Garlic for my little fussy eater

Garlic is a superfood, it's full of health benefits, a natural health boosters for my little one. It is an indispensable ingredient in my kitchen. I love the aromatic smell of garlic lingering in my home-sweet-home. Hubby and I both loves garlic. I add garlic to most of my dishes even for my little one. When she was nearly 14 months old, she rejected almost every meals consecutively. As a 1st time mummy, I was at a loss. What to do? I introduced garlic to my little one's dishes. To my surprise, she loves it!

How do I introduce Garlic to my little one?
Garlic has a very strong pungent smell but is exceptionally aromatic when cooked. The rule is to start light and mild in a progressive manner. In my little one's dining journey, I started from super quick sautéed garlic to eventually sliced garlic. I have classified them into 4 stages.

#1 Whole Garlic
Cooking method: Heat pan under low heat, add a few drops of olive oil, place 1 small whole garlic in pan for a few seconds. Remove whole garlic and continue to cook. The aroma will infused slightly into the olive oil.
Tips: It is best use to lightly sautéed Threadfin fish before steaming it. This will remove any fishy smell and make the dish tastier without adding any salt or seasoning. Great for meat too! Gradually increase the sauteed timing to increase garlic infused smell.

#2 Smashed Garlic
Cooking method: Heat pan under medium heat, add a few drops of olive oil, place 1 piece of smashed garlic in pan. Remove smashed garlic when golden brown, continue to cook. The aroma will infused more into the olive oil.
Tips: It works best for stir-fried vegetables. It adds great aromatic fragrant to remove the bitter taste in most vegetables. If you have view my Baby Gourmet 1 album, you will notice that I only steam vegetables for a short period of time, after which I move on to quick stir-fried. Steaming is a healthier cooking method but the time taken to steam vegetables is far too long as compare to quick stir-fried. Often vegetables are over-cooked during steaming, resulting in lost of nutrients. The vegetables also turn out to be bland and dull in taste. Of course little one will reject.

#3 Finely Minced Garlic
Cooking method: Heat pan under medium-high heat, add a few drops of cooking oil, add finely minced garlic, add ingredients when the finely minced garlic turn light brown. The aromatic minced garlic will add a unique flavour to the dish.
Tips: Great for use in stir-frying pasta, noodles, fried rice, minced meat, vegetables, quick soup. Your little one will eat all the garlic without noticing it.

#4 Sliced Garlic
Cooking method: Heat pan under medium-high heat, add a few few tbsp of cooking oil, add slices garlic and fry until golden brown. Use a sieve to drain excess oil. You can use air-fryer as a healthier cooking method.
Tips: Great to use as a garnishing, add some crispy aromatic touch to dishes. Can be use for almost any stir-fried or steam dishes. Store crispy sliced garlic in a small container to use as you need.

A strong and happy baby!
I am proud to say that my little one is a very strong girl. She doesn't get sick easily. Even when she does, she will recover within 2 to 3 days. Perhaps this is the power of my food therapy. I will elaborate more on how I plan a weekly menu for my little one on my next posting.

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I'm mummy Krystal Wee, follow me to find out more about healthy cooking and yummy recipes for you and your little one. Healthy Cooking! Happy Eating!