My Baby Food Recipes
The following are some things I cook for Dominic, starting with the most basic. Some of them are my
own (or from my mom). Some I learned from people who were kind enough to share with me. Yet
others are modification of other people's recipes.
I must apologise first because most of the recipes do not come with measurements for the ingredients.
I am a very imprecise cook and generally cook by estimation. A pinch of salt, a dash of sauce, that
kind of thing. I try my best to give you a feel of the proportion. But if you really need further
clarification, do email me.
I am an advocate of delaying the introduction of solids until 6 months of age. This is in line with the
American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) recommendation. Hence, my food for 'beginner' may be
suitable for 6 months old babies but may not be suitable for younger babies. However, every baby's
development is different so again, you have to use your own discretion.
Basic Brown Rice Cereal
This is the first brown rice cereal Dominic had when he first started solids. His first food. Simply add
milk, expressed breast milk, veggie puree, broth, or even ikan bilis powder, and serve.
½ cup short grain brown rice 2 + 1 cups water
1. Boil rice in water. After that simmer until very soft and reach porridge texture.
2. Puree cooked rice in blender, gradually adding 1 cup (can be more or less) of water until
reached desired texture.
3. Store in 50ml servings. Makes approximately 8 servings.
Rusks
Instead of buying rusk off the shelves, which often contains undesired amount of sugar and other
additives, why not make your own? It's easier than you thought and much cheaper!
Bread (even if a few days old, it's ok)
1. Cut bread into sticks of appropriate size.
2. Bake in oven on the lowest temperature setting for at least 1 - 1½ hours. It should be hard
but not burnt. Turn over after 30-45 minutes, if necessary.
3. Store in airtight container.
Puree Vegetables
Vegetables - almost any kind will do. You have to use your discretion as some may not be suitable for
this method.
1. Clean vegetables. Cut into small pieces.
2. Steam over stove fire; OR
3. Place vegetable pieces in microwavable containers, and add a little water. Cover and
microwave for about 5 minutes.
4. Puree, adding the water that was used to cook the vegetables.
5. Freeze into ice cubes for future use.
For older babies who do not need their food to be completely pureed, you can venture to shorten
cooking time (so that the veggies are not too soft) and simply chop up the cooked veggies with a knife.
Basic Chicken Stock
Chicken stock is my basic necessity, even for normal cooking. I will always have supply of frozen stock
in my freezer. It is also very useful for quick meals for busy mothers.
1 whole chicken, de-skinned, and fat removed 4 slices ginger
2-3 pieces dried abalone
1. Boil a pot of water and place chicken in for 2-3 minutes when the water is boiling. Remove
chicken and rinse off scum. Pour away the water.
2. Put all the ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low or Auto overnight.
3. Discard chicken, ginger and abalone. Skim off oil, if necessary.
4. Freeze for future use.
Mashed Potatoes
Potatoes, water (or stock, or expressed breast milk) Minced meat
Onions and garlic (chopped finely) Pureed Veggies.
1. Cook potatoes and mash them until smooth and soft, adding water that was used to cook the
potatoes, or stock.
2. If you use minced chicken, pork or beef - Fry the onion and garlic together with the meat until
fragrant. Add to the mashed potatoes.
3. Add pureed veggies to the mixture. Pureed green peas or pumpkin are a good choices as they
are sweet and will add to the overall flavour.
For older babies (except those allergic to dairy products), you can add melted butter into the potatoes
instead of water/stock.
Life-Saving, Quick & Easy Meal
This one is good when you forget to cook, or run out of ideas, time or ingredients. But you must have
ready supply of Quaker Instant Oat (not flavoured), stock or expressed breast milk and veggie cubes.
1. Add hot stock to the instant oat and stir until ready.
2. Add veggie cubes that have been thawed and heated up and stir.
3. For added flavour, add ikan bilis powder.
Pasta in Soup/Stew
You can either use soup that you cook for the family (before adding salt and other flavouring), or just
stock. Some good soup/stew to be used for this are minestrone, or just chicken soup with potatoes,
onion and carrots, and beef stew. You can either mash up the ingredients with a fork before feeding,
or like what I do for beef stew, put the stew through the blender for a few minutes.
For pasta, I recommend those 3-minute quick cook pasta because they are quick to cook and tend to be
softer than the regular pasta. Use smaller pasta instead of spagetti or linguine type of pasta which are
harder for you and your baby to manage. Alternatively, you can use 'mee suah' (cut up).
handful quick cook pasta 1 cup soup/stew (blended for younger babies)
1. Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packaging. For younger baby, you may want to
cook a bit longer so that the pasta is really soft.
2. If necessary, chop the cooked pasta into even smaller pieces.
3. Add to hot soup/stew. Cool a bit and serve.
Beef Stew (from Miriam Stoppard's New Baby Care Book)
I have my own beef stew recipe which I cook for my family and I will safe a portion (unseasoned) for
Dominic's consumption. However, it is much too complicated to introduce here as a baby food. So I
have copied Miriam Stoppard's recipes from her New Baby Care Book, in case anyone needs a beef stew
recipe.
250g stewing beef, cubed Garlic & Mixed Herbs
Flour 2 carrots, chopped Oil
2 medium potatoes 250ml stock 1 stick celery
1. Roll the meat in flour and brown in hot oil.
2. Add the stock and bring to a boil.
3. Add garlic, if desired, and the herbs. Simmer for an hour.
4. Add the vegetables and continue cooking until both meat and vegetables are tender.
5. Blend or chop up.
Porridge
Porridge is the staple of Chinese baby food. I have various version of porridge and have decided to do
a separate page on Porridge.
Tofu and Seaweed Soup
2½ cups Chicken stock 3 tbsp minced meat ½tbsp chopped green onion
1 egg 1 tablespoon dried seaweed (cut into tiny pieces with a pair of scissors)
1. Cook minced meat and tofu in chicken stock. When meat is cooked, add the seaweed and cook
for a few minutes more.
2. Bring soup to a boil and pour in the egg slowly and beat gently.
3. Simmer for a few minutes and season if necessary.
If you feel that there's not enough 'bulk', you can add a bit of rice (rice grains or leftover rice) and cook
like porridge.
Mashed Potatoes II
Potatoes, water (or stock, or expressed breast milk)
Minced beef Bell Pepper (chopped finely). Tomato (chopped finely).
1. Cook potatoes and mash them until smooth and soft, adding water that was used to cook the
potatoes, or stock.
2. Fry the veggies with the meat until fragrant. Add to the mashed potatoes.
For older babies (except those allergic to dairy products), you can add melted butter into the potatoes
instead of water/stock.
