May 02, 2007
Issue #010
2 May 2007
What's in this issue...
- Visit our baby of the month
- How to make yogurt for your baby
- New and updated pages
- Heating baby's food in the microwave
- It's competition time!
- Baby care "tip of the month" - 11 Ways to save time in the kitchen
- Safety recalls
- Our featured product review - The Peapod Travel Bed
- Visit our "website of the month"
- This month's subscribers-only recipe - Banana and melon mash
Visit our baby of the month
A big thank you to everyone who sent in their babies' photographs this month.Not only is it wonderful to see all the smiling faces and read about the foods that your little ones like (and dislike!), we also feel privileged to be hearing from so many Mums all around the world!
We write often on our site about the cultural differences in the introduction of solid foods to babies and how it's interesting to note that foods which may be considered a big "no-no" for babies in one country are perfectly acceptable in another!
We'd love to hear more about solid feeding practices in YOUR corner of the world! What is the first food that you introduced to YOUR baby? Which foods does your baby enjoy that might be considered unusual in other parts of the world?
Please do contact us and let us know - it would be wonderful for all of us to be able to compare our experiences!
So who is May's Baby of the Month?
How to make yogurt for your baby
This article has been moved here.
New and updated pages
Infant eczema is a relatively common condition, affecting around one in ten babies during their first year of life. Our new eczema and baby food page looks at the foods that may worsen baby's eczema - and other foods that may help.
With warmer weather prompting many of us to start thinking about "getting away from it all", we've put together a new page of baby travel accessories - including lots of handy products from inflatable bath tubs to portable safety gates!
Some of you may remember that, back in February, we published an article on our blog about feeding a baby with a cold. This was such a popular article that we have now given it a permanent page on our site... so for all new subscribers - and for those of you who missed the original article - you can read the new page here.
Another new addition this month is our Free Stuff For Baby page, with details of sales, reward schemes and offers of free samples for your baby from around the web. We hope you find something useful there!
Heating baby's food in the microwave
Many people are afraid to heat their babies' food in a microwave oven. And it's true that it there are certains hazards associated with warming baby food in the microwave if a few important safety rules are not observed.Our blog post this month looks at the dangers and gives you some advice about how to avoid them.
It's competition time!
Would you like a chance to win a $20 Amazon gift certificate?Then you'll love our fun new "Baby Food Recipe Competition", where you not only get to share your ideas with other parents... but you could win a prize, too!
All you need to do is send us your favourite homemade baby food recipe, using our simple entry form.
Each month, we will award the sender of the best recipe with a $20 Amazon gift certificate.
This competition is open to our visitors worldwide - so for more information and to check the competition rules, please visit our competition page here.
11 Time Saving Tips When Making Your Baby's Food
In last month's newsletter, we wrote about one-pot cooking and how preparing your baby's entire meal in one cooking vessel can be a great time saver!So we've decided to expand on that a little... and this month we bring you 11 more excellent tips to help you save time in the kitchen - and spend more time doing the things you love!
- We've said it before and we'll say it again! Cooking in bulk is THE best way to produce large quantities of baby food in the least amount of time!
Set aside an afternoon a week to cook and freeze your baby's meals. Prepare a few different ingredients each week (for example, prepare sweet potato, squash and carrots one week, then pumpkin, swede and plantain the next). Then you can mix and match the ingredients over the coming weeks, as your baby's tastes dictate.
- Take a good look at the meal you're preparing for the rest of the family. Can part of it be set aside for your baby? Try cooking your vegetables without salt - that way, they will be safe for your baby to eat and the adults can add salt later, if they wish.
Foods like pasta can be saved for your baby and frozen in little portions - you can even top pasta shapes with your baby's purees when he's old enough to cope with more texture.
- Whenever you are preparing ingredients for your own meal (chopping veggies, grating cheese etc), prepare more than you need and refrigerate the rest for future use in your baby's food.
- Make the most of foods that don't need any preparation - bananas and avocados are perfect examples - just mash with a fork and serve!
- Use a melon baller to core apples - it makes the job very quick and easy!
- Use a blender or a food processor! Yes, you can push food through a sieve... but a quick blitz in the food processor is SO much easier!
- If you store your baby's food in bags after freezing it in an ice cube tray, it's important to mark the bags with the date of preparation and the contents. Do this in advance, in comfort, when you have a quiet (!) moment - or delegate this job to an older sibling!
- Always cut up your fruits and veggies before your meat - otherwise you'll have to stop to wash up the chopping board!
- If you're cooking potatoes for your baby, scrub them thoroughly then peel them AFTER you have cooked and cooled them. The skins will slip off easily.
- Get your partner involved... either in making baby's food or in keeping your little one entertained while YOU do the cooking.
And if you're a Dad who cooks for your baby, then please contact us and let us know so we can add you to our Dads' Hall of Fame! We receive lots of letters from Mums... but none from Dads! We know you're out there somewhere!
We'd love to hear ways that YOU'VE discovered to save time in the kitchen - please share them with us here.
This month's safety recalls
Here is this month's round up of baby-related food and product recalls. Please pass these details on to anyone else you feel may be affected...Smiley Face Noise Hammers are recalled in Australia because they pose ingestion and inhalation hazards.
Children's Groovy Grabber bracelets are recalled in the US because they contain toxic lead levels.
Lovely Baby and Happy Baby Dolls are recalled in the US because they may present a choking hazard to young children.
Target in the US recalls Activity Cart Toys because the wheel's hubcap can pose a choking hazard to children.
Wal-Mart recalls Disney Plush Easter Baskets as loose parts can present a choking hazard to young children.
Giggling Toys are recalled in Australia because they do not meet safety standards and may pose a choking hazard.
Children's Wooden Sound Puzzles are recalled in the US because the knobs on the puzzle pieces can fall off, presenting a choking hazard.
Various toys from Sunny R & J Group Pty Ltd are recalled in Australia because they contain small parts.
Oeuf Infant Bouncer Seats are recalled in the US because the tubular metal frame can break.
Children's jewelry is recalled in the US because it contains toxic levels of lead.
Disney Pyjamas are recalled in the US because they do not meet flammability standards.
More Magnetix sets are recalled in the US and a serious warning is given to parents about the use of magnetic toys.
Banana flavour lollies are recalled in the UK because they contain undeclared allergens.
Ground beef is recalled in five US states amidst fears of contamination by E-Coli.
Sassy Hug & Tug Horse Rattles are recalled in the UK because they may pose a laceration hazard.
Our featured product review - The Eat and Discover Mealtime Tray
Our featured product this month is a rather fun idea from Baby Einstein.
The Baby Einstein Eat & Discover Mealtime Tray is a clever feeding tray divided into four sections. Each section has a brightly coloured lid that opens and closes easily - and, from our experience, babies just LOVE opening and closing lids! The underside of each lid is textured as an added feature, which provides plenty of tactile stimulation.
Each compartment has steep rounded sides which are designed to make it easy for your baby to feed himself. And, when he eats up all his food, he'll discover the colourful Baby Einstein graphic at the bottom of each compartment.
We like this tray for two reasons.
It help to keep your baby's attention on his meal if, like most curious tots, he is easily distracted from eating! And you'll enjoy choosing just what to hide for him in each section!
The other advantage is that the tray is divided, meaning that the foods it contains are kept totally separate.
If your baby is like our youngest daughter, who resolutely refused to eat pasta and sauce TOGETHER but loved eating them by themselves, then the advantages of separate compartments becomes very clear!
Website Of The Month - The Dollar Stretcher
To fit in nicely with the time-saving and money-saving theme of our newsletter this month, we have chosen a featured website that is devoted to helping you do both!
The Dollar Stretcher contains masses of articles covering just about every subject you can think of! The topics are grouped under headings to make them easier to search through - which is essential because there are an awful lot of articles on the site!
Some of the many subjects covered by Dollar stretcher include
- automobiles
- babies/children
- debt
- groceries and food
- natural living
- one income families
- weddings
Dollar Stretcher invites you to sign up for their free weekly newsletter, which gives you links to all the new additions to the site. There is also a forum, where a lively community of visitors help each other in their quest for frugal living. Visitors with specific questions can e mail them to the editor, who publishes them on their "Can You Help This Reader" page, inviting other readers to offer advice.
Many of the tips given on this site are truly valuable and we definitely recommend paying Dollar Stretcher a visit - we hope you find some more great ideas there to help you trim a little off the family budget!
This month's subscribers-only recipe - Banana and melon mash
This is a very easy, very tasty dessert recipe for your little one, using two extremely nutritious ingredients - banana and melon!The best variety of melon to select when preparing any dish for your baby is cantaloupe (also known as rockmelon in some parts of the world).
Cantaloupe is an excellent source of potassium, vitamin C and beta-carotene (which contributes to the orange colour of the fruit's flesh) - in fact, cantaloupe is far more nutritious than any other type of melon.
TIP: If your baby is teething, you can make this recipe super-soothing by preparing and freezing the cantaloupe beforehand!
You will need...
around 5oz melon (1 thick slice)
1 ripe banana
3oz vanilla yogurt
little pinch of ground ginger (optional)
Wash the melon thoroughly, then remove the skin and the seeds and cut into pieces.
Peel the banana and chop.
Place the fruit, together with the yogurt, in a food processor and blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can mash the ingredients together by hand (unless you froze the melon beforehand).
Sprinkle with the ginger (which adds a truly delicious twist) and serve to your baby as soon as possible, as the banana may discolour.
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Is there anything you would like to see MORE of in this newsletter? Do you have any comments, questions, or suggestions? Then please contact us.
We would love to hear from you!