Pieces of Me



 

Where was the serenity of my tulips this past Thursday at 2:32pm. when my wisdom tooth was being yanked out?  I hadn’t so much as ever even had a cavity filled in my life when this was thrown at me.  Since it was only one that needed excavating and the word around town was, “it’s quick and easy these days”, I thought I could just go for the freezing and be done with it.

I survived the freezing with relative ease, “there you go, that’s the worst part over” said Dr. Nightingale.  Oh, this is not so bad…easy street…I thought.  They let me linger with the freezing for a few minutes for it to take effect.  As soon as a fork could be stuck into my right cheek with me none the wiser we were ready.  “Now you’re going to feel a tremendous amount of pressure” said Dr. Death as his assistant kept me comfortable by stroking my head and telling me to breath.  I didn’t realize I needed to fire up the old VCR before this appointment to watch “So You’re Having a Baby” to brush up on my labour survival skills.  A tremendous amount of pressure there was, but he neglected to mention the tremendous amount of aggression that goes along with removing someone’s tooth with a tool, brute force and your own two hands.  I’d sooner have someone tie one end of a string around my tooth and the other on a door knob and slam that baby shut!

Don’t worry…I survived.  There was just the swelling to deal with and relearning how to chew and keep food away from the canyon in the back of my mouth.  Tricky.  At least I’m well versed at making food for people who gum their food into oblivion or I would have felt pretty deprived these past couple of days…maybe I’ll eat today’s baby food recipe for dinner tonight.  Mmmm.

It was just a little wisdom tooth.  I’m now a ¼ less wise, so says my husband.  Lucky for him. 

It’s just another little piece of me gone like my favourite mug I had to throw out last week.  I was in ceramic chip denial for a few weeks until I had no choice but to give in.  So sad.

In other news…

 

This maple syrup has been in my fridge for a while.  When my husband asked me how long today, I thought for moment and remembered picking it up at the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto while away with my friend for her birthday…maybe last year.  Then I thought about what we did for my friend’s birthday last year, and it wasn’t this.  REALLY…it was 2 years ago and I still have the maple syrup in my fridge??  How do 2 years pass by so fast?  Clearly we don’t eat enough pancakes.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

 

Cheesy Veggie Risotto

Age – 8 months +

Ingredients

·         1 cup broccoli florets chopped

·         1 cup of carrots chopped

·         ½ cup of frozen peas

·         ½ cup of rice

Cheese Sauce

·         1 ½ tbsps. butter

·         1 ½ tbsps. flour

·         1 ½ cups of milk

·         ¾ cup of grated cheddar cheese

Baby Steps

1.      Cook rice according to package directions leaving out the salt and set aside.

2.      Peel and chop carrots into small pieces and place in steamer set over boiling water.  Cover and cook for 10 mins.

3.      Clean and chop broccoli and then add to carrots once the first 10 mins of cooking is complete and continue to cook for another 8 mins.

4.      Add peas to steamer and cook for 5 more mins.

5.      To make cheese sauce, melt butter in large sauce pan over medium heat.

6.      Add flour and stir with a spatula until it makes a smooth paste, approx. 1 min.

7.      Add milk to paste, increase heat to medium/high and stir and cook until lumps are gone and milk begins to thicken, approx. 3 mins.

8.      Add grated cheese and continue to stir until melted and well combined.

9.      Remove steamed veggies from pot and transfer to a bowl to use hand held blender to pulse a few times breaking veggies into tiny pieces.

10.  Add rice to veggies and pour in cheese sauce and stir together until well combined.

11.  Let cool for a few minutes then transfer some into freezing trays to be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months, and some to a food storage container in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

Makes – Approx. 12 servings

I wonder if the pain of a tooth forcing itself in is as bad as someone forcing one out?  Just another reason why I wish babies could talk.

Boys

I’ve always wanted a little girl.  A little mini-me to mould into a strong, smart and caring adult and a confidant to take along on shopping trips who understands the value of a pretty little dress.

I have 2 boys.  2 boys, 10 years apart in age and funnily enough, both who don’t wear pretty little outfits that swing up when they turn around.  Running shoes are more their speed.

We went on a family road trip for my older son Eric’s hockey tournament last weekend and had lots of fun doing boy things.  We arrived at our destination early so we went to the nearest mall to pass some time.  We by passed windows of beautiful colour and style and found ourselves inside a sports store.  We purchased a mini basketball net for inside the hotel room because if there’s down time in between the 53 hockey games scheduled over the next 3 days what would they do if they didn’t have another sport to pass the time?  After we left the sports store I hinted at hitting another girl friendly shop and my son said, “mom, we have all weekend, you should save some shopping excitement for tomorrow.”  So we grabbed a quick lunch instead and the only opportunity I had to go shopping for the rest of the weekend was to grab more Gatorade and fulfill snack requests for items we didn’t seem to already have in the room.

I must admit, the boys do provide lots of entertainment.  At the restaurant Eric was very impressed with the glass his chocolate milk was served in.  It was a glass that was curved like the leaning tower of Pisa but you could barely tell it was chocolate milk as it was just off-white in colour rather than a rich chocolaty hue.  He apprehensively took his first sip through the straw and exclaimed, “100% for presentation, 0% flavour.”

We also had my 2yr. old asking us, “can I have a Jeffrey, can I have a Jeffrey?”  What on earth did he mean?  We came to find out Eric was eating a big chocolate chip muffin and when Carter asked what it was.  He told him, “it’s a Jeffrey”, knowing full well of his current stage of learning the proper names of things.

All in all it was a great weekend.  Carter loved watching his big brother play hockey and was a patient angel in between games.  I think he’s got the hockey bug in him now too.

Of course I love watching the games, hanging out with my boys and playing a game of 21 (mini basketball) or two.  Having grown up with no sisters myself, I know deep down I wouldn’t know what to do with a little girl after our shopping trip was over so I suppose all is as it should be.

O.K. time to make some baby food.

My 2 year old LOVES broccoli and cauliflower.  I think it may have to do with the fact that I made recipes like below for him as a baby all the time.  I didn’t however make Eric’s baby food way back when and now he is revolted by the sight of broccoli.  Hmmm?

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Veggie and Cheese Medley

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

·         2 carrots

·         ¾ cup frozen peas

·         3 cups chopped broccoli

·         3 cups chopped cauliflower

Cheese Sauce

·         1 tbsp. of butter

·         1 tbsp. of flour

·         1 ½ cups of milk

·         ¾ cups medium cheddar shredded

Baby Steps

1.      Peel, clean and chop veggies

2.      Add carrots to a steamer set over boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.

3.      Add broccoli and cauliflower and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.

4.      While veggies are steaming you can make the cheese sauce.

5.      Melt butter in medium sized pan and add in the flour.  Stir until it forms a smooth paste.

6.      Add in milk and stir until there are no lumps and the milk starts to thicken.  Approx. 3 minutes.

7.      Add in cheese and stir until melted and sauce is smooth and creamy.

8.      Once the 10 minutes of steaming is up after adding the broccoli and cauliflower, add in the peas and cook for 3 more minutes.

9.      Remove veggies from heat and transfer to a food processor, blender or bowl to use a hand held blender to puree.

10.  Add in cheese sauce and some of the cooking water 1 tbsp. at a time and puree to a smooth consistency.

11.  Let cool for a few minutes then transfer to freezing trays in the freezer to use within 3 months or to food storage containers in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

Makes - Approx. 16 Servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

Once you get over the exhaustion, it’s actually nice having 2 boys with a 10 year age difference.  It’s like a live re-enactment of the past.  After witnessing some of my 2 yr. old’s tantrums, it inspired my 12 year old to say, “if I acted like that when I was his age I need to apologize”, and me to say, “if I lost my temper with you like that I need to apologize.”  Live and learn.

Solid Food Apprentice

Spring has sprung.

Crocuses are in bloom…

Pedicures are in bloom…

Solid Food Apprentices are always in bloom…

If you have a baby who is approaching 6 months old and you have been longing…or wondering…what types of solid foods you should start with, this will be a good guide for you.  If baby isn’t quite a spring chicken anymore and has advanced to 8 months plus, this will still be helpful if you haven’t tried making his or her food at home as yet but would like to.  In a nut shell, or egg shell, whichever is smaller, this will take you through the painless basics of preparing baby’s first solid foods at home and the discovery of just how easy it can be.

Good news Solid Food Apprentice parents…this stage is the easiest as far as food prep goes.  Good thing because with a 6 month old baby at home I recall trying to battle through the day on very little or sporadic bursts of sleep.  Isn’t it funny how nature seems to provide a tolerable balance between ease and strife for the people?

Once baby is a pro with iron fortified rice cereal, which they can start to have at around 5 months, you can introduce others including oat and wheat as long as baby is over 6 months and you wait 3 days or so in between the new introduction to keep an eye out for any allergic reactions.  This way you can narrow down the culprit to the food that was most recently introduced.  Chances of your baby having food related allergies are higher if there is a history of it in the family.  If not, then it’s more likely that baby will not, but it’s always best to be watchful and proactive.

O.K. all you exhausted yet enthusiastic parents!  Here is a crash course in the top 5 fruit and veggie foods to introduce first to awaken their little taste buds at 6 months of age.

 Ready…Set…Evolve…

Age – 6 months +

New Beginnings Fruit

1.      Banana

Preparation – Pick it up, peel it, mash it, serve it. 

I think that just saved you 53 minutes by taking away your search for car keys, bundling of baby, drive to the store, polite battle through aisles to get to the jarred baby food, line up behind a clerk calling for a price check, drive home and coffee drive through stop for caffeine injection to get you through the rest of your day.  You’re welcome.

2.      Apples

Preparation – Peel, core and slice.  Add to sauce pan over medium heat, cover and cook stirring occasionally for 15 minutes or until apples are juicy and tender.  Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes then puree to thin consistency.

3.      Pears

Preparation – Same prep as apples above.

4.      Peaches

Preparation – Peel and slice peach removing pit.  If the peaches are really ripe you don’t even have to cook them.  Simply puree.  If they aren’t super ripe you can always put them in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or so just like you would for apples and pears so they become tender and juicy and then puree.

5.      Blueberries

Preparation – Add fresh or frozen blueberries to a saucepan and cook over medium heat for approx. 5 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes then puree.  You can use a food mill to puree if you don’t want to have any of the skin in the puree making it that much smoother for a young baby to handle, or put the regular puree through a strainer and discard the skins.

All of the above fruit purees are great on their own or mixed with baby cereal.  All except for banana are suitable for freezing so you can make a big batch and freeze in portion sized freezing trays to use within 3 months.

New Beginnings Veggies

All of these veggies have the same prep method…steaming.  Steaming rather than boiling veggies helps them to better retain their nutrients.  So for each, place the chopped and peeled vegetables in a steamer set over boiling water and steam for time indicated.  Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes then puree with some of the cooking water so that a thin, easy for baby to handle, puree is achieved.

1.      Carrots

Preparation – Peel and chop and steam for approx. 20 minutes then puree with some of the cooking water to a smooth consistency.

2.      Sweet Potato

Preparation – Peel and chop and steam for approx. 15 minutes then just to make things complicated (easy), do the same as you did above for carrots. J

3.      Butternut Squash

Preparation – Peel, seed and chop and then just when you thought things were getting tricky they are the polar opposite…you just prep squash the same way as you would a sweet potato.

4.      Peas

Preparation - Place frozen peas into a steamer over boiling water, cover and steam for approx. 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and puree with some of the cooking water to a smooth consistency.  Just like the blueberries, you can use a food mill to puree peas so you don’t have the skins in the puree, or put the regular puree through a strainer and discard the skins.

5.      Broccoli

Preparation – Clean and chop broccoli into small pieces removing the thick stems and add to steamer placed over boiling water.  Cover and steam for approx. 10 mins.  Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes then puree with some of the cooking water to a smooth consistency.

All of the above veggie purees are suitable for freezing so just like for the fruit, make large batches and then put into portion sized freezing trays to use within 3 months.

There you have it.  This sounds easy because it is easy…not because I’m trying to make you think it’s easy.  I'm not that clever or calculating.

Win, Win

I am pleased to report that Carter made the leap from crib to big boy bed without a hitch.  It’s been 3 weeks and we’ve only had one episode where we had to run to his room at 2 am. after a clamorous thud and a loud combo call “MOMMYDADDY!!”  I couldn’t quite make out where he was when I got into his room.  The dark, “where are you?”…“here!” game went on for a little bit until I finally found him on the floor in his closet.  He had fallen off the end of the bed into a luxurious cloud of pillows purposefully placed there by me in anticipation of this very event, and rolled into his closet.  He was fine and we laughed.

The new bed even helps the family figure out what to wear in the morning.  We all rise to a pointed brief on the weather as Carter wakes up, sings an American Idol worthy version of “twinkle, twinkle, little star”, stands on his bed, manoeuvres the window blind out of his way to peek outside and holler, “NO SUNSHINE TODAY” or “RAIN” or “IT’S FREEZIN’ OUTSIDE”!  We have our own little meteorologist in the house.  This bed has been a real WIN, WIN.

Since the “freezin’ outside” days are now numbered with nature’s reclamation of spring in a week or so, I wanted to fit in one more cold weather, warm your baby’s bones, stew recipe.  You probably won’t feel like making a stew once the warm weather and humidity sets in so let’s make one today instead.

This beef and barley stew is hearty and healthy for baby and doesn’t take very long to prep…it just takes a while to stew.  But that’s fine because I’m sure you can think of 47 other things you could be doing while the meal is simmering away on the stove.  Don’t worry, the stew won’t grab at your ankles until you have no choice but to pay it some attention, or demand that you change their diaper RIGHT NOW!  No, it will just sit and stew quietly on it’s own leaving you free as a bird to do whatever you want.

There used to be the belief that you should wait until baby is 8-10 months old to introduce beef but more and more pediatricians today are recommending the ingredient at 6 months +.  This is due to the fact that it’s a great source of iron which is key to a healthy baby’s diet.  Beef is also an excellent source of protein, potassium, zinc, niacin and vitamin B12. 

Barley is a perfect grain to use in baby stews as it has a nice soft texture that baby can handle and is an excellent source of soluble fiber.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Where’s the Beef and Barley Stew

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

·         1 tbsp. of butter

·         1 cup of chopped onions

·         1 cup of chopped carrots

·         1 cup of chopped parsnips

·         2 stalks of celery chopped

·         ½ cup of frozen peas

·         ½ kg. stewing beef

·         4 cups of low sodium beef broth or homemade chicken or veggie broth

·         ½ cup of pearl barley

·         1 tsp. each of dried thyme and marjoram if baby is 8 months +

Baby Steps

·         Peel and chop veggies and set aside.

·         Cut stewing beef into small pieces and set aside.

·         Heat butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat until melted.

·         Increase heat to medium/high and add beef and onions to pan.  Cook, stirring often until beef is no longer pink, approx. 5 mins.

·         Reduce heat to medium and add all remaining veggies and continue to cook for another 5 mins.

·         Add broth and pearl barley to pan, and herbs if baby is over 8 months old.

·         Stir and bring to a boil over medium/high heat then reduce heat to medium/low, cover and simmer for 1 ½ hrs. stirring occasionally.

·         When there is about 10 mins. left to cook, stir in the frozen peas, cover and continue to cook for the remaining minutes.

·         Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.  Transfer to a food processor, blender, or bowl in batches to use a hand held blender and puree to desired consistency depending on age of baby.  8 months + can handle a chunkier consistency than that of a 6 month old.

·         This recipe makes a lot so you can set some aside for the rest of the family before you puree and add some salt & pepper for added flavour.  Puree the rest for baby’s meal plus extra to freeze in cube trays for future.

Makes – Over 30 servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.) – You can always half this recipe if you just want to make this for baby and not the rest of the family, otherwise you may not be able to use up all the frozen servings within 3 months which is recommended.

I hope you give this a try and let me know how it goes, and I hope that one day your baby grows into a toddler that can bellow out weather observations as astutely as mine can.  Enjoy!

Bring On The Happy!

It’s not an old wives tale that happiness is contagious.  Studies have shown that laughter can lower your blood pressure, boost your immune system, reduce stress hormones and trigger the release of endorphins which are the body’s natural pain killers.  Every mom and dad should take a huge dose of laughter daily to get them through the daily grind that is raising a child.

If only it were as easy for us in our state of extreme exhaustion to laugh as much as our pre-schooler better halves who do approximately 400 times a day, compared to our measly 17.

Lucky for us laughter is contagious, so the next time you see your little one whaling away in fits of giggles at something you think couldn’t possibly be funny, join in!  Even forced laughter can turn into real laughter and before you know it those endorphins are doing their job and you don’t feel quite as tired, stressed or frustrated as you did a few minutes ago.

When we get my little guy Carter up in the morning and rush to get him dressed and out the door to daycare he is less than impressed that he can’t have 10 minutes to linger and play with Ernie or watch one of his favourite videos.  To get him a bit more enthused my husband jovially chants, “come on Carter, let’s get your shoes and coat on to go to school…HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!!”  Just hearing the word “happy” immediately changes his mood (most days) and he forgets about his buddy Ernie and the video.

With kids in the house there is no shortage of hysterics to tap into…we just have to take a light hearted approach to our day and succumb to the nonsensical dramatics our kids provide for us to LAUGH.

I think the funniest food you can feed to your baby is pureed peas.  I’m not sure why…it just seems to make me laugh to see that inexplicable, brilliant green mess all over a baby’s face.  To think of someone ingesting something that colour is funny if you ask me. 

Good thing along with enhancing your mood, peas also provide baby with vitamin C, zinc, vitamin B6, niacin, iron, potassium, folic acid and thiamine…so if you have about 5 minutes to spare you can bring on the pea puree and bring on the funny!

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Do You Have 5 Minutes Pea Puree

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

-          2 cups (or 856 if you’re Rain Man) frozen or fresh Peas

-          Yes, that’s it

Baby Steps

-          Put peas in a steamer over boiling water and steam for 5 minutes.

-          Remove from heat and transfer to a blender, food processor or bowl if using a hand blender, and add 3-5 tbsp. or more of the cooking water to the peas depending on the consistency you desire.

-          Puree to a smooth texture.

-          Let cool for a few minutes then transfer to freezing trays, or a container to store in the fridge.

-          Frozen cubes should be used within 3 months and the refrigerated puree within 48 hrs.

Makes – Approx. 6 servings and a hysterical green coloured mess on your baby’s face.