Kimmy and Julie :: Family Journal

Jonathan’s Meal #3

Darling loves bitter gourd so he thinks his Junior has too favour bitter gourd like him. He has been pestering me to let Jonathan boy try out bitter gourd. I was a bit reluctant cause from the name you already know it’s bitter so do you think a baby would like it?  I, myself don’t like bitter stuff. I only take bitter gourd if it is cooked with scrambled egg, tau chu (fermented soya beans) or deep fried (for banana leaf rice).  They say bitter is good. That’s the reason all medicines are bitter especially chinese medicines.

So here, I bought the baby bitter gourd. I cut into thin strips so that at least if Jonathan boy dislike it, I can put aside the bitter gourd but give him the porridge only instead. I put in some diced carrot and wolfberry for the colour. I also added red dates to give some sweetness to the bitterness. Since this is a first try, so no fish is added otherwise some fish or meat will provide additional nutrients.

I tasted the porridge myself before giving it to Jonathan. Bleeek…it’s bitter. For that moment I thought the porridge will go to waste. First try…give him the porridge first and he swallows it. Second try…give him the bitter gourd and he chews it. Lastly…he finished everything as though he has lost his taste bud.

Since Jonathan boy can accept the bitter gourd, I chopped the bitter gourd on my next try so that it mix well with the porridge and I added some fish too.

I read from some articles that to reduce the bitterness, the bitter gourd is salted and exposed to direct sunlight for few hours. After few hours, its salty, bitter water is reduced by squeezing out the excess by hand. Then rinse with water a few times. I’m going to try this method on my next cooking. So, happy trying!

Jonathan’s Meal #2

Jonathan boy’s porridge on weekends has the most variety of ingredients as I have more time compare to working days where my time is limited.  And since Jonathan can chew quite well now, I decided to cut the potato into tiny cubes rather than grated potato. To add some colour to the porridge, I put in a cut of salmon. The porridge will turn out quite plain with just potato and salmon so I think some raisins will give a sweet-sour taste and additional colour to the porridge.

It turn up pretty good. The taste blended well. To avoid Jonathan boy from swallowing the whole raisin without chewing, I don’t mix the raisin with porridge on his spoon. I fed him raisin only so that he will chew and be able to taste the raisin. Otherwise, I mash the raisin a little and mix with the porridge. You can substitute raisins with red dates or wolfberry.

Jonathan’s Meal #1

While everyone is talking about Bento, I should start sharing on a baby’s meal. I’m a new mother and still learning and experimenting on what is best for a baby’s diet. Jonathan boy is my experiment. Glad to say that he will wallop all kinds of food except Avocado so far.

I’ve also shared in my previous post on how I prepare the porridge. Just dump everything in the ceramic pot.

So let’s see what is on Jonathan’s dinning table today.

Grated beetroot and florets of broccoli

Beets or beetroots contain a wonderful amount of calcium, potassium and even vitamin A.  Whereas, broccoli is very high in Vitamin C and is a great source of soluble fiber.

How It Is Made

This is how Jonathan boy’s porridge are cooked.

I have the Magic Saver Cooker (MSC) from Cosway and a ceramic pot. The MSC comes with a inner stainless steel pot (to cook the food) and insulation pot (to warm the food).  

Jonathan boy is having two feedings of porridge each day so I just have to prepare once and it can last till evening (still warm) using the MSC.

Step 1: To come out with two feedings of porridge, I put in 3 milk powder scoops of rice with 3 x 4oz of water in the ceramic pot.  I’m giving him unpolished brown rice as the content of nutrients is better than polished rice.

Step 2: I’ll make sure I always have at least two types of vegetables of different colour. My favourite mix is pumpkin and broccoli because pumpkin gives the sweetness and broccoli gives him the vitamin C and folic acid and the easiest to prepare. I just need 2 - 3 florets of broccoli without having to chop finely. As for pumpkin, I’ll grate it otherwise I can cut into cubes. Just put the florets of broccoli and grated pumpkin into the ceramic pot. Sometimes, I’ll add 2 cubes of chicken meat, fish, pork or scallops.

Step 3: Put the ceramic pot into the inner pot of the MSC and fill the inner pot with water.

This is called the double-boil method. Bring it to boil then simmer on low fire for 45 mins.  With the lid still covering the inner pot, transfer it to the insulation pot. Do not open the insulation pot until feeding time so that the porridge can continue to cook on its own till soft.

So here’s the outcome and greatness of the MSC.

I prefer to cook this way compared to slow cooker as this is faster and energy saving. Each morning, I just need 5 - 10 minutes to prepare the porridge ingredients. Then leave it to simmer while I bath and change to get ready for work. Before I leave for work, I just turn off the fire and transfer the inner pot to the MSC. It’s so easy and hassle free.