Friday 30 September 2011

Sour Baby

Summer begins with sunshine, open windows on fresh air deprived houses, flourishing gardens and the giddy anticipation of BBQ’s and beach holidays, and ends with humidity, an abundance of insects and overgrown, disease infested gardens.  No wonder I greet the Fall with open arms.

With Fall arrives crisp cool yet sunny days, comfortable nights where we can actually get tucked in the bed covers for the first time in months, brilliant reds, oranges and yellows crowning the landscape and juicy delicious APPLES!!!!!

There are so many varieties of apples and they are the perfect food for man, woman or baby alike.  Apples are a great fruit to use to hone your baby food making skills and a perfect starter food for your little solid food apprentice.

There is a colossal amount of information on-line about different apple varieties but I don’t think I’ll be setting off for England to pluck a “Beauty of Bath” apple at it’s peak of perfection to puree for baby any time soon, so let’s focus on the delicious yet more compact number of North American varieties that are readily available at your local market.  

The first apple I used to puree for my little one was a Granny Smith.  Have a look at his reaction…

Granny Smith probably wasn’t the best choice of apple to puree for baby because of the tartness of the variety.  It’s best to use the sweeter varieties such as Gala or Golden Delicious.  You could always use a few different types and puree together…even using a Granny Smith in the mix.  The sweetness of the others will offset the sourness of the Granny Smith, and the tartness of the Granny Smith will add an extra burst of flavour.

If your baby is 8 months old or greater you can even add a pinch of cinnamon to the puree if you like.  Spices and herbs are a great way of adding some flavour to the food without adding salt, and also encourages the development of baby’s taste buds so when he/she is ready to start joining mommy and daddy at meal time they aren’t turned off by the herbs and spices used in adult fare.  There is some great info. on the subject at Momtastic’s website.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Solid Food Apprentice Apple Puree

Ingredients

1.       5 Ripe Apples

2.       Yes, that’s it

Steps

1.       Peel, core and cut apples into thin slices.  The thinner they are, the less time they will take to cook.  For this recipe I sliced them about 1cm. in thickness.

2.       Place sliced apples in a large saucepan and add 1 – 2 tbsp. of water.  Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring often for approx. 15 mins. or until apples are tender and juicy.  Some apples are juicier than others so you can add a bit more water to the mixture if it’s not looking juicy enough.

3.       Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

4.       Transfer to a blender or food processor or use a hand blender to puree apples to a smooth consistency.

5.       You can keep some in the fridge and transfer the rest to freezing trays.  The frozen apple sauce will safely last up to 3 months and the refrigerated sauce approx. 48 hrs.  But don’t worry…it won’t last that long.  The rest of the family will be sneaking some!
Give it a try and let me know how it goes!!

Friday 23 September 2011

Just Done It!

Over the past few months I’ve been really geared up about the thought of actually turning my thoughts of entrepreneurship into reality.  Along with the anticipation and excitement are circling thoughts of what to tackle first.  In what order should I begin to change my life?  Should I apply to trademark the brand name I have in mind to make sure the distinction I have my heart set on isn’t registered to someone else?  Should I register my business, or rather the thought of my business since it’s not much of a business at this point other than in my mind?  Should I forget about both of the previous points until I have my baby food cook book near completion?  Should I work on writing my book instead of watching Survivor?  So many thoughts circling in my head.

I think I have a lot to share, a lot of information and advice to offer fellow parents who want to learn about preparing baby food at home without it monopolising every minute of the day.  I live it with my family and love them and the practice whole heartedly.

I imagine a day when the term” homemade baby food” simply becomes “baby food” and is habitually associated with being homemade.  That would be a good day.  

I’m banking on a statement that my Marketing teacher enlightened me with one day in College.  He asked us what the difference was between a successful person and a non-successful person.  He said the one who succeeded “Just did it.”  The other one opted not to do whatever it was they dreamed of for fear it was a silly thought, they didn’t have enough time, or any other reason that would validate not achieving their goals.

So I figure, if I keep working away at this, taking Baby Steps that my time constrained life allows, one day all the steps will add up to something of consequence and I will have magically “Just Done It” like the successful person my Marketing teacher told me about.

Saturday 17 September 2011

Bottle The Energy

If only I could bottle the energy that breaks with my toddler’s ear to ear smile when he’s realized that mommy or daddy has magically appeared in his bedroom doorway to rescue him from a long night’s sleep into a brand new day of endless possibilities!  That’s the kind of energy I’m in need of to get me through my day and make some clear headway on the writing of my baby food cook book.

I tend to find time in the car on the way to work after that first coffee to brainstorm ideas and jot down notes at stop lights.  I have even more time on my way home while I sit in gridlocked traffic due to construction.  As soon as one road works assignment reaches completion, another unavoidable route begins demolition…there is never any time to celebrate a good job on a clear pathway of asphalt home.   

I suppose brainstorming in the car and jotting down notes doesn’t make for a great book, so I’m trying to work away at it in the evenings when the boys are in bed and hubby is playing on his ipad.  Weekends are saved for trying out recipes and getting the measurements right and more writing…along with hockey tournaments, friends for dinner,  walks with the dog, farmer’s market, house cleaning top to bottom (with hubby’s help of course), groceries, working in the garden and Baby Einstein feature presentations.  Yes, I think I’ll have this book written and my business up and running in no time.

Sarcasm aside, as I come across noteworthy information related to my quest, I want to share it. Best Super Foods for Baby is a great article outlining the fundamental foods used in making homemade baby food, including nutritional information and tips on how to prepare them.

Although at times this journey seems a bit chaotic trying to fit everything into my day, I am approaching it with a sense of calm somehow.  I think the fact that when I’m working on my recipes or researching facts for my book, the very nature of the work makes me think of my boys and in turn that smile and elation I get to see from my toddler every morning.  That’s the nourishment I need to succeed.

Sunday 11 September 2011

Mini, Toothless Humans

It’s intimidating enough to bring a baby into the world, nurture and take care of them to make sure they don’t break.  Once it’s time to introduce solid foods the anticipation of buying different baby foods in their distinctive jars is exciting.  Preparing bambino’s food at home with personally chosen ingredients isn’t an option due to the detrimental effect we imagine it could have on him or her.

Yes, it’s much easier to buy the baby food in jars developed by companies that have done all the home work for us with the promise of all natural ingredients.  I’m not sure how an all natural pear puree could have a shelf life beyond 24 hrs. without being refrigerated?  I think we’ll need Nancy Drew for that inquest.

I understand the correlation between feeding your pet, pet food made especially for Rover or Fluffy, and how the same thought process works for feeding your baby, baby food specially prepared in jars just for the tiny creatures we give birth to, a.k.a. babies.  So in short, we feel we must buy pet food for pets and baby food for babies.  In reality, a baby is a mini, toothless human.  A mini toothless human should be able to eat the same food that regular sized toothless humans eat right?

Of course you have to do your homework and research the facts about food allergies that are more common than others in babies, but I’ve learned that the risk of your child having a food allergy correlates to your family’s history of food allergy tendencies.

Once you are comfortable with the rules you should follow regarding the introduction of foods to your baby, there is no reason why you can’t start to experiment with various fruit and veggie purees leaving a few days in between each introduction to monitor any reactions they may have.  You would have to do that anyway with store bought baby food since the jarred fruit & veggie purees do actually have some bona fide fruits and vegetables in them along with whatever else is in there to allow the all natural ingredients to sit on the shelf for days upon days.

Our babies are precious to us and I know I wasn’t the most confident mother when it came to feeding my 1st. son.  Like the majority of other parents I relied on the popular baby food brands to provide me with everything I needed to feed my son once he started on solids.  I really wish I knew then, what I know now…babies are just like us…wonderful little humans with an appetite for life and good food.

Monday 5 September 2011

The Birth of My Leap of Faith

I was going to name my blog, “On my Way to a Baby Food Revolution”, but no one is revolting here.  Although the name sounded catchy, there is no anarchy, bloodshed, destruction or violent behaviour developing.  So I dropped the R and was left with Evolution which depicts change, growth and transformation. Yes, that’s more like it.

I’m a happily married, working mother of two wonderful boys in my 39th. year with that next big number looming.  Also looming is my unanswered desire to take a leap of faith and pursue my dream of creating a livelihood out of something that means more to me then numbers that never seem to quite add up the way they should.

My oldest son is 11 years and the other is 21 months…and let’s remember my age of “39”.

I never even considered making my own baby food for my first son.  I figured it would be way too time consuming and let’s face it, impossible.

My boys are almost exactly 10 years apart in age, which translates into 10yrs. of cultivating my love of fresh foods and overcoming the intimidation of preparing a nutritious meal from scratch.

Although on occasion I feel as if I need more time and energy to enjoy all the things I love to do, I have many moments of zest for life brilliance that I attribute to eating basic fresh foods and getting some exercise.  When my youngest son came along I figured by nature babies and toddlers have the exercise thing worked out, so I wanted to provide him with the fresh food to fuel his energy and zest for life.

I experimented with different baby food purees and concoctions and came to love and look forward to my meal preparation rituals.  I discovered that it’s not that intimidating and it’s not that time consuming once you get a routine down and learn certain tips and tricks to save time.  Let’s not forget the $ savings…just imagine how many baby veggie meals you can get out of one bunch of $2 broccoli, compared to 1 or 2 jars of baby food.  The savings definitely translates into a nice pair of shoes…or a tool of some sort if you happen to be a Dad.

Life is busy and you don’t always have time to do everything you would like to…I get that feeling every time I walk down to our basement to do the laundry and see the abandoned drum kit my husband got me for mother’s day this year.  I swear every time I look at it it’s hollering, “YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO ENJOY ALL THE THINGS YOU WOULD LIKE TO!”

Here is what is at the top of my list of things I will do:

1.       Write a baby food cook book and blog about the process.

2.       Navigate my way around starting and registering a small business to develop and wholesale baby goods and accessories required to make homemade baby food preparation unintimidating and fun.

3.       Keep my day job until this takes off to keep Mr. 21 month old in Cheerios and Mr. 11yr. old in stuff that 11yr. olds like.

4.       Get up at 6am. to exercise in the basement with my homemade workout VHS tapes before everyone in the house is up so I have enough energy and “zest for life” to get me through my day.

5.       Spend quality time with my wonderful, funny, inspiring and funny husband.

6.       Spend quality time with my wonderful, funny, inspiring and funny boys.

7.       Catch up with close friends.

8.       Work in my garden and read the Martha magazines I have under the coffee table that I think I read all the time but couldn’t possibly because there are 4 back dated issues there.

9.       Continue to make baby food and test new recipes.

10.   Maybe get a few hours of sleep each night.

There is no room on this list for those damn drums.  I bet there is room on your’s to add, “make my own baby food.”