#NadyaNomNomNom – Deardyan

Shrimp Cakes Recipe

March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 Dyan

So i’ve contemplated feeding shrimps / shellfish to Nadya since she turned 1 but i put it off again & again cos i’m scared of the allergy reaction she might have cos both me & Rusly have mild allergies to seafood.

Nadya loves her burgers & patties. So i thought Shrimp cakes would be nice for her to try!
It turned out to be so nice and sweet! I love it myself! Hahaha.

Here’s the recipe.

250gm Shrimps. Minced / cut into smaller pieces.
1/3 cup of Panko Breadcrumbs
3/4 cup of Cooked Rice
1 egg
1 clove of garlic. Minced.
Chinese Parsley
a dash of salt
1 tablespoon of Parmesan Cheese

Mix everything together & shape them. Pan-fry with VCO / Butter / Olive Oil.
You can take them out of the pan once the shrimps have turned orange and the shrimp cakes are slightly brown.

If you’re not ready to feed shellfish to your child, you can also substitute it with Salmon / Chicken. It can be anything really.

Just in case you don’t know, this is the Panko breadcrumbs. You can get it at major supermarkets.

This is quite filling cos there’s rice in it. It would also make for a great snack to bring out!

You can find all other #NadyaNomNomNom recipes here.

#NadyaNomNomNom, Motherhood, Nadya Raessa, Uncategorized

Oh so Mat!

February 27, 2016February 27, 2016 Dyan

Mat as in the floor mat, play mat, you know? Not the Mat & Minah kind of Mat. Heehee

So anyway, now that Nadya is full on eating, i’ve upgraded her to eating placemats!
Previously i either feed her myself from a bowl etc or if it’s something that she can feed herself, i just put it on her High Chair tray. We’re using the IKEA High Chair. It’s basic, cheap, light and easy to clean.

We initially bought another high chair but that damn thing was so heavy and such a hassle to move around. Cleaning up is also a hassle. The IKEA chair goes to the toilet after almost every messy meals and get hosed down and left to dry. I’ve got 1001 things to do so cleaning high chairs must be a chop chop affair.

Andddd back to the mat! We’ve used the mat since last October and that thing is good investment! We bought the EZPZ Mat from Mumspick during the last Baby Fair. It was about $70.00 for the regular Happy Mat and the Happy Bowl. That’s the promo price btw. The retail price is $48.00 for the Happy Bowl & $52.00 for the Happy Mat. We’ve got a new addition to the family. The Mini Mat!

This would be a good indication on the size. The Mini Mat is the only one that can fit the IKEA Chair properly. The others is slightly big and the suction might come out. But Nadya is usually too focused on eating that she didn’t even try to peel it off or something.

Here’s how they look like on the IKEA High Chair.

The Happy Mat

The Happy Bowl

The Mini Mat

What i think about them individually:

The Happy Mat

It’s huge so i usually use this Nadya’s meal. I love the compartment as well so i can usually place her fruit together with her main meal.
It’s bigger than the IKEA Tray but the excess surface helped to catch some of Nadya’s food. So she made lesser mess now. Previously, all her food will drop drop drop like grapes seh.
The only thing i hate about it is it’s heavy & bulky so i can’t bring it out with me. Usually when we go out, i paste the disposable Winnie The Pooh Mat but nadya will peel them off all the time!

The Happy Bowl

This is perfect for porridge or rice with soup. The bowl’s depth is just nice! It’s not too deep that it’s hard for her to self-feed using a spoon. But it is deep enough to house her food and not spill when she tries to scoop food out.
Only thing i don’t like about the Happy Bowl is that there’s no place to place her fruits. So i’ll have to remove the bowl and then place her fruits on the tray or use the regular mat. So it’s more clean-up for me.

The Mini Mat

The size is perfect for the IKEA Tray, as mentioned and it is light!!
So bringing it out is easier. Just put in the bag it came with and throw it in the diaper bag. So now i don’t have to bring use the disposable placemat cos really nadya will just peel it off.
The small surface area means u can’t put much food in it. So i’ll use it for travel etc. Or for her tea time snacks at home.

This is how they look like with food on them! I have not taken any action shots with the Mini Mat. Maybe some other time.

Hope this can help you decide which one to get! I personally love all three.
Oh and another reason why i like them, there’s no sharp corners. All rounded corners.
So no chance for mould etc to settle in! Wooots!

#NadyaNomNomNom

Tips & Tricks (Baby / Toddler Meals)

February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 Dyan

I’ve been wanting to do a post on this but as always, it remains in the darkest corner of my draft post for the longest time.

Now i’m not an expert on baby food, like urmm Annabel Karmel. But i’ve served food for Nadya for more than 6 months now and that ought to count for something eh?

My requirements for Nadya’s food:
* Homemade
* No salt
* No preservatives
* Must be appealing enough for me to eat as well.

So i end up cooking Nadya’s food myself all the time. Now i know some people might think it’s easy for me since i stay home all the time but it’s ok if you’re a FTWM. Just cook weekends or after u get home from office for their dinner. My meals for Nadya are usually quite simple. Very fuss-free and don’t take longer than 20 minutes usually.

The secret is actually simple.

Plan ahead
Buy vegetables that stay fresh longer
Portion your poultry & vegetable into smaller packs.
Buy Salt-Free Seasonings. (They’ll save your life.)

PLANNING AHEAD

Don’t laugh but i excel a meal plan for Nadya and for adult meals as well.

No i’m not entirely OCD but i just like planning ahead and also it helps if you’re just starting solids for your child. Keep track of what they eat so that if any allergy reaction comes up, you can somehow pinpoint it to the food they ate. or if they are having constipation or their poo colour seems a bit off, you know it’s partly cos of the food they ate. That’s how i found out their poo, after they eat dragonfruit is unsightly guysssss.

STOCK UP ON THE VEGETABLES / FOOD THAT LASTS FOREVER.

Also stock up on vegetables that are versatile. The kind that you can stir-fry, roast, boil or chuck it in the porridge. Takde hal bro. Semua boleh.

These are my favourite go-to vegetables/food to keep & use for Nadya’s meals.

Carrots.
They last forever or at least till sogginess do us part.
Really versatile. You can put them in soups, porridge, stirfry, put them in fried rice, baked rice and i can go on and on. If your baby can eat fingerfood on their own, just coat them with Coconut Oil & Salt Free seasonings and let them munch on it.
Potatoes.
Just as versatile as carrots. One of my current favourite thing to do with potatoes is to cut them in wedges, season them with salt free seasonings and then airfry them. Nadya can eat. I also can eat. I also like making potato patties, mashed potatoes or put them in porridge / soups.
Eggs
You don’t know the many times these eggs saved my life. Eggs are really good for quick meals like French Toasts / Egg Muffins / Egg Banana Pancake. I swear i’ll write down the recipe for egg muffins one of these days. I just noticed i’ve not posted it up for #NadyaNomNomNom anywhere. Baaaah.
But back to eggs, you can make scramble eggs / omelettes and put them in sushi. or let them eat with rice. Else if you’re up for something nicer, do a Frittata! It’s one of our favourites!
Chicken / Beef
I like them minced cos it’s easier for Nadya to eat and also cos you can do more dishes with it. Like Rice with Basil Chicken , Chicken Patties, Beef Balls & more.
Brocolli
Just like Carrots & Potatoes, brocollis are quite fool proof and can stay long in the fridge. Most of the time i add them in patties or stirfry them with beef / chicken. I’ll throw them in porridge as well.
Cheese
Everything tastes nicer with cheese. At least for Nadya.
You can make steamed cheesy rice or cheesy baked rice. Risotto as well if you’re a lil bit more adventurous. Sometimes i let Nadya snack on them. Especially cream cheese! Those are her favourites.
Pasta
I’ve started giving Nadya full sized macaronis. No more cutting it into half and she’ll still chomp it down. So Pasta is now one of her staple dish. If you have excess home made pasta sauce, serve it with meatballs. Else just do a stirfry traffic light macaroni!

PORTION YOUR FOOD

Now this is something i’ve done since i’ve got married. Cos i always cook for two and i hate thawing a huge chunk of meat each time, i portion everything right after grocery shopping.

I buy ziplock bags from SKP and portion them like this.

It’s neater when you store them in the fridge (OCD alert!)
They stay fresher longer cos u don’t thaw the entire thing, cut a bit and then freeze again.
You can keep stock better. You know how many chicken / beef you have left before you start stocking up.

For Nadya, i portion them in smaller bag cos she don’t eat as much as we do anyway.
I also keep stuff like Pasta sauce that i’ve made in ice-cube trays. That way i can use them as & when i want without making a fresh new batch all the time.

BUY SALT-FREE SEASONINGS

These are for lazy days. Period.
You can use them for anything! Marinate salmon / chicken fillet with them and then airfry them. You can season your patties with them. Stirfry your pastas with them. You can do so many things with them. Lazy? Just season and cook. They’re salt-free so they’re perfect for babies / toddlers.

Just like this lazy-ass meal i made for Nadya. Hahahaha
I made rice balls for her, marinated the chicken fillet and she finished everything up. Don’t care as long got food.

So yeah, making meals for babies & toddlers are pretty simple actually. I’m all for giving them healthy food. Clean food especially. No unnecessary salt, sugar & preservatives needed. Sometimes i give her cheat days lah but most of the time she eats what i cook and you need to ask me for permission before you feed her anything. Thanks.

One is for health reason of course cos her organs are still developing so i don’t wanna ruin whatever is in there. Secondly, if i start giving her salt & sugar too early, she’ll reject the not so nice food, like vegetables. Oh the horrors! Mummy here loves her vegetables so she cannot refuse vegetables.

But this is my personal choice. What you feed your children is none of my business, really.

But i hope this list can help you to manage cooking for your babies & toddlers better! I’ve stopped listing down the #NadyaNomNomNom series monthly here in this blog but i still post them on Instagram & Facebook. You can follow us there instead.

Happy cooking!

#NadyaNomNomNom, Nadya Raessa

8 months: #NadyaNomNomNom

October 21, 2015 Dyan

Here’s Nadya choice of food, or rather MY choice of food for Nadya when she was 8 months old.

I eliminated purees and replace it slowly with Oats & Rice Porridge. Initially she was refusing chunkier oats & rice porridge so i gradually change the consistency and i’m so proud that she can now eat rice. Calrose rice / Sushi Rice mainly cos it’s softer and sticky.

She is also better at self-feeding now that she prefer self-feeding all the time!

Mango + Strawberries + Blueberries Oat Porridge

Threadfin Fish + Silken Tofu + Carrot + Spinach Rice Porridge.
First time introducing Tofu to her and no allergies so far!

Baby Pasta + Cherry Tomatoes + Chicken & Carrots

Silver Fish + Sweet Potato + Baby Spinach

Banana Strawberry Oats Porridge.

Pan-Fried Salmon + Steamed Carrots, Baby spinach & Cherry Tomatoes.
The start of chunkier food for Nadya and surprisingly she ate everything!

Mashed Potato + Broccoli & Cheddar Cheese.
First time introducing Cheese to her and like her Papa, she loves cheese!

Baby Shepherd’s Pie
• Boil potatoes & mash with cheddar cheese.
• Pan-fry minced beef, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach & shallots with extra-virgin coconut oil
• Mix everything. Drop spoonfuls on the same pan. U can drizzle bits of coconut oil.
• serve & steal a bit of baby’s food.

Salmon Sushi Rice Ball & Tofu / Shimeji Mushroom Soup.
* Steam calrose rice & tomato. Mix together.
* Steam salmon & baby spinach. Mix with rice & tomato.
* Shape it into mini balls & serve!
* Soup was made with the homemade vegetable stock. I added in Silken Tofu & Shimeji Mushroom

Sweet Potato + Baby Spinach + Cream Cheese

Homemade Chicken stock
Carrots, Potatoes, Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Basil leaves & Lime leaves.
Boil everything together under medium heat for 2 hours and store everything in ice cube trays.

#NadyaNomNomNom

7 months: #NadyaNomNomNom

September 16, 2015 Dyan

Apple + Carrots & Baby Spinach Puree
Peel & Slice Carrots & Apple. Steam it.
Steam Baby spinach separately just before taking out the Apple & Carrots. You don’t want to steam baby spinach too long cos it’ll lose it’s nutrients.
Blend and feed!

Apple + Carrot + Blueberries Puree
Steam & Blend everything together.

Potato + Carrot + Chicken Rice Porridge.
Cook everything in the ELB till mushy. Blend to ideal consistency.

Carrot + Frozen Peas + Chicken Rice Porridge
Cook everything in the ELB till mushy. Blend to ideal consistency. I’ve also included some homemade vegetable stocks.
Nadya hates peas. (follow the mother lah). Will try again!

Sweet Potato + Chicken Rice Porridge
Cook everything in the ELB till mushy. Blend to ideal consistency.

Mango + Blueberries + Rolled Oat Porridge.
Cook oats with water in ELB or stove till mushy. Once it’s cooked, blend the oats, mango & blueberries together.

Apple + Sweet Potato Rice Porridge
Cook everything in the ELB till mushy. Blend to ideal consistency.

Potato + Sweet Potato + Baby Spinach Puree
Steam the sweet potato + potato in the ELB. Steam the baby spinach last. Blend to ideal consistency.

Sweet Potato + Baby Spinach Puree.
Steam the sweet potato in the ELB. Steam the baby spinach last. Blend to ideal consistency.

#NadyaNomNomNom

September 16, 2015September 16, 2015 Dyan

If you follow me on social media you would have noticed the hashtag #NadyaNomNomNom. That’s because my baby girl is already on solids!

We started her on solids since she turned 6mths. We let her taste food at 5.5 months just for the fun of it and she always look forward to tasting something!

And then i went searching for Baby 1st food recipes cos i was quite intent on feeding her fresh food. I think it’s just me being very guilty still for not being able to breastfeed her. So i die die want her to eat healthy food. I have nothing against Jar foods. I know of babies who do eat them and still grow healthy. But because time is on my side cos i’m WAHM and it is something that i can take better control of (unlike breastfeeding), then i shall do it for as long as i can!

I didn’t document her first food cos honestly it was pretty boring.
i started with one food at a time. Carrots / Apple / Pumpkin / Butternut Squash etc.

Because she was just starting out, i would do a batch of, say Pureed Carrots and then freeze them in ice cube trays. So each time it’s time to eat, i’ll just pop it out and heat them up before feeding it to her.

Trust me, don’t buy all those fancy schmancy food freezer cubes etc. They’ll just take up too much space in the fridge. Just buy ice cube trays from Daiso, they come with lids so it’s not exposed! Then once baby stop eating purees, at least u can just use them to freeze ice!

Then when she turned 7months and eating her purees well, i started giving her rice porridge, I eliminated cereals from the start cos i don’t find it necessary cos it’s all sugar & processed flour/rice.

From 7months onwards, the only grains i’ve fed her:

White Rice
Rolled Oats
Millets

I would love to try her on Quinoa and Baby Pasta soon!
She loves white rice but i notice each time she eats white rice, her stools are not as smooth. It’s harder than usual . So i try and let her eat rolled oats once a day and now her stools are normal. Smelly still, but normal. Hahahahaha.

P/s: You know you’re a mom when u start talking about stools like how it’s normal to tell people about your breakfast.

So why am i documenting all her makan adventures?

Cos i want to keep track of what she eats. Just in case she had an allergy.
My pregnancy brain is still there somewhere and sometimes i forget what i ate for yesterday’s lunch or did i even eat. So go figure.
I tried looking around for Baby Recipes and to be honest, it’s all quite repetitive until they turn 1 when they start to eat lotsa other things, I don’t want Nadya to be a boring eater so i’m always trying to introduce her new food to eat and with the limited things she can eat, i try and mix & match so she don’t end up eating the same old puree again & again.
I have so many mummy friends who are first time mums and i think they’re just as clueless as me! Sharing her food journey would definitely be useful for them and hopefully bu doing this, i can send the message across that making your own baby food is not that hard & not that time consuming!

How do i prepare her baby food?

When it was just puree, i use the baby blender. Luckily for me, i bought a cheap one! I think only $50.00+ cos Rina told me not to spend too much on baby blender cos they’ll outgrow it really fast. True enough, i stop using it that much after a month. Now i only use the blender part only. But when she starts eating lumpy food, definitely not using it anymore.

Currently i use an Electric Lunch Box to cook her porridge. Really easy cos i don’t have to watch the fire and also cos i can also cook my own food using the ELB. The ELB can be used to cook porridge / rice / soups or normal meals lah so i foresee myself using it till she’s bigger! Cos i’ve been using it to cook my own meals!

Anyway, i will draft another post, the food i’ve prepared for Nadya when she’s 7mths old. I will also have a tab at the top of my blog, documenting food i prepare for Nadya monthly so it’s easier for you to refer to according to age!

I hope it will somehow help and give you ideas on preparing your baby food.
Again, there’s no right or wrong. U can give jar foods or cereal if you want. I’m not judging. It’s your child after all.

But try not to give them food too young. 4 months is too young. Their stomach is not strong yet to digest food. Wait till 6months if you can. After all, your child have an entire lifetime to enjoy food!