I’m glad feeding Darius solids has been a breeze so far despite the initial few weeks of hiccups.

I almost forgot that he didn’t like his food when I first started (See ‘Introducing Brown Rice‘, ‘First Taste of Pumpkin‘). Now he eagerly looks at the bowl, wants to take my spoon and opens his mouth when the spoon goes near (his mouth opens too even when the spoon is not near *grin).

Anyway, I have changed the equipment I’m using since I first started.

1) Blender

I wanted to get a simple blender to puree and found this Philips Mini-Blender in Courts. The U-Like blender was  also one of my choice after reading it in several mummies blog but I didn’t know where to get it that time (You can get it from Tangs, Isetan Scotts). The person recommended this light-duty Philips blender to me. It comes with a bigger container for juices but I seldom use that. So far, it has been pretty good in blending all his foodstuff. I can control the texture since I press the button manually. If I want finer, just press more times. The best thing is that, it’s very easy to wash and most of the food pureed can be easily poured out.

blending asparagus

2) Ice-cube trays

I found these tray with lids in NTUC so there’s no need to use freezer cling wrap sheet to wrap the tops now. I still use aluminium foil to wrap them though. The foodcubes come out looking very fresh and no frost on them. Better than those without lids which still have ice frost on them.

If you want to use those special baby freezer cubes, you can get them from Baby Et Stars.

NEW FOODS AT 9 MONTHS OLD

Flaxseed

I recently introduced flax seeds to Darius (can be intro from 8 months). Just spoon half a teaspoon, grind it in the blender, then pour into his porridge or oatmeal.

For Flaxseed:

• Cannot cook or use heat or enzymes/nutrients destroyed.
• Must grind raw into fine powder for easy digestion or it will be passed out as stool. Also prevent choking.
• Must grind just before adding into the porridge or cereal because once exposed to air, seeds turn rancid, having a disagreeable odour.

Why is Flaxseed so good? (according to the Super Baby Food book)

• It is equivalent or better than fish in that, it is the food highest in Essential Fatty Acids -Omega-3 fatty acid and is a good source of Omega-6 linoleic acid too.
• It doesn’t contain any heavy metals like some fishes.
• the Omega-3 increases the effectiveness of B vitamins.
• Essential Fatty Acids are important because our bodies do not manufacture them and we must get them from food. They are a part of every cell in our bodies, make up a large percent of brain tissues.  According to the store owner, it’s good for us ‘memory loss’ moms…ha. and definitely good for babies’ brains. Increase memory and IQ!

It helped him to move his bowel because he was having some hard stool due to the hot weather. Fed him in the morning, pooped in the evening. Found flaxseeds in his stool. Think still need to grind more finely.

Asparagus

I just bought two packs of it since it was on offer. And my, it was hard to prepare. One pack of many stalks resulted in only 8 foodcubes!

It can be introduced from 7 months onwards. Darius has been eating broccoli as his super greens everyday. So thought of introducing another green to him.

According to the Super Baby Food book~

Preparation & Cooking :  Cut one inch off each stalk. Soak in ice-cold water (room temp deteriorates it) for 30mins to remove sand or grit, rinse thoroughly. Peel the stalk as you would a carrot.

It’s this peeling that is tedious!! Took long time to peel each individual stalk and finally steam for 5 mins (flower-side up).  Puree in blender with some water from the steaming or extra water and then freeze. I’m not cooking individually because I’m worried it’ll spoil quickly in the fridge for a few days. Rather freeze and then use it for longer period to add into his porridge. I still have another pack. >.<”

Read online info that say you can also snap the asparagus into half, the bottom hard stalk throw away and thus does not need peeling. But then, most of the asparagus will be gone and wasted?

Can anyone tell me how you cook it for your baby?

Egg

Just started with the egg-yolk (no egg-whites til the first birthday!) on Tuesday.  I never knew how to hard-cook an egg without cracking. Thanks to the book, I got three nice eggs with shell still intact, stored in the fridge in air-tight container.

• Place the eggs in a saucepan, cover completely with water.
• Heat water slowly over medium heat til it boils
• Set the timer to 15mins, continue cooking the eggs. Water is boiling but not rapidly boiling.
• Peep! The eggs are ready. Pour some hot water away and immediately fill the pot with running tap water.
• This stops the eggs from cooking further, making peeling easier.

If the above method still cracked the egg, eat it immediately to prevent bacteria growth.

Foods suitable for 9 months old: Cauliflower,  brussels sprouts, spinach, lentils, beans, pineapple.

Nowdays, I tend to cook a based porridge, then add veggie/fruit foodcubes  (e.g. pumpkin/broccoli/sweet potato/carrot if not already added) to vary.

His  based-porridge combinations are:

1. Brown rice + Tofu + Fish. (He likes this taste better than the rest)
2. Brown rice + Millet + Tofu + Blended Carrot (He likes this too)
3. Brown rice + Pea+ Fish.
4. Brown rice + Tofu + Chicken
5. Brown rice + Tofu + Peas + Chicken
6. Brown rice + Carrot + Peas
7. Brown rice + Millet + Apple + Tofu

A Summary of what Darius has tasted so far:

• Veggies  - sweet potato, potato, carrot, pumpkin, broccoli
• Fruits – mango, papaya, apple, banana, chinese pear, watermelon, honeydew, kiwi, avocado
• Legumes – Green garden pea (from frozen), dried split pea, sweet pea, snow pea.
• Protein stuff – Tofu , Egg-yolk
• Seeds – Flaxseed
• Meats – Threadfin Fish, Lean Pork, Chicken.
• Grains – Jasmine Brown Rice, Millet, Oatmeal
• Dairy- Natural Yogurt
  

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