I recently added cherry tomatoes into his porridge and I’ve also introduced Mushroom cooked together with his porridge when he was about 11 months.

Mushrooms

I started with Shiitake mushrooms and recently, introduced Buna Shimeji(Hon/Brown beech) mushrooms. I like the small package and I can use a few at a time to add into his porridge before they get spoiled. I only use the ‘head’ of the mushroom with a little stem, putting them into the blender to grind into small pieces, as I’m afraid he can’t chew and will gag. The cooked mushroom has a pleasant, firm, slightly crunchy texture and a slightly nutty flavor. It really enhances his porridge flavour and he always eat fast if the porridge has this ingredient..hee.

Nutrition value (source)

Sugar-free and about 20 calories per cup, mushrooms provide an excellent source of protein, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. An unpublished report by the National Cancer Institute of Japan indicates hon shimeji mushrooms have medicinally active ingredients that provide anti-tumor benefits. Studies are currently being conducted to determine the mushroom’s medicinal strengths. Containing natural compounds called beta-glucans (long-chain polysaccharides), studies show that these compounds may be beneficial to the human immune system and may help to prevent allergies, asthma and diabetes. In Eastern medicine, most medicinal mushroom preparations are tonics which offer beneficial health effects without negative side effects and can be used regularly without harm.

Tomatoes are also good for flavour enhancer and I bought the Hydro cherry type because it’s easy to just throw 1-4 small ones into the porridge instead of cutting open a large tomato and had to have the other half wasted. When the porridge is ready, I mashed the tomatoes and take out the skin easily. The seeds can aid in his bowel movement.

It seemed to be in season so I bought a pack of blueberries for him to try. However, they are tedious to introduce to him though as I have to remove the skin from the tiny berries one by one. I had to press and squeeze the berries with my fingers and try to get most of the pulp out from the skin because they are really very adhesive. Then, I add the sweet fruit into his breakfast cereal.

Yogurt

I’m no longer buying baby Yoplait yogurt for him and instead, I changed to the ‘adult’ one. They are equally tasty and yummy and each pack is small, just the right serving amount for Darius.The flavour is strawberry and vanilla. It has a milky taste really like ice-cream and he enjoys it.

Quaker Instant Oatmeal

Since the pack of HT cereal ran out and I couldn’t find time to buy it, Quaker Instant Oatmeal became the replacement as it was lying in my cupboard for sometime. I never like this when I was young because it was so gooey. But it became my staple the first two months after I gave birth and I grown to like it and would eat it occasionally. I ate this because it was so easy to prepare, easy to eat yet filling, important points for a meal when you are the only one in the house with a crying baby. A nurse recommended it to me as a healthy breakfast during confinement saying it helps in bowel movement too, especially we might get constipation episodes after birth.

I carefully checked the ingredients before deciding to introduce to Darius. It’s 100% oats and no added sugar. I give him about 4 tbsp of Oats mixed with 90ml of formula milk, 1/3 of a banana mashed and some flaxseed powder and it’s a healthy breakfast! It’s also more savings as the organic cereal is more expensive and usually became very thin when mixed with milk. HT was suitable for a young baby but not suitable for him now to try more textured food. The Oatmeal is definitely chunkier and best of all, he likes the taste very much and doesn’t mind the texture.

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