Is your baby a yoghurt monster?

Both mine are! Even when they don’t want to eat anything else, they will always eat yoghurt.

I love how easy it is but - I can’t believe how expensive packs of children’s yoghurt are.

I mean they are super convenient but when my kids are eating at least one a day - it gets pretty pricey.

And when I look at the sugar content of flavored yoghurt (I have read that some have as much as 50% sugar in them) I decided to try using natural yogurt with some pureed fruit instead.

Believe it or not - it worked!! I just bought a big tub of natural yoghurt and then steamed and pureed some apple in my Bébédélice - let it cool and mixed the two together. It was a big hit and it made me feel like a super mum to be feeding them something so healthy. I kept the left over pureed apple in the fridge for the next day.

Next I am going to try apricots, pears, peaches and berries. I think I will also put some fresh banana in and blend it up with the yoghurt in the blender bowl

Let me know if you have any other ideas. I would love to try them!

Maybe I will spend the money I save on something nice for me next time I am at the supermarket...... but probably not......

Good luck. Hope it works for you too!

Jennifer xx

Foods that are good for your babies teeth!

Hi everyone.

If your baby has started to get their first teeth - you might want to think about foods that are rich in calcium and Vitamin D because both these things are very good for keeping your babies teeth healthy. Of course there are all the other rules for caring for babies teeth - and you can find lots of information about that by following the attached link. http://www.babycenter.com.au/toddler/caringfor/teeth/

The Natural Academy of Sciences recommend that a 1 year old should have 5mcg Vitamin D and 500mg calcium a day. Some great natural sources of calcium are yogurt and green leafy vegetables; and of vitamin D is fatty fish such as herring (highest) salmon (middle) and tuna (lowest) according to the websites that I have read. Vitamin D is absorbed through the skin via sunlight - and so it is during the winter months that it is important to make sure it is part of your diet.

Here is my suggested "teeth strengthening" recipe

1 x small fillet of Australian Herring (Tommy Rough) with the skin removed - be careful as it does smell very very fishy and so will stink up your kitchen

1 x good sized piece of broccoli (just flowers as stalks take longer to cook)

1 x good sized piece of cauliflower or squash

Add 200lms water to the Bébédelice

Cook as per instructions

Allow food to cool and then add a nice sized dollop of natural yoghurt just prior to blending.

How healthy does that sound??

I have some other recipes in mind so promise to write again very soon

Jennifer x

Winter Fruit Smoothie

I think that smoothies are a brilliant way to feed fruits and/or berries to babies, because if they are runny enough they will go through a sippy cup and if they are a bit thicker you can feed them through a straw. And at the risk of sounding like the world's worst mum- there are just some days that I don't have time to sit down and spoon feed mashed fruit to my baby and so a smoothie is a very quick and easy way to get those "2 magic pieces a day" into him!

Of course, you can make a smoothie out of lots of different fruits, but I chose pears and frozen berries today - because they are very healthy and are easy to find in winter. Pears are filled with fibre and berries are packed with vitamins and antioxidants

You can make your smoothie in the blender section of the Bébédelice, or you can just use a plastic container and hand held blender. Which ever is easiest and creates the least dishes has got to be the best I think.
Just take a ripe pear (peeled and quartered), a hand full of frozen berries and blend it together with some whole milk and a little honey (only after 12 months for some reason) for sweetness. Instead of adding honey, I sometimes use flavoured yoghurt which gives plenty of taste and makes it nice and creamy.

If you are confident that your baby does not have an allergy to nuts - it is excellent to add a tablespoon of almond meal to the smoothie as this will give him/her some important proteins. You can buy almond meal at the supermarket or health food shop

Smoothies are a great way to get your toddler eating fruit as well - so I always make a double serving and feed both of them at the same time.

If only I could find an easy way to get them to eat Brussel Sprouts :-) Any ideas??

Jennifer xx

Spinach and Salmon - The Ultimate Super Foods!

When your baby is little, you have such a wonderful opportunity to feed them "superfoods" and help develop their tastes - because when they become fussy eating toddlers it is much, much harder! Having said that, I have decided to cook spinach and salmon for my 4 year old tonight. Hey - you never know - the stars might be aligned and I could get one spoonful into her!

But I am sure that my baby will gobble it up - and that will make the effort very worth while.,

Spinach is in season at the moment and is so healthy because it is an excellent source of vitamin C, beta carotene, folate (one of the B vitamins) and is also high in dietary fibre. Salmon is rich in protein, Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin D. Both are very easy to prepare for baby.

Creamy Salmon and Spinach

3-4 chunks of fresh salmon, skin removed
1 handful of baby spinach washed (see picture)
1 tbsp of crème fraiche*, natural yoghurt* or sour cream*
200ml water
Place salmon & spinach in Bébédelice steaming basket
Pour water into heating chamber
Turn knob to ‘steaming’ position & press ‘on’ button
Tip steamed food into blender compartment, add a little cooking liquid and blend
for 10 seconds or until smooth.
Stir through crème fraiche* , yoghurt* or sour cream*

*Your choice of crème fraiche, sour cream or yoghurt really depends on your babies age. From the research I have read, it seems to be recommended that we use Yogurt for babies that are less than 12 months old and crème fraiche and sour creme are fine for babies that are over 12 months.

Yoghurt is thought to be OK under 12 months because the lactose is broken down during the culturing process and this makes it easier to digest.

I am going to prepare the spinach and salmon for my 4 year old daughter in a cream sauce and then I will bake it in the oven with some grated potato on top.

Wish me luck!

Jennifer x