Not into meat - what about the iron???

Isobel is totally not into meat. She will tolerate chicken, barely, and it must be paired with something favourable, like pumpkin or zucchini. But lamb and beef, no way. Not just yet, anyway.

So what about the iron, she really needs a consistent supply of iron at her age. And then I just happened to run into Ellie, our fabulous Devonport Plunket solids advisor at Devonport Wholefoods - it really is the local hang-out! - for some well-timed and very practical advice:

Freeze a portion of your choice of uncooked red meat and simply grate a teaspoon or so into her lunchtime vegetables. The little gratings are so small that they will cook from the heat of the veggies. Easy-peasy.

Of course I already had my cubes of prime beef mince and organic lamb tucked neatly amongst all of the ziplock bags of veggies and fruit in my freezer, but no worries - frozen cubes of pureed meat are ideal for grating and already perfectly portioned.

I use the tiny parmesan-sized grater disc for light and fluffy gratings, I figure the smaller the grating the better to hide in her veggies. She is a smart little Bunny and can detect - and then refuse - just about anything I am trying to slyly get past her! Which kind of makes me proud as I wouldn't want her to be a pushover even at her young age :)

And the winners are....

Thank you to everyone who entered the Littlies May competition for a fabulous mumi&bubi 'Solids Starter Kit'. The winners are:

Vanessa Wills, Blenheim; Tanja Klumpers, Havelock North; Sarah Hayward, Hobsonville; Rebecca Warwick, Christchurch; Melissa Warrington, Christchurch; Toni Mitchell, Glendowie; A Chard, New Plymouth; Claire Butler, North Canterbury; Allison McPherson, Wellington.

All winners were randomly chosen by Littlies. I will be ringing the winners to confirm address details and your new 'Solids Starter Kits' will be couriered to you in a few days.

Congratulations!

The Hip Infant SSK Review

We savvy Mums love our SSK's! And for good reason - here is the latest SSK review from The Hip Infant...

This neat little kit includes a recipe book with 27 recipe ideas (surely even the fussiest of first time eaters will find something in there that they like!!) that are designed not only to tempt your little ones taste buds but also teach the chef (that’s you!) how to cook the optimum way to ensure you retain all the goodness and nutrition of the ingredients you are working with. Did I mention one stop shop? But wait there’s more! The starter kit also includes 2 BPA free, dishwasher safe, portioned freezer trays. That come with a lid to prevent freezer burn and maintain hygiene. Over at Mumi and Bubi I think they’re onto that weaning can be a difficult time so they’ve thought of everything to make it easy for us! SO they’ve rounded the trays on the bottom so you can leverage out however many cubes you need at the time and not have to empty all the other filled cubes.

Not sure on how much to cook to fill them? Leaving no stone unturned the recipe book also includes a shopping list of what to buy to perfectly fill the 2 freezer trays so there is no wastage!

Check out the entire article at The Hip Infant

Mary's Market

It's Mary's Market this Saturday the 22 of May. mumi&bubi will be there with the ever-popular 'Solids Starter Kit' and Safe Sippy range of stainless steel drink bottles for the whole family.

Check out Mary's website to see all of the stallholders.

This month's market is sponsored by Karitane Nurses and Nannies Bureau. Enter the draw to win a nanny for 5 hours!

Come along, stock up on all the goods and be sure to stop by our mumi&bubi stand and say hello :)

Recipe for Cauliflower

Here are all of my little cauliflower florets washed, trimmed from the stalk and ready for a light steam.

Isobel is 9 1/2 months old and into her finger food so I will cut the steamed cauliflower into bite-sized pieces for her and freeze handy servings in my mumi&bubi freezing tray.

If your bub is just starting solids, puree the cauliflower to a nice consistency (adding some of the reserved steaming water) and then spoon into your mumi&bubi freezing tray. If bubs is a bit older and into lumpy textures, you can mash to his preferred lumpiness and then freeze.

It's amazing what you learn doing this - I had no idea that cauliflower was sooooo good for you, lifesaving almost!

After checking out this article, you'll definitely want cauliflower on the menu a couple of times a week :) I think I will even keep some extra cubes of cauli puree on hand to sneak into pasta sauces and casseroles this winter.

Eco Family Expo in Tauranga

Live in the Bay of Plenty, or know someone who does? Come along to the Eco Family Expo on Saturday 15 May at the QE2 Centre in Tauranga.

There will be 50 stalls (including mumi&bubi, lola & ben, pipi child) and exhibits showcasing eco-friendly products and services. The first 300 families through the door will receive a generous goody bag.

See you there!

9 months!

Happy Birthday Isobel, 9 months old today! She started solids nearly four months ago and I am so happy to say that she has had 100% healthy homemade baby food made by me, and sometimes her Daddy :) It has been so easy with the Solids Starter Kit.

Isobel celebrated this milestone by totally feeding herself her dinner! No one was more shocked than me as Max didn't do this until a little later. Which goes to show that all babies are their own little people and will do things at their own pace.

Moving on from the puree stage, I am going to continue using my 'Solids Starter Kit' for keeping her meals organised and freezing portions of finger food - mushrooms, swede, carrots, etc. so that I have freshly prepared food that Isobel can feed herself on hand in the freezer.

I am also going to be freezing portions of our family meals and I am going to try the Chicken and Kumara Dinner that was submitted by Rebecca one day soon.

It's all about being prepared saving time and not having to cook all the time, but still providing healthy homemade food for your precious little ones.

The Clean 15

The Clean 15 is the opposite of The Dirty Dozen! These are the top 15 fruits and veggies in the Environmental Working Group's list that are least likely to be contaminated by pesticide residues:

1. onions (even though it is not necessary to buy organic onions due to their pesticide residues, I find they taste much better!)
2. avocado
3. sweet corn
4. pineapples
5. mango
6. sweet peas
7. asparagus
8. kiwi fruit
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. canteloupe (rock melon)
12. watermelon
13. grapefruit
14. sweet potatoes (kumara)
15. honeydew melon

It is interesting to note that nearly all the studies on which this list is based tested produce after it had been rinsed or peeled.

You can download your wallet-size guide here

Even though this is a US-based list, it is good food for thought. I will try to find a similar NZ list as I know that there are some pesticides that are still in use in NZ that are banned in the USA. If you have any info on this, please let me know!

The Dirty Dozen 2010

Every year, the Environmental Working Group, in their Shoppers Guide to Pesticides releases their Dirty Dozen: a comprehensive list of the food most likely to be contaminated by pesticides.

Food for Thought
According to the EWG methodology, "You can lower your pesticide consumption by nearly four-fifths by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables and instead eating the least contaminated produce, according to EWG calculations. When you eat the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables, you’ll be exposed to an average of 10 pesticides a day. When you choose fresh produce from the 15 least contaminated fruits and vegetables, you’ll consume fewer than 2 pesticides per day."

Best to go organic for these 12 fruits and veggies:

1. celery
2. peaches
3. strawberries (although this is a US list, I know someone who works at a strawberry grower in Kumeu and guess what....they grow their own!)
4. apples
5. blueberries (we are so lucky to have Omaha Organic Blueberries in steady supply at our grocery stores, no reason to not eat organic blueberries in NZ)
6. nectarines
7. sweet bell peppers (capsicum)
8. spinach
9. kale
10. cherries
11. potatoes
12. grapes (non-USA)

It is interesting to note that nearly all the studies on which this guide is based tested produce after it had been rinsed or peeled.

Reading stuff like this highlights the importance of being aware of how different life is for our children that it was for us. Small changes really do add up to a better quality of life for our families, you can discover more in A Wake-Up Story that I posted a little while ago.

Come back tomorrow for the good news: the list of those fruits and veggies that are least likely to be contaminated by pesticide residue, The Clean 15.

Win a Solids Starter Kit with Littlies!

Grab your May edition of littlies magazine to win a mumi&bubi 'Solids Starter Kit'. See the freebies page or enter online here

We have 9 Kits to give away in this competition! Contest closes 28 May 2010.

Congratulations to all of the winners, listed here