Advocating Healthy Eating Habits For My Toddler

Growing up, I've always aspired living conscientiously. From it, sprung my strong compassion for animals, which manifests to some extent through my eating habits. Don't get me wrong, I don't have those to-die-for-abs nor that gap between my thighs. My weight and bmi are just about the average, but my selection for food, activities, hobbies and personal effects mostly account for practicality and sustainability. Perhaps, I can attribute this discipline partly from when I was an athlete, and partly from the animal lover in me. Now that I'm a parent, there are some values and discipline I wish to impart to my little Barbara, and this includes her eating habits, not because I'm a control freak, but because I know for a fact that starting early can make a difference. Looking back, I grew up in a household with no preserved food, chocolates, chips, soda, candies, etc. Not that we are not allowed to eat it, but making it NOT readily available reduced the cravings and eliminated the habit of popping one when we felt like it. Now that I'm older, I can say that I have a moderate liking to such, and my love for cooking and baking emerged from being able to create whatever food I like for the time being. Similarly, when little Barbara is little no more, I'm pretty sure she'll have her own preferences and I will no longer have control over it, but I'll keep my fingers crossed hoping it's something good (LOL). Kidding aside, I'm sure some of you have been alarmed at one point by the mortality rate nowadays, and the different strains of diseases emanating from god knows where. I believe eating right is the key, and the discipline for it starts at home, and can be carried over by the individual in due time. 

And so we embarked on this journey right after delivery when my husband and I were determined to exclusively breastfeed for as long as we can. Come our 6th month mark, we started introducing solids to our daughter and ensured that her food variation included only freshly prepared fruits and vegetables. We equipped ourselves with information on "Tamang Kain" (Kid And Infant Nutrition) and I attended a Peer Counselors' training to further expand my knowledge, thanks to the Breastfeeding Pinays group. Yes, it's exhausting at times especially since cooking is time consuming, but thinking of the benefits it can give my daughter makes it all worth it. We are now on our 19th month milestone, and anything that comes in a package (even if it claims to be organic) is eaten by mommy or daddy (LOL). Yes, I still cook for her, and I'm running out of recipes (LOL). Sharing with you a few of her favorites.

To save my sanity, I established 3 types of food base for her:

1. Porridge
2. Misua
3. Pasta

This gives me more room for variation. Just add whatever vegetables are available and you're done! I continue abstaining from putting salt and feeding her anything with sugar since it helps in making her less of a picky eater (so far, so good) and the amount of salt and sugar intake for toddlers is low  that nutrients from the combination of food and breastmilk is enough. No need to worry if it seems bland for you. At this point, they really have no concept of what is bland and salty. Plus, we've decided to wait until she's 2 before introducing meat to ensure that her digestive system is mature enough. Since she looooooves rice (because rice is life), we end up doing more porridge than the others. She even eats plain rice -- only. To add, apart from her main meal, there are steamed vegetables ready for her as snacks. Then we always offer her home made oat milk, or a glass of blended fruit shake as beverage for a more balanced and complete meal. Here are some of her favorites (please note that measurements are estimates because I don't normally use exact measurements when cooking):

Golden Porridge

1/2 cup brown rice

Minced vegetables:

3 pcs carrots

1 bunch spinach

1 bunch arugula

1 while onion garlic

 1 thumb-size turmeric 

half a thumb grated ginger

water should be enough to cover all ingredients (add more as deemed necessary)

Vegetable Porridge

1/2 cup brown rice

1 whole cauliflower (stem included)

6 pcs string beans

4 pcs okra/lady finger

a thumb of grated ginger

1 onion

garlic and thyme as desired

water should be enough to cover all ingredients (add more as deemed necessary)

*When cooked, I mash the whole cauliflower to break down the stem

Minced Vegetables with Barley

Misua with Patola/Gourd

*yes we brought our own baon for this little girl while we ate out in Recipes LOL

Misua

Minced medium size patola 

5 minced tomatoes (since there is no salt, this makes the soup tasty)

1 minced onion

garlic as desired

water should be enough to cover all ingredients (add more as deemed necessary especially since the noodles absorb the water)

Potato Barley Soup

*I liked this for myself, too!

1/2 cup Barley

4 minced potatoes

1 bunch minced spinach

1 minced onion

garlic

* Boil the barley first because it cooks longer. Then add the garlic, onion and potatoes. When cooked, add the spinach.

Brown Rice Porridge:

1/2 cup brown rice

1/2 bunch minced string beans

1/2 cup mashed red kidney beans (these were just leftovers from the day before)

1/2 thumb minced ginger

1 minced onions

Garlic

water should be enough to cover all ingredients (add more as deemed necessary)

Strawberry Banana Shake

Best if the fruits are frozen so there is no need to add ice

Oat Milk

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 liter water (depending on your desired consistency)

Blend for a minute or so. Strain with cheese cloth or a fine mesh. If you want it creamier you adjust with lesser water or you can just add more oats. 

If you're making it for yourself, you can add vanilla, honey or sugar to taste. 

What started out with hesitation

Became her favorite day to day activity

And now, she continues to munch on these as afternoon snacks

They're kids only once. They grow up very quickly, so let's enjoy every minute of it, mommies!