Mulberry and chia smoothie

Mulberries are very nutritious and is famously known as a superfood due to its high antioxidant content. The moment my organic fruit supplier passed me some of these little gems, I immediately whatsapped a few of my close mommy-friends to inform them of this. These beautiful fruits will definitely do lots of wonder to the health of their little ones. 

Mulberries tastes sour-ish on their own. So I have been having them combined with other sweet fruits (like this), I have baked buns with them, for recipe, refer here, and I have also turned it into a beautiful looking smoothie for my lil' fella who loved it! 

Other than its high antioxidant content, mulberries contain alkaloids that activate macrophages, which then stimulate the immune system, putting it on high active alert against health threats. They are great sources of protein, vitamin C, K, fiber and iron. So hurry up, chuck in some mulberries in whatever you're baking or eating today. 

Here's the recipe for this beautiful and nutritious mulberry and chia smoothie: 

• 1/2 teaspoon chia seeds soaked in 1/2 cup milk for 5min (for a toddler I used full fat fresh milk) 
• 1/2 tablespoon honey or Rin Enzyme 
• 8 fresh organic mulberries 
• 3 tablespoon plain yogurt 

Instructions: Using a blender or food processor*, blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately.

*I have been using this baby bullet for all sorts of my toddler's food and drink/ smoothie for about a year. I love it because it is small and convenient especially in terms of cleaning. 

Baby bullet is available from 9months maternity in Kota Kinabalu. They are available at 

• Suria Sabah 088 487 966 
• City Mall 088 486 966 

Alternatively if you're in KL/ Selangor, try drop by Happikiddo.  They sell everything you possibly need. Both the owners are parents, they work hard to bring in some premium quality products into the store, with an attractive selection of healthy food and snacks, toys, baby- and kids-safe products suitable for every parent or parent-to-be. 

Superfood smoothie for the super hero boy. 

Crunchy granola and yogurt pots

 

 

 

My lil' fella has a play date cum birthday party to attend later today. They are gonna be swimming. But the problem is the party starts at 5:30pm, which means I gotta finish work, go fetch him from the nanny's and send him to the party. I won't have time to bake some luscious cakes or muffins for the kiddos, so I decided to do this light and refreshing granola and yogurt pots for the little people as snacks after their dip.

 



They are healthy, very yummy and easy to prepare. They make great and filling breakfast too. 

 

First, I prepare the granola a day ahead and they can keep for at least 7-10 days in an air-tight container. I don't think they will keep that long anyway, cos both hubby and the lil' fella love munching on them as snacks. Me too, actually :p

To prepare the granola, I have:

• 2tbsp raw almond
• 2tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 2tbsp sunflower seeds
• 4tbsp rolled oat
• pinch of cinnamon (optional)
• 2-3tbsp virgin coconut oil, adjustable, making sure all nuts, seeds and oats are wet  
• 2tbsp honey  

1. Combine all the above ingredients and making sure all nuts, seeds and oats are moist. If still looking dry, add virgin coconut oil to adjust.
2. Preheat oven to 160deg C.
3. Spread a thin layer of the wet mixed nuts and seeds on a lined baking tray.
4. Bake for 10-15min. Remove the tray and flip the wet mixed nuts to the other side, stir with wooden spatula.
5. Bake for another 10-15min until seeds has puffed up.
6. For mine, I also add in another 3tbsp spell puff to the mixture and bake for another 5min.
7. Remove tray from oven. Let cool and store granola in air-tight container.

To prepare the granola and yogurt pots, I need:

• Honey or orange marmalade or fruit puree/ jam
• Plain natural yogurt
• Granola

In a nice transparent container or glass, place a tablespoon of honey/ marmalade/ fruit puree or cut fruits at the bottom. Top with plain yogurt. Layer with granola. Top with another layer of plain yogurt. Finish up with a generous topping of granola.

Zucchini quiche for baby (gluten free)*

I made these beautiful morsels for the little fella for dinner. I halved the original recipe yielding only 5 baby quiches. Guess what? The little fella finished 4 of them. Must be yum ya? I paired them up with potato and zucchini soup, topped with chopped avocado.

If you have a baby on gluten free diet, replace the baby corrallini pasta with cooked brown rice or cooked quinoa.

For the recipe of baby quiche, you'll need:
(This recipe makes 5-6 baby quiche)

• 1cup grated zucchini
• 1egg
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 1clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup baby corallini pasta or gluten free option: cooked rice or cooked quinoa
• pinch of salt and black pepper (optional)

Instructions:
1. Sprinkle the shredded zucchini with a pinch of salt, allow to sit for about 5 minutes before squeezing out the excess liquid. After wringing out, place in a large bowl.
2. Add the eggs, onion, garlic, cheese, cooked pasta, salt, and pepper to the shredded zucchini. Stir until evenly combined.

 

3. Scoop the mixture into the prepared mini muffin tin, filling each well to the top.

 

 

4. Bake at 180degC for 18-20 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool slightly before removing to a wire rack to cool. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat at 350ºF for about 8-10 minutes, until heated through.

 

 

 

Cheese sticks for baby

I did pumpkin cheese sticks for the lil' fella when he was about 8month old, then I stumbled upon this recipe which uses even less ingredients. Even though he's way over 1 year now and he can eat almost anything, but a simple recipe is still what I like. Woke up at 6:30am today and that's consider early, cos he doesn't wake till about 7:15am and I only need 15min to prep his lunch, so I got together some ingredients (and even snapped some photos) to bake these lovely cheese sticks. The original recipe has baking powder in it, I actually forgot to add them and they turned out just as nice, guess it's okay to omit them, especially if you have a baby who's still under 10month old.

 

This is a great teether or finger snacks for the baby, especially if travelling in a car or in a stroller.

 

 

You'll only need 4 ingredients, flour, butter, cheese and milk.

 

You'll only need 4 ingredients for this recipe:

• 1cup all purpose flour (or known as plain flour)
• 2tbsp butter, chopped into little cubes (Do not melt them)
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese plus 1tbsp grated Parmesan (but Parmesan is optional)
• 3-5tbsp fresh milk *the amount of milk added may differ depending on your flour used



And I've used my breadmaker to combine everything and form a dough. (I've been using it to make all sorts of food lately, just made some bagels last night and they turned out fab. It's so dainty I actually bring it to work with me and them carry it home in the evening).

To make the dough in the breadmaker,

1. Sift flour into the breadpan. Press mode no. 6 和面 and select timer 时间 to adjust the timing to 8minutes. Add in chopped butter. Let them combine until the mixture resembles breadcrumb.                              
2. Add all cheese. Mix well.
3. Drizzle in milk while machine continues to mix. Continue mixing until dough forms.
4. On a floured board, roll dough into a flat sheet, about 0.2cm thick (see photo above). Cut into 2cm wide strips.                           
5. Gently twist strips while placing them on a greased baking tray.
6. Bake at 180°C for 10–15 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Making baby fruit snacks with dehydrator

Commercial 'baby' snacks are junk food in disguise. Read this if you're one of those moms who buy 'baby' snacks for your little one. I agree a lot with Christine Haskell. Many mommies buy puffs, drops, cookies labeled as 'baby' snack because they are convenient, less messy and they last long (definitely longer than a fresh banana). But unfortunately, they are not healthy. Quoted from Christine's blog, 'Take "puffs" for example. Out of three brands of puffs I've looked at, the sugar varies between 0.5 to 2 grams of sugar per serving, with very little nutritional value. In babies (over 6 months at least) who have limited tummy room, every single thing that goes in their mouth needs to be packed with nutrition, especially since anything other than their formula or breast milk (which is still the bulk of their diet) displaces the nutritionally-packed liquid food. Hence, nutrition? Super important'.

 

Instead of spending money on buying baby puffs or snacks that's loaded with sugar and stuffs to make them last longer, I invested in a dehydrator. I fell in love with it the first time I used it, and this post was longggg overdue!! I should have bought it way earlier. I bought the dehydrator when the little fella turned 1. So what was he snacking on prior to that? I gave him steamed carrots, roasted pumpkin, sweet potato, banana, cooked rice, cooked pasta, baked him muffin, cakes and bread. But these doesn't last long. The dehydrated fruit or veg snacks last for at least 1-2 weeks if dehydrated well and kept in an air-tight container. Actually, I don't just dehydrate the fruit or veg for the baby, I eat them myself (non-stop) as snacks, but it's ok, dehydrated tomato makes healthy snacks :p. I have also been using dehydrated fruit in baking.

 

Just Health Sandakan sells this fruit dehydrator. It's a premium grade dehydrator with FDA-approved materials for its food trays. Send an email to justhealthsandakan@gmail.com if you wish to find out more about the dehydrator. I also arrange for group buy for moms keen to purchase this dehydrator at a cheaper rate. Your may refer to this for further info on this dehydrator.

 

Took me 5hours for them to get to the right texture.



The baby's snacks this morning

This would make great gift for my MIL.

 

 

I've chopped these up and added them into my ...

 

 

Strawberry and  mango oat cookies