Issue #026
11 Sept 2008

What's in this issue...

• Send in Your Baby Food Photographs
• Foods That May Cause Nappy Rash (Diaper Rash)
• Visit our New Pages
• Competition Corner
• Tip of the Month
• Safety Recalls
• Our Featured Product Review
• Visit Our Featured Website
• This Month's Recipe - Tempting Apple Gravy

Our apologies for sending out our newsletter a week later than usual this month! As those of you who subscribe to our blog will already know, we were hit by Tropical Storm Hanna - and experienced some minor effects from both hurricanes Fay and Ike - all of which left us without power or internet services for varying periods of time.

Fortunately, everyone is safe (which is, of course, the main thing) - but the interruptions to our power meant that everything is running a little behind schedule right now.

If you were in the paths of any of these storms, we hope that you and your families remained safe throughout.

Send in Your Baby Food Photographs!

This month, we invite you once again to send in your Baby Food Photographs!

Just choose a recipe from our site, prepare it for your baby, take a photograph... and send it in!

Not only could you be September's winner of a $30 Amazon voucher - EVERYONE who enters will receive a free copy of our e-book, the Homemade Baby Food Recipes Collection, packed with 50 yummy recipes for baby's first year.

We welcome entries from visitors worldwide and you may enter as many times as you like! The closing date for this month's contest is September 30th - so don't delay!

Send in your baby food photographs now!

Foods That May Cause Nappy Rash (Diaper Rash)

...and you can now read it here

New and updated pages

• As your baby makes the transition from milk to solid foods, it's important to ensure that he's getting enough calcium. For advice about baby's calcium requirements and suggestions for making sure his needs are met, read more about The Best Calcium Sources for Baby

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away... we've all grown up hearing that, and there may be some truth in the old adage! Apples provide lots of health benefits - and, packed with natural sweetness, they make a wonderful and easily digestible food for babies. Learn more on our new Apple Baby Food Recipes page.
  
  New baby food recipes and tips from our blog

• Baby's Baked Pear with Yogurt

• Top Ten Ways to Flavour Rice

• Creamy Asparagus Soup

• How to Make Bread Crumbs

Competition corner

The Homemade Baby Food Recipes Competition

Suzanne Evans-Booth from Australia was the winner of August's Homemade Baby Food Recipes Competition with her simple and nutritious recipe for Chicken/Lamb Patties. Ideal for babies who are feeding themselves, we think the adults will enjoy these tasty patties too! Congratulations, Suzanne - thank you so much for sharing your recipe.

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

• Apple Spice Squash
• Kyle's Favorite Green Beans
• Baby's Cold Chicken Salad
• More! More! More! Melon and Mint Cooler

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 September's winner of a $20 voucher from Amazon!


September's Baby of the Month

Thank you SO much for all the wonderful entries last month for our Baby of the Month competition.

We just couldn't resist the deliciously dimpled smile of this month's winner - you can visit her and see more of our favourite entries received throughout August on our Baby of the Month page. You'll also find the entry form and details you need to submit YOUR baby's photograph!

Sizzling September Offers!

• Sittercity, the company that offers a huge database of local babysitters, nannies, tutors, house sitters and even pet sitters, is offering 10% off registration for their monthly and annual membership (US only). The promotional code you need is SCSAVE10... and you can take advantage of this special offer from now until October 31st!

• The ever popular BabyCenter Store has a new feature this Halloween - a do-it-yourself homemade costume guide that provides instructions to create great costumes using basic BabyCenter clothing and various accessories.

  But - if making homemade baby food AND homemade Halloween costumes is a little more than you have time for right now, then check out their ready to wear costumes, too. They are currently marked down with up to 20% off a wide selection!

Tip of the Month - Why You Should Avoid Refined Carbohydrates

Refined sugars in the diets of young children are the number one cause of behavioural problems, including mood swings, attention deficit disorders and hyperactivity. But did you know that refined carbohydrates are, from a biological point of view, very similar to sugar and have a similar effect upon the body?

So what are refined carbohydrates?

Refined carbohydrates are foods that have been processed to remove the bran and the germ from the grain. This also removes the majority of the fibre, vitamins and minerals from these foods.

Unrefined carbohydrates contain the whole grain, which means they are far healthier for your baby, as they retain all their nutrients.

The following are all examples of refined carbohdrates, which you should avoid including in your baby's diet wherever possible

• white flour
• white bread
• white rice
• sugary cereals
• pasta made with white flour

• whole wheat (or wholemeal) bread
• whole grain (brown) rice
• whole wheat pasta
• porridge oats

When buying commercially baked foods and items such as pasta for your baby, read the label carefully to be sure of whether or not these products contain refined carbohydrates. Here are some tips to help you...

• Ingredients are listed by weight - so the ingredients with the greatest quantities within the product will be higher in the list.

• The term "enriched" may sound healthy, but it isn't. Instead, it indicates that a food has been refined and then certain nutrients removed by refining have been added back. A product containing the whole (unrefined) carbohydrates will be far more nutritious.

• Wheat flour is not the same as whole wheat flour. Wheat flour is a refined carbohydrate.

• Wherever grains are listed as an ingredient, look for the word "whole" in front of them, confirming that the goodness of these grains is intact.

Safety Recalls

Here's our list of the recalls posted to our blog since our last newsletter. If you have any of the items mentioned below, please click on the link which will take you to our blog for more information.

Please remember to share this list with any friends or relatives who may have similar items at home.

Beef products (US)

Fresh ground beef recalled by Whole Foods Market (US)

Fisher Price Learning Pots and Pans (US)

Netto chicken breasts (UK)

Bovril Beef Extract (UK)

Harrods Teddy Bears (UK)

Stroller Activity Bars (US)

My First Busy Driver Toys (Australia)

Simplicity Bassinets (US)

Certain Phil and Teds Strollers (US)

Wooden Infant Toys (US)

Empress Arts Hooded Sweaters (US)

Magnetic Letters and Magnetic numbers (US)

Featured Product - The Teethifier

Despite its somewhat scary name, The Teethifier is simply brilliant!

Most teethers only help relieve discomfort from the emerging front teeth - they are just too large to reach sore gums at the back of the mouth. The Teethifier, on the other hand, is designed to do just that - it features chewy little nubs that your baby can gnaw on as his molars begin to come through.

In some ways resembling a pacifier, the Teethifier features a shield at the front to prevent your little one from pushing it too far into his mouth. Its appearance also makes it ideal if you are trying to wean your baby from his traditional pacifier, particularly because The Teethifier is not associated with orthodontic harm that the long-term use of a typical pacifier can cause.

The Teethifier is available from One Step Ahead in the US - what's more it retails for a very reasonable $6.95!

Featured Website - CouponMom!

Many of our featured 'Sites of the Month' help you save money (very important when you have a young family to care for) - and this month's site has been recommended to us many times by our visitors.

Unlike similar sites that charge a fee for the same service (The Grocery Game site, for example), www.couponmom.com is absolutely free to use and allows you to find deals, organize coupons and save a fortune on your grocery bill!

The site lists coupon codes for hundreds of retailers and enables you to browse grocery deals by state. In some cases, you'll even find free offers.

The aim of the site is to encourage you to buy an item for charity out of the amount you saved on your grocery bill. This is NOT a requirement, however, and you can use the site whether or not you wish to donate to charity. But CouponMom does prompt you from time to time by displaying the word 'Charity' next to appropriate items and suggests that you donate some of the items you received for nothing (or very little) after using a coupon - thereby feeding the hungry in your community at little cost to yourself.

We think a site that saves you money AND helps you to help others at the same time is certainly worth a visit - so check out www.couponmom.com here.

Recipe of the month - Tempting Apple Gravy

This month's recipe is for an absolutely delicious, salt-free apple gravy that makes a wonderful accompaniment for meat or veggies.

Adding a gravy like this one to your baby's meals can be a big help when your little one is making the transition to more solid foods. Our tots would happily eat foods smothered in gravy that they may otherwise have refused (chopped meat is a prime example!).

So here's what you'll need to prepare this month's yummy recipe...

1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 small onion, chopped finely
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 sprigs of fresh thyme or a good pinch of dried thyme
pinch of freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 heaped - plus 1 level - tsp flour
6 fl oz (3/4 cup) homemade chicken stock
6 fl oz (3/4 cup) apple juice

Heat the butter in a frying pan (skillet) over medium heat.
Add the onion, garlic, thyme and black pepper (if using) and cook, stirring from time to time, until the onions begin to turn golden (around 6 mins).
Add the flour and cook for a further minute, stirring constantly, then gradually add the apple juice, stirring constantly so that the mixture does not become lumpy.
Bring the mixture to the boil, then stir in the stock.
Lower the heat and simmer the mixture, stirring frequently, until thick.
Your gravy is now ready to serve (don't forget to remove the thyme if you used whole, fresh sprigs).