Wholesome Harvest is a local company that has been wholesaling and distributing natural and organic beverages, confectioneries, food, snacks and health supplements for the last 15 years. They began small, serving the local independent organic stores initially till today where their products can be found at various F&B outlets, hospitals, hotels, supermarkets and even conveniently online on Redmart – that’s where I get mine!

What kind of products do they carry? TOO MANY TO LIST! Organic baby puffs, yogurt bites, fruit crisps, fig bars for mid-day hunger pangs, a mind-boggling range of flavoured teas, wholesome juices, chia seeds, healthy quinoa… even lactation biscuits and nursing tea for breastfeeding moms!

Here’s a list of our favourite products and a kid-friendly quinoa meatball recipe as you scroll down… cbb approves!

1. Happy Baby Organic Puffs and Yogurt Snacks

Which kid doesn’t like puffs? Cbb started her pincer grasp with Happy Baby puffs when she was about eight months old and she loves these anytime, anywhere!

Happy Baby Organic Gluten Free puffs are enriched with vitamins and minerals, and lightly sweetened with real fruit juice concentrate. Cbb’s current favourite flavour is purple carrot and blueberry…I have to pry the bottle away from her chubby little hands!

She also loves the organic Yogurt Bites that are enriched with probiotics for digestive health, and which are available in a range of flavours too!

2. Brothers-All-Natural Freeze-Dried Fruit Crisps

Fresh is best, but when I’m crunched for time or haven’t managed to stock my fridge, I do reach out for these nifty fruit pouches for cbb. Initially I had thought that these are dried fruits, like the types of sickly-sweet apricots and raisins I often see in supermarkets. But these pouches of FREEZE-dried fruit are different! There’s no sugar coating, so it’s delightfully light and crisp, thanks to the freeze-fried process that gently removes water from the fresh fruit. I like this a lot myself! 100% fruit. No preservatives or sugar added.

3. Gogo Quinoa

Quinoa is a power food also known as the mother of all grains. A complete protein and fantastic wheat-free alternative, quinoa is making its way into nutritious baby and kids meals all over the world.

How do you cook quinoa? I cook it in a few ways. The easiest is to mix it with rice grains and cook them together in the rice cooker. Another way is to simply mix one part quinoa and two parts water and cook it on the stove top, covered for about ten minutes till done. I love mixing quinoa into meatballs for added crunch with I airfry them for cbb. Read my kid-friendly quinoa meatball recipe with apple sauce below!

You could also add quinoa to soup, or try out this yummy mushroom cream soup with quinoa, 100% vegan and gluten free.

4. Field Day Organic Applesauce

Who loves using apple sauce in their cooking? Me! Applesauce is an incredibly versatile ingredient. Cbb loves eating it plain or dipped with meatballs (this is the applesauce I’m using in my recipe below!), and the husband loves having his with pork chops. I also add the cinnamon applesauce to my homemade apple tarts whenever I do bake them. The smell from the oven is heavenly!

Field Day Organic Applesauce is a simple and delicious treat, made with fresh organic apples and nothing artificial. Great as baby’s first food too!

5. Pukka Organic Herb Teas

Herbs have been used to support health for thousands of years. Pukka Organic blends are suitable for drinking throughout the day to help maintain a healthy glow. I take them to the office as a mid-day boost too! My favourite is the lemon, ginger and manuka honey, a welcoming cup of spicy-sweet organic bliss.

Pukka also has a range specifically for women and mothers to take care of your well-being. Raspberry teas for the pregnant mom, lactating tea for the nursing mother, and beauty teas to rejuvenate us. Love this thoughtful selection.

6. Traditional Medicinals Organic Range for Mothers

If you’re currently pregnant or breastfeeding, you will welcome the range of products on Wholesome Harvest! The Mother’s Milk products promote healthy lactation and the Morning Ease candy help relieve nausea during pregnancy or whenever you need it.

7. Franjos Kitchen Lactation Biscuits and Muesli

And if you’re looking for yummy lactation biscuits without having to bake your own, Franjos Kitchen’s selections is the answer! Biscuit flavours include Fig & Almond and Chocolate Chips, and the Date, Walnut & Maple Crunchy Muesli can be sprinkled over yogurt or eaten with milk.

Contains brewer’s yeast to help you produce milk for your little one.

8. Nature’s Bakery Fig and Brownie Bars & Harvest Box Snack Packs for Adult Snacking

I’ll admit it – I love snacking. And it’s sometimes hard to watch calorie intake when you’re snacking, even when it’s nuts and berries, or other delicious goodies that are good for you. Conveniently packaged for on-the-go snacking, Nature’s Bakery’s brownie and fig bars contain no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial flavors or colours, are soy free, dairy free, cholesterol free, and contains 0 trans fats at only 100 calories a serving.

Another product I swear by is the Harvest Box Snack Packs. One pack can keep me satiated for the entire afternoon! With the many flavours available, there’s bound to be one delicious mix that makes you reach for them again and again. The husband loves these too and I can absolutely understand why.

My favourite is ‘Go Bananas’ – goji berries, banana chips, seeds and dark chocolate. The different textures and flavours I experience makes this a fun and yummy treat!

Go on over to the Wholesome Harvest online store on Redmart to make your purchase today! There are over 350 selections of nutritious snacks and products suitable for the whole family – baby, kids and adults alike!

Wholesome Harvest products are also available from these e-stores:

• Shopee – https://shopee.sg/wholesomeharvest
• Qoo10 – https://www.qoo10.sg/shop/wholesomeharvest
• Lazada – https://www.lazada.sg/shop/wholesome-harvest/

And now for a kid-friendly quinoa meatball recipe that will help you incorporate power grain quinoa into your kid’s diet easily. Ready? Let’s go!

Recipe for kids: Quinoa Meatballs with Organic Applesauce
Makes 10-12 meatballs
What you need:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Gogo Tri-Colour Quinoa
2 tablespoons Field Day Organic Applesauce
250g minced meat
10 water chestnuts
1 medium carrot
Half a medium capsicum
2 stalks spring onions
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 cream crackers or butter crackers, crushed

Steps:
Combine quinoa and 2 tablespoons water in a pot. Bring to boil and lower flame. Cook, covered for 10 minutes until quinoa is done. Set aside.

Place water chestnuts, carrot, capsicum and spring onion in a food processor or blender (I used a manual blender) and chop till fine.

Place minced meat in a large mixing bowl. Add in the chopped vegetables, quinoa and cream crackers. Mix well and shape into balls. The quinoa will help bind all the ingredients together.

Airfry at 180C for 10 minutes. Alternatively, shallow fry with a little oil till golden brown.

Serve with Field Day organic applesauce as a dip.

The post All my family’s favourite power snacks + a quinoa meatball kids’ recipe! appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I started weaning my daughter Amber when she was six months old. I still vividly remember the excitement I felt when she was ready for solids!

As an avid cook, I was curious to see her reactions to trying something other than milk for the first time. But what kind of food should I start off with? The very initial foods that are good for a baby should be easily digestible and unlikely to trigger allergies.

An important note: at this stage, solids are not meant to replace any milk feeds as milk is still the major source of nutrients. Instead, it’s a chance to let them experience different tastes and textures.

What are some of the best first foods for babies? I read up extensively and got valuable advice from my mum on what type of solids to offer. Here are her recommendations:

Root vegetables like pumpkin, sweet potato and carrots

Allergic reactions to root vegetables are rare, and they usually have a natural sweet tasting flavour that babies find easy to accept. Cbb’s first solid was steamed pumpkin purée! Pumpkin aids digestion because it is an excellent source of fibre, and it has essential vitamins and minerals that help support your baby’s development. For instance, the magnesium and calcium in pumpkin help babies build stronger bones.

Avocado

Avocado is another good choice as baby’s first food as it is high in monounsaturated fat, also known as good fat. Did you know that good fat is great for babies? Babies need fat for healthy development at this critical stage, and avocado is a great source of that. It also helps that it doesn’t need to be cooked – just spoon it out of the peel and feed it to your little one, or mix it with a little breast milk or formula milk until you reach the desired consistency. The natural creaminess is a plus! Cbb loves avocados!

Pear

Pear is a favourite of mine. Yes, you read that right! I love giving cbb pear because it helps ensure smooth stools! Even now that she is close to 17 months old, whenever I find that her poop is harder than usual, I will give her a serving of pear and she will have no problem pooping afterwards. When offering pear as one of baby’s first foods, remove the skin and cut it into chunks. Steam for 10 minutes then purée till smooth. If need be, you can add some water to thin it out. Steaming is recommended for babies under eight months as the heat from cooking helps break down sugars and fibres, making them more easily digestible. You can graduate to raw mashed or puréed fruits after the first few weeks.

Apart from advising me on the best first fruits and vegetables for babies, my mum also gave me some precious tips on feeding solids in general:

• It’s not a must to give cereal

We’ve always heard that baby cereal is a great first food because it is easy on the tummy and unlikely to trigger allergic reactions. But many baby cereals have added sugar in them. If you decide to offer your baby cereal, be sure to choose one that is sugar-free and enriched with essential vitamins. For better nutrition, mix some fruit and vegetable purée into it. That said, while cereal isn’t entirely necessary, do ensure that baby is getting iron-rich foods. Iron-fortified cereals can be a good source, as well as dark green leafy vegetables and meat.

• Give fresh food as much as possible

I’m not going to disagree – food pouches are a convenient way to introduce solids to your baby at the beginning. But freshly prepared food definitely tastes better than any pre-packaged versions. The most important discovery for me after my many experiments was that preparing fresh food offers me the flexibility to gradually introduce different textures to my baby. Exposing your baby to various textures is more likely to result in a less fussy child. Also, when prepared optimally, the nutrients in fresh food are better preserved as compared to processed food.

• Try feeding your baby solids 30 minutes before milk, around lunchtime

I struggled to find information on this when I started weaning cbb. I’ve read that solids should preferably be fed around 30 minutes before milk, so that baby will not already be full when we are trying to introduce new food. Don’t expect them to eat a lot initially. For me, when cbb was starting out, she had a maximum of one tablespoon of fruit or vegetable purée in one sitting. It’s ok if your baby takes less than that, or a little more. Every baby is different – take your time and don’t rush through the feeding.

There are also certain misconceptions about introducing solids that my mum debunked. I will share some of my favourites below:

• “Add cereal to baby’s milk bottle so she will sleep through the night”

This belief is not only baseless, it’s dangerous! Your baby will sleep through the night when the time comes. There is a real risk of choking when you do so, and it defeats the purpose of letting baby explore tastes and textures. Please don’t do it!

• “You should never freeze avocados or bananas”

I can truly vouch that this is a myth, because I have done both! Due to oxidation, avocados and bananas do turn brown when exposed to air, but this doesn’t mean that they have turned bad. I have frozen avocado and banana purée and served them to cbb after proper thawing. She enjoys them all the same!

• “You can only introduce egg after baby turns one year old”

This is not true! Unless there is a family history of being allergic to eggs, there is no reason to worry unnecessarily about egg allergies. Just ensure that the eggs are thoroughly cooked, or use pasteurised eggs. I introduced both egg yolk and egg white to cbb when she was eight months old.

To know more about early childhood nutrition for your little one, visit: http://www.healthhub.sg/earlynutrition for more details!

This article also appears on theAsianparent: https://sg.theasianparent.com/great-tips-mum-best-choices-babys-first-foods/

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The post Great tips from my mum: Best choices for baby’s first foods appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.