soup out for your little one. For other family members, you can add a little salt and pepper and spring onion pieces in the soup.


2. Pork rib soup

age: above 8 months

Pork ribs can be combined with a lot of different ingredients to make delicious soup, but they are all easy to cook, and it is a nice addition to a meal for the whole family. Here are some examples for different kinds of rib soup:

Rib and sweet corn soup (carrots and/or potatoes can be an optional ingredient)

Rib and yam soup (carrots can be an optional ingredients)

Rib and lotus root soup (which is ideal for summer/autumn)

 Rib and white turnip soup (which is ideal for winter)

Rib and Seaweed soup (use dried kelp or kombu seaweed, they need to be washed and soaked in water for a night before use)

Rib soup with tomato and potato

Rib and mung bean soup (seaweed can be added as an optional ingredient, you should soak the mung beans for a night so that they will be easier to cook)

Ingredients:

The main ingredients for this soup are pork ribs. The ribs should be cut into small pieces. The quantity varies as it depends on how many people are going to eat the soup. The quantity of the secondary ingredient should be 1/3 to ½ of the ribs you want to use. Below I list some common ingredients which are needed for all the soups:

- pork ribs

- ginger 3-5 slices

- Goji Berries about 15 pieces (for the first five soups only)

- Chinese Red Dates about 6 pieces (for the first five soups only)

- optional: potatoes, yams, carrots, etc. (see examples above)

All the mentioned soup variations are easy to cook and have similar cooking procedures:

How to cook:

1. Put the rib pieces in a pot and add water, the amount of water should cover the ribs and other ingredients. Use strong heat to cook until the water starts to boil. Then use a spoon to get rid of the foam on the surface of the water.

2. Cut secondary ingredient into cubes (seaweed into pieces), and add into the pot (if your chosen soup contains white turnip or potato or yam, then they should be added when the soup is about to be ready), as well as ginger, goji berries and dates. Use low heat to cook for 1 hour to 1.5 hour

3. Take some soup and yam/carrots/turnip for your little one, the rest for the family can be salted and garnish with spring onion pieces.

Tipp: if you are cooking rib and tomato and potato soup, it is better to stir fry the tomato pieces in a pan with some cooking oil until the juice is out, then put it together with the ribs, the flavor will be better.

Read more »

Salmon recipe for toddler

Salmon and vegetable porridge

An easy and yummy recipe for your toddler. Salmon contains a lot of proteins, vitamin B6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Spinach is also rich of various kinds of vitamins and iron. Celery contains a high amount of vitamin K.

age: above 8 months

Ingredients:

- 2 ounces 7 50 g of Rice. If you have browsed through some of my other recipes then you will already know that this Jasmine Rice is my absolute favorite :-). Great taste, great texture. Give it a try!

- water about 1.5 cups / 400 ml (depending on the type of rice you are using, some rice needs more water and some needs less)

- salmon filet 1 ounce / 30g

- carrot 0.75 ounces / 20g chopped into small pieces

- celery 0.75 ounces / 20g chopped into small pieces

How to cook:

Rice Cooker

1. If you own a rice cooker you can use its slow cooking or "porridge" option to cook the rice. If you do not own a rice cooker put rice into a pot and add water. Cook using low heat. The rice will be fully cooked after 1-2 hours.

2. After 30 minutes, add the carrot and celery pieces and mix them together with the half cooked porridge, continue to cook until the porridge is fully cooked

3. While the porridge is being cooked, steam the salmon filet until it is fully cooked using a Steamer (note that some rice cookers also have a "steam" option). My favorite Steamer is from Hamilton Beach. Easy to use and to clean. You can use it to steam big portions of food and it even has a function that keeps food warm once it is done cooking. Check out the Amazon link for a full product description. Take it out when ready and cut it into small pieces

4. When the porridge is ready, mix the salmon pieces into the porridge

Read more »

Salmon recipe for baby

Salmon and spinach porridge

A tasty and very healthy salmon recipe for baby containing vitamins, proteins and fat. The salmon and spinach add a new flavor to the plain rice. The salmon's soft consistency makes it perfect as a food for babies.

age: above 8 months

Ingredients:

- 3-4 tablespoons / 50 g Rice. Give this this Jasmati Rice a try! It tastes very good and you can use it for a broad variety of different dishes.

- water about 1.5 cups / 400 ml (depending on the type of rice you are using, some rice needs more water and some needs less)

- salmon filet 1 ounce / 30g

- spinach 1 ounce / 30g

- Some drops of Sesame Oil. My first choice is La Tourangelle's Sesame Oil because it offers a great flavor for little money.

How to cook:

Hand Blender

1. Put rice and water into a Rice Cooker and use the slow cooking or "porridge" option to cook the rice until it gets very soft. I use this Rice Cooker almost every day because it is very easy to cook rice with it. It can also steam food. (Click the link to visit Amazon and view the full product description) As an alternative you can cook the rice using a pot. Cover the pot and use low heat. The rice will  take around 1-2 hours until it is soft.


2. While the porridge is being cooked, steam the salmon filet until it is fully cooked. Once the salmon is ready take it out and cut it into small pieces. Mix it with the cooked porridge

3. There are two ways to cook the spinach: (1) boil it in water, then use a hand blender to mash it, then add it into the cooked porridge; (2) cut it into small pieces, add it to the cooked porridge and continue to cook and stir on low heat until it is soft

Read more »