Pumpkin, spinach and egg pancake

age: above 18 months

Ingredients:

- 1 ounce /30 g mashed pumpkin (butter squash)

- 0.5 ounces / 15 g spinach

- 1 raw egg, beaten

- 4 tablespoons fresh milk

- 0.5 ounces / 15 g flour

- salt

- cooking oil

How to cook:

How to make mashed pumpkin (butter squash):

1. peel butter squash and get rid of the seeds inside

2. cut it into 2-3 cm cubes

3. steam for 15-20 minutes until they are soft ( a fork can poke through easily)

4. put the steamed pieces into a bowl, use a spoon to mash them


How to prepare spinach:

1. wash the spinach carefully

2. use a small pot to boil some water

3. put the spinach into the boiled water for 3-5 seconds, then take out quickly, let it to cool down

4. cut the cooked spinach into small pieces

How to cook everything together:

1. mix mashed pumpkin, cooked spinach, fresh milk, beaten egg, flour and a little salt, until the consistency is similar to the picture below

2. add cooking oil to a flat frying pan, use medium heat to warm up the oil

3. add the mixture from step one when the oil is warm, turn the heat to low

4. turn the pancake occasionally, until it is cooked and both sides turn into golden colour

5. use mould to make your child's favourite shape out of the pancake

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Soup for toddlers

Pumpkin soup with Tofu and prawns

A soup for toddlers that is also perfect as a dish for the whole family. It features a variety of ingredients which make this food very healthy: Pumpkin is rich in Vitamin A, C, Copper and Manganese. Prawns are a source of selenium and vitamin B12. They also contain protein, phosphorus, and copper. Tofu is rich in Calcium which is important for your child’s bone development. Peas are a good source of Dietary Fibre, Vitamin K, Thiamine and Iron.

age: above 12 months

Ingredients:

- pumpkin/ butter squash 10 ounces / 300g peeled and cut into slices

- prawns 10 pieces

Tofu

- tofu 7 ounces / 200g cut into cubes


- peas 1.5 ounces / 50g

- butter 2 teaspoons

- salt

- Corn Starch

How to cook:

1. Sprinkle a little bit salt on the prawns, and put a little bit corn starch on each of them

2. Put butter in a Wok, use medium heat to melt the butter, then add the pumpkin slices, stir fry until they are a little bit soft.

3. Add water into the  wok, the amount of water should just cover all pumpkin pieces, cover the wok and boil the pumpkin slices for 3-5 minutes

4. Turn off the heat, pour the pumpkin pieces and water into a container, use hand blender to make it into a thick soup

5. Pour the soup back into the wok, use low heat to cook until it is boiling, then put tofu cubes, peas and prawns inside

6. After prawns are cooked, turn off the heat, you can put a little salt inside, then garnish with some chives

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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

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Vegetarian baby food recipes

Two yummy vegetarian baby food recipes

1. Mashed pumpkin, tofu and carrot
This dish is rich in Vitamin A, which is very good for your baby's eye development. Since Vitamin A is fat soluble, you can add some cooking oil while you steam carrot

age: above 6 months


Ingredients:

- pumpkin/ butter squash 1.5-2 ounces / 40g peeled and cut into small pieces

- tofu 1.5-2 ounces / 40g cut into small cubes

- carrot 1 ounce / 20g peeled and cut into small pieces

- Clear Vegetable Soup 0.2 cups / 50ml

How to cook:


1. Use a Steamer to steam carrot, pumpkin and carrot until they are soft

2. Put steamed pumpkin, carrot and tofu into a container, use Hand Blender to mash them

3. Put the mash into vegetable soup, mix well, use low heat and cook until it starts to boil

2. Mashed pumpkin and peas

Pumpkin is rich in Vitamin A, C, Riboflavin, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. Peas are a good source of Dietary Fibre, Vitamin K, Thiamine and Iron

age: above 6 months

Ingredients:

- pumpkin/ butter squash 2 ounces / 50g

- peas 1 ounce / 20g

- some Baby Formula

How to cook:

1. Peel pumpkin/butter squash, cut into slices.

Steamer

2. Use a steamer to steam ingredients until they are soft.



3. Steam the peas until they are soft

4. Use a Hand Blender to mash peas and pumpkin, add baby formula, stir and mix well

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Baby pumpkin recipe

Pumpkin porridge

A very easy and yummy baby pumpkin recipe! Compared with many other vegetables pumpkin has relatively little calories but contains a very high amount of vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for good visual sight. Other vitamins that can be found in a pumpkin are vitamin C and vitamin E. It is also rich of antioxidants like beta-carotene and minerals like iron, zinc, copper, or potassium.

age: above 6 months

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons of Rice. As always, my choice of rice is Jasmine Rice from Rice Select. This is a very tasty rice with a nice texture.

- 1-2 tablespoons or 30g of Millet. I like to use Millet from Bob's Red Mill because of it's good quality and nice flavor.

- 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)

- pumpkin/ butternut squash 50g chopped into small cubes

How to cook:

1. Use a pot or Rice Cooker to cook rice, millet and pumpkin cubes until they are soft. IF you are looking for a Rice Cooker I would recommend you to take a look at Aroma's 8-Cup model. It is very easy to use and comes at a good price. Depending on whether you are using a rice cooker or a pot cooking time lies between 1-2 hours.

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