Mushroom & Peas Millet Pilaf

I read many postings on millet porridge and how it is good for LO so I purchased a packet as an alternative to oatmeal or rice porridge that i will get my helper to prepare in my absence. However, since i am home, i decided to try making something with more texture and besides, i still have lots of portobello mushroom in the fridge. Hahaha

Portobello Mushroom & Peas Millet Pilaf

Ingredients

Approx 50g of millet, rinsed 

150ml of homemade chicken stock 

1 clove garlic (finely chopped)

1 carrot (diced)

1 potobello mushroom (diced)

Handful of garden peas

 1 tsp olive oil

Method

Fry garlic, mushroom and carrot until softened. Add in millet and mix well.
Pour in stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid is almost absorbed. Remove from heat, but keep covered for 10 more mins for the steam to cook the pilaf. Toss in the peas and mix well.

 Simulatenously, put the cod fish to steam. Assemble and a simple healthy lunch is ready !

Lil sunshine refuses to take the preloaded spoon today, opting to mash up her own millet and pick the cod and peas. Oh well, as long as she is happy and eats her lunch which she finished almost everything. :)

Sugar Free Banana & Blueberry Steam Cake

Little one got up real early today so naturally i had to follow suit and by the time i managed to coax her back to sleep, i was fully awake and hungry. Knowing she was going to wake up anytime soon, i figured out steaming some cake will take min time so did a quick search and found this recipe Japanese Steam Cake so i adapted to exclude sugar  (as usual ....hahaha)

My go to "sugar" is always banana, applesauce, pumpkin or sweet potato so for this , i chose banana with blueberries for that fun burst of juice with each bite .

Sugar Free Banana & Blueberry Steam Cake 

Ingredients

1 egg
75g wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp breastmilk

1/2 banana (i used Del Monte)

Handful of blueberries 

1 tbsp canola oil

Some flour for dusting

Method
Mash banana and mix with flour and baking powder .Mix egg , breastmilk and canola oil in aseparate bowl. Combine the flour mixture with the wet ingredients and stir well. Dust blueberries with flour and mix into batter. Portion out into cups and steam for 8 min.

The steam cake turned out to be quite dense and cakey unlike the usual fluffy japanese steam cake and the banana mash probably was the cause of it. Sweetness is also very mild.

In any case, it did not stop lil Sunshine from enjoying it. You could see in the pictures above that she attempted to bite it with her gums (irritating mummy just kept snapping instead of helping).How adorable .hehehe

 I eventually did (1)remove the paper cup (finally!!) And (2) made some dents so that she can angle it into her mouth Or pinch. (3)stop snapping and giggling and join in the snacking.=)

Healthy Portobello Mushroom Pasta in Greek Yoghurt

It is such a cold and rainy day so what's better than creamy pasta for lunch. However, stubborn me still refuses to use cream for the sauce so i searched around for a healthy version and chanced upon a greek yoghurt base , how apt !

Portobello Mushroom Greek Yogurt Pasta

Ingredients

4 tsp baby pasta

1 tsp olive oil

1 big portobello mushroom (diced)

1 clove garlic (smashed and chopped finely)

3 tbsp homemade chicken stock

2 tbsp greek yoghurt

1/4 tsp basil
1 tsp cheddar cheese (grated)

1/2 tsp wheat flour (optional)

Chopped onions (optional)

Method

Cook baby pasta and set aside. Pan fry the garlic, onion and mushroom with the olive oil . Add in chicken stock to soften the mushroom and leave it at medium heat for 5 minutes. Once mushroom is soften, add in basil and cheddar cheese and mix well. Reduce heat and add in greek yoghurt. You may choose to add in flour if the consistency is too watery. Mix well and serve with pasta.


Since my 11 month baby is toothless , i gave the sauce a few pulses on my handheld blender hence the consistency you see above . I was hoping to share the sauce with her but no, she finished it all by herself ! Leaving me plain pasta :(

A happy messy Baby

Sweet Potato Greek Yoghurt Balls with Baby Pasta

Had to work late tonight so by the time i got home, i had to whip up an easy snack for LO while prepare dinner for the family . Thankfully i got my helper to put the chicken and herb in the slow cooker earlier so that's one dish down. Whew ....

Ok, back to LO, what should i make in 20 min ? A mash of cos ! Easy peasy, dump into steamer while i fry away for dinner . But that will be kinda boring isn't it, i thought. How about adding milk ? Nah .. Cheese ? BORING so that leaves the unopened Greek Yoghurt raising its hands .......me ! Me! ME !

So to cut the story short , CREAMY it should be. (Ta-dah!)

Sweet Potato Greek Yoghurt Balls w Baby Pasta

Ingredients

Half a sweet potato 

1 Tbsp of greek yoghurt (or more if you desire)

4 tsp baby pasta 

Method

Cook baby pasta and set aside . Steam sweet potato and mash.

Mix in greek yoghurt and pasta. Form into balls and pop 1 into mouth to reward yourself. Hahaha, that's MY method !

By the way, i sprinkled some basil leaves to make it more appealing.
Way too yellow for my liking . :p

Why did i decided to add baby pasta to my mash ? Cos i was hoping to give LO some texture to encourage chewing lest she becomes lazy. 

Sticky Mushroom Rice with Threadfin Flakes

Inspired by the Lo Mai Gai i made earlier for the family, i wanted to give LO a similar sticky rice experience, besides, it is great for spoon training too !

So, i rummaged through my fridge and spotted the Chinese Mushroom and i thought, why not introduce this fragrant and chewy fungi to her ! That's it, decision is made and i got to my cooking. While my 2 babies (hubs is baby numero uno hahahha) snoozed away.

Sticky Mushroom Rice with Threadfin Flakes

Ingredient :

1 slice of threadfin

1 chinese mushroom (soaked and chopped finely)

Handful of spinach (rough opped)

1/2 cup homemade chicken stock

1/4 cup Japonica rice (using small measuring cup for grains)

Ginger

Method :

Poach theadfin with some ginger slices to remove the fishy smell.
Once cooked, remove and flake.

Rinse rice and mix with chicken stock, mushroom and spinach in a bowl and steam for 35 min or until the consistency you desire.
Assemble and serve.

Did she like it? You bet ! Check out the fish flake on her brow, how in the world did it manage to get there ? Hahaha ...love my baby !

Banana & Applesauce Cake

Lil sunshine is turning one come end Aug so i decided to embark on my hunt for a healthy birthday cake for her special day . After all these months of giving her well thought out and nutritious food , i'm not ready to expose her to commercial food dye and sugar and all the junk food which she will eventually come to know in future. Hahahah ....

Came across the recipe Healthy Smash Cake and got me really excited since its Sugar free, Dairy free and Eggless. How perfect! But since LO is still toothless (not sure if cake is too dry for her), i decided to make it more mushy and the result is a kueh like texture that's sticky and gooey. Was a little disappointed as the dense consistency made it almost impossible to hold a shape good enough to frost.

Oh well, guess we will just have to eat the ugly cake now. Nom nom nom

.

 See how dense it is .

Ingredient :

90g wheat flour

3 bananas

200g applesauce

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 vanilla essence

Method :

Mix mashed banana, appleauce, vanilla essence, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix in flour and baking powder and ensure everything is well incorporated. Pour in mould and bake for 30 min at 180 degrees.

Lil sunshine seeing the cake for the first time. She was more intrigued by the pretty paper cup and attempted to eat that!

Oooh, this brownish sticky gooey mash actually tastes pretty good.

My kind of food ! *loves it when mummy lets me play with my food*

Can i have more please, mummy ?

After thoughts : This experience gave me inspiration to make more adaptions (i will never learn my lesson right ?hahahaha) so i will attempt to replace flour with oat powder (woohoo, gluten free !) Or search for a steam cake recipe for my base cake.Afterall, kuehs are steamed right ? Who says we must have cake for Birthdays. LO will have a MASH cake instead of a SMASH cake!hehehe

Snack time ! Pumpkin & Cinnamon Oat Fingers

What is the best thing about a lazy Sunday ? Loads of snacks of cos!

So i decided to make another variation of the versatile oat fingers for my lil sunshine.

Pumpkin & Cinnamon Oat Fingers

Ingredient :

150 g pumpkin

4 Tbsp baby oats

1/4 tsp cinnamon 

Method:

Steam pumpkin and mash it. Add cinnamon powder and oats and mix well. Form into fingers and bake for 15 min at 170 degrees.

Love the gorgeous orange. I'm in love with pumpkin as you can tell. hahahah

My happy baby enjoying her healthy, mushy and oh so yummy snack!

So while i try a new variation for baby girl, i must not forget Daddy so i made some Yam crisp in olive oil using my favourite turbo broiler. Will probably make these for Penny when she is older since its a healthy snack too. When you can't beat a family of snackers , you just have to make healthy snacks and JOIN IN !Woohooo !

Afternote : some mummies have been asking me where i bought my baby oats. So here is a picture of it and you can probably find it at NTUC Xtra or finest.

Cod on Sweet Potato,Tofu & Peas Mash

Lil Sunshine feeling super reluctant to leave her pool after her dip.

Daddy bought some frozen pacific cod loin and since I do not intend to give her baked stuff today, I decided to make her a vegetable mash with cod.

 What Mummy sees ......

What Baby sees ..... hahahaha

Cod on Sweet Potato, Tofu & Peas Mash

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 sweet potato 

50g silken tofu

50g garden peas

1 piece of cod

Quarter cup of fresh milk

Ginger (optional)

Garlic (optional)

Method

Steam sweet potato , tofu and peas . Mash it and set aside . Poach cod in milk ,ginger and garlic for 15min. Remove the cooked cod and break into pieces. Mix cod with mash and rolled to balls. 

Basically this frozen cod has a firmer texture so I had to break it further for my LO. It is really quite bland on its own so the sweet mash really helps make it easier for baby to accept . In any case ,she finished everything that was shown in the picture above and is now in dreamland. Must be exhausted from the swim and carbo filled lunch.

Oat Fingers , Sweet Potato Shapes & Avocado Tofu Pasta

Fruity Oat Fingers

Ingredients 

3 Tbsp Of rolled oats (blended if prefers finer oats)

Half a banana 

Handful of blueberries 

Method

Mash the banana and mix in oats and blueberries . Form into fingers and bake for 15 min at 170 degrees.

Sweet Potato Shapes

 (Just to make it fun and good teaching aid !)

Mould steamed sweet potatoes into shapes that you fancy and dust it with wheat flour to hold the shape . Baked for a few minutes for shapes to harden.

Avocado Tofu Pasta

Steam tofu in chicken stock for more flavour. Cook a handful of baby pasta.

Mix mashed tofu, avocado and pasta. Serve with some cheddar cheese and basil for flavour.

Salmon Cake , Pumpkin Patties & Meatball

Salmon Cake

Pre cook potato,peas,salmon and mash them.Add a little bit of onion and cheddar and some egg yolk to bind mixture. Then roll into balls, dip in egg and dust with floor and bake it for 15 min at 170 degrees.

Vegetable Meatballs

Mix Minced meat with carrot, pumpkin, french beans, onion, garlic, some cheddar cheese ,corn flour and egg yolk. Form into patties or balls.Bake at 180 degrees for 25 min or until brown. Yummy when served with yoghurt !

Pumpkin & Spinach Patties

Mix chopped spinach, mashed pumpkin with oat powder, onions ,garlic and a little unsalted butter. Form into patties and bake at 170 degrees for 15 min

Potato, Beetroot & Carrot Mash, Avocado, Yam &Milk and Egg Custard

Apple & Blueberry Crumble, Fruit Toast, Spinach & Cheese Toast

Apple & Blueberry Crumble

Apple sauce 

Handful of blueberries

5 tbsp wheat flour

5 g unsalted butter 

Method:

Make apple sauce with a dash of cinnamon.

Rub butter into wheat flour to make the crumble.

Pour apple sauce and blueberries into ramekin dish, topped with crumble and bake at 170 degrees for 15 min. 

Baked Fruit on Toast  

Cut a slice of wheat bread into quarters, butter 1 side w unsalted butter/olive oil and place buttered side in muffin tray. Place fruits on bread. Mix 1 egg yolk and milk to form custard and pour into muffin tray and bake for 15 min. I placed a dash of nutmeg on the banana for some spice.

You can have so many combinations!

Spinach & Cheese Toast

Cut a slice of wheat bread into quarters, butter 1 side w unsalted butter/olive oil and place buttered side in muffin tray. Place chopped spinach and cheddar cheese on bread. Mix 1 egg yolk and milk to form custard and pour into muffin tray and bake for 15 min. I placed a dash of nutmeg on the banana for some spice.

Milky Chicken & Vegetable Soup

Penny turned 11 months today !

After all that crawling, rolling and dancing at Kiddyroo, we can home exhausted but happy so i decided to make a hearty bowl of soup for all.

I mashed up the vegetables before giving it to Penny and she loves the soup despite it having no salt or seasoning.

Hamburger

Visiting Penny's great grandmother so made these patties for baby , xin jun , xin yi and great grandma. Healthy and mushy, just nice for kids and elderly.

The patty is potato based so it's lighter and crumbles easily. ?

Hamburger (Makes 6 patties)

Ingredient:
Minced beef (approx 150g)
1 potato
Half a carrot
2 chunks of broccoli
1 clove of garlic (chopped finely)
Quarter of onion (chopped finely)
1 egg
1 tbsp cheddar cheese
1 tbsp corn flour

Method:
Boil potato, carrot, broccoli. Drain and mash.

Mix chopped garlic, onion, vegetables, flour, cheese and egg.

Make into patties ( I used a muffin tray for ease of baking) and bake at 180 degrees for 30 min or until brown.

Cherry Crumble

Since its cherry season , i decided to make a cherry Crumble for us both . Ibstead of the usual wheat flour, i opted for baby oat for a healthier twist . Penny loves it nonetheless. ☺

This is sugar free, salt free, Gluten free yummy snack for all ☺

Ingredient:
14 cherries, deseeded n washed
5 tbsp baby oats
5 g unsalted butter

Method:
Cook cherries in a little water and blend slightly to soften it. I tend not to puree it as I wanted chunks for my baby.

Rub butter into baby oats to make the crumble.

Pour cherry sauce into ramekin dish, topped with crumble and bake at 170 degrees for 15 min.

Cool and serve! 😉

Cheesy Salmon, Scrambled Eggs, Sweet Potato Balls & Pea Fritters

July was a busy month with Daddy's Birthday celebration and a little getaway to Penang .

Here are some nice bakes (oops and a scrambled ) for some variety

Ingredients (Makes 7 small patties):

1 chunk of salmon

1 potato

Half a carrot (chopped finely)

4 French beans (chopped finely)

1 egg yolk

Handful of cheddar (based on your preference)

Handful of wheat flour for dusting

Method 

Steam the vegetables and salmon. (I do so as my LO is toothless so mushy is impt)

Mash the potato and mix in carrot,French beans,salmon and egg yolk. Add a little liquid if you deem it is too dry.

Form into patties and dust it with wheat flour. 

Bake for 15 min at 170 degrees. 

Ingredients :

1 egg yolk

1.5 Tbsp breastmilk

Avocado (mashed)

Olive oil

Method:

Mix egg yolk and breastmilk. Heat olive oil and scramble the eggs. Mix in mashed avocado and serve.

Ingredient: 

1 sweet potato

1 chunk of carrot (diced)

Handful of baby spinach (chopped)

1.5 Tbsp breastmilk 

Steam sweet potato and carrot and mash it. Add spinach and breastmilk, roll into balls and bake at 170 degrees for 15 min. Done! ?

Adapted from here http://mylovelylittlelunchbox.com/2013/07/01/pea-fritters/

My version as my 10 mth old is toothless so need it more mushy: 

7 tbsp of peas

3 tbsp of wheat flour

1 tbsp of breast milk (or any milk) 

1 egg yolk

A handful of cheddar cheese

A chunk of pumpkin for sweetness (diced)

Some spring onion 

Some lime juice 

Steam 6 tbsp of peas (optional) and blend it with flour, egg yolk, lemon juice, breastmilk, spring onion. 

Mix in 1 tbsp pea, pumpkin bits, cheddar cheese for flavour and crunch. 

Scoop into muffin tray and bake at 170 degrees for 15 min.

Cool and serve.

Enjoy!