New Food Recipe for my Toddler

While I was writing this, I was also doing a research for food recipes for my 1 year old daughter.  She probably is bored with her daily menu (plain lugaw + veggies) because she lately couldn't finish a bowl.  That's why I decided to research, plan and introduce new recipes that she may like.  After my research, I thought of simple recipes that could be easily prepared even by the maids (and even edible for adults!)

Cheesy scrambled eggs

A hearty breakfast recipe

scrambled eggs + cheddar cheese + veggies (gonna start to introduce ampalaya and tomatoes to her!), bits of sausage or ham + butter (instead of cooking oil).

Fruity Mashy Snack

Delicious and yummy

mashed fruits (can be avocado, banana, or apple) + my baby's formula milk (not condensed or evaporated milk) + cereal (Cerelac-- wheat and milk or chicken and veggies or any flavor...but I think the wheat and milk flavor is the best because adults like the taste of it...I know because I tried to eat it too...haha!) + small amount of honey (not sugar).

Tinola / Sinigang / Nilagang Baka

A taste of adult food

Soup of Tinola / Sinigang / Nilagang baka + rice + bits of chicken / pork / beef + mashed veggies (malunggay, zayote, potato, papaya, etc.)

Munggo Galore
Healthy meal again

the usual munggo recipe + rice.  I haven't tried this yet but I hope my daughter would love eating it.

Pasta Perfect
A taste of  Italian food

Pizza - my daughter loves pizzas!
the usual Spaghetti / Carbonara recipe
the usual Mac and Cheese recipe

The next step I would do is to plan weekly meals.  And I pray that my daughter would have a healthy appetite because she still needs 2 kg to reach her supposed-to-be-normal weight at 1 year old, which is 10 kilos.

Happy eating baby Rian!

Food Safety in the House

My husband is the one who cooks meals while I am the one who wash the dishes.  He practically owns the kitchen, while I practically own the rest of the house (haha!).  Yup, he's the cook...but I'm his trainer.  I was the one who taught him to cook--- adobo, sinigang, and his favorite tinola.  And since he has found a passion for cooking, I just let him do the kitchen thing.  Now, he prepares meals other than what I taught to him (his favorite dish to prepare is Japanese!).  Of course, he searches recipes from the internet.  But the recipe is just the thing he learns.  I believe there's much more to learn about being a chef/cook other than the recipe itself.  One must also be informed about food safety to prevent foodborne illnesses.

I became an employee of a food service company, and I trained its service crew on Food Safety.  That's why I was very particular in that aspect.  As my husband's "trainer", I always remind him the right way to handle foods so that the meals he would prepare would not just be delicious, but also safe to eat.  He follows my advice...but only for a while.  Probably because he wants his food to be done as fast as he can.  I just tell myself that someday, I would make him attend cooking classes so that he would learn the importance of food safety rules.

Here is the list of some Do's and Don'ts in handling foods:

1. First rule in cooking: wash your hands!

2. To lessen bacteria in thawing meats, do not soak meat in water.  It's better if you just leave it in a container for few hours at room temperature (but not overnight!) or better yet, place the meat in the refrigerator/chiller overnight.