1 small shallot
1 pip garlic
Chicken rib/ neck or 1 chicken wing
1/2 carrot cubed
1/2 potato cubed
Ground nutmeg (1/4 tsp) – Nicer with this but Optional
Macaroni/ Alphabet pasta
Water (approx. 2 cups)

1. Chop the shallot and garlic finely.
2. Fry with 1 tbsp of oil in slow fire till you can smell its fragrance.
3. Pour in the water.
4. Put in the chicken rib/ neck or chicken wing and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.
5. Put in the carrots and potatoes, let it simmer for 15 minutes or till soft.
6. Put in the ground nutmeg, and macaroni, and 1/4 tsp salt (opt), simmer till macaroni is soft. You can blend if you wish. Shelly take this without the need for it to be blended. Just mash up the soft potatoes and carrots with a fork.

I observed that some of our old folk’s wisdom like avoiding certain foods because it is ‘windy’ or can cause coughing and phelgm do agree with modern medical findings. For e.g. it is recommended that children below one year are not to given citrus fruits like oranges because citrus fruits are some of the common foods that may trigger allergies. Some children do get tummy aches due to bloatiness because of food intolerance. Therefore, it is wise to pay careful attention when a child is extra fussy and observe if it is due to food intolerance. Other foods not advisable for children below one year of age are honey, egg whites and whole wheat.

One has to be alert if one’s child shows signs of food allergies like swollen eyelids, rashes, coughing and phlegm after taking some food. Some old folk’s advice is to keep giving the food to the child until he is ‘used’ to it. However, doctors have often caution parents to seek medical consultation if such signs appear because food allergies can cause major problems if not handled with care.

Recently, I got hold of a book on nutrition and learnt some new things like not to adopt the ‘Love me, love my food’ attitude and the term ‘pouching’. Now, I often remind myself not to get too frustrated when my baby refuses to eat the food which I had lovingly prepared. If he refuses it, I will just go to the sink and wash it down without taking it personally as if I was rejected. He just hates the taste of the food, that’s all. Secondly, I learnt that the term used for toddlers who kept food in their mouth is ‘pouching’. A lot of emotional stress and battle of wills are involved and I would make sure that I leave my baby to decide on how much he wants to eat and not how much I want him to eat.

Often, we see grandmas, maids and mothers following their toddlers around the whole housing estate with a bowl during mealtimes. Personally, I hate this routine as it is time wasting and a bad habit too. A local paediatrician mentioned that this is called grazing and not a good idea to allow a child to do that. She recommended ‘active feeding’ and that means talking, singing, playing or reading to the child while he is eating. Every one of us is so familiar with the plane and hangar tactic where we pretend the food is the plane and the child’s mouth the hangar. However, one has to refrain from putting the child in front of the TV and keep stuffing the food into the mouth while his eyes are glued to the show. Mealtimes are meant for enjoying the taste of well-prepared, nutritious food and not a routine to fatten up a child.

As I have children age from teenagers to baby, I have learnt through experiences that a simple routine like mealtimes can either be nightmarish or enjoyable. Children are capable of turning mealtimes into negotiation strategies and using it as a tool to test limits. I will accommodate simple requests but will deny them if they are unreasonable. Often, I will tell my older children to go and starve themselves if they like and ignore their demands. For e.g. “If I finish this plate of rice, you have to buy me that toy.” Of course, I bear in mind that children usually eat as much as their bodies need and are not likely to be deprived off any important nutrients if they eat poorly occasionally.

Generally, people deem plump children as the ideal size. I have two scrawny sons who look like some war refugees. I would get remarks and suggestions from people implying that I am not giving them enough to eat. On the other hand, I also have a 13 yrs old son who wears large men size clothings. With such a varied sizes and shapes, I have to surrender to the fact that all children grow at different rates and as long as they are healthy, eat a balanced meal and have active lifestyles, there is nothing to worry.

One does not need a whole range of kitchen utensils to prepare baby food. However, two things will come in very handy, i.e. the slow-cooker and a hand-blender. These are multi-tasking kitchen gadgets which can be used for the whole family food preparation and cost less than RM100 each. One just needs to toss in the ingredients like rice or oats into the slow-cooker to make a porridge and add the rest of the ingredients. In the earlier stage, baby food needs to be blended into very smooth consistency and thus, the hand-blender will come in handy.

Time saving tips

* To save time on cooking rice or oats, I wash a batch of rice, dry them in the oven, blend the rice/oats to powdery, and keep them in airtight container. Cooking time is very much lessen.
* When Matthew was younger and only took small serving of food, I cook extra portions, freeze them in ice tray, store the frozen food cubes in plastic bag, and kept in airtight container. However, label with the date and avoid storing frozen cubes longer than 1 week. Fishes do not store well. To heat up the cubes, one just has to pop it in the microwave and reheat for 1 minute or steam it. (Caution: One ought to be careful when giving food heated in microwave because sometimes, there are ‘hot spots’ that can burn because of uneven heat distribution. Always stir the food well.)
* At times, I will cook for the family, dish out a small portion of food before I add in any salt or flavourings and blend the food for my baby.
* When I prepare soups made of vegetables and meat/bones stock, I will dish out some before adding salt and cook porridge with it.
* As baby food is not supposed to be flavoured with any salt or soy sauce, I use herbs and spices like garlic, onion, bayleaf, cinnamon powder, celery etc to enhance the flavour.
* One readily available ingredient is homemade ikan bilis powder. I will soak the ikan bilis for a long time until all the saltiness is removed, dry them in the oven till crispy and pound them into fine powder. A pinch added to porridge not only makes it tastier, it is full of calcium too.
* Babies love the taste of soft fruits like banana and papayas. All one need to do is just to scrape the fruit with a spoon and fed to the baby.

More discoveries

* Different babies react differently to the texture of foods. While other 9 months old babies are adapting to soft porridges with bits and pieces of vegetables and meats, Matthew dislike any lumps in his food.
* Some babies only like Malaysian/Chinese flavoured porridges while others like those with a more Westernised taste like corns, peas, cheese and pasta.
* Food for young babies must be in a runny consistency instead of thick gooey stuff which sticks to the palate.
* It takes patience and time to make the transition for my baby to get used to chewing his food. I offer him rice crackers, rice crispies and soft fruits to chew on. However, he still oftens gagged while eating rusks and other baby biscuits. Therefore, one has to be very careful and never leave a baby alone with any kind of food.

COOKING FOR BABY

(a compilation of mymomsbest forum members’ suggestions and ideas – by Chan Lilian)

I cannot envision myself eating packets of cereals for breakfast, bottled lunch and canned dinner everyday. Neither can I endure getting my daily dose of vegetables or fruits processed and bottled months or even years. Why should I when we have plenty of fresh foods around due to our perfect tropical climate? With this same reasoning, I am one of those moms who relish being an innovative cook in the kitchen for the sake of my children and babies. I thought that I am one of the few women whom others deemed foolish to spent time labouring over some muck which baby is likely to splatter all over the floor, wall, hair, everywhere except into his little tummy.

Many of mymombest forum members are doing it and all of us enjoy sharing recipes even if the recipe involves only one or two ingredients and the method is nothing but cook and blend. A chat with a lady paediatrician revealed that she also makes sure that her children are fed home-cook porridges made with fresh ingredients when they were babies. According to her, it is so simple to prepare and very nutritious too.

One need not be a culinary expert to prepare babies food. However, mothers has to be aware of the foods to avoid for babies of certain age, remember to introduce new food one at a time, practice good hygiene, know the signs of food intolerance and allergies. This basic information can be obtained from your respective paediatricians, nurses in the district clinics, books and magazines.

Matthew was given rice flakes mixed with expressed breast milk starting from 4 months old. He was accessed by the paediatrician and found to be ready to start solids as he was showing signs of wanting to eat whenever he saw us eating and has good head control. However, the first month or two was just practice sessions rather than serious eating.

I began experimenting with all the various vegetables and fruits from 6 months onwards and it was fun creating my own recipes from locally available foods like papaya, banana, sweet potato, pumpkin, spinach etc. Through notes sharing with friends, I have modified and simplified some of the methods to make preparing baby foods really simple and easy.

Basically, for swimming we started with allowing them to play in the kiddies pool. The most important thing is to watch over them carefully, ensuring that they are not traumatized by any sudden splashes of water. Next is to make sure that we ourselves are not the panicky kind of parents. Kids pick up our bad vibes easily and they can sense any feelings from us.

As for the other sports, we started with playing balls with them as soon as they can walk. It is a good way to get the kids to learn to walk and run on the green, grassy field as it is a healthy exercise as well.

So, how do I get my children to swim or do any kind of sports? We provide them the opportunities to try out new sports and games and allow them space to master them. When my children see the trend of skateboarding, they too wanted to be involve in this sport and it takes a lot of courage to do all the skateboarding tricks.

Meanwhile, my little boy loves badminton and will pester my hubby to play badminton with him in the evenings. He has these rosy cheeks after a good game and the little man comes home feeling proud that he has played a good game. This also teaches him to be disciplined, have good manners and competitive.

Like all the other sports, I think swimming is the best activities because they to be courageous, responsible and adventurous. Beside that, playing sports together is also a good time for family bonding as well. We had shared so many funny moments in the pool, at the field and the skatepark.

I think this will also lift off some worries when they have to venture away from home on their school trips or other activities. Knowing that they can somehow swim and deal with playing a game with others is a lot comforting. The children will inevitably go somewhere far away from us on scout camps, school field trips or national service. We can rest assured that should they be asked to do any , they will be alright with them.

In conclusion, do not make playing sport or swimming as a lesson but instead, a play time for the whole family.