Deluxe Baby Porridge

Deluxe Baby Porridge pictures (1 of 3)

I haven’t posted new baby recipes for a while but a good friend finally motivated me to do so. She has been cooking the sweet potato porridge for her daughter and can’t wait for my new baby recipes. So, here is my deluxe baby porridge recipe that I have been making for Baby G since he was 7 months old.

It’s called deluxe baby porridge because I have added many nutritious and delicious ingredients to the porridge: protein (you can use chicken, ground pork, fish, or beef), dried scallop (the secret ingredient in Chinese cooking that makes food extra yummy), silver fish or baby anchovy (which is loaded with calcium), potato (sweet potato or regular Russet potato or Yukon Gold), squash (I love pumpkin, kabocha, or butternut squash), vitamin C (tomato, broccoli florets, green beans, carrots), and onion. Onion has many medicinal benefits and stimulates good appetite. I also add an egg yolk towards the end of the cooking because Baby G doesn’t like formula.

Believe it or not, Baby G has been eating this same porridge for over 6 months (he is now 13 months) and he never gets bored; in fact, he eats more and more each day because he is now an active walker! This recipe is very versatile because you can change the combinations I proposed above: use a different protein every day, change your potato, squash, and vitamin C and you have many variations. For me, the silver fish, dried scallop, and onion always stay because of the great flavors they lend to the porridge. Please take note that the dried scallops are quite expensive but if you do get it, buy the small dried scallops (slightly bigger than a dime), preferably from Japan. It’s hard to swallow so I always remove it from the porridge before I blend it.

If you have never fed your baby all the ingredients in this recipe, always start by introducing one ingredient at a time until you’re sure that your baby doesn’t have any allergy reactions to the ingredients. As Baby G grows, I slowly introduce new ingredients to his porridge. His new favorite is corn kernel, which adds a subtle sweetness to the taste. So experiment with the recipe and find your baby’s favorite combinations. In any case, I can assure you that this porridge tastes very good, so much so you won’t mind eating it, too.

Happy feeding!

(Click Page 2 for the Deluxe Baby Porridge Recipe)

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Basic Baby Porridge

Baby Porridge pictures (1 of 3)

I have been feeding Baby G porridge since he was about 5 months old. He still eats porridge every day, twice daily, and he just loves it. He can finish 1 cup to 1.5 cups of porridge every meal!

I started introducing porridge to him a few weeks after feeding him sweet potato puree. Knowing that he loves sweet potato, I know exactly what he wants in his porridge so my basic baby porridge is the combination of rice, sweet potato, and water.

This baby porridge is very versatile. You can be very creative and replace the sweet potato with regular potato, carrot, pumpkin, kabocha (aka Japanese pumpkin), or butternut squash. If your baby has just started on solid food, you want to slowly introduce him to new ingredients so as to avoid food allergy. Start by testing one ingredient, and then move on to the next. This way, you can also find out which combination he likes the most.

As Baby G doesn’t like formula, my pediatrician told me to add an egg yolk to his food after he was six months old. Please take note that some babies develop allergy reactions to egg whites so consult your doctor when to introduce eggs to your baby. 

I am going to share my deluxe baby porridge recipe with you in the next post—it tastes so good that I don’t mind eating it.

Basic Baby Porridge
Serving: 2 bowls | Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup rice
3 cups water
3-4 oz sweet potato, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk, optional

Method:

Put the rice into a small pot and rinse with cold water a few times. Discard the cloudy water and add 3 cups of filtered water into the rice. Add the sweet potatoes and bring it to on medium heat. Lower the heat to simmer, cover the pot, and let cook for 45 minutes or until the rice breaks down completely. If using egg yolk, lightly beat the egg yolk and add to the porridge. Stir a few times, and let cook for about 1-2 minutes. Before serving, use a blender or stick blender to puree the porridge. Serve it cool to avoid burning your baby.

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