Sunday, December 20, 2009

Things you will forget about once you have a baby

Admittedly, I have been neglecting this blog. So perhaps I need to focus on posting shorter things and not obsessing that they are perfect gems of eloquently written wisdom...

So here is a draft post that I started ages ago (in late December).

Enjoy....

Okay, a quick look in the bathroom mirror this morning by the harsh light of sun reflecting off of snow revealed a more pressing topic than the continuation of baby food (and I promise some recipes for good home made chow soon [Ed. note: these can in fact be found here and here])--an impressively bold lady-stache verging on the edge of handlebar status (well, not really, but it sure seems like it).

Where the hell did it come from? It has seemed to materialize overnight! Oh, that's right, I have a baby less than a year old, I'm finishing up teaching for the end of the semester, trying to finish a dissertation chapter, and attempting to actually get out and socialize a bit with these lovely holiday parties that keep cropping up like mold on a bucket of veggies destined for the compost that haven't made it there in over a week...(well, perhaps the holiday parties are much nicer than mold, but I'm staring here across the kitchen at a bucketful of moldy compost scraps...so it was the first thing that popped into mind).

My dear husband probably knows better than to have told me about this (btw honey--this is one about which I would have like to be alerted). But then again, he's in his own world of fog...

Anyway, while the baby's napping, no time like the present to attend to this. I recommend these.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Baby Food Inspired This Blog!

Welcome to my new endeavor--something that has been kicking around in my head for a while, but which time constraints have not allowed to be realized...

But several things over the past few days inspired me to finally take the plunge and join the world of blogging. Those of you who know me personally could attest to the fact that I talk and write about all these topics all the time anyway, so why not put my musings in a public space?

So baby food--I have made most of EV's food since she started eating solids seven months ago or so, and I passionately believe that not only is the baby food industry a crock of hooey, but it is creating incredibly picky palates and perhaps actually harming our children and increasing allergies (the first of many crack-pot theories that will be fomented on this blog...get used to it).

The three things that got me going were:

1) Talking at a holiday party to a food scientist who swore that baby food was made from "first pick" ingredients.

2) Reading this (If you don't want to click on the link, the summary goes: delaying the introduction of allergenic solid foods until past the infant stage actually raises the risk of becoming allergic to those foods.)

3) Reading this (In which I was particularly incensed by the quote that baby food "must be refined...processed to thick soup and be packed in a bottle and be sold in the supermarket.")

People! Parents used to feed their children tiny bits of whatever they were eating (mushed up if necessary to prevent choking--or even masticated by mom to make them soft and baby-friendly).

Tiny. Bits.

A variety introduced gradually...

Nowadays, we're told to feed our children new foods for FOUR DAYS IN A ROW to make sure they don't react. That, to me, sounds like a recipe for inducing an allergic reaction in the fastest possible manner. ("Let's just overload this kid's immune system with a giant bunch of the same, foreign matter all at once for several days in a row!")

People! Baby food didn't exist before the mid-19th century, and not really on a commercial level until Gerber launched it's baby food line in 1928!

My goodness, how did we get by before giant food companies began boiling ingredients to death and telling us that was the safest and most nutritious thing to feed our children???

Okay, I must be getting to bed here soon (yes, babies tire you out amazingly--I am just an old fart now). I will write more on this topic tomorrow. But I'd like to leave you with an experiment to try:

Get a jar of baby peas and get a package of frozen peas. My inclination would be for you to buy organic versions of both, as this will hit the point home even farther, but regular old grocery store brands are fine.

Put some of the commercial, baby-food-glop peas in a bowl and set aside.

Put some of the frozen peas (about a 1/4 cup) in a bowl with about a tablespoon of water. Cover with a damp paper towel (or a damp cloth if you are super eco-friendly). Put in the microwave and nuke for about a minute or so, depending on the strength of your appliance. Mush with a fork until good and puréed.

Now taste one, and then the other.

Tell me which one would you eat on a regular basis...