If you were wondering which foods are important to eat and which foods should be avoided during breastfeeding, wonder no more. The answer is simple! There are no special diets or foods that you must eat while breastfeeding your baby. However, you should try to eat a well-balanced diet to ensure that you have enough protein, calories, vitamins and minerals for both your needs and your baby's growth. Be mindful to avoid eating foods that are too oily, too salty or foods with too much sugar. Remember that your little one will be taking in whatever foods you eat. A healthy diet will not only make a healthy mummy, but also make a healthy baby.

Spinach With Dhall

Directions

1. Boil dhall in water with green chillies, shallots, garlic and ginger. Add 1 tsp oil.
2. Boil until dhal become soft.
3. Add spinach and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, spices and lastly, tamarind juice.
5. Add salt. Mix well and mash vegetables and dhall with the ladle until mixture becomes a thick porridge.
6. Add coriander leaves and remove from heat.

Beef in Soya Sauce

Directions

1. Wash and drain the beef, cut into 4 cm thick pieces.
2. Heat oil, add in marinated beef and cook until fragrant.
3. Add thick soya sauce, salt, onion, green chilies and stir.
4. Lower heat and cook until meat is tender and gravy thickens.
5. Remove and garnish with tomato, green peas and lettuce.
6. Marinate beef with grounded ingredients for 30 minutes.
7. Serve hot.

A good nutritional and healthy-eating lifestyle is crucial to your children's growth and well-being. In addition to strengthening family bonds, preparing a nutritious meal together with your child can be fun and creative. There is no need to feed your child everything in one serving. A well-balanced and nutritious diet can help your child grow strong and healthy. Below are two easyquick recipes that you and your child could experiment on together to get healthy, tasty food on the table in 30 minutes or less.

Tomato Meat Rice

Directions

1. In an electric rice cooker, cook rice with tomato puree, 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and water.
2. In a separate pan, sauté garlic, ginger and shallots. Add in chopped tomatoes and remaining tomato sauce.
3. Add beef slices into the pan and cook until meat is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add extra water, if needed.
4. Remove from flame and set aside.
5. Scoop cooked rice into small round jelly moulds. Make a hole in the center of rice and scoop in the stir-fried beef.
6. Turn out the tomato rice with beef onto a plate and serve.

Suggestion
Beef can also be replaced with chicken.

Chicken Potato Chowder

Mealtimes are usually the best time for family bonding. And what greater fun it is making a family meal together. Your little assistants can chip in simple tasks like mixing and peeling, but do guide them in the kitchen. Whip up a simple yet nutritious all-in-one meal and an afternoon snack to keep the children’s energy going!

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a cookie sheet on a tray.
2. Beat margarine with brown sugar and vanilla till light and fluffy. Gradually add egg; beat well.
3. Add milk and beat well.
4. Sift flour with cinnamon and baking soda. Combine with oats, walnuts and raisins.
5. Add to margarine mixture and combine until well blended.
6. Take tablespoonfuls of mixture and roll into balls and place in cookie sheet. Leave at least 2 inches apart for spreading during baking.
7. Bake at 180°C for 10-13 minutes, or until lightly browned.
8. Cool 2 minutes on cooling rack before removing from traysides.

Shrimp & Egg Fried Rice with Cabbage

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in frying pan. Add shallots, ginger and stir-fry till fragrant.
2. Add the cabbage and stir-fry until soft. Season with salt. Remove cooked vegetables to a plate. Clean pan.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to pan.
4. Saute garlic gently till fragrant.
5. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Set aside on plate with vegetables.
6. Add remaining oil to the pan and when hot, scramble the eggs lightly, then let it set.
7. Fold in the rice and toss with the egg until well combined, breaking up the rice clumps.
8. Mix in the sauteed vegetables and shrimp along with the peas and season with salt and soy sauce. Toss everything together to heat through.
9. Serve the fried rice hot, and garnish with scallions and peanuts.

Directions

1. Whisk together eggs, milk, onion, spinach, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Heat a non-stick pan to medium high heat. Pour egg mixture into pan.
3. Scramble eggs until firm but still moist.
4. Just before eggs are set, add cheese and warm until melted.
5. Open one half pita and spoon 1/4 of egg mix into pita.
6. Serve hot.

Egg-cellent!
A good source of nutrients and versatile in the kitchen
By Associcate Professor Dr Poh Bee Koon, Nutritionist

Most people associate eggs with cholesterol, which is true as they do contain cholesterol. But when consumed as part of a healthy, low-fat diet, eggs are unlikely to raise cholesterol levels. More importantly, however, is the fact that eggs have a high nutritional value, especially when it comes to kids, and their health pluses far outweigh the minuses.

In fact, eggs make up part of the Food Guide Pyramid for Children. They’re classified as high-protein foods along with fish, meat, poultry and beans, but there’s more to them than just being an excellent source of protein.

Why Eggs?

• Low in calories and fat
• Contain Vitamin A, which is important for good night vision, general cell growth and for healthy skin
• Contain iron, B vitamins, vitamin D, minerals and essential amino acids
• A good source of choline, an important nutrient that helps regulate the brain, nervous system and cardiovascular system

There’s so many ways you can prepare delicious, ‘eggy’ treats i.e. hard-boiled, in a sandwich, as an omelette or added to fried rice. Or you could try the following recipes:

Lepat Pisang

11/2 cups ripe banana, peeled
70g wholemeal flour
1 pinch salt
60g gula melaka, finely chopped
1 – 2 banana leaves

Blanch leaves in hot water for a few seconds. Wipe with a clean, damp cloth. Use clean, sharp kitchen scissors to cut into pieces roughly 10 x 15 cm.

Method:
Grate carrots and cut apple into small cubes. Mix all ingredients well. Makes 6 servings.

Asian Meatballs

Makes: 5 servings

Ingredients

Dipping Sauce:

Directions

1. Warm honey in a non-stick frying pan. Add the fish sauce and stir well until smooth. Set aside to cool.
2. Place minced meat in a bowl and fold in honey syrup. Add in spring onions, garlic, lemon grass, corn flour, mint and coriander. Mix and season with salt and pepper.
3. Shape into 20 balls and place on a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Refrigerate meatballs for about 30 minutes.
4. Brush the balls with cooking oil and fry for 3-4 minutes.
5. To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients together and serve in a sauce bowl.

Scrambled Eggs

Makes: 2 servings

Ingredients

Dipping Sauce:

Directions

1. Whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt in a bowl until very smooth. Set aside.
2. Heat frying pan over medium-high heat. Add margarine and oil followed by curry leaves, ginger and capsicum. Stir-fry briefly.
3. Add shallots and spring onions. Reduce heat to medium. Stir-fry until the shallots are soft.
4. Whisk the eggs again slightly. Pour into the hot pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and use a wooden spatula to gently scramble the eggs.
5. Cook a little longer until the eggs are set but still soft and tender.
6. Serve eggs hot with rice (for lunch or dinner) or with chapatti (for breakfast).

It’s no secret that calcium builds strong bones and teeth, but it also maximises bone gain from an early age to prevent osteoporosis from occurring in adulthood. And the best source of dietary calcium is marvellous milk, for all ages.

Get creative with this simple milk recipe, and more will be featured in the next issue.

Yummy Cheese Crackers

Makes: 2 servings

Ingredients

Directions

It’s no secret that calcium builds strong bones and teeth. But do you know that it also maximises bone gain (peak bone mass) from an early age to prevent osteoporosis from occurring in adulthood? And what’s your child’s best source of dietary calcium? It’s marvellous milk!

Milk is not just for babies, but for people of all ages. It’s also high in protein and vitamins and minerals that contribute to all aspects of growth and development. Your child can get the goodness of milk from cow’s milk, cheese and yoghurt. There’s also cultured milk, made by adding live, ‘good’ bacteria into milk. Consumed daily, cultured milk helps maintain a good microflora balance in the large intestines by reducing ‘bad’ bacteria.

You can provide your child with milk’s creamy benefits straight up, but you can also get creative with these recipes. They’ll make him want to have milk and dairy products for the rest of his life!

Banana & Chocolate Shake

Makes: 2 servings

Ingredients

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into a tall glass and chill for about ½ hour before serving.

Oat and Honey Pancakes

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

Directions

For batter:

1. Pour buttermilk over oats and leave for 10 minutes.
2. Add honey, eggs and cooking oil.
3. Sift flour in a fresh bowl.
4. Add a pinch of salt and ground cinnamon.
5. Pour wet mixture into the flour and combine well.

For pancake:

1. Melt a small piece of margarine in a pan. Pour a ladle of the batter into pan and cook till golden brown on one side and then flip over and repeat.
2. Allow pancake to cool and serve with fresh fruits.

Fill Em’ With Fibre

All-In-One Delights