Wanna-be Gourmet

As a busy mom--still working full-time until September 1!--when it's time to cook, I go for the fast and easy route. However, I've been reading Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family lately, and it has motivated me to go more 'gourmet' when I cook. If I don't enjoy making it/tasting it/eating it, then what's the point?

This brings me to the other night (now a week or so ago) when I was concocting the deliciousness below.

Ashley's Dijon Walnut Tilapia and Beet Salad
Ingredients:
1 onion, sliced into rings
2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tilapia filets, thawed2 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 bunch large beets, scrubbed and quartered
1 bunch beet greens, washed with stems removed4 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese


Process:
In large frying pan, warm 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium low heat. Once warmed, place onion in pan and caramelize, stirring often, about 20-30 minutes. (Wait for them to really caramelize - tastes so much better this way!) While they are cooking, place a large pot with 6 cups of water on high heat. Bring to a boil. Place beets in water and boil, uncovered, for about 10-12 minutes (or until beets are able to be easily pierced by fork). While beets are boiling, use the steam from the pot to steam the beet greens! Take a steamer basket and place on top of the pot. Place 1/2 bunch of greens on top and cover with pot lid. Steam for 2-3 minutes until greens have wilted. Remove (carefully!) using tongs and reserve. Repeat with remainder of beet greens until all have been steamed. Once done with the greens, remove the steamer basket. If beets are done boiling, turn off the heat and strain out the water through a colander.

Place 1/2 cup cooked beets on top of 1/4 of the greens on a plate for a salad serving. Top with 1/4 cup feta and 2 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette. Let this sit to cool while you finish the fish as follows: Once onions are done caramelizing, push to one side of the pan. Place fish filets in pan and brown on each side for 2-3 minutes. Once the filets are mostly cooked (each side browned), add the walnuts, mustard, 2 Tbsp olive oil, honey, and spices to the onions. Mix well, then spoon over the fish filets and stir together. (If the fish breaks up, no biggie - it will still taste great!) Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the fish is done (you can use a meat thermometer to check this). Spoon 1 filet with onions and walnuts onto the plates you made previously. Enjoy!

You need to be a bit of a multitasker to pull this off but it's worth the extra attention! Hope you like it.

Nine months!

Joseph is nine months old as of last Wednesday. I can hardly believe it!

As he has grown, each stage has had some challenges, but mostly lots of fun watching him learn how to do new things: rolling over, scooting/crawling, sitting up, learning how to go from sitting up to crawling without banging his head on the ground, standing, 'dancing' (him stepping around in place while I'm helping him stand up), smiling, babbling, cooing, giggling, 'talking' (he does say mama and dada! although not directly to us).

One afternoon when I picked him up from auntie Lauren he crawled over to me on the floor! It was wonderful. :) He is such a determined little guy when there is something he is focused on.

However, I'm having some trouble figuring out his new feeding schedule. I'm trying to keep him on a 5 breastfeeding, 3-4 solid feedings/day schedule because I'm worried that my milk production will decrease otherwise. However, some days he doesn't really seem to want to nurse fully (he's focused on everything BUT nursing), and some days he skips breastfeedings. Anyone have any experienced mommy tips for me? I want to adjust to his needs as they change, but I still do want to keep some semblance of order in our feeding schedule as well.

Feeding baby

One of the great things about making baby food is that it allows me to regain an appreciation for the wonderful colors and textures of food. I've always loved the entire experience of food and eating--the color, the smell, the taste, the texture, and the visual appeal of a well-plated food--and now I get to share that with my son. I also get the responsibility for helping him to start and continue healthy eating habits, which will also help me to better plan my family meals to include more fruits and vegetables.

Joseph is now up to 3-4 solid feedings a day, in addition to his 5 breast feedings. This requires me to plan more in regards to what foods I have in the house, since he gets to try one new food every 4-7 days. However, it also means that I have to keep the foods he's already had available to round out his mealtimes. Case in point: over the weekend I roasted two butternut squashes (such a lovely bright orange color!). This made an entire bowlful of squash, which I will be packaging for freezing. However, my husband and I can also eat some of it, since a serving for a baby is 1/4 to 1/2 cup. I don't normally eat squash, especially in the summer, so it's good for me to add some more color to my veggie mix!

One thing I am a little nervous about starting is meats. I know my little guy will need more protein as he grows, but I am not looking forward to seeing the changes in digestion (most specifically, the smells). We bought a free-range chicken at the Public Market last weekend so I'm trying to decide if I save some of that for him to try or get some lamb or turkey per the recommendations in one of my baby cookbooks. However, something I found interesting was that I didn't totally enjoy the chicken, even though I know it's supposedly better for me. It tastes fine once it's got Dinosaur barbeque sauce on it (what doesn't?), but the texture was totally different than any chicken I've had before (more gamey/rubbery). Not bad, but different.

Vacation reading

Hi everyone! I'm back from a wonderful week-long vacation in Virginia. We had beautiful weather the entire time, and I did not check e-mail, use my phone, or really look at a computer for almost the entire week! (Which is a huge accomplishment for a techno-geek like me.)

We did the usual vacation stuff, including getting sunburned, going in the ocean, sitting in the hot tub, and eating lots and lots of good food. Family breakfasts were a lot of fun - it's nice waking up to someone else making you eggs and bacon and strawberry pancakes (although I only ate one the entire week as a way to avoid the milk in the mixes). Joe and I also went on a date to a very nice restaurant with amazing food. My first course of a three-course tasting was pan-fried goat cheese (chevre) over sliced tomato, baby spinach, and golden balsamic vinaigrette - it was out of this world! I plan to try to recreate it at home very soon.

Before leaving on the trip, I had purchased some books on feeding and child nutrition that were recommended by the dietitian who taught a nutrition class I took at work. I've started the first one, Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense (by Ellyn Satter), and I have been enjoying it very much so far. I'll give a brief recap since I'm pretty far in to the book:

1. Division of responsibility in feeding. Parents are responsible for the what, when, and where of feeding, while children are responsible for the how much and whether of eating. Satter's overall point is that children are born with an innate sense of how much they need to eat, so trust your child to 'tell' you how much is enough. Instead, focus on providing nutritious meals in a warm, welcoming environment (can we say family meals anyone?) and enjoy the process of feeding.
2. Parents freaking out = kids getting eating problems. Satter doesn't constantly harp on the horror stories that she's experienced in her work, but she does provide a few examples that illustrate the principle of children knowing how much is enough. In cases where parents either try to force feed their children (because they're not eating 'enough') or where they try to limit calories or types of foods (because they don't want their child to 'get fat') the kids often develop problems that may get worse as they get older.
3. Relax and enjoy your child! Even though Satter is a dietitian, she doesn't give strict recommendations about types of foods to eat or avoid. Her focus is on what works best for your family.

Overall, I've been enjoying the book because it has helped me to calm down in regards to Joseph's solid feedings. I've been starting to stress about what to feed him and when and if he's getting enough or eating too much (since he seems to love eating!), so instead my plan is to chillax more and continue to follow his lead. Some changes I am going to implement from reading the book are the reintroduction of iron-fortified baby cereal and offering more finger foods. (I haven't been using cereal since it seems to be constipating, but I want to make sure Joseph is getting enough iron.) I started this morning with thick cereal (and a side of pureed spinach) and allowed Joseph to feed himself off his tray. It was messy but we had fun!

Making baby... food

You thought I was going to title this something else, didn't you?

As a new mom, I didn't know anything about feeding babies. Thankfully the What to Expect the First Year book was given to me so I could learn the basics. I also received four different baby cookbooks that give some information, but a lot of it is contradictory to the other books. Asking other mothers and the doctor for insight (mostly) resulted in replies like "oh, you know, just start them with a little and see what happens." AAAGH. My nerd-like instincts to read everything available aren't very helpful when the information is vague.

However, the cookbooks have been helpful because baby food is rather pricey (especially if you are buying organic) and Joseph rapidly progressed from 1 solid 'feeding' a day to 3. (He'd like to advance to more, but we are holding steady for now since I'm trying to make sure the breast feeding stays steady too!) I started making my own baby food and think it's super easy! If you're interested, read on for the basics of how to do it yourself.

To make baby food, you don't need very much. My recommended tools are:

1. Steamer basket - this is the one I bought: Progressive International 11 Inch Stainless Steel Steamer Basket
2. Baby food containers - I like Fresh Baby So Easy Baby Food and Breast Milk Trays and Annabel Karmel Stackable Food Pots (or just use glass jars!)
3. Food processor - we were given one for Christmas a year ago, whoo hoo!

Place the steamer basket in a pot with enough water at the bottom to avoid burning the pot (which I did once and had to toss the carrots as they tasted metallic... yikes!). Bring to a boil and let steam (covered) for 6-12 minutes, depending on the type of food you're cooking. Dump the results (carefully... don't get burned!) in the processor along with some or all of the water from the pot (based on your preference). Puree to desired consistency, cool, place in containers, and freeze! It'll keep for up to 3 months.

Types of foods to try: sweet potatoes, carrots, sweet peas, green beans, butternut squash, pumpkin, pears, apples. Most of these need to be peeled and cut up before steaming. (Also, it might be easier to do squash and pumpkin in the oven and scrape the ooey goodness into the processor after.)

In summary, pretty much anything you can get at the store in a jar you can make yourself! I have yet to try meats but they will be coming up on the menu soon! :)

Also, for the lazy moms out there (can I get a what what?) ripe bananas and avocados are super easy-- just mash them up, add some breast milk for texture--and they have been a big hit with the little guy!

And, on a side note, I've stopped giving Joseph rice cereal. It just seemed like it was constipating him (which also has happened with bananas and carrots too) and I think he is getting enough iron from the milk without needing more. Anyone else have any thoughts on that?

Breastfeeding reflection interlude

I have 5 minutes to write and thought I'd take a break from cloth diapers today.

Breastfeeding is still going well - although Joseph has 5+ teeth (with more on the way) he's learned not to bite down on me while he's feeding. We still do have some contact issues (i.e., when latching or when he falls asleep while nursing) but 99% of the time it's all good!

However, as he's started eating more solids, he has been decreasing his milk consumption, so he's down to 6 feedings a day from 7-8 feedings a day. I'm sure he's still getting enough ounces (The boy is not losing any weight! He's my chunky monkey!) but it's a little weird to get used to the decrease after being so used to nursing frequently for 6 months. However, one big plus has been that I only have to pump 2 times a day instead of 3 or 4. Makes me happy and it doesn't take as much time away from work. So that is my happy thought for the day.

Also, who knew that unsalted rice cakes were so yummy?