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You aren’t supposed to feed your infant eggs before 12 months but I’ve been finding it harder and harder to find stuff for Anthony to eat now that he only wants finger foods. So I did some research and found out that you don’t have to put eggs in certain recipes, especially baked goods.

I tested out a few cakes for his upcoming 1st birthday and used 1/4 applesauce instead per egg. (Warning: the applesauce does make it a little denser so if you want to avoid this you can also add 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder.) They came out delicious! I’ll post the recipes in a little bit for other moms who want to hold off on certain allergy-related foods!

Announced June 28, 2007

Robert’s Veggie Booty is recalled

WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the nationwide recall of Veggie Booty Snack Food because of possible bacterial contamination. Robert’s American Gourmet Food Inc. of Sea Cliff, N.Y., initiated the recall because the food might be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Robert’s American Gourmet Veggie Booty was distributed across the United States and Canada through local distributors, internet sales, phone orders, mail orders and retail outlets.

Veggie Booty is sold in a flexible plastic foil bag in 4 oz., 1 oz., and 1/2 oz. packages. All sizes, codes and expiration dates are being recalled.

The FDA said 51 cases of salmonella across 17 states were related to the consumption of the Veggie Booty, predominately in children 3 years of age or younger.

For those of us making our own baby food I thought I would pass on that cuisinart has a section on their site with different recipes for baby. I have 3 cookbooks, which I use religiously, but it is always fun to see what else is out there!

Anthony’s first birthday is coming all too soon! So I started searching online for the ooo so fun baby’s first cake!! I’m trying not to be an obsessive mom and not spazz over the foods he eats but I can’t help it. I want him to have an established good diet before junk gets introduced. Especially in this day and age of obesity. And since some people feel the way to show affection is to feed you I want him to go for the healthier choices not the sugary ones. I hope!

So I’ve gone on a search for a cake recipe that has little to no sugar and preferably will allow wheat flour or something along those lines. In that vein I’ve found a few sites so far that I thought I’d share just in case others share my views.

Wholesome Baby Food.com

Green Parenting: Healthy First Birthday

Ask Moxie

I was recently introduced to these amazing little creations. They taste like a variety of fruits and vegetables and dissolve in the baby’s mouth so if they don’t have teeth it isn’t a problem. They are officially called Gerber Graduates Finger Foods and you can find them in any of the supermarkets in the baby isle or any big-box store.

Anthony hasn’t perfected picking them up yet although that is one of the things they are billed at helping him learn dexterity. He gets them in his hand but then isn’t sure what to do so he waves them about for awhile or just opens his hand and dumps them on the floor after he get frustrated and can’t get them in his mouth. O well he is learning!

One word of warning – the sweet potato version does stain clothing so make sure your wee one is wearing a bib! They sell for an average of $2 a container and are great to toss in the diaper bag for snacks on the go.

This is great news in deed since I just picked up the Sonoma diet and cookbook based on Mediterranean eating. We eat a lot like this already since Nick is Italian and of course that means eating like one. I’ve just started incorporating more of the wheat based pastas and different veges that are suggested in the book. Luckily we don’t keep lots of junk food in the house since eating fruit will tend to cover any sugar cravings and are a ton healthier too! If we really want some cookies or something I’ll just whip a batch up

Mediterranean diet protects kids from allergies, study

THURSDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) — A Mediterranean-style diet loaded with fruits, vegetables and nuts may help prevent allergic rhinitis and asthma symptoms in youngsters, a British study suggests.
Researchers at the National Heart and Lung Institute, London, looked at almost 700 children, ages 7 to 18, on the Greek island of Crete. Their parents filled out questionnaires on their children’s eating habits and on their allergy and asthma symptoms.
Eight out of 10 children in the study ate fresh fruit and more than two-thirds of them ate fresh vegetables, at least twice a day. Diet appeared to have the strongest protective effect against allergic rhinitis but also helped protect children against asthma and skin allergies, the study found.

Children who ate nuts at least three times a week were also less likely to wheeze. The researchers noted that nuts are rich in vitamin E, which protects against cellular damage caused by free radicals. Nuts also contain high levels of magnesium, which may protect against asthma and improve lung power.

The study also found that a daily diet of oranges, apples, and tomatoes protected children against wheezing and allergic rhinitis. Grapes appeared to be especially effective in preventing wheezing and allergic rhinitis. Red grape skins contain high levels of antioxidants and a potent polyphenol called resveratrol, which is known to reduce inflammatory activity, the researchers said.

They also found that eating lots of margarine doubled the risk of asthma and allergic rhinitis.

The study was published in the journal Thorax.

– Robert Preidt, HealthDay News, News

In an article on CNN today Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter beginning with the code 2111 is being recalled. There is a potential that it may contain salmonella.

CNN Article
ConAgra Foods News Release

If you have any of this peanut butter in your house I urge you to discard it immediately. They will reimburse you if you send the lids to the address mentioned in the ConAgra news release. Even if you just throw it away and don’t go for the reimbursement your and your children’s health is worth it! Unfortunately I am one of the people that have PB with the 2111 # stamped on the lid. I will be throwing it away immediately (after I remove the lids of course).

Well I started feeding Anthony rice cereal on Christmas Eve and have now started feeding him homemade baby food. You may wonder why I’m going through the extra effort of making the food but honestly I’ve found it takes me about the same time to make a batch of food as it would to run to the store and buy it. I just use my steamer while I’m making dinner and run a batch of food through, wait for it to cool and then run it through the food processor while I’m doing the dishes. The only problem that I’ve come across so far is that I only have 3 ice cube trays so I run out of trays to freeze the food in. Then I just label the freezer bags and have cubes of food for the next month or so.

At this rate I now have carrots, pumpkin, butternut squash, and some applesauce. I have pears and sweet potatoes in the fridge to do when my trays are empty again. I’m going to try making some more fruit and greenbeans next. Because I’ve noticed an abundance of orange food so that means lots of beta carotene but not much else for my little peanut. Don’t ask me why there is so much orange since as a rule I’m not to fond of the color.

My girlfriend has been more adventurous than I have been and has already pureed up a roasted turkey and some boiled chicken for her son. He’s 2 weeks older than Anthony and his name is Van. Adorable little guy!

I’ll keep you posted on how it all goes. Feel free to drop me a line if you want my recipes or anything. As usual I had to go overboard and buy 3 different books on baby food to get different perspectives.

I found out something today that I thought I should definately share! Peppermint REDUCES your milk supply! I know I sound like a complete newb to some of you parents out there and well hey! I am. My mom suggested I drink peppermint or mint tea to help aid Anthony’s digestion (which has been better by the way but I’m not sure if that is it or if he is just getting older and that is doing it). Anywho! For the past week I’ve been trying to drink a mug or two of peppermint tea (each day) and have noticed that my breasts don’t seem as full and that Anthony is hungry WAY more than normal. Now he may be hitting a growth spurt since he is a little over 3 months but I think a contributing factor is my lowered milk supply.

I did some research and found out today that if I take fenugreek, either in tea or capsule form, it should increase my supply within 24-72 hours. Which is good news for both of us!

Just thought I’d pass that one along so others don’t make the same mistake I did.