Meal planning extravaganza

Since Sophie came into our lives, time has been at a premium. A couple of extra hours each day would be very handy, assuming they were baby-free and I could use them to get things done. My previous self, Miss Organised, has been replaced by Miss Rushed.

So, all guns blazing, I've been tackling the planning for the one thing that must happen each day and can't really be postponed: food. I'm not really one for cooking huge batches of things and then just taking a pot out of the freezer for dinner. I like the daily creativity of the kitchen. I also want to make sure that the three of us have a balanced diet, especially since we now have a little one's health to take into account.

My approach was simple. I did a big brainstorm of the meals that we cook regularly and enjoy eating, in categories such as chicken, meat, veggie, pasta and so on. The idea is that I'll be able to look at my brainstorm and be inspired to plan a variety of dishes for the week. From there I can write a shopping list, do an online order, get it delivered and cook away. In fact, the shopping list can be reused if I ever repeat a week - what a plan!

Let's see how it goes. I'll try to post a 'what's cooking' each week. This week's coming up...

Tree - gone!

Oh, and in other news, the big tree in our garden is no more!

 

 

 

That's a lot of tree! The garden looks much bigger and brighter now.

Baby destination inspiration

It's Tuesday, it's half term, and it's wet. Urgh. In half term, almost all baby and toddler activities are cancelled. So this morning (after getting Sophie weighed - she is now a hefty 8.4kg or 18lb 8oz!) I met with some other mummies and babies at the Central Library. The babies had a great time exploring all the books and generally creating havoc, but it was lacking something for the mummies - something hot, energising, and decadent... coffee! One of the other mummies commented that it's a shame there aren't many baby-friendly places to go in the city centre. Sure, there are plenty of cafes, but hardly any of them have enough room for a herd of giant prams and the associated rabble of noisy, crawling, teething babies. Funnily enough, at the clinic this morning the Children's Centre manager and I were talking about the exact same problem, and I joked that I should set up a children's cafe in the city. Maybe not such a funny idea? Mummies could come with their babies and toddlers to a safe place with toys, good changing facilities, baby-friendly food, and lots of coffee (and cake, of course!). Food for thought for me, as I prepare for life as a stay-at-home-mum. (Which, by the way, I'm really excited about - though I haven't yet told my employer and that will be a difficult conversation!)

Just imagine a whole cafe filled with faces like this one:

We'd need a lot of baby wipes!

From craving to creation

I was craving panettone yesterday morning, so, encouraged by my lovely husband, I decided to make one. I used a cheat's recipe which I found online, since none of my baking books, not even my trusty Mary Berry Bible, include one. It turned out so yummy that I didn't even take a photo! It was really fun kneading the dough although I had to use a lot more flour than the recipe specified. Anyway, I'll certainly make it, and never buy it, again.

Baby-led weaning

Sophie's nearly eight months now, and for the past six weeks or so we have been venturing into the realms of solid food alongside her milk feeds. However, like a lot of parents, we are eschewing the traditional pureed veg, baby rice and stewed fruit in favour of 'baby-led weaning'. This involves allowing Sophie to feed herself a range of family foods - not mashed, not puréed - from the start. In practice this has meant giving her finger foods to play with and eat if she wishes. She's tried all sorts: steamed carrot, broccoli and corn; baked sweet potato and chicken; rice cakes, pitta bread, and toast; banana, avocado and steak. Since starting, the amount she has eaten has definitely increased, and even though a lot of food still ends up on the floor, she's certainly eating a fair amount. Believe me, I can tell.

Before I started to think about weaning, I was all in favour of baby purees, and even got as far as researching ice cube trays to freeze portions in. Then I found out about baby-led weaning, read the book (by Gill Rapley) and was convinced it was the way to go. Yes, it is very messy, and yes, it is a slower transition from milk only to predominantly solids than with spoon-feeding, but there are so many advantages:

• No need to prepare separate foods (this is a big one for me, as I am lazy)
• Baby continues to manage her own appetite, as she has all along when breastfeeding
• Helps development of motor skills (Sophie can now pick up and eat a slimy piece of avocado, which she couldn't even almost do a week ago)
• Baby learns to chew first, swallow second - the thinking is that this reduces the risk of choking compared to puree-fed babies who don't know how to cope when food with lumps is introduced
• Baby is part of family meals
• Baby can explore a range of tastes and textures from the beginning
• Apparently babies weaned this way are generally less fussy eaters than babies who are spoon-fed

It's really not that radical, loads of families do it (whether by design or accident - apparently when there's more than one child at home the older ones like to feed anything and everything to the baby), and even the NHS is moving increasingly towards recommending it as a great method of transitioning from milk alone to proper food. I'm absolutely not opposed to families choosing to wean their babies in the more 'traditional' way (though apparently it's only really 'traditional' in modern Western culture), as it clearly works for some, but I'm glad I don't have to mash up carrots as a pastime, or play aeroplane games to get my baby to eat!