Issue #025
8 August 2008

What's in this issue...

• Receive a FREE E-Book and Win a Voucher
• Why Blueberries are So Good For Baby
• Visit our New Pages
• Competition Corner
• Tip of the Month
• Safety Recalls
• Our Featured Product Review
• Visit Our Featured Website
• This Month's Recipe - Easy Potato Cakes

Receive a free copy of our baby food recipes e-book - and the chance to win an Amazon voucher!

Taking part in this fun contest is as easy as can be!

Just...

• Prepare a dish for your baby using a recipe from our site.

• Take a digital photograph of your creation

• Send it in to us before 30th August!

And that's it!

EVERYONE who sends in a photograph will receive a free copy of our e-book, the Homemade baby Food Recipes Collection. This book brings together 50 fabulous baby food recipes for your little one's first year, which you can easily download to your computer and print out as needed!

And one lucky winner every month will receive a $30 voucher (or local equivalent) to spend at Amazon.com!

So grab that camera, get snapping - and share your baby food creations with the world!

Why Blueberries Are So Good for Baby!

This article has been moved - and you can now read it here.

New and updated pages

• One of the most popular fruits worldwide and one of nature's best foods for baby... yes, we're talking bananas - and this month we've devoted a whole page to this nutritious super-food!
  
  Check out our new Banana Baby Food Page here!

• Is fresh ALWAYS best? What should you do if certain fruits and vegetables are out of season - or simply unavailable in your area? Find out more about...

  Making baby food with frozen vegetables and fruits

  Making baby food with canned vegetables and fruits

• Baby's Creamy Apricot Dessert

• Easy Banana Bread

• Leek Puree with Fresh Herbs

• Sweet Potato and Coconut Curry

• Plantain and Sweet Potato Puree

• How to Make English Muffins For Your Baby

• Lovely Lentil and Sweet Potato Nuggets

Competition corner

The Homemade Baby Food Recipes Competition

Nancy Dentler was the winner of July's Homemade Baby Food Recipes Competition with her interesting recipe for wiggly jiggly Yogurt & Fruit Gelatin Squares. Easy to prepare, this fun finger food will make a wonderful treat for little ones who enjoy feeding themselves! Congratulations, Nancy - thank you so much for sending in your idea.

Nancy's recipe - plus the runner-up recipes for ...

• Diced Pork with Curried Peach and Onion Sauce
• Healthy Carrot Sticks
• High Iron Teethers

Do you have an original baby food recipe you'd like to share with other Mums?

Then send it in using this simple form - you could be August's winner of a $20 voucher from Amazon!


August's Baby of the Month

As always, we've had loads of fantastic entries for our Baby of the Month competition - thank you SO much for sharing your wonderful photographs with us.

Choosing a winner is never easy - but we think you'll agree that August's new Baby of the Month is just as cute as can be! Come and visit him - and see more of our favourite entries from July - on our Baby of the Month page. You'll also find the entry form and details you need to submit YOUR baby's photograph!


Baby Product Reviews

Stacy Kassin from Florida was the winner of a Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube for her review of Bumkins Bibs. Congratulations Stacy - and thank you for your review!

Tip of the month - Mix and Match

When preparing purees for your baby - particularly in the early days, before firm favourites are established - freeze them individually, rather than combining them!

There are two good reasons for this...

1. Your baby's passion for all things sweet potato may wear off! If you've mixed pureed sweet potato into many of your other pureed veggies - and your little treasure decides he doesn't LIKE sweet potato any more - then ALL of the purees containing it may be wasted. If you freeze the pureed sweet potato ALONE, without mixing it first, then you can easily incorporate it into recipes for the rest of the family if need be.

2. If a particular food proves to cause an allergic reaction or digestive discomfort for your little one, then you will need to avoid it altogether. Easy enough if you've frozen that food as a single ingredient - but, potentially, a lot of waste if you've mixed it into many other dishes!

Of course, unwanted frozen baby food purees may be used for other purposes if not as part of your baby's menu...

• Use them as a simple sauce for pasta for older children, or even adult family members!

• Stir them into soups or stews intended for the rest of the family.

• Serve them to older children as a nutritious dip for pasta shapes, breadsticks etc.

• Add fruit purees to smoothies.

Combination ideas for your pureed veggies and fruits

So - you have lots of different pureed veggies and fruits in the freezer that your baby is enjoying. What are the best ways to combine these purees to create exciting new flavours?

Here are our top ten baby food combination ideas...

• Sweet potato and homemade applesauce
• Butternut squash and pear
• Carrot and parsnip
• Avocado and melon
• White potato and sweet potato, swirled together (eye-catching and fun)
• Pumpkin and banana
• Roasted red bell pepper and sweet potato
• Fresh asparagus tips and mashed white potato
• Banana and peach
• Pear and plum

Safety Recalls

Here's our list of recalls posted to our blog since our last newsletter at the start of July. If you have any of the products listed below, then just click on the link and you'll be taken to our blog for more details.

Please forward this newsletter to anyone you know who may have any of these recalled items.

Taggies Sleep’n Play Infant Garments (US)

Costco Youth Bed Toy Chests (US)

Children's Jewelry (US)

Kroger ground beef (US)

Thai Basil (Southern California, Arizona and Nevada)

Freefrom Breadcrumbs and Stuffing (UK)

Children’s Necklaces with Ballet Shoes Charms, Children’s Charm Craft Kits and “Faded Glory” Lip Gloss, Locket, and Bracelet Sets (US)

LG Microwave Ovens (Australia)

Marks & Spencer Reduced Fat Olive Spread (UK)

Morrisons Bettabuy Beans and Sausages (UK)

Baby Shield Child Restraint Systems (Australia/NZ)

It’s My Binky Personalized Pacifiers (US)

Various Magnet Toys (US)

Bright Starts Ring Rattles (US)

Tesco My Baby’s Soother Holders (UK)

Wooden Toys by Earthentree (US)

Baby Appleseed Cribs (US)

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboards Cribs (US)

Featured Product - Hotslings

This month, we're taking a look at our absolute favourite baby sling - the Hotsling!

We used one of these brilliantly simple slings for our last child and now recommend to everyone we know! So what is it that make the Hotsling so great?

Well, for us, it's ease of use. If you dislike having to fiddle around with clips, rings or adjustable straps, then the Hotsling is ideal for you. It is, quite simply, a tubular piece of fabric that loops over your shoulder - into which you sort of 'wedge' your infant! It takes a little practice at first, but we had it down pat in no time!

Unlike some slings and carriers, we find the Hotsling very comfortable to wear. The only potential problem to take into consideration is that - because they are non-adjustable - a different Hotsling must be purchased for each person using it UNLESS they are the same size . In many cases, this will mean buying one Hotsling for Mum and one for Dad (trying to wear a Hotsling that doesn't fit properly is not just uncomfortable, it could also be unsafe for baby).

That being said, this sling remains one of our best baby care purchases and was one of those products that prompted lots of "Wow! Where did you get that?" type of enquiries!

Hotslings are available from...

the BabyCenter Store (US) - currently on sale at $45

Big Mama Slings (UK)

Parenting by Nature (Canada)

Nursing Angel (Australia)

Featured Website - BabyPlays!

Is there such a thing as the perfect baby toy?

Probably not - but most of us spend an awful lot of money trying to find it, accumulating a big pile of less-than-popular toys in the process!

If you can identify with this - and you live in the United States - then BabyPlays has the ideal solution for you - a new batch of toys every month that you can return when your baby is bored of them!

BabyPlays is a toy rental company offering various levels of membership, depending on how many toys you wish to receive each month. Once you've joined and selected various toys to add to your 'wishlist', BabyPlays will send you your first shipment. You may keep the toys for 30 days or as long as you like - there are no late fees! When your little one is ready for a change, send BACK the old toys and BabyPlays will send you some fresh ones!

The service is, perhaps, a little pricey (plans start from $36.99 per month for 4 toys per month) - but this level would enable your baby to try out 48 toys per year, which doesn't sound so bad! Plus there are obvious benefits, such as a tidier home (!) and the 'novelty' value of a constantly varying source of amusement for baby!

The company offers gift options, too (maybe worth mentioning to family members who just don't know what to buy for your little one) - and a handy travel plan which will ensure he has toys to occupy him at his vacation destination!

You can visit BabyPlays here

Recipe of the month - Easy Potato Cakes

If your baby is an independent little soul and likes to feed himself, then these potato cakes are a manageable way to serve potatoes as a side dish. Alternatively, you can use the variations suggested at the end of the recipe to create a complete snack that needs no accompaniment!

Basic recipe

2 medium white potatoes (choose good mashing potatoes like russet, Yukon gold, Caribe, King Edward, Maris Piper)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
a little flour (all purpose or plain)

Peel the potatoes, cut into chunks and boil them until tender.
Mash thoroughly with 1 tbsp butter.
If you want to use any of the extra ingredients listed below, add them now!
The mixture should be light, fluffy and non sticky. To achieve this texture, add flour - a little at a time. DO NOT add too much flour as it gives a rubbery texture and an unappetizing flavour!
Turn the potato mixture out on to a floured board (to stop it sticking) and, using your hands, shape it into a circle with a thickness of around 1/2 inch.
Cut into wedges (or any shape your baby will like!) and fry quickly in hot butter until golden!

Variations: Stir in any of the following (you can use a combination of several ideas) - cheese; cooked, chopped veggies; frozen peas, thawed; chopped, fresh herbs; shredded, cooked fish or chicken