Who is this Kitchen Diva?

I just scored a flank steak and made a marinade from scratch.  "You did what to a flank steak?" says me from two weeks ago.

Alright, I'm not good enough to be that cocky, but I have to admit that I don't even recognize my kitchen identity anymore.  I suppose I have realized a completely new side of myself, one who can cook, and enjoys it.  I am completely surprised at how quickly this transition has taken place.  I attribute my transformation to two things.

1.  I wrote it in this blog.  Any article, book, or DVD you read or watch about reaching your goals lists this simple step as necessary in your journey.  Write it down.  There is something very powerful about putting something into actual words, and I am now a firm believer that if there is an audience for those words, this step means even more.

2.  Allrecipes.com is absolutely incredible.  Let me elucidate:

  I picked a recipe for London Broil because flank steak is on sale this week.  I watched a video of the recipe.  That exact recipe.  It even quoted the authors original comments.  The author who is another Allrecipe user.  Do you have any idea how amazingly helpful this is?  I used to watch Rachael Ray, back when M was a tiny tike and went down for his first nap just before 9, allowing me time to sit my pregnant belly down and watch some morning TV.  I was always excited about her dishes - macaroni and cheese on a hamburger?  Heck yeah!  But inevitably, she used pots/utensils/ingredients that I just didn't have.  If I had those things, watching her cook the meal would have been invaluable.  At my fingertips, I now have access to recipes that I can pick based on my capabilities, then watch someone actually doing it.  This is so great for a novice chef!
 
  Members of the site also review the recipes, and give their tweaks.  This is also very helpful; if there is a part of the recipe that doesn't fit my style, I can find input on how to alter it.  Or, if it is just not for me, there are more recipes for the same dish that I can peruse.  I am very impressed with what I am getting out of this site.  My only complaint is that I only signed up for 6 months at the introductory rate instead of 2 years!

Here are a few recipes that I have made recently:

Spaghetti Carbonara  - I had no idea what this was, but if I see it on a menu in the future I will order it just to see how it compares.  The version I made was delicious; we all loved it, even M! I used linguini instead of spaghetti because it is easier for him to handle.  So good!

Lemon Pepper Catfish - I bought frozen Swai, which I now know is a white fish similar to catfish.  I had no idea when I bought it, I just knew it was white fish and my husband likes white fish.  I actually cut the fish into 'sticks' and used this recipe for the coating.  Again, this was a hit!  M loved them, and I even ate leftovers, which is pretty unheard of for me and fish.  Before kids, you would never catch me eating fish sticks, and certainly not making them from scratch!  Who am I?

Meatball Nirvana - I made these the other day for lunch, then we had them tonight for dinner.  Another success.  I have made the meatball recipe from the BLW cookbook, and those were good as well. 

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak - I only used one bell pepper because neither my husband nor I like them - or so we thought!  It turns out if you cook them right, they are a great addition to a dish!  Again, everyone liked this one.  I really liked that I could prepare it all in the morning when I had time, then in the evening all I had to do was cook some brown rice.  I may try it with egg noodles next time, though!

Chicken Enchiladas -I have made this twice already, we liked it so much!  I never would have thought to make a sauce this way, but it is so delicious!

So you see, I have not been blogging because I have been a cooking fool.  Pretty cool, right?  My husband commented while eating the pepper steak the other night, "So, this website is working out for you, huh?"  I said "You tell me!!"  He is impressed, which makes me super happy :)

Back to the Baby

  By focusing on what I am feeding the whole family, it has been really easy to incorporate healthy foods for J and not stress about her nutrition. Part of the appeal of BLW is that your baby has meals with the rest of the family, eats what the family eats (within reason), and this makes life so much easier!  So instead of having to keep track of all the foods J has tried, I just add foods in for all of us that she can eat!  I suppose this is made simpler by the fact that she has yet to refuse anything I've put in front of her! 

  The two foods that she is not too sure about are peaches and watermelon.  For some reason the watermelon was giving her some trouble and she gagged on it a few times.  I think maybe the consistency allows her to squish it into a harder piece, and then she has trouble swallowing it.  She will still eat both the watermelon and peaches, though.  She just doesn't seem as eager about them as some other foods, like banana and avocado.  Avocados were on sale last week, so we have had avocado every day, and banana is certainly an every day food.  We tried carrots finally; I was cooking this recipe, which we all loved, and I just boiled J's carrots a little longer and she seemed to enjoy them!  Strangely, though, when I reheated some in the microwave a few days later, they caught fire.  What is it about carrots that make them spark in the microwave, can anyone tell me? 

  J has had the pleasure of trying graham crackers, and she did superb with them.  She is really good now about knowing what is ready to be swallowed and what needs to be gummed a bit more.  This allows me to relax a little more at mealtimes! 

I Read the Fridge Today, Oh Boy

  After 2 weeks, I have finally finished updating my refrigerator (remember, #2 on my list).  Here is a before and after shot.

 It may not look like a huge difference, but it makes a big difference in our kitchen!  The pictures are all still there, they are just on the sides of the fridge making the front a usable work space.  I have always used wet erase markers on the fridge.  They dry so they don't smear easily, but just wipe off with a wet towel.  Greatest invention ever!

  In our previous system, we had two categories: 'To Eat' and 'To Make.'  Now that we are buying and eating a whole lot more produce, we are finding it helpful to also keep track of the 'perishables' such as pineapple.  The 'Left Over' column has really helped, as well as a new simple labeling system: with the wet erase markers, I mark the date on the Tupperware or baggie.  This way there is no guessing how old something is!  I used these magnet sheets to print out the labels (I have used them to print pictures as well - these sheets are awesome!)

  Yes, that's macaroni and cheese.  M loves macaroni and cheese.  He likes pretty much all pasta, he is a pasta-eating fool.  Mac 'n cheese may not be the healthiest food, but when you couple it with peas and watermelon, it is a treat.

  I have taken my menu planning to a new level as well.  I have joined allrecipes.com, (thanks Sally!) which has been great since I already use so many of the recipes.  I just never realized that the site had so many other great features like creating menus up to 10 days in length, tweaking recipes and saving them, and creating recipes from scratch with the ability to add them to your menus and shopping lists.  One of my favorite things on the site is something so small, but so huge: the site will display a whole recipe with directions and everything on a single screen, which means you don't have to scroll with dirty hands.  So helpful!  In addition to this site, I have started printing out our menu and keeping it on the fridge.  This helps take the guesswork out of all meals!  They are already planned with what we have.

  If there's one thing this blog has helped me do so far, it's get organized in the kitchen.  I never realized how overwhelmed I was, as someone pretty disinterested in cooking and suddenly in charge of feeding a family of four.  I feel much more comfortable now with my ability to do my job, and it feels good to have healthy goals and be able to accomplish them!

Our New Favorite Side Dish

  I cooked cauliflower for the first time tonight.  Success!  I found this recipe involving garlic, Parmesan cheese and parsley, all ingredients that we love, and was easy enough for me to try.  It was delicious!  At least I thought so.  The cauliflower did not come out soft enough for J, and M didn't like it.  But daddy and I sure did!  We will definitely be adding this to the sides list!!

Menu Planning

  I love the word 'planning.'  Since I am slightly prone to anxiety, I keep this in check by planning. When I first considered menu planning, I was excited to learn something new.  What I found, however, is that I already do this.  The basic idea of menu planning is to plan what meals you are going to make for a designated amount of time, then go to the store to get all the items you need.  This helps you avoid making a trip to the grocer every day or every other day, and saves money.  I thought that's what everybody did.  This is what I have done for as long as I have been grocery shopping.  So I was kind of disappointed when I thought I was getting a new system, when all I really got was a name for what I already do. 

  I am finding benefits of belonging to a site, though.  It has recipes.  I need recipes, as I don't have the creative mind to say 'Alright, what can I do with these ingredients I have?'  It also puts sides with the main dishes.  Great for one with an inexperienced palate.  Once you pick recipes, it generates a shopping list. I can chose how many servings I want to make, and it will adjust the shopping list accordingly.  Brilliant!  It also has freezer meals, which is great because we recently acquired a large freezer for our garage that currently houses ice packs and some ground beef.

  I am finding the recipes a little overwhelming so far, so I need to start slow and pick just one at a time for now.  I picked three last week and it generated a grocery list longer than my usual list for the whole week including household goods.  I can't just buy a ton of stuff to make one dish, especially if I don't know if we will like it, and the point is to not throw food away.  So the other thing is usually do is if I know I am going to make a dish with fresh parsley, I will also plan to make lasagna or something else with parsley so I can maximize my fresh ingredients.  This is not easy to do.  And I am not finding the site helpful with that.  In time I may be able to make this more feasible.

  I cut a lot of coupons and shop meats that are on sale.  I am on a budget, people!  I am not finding the site helpful with that, yet, but I can see there are features that can help me maximize my savings and make new, healthy dishes. 

  In summary, week one of menu planning involved just the menu planning I normally do.  I guess keep up the good work!

Rice and Beans!

  When I cut that cantaloupe last week, it was the perfect amount of squishy for J.  She loved it!  The first time I put it on her tray there was a mix of cantaloupe and peaches, which she eats but doesn't seem to favor.  She ate every piece of cantaloupe before touching the peaches!  I was impressed that she could tell the difference.  I know they don't look the same, but it just reminds me of how smart these little brains are even at such a young age! 

 

  She has toast with cream cheese for breakfast just about every morning because she loves it and it is easy, and we have been eating cantaloupe all week.  We always have bananas on hand, so we use those when we go out or I don't feel like making anything else.  I also bought some Gerber cheesy poufs, since we were at the store one day and I knew time for lunch was going to be tight.  I thought she could try something with a different consistency.  For some reason, when she crunches on them, it makes me laugh.  Maybe it's because she doesn't have any teeth yet, I don't know, but it cracks me up when she crunches on those things!

  The other night we were having jerk chicken with saffron rice and red beans, one of our favorite dishes, and since J shovels everything in her mouth no matter what size, I thought she could try some rice and beans.  (I am not ready to give her meat, but that is another post.)  I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of rice and beans this girl consumed!  She is great a great eater - M never really got down the rice eating thing!

  I still have not gotten around to roasting carrots or broccoli - that is how much time I don't  find in a typical day to do this stuff.  But I must!  We spend so much time eating, it is important to make sure we are eating good food!!

Cheesy Tuna and Corn Pasta Salad

Last week I made the Cheesy Tuna and Corn Pasta Salad recipe from The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook.  It seemed simple enough and I was looking for a way to incorporate more fish into our diet.  We will definitely be making this dish again, but it needs something.  We had leftovers yesterday, the first time my hubby had it, and he liked it.  He agreed, though, that it needs something... we just haven't figured it out yet.  Unfortunately M didn't like it.  J is not ready to try it.  In our house it will definitely be more of a side dish than a main dish, but it is nice to have a new easy side to add to our recipe list!

I Have a Problem

  The first part of solving a problem is admitting you have a problem.  As much as I don't want to tell the world this, I have to get it out.  

 I threw away a pineapple today.  

 My husband would be so mad, and rightly so!  He works hard to put food on our table.  Not to put food on top of the microwave that ends up in the garbage.  We love pineapple, too, I just never got around to cutting it.  *sigh*  I expected to feel better by admitting this problem, but I don't.  I feel ashamed.  Perhaps that is the point of admitting it.  I don't want to feel like this ever again!  I'd better go cut that cantaloupe I told you I was going to cut last weekend.  It is still on top of the microwave.  I'd also better go make banana bread before I have to throw those bananas away.  They've just about had it.  I bought 7 avocados when they were on sale and J started eating them.  I know there are two left in the basket that are past ripe.

My name is Jadie, and I throw food away.

To ensure that I change this little habit of mine, I have come up with a plan of action.

1.  Clean out the fridge.  We are pretty good about eating leftovers, but I know I have a few containers that need to be discarded. 

2.  Clean OFF the fridge.  My husband and I had come up with a plan to make sure we eat what we have and not throw stuff away by writing it on the fridge, and for a while it worked.  Then J was born.  Six months later, here I am throwing away a pineapple. Time to start this again.

3.  Start menu planning.  My best friend is an incredibly awesome woman, wife and mother, and I learn so much from her that makes me a better - all of those things.  She also writes an incredible blog called Dirt and Boogers - you must check it out.  Anyway, she sent me some suggestions for menu planning, and I know if it works for them, it's good stuff.  Thank you Amanda!

4.  And the toughest part:  when I do fall off the wagon and throw something away, I have to tell you.  Write it here.  Call myself out. Ouch.

My husband is, in a sense, an efficiency expert by trade.  I know that I have his full support, and all I have to do is suggest that I'd like to do something better, and he will have 4 ideas immediately to improve the process.  The problem has been admitting I need improvement.  Here you go honey, have at it!

J's Progress - Week 2

  This week has progressed a little more slowly than I anticipated, but thank goodness 'food before one is just for fun!'  I did start putting a little bit of cream cheese on J's toast.  It made the toast stick to her fingers, so when she was done with a piece and opened her hand to grab another, she would fling it off the tray, making things a bit comical!

  J ate lots of bananas this week, and I think we can safely say she likes her bananas like her daddy.  To combat the effects of so many bananas, we decided to go ahead on the peaches ('P' fruits help with pooping).  While she kept putting them in her mouth, there were definitely times when she seemed not quite sure about the taste.  To me they were a little tart, so maybe that is what caused all the hilarious faces!

We did not try carrots or broccoli, but we have been eating leftover sweet potato.  There have also been several meals this week that we skipped for her because either she was asleep, or needed to be asleep quickly. Even though she seems to eat a lot (most of what we give her!), when we miss a meal it never seems to bother her.  She still sleeps 12 hours at night without a problem.  Thank goodness!

If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail

  It has been two weeks since I started blogging our BLW experience.  It is time to think about the overall goal of this endeavor.  I wrote in my first post that I wanted to write in depth about our nutrition and keep a recipe index so I could refer back to my notes later.  What I had not done was consider the end result I want to achieve.  I have been thinking this over the last few days, as I haven't written and really haven't progressed with J's eating, either.  I have come up with one main objective:

To offer my family great tasting, nutritious, fun meals that not only nourish our bodies, but our relationships as well.

Our relationships with each other, but also our relationships with food.

  I just want my kids to grow up with a love for nutritious food, and the knowledge to continue eating for health when they leave the house.  When I introspectively look at what this job requires of me, I've got a lot of work to do.  But just look at this sweet face.  I owe it to my children to do the best I can!

This Week's Buys and Tries

  Today was grocery day, I bought new stuff for J to try, and I can't even remember what I got.  That is why I desperately need this documentation.  I know I bought cream cheese for something else to put on her toast. 

  I should mention that she had avocado and sweet potato tonight for dinner, and she ate just about all of it.  After months of finding M's food either in his scoop bib or next to him in the high chair, I am still amazed at how much J actually consumes. 

  Ah, here's my grocery list.  Peaches were on sale, although they are still a little hard.  Maybe later next week we can start those.  Despite the fallout of cantaloupe last summer, we bought one.  I expect I will cut it up this weekend and let it get softer before I give it to J.  We will be trying carrots this week, and broccoli.  I have not decided whether I will roast these or boil them, but I will let you know!

In Practice - Larger Wedges

  What a steep learning curve there is when you've never had any culinary instruction!  Fortunately, I am determined to stick through and get better at this for the health of my family.  In the past I would have given up by now and made a quesadilla. 

  Not that I don't still make quesadillas - we actually had them for dinner tonight.  But now instead of just tortilla and cheese, they usually contain some source of protein and a vegetable, tonight ground beef and corn.  But I did roast some larger vegetables for J today.  My 'note to self' about larger wedges was right on for the yellow squash and zucchini!  I am pretty shocked at the amount they shrank, actually.  I cut pieces a little larger than my fingers and now I know not to cut them any smaller than that!  I also cut a sweet potato into larger chunks, but those didn't shrink as much.  They were actually harder for her to grab, and slipped out of her hand more easily.  I could go smaller on those, but not much.

I cut most of the skins off of the zucchini and squash, but left them on the sweet potato.  This worked pretty well; the little bit of skin held the mushy zucchini and squash together.  The skins of the sweet potato are really easy to peel off when cooked.  After cutting, I tossed all the wedges in some vegetable oil and baked at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, flipping them every 10 minutes to avoid any one side getting too browned.  The squash and zucchini could have used less time.  They were VERY squishy.  But J liked them!



To try and help with the avocado, I mashed some and put it on toast.  This backfired, making the whole thing harder to grab, slipping out of her hand very easily.  She was also very tired tonight, so this may have contributed to her difficulties. She still enjoyed sitting at the dinner table with us and participating!

Tip - Cut Bigger Chunks

  I have a confession to make:  I have been a convenience eater most of my life.  When I lived alone, I lived off of pasta, pizza, and quesadillas.  I got away with this until my responsibilities expanded to include other mouths to feed.  I am slowly learning; so when I say things like "I just found out you can eat yellow squash and zucchini raw!" you understand why.  (My husband used to be a vegetarian, so when I exclaimed this revelation at dinner last night, it was met with a 'what rock have you been under?' expression.  Uh, the pizza stone, evidently.)  I realize not much is more convenient than raw fruit like yellow squash,  but I never knew I could eat it that way. 

  It is nice to learn that eating healthier doesn't necessarily mean cooking more complex dishes.  Feeding a 6 month old, however, is a little different.  I am learning how to cook vegetables (and fruits!) so they are tasty, healthy and, so far, mushy.  After a few days, and a somewhat disastrous batch of yellow squash and zucchini, I have the following note to myself for the future:  Cut larger wedges.  I have to remember that fruits and veggies are full of water and therefore dehydrate during cooking.  In other words, they shrink.  When I am cutting the raw food, I am concerned that I cut pieces that are large enough for J to grab, but not so large that she bites off too much and chokes.  The result has been pieces that are harder for her to grab, and fall apart too easily.  I hope to have better luck cutting pieces even double the size I have been.

Something to learn:

  I have also noticed that the skins of both the sweet potatoes and the squashes are very thin, not easily removed when raw, but too tough for J to chew when cooked.  I can somewhat peel them once they are cooked; can anyone share with me the easiest way to 'peel' these foods, or how to cook and serve them with the skins to a 6 month old?

Sweet (Potato) Success!

  It is clear to me now that my children are polar opposites when it comes to eating.  It is still too early to tell J's overall disposition on food (picky eater vs. eats anything is sight) but so far she is doing better than I could have imagined.  The sweet potatoes are a hit!  As planned I cooked both sweet and white potatoes to satisfy the whole family; I was pleased that M enjoyed both!  J had Avocado with her potatoes, which were more difficult to maneuver.  The first night the avocado was not quite as ripe so it was easier to grip.  The next night she made guacamole. She seemed to enjoy the taste of both the potatoes and avocado.  She certainly had fun getting them into her mouth!

   We are still having toast for breakfast, and yesterday we added banana!  I am not sure that J was able to eat any of the banana, I think I cut it too small.  This morning I cut much bigger chunks, and she had better luck with those.  She didn't spit it out or gag on it like M does, so maybe J likes her banana like her Daddy.

  We are all getting more comfortable with the newest addition at our dinner table.

Moving Beyond Toast

  So, it's grocery day.  I have been thinking of what I want to offer J - avocado tops the list.  We LOVE avocado, and it seems like the perfect starter food.  Next I thought I would try sweet potato wedges.  When M was less than a year I tried to make these.  I didn't know what I was doing.  They came out alright.  Daddy liked them.  M was a little too young and uninterested, I think.  I don't like sweet potatoes.  Since then, however, I have started making my own fries, with regular potatoes, so I know how to cook them.  I think it will be super easy to cook a mix - that way we can all have fries we like, and J can try both! 

  We will let J play with these for a few days, then switch.  There is conflicting advice when it comes to offering new foods.  The most prevalent advice in the US I've found is to offer new foods one at a time, and wait three days or so to offer the next.  If any allergies present themselves in that time, you will know exactly what caused it.  The other school of thought, however, is this is unnecessary unless you are worried about an increased risk for allergies.  We have no food allergies in the immediate family, and M has had no problems.  Either way, I think we are going to start with two new foods at a time.  We will be using those two for a few days, just to give her a chance to really get to know those foods, and to make good use of leftovers.  And to watch for allergies.

  After trying those, I think we will move to squash.  I have cooked squash recently with good success, and even learned this week that it can be eaten raw, and is tasty that way!  Who knew?!  In addition to the squash, we will try bananas.  Bananas are interesting in our house.  I buy them every week; Daddy eats one for lunch every day.  I don't like them.  M doesn't like them.  But we will both eat banana bread for breakfast, so I make a loaf just about every week.  We'll see which way J prefers her banana - raw, like Daddy, or cooked in a loaf like the carb eaters in the family?

Gag Me

  Friday is grocery day, and because I was unprepared to start J on solids until next week, the poor girl has had toast for breakfast and dinner since Tuesday.  She is just as eager when being strapped into the chair, though.  Tonight was somewhat momentous because it is the first time she gagged.  Since Daddy has been out of town all week, Nana has come over every night to help with this kids, which has been a blessing.  However, Nana has not read about BLW and is not comfortable with the gag reflex.  When M started solids, I think Nana had about 18 mini heart attacks.  Tonight was her first in a while, then!  As if it is not unnerving enough for me, I have my poor mother freaking out!  Of course J was fine, and I watched her move the piece of toast back to the front of her mouth.  I can't wait to become more trusting of her reflexes!  I'm sure Nana can't wait, either.

Getting Started... Again

  At 6 months old, we started M (now 19 months) on rice cereal, because that is the only thing I read to do.  Plus the side of the cereal box said something like "Cereal is an important part of your child's diet until age 2."  He took to it really well, but all I gave him was cereal for several weeks.  This was mostly due to the fact that I had planned to make my own baby food, but we found out we were pregnant with J right about this time, and I was sick, and just generally lazy.  I read a few mom's discussing BLW in a forum I belong to, and when I finally figured out what BLW stood for, I got the book.  I purchased The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook, not because I was excited about new recipes (I'm not much of a cook) but because that is what I found at the bookstore.  It gives the basics of the program, and, of course, some recipes to try.  Although, because I am not much of a cook, most of the recipes, even as simple as they might be, are just too complex for me to try.

  So, we gave M toast.  Occasionally we gave him some fruit as well.  At the beginning, he just wasn't that into it.  He would play with some of the strips, sometimes try to eat it, but usually not.  So after his cereal, he had dry toast.  No wonder he didn't eat it!  *This is not BLW.   The purpose is to give your baby a variety of foods.  However, remember that I was lazy and sick, and he didn't care about it any way!

  Around 8 months old or so, M suddenly one morning started biting pieces off the toast and eating them.  I was so excited!  From then on, I started putting things on the toast, like a bit of butter, cinnamon, cream cheese, etc, and giving him more fruits and veggies.  He now has a very healthy appetite at times, and doesn't eat much at others.  But he has always been in charge of how much he eats, and he never goes hungry.  This no-pressure style of family eating suits us very well.  

  J is now 25 weeks old, and she has been showing signs of readiness for a while.  She can sit on her own for a bit, and she is fine if she has support.  If she is awake during meals, she sits in the high chair with us.  She has been gnawing her lips, watching us take food into our mouths, and trying to grab anything she can.  I planned to wait until next week to get her started, but yesterday she seemed so ready, so I gave her - you guessed it! - a piece of toast.  She just about ravaged that thing!  Every piece made it into her mouth.  Some several times.  If a piece was out of her reach, she banged on the tray until she either got it, or moved on to another piece.  It is clear to me that she will really enjoy BLW, and so will we.  But we'd better move on from toast quickly!

Why A Blog?

I decided to keep a separate blog of our baby led weaning experience this time for a couple of reasons:

1.  Readers of my personal blog, family and friends, probably just want to read the cute stuff about the growing kiddos, and I really want to write in depth about the nutrition in our home. For those who want to read it, they can!

2.  The blog makes it easy to write my thoughts in a free format, while retaining the ability to label and sort each post.  I could write in a journal or Word, but I wouldn't be able to find things easily.  I could use Excel, but it is harder to write what I want.

I plan to record our experiences with food, particularly while J is so young and just starting BLW.  I also plan to keep a recipe index of those I have tried with notes, so I can refer to them again later.   I am also excited to see what other things shape the direction of this blog!

So while this blog is mostly for me, I hope some of my family and friends enjoy our delights, and maybe even another mom or two who may want to share experiences.

Happy eating!