colorful food

The recipes we share cannot be found in American baby books. They are the recipes passed down in our family or shared among friends. They are recipes from the diverse cultural backgrounds that make up the Colorful Mamas group.

Breakfast

Soups and Porridge
Mama Aya’s Filipino Arroz Caldo (Family & Baby)

Mama Lisa’s Roasted Sweet Potato Soup* recipe coming soon* (Huge hit at our annual winter colorful mamas party)

Mama Kimi’s Sticky Rice *recipe coming soon*

Mama Mitzi’s Pressure Cooker Kabocha Soup *recipe coming soon*

Ideas for toddler meals (ideas from various mamas in our group)

• Baked Sweet Potato–(brush potato with olive oil and bake in oven at 450 for 35-45 minutes)
• Chicken Tinola (a Filipino dish that includes opo squash, green papaya or chayote)
• Pork or Seafood Sinigang (a sour Filipino dish that includes greenbeans, tomatoes, taro root)
• Mongo (a Filipino dish that includes mongo beans, tomatoes and spinach)
• Casseroles (here’s a good one)
• Young Coconut (straight from the nut, supposed to be pretty good for ya. You can get them at Asian supermarkets. They’re also at Whole Foods, but much more expensive).
• Seaweed soup using beef bone broth + rice, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  You can buy dried seaweed from Pusan/Koreana.  That’s usually the base and we add other stuff in it, like turnip, clams, tofu, meats, etc.
• Bibimbop
• Dumplings.  Stuffing can include pork, ginger, green onions, sesame oil, egg, sometimes shrimp, plus some type of veggies (cabbage, mushroom, chinese melon, cilantro, celery) or beef, green onions, sesame oil, egg with carrots and/or celery.
• Clams with basil and soy sauce
• Raw, cold cucumber marinated in soy sauce, salt, sesame oil, garlic and green onions (or any cold dishes prepared similarly, like different chinese root vegetables)
• Various kinds of mushrooms (black fungus, inoki, oyster, shitake, etc. etc) either baked simply with oil, salt and pepper, stir-fried, or blanched and marinated in vinegar and sesame oil with cilantro
• Pasta-mixed with shrimp and broccoli, or clams and mushroom (white wine/butter), or spinach-pesto with grilled fish, sausage and whatever vegetables in the fridge.

Lactating Mama Foods

Korean Seaweed Soup – Mi Yuk Guk (Whole family, esp 4 breastfeeding mamas)

Snacks

• Honey O’s with almond slivers and dried currants/raisins
• Tahini (see below)
• Dried seaweed (nori)

Alternatives to cow’s milk for calcium intake

We are bombarded with ads to get our kids to drink cow’s milk early on.  If you are interested in reading the politics and health matters related to the push to cow’s milk onto babies 1 year and up, read this article.  For those who are concerned with how to get more calcium into your child’s diet, try these alternatives:

• yogurt
• cheese cut into cubes
• tahini (mix with honey and put on cracker/bread as a snack)
• broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, soybeans, etc.
• seaweed
• enriched rice milk
• almonds

More ideas here.

Miscellaneous

6 THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH STIR-FRIED VEGETABLES!

1) Sandwich; 2) Noodle dish; 3) Pizza; 4) Pasta; 5) Omelette; 6) Rice dish

We’re all faced with lack of time and energy.  I learned (the hard way) of cooking more efficiently and wanted to share one of my most-used techniques involving stir-fried veggies.  Basically, make a huge batch that can be used for several dishes.  Remember to start with the vegetables that take longer to cook, like onion, carrots, etc.  Use basic spices (soy sauce, black pepper) and add others later for variation.  I like to put in fresh garlic, but if not, garlic powder.  Here’s the simple breakdown for the dishes listed above:

1. Sandwich.  If you have good bread at hand, just cut up some cheese and lettuce and add the veggies for a quick veggie sandwich.  Add pickles if you like!

2. Noodle dish.  I use different Corean noodles but you can use whatever suits your taste.  Add the veggies to the noodles, pour in some olive or sesame oil and a little soy sauce.  You can use cold or warm noodles.  Add a can of tuna or salmon for variation.  For a spicier version, add Corean red pepper paste or your own hot sauce.

3. Pizza.  You’ll need bread or pizza crust.  I usually use bread, especially if I have one that’s getting old.  You can use pasta sauce or make your own easy pizza sauce (tomato paste, olive oil, salt, garlic powder).  Then spread the cheese, or not, and add the stir-fried veggies as the topping.  Add other toppings as desired.

4. Pasta.  First heat up the pasta sauce, then add the veggies just enough to warm them up.  Add to any pasta of your choice.

5. Omelette.  Make your eggs by mixing the eggs with your favorite spices.  Then pour that into a pan and let it cook.  Add the veggies that are already warmed up as the fillings.

6. Rice dish.  Heat up both the rice and the veggies and then mix them all together with sesame oil and a little soy sauce.  Add tuna or meat as you like.

For variation: add paprika & other spices, add meat, eggs, tofu, or canned tuna/salmon.
More recipes to come!