We'll See

Finding the time to squeeze in this blog and the writing of my baby food cook book which includes recipe trials and nutrition study is proving to be very challenging in my world of engaging full-time work and engaging full-time family.  I started my quest last summer and have been relentless in fitting in time on weekends during naps and fleeting moments here and there during astonishing alone time.

Sometimes I need a boost of inspiration.  Besides watching Dragon’s Den knowing exactly how they feel when they get the ever elusive “YES, I believe in your business” comment, I am also an inspirational quote junkie.

“I will prepare and someday my chance will come” – Abraham Lincoln
I have had this compelling quote pinned up on my bulletin board ever since I was 2 yrs. old…o.k. maybe I’m exaggerating, but I bet if I was allowed to use push pins and understood the gravity of this quote at age 2, I would have.

In moments when I’m feeling a little lack lustre about my journey I check in on a website called “Startup Quote” to bask in the useful words of those who “made it”.

"Stay Hungry, Stay Strong”, are powerful and affecting words that Steve Jobs delivered during his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford. 

This phrase is on auto-repeat in my brain.  I will stay hungry because I don’t quite know how not to.  Foolish is a trickier one for me.  I am not so foolish as to give up my day job in pursuit of my goal, however I am still foolish enough to tell everyone I’m writing a baby food cook book and hope to develop my own business around it one day. 

Underneath the smiles and high fives I get from some, I bet there are thoughts of, “poor girl…she thinks she is going to write a baby food cook book that will be sold in places beyond her annual Cleaveholm Drive neighbourhood garage sale.”  Or maybe that’s just what I fear they’re thinking?  Regardless, I have my qualms about acting or sounding foolish so I’ll have to let loose and work on that one.

So I will be relentless in my quest for spare time to work on this, stay hungry and work on being foolish, and then “we’ll see” what happens.  “We’ll see”, is an inspirational quote I took from my mother.  When my brothers and I wanted something we would look up at her with big Puss ‘n boots (from Shrek) eyes and ask the big question.

She would then consider an answer and begin with, “we’ll see.”  That used to always mean YES!!

Do What You Love to Do

Forgive me for my tardiness in blogging this week.  I was engaged in a 3 day “Win Back the Customer Sales Summit” at my real job.  It involved the coming together of our sales field reps and internal corporate teams to share thoughts and ideas to come up with a strategy to do what the summit title suggests.

Our coordinator had to take an emergency leave a week prior to this summit which left the coordination of the event details added to my proverbial plate.

It’s all the little details that seem meaningless to outsiders in their preparation that have the most disastrous effect if they aren’t taken care of.  I fret more over the coordination details than the sum of all the other parts which include, but by no means are limited to, my own presentation on consumer insights, supporting each colleague with sales and marketing data for their own presentations and supporting my boss, VP of Sales and Marketing, with anything and everything.

I was an event coordinator in the past so I know what happens when the gluten free bread doesn’t arrive with lunch, or breakfast isn’t included with the hotel bookings, or evening meal destinations aren’t preferred by all…hell breaks loose.

So given all of this, needless to say as I’m sitting in the boardroom waiting for my turn to present, the next person’s turn to make sure I’ve queued up their slides properly, and the arrival of the special order non-dairy sandwich with lunch, my stress level rises to the ultimate degree and remains there for the balance of the summit.

Our Thursday evening event was to take part in a cooking class at the Calphalon Centre in Toronto and then enjoy the personally prepared feast with our team.  When I walked into the professionally stocked kitchen and took in the view I could literally feel the stress drain from my body.  How cool is this?!?  In the midst of all the chaos of the summit, I was able to do something I love…cook!  Even though I cook a lot and think I’ve got my own methods down, to have a professional chef demonstrate their techniques was an incredible learning experience and not to mention a whole lot of fun.  I would recommend it to anyone…from those who love to cook, to those who love new experiences but don’t cook more than once in a blue moon.

That evening made the next and last day of the summit a breeze…it’s amazing how incorporating something you love into your day can make the not so great things a lot more bearable.

The dramatic drop in my stress level after stepping into that kitchen was the reassurance I needed that I’m on the right path for me…to cook and share recipes.  I want to do what I love to do.   

I try not to let a blog go by without sharing a baby food recipe so let’s talk plums and pears…a perfect combination.

Try to choose plums that are nice and ripe.  Avoid those that are hard with little colour, or very soft and bruised and spotted.  Ripe plums are fragrant and well coloured and relax to light finger pressure.

When choosing pears make sure they are smooth and firm but not too hard, and have no bruises.

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Plum Perfect Pear Puree

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

-          5 plums

-          5 pears

Baby Steps

-          Peel, core and slice pears into 1cm. thick pieces.

-          Peel plums using the boiling water method if they are really ripe, or use a regular peeler if they are not so ripe.

-          To peel plums using the boiling water method, make an “x” shape cut with a knife on the bottom of the plum.  Place them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them and leave for 1 minute or so.  Take out of water with tongs and let stand for a few minutes.  If the plums were ripe you should be able to peel the skins off easily beginning with the flap that is exposed from the “x” you cut in the skin earlier.  If you’re still having trouble, don’t fret…just grab a regular peeler to finish the job.

-          Slice the plums into 1cm. thick pieces and discard the pit.

-          Add Pears alone to a large sauce pan with 1 tbsp. water.  Cover and cook over medium/low heat, stirring often for 10 mins.

-          Add the plums to the pears, cover and continue to cook for another 7 minutes.

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

-          Transfer to a blender, food processor or bowl to use a hand blender to puree the fruit to a smooth consistency.

You can keep some in the fridge and transfer the rest to freezing trays.  The frozen puree will safely last up to 3 months and the refrigerated puree approx. 48 hrs.

Makes approx. 14 servings (1 serving is 2 tbsp.)

Maybe next year I’ll be coordinating a “Win Back the Homemade Baby Food Preparation Summit” rather than the customer sales one that I just did.

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.

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.

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 39^th. 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.”