pa pa ya!

Sya's grandpa Atuk Rahim is a very smart man. Smart as in he is good with numbers. Infact I love going to Tescos with him becoz he economically calculates which is more worth your money's buy. Abah as I fondly call him, has a built in calculator in his head.

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Suprising, he didnt come from a wealthy family, sometimes food was hard to find (my late grandpa was only a rubbertapper) but was amongs the first in his village to go to university.



I notice my grandma loves to plant fruit and veges at her back garden...so I did a little reading here and there and found that IRON played a major role in learning, memory and thinking functions. I will make a later post on this as the article I found was very very helpful.

I noticed as well that my dad had a very very personal liking for Papayas. He would squeeze some lime juice on them for breakfast. Lucky for him, he has this BOUNTYFUL Papaya Tree right at the back of his house.



My grandma also said that she had sometimes mashed them up to give them as baby food. I gave them to Liya when she was growing up, and definately she has very very good memory and thinking skills. Back then 8 years ago, I didnt have any internet access for my cause, but knew it was a good source of vitamin C.

I googled somemore (of course I live by the motto "you are what you eat") and found these

"Excellent food for children because it is important for their growth."
http://www.health2know.com/papaya-goodness/

"It is an excellent source of Vitamin A, C, E, Folic Acid, Potassium, Copper, Beta-Carotene, Calcium, Phosphorous, Iron and Fiber!"
http://hungryzone.com/index.php/detailed-health-tip-article/20/Benefits-of-papaya

Because there is Vitamin C, I am not afraid about the absoption of nonheme Iron it contains.
"On the other hand, the absorption of iron from plants (nonheme iron) is enhanced when vitamin C is simultaneously present in the diet, and calcium absorption is improved by adequate amounts of vitamin D."
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1130543/nonheme-iron

More on nonheme Iron and the use of Vitamin C for enhanced absorbtion here :http://ibdcrohns.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/fdairon.htm

At least now I have a pretty good reason to give Sya Papayas. And Papayas are sooooo cheap..what more reason should there be.

Last week Sya gratuated from Papaya with honours. Alhamdulillah, no allergic reaction after having only steamed papaya for lunch using the 4 day rule.

Since it is only advisable to give raw ripe papaya at the age of 6 months, I decided to steam them until they are soft for a good 3-5 minutes (not to long so that the nutrients are well kept).

I had fun with papaya definately...easy to prepare and delicious - yes I taste them, after all our kids are still HUMAN.

My version of PA PA YA!

1. Peel the skin first.




2. Cut whole papaya into half





3. The black seeds needs to be remove and the white bits needs to be scraped off.




4. Cut into cubes.



5. Steam for a good 3-5 minutes until soft. Pureed and strain to get rid of impurities and maybe big bits.

Why no salt?

Can I put salt in my baby's food? This will also include the ever famous ikan bilis

I've just reviewed a good article about why we should not give salt or anything salty to babies who are weaning and starting solids.

You should not add salt to your baby's food in the first year as this may damage her kidneys. At this age, your baby's kidneys are not mature enough to handle the salt loading. Besides, salt exists naturally in the foods you feed your baby.

In the first six months of life your baby needs less than 1g of salt per day, which she will usually obtain from breastmilk or formula milk. Between seven and 12 months this increases slightly to around 1g. Toddlers aged one to three years need less than 2g (this is the equivalent of 0.8g sodium per day).

To stay within these recommendations you should aim to:
• limit salty foods in your baby's diet
• don't add salt during cooking
• avoid processed foods, such as ready meals, pies, biscuits, crackers, soups, gravies, sauces, pizza, tinned vegetables, cheese, bacon and crisps, which are all very high in salt, and offer low-salt alternatives.

Foods made specifically for babies, such as jar foods and infant cereals, have a low salt content, as salt is not added during processing. These should not be confused with foods aimed at older children. These can be highly processed and have a high salt content and are therefore not suitable for your baby.

If you do choose to offer your baby or toddler high-salt foods, it is recommended that you only offer small amounts occasionally.

Salt is usually labelled as sodium on food labels: 1g of sodium is equivalent to 2.55g of salt. Read food labels carefully and aim to choose those foods with a sodium content of no more than 0.1g of sodium per 100g.

Suitable low-salt foods for your baby include fruit, vegetables and salad, plain meat, poultry and fish, eggs, pulses and milk. Whether they are fresh, tinned or frozen shouldn't make a difference as long as they have no added salt (tinned vegetables often have salt added so be especially careful to check these). Rice and dried pastas are also low in salt provided they have had no salt added during cooking. Make a habit of reading food labels, and you will soon get to know which are the most suitable foods to buy.

Reviewed by Dr Tan Siew Pin

p/s best to rendam dulu the ikan bilis to get rid of lebihan garam...its much better

Mommy Have You Gone Bananas?

Cavendish Bananas

If you're not sure of which bananas to use, I tried Cavendish bananas (pisang montel) and they worked fine for homemade baby food.
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Used the same technique as I do, but this time was just steaming. I remembered how much I love my mom's lempeng pisang (banana pancakes) so hopefully this is a good start for Sya.



Its simple, cut the bananas into small pieces, place them in the your steamer container (mine is china bowls coz they are hear resistant) and steam them until soft. Place is grinder or food mixer, adding a bit of boiling water to the desired consistency.

I strain them because bananas do contain seeds, so just to make the purees free of any particles.