Below are Min Hun’s mom’s sharing about the Japanese-style weaning menu that she applied for her baby from 6 months old. Everyone, follow along with DailySavingz to see these weaning menus for 6-month-old babies!
Breast Milk Porridge
The first dish Min Hun’s mom introduced to her baby was plain rice porridge mixed with breast milk. Rice is cooked at a ratio of 1/10 (1 rice : 10 water) over low heat until the grains break down, then strained and mixed with breast milk when it has cooled down. Then, start feeding it to the baby.
Steamed Apple Mixed with Breast Milk
Wash the apple thoroughly under running water, peel and cut into bite-sized pieces, then put it in a pot and steam for 10-15 minutes until cooked. After the apple is cooked, puree it and mix with breast milk before feeding it to the baby. The amount of milk added to the food can be adjusted by the mother to achieve a suitable consistency for the baby.
Pumpkin Mixed with Breast Milk
Wash, peel, and cut the pumpkin into bite-sized pieces. Then, steam in a pot for 10-15 minutes until cooked, then strain and puree the pumpkin for easy consumption. Add an appropriate amount of breast milk and feed it to the baby.
Avocado Mixed with Breast Milk
You only need 1/4 of an avocado. Slice it thinly, then strain and puree. Mix with breast milk and feed it to the baby.
=>> See more: The ultimate trick to make avocado and banana smoothies for underweight babies to gain weight quickly
Plain Porridge and Tomato
Cook plain porridge with dashi broth or vegetable broth over low heat until the grains break down, then strain. Boil the tomato until cooked, peel, and puree. When feeding the baby, serve the plain porridge, tomato, and tomato broth separately, do not mix them so that the baby can clearly distinguish the different types of food.
Plain Porridge – Boiled Turnip – Steamed Apple
After more than a week of weaning, in the second week, mothers can increase the amount of food for the baby to 2 or 3 dishes. However, it is still necessary to feed the baby separate dishes so that they can get acquainted with the characteristic taste of each dish. The way to prepare plain porridge and steamed apple is similar to the above; for turnips, it’s similar to preparing steamed pumpkin. All dishes are strained and pureed, and served to the baby along with the broth.
Plain Porridge – Mashed Lotus Seeds – Avocado Mixed with Milk
Feed the baby plain porridge, followed by mashed lotus seeds, and finally, dessert with avocado mixed with breast milk. The lotus seed broth should also be used for the baby.
Plain Porridge – Spinach – Steamed Kiwi
Similar to the above 2 menus, all dishes are prepared and served to the baby separately. Spinach is always one of the top beneficial foods for babies’ health because it contains a series of B vitamins, omega-3s, and calcium. This is a food that mothers absolutely should not ignore when starting to wean their babies.
Plain Porridge – Asparagus – Banana
These 3 dishes are also prepared and served to the baby separately. Mothers should give their babies the asparagus broth as well, and finish with mashed banana for dessert.
Silken Tofu Mixed with Orange – Plain Porridge – Broth for Dessert
Boil 2-3 slices of silken tofu until cooked, then mash. Next, squeeze 1 teaspoon of orange juice and mix it in. If the consistency is not as desired, you can add tofu broth (because the baby’s stomach is still weak, orange juice is quite acidic, so at this stage, only give the baby 1-2 teaspoons). The dessert broth is made with 3 types of vegetables of your choice. Cook the porridge at a ratio of 1/10 with dashi broth.
Plain Porridge – Steamed Corn – Steamed Carrot
Mothers can prepare and freeze the vegetables in advance. When it’s time to feed the baby, thaw them in the microwave or heat them in a pot (pan), which will save time.
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Plain Porridge – Cabbage – Mashed Avocado
Plain porridge is cooked with dashi broth or broth from 3 types of vegetables. Steam the cabbage until cooked, then puree it, adding cabbage broth while blending to achieve the desired consistency. Feed the baby these 2 dishes in turn, and finally, mashed avocado for dessert.
Porridge with Silken Tofu and Amaranth – Boiled Vegetables
Cook plain porridge with dashi broth over low heat until the grains break down. Cut the tofu into 2-3 slices, mash, and cook with the porridge. Wash and finely chop the amaranth, adding it last when the porridge is cooked. Then, you can feed it to the baby.
Porridge with Green Beans – Mashed Steamed Apple
Wash the green beans, remove the strings, and cut into bite-sized pieces. Boil the dashi broth and add the rice (soaked for 15 minutes) and cook until the rice grains are just broken down, then add the green beans. When the beans are just cooked, remove them and puree. Once pureed, add the green beans back to the porridge and feed it to the baby. Give the baby an additional meal during the day with mashed steamed apple.
Porridge with Asparagus – Avocado Mashed with Breast Milk
Cook in the same way as above. After feeding the baby the porridge, give them an additional meal during the day with avocado mashed and mixed with breast milk.
Min Hun’s Mom’s Guide to Making Dashi Broth
Min Hun’s mom said: “I cook dashi broth for every meal instead of freezing it like other mothers. However, if you don’t have much time to cook for each meal, you can cook it in advance, let it cool, and pour it into ice trays to freeze.”
How to make dashi broth:
Ingredients include seaweed and bonito flakes.
Step 1: Take a small handful of dried seaweed or 1/2 piece of seaweed about a handspan long and 3-5cm wide. Wash it thoroughly with regular water. Then, soak it in water for 10 minutes to allow the seaweed to expand.
Step 2: Bring the seaweed to a boil, then simmer the pot of seaweed soaking water for about 5 minutes. Then, add a pinch of bonito flakes and simmer for another minute before turning off the heat.
Step 3: Strain the liquid and discard the solids to get dashi broth.
According to Min Hun’s mom: “Mothers can eat the dashi broth solids because they have the effect of promoting lactation. Bonito flakes can be used to make scrambled eggs, and the simmered seaweed can be thinly sliced and added to a salad. Dashi broth can be used to cook porridge, soup, make chawanmushi (a Japanese steamed egg dish), cook udon (Japanese noodles)… Dashi broth is fragrant, has a light taste, is rich in calcium, and is not fatty, doesn’t cause bloating, and is really recommended for babies who are just starting to wean.”
