Mum bought over a couple of bananas the other day and while Eva is not a big fan of them, she’ll eat them nonetheless – she likes fruits and veg, and for that, I’m always happy. Since it’s been a while since we’ve tried letting her self-feed with large pieces of fruit, I thought to let her hold onto the banana herself and see where she goes with it. Needless to say, it was rather funny to watch her…especially the end.

Mango buttermilk pancakes

SUITABLE FOR
Babies above 9 months (use only egg yolk) or toddlers (use whole egg)

Ingredients
Half of a large mango – pureed
1 1/2 cup regular flour*
1/4 cup wheatgerm
1 egg (yolk only for babies who have not been introduced to whole eggs)
Some buttermilk (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup depending on how tangy you want the pancake to taste)
Some milk – whole fat fresh milk is best
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp brown sugar/molasses

* You can use buckwheat, rye, spelt or other flours, even organic and/or wholegrain flour – just be prepared for it to taste different from normal white flour pancakes.

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, add in the flour, wheatgerm, sugar and baking powder before stirring to incorporate them well.
2. Add in the mango puree and egg before slowly adding in the buttermilk while stirring. Add in some milk if the batter is too thick. Do not overbeat at this stage or you’ll end up with tough pancakes – it’s okay to have some lumps. You want the batter to be fluid but not runny like water. The consistency should be like commercial low-fat yoghurt.
3. In a non-stick pan, coat the surface with a small cube of butter (optional) and heat on medium-low heat. When the pan is ready, test by moving your hand close to the surface – DO NOT TOUCH unless you fancy a burnt palm. If it feels hot, you’re ready to start cooking up your pancakes.
4. Take a ladle full of the batter and pour onto the surface of the pan. Leave to cook until bubbles form AND dry up leaving a “holey” surface (about three minutes or slightly more).
5. Gently flip over and cook the other side for a minute before removing from the pan. Repeat until the batter is all used up.
6. Serve warm on its own OR with some fresh fruit mash/puree as a sauce (yes, even though it already has some fruit in it). For toddlers who are fine with honey or jam, you can opt to serve it with those or even chocolate syrup! Great for adults too!

STORAGE NOTES
You can opt to store these in freezer-safe containers like glass or Tupperware. I usually store them after they are no long steaming hot but still quite warm to the touch. Do not wait for food items to cool completely or reach room temperature as this increases the chances of contamination and bacteria growth. Keep for up to three months but best to consume within a month.

SPECIAL NOTES
If you have cookie cutters, you can cut up these pancakes into shapes after you have removed them from the pan. They’ll definitely dress up your kiddo’s plate and makes food all the more interesting! As you can see above, I have mine cut out to resemble gingerbread men!

Eva is a late bloomer when it comes to standing and crawling but that’s because cautious babies (like her) tend to take things slower; I guess they just go at it at their own pace and see no point in rushing through things. But once she gets a hang of it, she just loves doing it over and over again as you will see in the two videos below.

A while back, many people back home (in Malaysia) were talking about car safety for children. Just some background information; car seats are not compulsory in Malaysia and as such, many people just belt up their children or toddlers and carry babies in their arms. I have come across people who seat their children on their laps in the front seat – passenger and once, driver as well (it was a grandfather and his grandchild). I have seen a small Kancil crammed full with four adults with a child on their lap each. It is no wonder that when accidents occur, if there are children in the car, they were surely either die or end up critically injured.

I couldn’t understand the rational behind not using a car seat. People were willing to pay hundreds for things like acne treatment and spas but would forgo the money for a car seat. So after reading a letter published by a safety association in Malaysia (calling for tighter laws and for parents to use the car seat), I decided to share my viewpoints. Note that it’s the same here in Singapore, although of lesser degree. As usual, my letter got chopped off so here’s the full piece:

Dear Editor,

I was very happy to see the letter “Vital to belt up the little ones” and would like to add on further to what has been said.

Nearly a year ago, I moved from Switzerland to Singapore, and consequently closer to Malaysia where my parents are. With me in tow was my French husband and my one month old daughter. We didn’t own a car then and we still don’t own a car. But we never fail to put her in a car seat whenever we can, be it in a taxi or a bus. We have been asked many times before to take her out of the car seat and stroller when we board the bus but we always refuse. Reason being that if anything were to happen, my daughter is safer in her car seat than out of it.

My husband comes from a country where car seats are mandatory by law and for a good reason. So we had a mini culture shock when we arrived in Singapore/Malaysia to sights of children unbelted in the back seat to babies being held by passengers in the front seat.

Here, many new parents and even new grandparents always forgo the car seat because they feel that their baby will be uncomfortable or that it’s too expensive. The most common excuse that we’ve heard is “It’s just a short ride”. It is frustrating to see this sort of behaviour in parents who will go on to mould our future generation. What these parents are doing is nothing short of a gamble and a very pricey gamble where the stakes is the life of your own child.

New parents often leave the car seat behind and opt to carry newborns when they leave the hospital for that first trip home. Their reason is because their babies will be uncomfortable or that they don’t get enough neck support. A car seat has been designed to keep your newborn safe and comfortable – not either one. If you were slam on the brakes for whatever reason, your baby would have more neck support in the seat than if they were in your arms.

The older generation will often forgo the use of car seats because they are too expensive, “it’s just a short ride” or “you’ve never had to use them and you’re fine” but fail to realize that when we were growing up, there were less cars and consequently, less bad drivers on the road. The amount you spend may be a lot but car seats are meant to last for a number of years so it’s actually worth the investment. Plus it’s cheaper than paying for the hospital bills should anything happen. There is never such a thing as “just a short ride” – you can end up making a detour here and there. Also, anything can happen within that second; I have seen accidents happened within a short stretch of 100m so what more 3 km?

Other parents chide the excuse that their children bawl and wail once they are in the car seat so they let them into cars without one. They fail to understand that you need to start training your children from young to sit in a car seat and that means starting from birth. If you’re just starting now, it’s great but it’ll take some time and that’s where you come in as a disciplinarian. Most parenting books regarding discipline tells you that while you may opt to relax some rules, there are some which just cannot be bend and these are often those regarding safety like holding your child’s hand while crossing the road and using a car seat. What message are you sending to your child about their safety?

New parents need to understand that putting your child in a car seat is not just about safety. It is about teaching your child some responsibility and discipline. My husband’s nephew and niece were in car seats up till the recommended age – around six – and even though they are hyperactive children who cannot sit still, they know that once they are in a car seat, it’s time to belt up and sit down. In fact, his niece at nearly four years old, would refuse to go anywhere in a car without her car seat; she would take the car seat from the garage and place it in the car before climbing in. Can we say the same proudly for any of our children?

Any child’s life is never worth the gamble and the risk, so why are we playing this deadly game?

Sincerely,
Mabel TEOH
Singapore

** Cross-posted on the main blog **

Cheesy carrot scramble eggs

SUITABLE FOR
Babies above 9 months (only the yolk) or toddlers (whole egg)

Ingredients
Two eggs (use only the yolk unless your child is already okay with whole eggs)
Half a medium-large carrot (peeled and wash)
Cheese (hard cheese like cheddar, Edam, Gouda or mozarella is good)
Fresh milk

Method

1. Crack two eggs and mix in a bowl. If your kiddo can only take egg yolks, then you’ll have to separate the yolk from the white first.
2. Grate the carrot and cheese into the egg yolk mix before adding about 20 to 50ml of milk.
3. Using a non-stick pan, fry everything – scramble is the term – until cooked.
4. Serve as it or with pasta, veg and even rice.

STORAGE NOTES
You could make these for storage but again, they are fast to put together so I prefer to make these fresh.

I made this a while back with some frozen veg cubes after having been inspired by European styled hearty vegetable soups that my mother-in-law loves to make. While she uses vegetable stock, I decided to dig into my freezer stash of purees since I was short of time (rushing back from work, etc) and made it creamier than the adult version by adding in fresh milk. Croutons gave it that little bit of texture plus made it seem all the more “grown-up”! Verdict? Eva loved them – the sweetness of the vegetable, the creamy texture of the soup coupled with the yummy croutons were simply delicious! Plus it’s quick to put together! Feel free to try this with other veg combinations (leek, carrots, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini, etc).

Broccoli, sweet corn and potato soup with wholemeal croutons

SUITABLE FOR
Babies above 9 months or toddlers

Ingredients
Vegetable (in this case, broccoli, sweet corn and potato)
Fresh milk
Some bread (wholemeal is preferred)
Butter (for the bread)

Method

1. Peel, wash and cube the vegetables before steaming them for at least 10 minutes. Puree and use the leftover water (from steaming) if needed. Retain a good three to four tablespoons of puree (depends on how much your kiddo eats) for the soup and store the rest in the freezer for future use. If you’re using puree from the freezer/fridge, reheat using a microwave.
2. Add about 50ml of fresh milk (or more/less, depending on how liquidy you’d like the soup to be).
3. Toast some bread and spread on some butter for added flavour and once done, tear them into bite size or cube them, whichever is easier for you.
4. Add the croutons into the soup and mix before serving it to your kiddo.

STORAGE NOTES
I would make extra cubes of vegetable puree for storage and only assemble the rest (milk, croutons) when I need to make this dish as it’s quick to put together.