Hey there mommies! Just want to share Z's meal today, lovingly prepared by her yaya and moi! It's been almost a month of her eating squash + something. That something is usually either sweet potato (kamote) or a small portion of banana (latundan variant).
Today I decided to let her have her first taste of greens :) And what better to eat than malunggay! Would she love it? I certainly hope so! :)
The first picture shows the goods. Yep, we tried BLW or baby-led weaning on her 6th month but she was not too keen on picking up food and eating it on her own. Despite my earnest wish for her to learn to feed herself, alas, it isn't to be...at least not yet. Since complementary food is very important at this point and I wanted to support healthy brain development and myelination, I "gave in" to traditional weaning. That is, spoon feeding of mashed food for the first stage of weaning. It ain't so bad except that it can still get messy and usually takes us an hour to finish a meal! Although I felt it was sort of a compromise, I'm still happy she's still getting breastmilk and healthy first foods..swak sa "Tamang Kain!"
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| Malunggay, Kamote and Apple |
Z likes to eat squash because it is naturally sweet. I guess she also likes the texture it provides when mixed with breast milk. The color could be interesting for her too! We peel and remove the seeds and then boil it with just the right amount of water until it is soft. We then let it cool and mash it with a fork.
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| Mashed Kalabasa |
Malunggay is a very nutritious vegetable. Sometimes even referred to as "miracle food". Add to that, it's highly available in the Philippines. So introducing it to her and to our future meals is healthy, sustainable and easy on the pocket. According to
Sunstar:
"Nutritionists aver that 100 grams of malunggay leaves yield the following: 75 calories of energy (higher than ampalaya, squash, tomatoes, or carrots), 5.9 grams protein (higher than cauliflower, lettuce, or mustard), 12.8 grams carbohydrate (higher than okra, papaya, or watermelon), 353 milligrams calcium (higher than gabi leaves, mung beans, squash, and camote tops), 3.7 milligrams niacin (higher than other vegetables analyzed). And for thiamin, phosphorus, and ascorbic acid, malunggay is at the top of the list.
In addition, nutritionists affirm that 200 grams of malunggay leaves would give a nutritive value roughly equivalent to four eggs and two glasses of milk. Its iron compound prevents deficiency of red blood cells known as anemia. And being a very rich source of calcium, it aids in maintaining healthy bones and teeth.
Malunggay is also rich in vitamin A (higher than red and green mung beans, radish, or eggplant), thus helping prevent xerophthalmia, a disease of the eye."
So much health benefits in this little package! We prepared this by separating the leaves from the stalks. We boiled it and then used our Ninja food processor so that it will be easier for baby to digest it.
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| Malunggay leaves |
This red fella probably doesn't need an introduction! Aside from added sweetness to the meal, here are some health benefits from
Parenting Healthy Babies website.
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| An apple a day, keeps the doctor away |
The healthy mix! Because she tends not to finish everything, I just make spoonfuls of this mixture so that we don't throw out food. Breast milk is hand expressed and transferred here and the apple bits are added on top. See the spoonful in the picture below.
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| Looks yummy? Of course I always taste it before giving to her..but of course, before I put in the breast milk! Hehe.. |
Ehrrmmmm...what can I say? Life with a baby isn't always glamorous! Welcome to the real world mommies! Hehehe..Here I am wearing a mask to prevent the transfer of my colds virus to baby. I've been sick since Monday..waaah!! The get-up is to account for the fact that I was supposed to take a bath already! Hahaha :)
This is her, probably a bit full already. She's playing with her rubber ducky as she's preparing for her bath too! See the little goblet to your left? That's the only way she would drink water!! She doesn't take to a sippy cup yet and for some reason, she expects her baby bottles to only contain my milk!
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| Oh what a mess we make, baby! But I guess these are the moments that make it worth it :) |
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A spoonful of health! See the apple bits on top - added crunch and flavor! :)
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That's it for now! Baby-led weaning or Traditional weaning, HEALTHY EATING or TAMANG KAIN wins, hands down! :)
Disclaimer: Please always check with your pediatrician or health provider before offering food to your baby. Please also check with them first before mixing different food.
