Getting healthy

So, it’s been a long time…

Now I have two little boys and, although it’s hard for me to believe, the baby is already eating solid foods regularly. I know that he should be at eight months old, but can someone please tell me where the time went? If you think that time flies with one child, then don’t have another. I swear that it’s passing twice as fast now!

I’m obviously eight months post-partum and at this point with my first child I was already wearing my pre-baby clothes. I found that the weight did not come off quite as easily with my second. I’ve been depressed, upset, and just annoyed that I have to borrow clothes and nothing fits well. I hate getting dressed in the morning, especially for work, constantly feeling that my clothes are ill-fitting and I just look unprofessional.

I honestly started investigating diet pills, Weight Watchers, and various other options hoping for a quick fix. Of course, none of these provided that. Now it’s the middle of June and I had to buy a swimsuit that I wasn’t embarrassed being seen wearing. I am now beyond frustrated. I went back the all of those weight loss plans that promise results and debated which one I would try again. I factored expense first, but then started considering health risks. That’s when it finally hit me – if I am a healthy eater then the weight will take care of itself. Why hadn’t I thought of this earlier?

Here I am again. Back to my blog. Trying to dedicate myself and my family to a healthier lifestyle. I plan to do this very slowly this time. My thought is that if I make little changes periodically that stick, I will be better off than making big changes that will feel unattainable.

This time it’s not about baby food. Although I am ashamed to admit, I haven’t made any of #2’s food, but he has only eaten organic since birth. I would like to do more for him and I might incorporate some of that, but this time I want the changes to be bigger. I want my entire family to be affected. I want to further my research on all of the things that I know are slowly poisoning us, first on the list is high fructose corn syrup (I totally don’t buy those “corn sugar” and “in moderation” commercials). I want to make the majority of our food, including all of the “easy” things that we eat, like making and freezing burritos and meatballs and other grab and go foods. I want everyone in my house to be healthy, to feel healthy, and to get closer in this journey.

If anyone is still reading this and would like to join us or has any suggestions or tips, I want that, too! We all know how important communities are and these kinds of changes are difficult and need support.

I thought that I would start with food, but I’ve found that exercise has actually been easier to incorporate, so I am starting with that. Currently, I am using weights for about 15 minutes each morning (rotating between upper and lower body daily) and walking for 30 – 40 minutes over my lunch break (when I can, which I usually can, although this June heat is brutal right now).More research into our food to come. Until then, let’s get healthy!!

This is what happens

when cooking together cuts into nap time.

Has it been a year already?

As September approaches, so does the little man’s first birthday. Since so many people want to see the new house and, of course, love the little guy, we decided to have a party. And a bigger party than we would usually have for such an occasion. How does a newly organic mommy manage to feed so many guests and (most importantly) her son organically on a budget? Well, I don’t know the answer to that yet, but I will let you know once it’s all over.

What I do have the answer to is CAKE! I have spent more hours than I care to admit researching this issue. I want a healthier cake, but I also want it to taste really, really good. I want this to be a happy occasion for all involved – birthday boy, guests, and later into the evening, parents. The later into the evening is referring to not having to take care of a sick, vomiting little boy after preparing for and hosting a birthday party all day. I also have to consider his lactose intolerance and a slight reaction to bananas, plus his likes and dislikes.

Here is the recipe that I have decided to use:

Pumpkin Apple Harvest Cake
By Cait Johnson, author of Witch in the Kitchen

1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin puree
 2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup organic sugar
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped apple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Whipped cream or confectioners’ sugar for topping (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare an 8-inch round cake pan by greasing and flouring it.

2. Combine pumpkin, eggs, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, and salt, stirring to combine. Add apples and nuts, stirring again. Pour mixture into prepared pan (smooth it out as the pumpkin makes it bake in whatever shape it goes in there with).

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

4. Cool the cake, still in the pan, on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack, remove pan, and cool cake completely.

5. When ready to serve, turn cake on to a pretty plate and top with whipped cream or confectioners’ sugar, if desired, or serve plain.

Any ingredient that can be organic will be. I am going to omit the nuts. I am not sure if my son will have a reaction and I don’t love them, so adios! I am also going to purchase a cake pan in the shape of the number “1” to make it cuter and less obvious that it’s not a traditional birthday cake.

Now, the next question – frosting? Once again, I have spent hours upon hours trying to find a recipe. I feel that this cake just screams for a cream cheese frosting, but immediately threw that idea out. Then, I thought that I would do a simple powdered sugar and water glaze and just give up the idea of the frosting covered baby pictures. But I don’t want to have to compromise. Just because the little guy isn’t tolerant of milk doesn’t mean that he should have to give up the experience of fun with frosting. So, I began my research again. I found that a lot of people recommend prepared store bought frosting that doesn’t contain any milk. I would prefer to skip the preservatives and make my own. I have it narrowed down to two recipes, and I probably won’t make up my mind until I have to go shopping for the ingredients. Here they are:

Frosting #1

This icing is lighter than a frosting, but a bit richer than a simple glaze. Perfect for denser cakes or muffins, this is an easy recipe that only takes minutes to make.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup plain unsweetened soy yogurt
1 T. hot water
1 t. vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, combine the confectioners’ sugar, soy yogurt, hot water and vanilla extract, beating until smooth and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Icing can be used chilled slightly or immediately.

Frosting #2

This frosting is, quite literally, the icing on the cake! It is really important to make sure that your soy margarine is cold when you start mixing and that you do not add the vinegar and vanilla until the powdered sugar and margarine are well combined. If the soy margarine is too warm or the vinegar is added at the beginning of mixing, the margarine will "separate," and you'll have less a frosting and more a soupy sloppy sweet sauce. This recipe is really simple to make; you just have to follow it!
Makes about 2 cups frosting
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
1 ¾ cups confectioners sugar
6 T. dairy-free soy margarine, such as Willow Run
2 t. apple cider vinegar
1 t. vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer on low speed, cream the powdered sugar with the soy margarine, adjusting the speed up to high once the powdered sugar is incorporated into the margarine. Add the cider vinegar and vanilla extract, and continue to mix on high speed until frosting holds stiff peaks. Store in a covered dish or container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Me v. Bugs

We have recently engaged in a war against insects and have chosen several non-chemical methods as our weapons. Some have worked, some have not. We have avoided spraying toxic chemicals inside the house, but our hands were tied and we had to spray outside. Just a short year ago we would have bought bombs and set them off immediately. But, back then, we were also cleaning with toxins and eating pesticides.

My favorite bug killing weapon (recommended by my husband’s grandmother):

In a bowl about the size of a cereal bowl mix:
3 cups water
4 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon of dish soap

Put in a room where there are bugs. You can even use this outside on your deck or anywhere. *Note* if you have pets, set it on a countertop or windowsill or railing or anywhere the animals can’t drink it.

It’s almost magical all the different bugs that this eliminates. We have found everything from wasps to little tiny bugs that I can’t identify. Bonus, since I can’t throw anything away, especially food, I have found that this is a great use for the non-organic sugar that I bought before we went organic.

We have been pretty successful eliminating all of the bugs except for fleas. Our animals became infested and since we had never had this problem before we were a little late in picking up the signs which increased the problem significantly. These are the little pests that have required chemicals and medication for the pets.

Current score…

Me – 1
Bugs – 1 (pesky fleas)

Does anyone have a non-toxic pest eliminating method? Please share!

Making food for babies and people older than babies

Oh dear, sweet blog, I swear that I haven’t been ignoring you. I really just haven’t had anything to report.

I am still making baby food, but realized that the era will be coming to an end in the near future. The little man prefers feeding himself tiny bites with his fingers and is desperate to use the spoon (or at least have enough control over it so that he can wave it in the air or bang it on the tray or do whatever else he wants with it). So, my days of pureeing are numbered. I am a little sad, as this made me feel more of a part of my son’s nurturing where I feel that I miss out on so much.

There is an upside to not making baby food – I can focus my efforts on making food that the entire family can enjoy. I really want to make my own bread. I would love to get my husband away from the white Wonder bread and I have been dreaming up yummy combinations that I can’t wait to try. Hopefully I will have the time and the tools to begin this project soon. I am also anxious to try canning my own spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce. I have daydreams of a weekly family night involving the entire family making homemade pizzas together and watching a movie together afterwards. Of course my child will have to be a little older to help out and appreciate a movie, but that’s why they are currently daydreams. Making and canning my own pizza sauce will help make this dream easy and doable, plus give us a fresh from the garden taste in the middle of the cold Ohio winters.

I have been buying mostly organic groceries for a couple of months now. Cheese and meat has been an obstacle, because of cost and availability. Luckily our Farmer’s Market has an organic cheese stand that is wonderful. It takes all of my power to not spend my entire paycheck there. Unfortunately it is only available during the Farmer’s Market, so the off season will still be a challenge. I still can’t find a good solution for meat, so I have been serving vegetarian meals a couple of times a week. Eggs were also costly, but availability was easy. I thought eggs were going to break me, but luckily I have a co-worker that has chickens and has been selling eggs to me at a much more reasonable price. I have become pretty proud of my organic pantry.

 We are still undergoing the slowest move in the history of moves. This is not only draining our energy, but also our bank accounts. Fixing and replacing to make the new house livable has come before any green changes that we would like to make. So, sadly, I have not begun to compost or recycle or do anything else that I want to do in the new house.I really didn’t expect the move to stall my green efforts so much. I plan to continue to make little changes whenever I see the opportunity and the funds and hope that some of my bigger changes can come into effect by the end of the year.

Carnivorous?

We are officially in the new house now (although not all of our stuff is). Unfortunately our new house appliances are pretty much unusable and the replacements still won’t be in for another week or so. That being said, my poor son has eaten pretty much the same thing every day for about two weeks. The variety has been seriously lacking.

We did try to introduce a little bit of garlic powder mixed with carrots and white potatoes, but that did not go over so well. I wasn’t home for this particular incident, but I heard that it was awful. Later I used some cinnamon in winter squash to try to entice the little guy to finish his dinner and the results weren’t nearly as horrible as the garlic powder. The cinnamon did make him curious to take about two more bites, but he still didn’t finish his dinner. He did seem to like the cinnamon, but was just so over eating.

Now that my appliances are getting nearer, I am starting to look at more combinations and other foods to introduce (to make up for the recent lackluster meals). As I looked into recipes and stared at the jarred food for ideas, I kept coming across meat. I have no intention to make my children vegetarian. If this is something that he decides on his own at an older age I will totally support his decision and try to accommodate his dietary needs. But as of right now, his father and I are both carnivores and I would like to add meat into his diet.

And this may be a good spot to add that I am terrified of this venture. I was very unsure about making my own baby food and honestly thought that it would be a failure and we would be using jarred food* by now. Obviously, I am still making all of his meals and that never happened, so I hope that preparing meat has the same outcome.

As I mentioned, I have been using Super Baby Food as my go-to guide and handbook. When I consulted it to find some yummy meat recipes I could find none. I don’t know if I am looking in the wrong place in the index or it’s just not there (which after searching every term for meat that I could possibly think of, this is my conclusion), but regardless, nothing. So, I had to turn to the internet for inspiration.

I have been eying quite a few recipes that not only look pretty good to me, but also look like something that he will eat (usually contains at least one or two ingredients that are already in regular rotation). Here are my favorites (so far):

Simmering Sweet Apples and Chicken

1 chicken breast - uncooked and diced
1 or 2 medium sized apples (try Macintosh), peeled, cord and diced
½ cup peeled and diced sweet potato
2 cup water or chicken stock or vegetable stock

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized pot.
Bring to a slow boil and then turn the heat down.
Simmer until the meat pieces are cooked; approximately 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the liquid level when simmering.
When meat is fully cooked and the apples are mushy, remove contents to a bowl and allow to cool. Puree, mash or chop for your baby.

Variations:

Add ¼ cup uncooked brown rice before cooking
Add ¼ uncooked couscous or quinoa before cooking

I am definitely going to try one of these variations when I make it – most likely I will add quinoa or orzo

Baby Beef Stew

½ cup cubed cooked beef
1 peeled potato
¼ cup shelled fresh or frozen peas
1 peeled carrot
1 stalk of celery
¼ cup uncooked pasta (try ditalini (small tube shaped noodles) as it's small and makes for great finger food)4 cups of water

Wash vegetables thoroughly and chop very fine.Simmer the veggies for 20 minutes or until softenedAdd the pasta and cook for 10 minutes longer or until very soft. Drain but save the water.Mash or puree the mix until it is of a consistency adequate for your baby (if needed, use the reserved water to reach desired consistency).

Brown Rice Chicken and Peach Delight

½ cup cooked boneless chicken - chopped
¼ cup cooked brown rice
1 ripe peach
1 T peach juice (white grape or apple juice may be used or juice may be left out)
1 T milk and
2 t wheat germ

Mix all ingredients together, transfer to blender/food processor and puree or chop to make textured for older babies.

Due to my little guy’s lactose sensitivity, I am going to omit the milk.

Although I have all intentions of feeding my children meat, I would also like to introduce tofu and other meat alternatives. I don’t use tofu currently, but would also like to incorporate it into the adult diets, too. Since I am not familiar with it, I needed to do some research in storage, preparation, etc. My research usually begins with baby food and this is what I found:

- When you have opened the package of tofu, drain the water and blot the tofu dry with a paper towel. You can then slice it according to what you are going to use it for. If blending or mashing it, it is a good idea to slice it into small cubes.

- Tofu may be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days. You must store it in a container of water that is airtight. The water should be changed daily or every 2 days at the least.

 - Tofu does freeze but it will turn spongier in texture and often changes to a darkish caramel color. Should you choose to freeze it, simply put it in a freezer bag and toss in the freezer or, put the whole container that it came in into the freezer. Thaw it on the counter - do not microwave to thaw.

Here are some tofu combinations that make yummy meals.

Blend tofu with:

Applesauce and squash
Avocado and pears
Blueberries and bananas
Sweet potato and carrots
Broccoli and parsnips

I have a lot of these ingredients in my kitchen already, so I hope to make up some tofu and meat dishes either later this week or beginning next week. I will let you know how he likes it!

*Just a note about jarred food – I did have to use it during a recent trip to visit relatives. I purchased sweet potatoes and pears (of course organic) which are always winners. The pears were fine and he ate those, but he refused to eat the sweet potatoes. It made his mommy feel pretty good about the homemade food.

Spice it up!

Spices can be added to baby food anywhere from 8 – 10 months. I am right in this window, so I have been looking at different spices and ways that I can use them. Here is a list of baby (in my opinion) safe spices

Anise, Basil, Cinnamon, Dill, Garlic powder, Ginger, Lemon zest, Mint, Nutmeg, Oregano, Pepper, Rosemary

We have been trying to avoid medication with our little guy, so I like to use food remedies when possible. Another benefit is that these spices have a lot of uses:

Cinnamon – good for upset belly, diarrhea, and possible anti-fungal and anti-bacterial

Garlic – anti-biotic and blood pressure

Ginger – good for upset belly

Dill – hiccups, colic, and digestive troubles

Mint – stimulates healthy digestion and helps respiratory issues

Coriander – relieves gassiness, stimulates appetite, and helps rheumatisms and joint pain (not recommended on the baby spice list, but the parents can benefit from this)

I also wasn’t exactly sure how to incorporate these spices into his meals. I found a helpful list of ideas:

Fruits:

Apples: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

Pears: ginger, cinnamon, mint

Bananas: cinnamon, ginger

Dairy:Plain yogurt: mint, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

Vegetables:

Sweet potato: nutmeg, cinnamon

Pumpkin: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

Carrots: basil & garlic – baked cinnamon carrots are yummy, too

Green beans: garlic powder

Potatoes (white): dill, garlic

Winter squash: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

Cereals/Grains:

Pasta: oregano, garlic, basil

Oatmeal or other cereals: fruits, cinnamon, nutmeg

Rice (sweet): cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

Quinoa (sweet): cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger

Quinoa (savory): garlic powder, pepper, basil, oregano

Since most of his foods are already made and frozen, I am going to add the spices right before serving. Also, if he doesn’t like something, then I won’t have to toss an entire batch of food. And, after reading this list, I plan to add ginger to the rhubarb recipe in the previous post.

Unfortunately, every spice, with the exception of salt and pepper, is already sealed in a box awaiting the move this weekend, so I won’t get to try any of this until (the soonest) next week.