PEAS, pretty please!

Model: Pluto, Giselle's favorite toy ;) 

Green peas are one of Giselle's favorite. Initially, when I started feeding her solids, she would never open her mouth for any veggies. But for some reason when it used to be peas, her mouth would go wide open as soon as she would gulp down the morsel had given her.


As small as your tiny little one, green peas are packed with a lot of nutrition. For mothers who exclusively breastfeed their babies, peas are great as they provide iron to your baby.They are packed with proteins too.   
Peas provide calcium and Vitamin A and C too.


It is not very difficult to feed your baby peas. They are a little sweet in nature and are pleasant to have. If your baby is refusing all the spinach and other greens go ahead and try this one. You will be happy to see your little eater content :)


Many mothers find it difficult to get the skin of the peas to grind. Even I did. You can grind the peas and then strain it with a strainer or else remove it before grinding. I remove it before grinding. Once you boil peas, the skin comes out easily. I have show it in the pictures below :)


Here is how you prepare peas to please your little one.


You need:


Green peas (fresh or frozen) - a fistful
Water


Prepare it:

Happy Giselle :)

Is your little one happy too???

Happy Eater, Happy Mom - PREPARE AND STORE BABY FOOD

Preparing food for your baby at home is very easy and the best thing is you know what you are feeding your baby. When I started preparing food for Giselle, I was trilled to know how easy the process was and how much she liked the food I made. I would set a time for me everyday to steam and then puree her food. It was all going great till one weekend. 

Weekend is kind of a rest day for me 'coz I am in the house the whole week, so I need to spend the weekend out even if it means I need to just sit at the mall. It was then I realised that I could not make Giselle's food and would resort to baby jar foods. While it is the best source of takeout baby food, I would still prefer feeding her homemade stuff (I'm I being stubborn or what!).

So, for all you stubborn moms and the not so stubborn ones too, here are a few pointers to what you need to prepare solids for your baby and how to preserve them.

There are loads of fancy baby food processors now a days in the market. I saw a few of them myself at Babies R us and Baby Depot. They were so attractive that I almost picked up one when the voices in my head said "Wait Mel! are you serious, you are gonna use that stuff only for 6 months and you are gonna pay so much for it." That's when I decided sure, I will see what I have handy at home to make solids. So here are a few things you will need and the best thing about these "baby food making gadgets" are that they are readily available in your kitchen.

The Essentials:

• A food steamer: I am sure that most of u own this one as a kitchen possession. You can use a steamer to prepare vegetables for your baby. 
• A Colander: Don't have a steamer, that OK. Used to strain rice or pasta, a colander works as a great steamer. A readily available tool in the kitchen, you can steam any food item using it. Its very simple: Keep a vessel of water under the colander. Add required food stuff in it and close it. Keep it on the cooking range. Your food is getting steamed.
• A fork: A great tool to use to mash soft fruits and veggies. Can be also used to shred chicken and other meats. A fork is an old fashioned tool used for centuries to make baby food.
• A spice grinder: used to puree baby food after boiling or steaming. This tool works great for all stages of baby food. You want to puree, mash, or just cut the food into chunks, a spice grinder will be able to do it for you.

Ways of making baby food:

• Steaming: Popular among most moms, the steaming process is on of the best ways to cook your baby a healthy meal.When you steam a certain food almost all its nutrients remain in the food itself and has a less chance to be lost in the process of cooking. 
• Boiling: A faster method to cook baby food. All you need is water and your desired food in it. Set in on the gas and let it boil. The only draw back is the food that is being boiled can lose some of its nutrients in the process. But you can still use the water to puree the food.
• Baking: the most favorite, I love baking foods. Baking cooks food in its own juices and does not require a help of a substitute like water. All nutrients remain in the food, which makes it more healthy for your baby. Not only does baking provide good health benefits, but also gives a nice flavor to the food. Baby food can get very boring so bake it and let your baby enjoy a different flavor and texture (a gourmet food for you little eater)  .

Preserve food for your peanut:

For mothers who are working and have less time to make baby food everyday here is how you can keep yourself busy and at the same time stay guilt free. You can make a batch of food and store it. This works great for me when I need to go out on a weekend and still feed my baby homemade food.

You will need:

• Ice trays: available in plenty in the market, a ice tray can help portion food accordingly and freeze it. You can freeze baby food for 3 months (I would finish it in 1 month tho, 3 months seems to long for me). I use a normal ice cube tray that is already sitting in my freezer. 
• Freezer bags: After the food has turned into ice cubes, go ahead and store it in freezer bags (I use Ziploc bags). Label the food and the date on the bag so it is easy for you to identify the food and the time you stored it.

Always remember:

• Know how much your baby is eating in a single feeding. Once you know it, you will find it easy to portion the food.
• Portion food as required in ice cubes so that you can use it completely. Do not defrost and freeze food again. The chances of bacteria growing in the food is higher.
• If your baby has not consumed the entire portion, do not go ahead a freeze the remaining food. Your baby's saliva can contaminate the food. Dispose immediately.
• After preparing baby food, wait for it to cool. Do not put it in the freezer immediately as it can bring down the temperature of the other foods in the freezer causing bacteria to grow.
• If you have stored food in the refrigerator and not the freezer, do not keep food more than 1 day. 

Sometimes I do not have homemade food in my freezer. So I go ahead and give Giselle jar foods. Once you open the jar food remove the required portion in another container and refrigerate the rest. Use it within 1 day.

You can also travel with homemade baby food. You will require a ice bag for it. If I am travelling for more than a day then I prefer taking jar foods or cereals as the chances of my baby falling sick is less.

So here are a few pointers for all you baby home food makers. I hope this information helps all my readers. If there are some more points you want to add moms, do drop me a comment. I shall incorporate the same :)

Till then happy cooking.

Note:

• While pureeing food, use the same water you have used to boil or steam the food.
• If you do not have a spice grinder, go ahead a use your food processor. You may need to add a little extra water (osterizer works great). This works great when you make food in bulk. For less quantity food I would still prefer a spice grinder. 
• Cover the ice cube trays with plastic wraps before freezing food.
• Making baby food at home is very easy but if not preserved properly can cause babies to fall sick.
• If you think you are not confident preserving food in advance go ahead and do it everyday (I do it). It will keep you tension free :)
• You want to invest in a baby food grinder, yes you can. Its up to all moms to decide that. Its still healthy and serves the purpose :)

    

POTATO BAJI

Who does not like Potatoes. At my place it is loved by everyone. My husband loves potatoes so much that when I make any dish the first thing he will ask me is "did you put potatoes in it?" and if I say no, he says "Mel! you should put potatoes, then make the dish taste better." I'm sure if at all my husband was a chef you would find potatoes in everything. If he could mix it with water and have it I'm sure he would have done that too :P


Anyways, here is a very simple recipe to make potato baji. I always make this one when I have lots of other work to do as it gets done in no less than 10 min (excluding the time it takes to pressure cook the potatoes). I use this filling in Masala Dosa or as a side dish for puris. 


So here is the recipe for you:


What you need:

• Potatoes (duh!) - 2 large
• Onion - 1/2
• Mustard - 1/2 tsp
• Peas - 1/2 cup
• Green Chillies - 2 (depends upon how spicy you what to make it)
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Oil (you can use any variety)
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Boil potatoes in a pressure cooker. You can boil it normally in water too but I prefer doing it in the pressure cooker 'coz it gets done faster.
• When the potatoes are done boiling, mash them. Add salt to it and mix. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add mustard seeds. 
• Once it splutters, add onions.
• Once the onions turn transparent, add green chillies and peas. Cook till peas are done
• Now add turmeric powder and salt (remember you have already added salt to the potatoes, so be careful)
• Then add the mashed potatoes and mix. Remove from gas.

I hope you will find it delicious!


Note:

• If the potato baji becomes too dry, add 1/2 cup of water and mix while cooking
• You can use this baji for masala dosa, puris and in batata wada (will post recipe soon)

Something I still crave for - MASALA DOSA

Have you craved for something so bad that you went ahead and learnt how to prepare it. I did!


As a child I remember going to Swagat restaurant in Mangalore and having the crispy Masala Dosa. It used to be a early Sunday morning treat for me and my entire family. My family used to attend the 8:30am mass on at Milagres Church and then after some food for our religious soul, we used go for some fabulous breakfast for our hungry stomach.


I remember entering the hotel on a nice pleasant Sunday morning where the smell of hot puris, rava, wada and dosa enticed my smell buds (is there something called smell buds! or did I just made up a word). We used to go into the family room and sit waiting for the waiter to come and tell us the menu (trust me no fancy menu cards here, just a simple man reciting it for you). He used to recite it so fast that my sister used to always ask "did u mention parota gassi". Oh my sister.. She would always order parota gassi as if there was nothing else on the menu or probably that's the only thing she heard the waiter saying.


Masala Dosa was something that I always loved and I never knew how much I loved it until I moved to the US. On February 10,2009 I left India to relocate to the US after I got married. It was not all about leaving India, the country I love to bits, but also leaving behind the family I loved the most, the friends I shared secrets  with, the culture I always loved to flaunt and the food I always loved to eat.


US made me crave a lot of foods from back home and the cravings reached the peak of desperation when I became pregnant. Something I always craved for when I was pregnant was Masala Dosa. That craving pushed me to prepared this dosa at home and vala! another recipe got its place in my recipe book. So today I'm gonna share this recipe with all of you.


Ok, this one is not entirely my creation. The recipe is what my mom prepares in Mangalore. Its only the red chutney that does not belong to my moms creation. I found it on managlorean.com, a recipe posted by Kudpi Raj.


Hope you enjoy it as much as I do...


Here's what you need:


For the dosa:

• Idli rice (can use sona masoori too) - 1 cup
• Urad Dal - 1/2 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Yeast - 1/4 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Here's how you make it:

• Soak the above 3 ingredients for 6 hours in water (rice and fenugreek seeds together and urad dal separately)
• Grind the soaked ingredients to make a batter. Add salt while grinding.
• Meanwhile in a glass take some warm water, add sugar and the yeast. Keep it closed for half an hour without steering.
• After half an hour steer the yeast and add it to the batter. Keep it over night for fermentation.

Once fermented you can go ahead and make the dosa

1. After fermentation
2. After steering the fermented batter 

• Heat a frying pan/tawa over high heat and grease it with oil
• Then add a dollop of the batter with a spatula.
• Once you add the batter on the tawa take your spatula and turn it around to make the dosa flat.
• Close with a lid.
• Once cooked go ahead and add the red chutney and the potato masala/potato baji on one side
• Fold the dosa like you close an open book and remove from tawa.
• Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Red Chutney

Courtesy: Kudpi Raj 

Here's what you need

• Red chillies (I used South Indian red chillies) - 6
• Tamarind - cherry size ball
• Channa Dal - 2 tsp
• Onion - 1/2
• Garlic - 3 flakes
• Salt - To taste
• Oil for frying

Here's how you make it:

• Roast dry long chillies with little oil.
• Grind the chillies along with other ingredients (except oil) to a smooth thick paste using little water.

I have taken a few pictures of how to assemble the dosa. It makes it easy to understand.

Recipe for potato baji follows.


Coconut chutney recipe coming soon :)


Note:

• If you did not remember to add salt while grinding its ok, add it after you have made the batter. If you did not add it then, no problem add it after it has fermented.
• Add very less fenugreek seeds. If you add too many it can make the batter sour.
• You can store this batter in the refrigerator for 2 days. 
• If the dosa does not lift easily form the pan/tawa. Clean the pan/tawa with a tissue paper of cloth and sprinkle some water on it. Wait for the water to evaporate and then go ahead and make the dosa.
• The tawa should be really hot for you to make this dosa so remember to keep the flame on high.
• If you do not get the shape of the dosa at your first attempt (I did not), do not get disappointed. Try again you'll be successful.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOLIDS BABY?

It was one fine morning I got up to realise that, OMG! Giselle slept through the night. Yes, she did! My little girl used to get up every 2 hours for feeds at night which made me think that I would never be sleeping again. Have you heard the saying "Mothers don't sleep", Oh yeah! ask me :). Then one FINE MORNING, I got up to notice that it was 8:00 and my daughter was still asleep. I had not heard a single squeal or crying at night and for the first time after I had her, I got the best sleep ever.

But wait... before my excitement could reach any further and after almost half the world got to know that my daughter was sleeping through the night (Hell yes! mothers like to share these things to the world) Giselle wakes up again, 3 times at night :(.. So much for the excitement. I could not figure out what the problem was. I kept thinking that probably it was the gas that was waking her up, or is she feeling cold, or is she having a bad dream, or maybe she's teething, when my mother told me - 'I guess she's getting hungry, start solids for her' (in a demanding tone).

Giselle was exclusively breastfed till then, so introducing solids to her was kind of freaky to me. I was all alone in this foreign country not knowing what to do next. Should I really start solids for her? Is she ready yet? What if it causes a reaction or what if she chokes? Questions, questions questions... Why do I have so many questions all the time????.... So I decided, 'lets go online and see what the world has to say'. So I browsed through all the websites, blogs, forums. I got a number of views, comments and advices on starting solids. But none of them told me what was good for 'Giselle'... Damn!

I was such a skeptic when it came to feeding her solids that it took me almost 3 weeks to get a spoon of rice cereal into Giselle's mouth. So I started off with rice cereal. Oh yeah, before that, the sites I had checked on when to introduce solids to an infant, gave me a lot of pointers. But I went ahead with pure instincts - 'motherly instincts'. All I looked for in Giselle was if she was a supported sitter and if she could digest her food. After all my baby was hungry and I needed to do what was right for her.

When your baby is ready for solids (based on Giselle and the way she took it). Again remember all babies are different.

Here I go again, 


When your baby is ready for solids:

• See if your baby is sitting well when supported - her head is still gonna wobble and if u leave her she for sure will fall. All you got to see is if she is sitting when u support her.
• She is hungry even after a normal feed of milk or formula - if you think your baby is still hungry even after u have fed her milk or formula. 
• She can swallow food - yes she is going to have a pushing reflex when she takes her first bite. Remember babies are so used to sucking for their food so they are gonna do the same when u introduce a spoon to them. Just listen if your baby is making a gulping sound and have patience.. she's gonna get the knack of using the spoon some day soon.  
• She poops well - if your baby is having a bowl movement once a day after she has eaten solids then she is good to go. Remember that baby poop can change once you introduce solids to them. They become a lot more stinky, the colour will change and yeah its gonna be a little hard, not as runny as it used to be.

Things to watch out for:

• After introducing a new food to your baby, wait till she poops. See if she is taking it well. If the food comes out as is then your baby isn't digesting the food well. Stop then and there, wait for a week or two and try introducing it again.
• If your baby's poop is frothy in nature then its time to call your pediatrician.
• If your baby is pooping black. Call your pediatrician immediately.  
• Look for any allergy like symptoms. Allergy's occur within 24 hours after you have introduced a new food. I would wait for 2 days to see if my baby is allergic to a certain food or not.  It could be anything. If your baby is reacting in an unusual manner then it could be the food.

Do not worry about:

• Your baby's poop colour will change. It used to be a very nice yellow colour before, but not any more. If you feed your baby carrot she is gonna have some orange spots in her stool, If you feed her spinach, you'll see green poop. What more variety, try feeding her beetroot's :)...
• She is not eating everyday. Yes! babies sometimes tend to not be in a mood just like we adults. So cut them some slack ;). Giselle would be a very good eater today but tomorrow she will not even look at food. Very normal!. Don't force them. 
• My baby eats everything, I fed her spinach today, she loved it. Wait, don't blow the trumpet yet, their are chances that she may not eat it tomorrow. Babies have moods too, lolz. Don't worry.. if she is not taking it today, give it some other day
• My baby does not eat anything. There is a time where your first attempt with a new food may be disappointing. She will make a big fuss and refuse it. Don't worry.. She may not like it today, but there are all chances she will like it tomorrow... Babies and Moods, are you Serious!
• If you have given your baby spinach she may have runny stool. Remember spinach regulates bowl movement. So introduce spinach in a very small quantity. Please wash spinach properly before use. If not clean it can cause your baby to fall sick.

What food do I need to start off with:

There are loads of foods in the market today. Start off with:

First foods or stage 1 foods: These food are all pureed and are single type foods

Under these you can find veggies, fruits and cereal (no dairy or meat)

• Fruits: Banana, Apple, Pears, Prunes
• Veggies: Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Green beans, Peas, Squash
• Cereal: Brown Rice, Oatmeal and Barley

Do not feed honey or cows milk to your infant till the age of 1 year. They can 'coz allergies and make your baby every sick. (Thanks Natasha for reminding me, its an important point)

Many mothers like to go the safer route and introduce fruits first as there is less risk of allergy.

So what did I introduce first to Giselle. I did rice cereal. She did pretty well with rice cereal the very first day so we continued with that. When we visited Giselle's pediatrician he told us to start her off with some veggies. So I gave her carrots. Today Giselle eats - Carrots, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, spinach, Squash , Banana and Avocados (yes! try them, they are a big hit in our house) and of course rice cereal.

We started Giselle on solids when she turned 4 months, but many parents wait till after 5 to 6 months to introduce solids to their babies. It all depends on you as a mom and whats good for your baby. Trust me, trust your 'motherly instincts'

Giselle's schedule at 5 months:


8:00am : Breast milk
10:00 am: Fruits  (introduced only banana for now)
1:00pm: Veggies 
3:00pm: Breast Milk
6:00pm: Breast Milk
8:00pm: Rice Cereal or some veggies
10:00pm: Breast milk (thats 'coz she sleeps after she drinks a little bit of milk)
Night wakings: Breast milk


I started off by feeding Giselle rice cereal once a day. That was at 4 months, then gradually increased it to two feeding. I just introduced fruits to her in the mornings.

I will be posting a few homemade baby recipes for you. I Promise, soon :)

If this post has helped even 1% of the mothers out there. I will be the most happiest mother out here. Do leave comments moms. And if you have any knowledge to share please go ahead a do so.

Note: 

• Breast milk or formula are the main source of nutrition for babies till 6 months old. So do not substitute solids for milk or formula.
• If your baby is not eating the food when you introduce it for the first time, try pureeing it with breast milk or formula. Chances are she may eat it.
• Try introducing 2 tbsp at the beginning and then increase the quantity
• I give Giselle water (say about 1oz) after every feed. It helps regulate her digestive system. I would suggest you give water to them as solids can be a little hard on their system. Rice cereal can get babies constipated and water can help.
• Everything I have written here is based on how Giselle did with solids. I say it again, all babies are different. 
• If you think something is wrong and you are not confident to start solids for your baby, please don't. You need to be confident when you take this big step.
• Ask your pediatrician before you start solids for your baby. An added advice wont hurt.
• I used 'she' as a gender in this post. Its only because I have a daughter. If I had a son then for sure it would be a 'he' :)

NEVER SAY 'NEVER'

'Why is she crying? What does she want? Neville please carry her, she's driving me crazy'... Its been 5 months now and its almost every night that I scream the following statement to my husband. Well... carry her, give her the pacifier, let her chew her thumb, let her watch TV for 10 min, Let her sleep with us.. these are a few words that come out of my mouth very often these days

It was in January 2010 that I got to know I was entering into a new world of fun, excitement and responsibility. Yes! I was going to be a mother and before I could even go to my first appointment with my OBGYN thoughts started flowing into my head about how am I gonna bring up my daughter. There were many good thoughts, a few apprehensive, a few emotional, a few about what I'm gonna teach my baby and a few what I'm not gonna teach her.. Little did I know that the 'not gonna teach' part would be the most difficult one.

I spent a great deal of time talking to experienced mothers over the phone when I was expecting, taking a lot of advice from them. While some told me not to make it a habit of carrying her, while some others told me use home remedies to relieve my baby from the bad cold she had and some more telling me to make my own baby food. Mind you, this conversation started way before Giselle even had a mouth developed in my stomach. Man! what was I thinking.

So, it was everyday, almost everyday, that I kept telling my husband what he needed to tell the nurse after I delivered my baby (I had to tell him 'coz i never knew if I would be in a state to even speak after my delivery) with warning signals to him. I remember telling him - tell the nurse NO pacifier and NO formula for sure. I also reminded my husband to give me the courage to let my baby cry and not carry her when she did with the fear of 'spoiling her'. And guess what I actually did all these things. The nurse didn't give G the pacifier, nor did they formula feed her when she cried at the nursery for milk, nor did I carry her when she cried at home (I only know how I managed to do that), nor did I let my parents carry her the 2 months they were in the US.

Giselle did just fine for the first 2 months of her military regiment, and then all hell broke loose the time she turned 3 months. She would cry her guts out day in and day out, night in and night out. My parents left for India and I was left all alone the entire day to take care of my daughter. Blame it on the lack of sleep or the tricks my daughter played on me (as if she was waiting for my parents to leave to teach me a lesson for putting her through the military regiment) that I started doing all that I had decided not to do in the fear of 'spoiling her'. Look at the irony here. I told my husband not to get her used to certain practises with a 'warning signal' when I went ahead and did just that with a 'smile on my face' just to escape all the frustration I had to go through if I had not done it. I carried her when I had decided I would never carry her when she wanted me to for the fear of 'spoiling her', I put her next to me at night when I had decided that I would always keep her in the crib for the fear of 'she wont be independent otherwise', I gave her the pacifier when I decided I would not for the fear of her 'getting used to it', I gave her a dose of pain killer even before she got her vaccines when I decided that I would never give her the antibiotic for the fear of 'her getting used to medicines' and more over I gave her jar foods when I had decided that home food was best for her and jar foods where filled with preservatives. Damn! how did I get here and how did I get into this mess of getting her into the habit of things I never wanted her to get into.

Lately my favourite to keep my daughter from crying is letting her watch TV. I still remember the days when I used to tell Neville - 'Just few more months and then we can not watch TV, 'coz I don't want my baby to get used to it' and today I, myself prop her in front of the television so I could go ahead and finish some of my work. Am I being a nice mother or what! There are a lot of guilty feeling I go through when I do these things, but don't judge me yet. I know most of the mothers who take care of their children in a foreign country where there is no help whatsoever will agree with me, while the ones who are not yet mothers will agree with me someday.

So look at this, five months old and my daughter has gotten into all the 'habits' I 'never' wanted her to get into and for sure there are many more 'habits' to come. So I finally decided that from now on I shall never say 'NEVER'

I STAND AS A WITNESS....

February 2, 2011, a blizzard hit Illinois and routine life was interrupted. While most of them thought it was for the good and no doubt I was one of them. Why do I say good.. Children think about this - no school, no homework, no boring classes. People who go to work - no orders, no projects, no physical or mental work. Housewives - No getting up early to cook breakfast, catch up with something you wanted for a long time to do as you put your husbands to work, or else cook a recipe that was always dogeared in your recipe book for years. I'm sure now you know why I said good.


But for me it was even more exciting as I got up this morning to a picture postcard view of the snow on the ground and everywhere else. Coming from India, a country where I spent all my life, witnessing a blizzard of this magnitude was no less than a jackpot. The cold wind blowing outside, the color white taking a whole new meaning in my life, children making snow angels while there parents cleared their driveways and cars which were buried in snow, sipping my hot cup of tea and looking out of the window.. well I saw a new Illinois on the morning of February 2, 2011.



My day started pretty late today.. say about 10 am. Its such a relief when your husband does not have to go to work and all you can do is relax. As I saw the snow outside all I wanted to do is go play snow fight, so I got my daughter all bundled up and got out of the house along with my husband to enjoy the snow. Though it didn't last for a long time as my 5 month old froze in the snow, I must say it was fun. After I got home I logged into the internet to browse my facebook account and guess what, I saw so many people posting pictures of the blizzard and status messages of how people are spending their time at home on this snowy holiday. Sometimes I wonder, what was life without facebook. Today most of the things I get to know first is not through a human but from this social networking site like who got engaged, whose single, who left college or who just delivered a baby.


Not that I want to divert the topic but I cant help think of how facebook has changed our life's. The site has made the world a lot smaller. I have always heard people saying "its a small world", but now I think its time to say "its a very small world". Who agrees with me, do comment :). Not that I am any different, so I went and added a few of my pictures to the already exciting one's posted by my friends.


Getting back to the blizzard... 
I don't know if I will get to see another blizzard in my life but all I can say is that this sure was an amazing experience. Now that I am sitting on my couch and thinking what if life was like this always, a set of new surprises everyday, where a phone call gives my husband a good news of 'no office today' or a beautiful view when I open my window outside, or seeing my  daughter's expression when the cool breeze blew freezing her face or getting to know how many people actually live in your apartment. Who says Blizzards are bad. I say "Bring it on"