Soups for toddlers

Two tasty soups for toddlers:

1. Gnocchi shrimps soup with white turnip

This soup allows your child to experience a broad variation of flavors. Shrimps are a good resource of proteins, the gnocchi contain a good amount of carbohydrates which your child needs for the development of its brain. Turnip is rich in various vitamins like Vitamin A, C, and especially K. Vitamin K is very important for the binding of calcium in bone.

age: above 12 months

Ingredients:

- Gnocchi, one portion (please refer to How to make Chinese Gnocchi)

- white turnip 1.5 ounces / 40g peeled and chopped into small cubes

- fresh shrimps 1 ounce / 30g

- one egg beaten

- ginger chopped into tiny pieces

- Cooking Oil

How to cook:

1. Add cooking oil into a pan, use medium heat to heat up, add ginger inside, stir fry for about 10-15 seconds until the smell comes out

2. Add turnip pieces and shrimps, stir fry for 2-3 minutes

3. Then add water make it into a soup, do not add too much water, otherwise it would be too liquid, and boil for 10-15 minutes

4. Add Gnocchi, then add the beaten egg, stir so that the egg mixes well with the soup, until the egg is cooked, then it is ready to serve

2. Gnocchi courgette egg soup

age: above 12 months

Ingredients:

- Gnocchi one portion (please refer to How to make Chinese Gnocchi)

- courgette or zucchini 1 ounce/ 30g cut into thin slices

- one egg beaten

- white button mushrooms 0.5 ounces / 15g cut into small pieces

- 1 teaspoon of Ginger Juice. I like to use the one from Ginger People because of its nice "gingery" taste.

- spring onion or chives cut into small pieces

- sesame oil

How to cook:

Sesame Oil

1. Add water in a pot, add courgette and mushroom pieces

2. Use medium to low heat and boil for 6-8 minutes, until the courgette pieces are soft

3. Put Gnocchi inside

4. Pour the beaten egg inside, stir until the egg is mixed well with the rest of the  ingredients, wait till it starts to boil, then turn off heat

5. Garnish with spring onion/chives, a few drops of sesame oil

Read more »

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

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 »

Recipes for toddlers 18 months

Two tasty recipes for toddlers 18 months

1. Tofu and seaweed soup

A simple and healthy dish. Laver seaweed contains a lot of vitamins, it is also a good source of Manganese, Zinc and Iron.

age: 18 months

Ingredients:

- Tofu 3.5 ounces 100g cut into small cubes

- dried laver seaweed 0.5 ounces / 15g (you can also use sushi seaweed) cut into small pieces


- 1 raw egg

- A table spoon of Dried Shrimps (you can leave this ingredient if you want the soup to be vegetarian)

Dried Seaweed

- some chives cut into small pieces

- Sesame Oil

- a little bit salt

How to cook:

1. Beat the egg for half minute, wash the shrimps

2. Put some water into a pot, boil the water

3. Put Tofu, seaweed and shrimp inside, wait till it boils again

4. Pour the egg inside slowly, stir the soup as you pour

5. Put a little salt and a few drops of sesame oil in the soup, garnish with chives


2. Tomato shrimp sauce and Tofu

This is a dish than can be enjoyed with the whole family. Shrimp are a very healthy food for young children, as they contain a lot of nutrition: they are an excellent source of selenium and vitamin B12 and they are a very good source of protein, phosphorus, choline, and copper. In addition, they contain a good amount of niacin, zinc, vitamin E, vitamin B6, omega-3 fatty acids, pantothenic acid, and vitamin A.

age: above 18 months

Ingredients:

Tofu

- Tofu 3.5 ounces / 100g


- cherry tomatoes 3.5 ounces / 100g

- shrimps 2-2.5 ounces / 60g

- some Tomato Ketchup

- some Cooking Oil

- a teaspoon of Ginger Juice

- sugar

- salt

- Corn Starch

How to cook:

Cut Tofu into slides...

... and use biscuit forms

1. Cut the Tofu into small slices, use biscuit form to make them into shapes

2. Put some drops of cooking oil on a piece of kitchen paper and wipe it on the pan to apply a layer of cooking oil on the pan. Put the tofu pieces into the pan, use low heat to fry until both sides of the tofu pieces show a golden color

Put tomatoes in hot water to peel them easier

3. Put cherry tomatoes in very hot water, leave them there for 10 minutes, then take them out, so that it is easier to peel the skin off

Cut tomatoes into pieces

4. Cut the peeled tomato into small pieces

Cut shrimps into pieces...

5. Cut shrimps into small pieces

... and stir fry them

6. Put some cooking oil in a wok, use medium heat to stir-fry the shrimps until the color changes

Add tomato pieces

7. Add the tomato pieces and continue to stir-fry until the tomato juice comes out

Add ketchup, sugar, salt and water

8. Add some tomato ketchup, a little sugar, salt and some water, use low heat to continue to stir-fry

9. Use half of a teaspoon corn starch mixed together with 3 tablespoon of water

10. When the shrimps are fully cooked, pour the starch water in, continue to stir and cook until the sauce thickens

11. Pour the sauce onto the tofu and it is ready!

Read more »