Rice recipes for babies

Here we have two rice recipes for babies that are very easy to make and contain a lot of nutrition:

1. Fried rice

This recipe combines everything in one dish: rice, vegetables and shrimps. It provides your baby with carbon hydrate, vitamins and protein which is everything you child needs to grow up healthily. Another advantage of this dish is that it's very easy to make and won't take you a long time to prepare.

age: above 10 months

Ingredients:

- 2 ounces or 50 g of cooked rice

- 0.5 ounces / 15 g of shrimp meat cut into small pieces

- 0.5 ounces / 15 g of carrots cut into small pieces

- 0.5 ounces / 15 g of cucumber cut into small pieces

- 0.2 ounces / 5 g of Chinese black fungus (already soaked in water and ready to use) cut into small pieces. I like to use Havista Dried Mushrooms for this dish. They add a great and unique flavor.

- one beaten egg 

- some cooking oi

How to cook:

1. Put cooking oil into wok, use medium heat to heat it up

2. Add shrimps, stir fry until the color is changed, then add carrot and black fungus pieces, continue to stir fry until carrot pieces are soft

3. Add cooked rice, continue to stir fry for 2 minutes, then add cucumber pieces and beaten egg, stir fry until cucumbers are soft

4. Enjoy!

2. Colorful rice balls

Another tasty rice dish that blends different flavors! This time it's rice combined with shrimp, egg and spinach. Spinach contains a lot of iron and vitamins while the egg and the shrimps provide a good amount of proteins. Shaping everything into small rice balls makes this dish perfect as a finger food for your baby. The different taste and color of each rice ball allow your child to experience this food in a very exciting way.


age: above 10 months

Ingredients:

- a small bowl of cooked rice (soft)

- 1 ounce or 25 g of cooked shrimp meat, cut into small piece

- 0.5 ounces / 15 g of spinach leaves cooked in water and cut into small pieces

- one cooked egg yolk, use spoon to press it into mashed consistency

- a few drops of sesame oil

- a little bit of roasted seaweed (optional, only for decoration)

How to cook:

1. Mix sesame oil together with cooked rice

2. Divide rice equally into 3 portions

3. Mix the 1st portion of rice with shrimps meat

4. Then use your hand to make the mixture into a ball

5. Mix the 2nd portion with spinach, repeat step 4

6. Mix the 3rd portion with egg yolk, repeat step 4

7. The size of the rice ball depends on which is easy for your baby to eat

8. Enjoy!

Read more »

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 »

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 »