My new hobby ... :)

Since lil Ivan started with solids, I have been ‘aggressively’ hunting for different types of fruits / veg for him. Every week, I will try to introduce new type of food to him.  I will usually shop during the weekdays around in Isetan or Cold Storage for organic fruits / veg. As far as I could get it in organic, I will get it, except for certain fruits such as avocado, pear, banana etc.

So, my new hobby now is making different types of puree for my lil boy. And, I am so proud that at least at this moment, he is not a fussy / picky eater.

Sharing some baby recipe here :-

1) Edamame puree ( Peas puree)

I have tried getting fresh sweet pea to make puree, but what I noticed that after scraping out the peas from the pods, those peas' sizes are very inconsistent and very little in quantity. Hence, I am not able to achieve a smooth texture puree. Therefore, I decided to buy frozen Edamame and make edamame puree for lil Ivan.

Please note that when you get the frozen Edamame, ensure that you get those without salted. I found that there are quite a few now which is salted Edamame. Reason being, we shouldn't add any salt / sugar into baby's food.

Ok, let's move on the steps to make Edamame puree.

• Remove the peas from the pods.
• Rinse it with water for a few times before steaming it.
• Steam for about 15-20 minutes. Reserve sufficient water from the steaming for thinning purposes.
• Blend the peas till your preferred texture.

Note : If you found some skins around, you may try to sieve it to obtain best smooth texture.

2) Prune puree

Some months ago, I think I gave some culprit food, probably banana, causing lil Ivan to have constipation. He didn't poo for almost 7 days !! I was so worried and he was having hard stool thereafter. So, I decided to make some prune puree for him. Prune is one of baby's best food for constipation. Besides that, it also has a great source of beta-carotene and iron. 

I chose the organic dried prune because I read in some article that the commercial ones are preserved with sulphur. So, the key word when selecting this is 'unsulphured' :)

Steps to make Prune puree :-

• Soak the organic prune in water overnight.
• Steam-cook / Double boiled the prunes with the water used for soaking for about 45 minutes. Check it by using folk to squish it.
• Transfer the cooked prunes and some water used for steaming to the blender and blend till it is smooth. 
• You may add more water to thin the puree.

Note : The prune puree might be slightly think, so you need to add more water to thin it.

3) Apricot puree

I managed to get some fresh apricot from the Isetan supermarket last week and I was very excited on making this apricot puree for lil Ivan.

So, since he is already 8 month old, therefore I started to introduce him with some fruits without steaming. 

Steps to make the apricot puree :-

• Peel off the skin.
• Cut into small cubes.
• Transfer into the blender and blend it till your preferred texture.

Note : One thing I noticed is the apricot becomes sour after blend. I am very sure that it was pretty sweet before that because this mommy loves to 'curi makan' as she is cutting it into slices / pieces :p

But, what I am doing now to balance the sourish taste, I mixed it with sweeter fruits such as pears and bananas. 

4) Purple carrot puree

As both hubby and myself are working during weekdays, hence, we make it a habit to bring lil Ivan out during weekend at least one of the day. So, last Saturday, we went to The Gardens for some window shopping and lunch. Before we make a move to go home, hubby wanted to go to the washroom, so lil Ivan and myself waited for him while checking out this organic shop - Justlife. I have a new habit now i.e everywhere I go, I tend to check out the organic shop .. hehehe ...

And, guess what, I found purple carrot there. Not cheap though, I bought 2 pc and it costs RM  7.50. Well, purple carrot is not commonly found in any supermarkets. But, you will be surprised with the benefits of purple carrot. Purple carrot has the vitamin A and beta-carotene that the ordinary carrot has, yet, it is also rich in anthocynins. This is the antioxidant compounds that give this superfood health benefits. I read in an article that these blue and purple pigments can improve memory, enhance vision, protect against heart attacks, act as anti-inflammatory and guess what, to help weight control :)

Steps to make Purple Carrot puree (similar with the ordinary carrot) :-

• Peel carrot and cut into small cubes.
• Steam for about 15 minutes or till it is tender.
• Transfer to the blender and begin pureeing.
• Add sufficient water for thinning purposes.

Note : Please be reminded not to reserve any left over water from the carrots for thinning, as Nitrates may seep into the cooking water.

5) Sweet Potato & Carrot porridge

And, last Sunday, I boiled Sweet Potato & Carrot porridge for lil Ivan. And, since he is 8 months old already, I would like to gradually introduce chunkier food to him. So, my first trial was this. I cut the sweet potato and carrot till very small cubes and I just added it into the brown rice powder to boil the porridge. I uses a slow cooker to prepare the porridge and boiled it for at least 2 hours. 

Well, the end result was quite good. Lil Ivan managed to finish the whole bowl of porridge and he can accept the small chunk with gagging :)

That's all for now .. Shall share more with my baby food's adventure next round :)