A Tip on Your Child's Nutrition: How to Sustain Interest in Milk?

About a month back, Jada and I were treated to a talk and some good time with Wyeth's S26 Mama Club. I know it may be stale news on the event but I think the content on nutrition and how you can make giving milk continuously to your toddler interesting and yummy is a topic that would never be outdated.

the apple of my eye...

Curious Kids Need To Be Tough Inside

supposedly written by Jada Kyra

Mommy has been busy with work. So, before the deadline's up, let me write this entry on how mommy help increase my immune system so that I can continue to be curious with the entire world... after all, I am only 17 months old and I still have a lot to discover! :)

Curious kids can be a handful... and who would know this better than I do - I am curious all the time! I would peek into abang's lunch plate as I would always see Mickey Mouse in it; I would want to touch the vacuum cleaner when daddy is handling it because I am always intrigued by the loud sound it makes; I would want to taste everything adults eat because my food always tastes quite the same; I would check in mommy constantly in the kitchen because I find it hard to understand what she does in there; I like to shake any water bottles because it is amazing seeing and hearing water being shaken; I would want to touch everything mommy or daddy touches because I want to feel the difference in the texture; and the list goes on and on... Sometimes, I pity my mom because I would catch her by surprise with my speedy actions but I am just a curious baby... and curious babies need to be tough inside.

Being curious is a good thing because that is how I learn about things... I learn how painful it is if I do not get up slowly from under the table because I can accidentally knock my head; I know better not to touch those shiny pots on the stove because they feel hot to the touch and I can get hurt if I touch them; I know that if I do not get out of the elevator quickly, the doors will close and I'll be trapped; I know that if I press that switch outside our door, the bell will ring; and I know that the vacuum cleaner is dirty because mommy would always clean my hands after I touched it.

But how does mommy and my family really help boost my immune system?

First and foremost, what can really toughen me up is the fact that mommy really feeds me well. She works hard to prepare nutritious home-cooked meals for me and I liked that this enables her to pick only the freshest ingredients, and prepare it in the cleanest environment possible - all in the comfort of her favourite kitchen. The lack of preservatives and only natural ingredients, coupled with yummy nutritious milk, help strengthen my antibodies in fighting viruses that would usually infect cute babies like me.

What a lot of people do not consider which I deem highly important apart from nutrition, is LOVE. I am fortunate to be loved by everyone around me. Mommy loves me dearly, daddy would do anything for me and abang has waited so long for my arrival. I am raised in a happy family and this feeling makes me feel good about myself. When I feel good, my immune system gets stronger. When there is so much love, the environment makes everything so positive and I can face the world, while I continue being curious as I know my family will try to make my experience pleasant and away from harm.

Next, adults are aware that exercise keep sickness at bay. For me, I need my play sessions. I love to play. Playing makes me happy, playing makes me discover new things and by playing, I get to hear myself talk and laugh, while making everyone else happy when they see how adorable I look from me talking gibberish language. The play sessions can hinder me from going after things that can harm me as I get to focus on beautiful colours and toys suitable for babies my age. Within this controlled environment, not only will I be able to learn new things quickly, my antibodies are also strengthened as I feel happy from the sense of achievements I get in the play sessions.

Next, is another point that is pretty broad and quite important for a growing baby like me. I need to be happy at all times. When I am happy, I make everyone else happy!

Mommy always ensure that I am happy in her care. The things that she does and the environment I am in, I must be one of the happiest babies on earth (even though I can be a pain sometimes hehe). Well, they did call me a pwincesh. Therefore, I am entitled to making things a little difficult for mommy and daddy so that I could see how much they love me. Happiness is such a powerful feeling because it makes everything feels good while my inner being becomes stronger.

Then, there is that proper rest. Being a curious baby is tiring work! I would want to walk here and there, climb up and down and learn up new tricks. I always need proper sleep so that my body is able to rest so that my mind is fresh to get curiosity working well again :) Mommy and daddy always ensured that I take my afternoon naps and during night time, my bed and room is made up so cozily to help me sleep longer and better. I also like that I have friends to keep me company while I sleep so that I feel safe and secure. When I wake up fresh, I feel good, my body feels good and my antibodies remain tough.

Once I am up and fresh, it is good to let me continue to explore. From there, I would learn from the adults what I can and cannot do. I will learn to refrain from touching dangerous stuff when I hear the word, "No", and have fun exploring other harmless experiences. I gain self-confidence, I am not afraid to face the outside world and I do not get awkward when introduced to new things. Exploring my curiosities can help expand my vision and keep me happy. And you all know that when I am happy, my body responds better to fighting illnesses. This is also why I am helping mommy to do up this blog entry... I know that the Nuffnang Friso Family day out at Kizsports 1Utama will allow me to explore more new things. So far, mommy has done a great job in nurturing positive traits in me but getting an invite to this event can help her learn more new tricks to keep me happy. And you all know my capabilities when I am happy :D

Just because I am a baby, that doesn't mean I don't need any mental stimulation. Mommy and daddy read to me, and teach me to read as well. Right now, I may only be interested to see those colourful pictures and illustrations in the children's books but I know I will read soon. Mommy and daddy would also place me in the shopping cartwheel while they continue to add items in the cart. From there, I get to see the items mommy use at home and familiarise myself with them. Who knows... I may even be calculating in my head the number of items! Mommy also let me play with the rubic's cube. Who knows... I can probably solve it in due time haha... All these keep me occupied while my curious apetite is further fulfilled. When I become smarter, my antibodies get smarter too. And I become a tougher baby when I am smarter.

Mommy also ensure I get my healthy dose on social interaction abilities. My curious mind need to include other babies as well, so that my learning experience become more complete. From here, I will learn basic communications skills and practise good habits so that friends will not run away from me. I also need friends who can help me to fight illnesses together, no? Can we combine antibodies? Oh, mommy said, "No". Well, I do not really know how antibodies really work but I do know that when I am with friends, I become active, I learn things better due to the encouragement I get from them, and this keeps me happy. And you all know how much stronger I get to be when I am happy :)

And while I satisfy my thirst to learn and try out new things, mommy never forget to teach me discipline. It is never too early to teach a baby like me, discipline... that includes putting me in my high chair during meals, strapping me in my very own car seat before we go anywhere and if I am extra naughty, I would walk over to the corner to reflect on what I did that made mommy upset. The discipline can help build character and prevent unnecessary incidents. I will know when I can explore my curiosities and when I should sit still while I enjoy the view from my eyes. Therefore, my body gets stronger and my immune system is ready to withstand illnesses.

Other than those listed above, there are so much more that can be done but as a baby, these are the only things that I can remember for now. If you extend an invitation to my family, to the Nuffnang Friso Family day out, I can even reveal other details on how mommy helps me increase my immunity. For now, I would like to satisfy my curiosity in a book abang is supposed to read to me. Bye bye!

Annabel Karmel's Puree Recipe - cooking after a long vacation.

I have been extremely lazy with my updates. Since returning from our vacation, there has been way too many things to document and I just don’t know where to start…

All I can say is that the vacation was a much overdue one for me… my last break was in November 2007 when I was already in my very early pregnancy and didn’t even know it. From then on, it was work, work and work for me non-stop as compared to my usual habit of taking a short break twice a year from work.

I was afraid about the flight to London since I was all on my own… but my worries were unfounded as little jj behaved extremely well… of course, there would be those restless moments here and there, I mean who wouldn’t, right? Even an adult wouldn’t be able to sit still for a full 12 ½ hours flight. But she was alright… she slept when she’s supposed to, played on her own in her bassinet, sat in the bassinet nicely while I fed her the 2 meals given on board… and best of all, she let me ate peacefully when my meal came. There were not much interruptions from her except during those times she was awfully restless and I had to play Toy Story on the in-flight screen over and over again just so that she could focus on something instead of crying for no apparent reason.

But, if you were to ask me to do it again, I might hesitate… I wouldn’t be twice lucky and I think that belief may be true since little jj gave us a whole lotta nightmare during the flight home… it was either that her daddy was present and she knew there was an extra set of hands to take care of her, or she was very insecure with the darkness throughout the flight (as the flight home was a night flight). She barely slept 2 hours in 2 occasions, but that was also contributed by that drug we got from her paediatrician for her to relax during the long haul flight. So, basically, all throughout the balance of 10 hours when she's awake, I could clearly hear her crying and screaming in daddy’s arms while all I could do was to get better quick - I fell sick immediately as I board the plane and my body temperature shot up in an instant. Everytime I felt better, I took her away from daddy and all she wanted to do was to hold on to me.

It was truly very tiring.

little jj's bad hair day - 10hours of crying, screaming and struggling

while sweating profusely once we touched down at KLIA

But, despite her usual nature of not trusting strangers and unfamiliar environment, she warmed up instantly to London’s cold air and allowed us to toughen her up by taking her out almost an entire day, every day thru the entire week of our stay… I fed her where ever we decide to take a rest from our journeys that she has somehow gotten used to being fed out of the comfort of her home instead of every time wanting her usual chair and that familiar environment at home.

little jj and abang noah, warming up with the battle

of the pacifier, just after we reached their home in London.

I guess that vacation somehow wasn’t just a good one for me but brought out the best in her as well.

For more details on our vacation, I would rather let little jj update her blog, yah ;D soon… she says ;P (update: little jj has updated her blog)

When we got home, I got busy with unpacking and doing the laundry in so many batches… there were those of the one’s from the pile at home, those from the trip, my clothes, little jj’s worn clothes and little jj’s new clothes. I practically only managed to finish everything in 4 days! It helped a lot that my parents were kind enough to volunteer taking care of the little munchkin that day we arrived so that we could all get our rest.

Then, there was cooking for little jj as her puree stock has either depleted or expired and so I turned to Annabel Karmel again for the next phase of puree recipes – 9-12 months.

As we all recovered from jet lag (with little jj affected the worst), I could only prepare them purees after 10pm with only 2 days to whip up her food as the home made chicken stock could only last for 48 hours in the fridge. With jet lag, and a baby who’s cranky all the time, coupled with bags and stuff strewn on the floor of our living room, cooking 2-3 types of food after 10pm was a chore for me. But, we’ve all lost weight from the amount of walking that we’ve done, and I just had to take that step so that we could stuff little jj back to her normal baby fatness (eheh!).

So… as you’re all always eager to see what I whipped for little jj, enjoy the photos….

First, there was that 'First spaghetti Bolognese' which I didn't manage to take any pictures since it was already after midnight when it was ready and I was dead tired. I only made one meal the first day due to tiredness...

Next was...

Yummylicious 2: Carrot, cheese and tomato risotto

clockwise from top: onions, tomato, rice, carrots & chicken stock

not in picture: cheese & unsalted butter

Yummylicious 3: Creamy chicken & vegetables

clockwise from top: all-purpose flour, milk, button mushrooms,

carrots & chicken stock (onions at center)

not in pix: vegetable oil, cooked chicken & cheese

the result...

Yummylicious 4: Tasty chicken Bolognese

clockwise from top: chicken, chicken stock, onions & garlic,

grated carrots, dried thyme on spoon, tomatoes in a can

not in pix: olive oil, pasta

as usual, i used alphabeto for the pasta hehe...

Yummylicious 5: Chicken with tomato & rice

clockwise from top: chicken, tomatoes in a can (cooked rice on top of can),

chicken stock, carrots, potatoes, apple juice, onions & garlic

the result...

More to be made this week - which entails fish and lotsa vege...

my little cookie in the jar... a tough cookie indeed.

don't i look better now?? mommy had just trimmed my fringe...

Annabel Karmel inspired: Yes, anyone can cook!

Yup... I have been one busy woman the last couple of weeks... Alhamdulillah... a few jobs came pouring in, one after another and my schedule looks pretty tight til early April.

This weekend was a mad one due to this sudden hecticness, coupled with the fact that little jj's puree stock and pounded fried anchovies are depleting. So... while finishing up this financial translation job due for tomorrow, I had to juggle precious time for my precious pwincesh's tummy needs ;P

And since it is already 2.45am right now, I guess I'll just tease you with some yummy pictures of Annabel Karmel's delicious recommendations... a continuation from the previous puree adventure!

It all started with the basic - preparing chicken stock before other yummy meals can be prepared, and fried anchovies (without oil) for that extra natural saltish taste to add to little jj's every meal.

Then, the rest of them came...

Yummylicious 1 - Eat Your Greens

It's main ingredients are potato, peas, broccoli and spinach.

I have to tell you that it tastes sooo delicious, surprisingly. Much better than the last spinach recipe I made in the last puree adventure.

The next few meals have similar colours when they are pureed since they all contain carrots... lots and lotsa carrots.

Yummylicious 2 - Mini Minestrone

This recipe wasn't a planned one. But as I was preparing the rest, I thought the recipe looked so simple and I had all the ingredients for it.

What I like best about this recipe is that it reminds me of my best friend, Sue, out there far away with her hubby in Abu Dhabi... whenever we'd meet up at Dome, she would usually order Minestrone Soup... in a way, she was the one who introduced me to this delicious meal. And now, I thought it would be lovely for little jj to have her first taste of it too ;D

the best part is, mommy went a little overboard by using
alphabet pasta hehe... with hopes that little jj will be reading
in no time since she has eaten up all the alphabets ;P


Yummylicious 3 - Chicken with leek, carrot & peas



since little jj loves chicken, i had to make sure i try another
variety...


Yummylicious 4 - Braised beef with carrot and potatoes



actually, the recipe includes parsnip and sweet potatoes but
parsnip is a little difficult to find and little jj doesn't quite
like sweet potatoes. so, i've eliminated them from here.


Yummylicious 5 - Fillet with carrot, cheese and tomato

I was mighty surprised with this recipe... the fish fillet is cooked separately in the microwave with just additional unsalted butter and milk but it came out tasting so delicious, even on its own! This gave me an inspiration in case I am lazy to cook in the future, just chuck in that fish into a dish, take some chopped onions and a few bits of peppercorn for additional taste, milk and butter... in 3-4 minutes on high and walah... a creamy tasting fish...

Yummylicious 6 - Salmon surprise

salmon dipped in orange juice with cheese spread on top...
doesn't it look the same as the picture in the book?

I didn't do all of them within a day because that would be really crazy. They were all spread throughout the weekend, with the last one just completed around 1am earlier today. I'd want to prepare one more dish but I am out of carrots... hehe.

mommy, the alphabets in the mini minestrone will be
blended into a puree... how do you expect me to
read the alphabets...

I am still wide awake from that dose of strong coffee but I think I shall head to bed soon. Nighty nite.

Annabel Karmel Inspired: Really, anyone can cook!

I have plenty to update but not much energy to write ;P so, I guess I'll just post some pictures of my 'interesting' adventure last long weekend (in addition to the previous 2 photos posted earlier) while I rest and try to catch my breath (yup, believe it or not, I still haven't caught proper breaths since the last weekend)...

Tadaaaa...

yummylicious 3

spinach, leek, potato & carrot + homemade chicken stock


yummy delicious topped with fatty creamy after-taste
from the unsalted butter used to saute the leek.


yummylicious 4


apple and peach (the recipe has strawberry added but
madame dearest eliminated it from the list for fear of allergy risks)


tantalising and juicy. strawberries can be added when little jj's a little older


yummylicious 5


chicken, apple and sweet potato


for little jj's first taste of chicken


yummylicious 6


carrots, potato & corn


placed next to the spinach-leek-potato-carrot puree

6 yummylicious weaning tastes, delicious enough even for us adults. I am especially surprised at how tasty the spinach concoction tasted. The little munchkin even licked his bowl. Suddenly, I was inspired to improvise the recipe for a creamy, tasty spinach soup ;D

Chech, I think I probably am ready for a puree party... only that it would be down-sized as puree-tasting session hehe.

And Sherie, don't worry... anyone really can cook since you don't need to measure the amount of salt or those little little things adults always want to have in their meals. These are really simple recipes and the unsalted butter giving you such nice aroma.

I am so glad that my next puree adventure will be repeated not until another 3-4 weeks. I'm tired still.

Hmmm... madame is thirsty. mebbe madame could curi a cube
or two of those nice looking mango cubes from little jj's stock and
add some of those live full fat natural yogurt >:)

Anyone Can Cook!

...as taken from Chef Gusteau's catchphrase in Ratatouille.

More and more puree this long weekend, starting with just 2 today.

top ice-cube pack: tomato & cauliflower gratin
bottom ice-cube pack: mango puree

TRIVIA: how does one peel the outer skin of a tomato??
if you don't already know it, Annabel Karmel gave really
cool instructions. i was awed...

And since I don't want to turn this blog into a cooking blog, 'little jj' shall provide the details in her blog ;P

Food for thought.

I don't know about you mommies out there but during my recent visit to Cold Storage, I was looking for the below item...

the farley's rusks we all used to grow up with
(image from a thai website)

but found this instead...

like really??

Yes, I was shocked at my finding and was quick in looking around similar packages next to it. I mean, at RM17+ for a box of 9, I wondered if Farley's Rusks were ever that pricey... gosh... I really couldn't remember since it has been more than 10 years since I last bought them.

I saw Milna Rusks, and I saw Pureen baby biscuits but only this Farley's Rusks - in 2 range, Original and Reduced Sugar.

Since I didn't have time to look around and buy time as little jj's lunch time was coming near, I quickly took the box and not think too much of it. All I could think of was it was probably an imported pack.

Later that day, I picked up the one at the lrt and upon arriving home, I told him about it.

Here is something really funny I'd like to share with you about my loving husband... one thing about him that you simply can't shake off is his ability to always answer any questions even if he really doesn't have the right answer to the question. He could be so convincing that I used to even doubt my own knowledge on things ;P

He said to me that there are many 'farley's rusks' around and I shouldn't have chosen the imported version... he even named Milna as one of them when I knew very well that Milna's product is named, Milna Rusks. Even if I am not en expert in baby food, with a background in branding, I knew that logically, there should only be one Farley's.

And the one being the one, he'd usually start googling after he has given a convincing answer ;D

We actually found out that Heinz bought over Farley's a long time ago... more than 10 years but they only did the re-packaging a few years back. Heh... I just know this now.

Anyways, little jj seems to really love them. I have fed her along with my milk but she also enjoys them even when mixed with plain boiled water.

And she seems to get hungry easily since she usually only finishes less than half of the ice-cube portion of them carrots/potato + cauliflower/apples/pears/etc. As a mommy, my motherly instincts kinda tell me that her night cries may not only be due to her teething, but probably also due to some craving for food before her early bedtime.

Although the one was discouraging me for fear of over-feeding and moi defying the advise from Annabel Karmel, I still strongly feel that I wouldn't be over-feeding her since her food intake is according to her stomach capacity. I've never forced food down on her when she couldn't finish her portion and I end her meal time with breastmilk. Therefore, I believe she is consuming the right amount, just enough to fill her tummy.

As of last 3 nights, I started adding those rusks to her diet, pinching only 1/3 of the digestives and mixing them with water. The one saw how much it changed her moods at night. She'd always go cranky before bedtime but once she was feeling full, she either slept easily or she could just play on her own quietly, not bothering any of us for us to pick her up.

I actually bought the rusks as finger food since she's already picking up things and stuffing every little things into her mouth. But then again, I really shouldn't encourage feeding her everytime she stuffs her face because I am a little paranoid when I see photos of slightly overweight little girls posted on albums in facebook.

How does one really control food intake in infants?

I've googled on the net on how many times I should really feed my baby but there is no right or wrong answers found.

When I reviewed what I give little jj, I would like to believe that I've been feeding her a healthy diet. I mean half an ice-cube portion of carrots or potatoes or apples, etc. at every meal time does sound pretty healthy to me. But instead of 2 meals a day, I'm feeding her 3 meals a day... but they are still healthy food, I think.

Well, her next doctor's appointment is due this Sunday. Let's see what he says about it.

Jada's first taste of food was indeed an adventure!

Little jj has gotten the first taste of food.

I started out with carrots simply because that was what I first fed my little munchkin when he started weaning. The experience though, felt different. Although the little munchkin had a knack for vegetables, his little sister doesn't look that keen.

though not that keen, she did look like she enjoyed the experience...

I guess I shouldn't judge her keen-ness simply because she only ate a small portion and cried for me to stop feeding her more. It may be a normal thing as every baby shows different developmental signs.

Well, I'll keep trying.

Her blog has been updated (hehe...).

Annabel Karmel inspired: colourful baby purees!

Top: sweet potato / broccoli

Middle: potato + cauliflower (didn't measure right... made too many portions)

Bottom: carrot / potato + cauliflower, again

Home-made fresh baby food in ice-cube packs.

I did that today in the late afternoon. Took two hours... for the whole thing - peeling, chopping, steaming & blending. Now I am extremely tired.

Next time, I'll not get overly excited and learn to do it sitting down ;P

I still have not done her rice porridge and apples as I do not have enough ice-cube packs. Will do that tomorrow. Maybe.

A new adventure for little jj tomorrow *wink* (definitely a new adventure for me as well). And I may need the energy.

Again, I am t-i-r-e-d. Gonna head on to bed in awhile.