Homemade Baby Food Recipes - Stage 1 (4-6 months)

Recently, I have received several emails from my blogger friends and readers about posting some Baby Food Recipes online. For those who don't know, I have an 11-month old, who's been eating Solid since 5 months, and unlike most kids, is NOT a picky eater! Thank Heavens for that! I always knew I would make my own baby food, maybe this feeling is ingrained in the Indian culture, or maybe its just because that's how our parents fed us, and the influence carries on. Please remember that I have nothing against feeding ready-made baby food - in fact, I did start with a bottle of Gerber puree, but my little one just did not like the taste. Maybe she guessed her Mommy was a great cook, and she wanted a taste of my culinary skills too!:)

Anyways, I ended up making baby food at home and freezing it in ice-trays, so you just have to pop it in the microwave before feeding it to her. We love this arrangement, it gives me the satisfaction that I am feeding her food that's free of any preservatives, and also I know precisely what goes into each meal. And it also gives me a chance to experiment with several flavors at a time - I mix a variety of foods and she's been enjoying it all quite well. Contrary to what some may think, making Homemade baby Food is simple, easy and not as time-consuming as you might think! So here I share my most favorite baby food recipes with you. I'll divide it in Stage1, Stage2 and Toddler foods, just so we can target the correct age group. A part of the information provided below comes from 2 of my favorite Baby Food sites called Wholesome Baby Food and Homemade Baby Food Recipes. They have great information about the topic, and I'm sure you'll find an answer to many of your questions in these two places. Now, over to the recipes.

Stage 1 Baby Foods (6-8 Months)
Stage 1 Baby Food is a term that applies to baby foods that are highly pureed and strained. These foods are appropriate for babies who are just being introduced to solid foods. The foods in this range are targeted to babies who are between the ages of (4) 6 to 8 months old. Baby cereal and soft cooked thinly pureed fruits and veggies should be baby's first solid food experiences. Single ingredients only and at a space of 4 days apart with introducing each new food. You may skip the cereal and begin with a fruit like avocado or begin with a veggie like butternut squash or sweet potato as your ideal first solid food. Here are some commonly used fruits and veggies that are deemed safe enough for an infant's growing digestive system.

Fruits:
Apples | Avocados | Apricots | Bananas | Mangoes | Peaches | Papaya | Pears | Plums | Prunes | Pumpkin

Veggies:
Green Beans | Carrots | Peas | Sweet Potato | Squash

Grains:
Rice | Oatmeal | Barley

You can use any of the above ingredients by peeling them, boiling/steaming them as appropriate, and pureeing them in a blender with a little bit of water. I usually freeze the purees in ice-cube trays. Then transfer the cubes to a zip-lock bag and freeze them. remove one cube, as needed, microwave it for about 10 seconds, more if needed, but in sets of 10 seconds each. Then mix some water or breastmilk before feeding to the baby. Allow it to come to room temperature so you don't burn your baby's mouth!

Important: Follow the 4-day Rule while introducing new foods to your baby - means give him a new food, then wait for 4 days to introduce any other new ingredient, and watch for allergies or signs of discomfort to know if this suits your baby's body or not. When in doubt, pick up the phone and call your Ped's office right away:) Also, do not use any dditives like Sugar, Salt, Spices for the Stage 1 foods.

Here are 5 of my favorite Stage1 Recipes:

1. Avocado Delight
Peel Avocados and remove just the meat/flesh, taking care not to scrape the ones too close to the skin. Then blend it with a little bit of water and make avocado Puree. For a fruity version, you can blend Avocado with any choice of fruit - pear, peach or banana. Make a smooth puree and freeze in ice cube trays.
Note: Do not mix 2 types of foods unless you have fed them separately to your baby and he has taken to them without any allergies.

2. AppleSauce/PlumSauce
Peel and boil Apples or Plums - you could even steam them in the microwave, then blend them with a little bit of water to form fresh fruit sauce. Both Plums and Apples have high fiber content which will help your baby stay away from constipation.

3. Peas Puree
Fresh or frozen peas that are washed and steam cooked are great finger foods for your baby. However, its advisable to puree them for the first feeding. T enhance flavor, you can add a pinch of nutmeg or some fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley or mint to your green peas puree.

4. Sweet Potato & Carrot Soup
This is one of my personal favorites - Sweet potatoes have a lovely sweet flavor, and are quite healthier than the regular potatoes. After you have tried feeding sweet potatoes, tomatoes and carrots to your baby individually, you can combine them to make this delicious soup. Peel and boil the vegetables - add a pinch of nutmeg, cilantro and one fresh tomato to the mixture and bring to a boil. Then blend it all together, strain the puree to remove tomato seeds, and freeze as directed. This tasty soup will help your baby get accustomed to different flavors and the concept of mixed meals.

5. Butternut Squash & Oatmeal
Last but not the least, we take to a healthy puree made from Butternut squash. it has a fleshy texture and a sweeter taste. Boil the squash and blend it with water to make a puree. Freeze the cubes. When ready to serve, defrost the cube, add some water to it, then mix in some baby oatmeal and serve to your baby for a filling meal.

Introducing Solids to your baby is exciting, and should be fun for both you and your baby. Don't rush into the process, wait at least until 5-6 months before giving him his first taste of Cereal, definitely not before he can sit unassisted in his high-chair - then try these simple but delicious homemade recipes and you'll have your little one licking the bowl and the spoon in no time!

America Turns To Green Coffee Suppliers For Their Weight Loss Needs

After a long reign of assumed weight-loss benefits, Green tea is now finding competition in the weight-loss field to its counterpart, aptly called Green Coffee. The makers of a new green coffee (Coffee Shape) that contains a blend of unroasted coffee and roasted Arabica beans claim it could help users lose 4.45lb in a month without any other dietary changes. Drunk every morning before breakfast, each 3g sachet of Coffee Shape contains six to ten per cent of chlorogenic acid, a natural plant compound in green coffee that acts
as a slimming and health promoting substance.

In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that chlorogenic acid from green coffee causes significant levels of weight loss by reducing sugar absorption from the gut and speeding up the rate at which fat is burned in the body. In a four-week trial assessing Coffee Shape, those who drank one cup a day lost 3.5lb in two weeks, and 4.45lb in a month. How does this work? Well, it is reported that Green coffee seems to have three times the amount of antioxidants as green tea. If the unroasted green coffee beans are used in conjunction with a healthy diet it can decrease fat absorption and turn it into energy, which you can burn, instead of depositing it as layers of fat.They help you get rid of the right type of weight, which is fat and not body mass.

You will find several Green Coffee Suppliers that provide a blend of green bean coffee with normal coffee beans, just so the taste is not altered. HOwever, Sweet Maria's is the one who introduced Green Coffee Beans to the US, and you can find lots of information about buying or growing your own beans, as well as roasting them at home on their website.

So, at a top glance, looks like Green Coffee could be your answer to a faster metabolic rate, and definitely an alternative to Green tea, but like any other weight-loss gimmick, this only works for a short time. If you want to stay fit and healthy for your life, you have to stick to a balanced diet and an exercise routine. Otherwise none of these so-called weight-loss charmers will work!

Magic Bullet To Go - Contest & Giveaway

If you are someone who likes to cook, I'm sure you know about Magic Bullet - the lovely food processor ensemble which can make your life in the kitchen a tad bit easier by taking away the load of cutting, chopping, grinding, blending and more! And now, the readers of Fun and Food Cafe have a chance to win a free Magic Bullet Express! All you have to do is send in your favorite snack recipe, and you can enter the contest to win this coveted MB Express.

For more details, please visit the event announcement at:

http://www.funandfoodcafe.com/2010/06/win-magic-bullet-to-go-recipe-contest.html

Summer Activity - Having Fun with Bonsai

For someone who loves gardening, I have never really pursued growing bonsai plants before. However, when I received an email from Jake of ProFlowers to review a version of Bonsai Hibiscus for them, there was no way I could deny the offer! I love Hibiscus, and have several varieties in my garden. Owning one of the Bonsai varieties helped me understand the philosophy behind this wonderful array of Bonsai plants, and I discovered that it could not only add an element of beauty to your indoor/outdoor garden, but could also be a fun Summer activity to pursue.

A Japanese art of growing miniature container-grown trees, bonsai actually originated from China and spread to Japan and Korea. The art of Japanese Bonsai is centered on the principle that the tree must give a picture of "heaven and earth in one container". Contrary to what people believe, Bonsai is cultivated, not grown so genetically - it is actually a normal tree that is kept small by continued root pruning and regular re-potting.

The roots of these plants are very thin, like grass blades, because they don't have room to grow and are confined to a small pot. However, they do need more water and fertilizing, as the roots can't suck any nutrients from the limited soil in the pot.

Bonsai Hibiscus, just like its regular counterpart, needs a lot of sunlight. Make sure you put it outdoors with plenty of sun, and yet water it abundantly. There are several tutorials online to help people like us, I'm sure. I have just embarked on having fun with Bonsai, and I have a lot to learn! But I am enjoying every bit of this new activity, thanks to ProFlowers.com. They have several other products for plant-lovers, so take a moment to check out their website, if you like.

Till next time, wish you all a Happy Summer!

The Icing On The Cupcake - Romance Mystery & Cupcakes??

Romance Mystery Revenge & Cupcakes??? It all sounds confusing, right? But that's precisely how it all comes together in Jennifer Ross's latest cookbook The Icing on the Cupcakes. Yes, I am talking about an actual cookbook about cupcakes, complete with tonnes of beautiful and unique cupcake recipes that will win your heart over. But rather than creating yet another cupcake cookbook that lists page after page of recipes, Jennifer Ross takes cookbook writing to an altogether new platform, by presenting it in the form of a Novel!

In this delectable novel, which also features delicious cupcake recipes, intertwined with the story of a young woman, Jennifer introduces us to someone who takes upon the challenge of being successful and fulfilling her dreams, one delicious cupcake at a time.

This is a story about Ansley Waller, who is a typical Southern belle from Dallas, with the ultimate goal of getting married to a rich and loving husband, raising his kids, and gracing parties and banquets in Southern style. But when her fiance unceremoniously kicks her to the curb and cancels their upcoming wedding, Ansley's world is all topsy-turvy, and she decides to head to New York City to live with her recently widowed and wealthy grandmother, Vivian, so she could forget her sorrow and get rid of ugly memories. But in turn, Vivian gives Ansley a no-nonsense ultimatum: Rather than wallow in misery, either get a job or go back home.

Then begins Ansley's journey to gather her nerves, put her MBA coursework to practice, and find a place for herself in this world. She decides to open a Cupcake shop with an endearing wish to bake the most exquisite cupcakes that any New Yorker has ever had! But unfortunately for her, New York is not a safe haven as Dallas - everything here is different, and Ansley has to go through her fair share of hard work, misery and sleepless nights before she can fulfill her dream, not to mention the fact that someone might be trying to sabotage her business, even before it opened!

Amidst this chaos, Ansley also has to find out why her grandmother had estranged her daughter, Ansley's mother at the tender age of 5, and never came back for her! Vivian is a great baker too, and Baking helps the two women to come closer and forge the bond that they never knew existed. What's the dark secret of Vivian's past? Who's trying to ruin Ansley's life? Was Ansley able to open her cupcake shop? You'd have to read this book to find out the answers.

All I can say is, Ross does a beautiful job of developing her characters and creating suspense in this book, finding space to end each chapter with an appropriate cupcake recipe. Plus, read the pages carefully and you'll also be able to find some serious baking tips that could turn a novice baker into a chiseled one!
The Icing on the Cupcakes is a lovely book that marries drama and cooking in an enticing way. For a small price tag of 11 bucks, this is one book that you'd love to add to your cookbook/novel collection.

About the Author: Jennifer Ross is a former Wall Street Journal and Dallas Morning News reporter, and the co-founder of the movie production company Brick House. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, children, and her two Papillions, Navette and Ruby. You can find more about her on her website, or check her out on Twitter

Mango Ice Cream with Condensed Milk

Mango is undoubtedly the King of fruits, at least for me, and I bet several others would agree with me on this one! With a beautiful color, rich creamy pulp and unbeatable taste, mangoes hold a special place in every recipe. Though they are great to just consume by themselves, they do add a special touch to the food they are paired with, especially desserts. So here's a household favorite - rich creamy Mango Ice Cream, made without using an ice cream maker! And I add a hint of Cardamom to the recipe, which is a taste I developed after trying it for my Peach Melba with Vanilla Cardamom Ice Cream recipe. The Condensed milk is indeed the second star ingredient which lends the smooth texture to this ice cream.

Back when I was a young kid in India, helping my mom in the kitchen we did not have the convenience of fancy kitchen gadgets. It was hard to find a proper baking oven in most homes, as some of you might recollect, so having an Ice Cream Maker was definitely not treated as a valid expense!:) But that does not mean we did not get to enjoy creamy dense ice cream at home - it just meant you had to add in a few extra steps to develop that smooth velvety texture, and this Mango Ice Cream is proof that you don't always need gadgets to do things right!

Eggless Mango Ice Cream Recipe using Condensed Milk, and Flavored with Vanilla & Cardamom

Ingredients
Makes about 6 servings

1/2 litre full-fat milk
4-6 medium sized ripe mangoes
100 ml (small can) of sweetened condensed milk
additional sugar - add to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 tsp ground cardamom powder

Method
Boil the milk till it becomes a little thick and creamy, about 12-15 mins, then remove from flame and add condensed milk to it.

Allow the milk to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, de-seed the mangoes and blend the pulp in a mixer to make thick mango pulp. Do not add water or any other liquid.

Once the milk is cool, add the mango pulp to it and blend well. Check for taste and add more sugar, if needed. Now transfer the mixture to an ice cream pan; cover it with cling-wrap, then put an inverted baking dish over it, to prevent ice from forming on the top of the pan. Freeze the mixture for a couple hours.

Remove the mixture and transfer to a mixer again. Add the cardamom powder and vanilla essence, then blend well, using the Whisk/Froth setting on the Blender.

Again freeze it for an hour, then repeat the blending process again, one more time. This may sound strenuous, but it is what you need to do when you are not using the convenience of an Ice Cream maker! But don't worry, its totally worth it - the freezing/churning process will ensure that your ice cream becomes nice and creamy, and sets well to give you same texture as an ice-cream maker recipe.

Now put the ice cream pan in the freezer, again, covered with cling-wrap and freeze for another 3-4 hours, or until ready to serve.

When you want to serve it, remove the pan from the freezer and let it thaw for 5 minutes. Then take an ice cream scooper and dish out as many scoops as you like in a bowl. Garnish with some fresh fruit and mint leaves, more mango pieces if you like, and serve immediately. You can also use pistachios or other fresh fruit like berries as a topping.

I like my Mango Ice Cream plain, but adding a few raspberries makes the presentation look much better:)

Related Recipes
Eggless Anjir (Fig) Ice Cream
Vanilla Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries
Easy Mango & Mascarpone Mousse

Fight Obesity With A Low Sodium Diet

Its no surprise to see the growing awareness among people to switch to low-sodium alternatives, as they understand how high sodium intake is related to weight gain, hypertension as well as heart diseases. Salt increases fluid retention in the body, leading to excessive weight gain and edema. I have done a precious post about the benefits of a low-sodium diet, but this time, we focus specifically on how it can help control weight gain. Obesity is on the rise in the US, and it is our responsibility to evaluate where we stand in our dietary choices so we can avoid obesity in our families.

Sodium & Obesity
A person who gains weight has a higher calorie requirement. There are two reasons for this. Having to carry a greater mass around and service a more massive body uses more calories. And having a bigger surface area means greater heat loss, since heat lost is proportional to surface area. - A greater calorie requirement results in greater appetite/hunger, so, really, overweight people need to eat more than people of normal weight. If the overweight eat insufficient calories (i.e. if they 'diet') they may lose weight, but it is at the cost of being hungry. There has never been the slightest evidence that the practice of fewer calories in and more calories out by way of exercise reduces obesity! - It is often confidently stated that fat will be lost by doing this. - Sadly, what is more often lost is lean tissue, usually an irreversible adverse effect.

Contrast this with the right way to lose weight - by eating less sodium. - Eating less sodium releases some of the excess sodium and water held in the blood stream. This lowers the blood pressure and, significantly, lowers the weight. - Weighing less results in a lower calorie requirement so very gradually less food is eaten and this becomes a virtuous circle because less food eaten results in lower sodium intake.

How Much Sodium Do You Really Need?
Most people who are following a weight-loss diet tend to watch out for fats and sugars but often neglect to think about the sodium content of foods. Most health authorities suggest limiting sodium to between 1,500 and 2,400 milligrams a day. (The body only needs about 400 to 800 milligrams of sodium a day.) Yet most Americans eat closer to 3,500 milligrams a day. A single meal at a fast food joint can easily contain well over 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

Most sodium we eat is from salt (sodium chloride), but sodium is also present in MSG (monosodium glutamate), in baking powder, in bicarbonate of soda (aka sodium bicarbonate or baking soda) and in a few other compounds which are sometimes added to food or to drinks. So its important to read food labels carefully, so you can keep an eye on the sodium content. On labels, more than 0.5g of sodium (1.25g salt) per 100g is high, less than 0.2g sodium (0.5g salt) is low.

Sodium Substitutes in Cooking
If you find it hard to cut down on salt, do it gradually. Your taste will gradually change. Try using pepper, herbs such as basil, chives, lemon grass, rosemary or coriander, spices such as chilli or ginger, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, rather than salt, to add flavour to your food.

If you feel you must use salt in cooking or to sprinkle on your food, you could try using LoSalt or Solo Low Sodium Sea Salt. - These mineral salts contain only about a third of the sodium present in ordinary salt and taste very similar to salt. This is still a high proportion of sodium, so use as little as you can manage and try gradually to reduce the amount you use.

There is ample evidence to prove that high sodium intake leads to several problems in the human body. And certain groups of individuals, like babies and children, pregnant women with high oestrogen levels, older people, people on prescribed medication or steroids are more prone to hypertension and obesity caused by salt sea diet. I always say its good to be prepared than sorry - so if you still have any doubts about benefits of low sodium diet, and how its linked to obesity or weight control, I hope this article helps clarify some issues.

The next time you try to grab that packet of ketchup to slather on your fries, think about what you are getting into your system, and stop right there! Of course, you can use some hummus or fresh vegetable yogurt dip instead!