If you are young and single and Chinese, I bet you are relieved that the Spring Festival (or the Chinese New Year) is over, especially the family reunion

Why?

If you’re like MOST young Chinese folks with doting and greying parents (not to mention the grinning, inciting aunties and uncles AND that smug cousin who’s married with a son…) you’d probably endured situations like these:

Suggest situations you can meet with other young people
“Why don’t you go for a cruise? Summer is a nice time. You can stop at various ports and make new friends. Many youngsters go for cruises nowadays as you don’t need to check your luggage in/out of airports when you visit different cities.

You can eat, dance, swim and gamble any time you want – it’s so easy to find someone who shares the same interests as you! Did you know that Mrs. Huang’s son met his wife on a cruise?”

Try to set you up
“I know a nice girl / boy and I’m sure you’ll like him or her. Why don’t the two of you go for a movie? ‘Contract Lovers’ will be perfect for blind dates!” (groan)

If you resist, then your mother and father will have A TALK with you!

The talk
“Boy/girl, we are getting old. Your old father has to see the doctor every month now – he has gallstones, piles, a bad back etc He has to go to the toilet every hour.

Me (big sigh) I don’t know how long I can last either…see the liver spots on your mother’s old hands?

I know you are still young. I know you are working very hard to become a success.

But our arms are aching from stretching out time and time again to hold our grandchildren…”[BIG SIGH]

In China, the pressure is unbelievably high that desperate kids will go to the extent of renting a boyfriend/girlfriend for the Spring Festival!

Check out this New York times article on renting a boyfriend. Or this amazing ad mentioned in this online site:

Willing to pay 300 RMB a day for a girlfriend to take home with me for the Spring Festival
Time: February 11th to February 15th
Age: 25 to 30 years old
She gets to keep any lucky money relatives might give her, but she’ll have to cooperate fully and not arouse suspicion…

Anyone looking for a pretty Korean girlfriend? I’m available!

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Last week, my kid and I were coughing, coughing and coughing and gagging on a lot of phlegm that I swear it felt almost as bad as the croup he got last year.

Since I can’t take ANY cough medicine now, I resorted to the good old Nim Jiom Pei Pa Koa, which a trusted paediatrician from Beijing had recommended to me when I had a nasty cough before coming home.

Guess what happened? I got better faster on just Nim Jiom Pei Pa Koa compared to my boy who was taking Rhinathiol (Promethazine)!

Because he was running a fever a few days, he had to take paracetamol (which he HATES) that he found Rhinathiol more pleasant. However, after a few days of Rhinathiol, he started to reject the “sweet orange medicine”.

When he saw me taking the Nim Jiom Pei Pa Koa, he asked for the “black medicine”. True enough, his phlegm subsided and soon, he was coughing less and less!

Now that more and more people are infected by flu or cough, I’ve been recommending this sweet and pleasant-tasting loquat syrup that claims to:

“Eliminate phlegm, relieve coughs and soothe sore throats.”

Even my Mum was impressed that she’s taking it and asked my sister to buy it for her husband and kids who are also coughing now. Although you can mix it as a drink, the kid and I prefer to just take the required dose (1 tsp for me, 1/3 tsp for him) three times a day.

Try it if you like – just make sure you get your bottle from an established Chinese medicine hall. Nim Jiom Pei Pa Koa is made in Hong Kong and now comes in a sugar-free version!

Notes from Wikipedia:
1. A study at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine published in a 1994 article, “Pharmacological studies of nin jion pei pa koa”, indicated that Pei Pa Koa had significant effect on relieving coughs, removing sputum, relieving asthma in vivo (on living subjects) and in vitro (in a lab).

2. At one point in 2006, Pei Pa Koa was recalled in the Philippines as the Bureau of Food and Drugs found Formalin (a chemical used for preserving cadavers) in all Pei Pa Koa products in the market. However, a few months after the recall, Pei Pa Koa was released back into the market as Formalin traces were no longer found in the new Pei Pa Koa product line.

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I remember the boiled pearl barley (and sugarcane juice) from childhood days growing up in my Chinese grandmother’s house. Even my Mum would boil it for us sometimes especially when the weather is hot because pearl barley has cooling properties.

Did you know that Koreans drink a barley tea regularly in place of water? If you go to a genuine Korean restaurant (and not those franchised sensations), you’ll be served this barley tea. I actually prefer the Korean barley tea’s light flavour over the Japanese green tea.

Anyway, now that the weather is so hot, my Mum boiled some pearl barley soup for the preschooler but surprisingly, he only drank one bottle and didn’t ask for more. Hehehe, it turns out that he prefers his mummy’s recipe over Grandma’s!

I actually created this recipe during a hot summer because somehow, I thought that pandanus leaves were needed. And since you can’t find pandanus leaves in China, I thought of other ingredients to add flavour to the drink.

Here’s the recipe that has my preschooler drinking at least 3 bottles at one time (and asking for more!):

Almost 1 litre of water (filling up about 3/4 of the slow cooker)
A handful of local Chinese pearl barley (I once tried the wild Tibetan barley, which has smaller grains but they were not as flavourful to me)
5 – 6 strips of candied wintermelon
Brown rock sugar to taste

METHOD:
1. Soak the pearl barley for about an hour or so until the grains soften.
2. Dump everything into the slow cooker and go do your own thing
3. Within 2 hours or so, the aroma of boiling barley will waft through your kitchen. Switch off the slow cooker and keep the lid half open to cool it down.

NOTES: You may find this recipe a bit on the sweet side and that’s because I tend to add a bit of hot water so that he drinks a warm bottle of pearl barley each time.

However, since he’s discovered ice cool drinks and asks for for cold barley, I cut down on the amount of rock sugar I use. The drink keeps well for 1-2 days in the fridge. Please throw it away if you see bubbles foaming on the top as this means it’s gone rancid.

Bottoms up!!!

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The proverb “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” describes the fussy or picky eater to a tee because I was one myself

If your toddler is a picky eater, chances are that either your spouse or you was one too!

Of all the challenges of motherhood, feeding our picky eater is the greatest one of all!

I’m surprised he’s a fussy eater because he was a natural, super-easy (i.e. ferocious guzzler), right-on-the-dot baby to breastfeed.

When we had McDonald’s for dinner last night, I’m amazed to see how far he’s come from eating boiled, white rice and Chinese dishes ONLY to eating 4 chicken nuggets (which he dipped in tomato ketchup and then a sweet-and-sour-sauce) and a quarter of my Big Mac.

STARTING SOLIDS

At 6 months, he liked

• pureed potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, ripe banana, potato and carrot, stewed pear/apple;
• plain rice cereal by Heinz mixed with breast milk or mixed with stewed fruits and
• and HATED pureed brocolli, spinach, stewed prunes, banana-flavoured rice cereal and NONE of the Heinz or Gerber baby jar foods!

As my Mum was taking care of him then, she thought it made more sense to boil soft porridge for him from fresh and natural rice grains. Home-cooked goodness

At 7 months, he was enjoying yummy soft porridges of potato + spinach, potato + carrot, potato + pumpkin, spinach + carrot etc. A typical Chinese, my Mum added one little scallop in the porridge stock but when rashes (eczema) popped out on his calf the next day, she went back to fruits and vegetables.

At 9 months, she introduced the Steamed White Pomfret, which becomes his absolute favourite (even up till now!). Mum reports that he’s the *easiest* to feed when there’s fish or potato in his porridge.

I have to laugh at my Mum’s experiences of feeding this ultimately fussy baby because she is a very accomplished cook and had fun trying out various soups and recipes in his porridges:

“You don’t know how nervous I feel when I’m mixing the porridge! I’ll put bits of the fish/meat and vegetables in, drizzle a bit of the gravy and put just the RIGHT amount of porridge, meat and vege on the feeding spoon.

Do you know what he’ll do? He will NOT open his mouth when he sees the heaped spoon coming. I can see that he’s sniffing it and if it smells good, he’ll open his mouth halfway and have a tiny taste.

That first taste is VERY IMPORTANT. If he doesn’t like it, he’ll clamp his mouth shut and refuse to eat!”

That’s my little Anton Ego

FAVOURITE FOODS
Through the months and months of cooking and feeding this fussy eater, I find that he likes:

• porridge or rice softened with soups ,
• lightly-flavoured soft protein e.g. steamed fish, fish in sweet-and-sour-sauce, steamed or claypot tofu,
• hard-boiled eggs (not the yolk), half-boiled eggs on buttered toast (NO to French toast),
• soft and mild-flavoured vegetables like brocolli, cauliflower or spinach (accompanied by the favourite fish, rice and soup),
• noodles in chicken soup,
• sweet or bland fruits like banana, papaya, grapes, watermelon, avocado, dragon fruit, honeydew melon.

NO EATING OUT
Since moving to China, I’ve had to cook almost every day (due to the oily and salty food around). Sometimes, he’d still refuse to eat what I’ve prepared even though Hubby and I feel that it’s OK. One of my good friends said he’s TOO fussy and that it’s not good for him. She was amazed at how patient I was with him…

Eating out, Hubby and I take him to try out new foods at restaurants (usually Western) but we end up worrying about his empty little stomach because he wouldn’t eat much.

While most toddlers would take KFC’s whipped potato, he wouldn’t. Can you believe that it’s only now when he’s three-and-a-half that he’s eating an entire McDonald’s meal? I recall feeding a maximum of two chicken nuggets when he was 2 years old during a playdate. He’ll ask for milk when we go home…

Since we don’t believe in older babies and toddlers guzzling only milk, Hubby and I always end up at Chinese restaurants serving rice and steamed fish, claypot tofu or other soft foods just to ensure he has a decent meal!

Hubby is THE BEST because he’ll always let me order both our meals – at least we have a back-up meal the fussy toddler will eat in case he rejects one.

MILITARY MUMMY IN ACTION
Thus, he became quite scrawny (because he’s so active!) and fell sick a number of times. One night, I got really FED UP and scolded him for not wanting to eat the meal I’d prepared. He cried and yet refused to eat. I brought out a stick and rapped it on the table.

Finally, I slapped his thighs when he still wouldn’t eat. When I asked him if he’ll behave himself and eat, he nodded.  I think he’d never seen his Mum so ANGRY! Even Hubby got scared of his wife

I’d already cooled down but I kept my angry face because he started to chew on the soft rice prepared. Hubby and I maintained straight faces at the table but we were delighted when he finished the whole bowl! We praised him, of course.

From that day onwards, we kept to the routine of feeding him at the table – he would bring his trains, books or other toys and play with them but he had to remain seated. Spoonful by spoonful, he’d eat a substantial dinner every night.

I’m really happy to see how his weight increased (he’s now 99 cm, 15.5 kg), no more falling sick and how he’s accepted the fact that brocolli and spinach are part of the bowl of food to be eaten. Recently, he’s declared a love for stir-fried French beans

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE
Now that he’s 3.5 years old, it’s good to see that even though rice and Chinese-style (or Asian dishes actually as he loves roti telur, chapati or thosai with dhall curry, Malay tomato rice) are still his favourite, he will eat macaroni and cheese, the chicken nugget and the cheeseburger once in a blue moon.

I’m not trying to grow a fast food fan but it’d be nice to see him enjoying spaghetti bolognaise, pizza, pitas or other types of fruits instead of the usual suspects. Oh well, if he can like French beans, I hope it’s a matter of time before he likes other food!

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When my boy turned one, I’m struck by the baby books introducing whole milk to toddlers once they reach this milestone. This is very unlike the Asian/Malaysian tradition of sticking to formula milk until the kid turns 7 or 8.

My mom, my babysitter and even my friends are skeptical and horrified that I’m thinking of doing that. However, his paed, whom I think is a very progressive lady, is very supportive of it as she has mentioned before that given the choice between breast milk and formula, breast is best.

In cases when breast milk isn’t possible, then babies are given infant formula. Thus, why should formula be given preference over whole milk when the child is bigger? It makes sense, doesn’t it?

Also, in my globe-trotting experiences in the Western world, the Mat Sallehs drink milk or have milk with cereal every day for breakfast. My US, Canadian, UK, Australian, European and South American colleagues all recounted childhood and teenage years of drinking milk 3-4 times a day.

They’ve got strong bones and teeth, with very few cases of osteoporosis. Asian women, on the other hand, hold the record for the highest cases of osteoporosis, due to their low-milk diets.

For Malaysians, our Indian friends are often commented for their beautiful, strong, white teeth. Why? Milk plays a huge part in their cooking, be it in the form of yoghurt or milk.

We are very lucky to have fresh milk (homogenized and pasteurised) easily available in supermarkets and I’ve found the Susu Segar brand to be the closest in taste to the whole milk available overseas.

By the way, the milk in the Netherlands is the best tasting of all!

We are encouraged to eat foods that are as close to their origin as possible i.e. instead of gulping down a vitamin C tablet (synthetic), why not eat an orange or a guava (natural)? Both give you the natural source of vitamin C plus fibre and a whole lot of minerals at the same time.

That’s what my gynae repeats and repeats all the time as well throughout my pregnancy. And that’s what my dear hubby believes in as well – I can’t even finish counting on both hands the number of times he has ever popped pills.

And I’m glad my boy takes after his father in this sense because:

a) he loves to drink water

b) he loves fruits esp bananas and oranges

c) he loves veggies (so far)

d) he loves cereal + milk + fruit that his Mum mixes for him every morning

Because of this, he doesn’t have any constipation problems, unlike his Mum who always forgets to drink water and is too lazy to eat fruits unless it’s within reach, does not need to be peeled and can be eaten using one hand

Anyway, here’s some links to share on the info out there on full cream milk:

• Parenting and Child Health – Milk for Toddlers
• Parenting and Child Health – Feeding Toddlers
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/vegetarian_and_vegan/children.shtml
• http://www.health.qld.gov.au/phs/documents/cyhu/28111.pdf

Of course, the opposite argument is presented by formula companies e.g. Wyeth:

“switch from an iron-fortified formula to full cream milk at an early age” is cited as the first reason why toddlers are not getting enough nutrition.

“fruit juice in place of a calcium-rich milk source”

Yes, this is correct but note that “milk source”, not “milk”? Why? Because formula is NOT milk – it’s just what it is – a FORMULA i.e. a recipe of ingredients mixed together. Just do a quick survey in the supermarket – which formula brand markets itself as “Growing Up Milk”???

None, I bet.

Let’s go glug, glug, glug then…

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