Cake anyone?

Not sure if any other mommies out there are experiencing this, but for my 2 year old, 'birthdays' = 'cake'. Let me explain further, we were at a friend's son's birthday party a few weeks ago, and between each line of 'happy birthday', you could hear her whisper the word 'cake' which only got louder and louder with impatience, that by the end, the entire party could hear her! And lately, we have been attending many birthdays, and it seems that children around this age are obsessed with cake and it goes beyond just taste. There is what the cake looks like, and the excitement of candle blowing and cutting it and finally of course tasting it. Extra brownie points if it's chocolate! So now whenever I need to reward my daughter, it's followed by 'you'll get cake if you finish this'. Whether I choose to reward her is different but it certainly gets her attention!

Soon after cake, came ice cream and it has the same highly pleasurable affect. The different flavours, the cold texture in the mouth which eventually dissolves and once again if it's chocolate then even better! And this is just the beginning of a lifelong love of sweet things...

I'm back...

I have been away for several weeks now since having my little boy at the beginning of May and its been a huge adjustment in terms of recovering, nursing, sleep deprivation, and hormonal changes. My daughter has taken well to her brother, with many kisses and cuddles on a daily basis.

As far as 'feeding' is concerned, the biggest eye opener is how different my two children are. When nursing my first one, I experienced it as difficult, painful and my daughter was simply not a big eater so her weight gain was slow and steady. Waking her up to nurse ever 3 hours was a common occurrence in the first six weeks. I found it stressful and I was constantly worrying about her weight. Now take child number 2, from day one fed every two hours to the extent he would wake up from his sleep and feed and go back to sleep. I was so anxious that this baby would be very much like my daughter that from day 1, I kept a log of all his feed times. I am happy to say that after he was weighed on day 10, I no longer keep the log and I am a stress free mama! I am pleased to learn that each child is different and perhaps being the second time round, nursing does get easier? So far so good on that front...

To put chillis or not?

So some of my mommy friends have been asking about using chillis in food and the two main questions are:

1. When do you start introducing chillis?

2. And how much?

To answer both questions-- I would go with what your child can manage and slowly build on it from there. A friends daughter started eating chillis in her food before 9 months. If you decide to start, add a quarter of chilli in their dal for instance see if they can manage this. Increase this amount by half a chilli in a months time.

Most parents aim for their child to eat the family food around the age of 1. If you have decided to cook one meal now for the family, start by putting a small amount of chilli, lets say one chilli in a curry for 2 adults and 1 baby. Add plain yoghurt to the food so that they can get used to the idea not only of eating spicy food but eating the family meal. Then increase this amount over a few months and see how your child responds. I have found this has worked and there is no more making separate baby food (Thank God!).

I have found that my little one is happy to sample spicy flavoured crisps but makes a big deal out of a small amount of chilli in her food, so eating junk food can be an indicator of chilli tolerance!

Regressing?

So I am due with Baby # 2 in a few weeks. My little one has been involved from day 1, coming to every doctor's appointment, scan and has an understanding that there is a baby growing inside me. She often kisses my belly and points to it saying 'baby'. Now for the last 7 months, she has been eating by herself and my husband and I have been very proud of this achievement. She has this desire to be independent and feels part of the family unit when we all eat together. Now for the last two days, she is not interested in eating her food. In fact she welcomed being fed, which she normally doesn't like. She doesn't like others fussing over her while eating and likes to eat at her own pace by herself.

Is she aware that D-day is approaching very soon? Is there an unconcious desire to be the 'baby' again? I mean she IS still the baby, after all she is barely 2 years old. It's like she is pacing back and forth between independence and dependence. The next few weeks is going to be critical for her and lots of attention, love and patience is in order...

Chicken curry with potatoes

This is a delicious way to introduce curry to your child at 9 months. Chicken curry is a staple in any non vegetarian Indian diet. A lot of people prefer boneless chicken--however I have found that boneless chicken can becomes dry and chewy. So if you want a tender piece, I would recommend steaming a piece of chicken on the bone and then removing the pieces. The chicken is easier to swallow and is less chewy. Sometimes boneless chicken can get dry and overcooked.

And if you don't wish to use chicken you could boil some eggs and add at the end instead.

You will need:

Cooking oil

1/2 small onion

ginger

garlic

tomato

fresh coriander leaves

chicken

Spices: cumin seeds, tumeric powder, coriander powder

In a pan, add a tspn of oil and put half a spoon of cumin seeds once the oil is hot. Chop half a small onion and fry along with the seeds. Now add ½ tspn grated ginger and one small clove of finely chopped garlic. Add one chopped large tomato. Cook till it becomes a sauce, then add ½ tspn of haldi powder and ½ tspn of coriander powder and simmer till the masalas are cooked. Now add ½ cup of deboned chicken (or a piece of chicken on the bone which once cooked you tear away from the bone and cut into manageable pieces) and chop up one potato into small pieces. Add water till the chicken and potato is covered and cook on medium heat. Add finely chopped coriander at the end and stir through. Mash or blend according to your child's preference.

Serve with rice and plain yoghurt.

This recipe tastes lovely with sweet potato or butternut squash.

If you are using a pressure cooker: Put the cooker on medium flame and after it whistles once turn off the gas.

Eating out...Is it worth it?

Went out for family dinner tonight. This usually entails deciding on a baby friendly restaurant, then booking an early table and getting back in time for bed time. Anything too late then the evening is exhausting with my daughter feeling restless and cranky. In less than 2 hours we were in and out of there. It's all carefully planned to not throw her off the edge.

So dinner was Italian, lots of choices that appeal to kids: bread sticks, pasta, chunks of mozzarella and tomato, pieces of pizza and olives (which by the way she loves!) As each course was presented to the table there was plenty of 'wows' and pointing to each plate. She was curious about the pizza toppings and how the parmesan was being grated onto the pasta. But once her meal was cut up into bite sizes for her, then very little was consumed. She was engrossed with the experience of it all--watching the other children, drawing with the green colored pencil they gave her on her paper mat, sipping her orange juice and watching the waitress serve the neighbouring tables.

All in all, my husband and I had a nice meal and our daughter appeared to have had a fun evening out with a few nibbles here and there. I guess what bothers me is that she didn't eat enough but she was happy. So should I be concerned or accept that when eating out, its not actually 'eating' that takes place?

First Foods: Butternut squash with cumin

This is a wonderful recipe when you start weaning your baby. I know butternut squash isn't an 'Indian vegetable' but since we live in London I want to provide recipes that are accessible. Many baby recipe books use butternut squash as its naturally sweet and full of goodness, this is my Indian version. You could also use sweet potato.

You need:
1/2 butternut squash
1/4 spoon of cumin seeds

1. Peel, remove seeds and dice the butternut squash. Steam the squash in a double boiler. If you dont have a double boiler, then put the squash in a pan and add boiling water till the squash is covered and cook on high with the lid on. Squash doesnt take time to cook, so keep an eye on it.
2. Take a frying pan and put the gas up to med-high. Now add the cumin seeds and let them roast. Once the aromas come through turn the gas off.
3. Now add the squash and cumin seeds (and if you require some water) and put in a blender till smooth.
4. You can freeze leftover portions in ice trays and save for a later date.