Ok, so this is one of our family’s favorite dishes. It’s easy to make, as most things I cook, and it’s also very yummy and nutritious. Noodles can be tricky with little babies who have just a few teeth but I would still encourage you not to exclude them, especially soba noodles (made of buckwheat). Every new texture, color and flavor adds invaluable experience to your baby’s early life setting a great foundation for diverse food tastes and flavor open-mindedness. You’ll thank yourself for offering as many new foods as possible when you see you toddler finish an adult-type dinner when the rest of the kids around are barely interested in mac&cheese. When cooked well, noodles can easily be gnawed by your little munchkin; just chop them up into small pieces.
Now, a word on bok choy. Did you know that it is one of the highest nutritionally ranked vegetables out there? One cup of cooked bok choy provides more than 100% of the recommended amount of vitamin A (it beats cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli) and close to two-thirds of vitamin C. It also has a ton of vitamin K, potassium, folate and Vitamin B6 (needed for proper brain development among other things).
A note on Baby Led Weaning. Go easy on the soy sauce for toddlers and skip all together if offering to babies under 1. I would have 2 pans going: you are chopping all the veggies anyway; it will take you no time to make 2 portions.
- 1 pack of soba noodles
- 2-3 heads of portobello mushrooms
- 1 large bunch of bok choy
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 3 spring onions
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 2 cloves of garlic
- lemon
- 3-4 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ -1 tbsp sesame oil
- Optional: red pepper flakes
- Cook soba noodles in boiling water for 6 minutes (or check the packaging for cook time). Drain, rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Slice mushrooms and sauté them in olive oil together with minced garlic for 5 minutes stirring a few times (make sure garlic does't burn).
- Wash bok choy and slice each lengthwise into 3 strips. Add peas and bok choy to the pan. I also added a few broccoli stems (optional). Sauté for 6 minutes. If mushrooms didn't give enough water, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to create steam.
- When bok choy is wilted and almost cooked, add chopped spring onions, cilantro (the more the better), soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, red pepper flakes. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 2 minutes. Soy sauce is very salty but still check to see if you want to add more salt.
- Add soba noodles to the pan, spray with a little lemon, mix well and serve.
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