So I gotta ask this question. If all the snack companies are now aware of the problems with trans fats, then how is it that they can tout their product as "no trans fat" when, right there in their ingredients list, is "Partially Hydrogenated whatever the hell"? So is it just me, or is this false advertising?
In any case - after Baby had fallen off the bed for the first time this past Saturday (arrgh - I can still hear that thud loud and clear) while I was trying to put on the stupid Baby Bjorn thing, I decided that this strappity thing really has a high dork factor. My friend's husband takes their little Baby home in the Bjorn from our house, and he agrees. I've found that things with too many frills and no way of compacting them really are bad designs. Yes, it's this soft thing, but you ever try carrying one of those Baby Bjorns alongside your diaper bag and your way-too-heavy car seat with baby inside? It's like carrying an octopus. And I've seen some people out there who just wear the thing, without the baby in it. Talk about suburban dork factor. I mean, seriously - in this baby industry that's still fully geared towards getting the females of our population to buy all this crap, the products out there really are poorly designed for our use. Or rather, they're designed for maximum advertisement, minimal practicality.
I have found only very few things that were well designed and that have been a fully integral system. And the dangers of baby products - Hubby asked me, aren't companies concerned about what is or is not safe for babies? Hell no. Just look at some of the profit margins - you'll see safety left in some ditch in those margins. And even with the recent China recall, something tells me Fisher Price isn't going to be going out of business any time soon. Teething rings - what are those chemicals inside those teething rings? Not to mention all the plastic baby bottles in the market. Have you found natural plastic out there recently? If we are concerned about the chemicals we put into the babies bodies, we don't have to look all that hard - it's around us all day long. Granted, they may have to get used to the chemicals in our environment one day, but I'd like to think that I can give this brand new human being a fair chance at having a natural life to start. Hasn't anyone wondered about the source of all the in-vitro and fertility testing that's so prevalent now? Now let me just take a swig out of my plastic water bottle.
So yes, alas, she took a tumble. She was OK - stunned, had a little bit of red spot on her head where she hit it on our jute rug, but she wasn't disoriented, didn't seem drowsy, and didn't favor one side or another. At the end of the day, she actively grabbed the spoon I was using to feed her sweet potato, and aimed it right into her mouth. And she was pretty well yesterday. No visible bleeding, and no softness where her head hit the floor, didn't sleep more than she usually does. If she's anything like me, she's got a skull hard enough to give whomever is holding her a bloody nose. Trust me - I've been there, stars in front of my eyes and all. Growing pains...
Monday, August 13, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Growth, renewal, and reflection
I've been meaning to do this for a while, and I haven't gotten a chance to yet - I really should do it soon - I've been meaning to write a letter to Baby, one that reflects my hopes and embodies my anticipatory life with Baby in these early months of her *hopefully* long and joyous life. It's something that I think about each day now, things I would say to her, things that I hope she'll appreciate one day, especially those elements of love between a Mother and her child that, unless you've had a child, I really do believe you can't quite comprehend. I mean, seriously - here is this cute little being, this brand new little human, who came into Hubby's and my life relatively shortly ago, and I went through the full spectrum of reactions and emotions - from really not being able to identify with Baby in the beginning, to connecting with it and realizing that its every cry can draw an almost hysterical reaction from me to try to help it calm down, to now holding it day after day in my embrace, in hopes that I could one day become the kind of parent that she hopes to have. Parenthood is a strange creature - and I know one day, I'll look back on these beginning months, and wonder "how the hell did I get through all that, I was so absolutely crazy!" One day.
In the mean time, this past week was not too eventful - I can't even really remember what I had cooked. I do know, one day, I made a deconstructed quesadilla, and I tried baking cheese by itself to make a cheddar/jack crisp - that was mildly successful, but the chicken that I baked for the quesadilla came out fantastic. The chicken breast that I sliced up for Hubby and me, I seasoned with garlic, oregano, salt, and parsley - quite good. Another night, we had masala burgers and fries, a la Trader Joe's - the masala burgers are amazingly good! And veggie! Yet another night, we ordered in some Thai food; and Friday night, we ordered in Pizza. Not all that eventful. Yesterday, Hubby had some colleagues over, to discuss the agenda for his class this upcoming semester at the University of Maryland. For the gathering, I picked up some cheese from our local cheese monger, some bread from our bakery, and I made some crab fritters with a spicy salsa mayo. We followed up the fritters with a simple salad and some awesome cupcakes, care of his colleagues Carl and Lisa (and their little puppy Lucia) and our favorite cupcake central, Cakelove.
I'm missing my brown rice - I may make some stir fry this week, to enjoy some brown rice. Baby has been quite cute, starting her babbling now, and really not wanting to stay seated (which, by the way, is quite tiring on our arms, but still quite cute, so we don't mind). We have also started her on some solid foods, starting with some "orange" foods - sweet potato was the food of the week, every other day. Not so much as a filler for her, but just to get her to start understanding and not minding solid foods in her diet. She took to it quite happily, after initial facial scrunches - I would have too, the tang that we've learned to overlook in favor of the sweetness of sweet potato, that she must have detected in each bite. The face she had, though, when she made that connection, that what I was feeding her was what we adults eat - it was just priceless. That metaphorical light bulb went on in her expression, and she became visibly excited about what I was feeding her. By the end of the week, she was actively grabbing at the spoon, and pushing the food into her mouth. Most of the sweet potato still ended up on her face, but hey, she's happy, so we're happy. It is quite exciting.
So for recipes... as the focus may now shift to baby food from our regular meals...
Baby's first sweet potatoes
1 sweet potato yielded about 18 one ounce servings, perfect amount for starter foods
Bake sweet potato, poked all over, and wrapped in aluminum foil, for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees, until a fork pokes easily into the sweet potato. Let cool, and cut into small pieces for mashing. The easiest way I found was to use one of those little food processors, and process in small batches with about a quarter cup of water to start. You'll know - you get to the right consistency when the mixture turns, but is not so watery, and doesn't stall.
Side note - we used filtered water and organic sweet potatoes. The more I read about them, the more I fear all those chemicals we put into our bodies - it seems to me, at some level, that it is no wonder that people these days are having trouble trying to have children, and that in-vitro has become a booming industry. Now, true, that might be just in this area, but I'd like to start Baby off on the right food, at least in the beginning. Something tells me that Frito Lay will still be around for years to come.
Crab Fritters
One container cooked crab, defrosted and shredded
1/2 cup mushrooms, mashed and shredded
1/2 cup onions, mashed and shredded (the shrooms and onions I demolished in the food processor)
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Parsley
1 egg
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Mix all together well, and I made quenelles (shape like a rugby ball) by using two spoons, and scooping the mixture one from the other spoon back and forth, until all 3 sides were even. I did 2 batches - one was deep fried, and the other was baked, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, top rack. The baked ones actually came out much better than the deep fried ones - I did drizzle some olive oil on top of the quenelles just prior to sticking them into the oven. Optional - broil them for about 2 minutes after they're done to just brown and crisp the top a bit more.
I served these fritters with a mayo mixture - mixed mayo with some salsa (drained of its high water content), with miniature diced habanero, chili powder, and paprika. Oh, so good!
In the mean time, this past week was not too eventful - I can't even really remember what I had cooked. I do know, one day, I made a deconstructed quesadilla, and I tried baking cheese by itself to make a cheddar/jack crisp - that was mildly successful, but the chicken that I baked for the quesadilla came out fantastic. The chicken breast that I sliced up for Hubby and me, I seasoned with garlic, oregano, salt, and parsley - quite good. Another night, we had masala burgers and fries, a la Trader Joe's - the masala burgers are amazingly good! And veggie! Yet another night, we ordered in some Thai food; and Friday night, we ordered in Pizza. Not all that eventful. Yesterday, Hubby had some colleagues over, to discuss the agenda for his class this upcoming semester at the University of Maryland. For the gathering, I picked up some cheese from our local cheese monger, some bread from our bakery, and I made some crab fritters with a spicy salsa mayo. We followed up the fritters with a simple salad and some awesome cupcakes, care of his colleagues Carl and Lisa (and their little puppy Lucia) and our favorite cupcake central, Cakelove.
I'm missing my brown rice - I may make some stir fry this week, to enjoy some brown rice. Baby has been quite cute, starting her babbling now, and really not wanting to stay seated (which, by the way, is quite tiring on our arms, but still quite cute, so we don't mind). We have also started her on some solid foods, starting with some "orange" foods - sweet potato was the food of the week, every other day. Not so much as a filler for her, but just to get her to start understanding and not minding solid foods in her diet. She took to it quite happily, after initial facial scrunches - I would have too, the tang that we've learned to overlook in favor of the sweetness of sweet potato, that she must have detected in each bite. The face she had, though, when she made that connection, that what I was feeding her was what we adults eat - it was just priceless. That metaphorical light bulb went on in her expression, and she became visibly excited about what I was feeding her. By the end of the week, she was actively grabbing at the spoon, and pushing the food into her mouth. Most of the sweet potato still ended up on her face, but hey, she's happy, so we're happy. It is quite exciting.
So for recipes... as the focus may now shift to baby food from our regular meals...
Baby's first sweet potatoes
1 sweet potato yielded about 18 one ounce servings, perfect amount for starter foods
Bake sweet potato, poked all over, and wrapped in aluminum foil, for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees, until a fork pokes easily into the sweet potato. Let cool, and cut into small pieces for mashing. The easiest way I found was to use one of those little food processors, and process in small batches with about a quarter cup of water to start. You'll know - you get to the right consistency when the mixture turns, but is not so watery, and doesn't stall.
Side note - we used filtered water and organic sweet potatoes. The more I read about them, the more I fear all those chemicals we put into our bodies - it seems to me, at some level, that it is no wonder that people these days are having trouble trying to have children, and that in-vitro has become a booming industry. Now, true, that might be just in this area, but I'd like to start Baby off on the right food, at least in the beginning. Something tells me that Frito Lay will still be around for years to come.
Crab Fritters
One container cooked crab, defrosted and shredded
1/2 cup mushrooms, mashed and shredded
1/2 cup onions, mashed and shredded (the shrooms and onions I demolished in the food processor)
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Parsley
1 egg
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Mix all together well, and I made quenelles (shape like a rugby ball) by using two spoons, and scooping the mixture one from the other spoon back and forth, until all 3 sides were even. I did 2 batches - one was deep fried, and the other was baked, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, top rack. The baked ones actually came out much better than the deep fried ones - I did drizzle some olive oil on top of the quenelles just prior to sticking them into the oven. Optional - broil them for about 2 minutes after they're done to just brown and crisp the top a bit more.
I served these fritters with a mayo mixture - mixed mayo with some salsa (drained of its high water content), with miniature diced habanero, chili powder, and paprika. Oh, so good!
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Truths of the last month
If people really knew how tough it is to be a parent, I do sincerely believe that the human race as we know it would come to a complete halt. That realization, in light of today's attempt to get some semblance of our past independent life in, as Hubby and I marched ourselves to the local movie theater to watch a matinée showing of Harry Potter. Let's call our attempt feeble, at best. Everything seemed to start off all right, but it quickly escalated into an action-reaction dance as Baby decided that yes, indeed, she'd like to watch the movie too, and she'd like to provide active commentary during the quieter parts. I had delusions that, since there were other babies present at the matinée showing of the movie, that perhaps then we would all be in good company, and that Baby would be somewhat calm. Nope. I had stuffed her ears with a napkin, in an attempt to try to shield her ears from the noise of the theater, hoping that after I fed her, she'd *maybe* try getting a little shut-eye. Did I mention that today was a feeble attempt? Alas, to no avail - active conversation started right off with the first quite segment after she finished nursing, and I was left with a half-watched movie in the end while I tried to calm her down outside of the theater. And wouldn't you know it - she really does have a penchant for timing - just as soon as the movie ended, and everyone started pouring out of the theater, she was fast asleep. I really felt like just putting one between my eyes at that point.
Such is parenting. And I swear, if I hear my father even ask once when we think we may have a second one, I'll really just have to ask him if he thought it would be a great idea for us to have a second child, why he and my mother didn't. This whole experience has really shown me exactly what true patience is, and while yes, Hubby and I are in the upper half of the percentile possibility of wanting to have a second child, right now, if the human population were left up to me... well, let's just say that the job would have to fall to someone else.
In other food news - I am happy to report that, yes, indeed, pre-prepping food during the weekend for cooking during the week is definitely the thing to do. Especially since I'm now playing "Working Mom" the real game, that step has been a life-saver. Food prep during the weeknights has been cut down to simply assembly and saucing, as opposed to washing, prepping, and assembly/saucing. And admittedly, some nights, I do find it a lot easier to just make something that's somewhat "pre-made". Last Wednesday evening - I found ease to saute some chopped seasonal vegetables, mix with ground beef and with ricotta, boil up some penne, and layer the penne with the sauteed mixture, jarred marinara sauce, and provolone. I've made gumbo on a couple of occasions now - so easy to just start up the roux, mix in the vegetables, add some water and seasonings, and then leave alone to simmer until ready to serve. And we don't shy from ordering in - either for pick-up or delivery, though I did wish that more places around us delivered. Oh, if we were in Manhattan...
Gear reviews... yes, we have discovered the truth that babies grow incredibly quickly (I should have Baby talk to my measly vegetable garden!), and that clothing purchased for babies really should just start at the larger sizes. She's filled in to her 6-9 month clothes, even though she's still a couple weeks shy of 5 weeks. Carter onesies tend to run long and lean, so I've been getting the 9 month onesies for her since Baby's been growing laterally. The recent Fisher Price recall...at first, in the beginning, I worried that we weren't giving her enough stuff for her world and growth - but I also realized that our whole world is so new, it really is quite enough for her to take in. And then, when the recall happened this past week, I have to admit, I felt vindication for the choices that Hubby and I have made, that some of the cheap crap that we avoid out there on the shelves really are, well, cheap crap. Our Uppababy stroller still works great, though we did get a Maclaren Volo for the car and for travel, since the Uppababy was too large a stroller to take for long trips without filling up the entire trunk of our car. And we have, as parents of a girl, gotten a lot of mileage out of Trumpette's mary jane socks. The socks up the ante on her outfits, even dressing up a simple onesie outfit, and she doesn't kick off the socks like she may with shoes.
I'm still torn right now, with the plastic vs. glass bottle debate. Of course, the plastic bottle manufacturers will state left and right that their bottles are completely safe for babies - and it seems just about everyone uses the plastic bottles - but I don't believe that we see the true impact of the products we use until after a full generation has used the products. In any case, I purchased some Evenflo glass bottles just this past weekend... we'll give them a try to see how Baby takes to them. I have to believe that at some level, the more natural the ingredients in the objects we use (and not just ingest), the better they are for us.
So another weekend ends... and another week begins. We'll see what this week has in store for us.
Such is parenting. And I swear, if I hear my father even ask once when we think we may have a second one, I'll really just have to ask him if he thought it would be a great idea for us to have a second child, why he and my mother didn't. This whole experience has really shown me exactly what true patience is, and while yes, Hubby and I are in the upper half of the percentile possibility of wanting to have a second child, right now, if the human population were left up to me... well, let's just say that the job would have to fall to someone else.
In other food news - I am happy to report that, yes, indeed, pre-prepping food during the weekend for cooking during the week is definitely the thing to do. Especially since I'm now playing "Working Mom" the real game, that step has been a life-saver. Food prep during the weeknights has been cut down to simply assembly and saucing, as opposed to washing, prepping, and assembly/saucing. And admittedly, some nights, I do find it a lot easier to just make something that's somewhat "pre-made". Last Wednesday evening - I found ease to saute some chopped seasonal vegetables, mix with ground beef and with ricotta, boil up some penne, and layer the penne with the sauteed mixture, jarred marinara sauce, and provolone. I've made gumbo on a couple of occasions now - so easy to just start up the roux, mix in the vegetables, add some water and seasonings, and then leave alone to simmer until ready to serve. And we don't shy from ordering in - either for pick-up or delivery, though I did wish that more places around us delivered. Oh, if we were in Manhattan...
Gear reviews... yes, we have discovered the truth that babies grow incredibly quickly (I should have Baby talk to my measly vegetable garden!), and that clothing purchased for babies really should just start at the larger sizes. She's filled in to her 6-9 month clothes, even though she's still a couple weeks shy of 5 weeks. Carter onesies tend to run long and lean, so I've been getting the 9 month onesies for her since Baby's been growing laterally. The recent Fisher Price recall...at first, in the beginning, I worried that we weren't giving her enough stuff for her world and growth - but I also realized that our whole world is so new, it really is quite enough for her to take in. And then, when the recall happened this past week, I have to admit, I felt vindication for the choices that Hubby and I have made, that some of the cheap crap that we avoid out there on the shelves really are, well, cheap crap. Our Uppababy stroller still works great, though we did get a Maclaren Volo for the car and for travel, since the Uppababy was too large a stroller to take for long trips without filling up the entire trunk of our car. And we have, as parents of a girl, gotten a lot of mileage out of Trumpette's mary jane socks. The socks up the ante on her outfits, even dressing up a simple onesie outfit, and she doesn't kick off the socks like she may with shoes.
I'm still torn right now, with the plastic vs. glass bottle debate. Of course, the plastic bottle manufacturers will state left and right that their bottles are completely safe for babies - and it seems just about everyone uses the plastic bottles - but I don't believe that we see the true impact of the products we use until after a full generation has used the products. In any case, I purchased some Evenflo glass bottles just this past weekend... we'll give them a try to see how Baby takes to them. I have to believe that at some level, the more natural the ingredients in the objects we use (and not just ingest), the better they are for us.
So another weekend ends... and another week begins. We'll see what this week has in store for us.
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