Avocado – An Excellent Baby Food!
Friday - January 8th, 2010 at 5:28 AM by Ling
I mentioned earlier that I was not a fan of avocados. Well, I’m a convert now! :D
I had this $1.75 organic avocado bought from NTUC just before it was time to start Hannah on solid food. It was green and hard (i.e. unripe) then and I simply just left it in the refrigerator. Over time I forgot all about that little fruit sitting in the far corner of my refrigerator and it started to ripen, very slowly though.
Since I wasn’t big on avocado then, I gave myself excuses that I didn’t know how best to treat the fruit. And it was turning brown anyway, so it might be spoiled. Still, it was tucked away in the refrigerator after all the procrastination.
One day, I read up on avocado ripening and how to tell it. So I went to press the poor, neglected fruit in my refrigerator to check whether it was ripe for consumption. It gave way slightly to touch and I could sense that it was ready to be eaten. Still, I wasn’t ready to make the move. So it continued its cold abandonment.
Just yesterday, I decided that it was about time to discard the over-ripe fruit. It has been kept for about a month now. Surely it couldn’t be consumed anymore right? But I looked at the brown fruit and thought to myself why not just cut it open to take a peek? Instead of cutting it lengthwise, I did it breadth-wise. Don’t ask me why. Hey, it looked pretty edible. I reached for a spoon to scoop out some of its pale yellow flesh to savour it. Oh, it tasted so heavenly! So creamy and nutty! So satisfying! Hannah must try this delicious thing! :P
So I ended up buying more organic avocados from NTUC…this time they were on discount…$2.45 for 2. I bought 4 in total…yay. I hope that Hannah will enjoy this fruit too. :) BTW, it is packed with plenty of nutrients good for babies.
January 8th, 2010 at 7:28 AM
My baby loved avocado too! I just mashed it with a little breastmilk which keeps it from oxidising. *hehe* He didn’t like it anymore after turning 1yr old though! I personally love avocado myself, ever since I was a kid and used to look forward to the avocados dropping from a tree in our neighbourhood. These days, buying from supermarts is just not the same. They are rarely nearly ripe. to ripen, i put in the rice bin, but again, we rarely have avocados that ripen as nicely as they should naturally. When you go to Australia, get a couple of their fresh avocados from their markets or supermarts. You’ll be amazed at the difference of the taste of avocado that has ripened mostly naturally. So yummy!!!!
January 8th, 2010 at 10:04 AM
eh….so can really keep for a month+ in the fridge?..?
January 8th, 2010 at 12:53 PM
yup… here in Oz it’s an avo a day that keeps the doctor away. it’s yummy, but not all kids take to it. my kids dun like the texture… too mushy. they prefer fruits with a nice crunch. The avos here are MUCH better. But that goes for a lot of their produce too. If you want the avo to ripen, you can just leave it outside. Like a mango… dump it in a fridge and it’ll take yonks to get there.
January 8th, 2010 at 2:38 PM
Hi Sammi,
Thanks for sharing the little tip on preventing the avocado flesh from oxidising! I wonder if formula milk can do the same…might try it later. Now you got me salivating for ozzie avocados! :)
Hi Alice,
Mine was the green, unripe one. I’m unsure about the shelf life of ripe ones. I think it also depends on your refrigerator as well. Was really amazed that it could be still eaten after one month! :)
January 8th, 2010 at 4:35 PM
Hi hi Sharon,
Can I trouble you to bring an unripe ozzie avocado back for me? After all that talk, you guys got me craving for one, hee hee :) If it is too much trouble, don’t bother ya. I’m sure I’ll chance upon the good ones over here too. :P
January 9th, 2010 at 10:37 AM
is avocado fattening ha? i don’t dare to eat too much…
the way i handle avocado is to cut it lengthwise into half then one side will have the seed attached to it. then i lightly tap the seed with the sharp part of the knife so that the knife is lightly wedged into it then i twist it and the seed comes out. then i put each half down on a plate and “massage” the skin then the flesh will ploooop drop out in one piece hahaha that way you get two nice halves… i do that when i need to cut to into strips for california maki =)
January 9th, 2010 at 10:39 AM
oh, for me, to keep it from turning brown (oxidising), i rub a little lemon juice over the surface (that’s when i make maki la)
January 9th, 2010 at 1:48 PM
Hi Sammi,
I tried using formula milk to prevent it (the mashed up avocado) from oxidising by got strange taste. Hannah shivered a few times when she had her first taste of it. Ha ha. Then I tried to feed her straight from the scraped flesh. She accepted the first few mouthful but later spit out the rest…hmmm. Will try it with her later again.
Hi Ann,
Yup, avocado has fats but they are mostly the good ones (monounsaturated fats) that prevent coronary heart diseases. Wah, the massage method is unheard of. Sounds so cool! BTW, will the avocado taste sour after you applied the lemon juice?
January 9th, 2010 at 1:48 PM
btw, that’s a nice photo =)
January 9th, 2010 at 1:51 PM
think martha stewart does the massage thing too… can’t remember where i learnt it from. some cooking show la… and i think it’s martha stewart.
erm, as for whether it will taste sour… i’m not sure neh… cos wrap inside the maki and eat le hehehe but the maki tasted ok (anyway for sushi rice, you have to add vinegar so can’t tell neh)
January 9th, 2010 at 1:51 PM
Oh ok. I’ll try later then :)
Er, the photo is sourced on the Internet. Not I take one….the avocados I have here not so pretty one.
January 9th, 2010 at 9:36 PM
alamak… i thought why you said you cut breadthwise but photo is cut lengthwise… and i was going to ask you what lens you used LOL
January 9th, 2010 at 9:37 PM
eh… the massage technique only works when it’s ripe hor… hard avocado cannot.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:13 PM
Okies :D
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:00 AM
avocado is too creamy,baby may not like it. what i did was to blend it with fuji apple. it became mild sour n sweet taste. my baby loves it!
February 4th, 2010 at 7:46 AM
Hi hdxwx,
Thanks for sharing your recipe :) It gives me another reason to encourage Hannah to try avocado again.