Why is it when I've been on holiday to Southern Europe it seems possible to have heat without feeling like you're going to suffocate?
Monday was like walking through treacle. I was so desperate for some rain. We cast aside the grobag it was that bad!
Anyway, it got me thinking about pudding ideas and I came up with this. This is a no added sugar frozen yoghurt. Again as I've said before, just because I've added sugar does not mean I can call it a sugar free frozen yoghurt, there are natural sugars in there and quite a lot of them with the dried fruit; still, at least it's not refined and comes along with a helping of fibre and a few minerals. Anyway, I feel a little less guilty giving him this, after all he eats enough raisins and this way I'm not only cooling him down, I'm sneaking in some yoghurt too.
Unfortunately it didn't go down well with my little one because the temperature had dropped by a good 10 degrees by the time we tried it but my husband liked it. I will try it again.
I've been told you can make frozen yoghurt without an ice cream maker but it would be a pain and involve loads of whisking. Trust me, if you're a mum, you don't have time. Ice cream makers though start at basic models like the one I have where you freeze the bowl before you use it. Unfortunately though I may have to learn how to do this as I managed to break the lid washing the stupid thing up. Grrr!
Apple, Sultana and Cinnamon Frozen Yoghurt - makes approx 6 baby portions. Suitable for all babies who are ok with cold things! Also quite successful with adults.
Ingredients
2 Eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into pieces
100g Sultanas (or raisins)
1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
300g full fat yoghurt, greek or 'greek style' is good
Method
Cook the apple with a little water, the dried fruit and the cinnamon. Cook until the apple is slightly softened. Puree (reserve the water and add it in if needed; you want to use the minimum amount of water you can but add more if it won't puree.) Cool in a fridge until thoroughly cold.
Mix the puree with the yoghurt, pour into the ice cream maker, follow the manufacturers instructions. Either serve immediately or put into a freezer box. Defrost for 30 mins before serving if it's been in the freezer as it does set a bit firm. It's probably a good idea to put in the freezer in individual portions as otherwise you won't be able to chip off what you need.
Rabu, 29 Juni 2011
Senin, 27 Juni 2011
Too Hot!
My son has been off his food a bit recently. I was wondering if it was the heat. For some reason despite it being around 30 degrees outside and full on humid, I decided to do cooking today. WTF?! For all that, we seem to have had a better eating day today than recently. I made him quesadillas adding some baby chilli and cheese as filling. It worked a treat:
Anyway, my son and I are now sweating buckets after having his tea (see the salmon fishcake recipe. He had them with some sweet potato wedges and ate loads). So my theory about him not eating because of the heat has gone out of the window as I made it hotter and he still ate way more. Maybe the ice cubes in his sippy cups were helping!
Now I just have to work out how to stop him waking somewhere between 4am and 5am. I'm a living zombie...
Anyway, my son and I are now sweating buckets after having his tea (see the salmon fishcake recipe. He had them with some sweet potato wedges and ate loads). So my theory about him not eating because of the heat has gone out of the window as I made it hotter and he still ate way more. Maybe the ice cubes in his sippy cups were helping!
Now I just have to work out how to stop him waking somewhere between 4am and 5am. I'm a living zombie...
Minggu, 26 Juni 2011
Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes - for babies and toddlers
Sorry about the lack of posts this week, it's been a busy one; been working funny hours at work and our little angel is fond of somewhere between 4am and 5am being 'morning'! Ah, I'm told it will change and I'll need a crowbar when he's a teenager. Is it wrong to be looking forward to that?
Well I'm making him some fishcakes for lunch which is a variation on the potato cakes recipe but I've changed that much it's almost a recipe in its own right. Also I think they're much more delicious and less effort than my other fishcake recipe.
This was inspired because I was driving back from Aldi this morning having bought some potatoes thinking "I'll make fish pie" then realised that as my little man is now having some mealtimes where he just doesn't want to be fed, fishcakes would probably work better.
All the ingredients for this are things you could have in your freezer or fridge even if you haven't ventured out to the shops recently and if you serve them with frozen peas or sweetcorn, you have a balanced meal with loads of vitamins, minerals and omega 3 without having to get out of the house! I like those recipes.
Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes - Makes approx 18 would be ok for babies on finger foods as well as toddlers and adults
Ingredients
2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 frozen salmon fillet (approx 100 - 125g)
2 blocks, approx 50g of frozen chopped spinach
50g grated extra mature cheddar
Method
Boil the potatoes in water for approx 20-25 minutes or until soft when you poke them with a knife. Mash them using a potato ricer.
Microwave the salmon until cooked following the pack instructions (or alternatively if you have a fresh salmon fillet you could poach it until cooked.) Leave until cool enough to handle and flake the fish, removing the skin. Be careful for bones. If your baby is little and not yet able to cope with lumps, mash the fish with a fork.
Microwave the spinach for approx 1 minute with a little water, in a bowl covered in cling film (saran wrap, use the type suitable for microwaves.) Drain off any water.
Grate approx 50g cheddar.
Mix all of the ingredients together. Form into balls the size of a walnut and squish a little. I made them around 3cm across (just over an inch) and probably 1-1.5cm thick (around half an inch). Line a baking tray with non stick baking paper. Oil it with some vegetable oil and brush the top of each fishcake with oil.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200oC or until hot through and browned.
Freeze well. Either defrost out at room temperature for no more than 2 hours or preferably defrost in a fridge for a few hours. Reheat in a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes. They do go a bit more brown (the photo above is a reheated batch with some sweet potatoes) but they still go down very well.
Looking for a grown up Salmon recipe? Try my Salmon with Hollandaise sauce.
This was inspired because I was driving back from Aldi this morning having bought some potatoes thinking "I'll make fish pie" then realised that as my little man is now having some mealtimes where he just doesn't want to be fed, fishcakes would probably work better.
All the ingredients for this are things you could have in your freezer or fridge even if you haven't ventured out to the shops recently and if you serve them with frozen peas or sweetcorn, you have a balanced meal with loads of vitamins, minerals and omega 3 without having to get out of the house! I like those recipes.
Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes - Makes approx 18 would be ok for babies on finger foods as well as toddlers and adults
Ingredients
2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 frozen salmon fillet (approx 100 - 125g)
2 blocks, approx 50g of frozen chopped spinach
50g grated extra mature cheddar
Method
Boil the potatoes in water for approx 20-25 minutes or until soft when you poke them with a knife. Mash them using a potato ricer.
Microwave the salmon until cooked following the pack instructions (or alternatively if you have a fresh salmon fillet you could poach it until cooked.) Leave until cool enough to handle and flake the fish, removing the skin. Be careful for bones. If your baby is little and not yet able to cope with lumps, mash the fish with a fork.
Microwave the spinach for approx 1 minute with a little water, in a bowl covered in cling film (saran wrap, use the type suitable for microwaves.) Drain off any water.
Grate approx 50g cheddar.
Mix all of the ingredients together. Form into balls the size of a walnut and squish a little. I made them around 3cm across (just over an inch) and probably 1-1.5cm thick (around half an inch). Line a baking tray with non stick baking paper. Oil it with some vegetable oil and brush the top of each fishcake with oil.
Bake for 20 minutes at 200oC or until hot through and browned.
Freeze well. Either defrost out at room temperature for no more than 2 hours or preferably defrost in a fridge for a few hours. Reheat in a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes. They do go a bit more brown (the photo above is a reheated batch with some sweet potatoes) but they still go down very well.
Looking for a grown up Salmon recipe? Try my Salmon with Hollandaise sauce.
Senin, 20 Juni 2011
Chicken Curry for Babies or Toddlers
My little man is a bit off colour. He had his MMR a couple of weeks ago and he's come out in a rash. It's apparently quite common as they can get a mild case of measles. Anyway, he often does better with new foods than foods he's had loads of times so sometimes I find when he's off colour feeding him something new is the way to go, so as with all good ideas, this came to me in bed.
I can't vouch for whether babies would accept the flavours in this but my gut feel is mine would after about 9 months. Puree the curry before adding the rice if you need to for your little one. You could change the vegetables, miss out the chicken or use fish if you prefer.
Chicken Curry - serves 4 reasonable sized portions for babies or toddlers if you add rice.
Ingredients
1 Chicken Breast cut into pieces
1 Medium Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
1 Large Tomato chopped into 1cm cubes
Half Tin of Coconut Milk
2 tsp Mild Curry Paste (I used Pataks)
A little cornflour
Frozen Chopped Spinach (optional)
Fresh Coriander (optional)
Method
Put the curry paste in a pan and warm through. Add the coconut milk, mix and bring to the boil. Add the sweet potato and simmer for about 8 minutes. Fry the chicken in a bit of spray oil for a few seconds then add the chicken and tomatoes to the coconut mixture and simmer until everything is cooked. Add spinach and bring back to the boil if desired. Mix a little (about 1tsp) of cornflour with some water and add to the boiling curry to thicken the gravy. Mix with boiled basmati rice to serve and sprinkle with fresh coriander if using. Leave to cool for a few minutes until the right temperature for your baby or child.
Puree the curry if your baby isn't on chopped foods; they may be able to cope with the pureed curry mixed in with the cooked rice as 'soft lumps'. Otherwise if your baby has a good pincer grip, they may be able to feed themselves.
Reheats well (without the rice, cook the rice fresh each time to prevent food poisoning; it only takes 10 minutes). I've not tried freezing yet but I will.
Update: If you like this recipe, give the prawn and mushroom curry a go.
This has got me thinking about the MMR vaccine. We all become a bit irrational when it comes to our children; even me with a science degree and PhD felt a bit nervous when I was holding him for that jab in a way I didn't for the others. The thing is; there is no reason to think the MMR jab is any more harmful than any other vaccination. The research which was published suggesting a link to autism was completely unfounded. The way I look at it is that there is an unknown and (if present) very small risk from giving vaccinations to your child but there is a known and larger risk of not vaccinating them. For example, did you know 1% of kids who contract measles go blind? Measles kills 450 kids a day and it's 100% preventable. Scary.
I can't vouch for whether babies would accept the flavours in this but my gut feel is mine would after about 9 months. Puree the curry before adding the rice if you need to for your little one. You could change the vegetables, miss out the chicken or use fish if you prefer.
Chicken Curry - serves 4 reasonable sized portions for babies or toddlers if you add rice.
Ingredients
1 Chicken Breast cut into pieces
1 Medium Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
1 Large Tomato chopped into 1cm cubes
Half Tin of Coconut Milk
2 tsp Mild Curry Paste (I used Pataks)
A little cornflour
Frozen Chopped Spinach (optional)
Fresh Coriander (optional)
Method
Put the curry paste in a pan and warm through. Add the coconut milk, mix and bring to the boil. Add the sweet potato and simmer for about 8 minutes. Fry the chicken in a bit of spray oil for a few seconds then add the chicken and tomatoes to the coconut mixture and simmer until everything is cooked. Add spinach and bring back to the boil if desired. Mix a little (about 1tsp) of cornflour with some water and add to the boiling curry to thicken the gravy. Mix with boiled basmati rice to serve and sprinkle with fresh coriander if using. Leave to cool for a few minutes until the right temperature for your baby or child.
Puree the curry if your baby isn't on chopped foods; they may be able to cope with the pureed curry mixed in with the cooked rice as 'soft lumps'. Otherwise if your baby has a good pincer grip, they may be able to feed themselves.
Reheats well (without the rice, cook the rice fresh each time to prevent food poisoning; it only takes 10 minutes). I've not tried freezing yet but I will.
Update: If you like this recipe, give the prawn and mushroom curry a go.
This has got me thinking about the MMR vaccine. We all become a bit irrational when it comes to our children; even me with a science degree and PhD felt a bit nervous when I was holding him for that jab in a way I didn't for the others. The thing is; there is no reason to think the MMR jab is any more harmful than any other vaccination. The research which was published suggesting a link to autism was completely unfounded. The way I look at it is that there is an unknown and (if present) very small risk from giving vaccinations to your child but there is a known and larger risk of not vaccinating them. For example, did you know 1% of kids who contract measles go blind? Measles kills 450 kids a day and it's 100% preventable. Scary.
Rabu, 15 Juni 2011
Crumble - Do Something Nice For Your Man
I don't know any men who don't like crumble. It's such boy food. Seeing as it's Father's Day approaching and seeing as us Mums are busy people, if you've not got a present planned, you could do worse than this. Also in the spirit of frugal week, the upside is you probably have many of the ingredients in the house or might be able to beg, borrow or scrounge from relatives.
Fruit Crumble
Ingredients
Fruit
Fruit of your choice. I have used gooseberries in my crumble today because they're in season and my Mother in Law gave me some but you could use apples, rhubarb, raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries or a combination are good. I've kept it vague here on quantities because different fruit cooks down to different amounts. If you think you've not got enough fruit, pad it out with peeled chopped cooking or eating apples.
Sugar to taste (see method).
Crumble
4oz Plain Flour
2oz Salted Butter
2oz Granulated Sugar
Nutmeg, freshly ground (optional)
Ground Cinnamon (optional)
Method
Peel the fruit if necessary or top and tail etc. Chop into sensible sized pieces and stew with a bit of water if necessary and stew (simmer on the stove) until it's soft to your liking. I like the filling soft but my mum doesn't and leaves the fruit more whole. Add a small amount of sugar and taste, add more if needed but remember to leave the fruit tart.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
For the crumble topping, rub the butter into the flour with half of the sugar and spices if using. It's better to do this by hand because the irregularity in pieces helps the texture but if you're short of time or don't like getting hands dirty, use a food processor. Sprinkle the crumble on top followed by the remaining sugar. Bake for 25 mins approx or until browned to your liking.
Leave to cool a little then serve with custard, cream or ice-cream. I'm wary about recommendations. My Father in Law has rules on these things, men are very particular...
Fruit Crumble
Ingredients
Fruit
Fruit of your choice. I have used gooseberries in my crumble today because they're in season and my Mother in Law gave me some but you could use apples, rhubarb, raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries or a combination are good. I've kept it vague here on quantities because different fruit cooks down to different amounts. If you think you've not got enough fruit, pad it out with peeled chopped cooking or eating apples.
Sugar to taste (see method).
Crumble
4oz Plain Flour
2oz Salted Butter
2oz Granulated Sugar
Nutmeg, freshly ground (optional)
Ground Cinnamon (optional)
Method
Peel the fruit if necessary or top and tail etc. Chop into sensible sized pieces and stew with a bit of water if necessary and stew (simmer on the stove) until it's soft to your liking. I like the filling soft but my mum doesn't and leaves the fruit more whole. Add a small amount of sugar and taste, add more if needed but remember to leave the fruit tart.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
For the crumble topping, rub the butter into the flour with half of the sugar and spices if using. It's better to do this by hand because the irregularity in pieces helps the texture but if you're short of time or don't like getting hands dirty, use a food processor. Sprinkle the crumble on top followed by the remaining sugar. Bake for 25 mins approx or until browned to your liking.
Leave to cool a little then serve with custard, cream or ice-cream. I'm wary about recommendations. My Father in Law has rules on these things, men are very particular...
Frugal Cooking - have you checked your cupboards or freezer lately?
We were away for a holiday recently and then the weekend after we were with my husband's parents so it all means we're very low on food in the house. I hate shopping with my son nowadays. It's not because he behaves badly, it's just because I can't concentrate and end up missing half of the things from my list. Don't get me started on internet shopping either. I tried it for a while and it was ok but the amount of times things arrived which were wrong, damaged, defrosted or just poor quality, it wasn't worth it.
So anyway, on Monday I decided to do a 10 minute shop at Aldi and to make it last the week. I mean a 10 minute shop as well, just the perishables; milk, bread, fruit, yoghurt, chorizo etc.
So, what's the plan? I had a think and a look in my cupboards and realised I had the makings of several meals despite feeling like a food shop was imminent! So this is / was the plan for this week:
Monday - Sausages (from freezer) and vegetables
Tuesday - Vegetable pasta bake using my tomato sauce recipe (a frozen batch)
Wednesday - Thai pork and vegetable stir fry using the Maesri paste I talked about here
Thursday - Chorizo rice
Friday - Vegetable lasagne
Saturday - lentil and chorizo soup with homemade bread
I also managed to rustle up several lunches, packed lunches and meals from my son including pannacotta and salmon with herb butter (not as mushed up now he's older). This has got me thinking. I spent £13 at Aldi this week and have enough meals planned to ensure we will not be hungry nor feel underfed until Saturday! I know I didn't buy nappies, wipes etc but it must be possible to cut down my food spending from the normal £70-£90 a week! Perhaps my task this week is to keep the spend to under £70 with all of the nappies and cupboard restocking. Let's see how I go.
So anyway, on Monday I decided to do a 10 minute shop at Aldi and to make it last the week. I mean a 10 minute shop as well, just the perishables; milk, bread, fruit, yoghurt, chorizo etc.
So, what's the plan? I had a think and a look in my cupboards and realised I had the makings of several meals despite feeling like a food shop was imminent! So this is / was the plan for this week:
Monday - Sausages (from freezer) and vegetables
Tuesday - Vegetable pasta bake using my tomato sauce recipe (a frozen batch)
Wednesday - Thai pork and vegetable stir fry using the Maesri paste I talked about here
Thursday - Chorizo rice
Friday - Vegetable lasagne
Saturday - lentil and chorizo soup with homemade bread
I also managed to rustle up several lunches, packed lunches and meals from my son including pannacotta and salmon with herb butter (not as mushed up now he's older). This has got me thinking. I spent £13 at Aldi this week and have enough meals planned to ensure we will not be hungry nor feel underfed until Saturday! I know I didn't buy nappies, wipes etc but it must be possible to cut down my food spending from the normal £70-£90 a week! Perhaps my task this week is to keep the spend to under £70 with all of the nappies and cupboard restocking. Let's see how I go.
Jumat, 10 Juni 2011
My Breastfeeding Journey
Sunday the 5th June was the last time I breastfed my son. I've run the gamut of emotions since, mostly upset until I developed mastitis and just wanted it all to be over.
It got me thinking about my relationship with breastfeeding, how it's changed me and the journey I've been on.
13 months ago, I gave birth to my son in a waterpool.
I was lucky, although the early stage labour for me was a bit long and more painful than other people find it, the birth was fantastic. The pool took away much of the pain and I managed only using gas and air. I even had a natural third stage in the pool as my husband held my son.
It must have been over an hour after he was born that I first breastfed him. It was a bit longer than ideal perhaps because I fainted after the birth (I have naturally low blood pressure). Once I recovered, I remember holding him in my arms and him almost immediately finding my nipple and feeding. I fed him on the left hand side to start with but I know he fed for 45 minutes only stopping once because he lost the nipple but once he found it again it was all back to being happy.
I remember thinking "Great! This is easy!"
Then it got hard. The first night I couldn't sleep, I was high on adrenalin and the other babies in the ward were so loud. Then came the first feed trying to feed him from my right hand side. Flat refusal. If I'd not had brilliant support from my birthing centre midwives that could have been enough for me to give up. As it was, he just wanted to feed in the "rugby hold" under my arm. I stuck with feeding this way for about two weeks before he finally accepted feeding in a cradle hold on my right. The midwife explained that they get used to the feel of your body on one side of their face so feeding underarm 'tricks' them into thinking it's the same side they fed from before.
I was fortunate and unlike the rest of the UK NHS, I had a choice on whether to stay in for longer at the birth centre, so I stayed in for 4 days to ensure I had one on one breastfeeding support until my milk came in. Again, if I'd not had that help, I don't think I would have breastfed longer than those first days. My son fed constantly. Gone was his initial reluctance. He didn't sleep for longer than an hour without waking for food and often he wanted to feed for 45 minutes or more. There is a photo somewhere of the three of us on our sofa after we returned from the birth centre. I look exhausted but happy. Again though the midwives helped reassure me, told me that his constant feeding would make me unlikely to get engorged and was likely to calm down around 4-5 days when my milk came in. They did explain though how he was particularly likely to have noticeable feeding spurts when he went through growth spurts because of his early feeding habits. So with this knowledge, I knew what to expect, forewarned is forearmed eh?
And we did it. We coped through the 2 week, 3 week, 6 week, 12 week growth spurts and then 15 weeks came. Typically he started feeding often (sometimes every hour in the day and often every 90 minutes at night) and I went with it, as you're supposed to. It didn't stop. By 17 weeks I was wondering what on earth was going on. By 19 weeks I took advice from my health visitor and tried baby rice. By 21 weeks I was trying purees. Still no joy. In the end, against what I thought I would do, I did a babywhisperer technique; pick up put down. It was needed to keep my sanity and our breastfeeding relationship. This was where I started to feel a bit upset because the 'breastfeeding community' (yes, there is one) is generally very anti any kind of sleep training technique but my husband supported me and it really helped.
The final few months were a piece of cake. In the end as I'd gradually cut out his morning feed he then became less and less interested in the night time feed. In all honesty, if he'd not pushed the issue, I'm not sure I would have stopped. I know babies don't self wean at 13 months and if I'd been offering the breast at other times he would have taken it but he wasn't seeking it out anymore.
So, now I've given up. I'm a bit sore with the mastitis. Just hand expressed a couple of ounces to ease the pressure because my boobs are just not getting the message. But all in all, I'm happy. Happy I managed to feed him for so long but, I have to admit, happy now that my husband can do the whole bedtime routine. The interesting thing is my son seems to settle better for my husband as well. Now why do I feel guilty? Perhaps just because of that breastfeeding community stuff again. Breastfeeding 3 year olds is now seen as the aim, not 6 weeks or 6 months or even a year. Anyway, I need to get over it. I did a good thing and more than most.
It's my sister's birthday tomorrow and we're going to a spa together. It's going to be great to spend the whole day out knowing my son will be ok. It's going to be my little breastfeeding 'well done me' celebration.
It got me thinking about my relationship with breastfeeding, how it's changed me and the journey I've been on.
13 months ago, I gave birth to my son in a waterpool.
I was lucky, although the early stage labour for me was a bit long and more painful than other people find it, the birth was fantastic. The pool took away much of the pain and I managed only using gas and air. I even had a natural third stage in the pool as my husband held my son.
It must have been over an hour after he was born that I first breastfed him. It was a bit longer than ideal perhaps because I fainted after the birth (I have naturally low blood pressure). Once I recovered, I remember holding him in my arms and him almost immediately finding my nipple and feeding. I fed him on the left hand side to start with but I know he fed for 45 minutes only stopping once because he lost the nipple but once he found it again it was all back to being happy.
I remember thinking "Great! This is easy!"
Then it got hard. The first night I couldn't sleep, I was high on adrenalin and the other babies in the ward were so loud. Then came the first feed trying to feed him from my right hand side. Flat refusal. If I'd not had brilliant support from my birthing centre midwives that could have been enough for me to give up. As it was, he just wanted to feed in the "rugby hold" under my arm. I stuck with feeding this way for about two weeks before he finally accepted feeding in a cradle hold on my right. The midwife explained that they get used to the feel of your body on one side of their face so feeding underarm 'tricks' them into thinking it's the same side they fed from before.
I was fortunate and unlike the rest of the UK NHS, I had a choice on whether to stay in for longer at the birth centre, so I stayed in for 4 days to ensure I had one on one breastfeeding support until my milk came in. Again, if I'd not had that help, I don't think I would have breastfed longer than those first days. My son fed constantly. Gone was his initial reluctance. He didn't sleep for longer than an hour without waking for food and often he wanted to feed for 45 minutes or more. There is a photo somewhere of the three of us on our sofa after we returned from the birth centre. I look exhausted but happy. Again though the midwives helped reassure me, told me that his constant feeding would make me unlikely to get engorged and was likely to calm down around 4-5 days when my milk came in. They did explain though how he was particularly likely to have noticeable feeding spurts when he went through growth spurts because of his early feeding habits. So with this knowledge, I knew what to expect, forewarned is forearmed eh?
And we did it. We coped through the 2 week, 3 week, 6 week, 12 week growth spurts and then 15 weeks came. Typically he started feeding often (sometimes every hour in the day and often every 90 minutes at night) and I went with it, as you're supposed to. It didn't stop. By 17 weeks I was wondering what on earth was going on. By 19 weeks I took advice from my health visitor and tried baby rice. By 21 weeks I was trying purees. Still no joy. In the end, against what I thought I would do, I did a babywhisperer technique; pick up put down. It was needed to keep my sanity and our breastfeeding relationship. This was where I started to feel a bit upset because the 'breastfeeding community' (yes, there is one) is generally very anti any kind of sleep training technique but my husband supported me and it really helped.
The final few months were a piece of cake. In the end as I'd gradually cut out his morning feed he then became less and less interested in the night time feed. In all honesty, if he'd not pushed the issue, I'm not sure I would have stopped. I know babies don't self wean at 13 months and if I'd been offering the breast at other times he would have taken it but he wasn't seeking it out anymore.
So, now I've given up. I'm a bit sore with the mastitis. Just hand expressed a couple of ounces to ease the pressure because my boobs are just not getting the message. But all in all, I'm happy. Happy I managed to feed him for so long but, I have to admit, happy now that my husband can do the whole bedtime routine. The interesting thing is my son seems to settle better for my husband as well. Now why do I feel guilty? Perhaps just because of that breastfeeding community stuff again. Breastfeeding 3 year olds is now seen as the aim, not 6 weeks or 6 months or even a year. Anyway, I need to get over it. I did a good thing and more than most.
It's my sister's birthday tomorrow and we're going to a spa together. It's going to be great to spend the whole day out knowing my son will be ok. It's going to be my little breastfeeding 'well done me' celebration.
Senin, 06 Juni 2011
Minced Turkey Nuggets
This is based upon a chicken nuggets recipe for babies I found on a baby led weaning website. I'm not 100% convinced that all babies under 12 months would be ok with them, they did come out a little firm but I suppose traditional bought chicken nuggets are a bit firm too. I changed the bread to pitta bread and took out the mayo from the original recipe. It might be that which has made the nuggets heavier but the crumbs for the outside where good even though not toasted. They were softer inside with the breadcrumb coating but I ran out mid way which is why some were breaded and some weren't. Still tasty though and an option if you haven't got the time to bread them (it's not often I do but my son decided to have a good nap this morning!)
The original recipe claims you can also cook these from frozen for 45 minutes. I've yet to try this and to be honest I probably won't. Cooking poultry from frozen is not something I'd normally recommend. I would suggest you leave them to defrost then cook as per the normal instructions.
Minced Turkey Nuggets - for toddlers and adults, may be ok for 9 month plus baby led weaners as there's no nasty ingredients, they're just a little firm; I'll let you use your judgement. Makes approx 25.
Ingredients
Nuggets
340g minced turkey
80g grated cheddar
80g pitta bread whizzed up into breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove very finely chopped
For coating (optional)
A beaten egg
Further pitta bread crumbs - suggest another 80g, I had 40g and ran out.
Spray oil
Method
Mix all of the ingredients together for the nuggets; use your hands as then you can mash them together. Form into balls around the size of a walnut. If you're coating them, dip them into egg and then the remaining crumbs. Then put the coated or uncoated nuggets onto an oven tray lined with non stick paper (or freeze - see comments above, suggest you defrost before cooking.)
Spray the nuggets with a little spray oil. Bake the nuggets for 20 minutes at 180 degrees C.
I sliced these up for him to eat but he seemed to do fine (my son is 13 months old.) These are also tasty cold and a recipe definitely older kids and adults will like. Not bland at all.
The original recipe claims you can also cook these from frozen for 45 minutes. I've yet to try this and to be honest I probably won't. Cooking poultry from frozen is not something I'd normally recommend. I would suggest you leave them to defrost then cook as per the normal instructions.
Minced Turkey Nuggets - for toddlers and adults, may be ok for 9 month plus baby led weaners as there's no nasty ingredients, they're just a little firm; I'll let you use your judgement. Makes approx 25.
Ingredients
Nuggets
340g minced turkey
80g grated cheddar
80g pitta bread whizzed up into breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove very finely chopped
For coating (optional)
A beaten egg
Further pitta bread crumbs - suggest another 80g, I had 40g and ran out.
Spray oil
Method
Mix all of the ingredients together for the nuggets; use your hands as then you can mash them together. Form into balls around the size of a walnut. If you're coating them, dip them into egg and then the remaining crumbs. Then put the coated or uncoated nuggets onto an oven tray lined with non stick paper (or freeze - see comments above, suggest you defrost before cooking.)
Spray the nuggets with a little spray oil. Bake the nuggets for 20 minutes at 180 degrees C.
I sliced these up for him to eat but he seemed to do fine (my son is 13 months old.) These are also tasty cold and a recipe definitely older kids and adults will like. Not bland at all.
Sabtu, 04 Juni 2011
Travelling with a baby or young toddler
Apologies about the lack of posts, we've been away for a week in the UK. It got me thinking on the way back and I thought I'd share some tips about long car journeys I've learned so far.
5 currant buns in a baker’s shop
Most UK service stations have microwave points for baby food. Some even have free jar food for kids but I wouldn't rely on it; in one place I saw the option was a jar of porridge. Hmm. Still, you can easily pack up some home made frozen food portions in a cool bag. So great, you've heated up your food. Now what? I find that most meals take about 15 mins to cool down to a reasonable temperature. Well that's ok if you want a long break but not all babies are happy for 15 mins and to be honest you probably want to get back on the road. This is where you sneak a plate from the food service and spread the food out on it to maximise the surface area to volume ratio. Magic! Food cooled down in less than 5 mins.
Next is the inevitable change. This goes for all public changing rooms. Let's face it, there is no way to ensure the hygiene of changing areas and you can guarantee that any public changing mat has had poo on it fairly recently. Would you sit somewhere you knew had recently had another person's poo? Nope? Thought not. My suggestion is you use the travel changing mat on top of whatever mat is there. That way you get the cushioning from the mat but without sharing the bacteria. My next tip (and I'm going to sound like a hygiene freak here) is once you have changed your baby, even with the best of intentions washing your hands is difficult and often rushed so put a bottle of alcohol sanitiser or antibacterial hand wipes in your change bag (not antibacterial surface wipes, they're different) and use them afterwards. Still wash your hands with soap and water, the antibacterial wipes and gel don't work on all bacteria but it's better than an inefficient handwash on its own.
Next is obviously back to the car, I've found that when I'm travelling with my husband, I sit in the back with my son. It's so hard, even now he's front facing (but more so when he was rear facing) to ensure he's ok. At least in the back you can have a selection of toys set up to pass to your child and see more clearly whether they're cold, tired, hungry etc. We managed to have drinks of water and snacks of some raisins which I would never have managed from the front seat. My last tip is when your child has decided to throw all of the toys down the side of his chair out of reach from you, the last option is to think "what else do I have that he could play with" and think laterally. Obviously there are options like singing, ones with actions seem to go down well when my little one is cooped up in his chair (see below for some suggestions), but what about peekaboo? Even my 12 month old still enjoys this, although he plays it himself (throw a muslin over his head and he then will go for a full 10 mins or so), an interesting textured blanket can amuse for a while, but my best discovery was he is obsessed with zips at the moment so his coat kept him amused for ages.
Anyway here are some song suggestions:
Pat-a-cake
5 little men in a flying saucer
Open shut them
5 little ducks
Twinkle twinkle little star
Wind the bobbin up
Teddy jumps
I'm sure I'll add to these. Drop in a comment if you need any words.
I've linked this up to an "oldies but goodies" post on 3 children and it!
I've linked this up to an "oldies but goodies" post on 3 children and it!
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