Infant Weaning... First Food For Babies_Purees

Weaning is the process of gradually introducing the infant to solid diet and reducing the supply of mother’s milk. A fully weaned infant derives all its nutrition from solid foods and is off breast milk completely.

Today, most pediatricians advocate starting weaning only after the infant is six months old. Infants who are weaned too early may suffer dietary deficiencies as the milk is replaced by weaning foods.

Also, weaning around six months is easier and more enjoyable as the baby can sit up and take an active part in feeding. The tongue thrust reflex is settled by now (young babies will automatically push solids out of their mouth with their tongue).

Let's begin with some healthy and colorful purees. I am trying to help new mothers with some of the baby food recipes which are not just easy to make but also healthy to eat. I searched for these recipes at various places and with some edits, I am putting them here for you now -

• Avocado and kiwi purée : This refreshing combination of fruits is a great source of vitamin E and vitamin C

Ingredients:

    Half a ripe avocado
    1 ripe kiwi fruit

Method:

Mash the avocado well. Peel and mash the kiwi. Push the kiwi through a sieve to remove the pips, then mix with the avocado.

Note: If you prefer, offer individual fruit purées instead of a mixture of avocado and kiwi fruit. Do speak to your doctor before offering your baby any imported or exotic fruits.

• Broccoli and cauliflower purée : This combination of vegetables is a good source of iron and vitamin C.

Ingredients:

    1 large floret broccoli
    1 large floret cauliflower

Method:

Steam the vegetables until they are tender. Purée in a blender or mouli (food mill) and adjust the texture with boiled cooled water or baby's usual milk.

Note: If you wish you can opt to prepare a purée with only broccoli or only cauliflower.

• Pear and apple purée : This tasty mix of fruits is an excellent source of vitamin C

Ingredients:

    1 ripe pear, peeled and sliced
    1 apple, peeled and sliced

Method:

Place the pear and apple in a small saucepan with one tbsp of water and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is tender. Purée in a blender or mouli (food mill).

• Musk melon purée : Musk melon is a good source of betacarotene and vitamin C

Ingredients:

    Large slice of musk melon (kharbooja) or any other melon like honey dew.

Method:

Peel and deseed the melon. Purée the melon and, if desired, add a little baby rice to thicken up.

• Lentils with pumpkin pur: This wholesome meal is a good source of iron, betacarotene and B vitamins.
  
  Ingredients:
  
      50g split red lentils (masoor dal)
      120g pumpkin(kaddu), peeled and diced
  
  Method:
  
  Boil the lentils in water until soft. Steam or microwave the pumpkin until tender. Drain the lentils in a sieve. Add the pumpkin to the sieve and place the sieve over a bowl. Using a wooden spoon, press through the mixture, stir and serve.
  

To u my son...as you turn One.... with loads of Love!!!

A year's gone by

How time has flown

We can't believe

How Neil has grown!

He's such a joy

And so much fun

Oh my! Our baby's Turning One!

Time flies like anything. It seems as it was just a few days back when I first held you in my arms. Trust me there is nothing more joyous and amazing than holding your firstborn child in your arms for the very first time. Your daddy had you first and kissed your forehead with tears filled in his eyes. He said to me "see, here comes my champ". And that is how I named you "Neil" meaning "a champion". when i first saw you, my heart was filled with love, so much love. Never before had my heart known such love. I didn't think it was possible to love something or someone so much. I had butterflies way down in my tummy and this sense of awe came over me. There you were, perfect, beautiful, mine. Yes, indeed, you were mine, no ours :)

It's hard to believe that was one short year ago.The year seems to have passed in a jiffy. Today, you turn 1. It's amazing to look at you today and realize how much you have grown and changed over the past year. Every milestone you reach and every new experience that delights you puts a smile on my face. I just love to watch you explore. Yet, just one short year ago, you were a beautiful, healthy, newborn baby asleep in my arms. A year has brought so much change, so many smiles, and so much love in our lives.

Let me tell you son that the last one year has been the most joyful, exhausting, funniest and fullest year of my life. I have watched you grow and develop your own little personality. I love the way you smile at everyone, your ability to get adjusted in a crowd easily; 

I love when you try and babble every new word you hear; you amaze me with your sharp memory by recalling things told you days back; I feel so happy when people compliment you for your natural spikes; 

It feels like music in ears when you say 'mamma' and 'dadda', i love it when you offer your food to me, i love your dance, your hug, your special kiss.....oh I love everything about you. I love you so much son, my little rock star you are........

 

Now that one year has gone by, and you have grown from a tiny, fragile newborn to a robust, adventurous one year old, I love you more with passing day. The past 365 days were fun to be with you. In that span of time, my life has forever changed. You make my heart smile more than I ever dreamed possible. Wish you a Happy first birthday my precious angel!!

Loads of love

Mamma

xoxo

 

 

Did u eat Barfi!!

Last weekend I had a chance to watch my first movie with my son. This was a long awaited movie as I last visited a cinema hall almost around 11 months back. Hence, I was too  excited to watch a movie in a theatre. I am a choosy movie lover and the very first promo of Barfi had caught my eye. Hence, I landed up at the cinema hall with high hopes to have made a good decision.

I must say I was not disappointed.Though this movie has its fair share of humour; but along with it the movie demonstrates some genuine emotions that are rarely felt or seen in the world today. Barfi teaches you a lot. Here a few little lessons I learnt from the movie:

Barfi! is a silent love story that Basu tries to bring alive with some dazzling play of images and music. The first lesson it gives is that "Actions speak louder than words". The movie beautify shows you that that true love is blind to all the prejudices set down by the materialistic society. It can nourish itself deeply even in the midst of pauperism and follow a completely no-holds-barred course. 

Let's talk about the characters of the movie now. The Chaplinesque portrayal by Ranbir as Barfi (or Murphy) does try to do something different than the usual movie characters. Barfi’s character reiterates few important lessons- 

1.  Life is about finding happiness in small things rather than in being wasted in lusty pursuits. 
2. Imperfection is all around us. How we handle our flaw determines our life’s happiness. 
3. Handicap is not a disease. It’s a way of life.
4. If God gives you a problem, he gives you ample of chances to rectify that problem.
5. Always wear a smile
6. Embrace your shortcomings.

The movie also puts light on an issue like autism. Priyanka plays the autistic Jhilmil who yearns to be considered as a woman. Her character teaches you that Here's what her character taught me-

1. Every heart can feel love, happiness, anger, jealousy, hatred and sadness.  (Jhilmil teaches us that one quality that is probably totally missing in today’s world – selfless love. Giving all that she could give – companionship, joy, love – for just little care and attention in return).
2. A mind can be under-developed, but a heart is always at the right place. 
3. Trust is the most important thing ( Barfi’s lamppost test. He would check how much people would trust him and also, if they will leave him in a crisis situation. The same holds true for Jhilmil. )

Illena's character as shruti happens to be a happy-go-lucky character who Barfi falls in love with.  After a brief romance, Shruti chooses material comforts over true love and leaves Barfi heartbroken to marry the moneyed man. She regrets later in the movie later though. But this is what her character taught me:

1. When opportunity comes your way, grab it with both hands
2. Don't live a life with regrets

The movie has hundreds of such ‘Aww’ moments. They make you laugh, they make you cry. They make you want to go back to childhood, when things were simpler and relations purer. Today, the spirit of relationships has changed totally. Purity is rarely seen. O life!! Why can't it be as sweet as Barfi?

Mad Over Donuts :)

"Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?" Matt Groening

It was after a gap of 3 long years that I once again had a chance to dig my teeth into mouth-watering donuts. Thanks to my sis-in-law who actually re-introduced them to me. These days, my perspective of looking at dishes and tasting them has completely changed. Now I eat and taste to them to first find out how pleasant it is to my taste buds, and second, how is it made; what all it comprises of? Seems i am taking deep interest into cooking with each passing day.

Same happened with donuts too. Earlier I used to just eat them b'coz they were delicious, but now I wanted to actually cook them deliciously too. And hence, after tasting a particular type on recomendation of Neha (my sis-in-law), I once again fell in love with them. Immediately the next day, I was searching for the recipes to make them. After going through a couple of recipes, I came across this one (mentioned below) and decided to try my first donuts using this recipe. This simple donut recipe can be made up in advance and you can simply cut the donuts to shape and fry them before rolling them in sugar. The dough will last for a few days in the fridge if wrapped properly.  

Yesterday, being Sunday, my husband was home and hence perfect time for me to try my hands on something new (These days I prefer weekends for my experimental stuff as my husband is readily available to look after my little angel, Neil). Also it was a double celebratory occasion, being my sister's b'day and friend's anniversary, I thought to give this recipe a try.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

500g plain flour

250ml milk

75g sugar

75g butter

1 egg

1 tsp. baking powder

Vegetable oil to fry

Method of Preparation:

1. Sieve the flour and baking powder together into a large bowl.
2. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.
3. Beat the egg into the milk, then make a well in the flour mixture and pour the milk mixture into it.
4. Mix together to form a soft dough, then put into the fridge until ready to use.
5. Roll the dough out to 1cm thick before cutting into the shapes of your choice.
6. Fry the donuts in 180C oil for around 30 seconds, then turn them over and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from the fryer and drain on kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
7. Whilst still warm, roll in granulated sugar.

Icing sugar shouldn't really be used to roll donuts in as it is more likely to just melt into the donut; instead, use granulated sugar. 

I did a little experimentation with the glazing part where I used Jam on a few donuts and melted dairy milk chocolate on few others. After this I rolled them over in sugar (powdered to fine granules). The outcome was delicious; though just a little less perfect than the one I tried from M.O.D. but it was indeed worth writing :) I can definately put efforts to make it a spot on next time. But for now, this is a good to go recipie for a first trial. I am sure you will be praised for it :)

Recipe source:  http://www.donutrecipes.co.uk/simple.html

Bread Idli

This quick, easy and tasty dish was taught to me by my mom-in-law. Honestly speaking, when she first spoke about this dish, I was like, what is this dish gonna be like? I never ever expected that it would taste so great. But it was indeed yummy. 

It can be easily made as a quick snack or even as a breakfast some day. Just try it out and tell me how did it treat your taste buds.

Ingredients

• Bread slices,cut into roundels 4

• Yogurt 2 tablespoons

• Oil for brushing

• Salt to taste

• Potatoes,boiled and mashed 2 medium

• Green chillies,chopped 2

• Fresh coriander leaves,chopped 1/4 cup

• Turmeric powder a pinch

• Rye for Tadka
 

Method

Whisk yogurt and salt in a bowl.Fry rye in 1 tsp oil, and as soon as it starts to splutter, take it off the flame and add it to whisked yoghurt. Set aside. In another bowl, combine potato, green chillies, coriander leaves, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Heat a non-stick tawa. Drizzle a little oil. Apply potato mixture on one side of a bread roundel and yogurt mixture on the other side. Place the potato side of the bread on the tawa. Cover and cook till potatoes turn red. Then Serve hot. 

Veg Tiranga

I had an opportunity to taste this tasty delicacy while on our trip to Daman. It's name in the menu and description by the waiter quickly grabbed our attention and we made no delays in ordering it.

Since we were extremely hungry, and we had ordered something from a completely unknown territory, we were just keeping our fingers crossed that whatever arrives must be edible and must please our taste buds.

1 more reason to order for it was that we were 5 people and we were not being able to agree on 1 particular gravy or curry. Hence when, the waiter described that the dish comprises of 3 different gravies, we immediately made our decision despite the wait time being long.

To our surprise, we loved the dish so much that we ordered the same dish the next day as well.

After this, I searched for the same dish in various other restaurants we visited  in and out pune, but couldn't locate it anywhere. That is when I decided to try it making by myself.

It is a little time consuming dish as it comprises of all three gravies (red, green and white) cooked to a heavenly creamy consistency, but if you plan smart, it shouldn't be a trouble. (The first time I made it, I cooked all 3 gravies at the same time; but for the second time, I cooked 1 of the two graves, the green one to be precise, in lunch. I made palak aloo for lunch, of course with extra gravy and preserved it for my experiment at night)

Let's go on to looking at the recipe now...

Common Ingredients for the 3 gravies:-

• Onions - 5 medium sized, chopped
• Fresh Cream - 1 packet
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 3 Tbsp
• Green Chillies- 3-4

So first of all, I placed chopped onions in a pan, fried them in oil till soft. Next, added ginger, garlic and chili paste, and fried till its brown. Then waited for ot t cool down after which I ground it into a smooth paste. Now preparation for each gravy and subzi was done separately.

For White Gravy Subzi:

• 2 tbsp cashews soaked in water
• 2  cardamoms
• 2 tbsp mava/ milk mava powder
• 2 tbsp yogurt (I used fresh cream instead)
• Salt and white pepper powder as per taste  
• Half cup mix of following*- Cashews, Almonds, Pomogranate (anar ke dane), Raisins (kishmish), grapes cut into 2 halves, fine pieces of paneer or cottege cheese. 

{Note: This White gravy can also be stored for 1-2 months in freezer}

Method
Soak the cashewnuts in half cup of warm water for half an hour and grind to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a handi and add already prepared onion paste. Stir and add green cardamoms, slit green chillies. Stir and add grated mawa and cashewnut paste. Stir. Add half cup of water and mix. Cook on low heat for five to ten minutes. Add whisked yogurt/ cream, salt and white pepper powder. Add rest of the ingredients (mentioned with*). Stir and cook for 3-5 minutes.

For Red Gravy Subzi (This is also similar to Kadhai Paneer Recepie):

Cottage cheese / paneer – Approx 250 gms

Tomatoes -3,Large sized, chopped

Handful of cashew nuts, ground to fine paste

Tomato paste – 1 tb sp

Garam masala powder – ½ tsp

Red chili powder – ½ t sp
Turmeric powder – ½ t sp
Coriander powder – 1 t sp
Salt – as per taste
Oil – 2 tb sp

Tomato Sauce - 2 Tsp
Kasoori methi / dried fenugreek leaves – 1 tsp (optional, I didn't add)

Fry chopped tomatoes for 6 to 8 minutes till they turn mushy. Add prepared onion paste and cook for 2 minutes. Cool the sautéed masala and grind to a puree add tomato paste to it along with 1/2-cup water. Now bring it to a boil and simmer on low flame.In the meanwhile cut the cottage cheese / paneer into medium size pieces. You can shallow fry the paneer in oil without browning them (I did not do that although). Keep it aside.

Now add all the dry masala to the puree .Add the cashew nut paste and tomato sauce in the puree. And cook it on low flame till the gravy is thick. Add the paneer pieces and cook till they become heated too. In the end add 2 table spoon cream and cook for 2 minutes.

 Green Gravy Subzi (This is more or less similar to Corn Palak Recipe)

 Ingredients:

1 cup Sweet corn kernels (boiled)

1 cup Fresh cream

3 medium bunch of Spinach leaves (Palak)

2 tbsps Refined Oil

Salt to taste

1 tsp Dry mango powder (amchur)

1/2 tsp Caraway seeds (shahi jeera)

1 tbsp Lemon juice

1 tbsp Dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) (optional)

Method

Clean and wash palak leaves thoroughly and ensure no sand grains are left on the leaves.

Then blanch palak in plenty of boiling water for a minute or two, drain and refresh the leaves in ice-cold water.

Now blend the palak and make a puree.

Heat the boiled corn in half or one cup of water.

Heat oil in a pan, add caraway seeds and stir-fry till it changes colour.

Now add onion paste and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add corn, palak puree, salt and amchur powder to this mixture of onion masala.

Mix it well and let it cook for two to three more minutes.

Add fresh cream and simmer till you reach the desired .

Take off the heat and add lemon juice.

For serving, you will have to take a container with a wide mouth (I used a plate instead, and so did the hotel where we first ate this dish); and make 3 horizontal (or vertical, if you want) layers of all 3 gravy subzis. You can keep white in the middle and can decorate it with a tomato flower or keep it simple too. (I used paneer cut in flower shape to decorate it).

All tasty things need some hard work and patience. So once you are done, just binge into the tasty treat ;P Do tell me how it was....

Walnut brownie with hot chocolate sauce n cold Ice cream

 Its been a while since I posted my last blog. It was our 'little bundle of joy-Neil' who kept us occupied all around him day and night. He was born in 1st week of January and now he is 5 months old. He has started to roll-poll; babble and gurgle etc. etc. Now that I had some time off from work, I tried upon a couple of recipes which I will be sharing with you.

Also I will share with you the baby's first foods which can be useful to first time moms. I will talk about all this in detail in my next blog.

Coming back to cooking, here's 1 of the stuffs I made.....

Yes, it is a sinful walnut brownie with hot chocolate sauce n cold Ice cream

Brownies make me forget about the calorie count and I go on galloping it with loads of cold ice cream...hmm it's yummy!! Thanks to Divya for the wonderful recepie (to which I did a very little experiment). Here's the recipe for you...

Recipe source - 1. DK of Chefinyou 

                       2. Divya from Divya's Cookbook 

 

Ingredients  

Flour - ½ cup
Baking powder – ¾ tsp
Salt – a pinch
Walnuts,chopped – 1 cup
Eggs, lightly beaten -2[or 4 egg whites]
Butter, melted – ¾ cup
Cocoa – 6 tbsp
Sugar – 1 cup
Vanilla extract – ½ tsp

Method

1. Preheat Oven 350F. Grease an 8 inch square shallow cake pan with wax paper. Mix the butter and cocoa in a pan and set aside.
2. Beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl.
3. Mix it along with cocoa mixture.
4. Stir in the nuts.
5. Sift over the flour and fold it along with the mixture.Add a pinch of salt and mix well.
6. Pour this mixture into the cake pan and bake for 20-35 minutes until risen. It will still look soft and wet but it will cook further while cooling. Let it sit to cool.

So now it's your turn to dig your teeth into this sinful brownie!! Do tell me how it was... :)