Saturday 27 November 2010

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The Brilliant Broccoli/花椰菜[huā yē cài]/绿菜花[lǜ cài huā]



I prefer to serve this from 6 months, although some books says it can be served from 4 months.

If there is only one single vegetable I would choose to introduce to J, it would be the glorious broccoli due to its health benefits.

Directions:
1. Wash and cut 500g of broccoli into florets

2. Steam broccoli for 10 - 15 minutes or until tender

3. Add 5 teaspoons of breast milk/powder milk and 5 teaspoons of olive oil (optional but recommended)

4. Puree with blender

Storage:
1. Cool down, pour into ice cube tray and freeze.

2. Once frozen, knock the cubes out and store them in freezer bags (makes 2-3 ice cube trays, can store up to 8 weeks).

Tips:

If you use frozen broccoli, you only need to steam for 3-4 minutes.
Nutritional Value:
Broccoli contains Vitamins B1 (Thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin), B3 (Niacin), B5 (Pantothenic acid), B6, B9 (Folate), Vitamin C, Vitamin A, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.

These vitamins and minerals aren't just found in tiny trace amounts either. For example, ounce for ounce, broccoli actually contains more Vitamin C than many citrus fruits, more calcium than an entire glass of milk, and a richer source of fiber than whole wheat bread.

Broccoli also contains isothiocyanates, which are a class of very potent anti-carcinogens. i.e. they fight and help prevent cancer.

Updated 22 October 2016:

Place 8 broccoli florets on a steaming rack or a normal bowl (this is the minimum amount that is required for a blender to work)

Steam for 10-15 minutes.
This is what I do: Bring to boil a pot of water, place bowl or rack with broccoli in it, cover and lower the heat slightly, but making sure that it is stil giving off steam

Now it is done :-)

Transfer to blender and add 50 ml of breast milk/formula milk

 
Blend briefly

until desired consistency is obtained. Since Baby C is still very young at 5 months, I made it very fine and creamy.

Transfer to a saucer and serve :-)


So excited to see how Baby C liked it. She didn't complain. She didn't turn her head away. She ate about 5-7 sccop.

But she certainly preferred to eat the spoon that we gave her, than the broccoli :-(


Here is a video of Baby C tasting broccoli:

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