As I mentioned in the post before last, I have been trying a high-fibre breakfast so see if it has any effect on the eczema that has been troubling me more than usual lately.
Some result so far - the eczema around my eyes and throat has cleared for the first time in months! I'm impressed. My hands are wrist are another story, but probably caused by other things (contact with dust mites and detergents when cleaning for e.g.). But promising so far.
Showing posts with label Down the hatch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Down the hatch. Show all posts
12 May 2010
18 April 2010
Back to those diet issues...
So I mentioned some time last year that my family has a history of bowel cancer, and that I want to reduce my meat consumption (particularly red meat) for environmental reasons, as well as for health.
Vegetarian meals are a challenge, because my little boy is a fussy eater and prefers the meat and 3 veg style of meal. I think fussiness can be common with little kids with food allergies and intolerances, and sometimes they don't like complex flavours. And then there's the fact that he can't eat egg or sesame, and I don't tolerate spicy food or too much tomato. So for the past year or two make do with vegetable soups as our vegetarian meal most weeks (using beans, chick peas or lentils) - blended so E-chan can't complain about the individual ingredients in it, and occasionally we do something like risotto (when we can be bothered bribing our son into eating it). I might try to make some lentil patties soon, see if he likes them.
The other thing we've been doing gradually over time is reducing the size of the meat portions we do eat. We found when we visited our parents recently that we normally eat much less meat than they were serving to us. We craved vegetables and salad.
Next thing for me to tackle was breakfast. I've been eating either yoghurt and wholemeal toast, porridge, baked beans on (wholemeal toast), or a commercial wheat biscuit with milk with banana. I used to eat muesli, but dropped it when I had to avoid nuts during prenancy and breastfeeding - it's too hard to find pre-made mueslis without nuts. Last week I became aware of research that shows a link between high fibre diets and reduced inflammatory and auto-immune conditions - arthritis, asthma, type 1 diabetes etc. Eczema is also an autoimmune condition, and there is arthritis on both sides of my family (but not me so far - fingers crossed).
This was a trigger for me to look at how much fibre I'm eating. While my diet is low in processed food, there are days when my fibre intake is probably on the low side. Breakfast is somewhere I can make a huge difference. So we started making our own muesli - oats, coconut, linseeds, sunflower seeds, psyllium, bran, and assorted dried fruit. First day of eating this was today. I hope to think up more legumey meals (I usually add them to casseroles anyway), and start using brown rice also. I'm hoping I'll notice a difference in a couple of months. Now all I need to do is find some sulphur-free dried fruit - very hard to do!!
However the instant effect has been FEELING GREAT! Gone is that horrible feeling in the back of my mind that I should be doing something about my diet. This is combined with the fact that I've been exercising more - both pushing the kiddies in the double pram, and going to the gym again. Going swimming is temporarily just a bit too hard. I opted for a gym that is 2 minutes away by foot, and bought 10 sessions that I have 3 months to use - should be easy to do even if the whole household gets a bug. Start with something achievable, I says! I'm sure I can bear the bizarre dancey remixes of Guru Josh vs (some new artist I just can't remember), and film clips of attractive young ladies in their underwear for no apparent reason on ten occasions, and by then I may have finally made my own gym playlist for my MP3 player, and can ignore the music more...
So who knows - maybe soon I'll be eczema-free and fitting into all my normal clothes again??? Can't wait to get into my favourite jeans again...
Vegetarian meals are a challenge, because my little boy is a fussy eater and prefers the meat and 3 veg style of meal. I think fussiness can be common with little kids with food allergies and intolerances, and sometimes they don't like complex flavours. And then there's the fact that he can't eat egg or sesame, and I don't tolerate spicy food or too much tomato. So for the past year or two make do with vegetable soups as our vegetarian meal most weeks (using beans, chick peas or lentils) - blended so E-chan can't complain about the individual ingredients in it, and occasionally we do something like risotto (when we can be bothered bribing our son into eating it). I might try to make some lentil patties soon, see if he likes them.
The other thing we've been doing gradually over time is reducing the size of the meat portions we do eat. We found when we visited our parents recently that we normally eat much less meat than they were serving to us. We craved vegetables and salad.
Next thing for me to tackle was breakfast. I've been eating either yoghurt and wholemeal toast, porridge, baked beans on (wholemeal toast), or a commercial wheat biscuit with milk with banana. I used to eat muesli, but dropped it when I had to avoid nuts during prenancy and breastfeeding - it's too hard to find pre-made mueslis without nuts. Last week I became aware of research that shows a link between high fibre diets and reduced inflammatory and auto-immune conditions - arthritis, asthma, type 1 diabetes etc. Eczema is also an autoimmune condition, and there is arthritis on both sides of my family (but not me so far - fingers crossed).
This was a trigger for me to look at how much fibre I'm eating. While my diet is low in processed food, there are days when my fibre intake is probably on the low side. Breakfast is somewhere I can make a huge difference. So we started making our own muesli - oats, coconut, linseeds, sunflower seeds, psyllium, bran, and assorted dried fruit. First day of eating this was today. I hope to think up more legumey meals (I usually add them to casseroles anyway), and start using brown rice also. I'm hoping I'll notice a difference in a couple of months. Now all I need to do is find some sulphur-free dried fruit - very hard to do!!
However the instant effect has been FEELING GREAT! Gone is that horrible feeling in the back of my mind that I should be doing something about my diet. This is combined with the fact that I've been exercising more - both pushing the kiddies in the double pram, and going to the gym again. Going swimming is temporarily just a bit too hard. I opted for a gym that is 2 minutes away by foot, and bought 10 sessions that I have 3 months to use - should be easy to do even if the whole household gets a bug. Start with something achievable, I says! I'm sure I can bear the bizarre dancey remixes of Guru Josh vs (some new artist I just can't remember), and film clips of attractive young ladies in their underwear for no apparent reason on ten occasions, and by then I may have finally made my own gym playlist for my MP3 player, and can ignore the music more...
So who knows - maybe soon I'll be eczema-free and fitting into all my normal clothes again??? Can't wait to get into my favourite jeans again...
26 November 2009
Calling for your favourite vegetarian recipes
So after a few years of saying "I'd like to eat more vegetarian food and cut down on my red meat", but not doing much about it, I have finally bitten the bullet and started to seek out some vegetarian meals that are suitable for our family dinners.
I'm ashamed to say that I've known that beef and lamb are the big resource users, when compared with pork, chicken, and other types of protein, but in the end I got a scare this week when I read that more than 2 meals a week of red meat is a contributing factor to bowel cancer. It sunk in that my mother's father has had bowel cancer (and luckily survived it, but still...) and I should probably start making a bit more of an effort to diversify my diet. And there is a higher level of heritability with bowel cancer than with some other cancers.
Anyway - vegetarian meals in our household come with a few challenges:
- my 3-year-old is allergic to egg, sesame and cashew. NO HOMMOUS OR TAHINI!! boo hoo! no cashew stir fries! no scrambled eggs, frittatas or quiches!
- the jury is out as to whether or not we should be feeding him other nuts such as peanuts. Not clear whether or not this will increase his risk of developing other allergies.
- I need to eat tomato and chilli in moderation - too much and I break out in eczema.
I kicked things off tonight with Lentil Shephard's Pie which was delicious, but will take my son a bit of getting used to (they say you have to offer a toddler something as many as 10 times before they will stop turning their nose up at it). But it wasn't exactly quick and easy - more of a special occasion meal. I used french brown lentils, which don't require soaking prior to cooking.
I was just wondering - what are your favourite quick and easy vegetarian meals?
I'm ashamed to say that I've known that beef and lamb are the big resource users, when compared with pork, chicken, and other types of protein, but in the end I got a scare this week when I read that more than 2 meals a week of red meat is a contributing factor to bowel cancer. It sunk in that my mother's father has had bowel cancer (and luckily survived it, but still...) and I should probably start making a bit more of an effort to diversify my diet. And there is a higher level of heritability with bowel cancer than with some other cancers.
Anyway - vegetarian meals in our household come with a few challenges:
- my 3-year-old is allergic to egg, sesame and cashew. NO HOMMOUS OR TAHINI!! boo hoo! no cashew stir fries! no scrambled eggs, frittatas or quiches!
- the jury is out as to whether or not we should be feeding him other nuts such as peanuts. Not clear whether or not this will increase his risk of developing other allergies.
- I need to eat tomato and chilli in moderation - too much and I break out in eczema.
I kicked things off tonight with Lentil Shephard's Pie which was delicious, but will take my son a bit of getting used to (they say you have to offer a toddler something as many as 10 times before they will stop turning their nose up at it). But it wasn't exactly quick and easy - more of a special occasion meal. I used french brown lentils, which don't require soaking prior to cooking.
I was just wondering - what are your favourite quick and easy vegetarian meals?
01 May 2008
Yummy steamed date pudding
3/4 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup sugar
4 Oz marg/butter
1 tspn cinnamon
1 cup milk/water (1/2 and 1/2 or all milk)
1 cup plain flour
1 tspn bicarb soda
Mix all dry ingredients and fruit together, then gradually add milk/water, melted marg and soda. Makes a fairly moist dough.
Pour into a greased 1L capacity pudding basin, cover with baking paper loosened with a pleat and cover with calico tied around the rim. Place into a saucepan of boiling water so that water comes 3/4 of the way up the basin. Close lid, and weigh it down with an up-side-down bowl. Steam for around 2 hours. Serve with custard or icecream.
Serves 8
------
This is an oldy but goody from the Woman's Weekly cookbook via my Auntie. It was so moist that we ate it plain (ie no custard etc). We had a double helping first time!
I'm beginning to think old fashioned english food might suit my constitution best. Just about every node of my family tree searched back several centuries (by my Dad) is Anglo Saxon, besides one Tasmanian aboriginal ancestor. Plain old English food is what I'm adapted for, and what I don't seem to have any bad reactions against*. Food like this pudding makes me not mind so much!
* but sadly this won't stop me eating thai, chinese, turkish, italian, japanese, vietnamese, indian from time to time...
21 July 2007
hearty soup-ville
I checked out the only butcher left in my area a few months ago, as it's near where I take E-chan for playgroup. You know the sort of place: small multicoloured 60's tiles on the floor, those long multicoloured plastic strips blowing out in the doorway. The meat is not quite your usual range - distinctly Eastern-European. Lots of salami-like sausages, loaded with paprika, and things like speck, and other preserved pork products I can't name. Things at this butcher are sold as what they are. For example, "lamb" is only lamb in the springtime - at other times of year they have other names such as "yearling" or "mutton". I like buying meat here much better than the plastic and polystyrene packaged stuff at the supermarket - before, I didn't have the time to make separate trips to the butcher, but now I can so I do.
It's run by people who are from (the former republic of) Yugoslavia. There are always 3 people running the shop, and I suspect it is a family business - two men in their 50's at least, and an older lady - thick, dark rimmed glasses, and hair that you know is grey but dyed black and tied back in a bouffant bun. The men are nice and friendly, but the lady has "character" - once when I was there, a very old man was trying to buy some speck/prosciutto/preserved pork product, which was kept a couple of metres away behind the counter. He asked to see it (probably because his eyesight was not too good and he wanted to make sure he was buying the right thing). But the shop lady took great offence: "It's fresh, I tell you! You don't need to see it!" in thickly accented English. She proceeded to argue with him about this for a minute or two (E-chan found this very funny, and so did I!), then he eventually agreed to buy some. Funny - usually if someone is this pushy with me in shops, I get out of there as soon as I can and get what I need somewhere else. But from this lady, it was like my Grandma telling me what's best for me, with pursed lips insisting that breakfast was the most important meal of the day when I was a teenager and being a bit funny about eating breakfast*, and eventually winning me over with her amazing home-made raspberry jam on toast.
So anyway, I went to the butcher and saw bacon hocks! "Mmmm, hearty soups" went my brain and stomach simultaneously. I make 2 different soups with bacon hocks: Pea and Ham, and a regional Italian variation of Minestrone that I saw on "The cook and the chef" - I don't usually put meat in minestrone, but this sounded nice. And the little tacker loves them too!
Pea and Ham soup (from Stephanie Alexander's cook's companion)
1 bacon hock (or bacon bones to equivalent size)
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 small carrots
(my nb Could also add a stalk of celery)
4-500 g split peas
sprig thyme (I've never had this handy, so haven't used)
Bay leaf ( " " " " " " )
3 L water
Pepper (no salt needed - bacon salted enough)
Throw all ingredients in pot. Bring to boil then decrease to simmer, with lid on slightly ajar, for 1 1/2 hours. Remove bones, blend soup until smooth, then carve off meat into small bite sized chunks. Throw meat back in soup, reheat if necessary, then serve with crusty bread.
Minestrone variation
Use a tin of borlotti beans, or soak equivalent amount of dry beans overnight.
Throw in large pot with some chopped onion and bacon hock and cook for an hour or so, until beans are getting tender. Take out bacon hock and strain the beans. Keep stock for later. Cut meat off bone and reserve.
Meanwhile...
Chop large handfuls of chopped veges into bite sized pieces, e.g.
Onion, Garlic, carrot, zucchini, tomatoes (no more than 2), celery, cabbage, peas, green beans (if using frozen, reserve until the last 5 minutes of cooking). Leave half of a carrot unchopped and a small potato cut in half.
Fry oniony veges in butter, then add celery and carrot, then the remaining veges, and borlotti beans. Add cold water at first then make up volume with stock to taste. Simmer with lid on or off depending on how much liquid there is. When potato and large bit of carrot are cooked, remove them, with a bit of liquid and bits of some of the other veges and puree (I use stab blender). Incorporate with rest of soup. Add bacon meat, and your choice of pasta and cook until pasta is ready (I like the little star shaped pasta that B@rilla make, but small shells or spirals are good.
Serve with parmesan cheese, a bit of drizzled olive oil, and crusty bread. (or you can make the whole thing without Bacon hock - just cook borlotti or even black eyed beans in vege stock and do everything else the same).
* Now I am such an enthusiastic eater I can't for the life of me understand what all the fuss was about!!
It's run by people who are from (the former republic of) Yugoslavia. There are always 3 people running the shop, and I suspect it is a family business - two men in their 50's at least, and an older lady - thick, dark rimmed glasses, and hair that you know is grey but dyed black and tied back in a bouffant bun. The men are nice and friendly, but the lady has "character" - once when I was there, a very old man was trying to buy some speck/prosciutto/preserved pork product, which was kept a couple of metres away behind the counter. He asked to see it (probably because his eyesight was not too good and he wanted to make sure he was buying the right thing). But the shop lady took great offence: "It's fresh, I tell you! You don't need to see it!" in thickly accented English. She proceeded to argue with him about this for a minute or two (E-chan found this very funny, and so did I!), then he eventually agreed to buy some. Funny - usually if someone is this pushy with me in shops, I get out of there as soon as I can and get what I need somewhere else. But from this lady, it was like my Grandma telling me what's best for me, with pursed lips insisting that breakfast was the most important meal of the day when I was a teenager and being a bit funny about eating breakfast*, and eventually winning me over with her amazing home-made raspberry jam on toast.
So anyway, I went to the butcher and saw bacon hocks! "Mmmm, hearty soups" went my brain and stomach simultaneously. I make 2 different soups with bacon hocks: Pea and Ham, and a regional Italian variation of Minestrone that I saw on "The cook and the chef" - I don't usually put meat in minestrone, but this sounded nice. And the little tacker loves them too!
Pea and Ham soup (from Stephanie Alexander's cook's companion)
1 bacon hock (or bacon bones to equivalent size)
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 small carrots
(my nb Could also add a stalk of celery)
4-500 g split peas
sprig thyme (I've never had this handy, so haven't used)
Bay leaf ( " " " " " " )
3 L water
Pepper (no salt needed - bacon salted enough)
Throw all ingredients in pot. Bring to boil then decrease to simmer, with lid on slightly ajar, for 1 1/2 hours. Remove bones, blend soup until smooth, then carve off meat into small bite sized chunks. Throw meat back in soup, reheat if necessary, then serve with crusty bread.
Minestrone variation
Use a tin of borlotti beans, or soak equivalent amount of dry beans overnight.
Throw in large pot with some chopped onion and bacon hock and cook for an hour or so, until beans are getting tender. Take out bacon hock and strain the beans. Keep stock for later. Cut meat off bone and reserve.
Meanwhile...
Chop large handfuls of chopped veges into bite sized pieces, e.g.
Onion, Garlic, carrot, zucchini, tomatoes (no more than 2), celery, cabbage, peas, green beans (if using frozen, reserve until the last 5 minutes of cooking). Leave half of a carrot unchopped and a small potato cut in half.
Fry oniony veges in butter, then add celery and carrot, then the remaining veges, and borlotti beans. Add cold water at first then make up volume with stock to taste. Simmer with lid on or off depending on how much liquid there is. When potato and large bit of carrot are cooked, remove them, with a bit of liquid and bits of some of the other veges and puree (I use stab blender). Incorporate with rest of soup. Add bacon meat, and your choice of pasta and cook until pasta is ready (I like the little star shaped pasta that B@rilla make, but small shells or spirals are good.
Serve with parmesan cheese, a bit of drizzled olive oil, and crusty bread. (or you can make the whole thing without Bacon hock - just cook borlotti or even black eyed beans in vege stock and do everything else the same).
* Now I am such an enthusiastic eater I can't for the life of me understand what all the fuss was about!!
06 April 2007
Help! Our son has a banana problem...
It started with a fondness for banana. This gradually became a strong preference to banana over any other fruit. We tried to distract him, give him a taste for a wide variety of fruits, and mix his diet up a bit. Porridge without banana would result in long, tiresome breakfasts, whereby each spoonful would have to be coaxed down the hatch, with many silly faces and other entertainment put on by whomever was feeding him. So for a while, we decided we'd be permissive about banana habit. Maybe it would lose its novelty if we didn't make a big deal about it?
Then this morning, we tried to feed him porridge with apple and peach. It was awful! Tears, tantrums and screaming!! Clear withdrawal symptoms. He wouldn't eat another spoonful until a small wedge of banana had been mashed up and mixed in. We realised at this point that our son has a banana problem. We are destraught! What would we do if there was another banana shortage, sending banana prices skyrocketing? Would we have to turn to a life of crime? Does anyone know of a good banana detox clinic?
Then this morning, we tried to feed him porridge with apple and peach. It was awful! Tears, tantrums and screaming!! Clear withdrawal symptoms. He wouldn't eat another spoonful until a small wedge of banana had been mashed up and mixed in. We realised at this point that our son has a banana problem. We are destraught! What would we do if there was another banana shortage, sending banana prices skyrocketing? Would we have to turn to a life of crime? Does anyone know of a good banana detox clinic?
05 April 2007
Crumbley deliciousness
Fruit with Crumble Topping
This comes courtesy of Stephanie Alexander's Cooks Companion. It's great, because it's healthy, does 6 serves (ie all week for 2 people!), and has a bit of zing.
Stew some fruit. Roughly 4 large apples, or 3 apples and a couple of peaches or apricots does this recipe. (We stew a bit extra and put some aside for us and E-chan to eat with yoghurt or breakfast).
100g (just over 1/2 cup) brown sugar
1 tspn baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
60g unsalted butter
150g (just over 1 cup) plain flour
2 cups drained poached fruit
Mix sugar, baking powder and ground ginger. Crumble butter into flour with fingers until pea sized pieces form, then mix wtih sugar mixture. Spoon fruit into 1L ovenproof dish and pour topping over it. Bake at 180deg until topping is golden brown and bubbling at the edge.
This comes courtesy of Stephanie Alexander's Cooks Companion. It's great, because it's healthy, does 6 serves (ie all week for 2 people!), and has a bit of zing.
Stew some fruit. Roughly 4 large apples, or 3 apples and a couple of peaches or apricots does this recipe. (We stew a bit extra and put some aside for us and E-chan to eat with yoghurt or breakfast).
100g (just over 1/2 cup) brown sugar
1 tspn baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
60g unsalted butter
150g (just over 1 cup) plain flour
2 cups drained poached fruit
Mix sugar, baking powder and ground ginger. Crumble butter into flour with fingers until pea sized pieces form, then mix wtih sugar mixture. Spoon fruit into 1L ovenproof dish and pour topping over it. Bake at 180deg until topping is golden brown and bubbling at the edge.
31 October 2006
I've got plenty of muffins, and muffins are plenty for me...
So today I'm having a "high achievement in the home" day... It's 9am and I've fed the baby, ate breakfast, put baby back down for nap, done a load of dishes or two, and made a batch of pumpkin muffins, which are cooking in the oven and smell devine. I only just changed out of my nighty, but that's beside the point!
Being a mostly at home gal these days, it makes good economic sense to bake a bit more instead of buying snacks. C-chan needs snacks to maintain swimming 3 times a week to keep his back strong, and I need snacks to fuel my 10,000+ steps a day habit and the fact that I'm a part time human milk machine*. On top of that, most store bought snacks are full of sugar, ingredients you can't pronounce, and unnecessary packaging. The downside is that you just have to eat a bit when they are fresh out of the oven. And possibly a bit more.
Backtrack a paragraph or two... did I write pumpkin muffins? Oh yes! Anyone who's had a North American make Pumpkin Pie for them will understand what I mean... Pumpkin is a nice sweet flavouring and goes great with cinnamon and cloves. My local icecreamery used to make a pumpkin pie flavour, but stopped probably because C-chan, Angel and I were the only ones who ever bought it. Also, when in Tokyo a few years ago, C-chan and I went out for dinner on our wedding anniversary to a modern Japanese/French fusion restaurant highly recommended by My Brother the Expat. For dessert, we were served a few slithers of sweet pumpkin sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Sure, we could have made that at home, but we probably wouldn't have thought of it.
But I digress. Muffins rock I have decided. Blueberry, pumpkin, date & oatbran... Mmmm. I used to use my dear old departed Granny's recipe, but I have recently converted to the Woomen's Weakly recipe book style, which uses a secret ingredient guaranteed to make your muffins moist for days**: buttermilk! Who would have thought this humble*** old-fashioned ingredient would make such a difference?!
* did I ever update you on the fact that E-chan finally got his breastfeeding attachment sorted out? about a week after deciding to wean, he decided he was into this breastfeeding thing. I now supply 1/3-1/2 of his dietary needs, with the rest being provided by formula. I figure it saves us a bit in formula costs, and gives him some of my immunity to colds etc., so might as well keep it up for a bit longer.
** that almost sounds rude!
*** actually, modern buttermilk doesn't seem to be the liquid squeezed out during the butter churning process as demonstrated during my childhood visits to Ye Olde Worlde Village... just checked the carton and ingredients seem to be: skim milk, milk, concentrated skim milk, culture. What the culture is I don't know, but assume it is more along the lines of yoghurt culture rather than forcing the milk to listen to Mozart and Beethoven style of culture
Being a mostly at home gal these days, it makes good economic sense to bake a bit more instead of buying snacks. C-chan needs snacks to maintain swimming 3 times a week to keep his back strong, and I need snacks to fuel my 10,000+ steps a day habit and the fact that I'm a part time human milk machine*. On top of that, most store bought snacks are full of sugar, ingredients you can't pronounce, and unnecessary packaging. The downside is that you just have to eat a bit when they are fresh out of the oven. And possibly a bit more.
Backtrack a paragraph or two... did I write pumpkin muffins? Oh yes! Anyone who's had a North American make Pumpkin Pie for them will understand what I mean... Pumpkin is a nice sweet flavouring and goes great with cinnamon and cloves. My local icecreamery used to make a pumpkin pie flavour, but stopped probably because C-chan, Angel and I were the only ones who ever bought it. Also, when in Tokyo a few years ago, C-chan and I went out for dinner on our wedding anniversary to a modern Japanese/French fusion restaurant highly recommended by My Brother the Expat. For dessert, we were served a few slithers of sweet pumpkin sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Sure, we could have made that at home, but we probably wouldn't have thought of it.
But I digress. Muffins rock I have decided. Blueberry, pumpkin, date & oatbran... Mmmm. I used to use my dear old departed Granny's recipe, but I have recently converted to the Woomen's Weakly recipe book style, which uses a secret ingredient guaranteed to make your muffins moist for days**: buttermilk! Who would have thought this humble*** old-fashioned ingredient would make such a difference?!
* did I ever update you on the fact that E-chan finally got his breastfeeding attachment sorted out? about a week after deciding to wean, he decided he was into this breastfeeding thing. I now supply 1/3-1/2 of his dietary needs, with the rest being provided by formula. I figure it saves us a bit in formula costs, and gives him some of my immunity to colds etc., so might as well keep it up for a bit longer.
** that almost sounds rude!
*** actually, modern buttermilk doesn't seem to be the liquid squeezed out during the butter churning process as demonstrated during my childhood visits to Ye Olde Worlde Village... just checked the carton and ingredients seem to be: skim milk, milk, concentrated skim milk, culture. What the culture is I don't know, but assume it is more along the lines of yoghurt culture rather than forcing the milk to listen to Mozart and Beethoven style of culture
04 August 2006
Teeny weaning E-chan
Well the decision has been made. To wean or not to wean is no longer the question.
We will wean.
Eight weeks of trying has been a champion effort, we think. Many mothers with similar problems give up before now, and I have explored every single avenue possible. I've tried positioning, resting lots, eating lots, expressing, herbal teas and drugs to get my supply up and provide enough milk; and I've tried positioning in umpteen ways, lactation consultant visits and osteopaths to try to get little E-chan to attach properly, which is the key to everything when it comes to breastfeeding (correct attachment does not hurt the mother, and ensures efficient feeding and that the mother's supply meets the demand of the growing bub).
It seems that E-chan's difficult deliverly led to some jaw problems which set us down the path of not being able to feed - I'm not sure that anything could have been done better except for perhaps an earlier detection of his jaw problem, but it seems that none of the midwives at the hospital had the experience to pick that up, and treatment hasn't really helped for longer than a day or two anyway. I still get sore because he still doesn't attach properly - I think it is that he can't rather than he won't.
Weaning probably won't take too long, given I was producing at most half of his daily food intake on both sides. Will have an appointment with a midwife on Monday to ensure I'm going about it the right way and won't get mastitis, lumps or any other complications. So from now on we can plan to be more mobile and active, which is nice. I can start going for longer walks with the pram so long as I have packed enough bottles and nappies!
I thought a weight would lift off my shoulders once this decision had been made. I know it's the right decision for us, and there are many positives, but apparently there is still some self-imposed guilt to feel, and even grief as the midwife I spoke to today told me. Didn't think you could grieve for not being able to breasfeed, but there you go. It's an emotional thing, letting go of breastfeeding, and apparently even mothers who are giving it up after a good year or two can feel a bit emotional about it. For me it's probably a bit of grieving for what E-chan and I never really managed to get right.
Just an hour or two ago, I fed him a bottle, and afterwards, his little arms clumsily groped towards my breast as if to say "give me some of this too". I suppose this is where the guilt will come in. I was touched, however - I never knew he liked being breastfed, because he was frequently crying as I put him on, or when I had to detach him because his little jaw was hurting me too much, or he whimpered because he probably couldn't get comfortable or he wasn't getting enough milk. I'll need to find something else to replace the physical closeness of breastfeeding I suppose - I don't want to deprive him of that. Luckily I'm very inclined to want frequent cuddles.
So today is an appropriately miserable grey day here in Sydnonee... I plan to cry as much as I have to, to get this out of my system, so I don't keep bursting into tears when I talk to midwives, doctors, other mothers, my mother, C-chan, and most importantly, E-chan, for days to come...
We will wean.
Eight weeks of trying has been a champion effort, we think. Many mothers with similar problems give up before now, and I have explored every single avenue possible. I've tried positioning, resting lots, eating lots, expressing, herbal teas and drugs to get my supply up and provide enough milk; and I've tried positioning in umpteen ways, lactation consultant visits and osteopaths to try to get little E-chan to attach properly, which is the key to everything when it comes to breastfeeding (correct attachment does not hurt the mother, and ensures efficient feeding and that the mother's supply meets the demand of the growing bub).
It seems that E-chan's difficult deliverly led to some jaw problems which set us down the path of not being able to feed - I'm not sure that anything could have been done better except for perhaps an earlier detection of his jaw problem, but it seems that none of the midwives at the hospital had the experience to pick that up, and treatment hasn't really helped for longer than a day or two anyway. I still get sore because he still doesn't attach properly - I think it is that he can't rather than he won't.
Weaning probably won't take too long, given I was producing at most half of his daily food intake on both sides. Will have an appointment with a midwife on Monday to ensure I'm going about it the right way and won't get mastitis, lumps or any other complications. So from now on we can plan to be more mobile and active, which is nice. I can start going for longer walks with the pram so long as I have packed enough bottles and nappies!
I thought a weight would lift off my shoulders once this decision had been made. I know it's the right decision for us, and there are many positives, but apparently there is still some self-imposed guilt to feel, and even grief as the midwife I spoke to today told me. Didn't think you could grieve for not being able to breasfeed, but there you go. It's an emotional thing, letting go of breastfeeding, and apparently even mothers who are giving it up after a good year or two can feel a bit emotional about it. For me it's probably a bit of grieving for what E-chan and I never really managed to get right.
Just an hour or two ago, I fed him a bottle, and afterwards, his little arms clumsily groped towards my breast as if to say "give me some of this too". I suppose this is where the guilt will come in. I was touched, however - I never knew he liked being breastfed, because he was frequently crying as I put him on, or when I had to detach him because his little jaw was hurting me too much, or he whimpered because he probably couldn't get comfortable or he wasn't getting enough milk. I'll need to find something else to replace the physical closeness of breastfeeding I suppose - I don't want to deprive him of that. Luckily I'm very inclined to want frequent cuddles.
So today is an appropriately miserable grey day here in Sydnonee... I plan to cry as much as I have to, to get this out of my system, so I don't keep bursting into tears when I talk to midwives, doctors, other mothers, my mother, C-chan, and most importantly, E-chan, for days to come...
03 June 2006
Icky-gooey chocolate dessert (aka "Chocolate Fondant")
(This recipe makes 10 - I halved it, and made 4, but the servings were a little large and I'd recommend sticking with the recommended serving sizes, even if you're a complete guts like me. These should be eaten right away, so you don't want to make more than you can eat.)
10 Oz (280g) semi or bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa, such as Lint (sic))
200g butter
8 eggs
1 1/4 cup (130g) sugar (I'd use fine white sugar, not raw or brown)
1 1/4 cup (160g) plain flour
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 derees C
2. Grease 10 large muffin tins (souffle dishes are too large - sturdy coffee cups might do. They rise a bit when cooking, but not as much as a souffle. Put some cocoa powder in the cups and roll them around until coated).
3. Break chocolate into small pieces and melt with butter in bowl over simmering water
4. Beat the eggs until fluffy. Mix in sugar. Sift in flour and fold gently.
5. Slowly fold in melted butter & chocolate.
6. Bake for 8-12 mins until the top is firm. Up-end onto a plate and dust with icing sugar, or serve with scoop of icecream or cream (but you don't need it). The inside should be liquid.
10 Oz (280g) semi or bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa, such as Lint (sic))
200g butter
8 eggs
1 1/4 cup (130g) sugar (I'd use fine white sugar, not raw or brown)
1 1/4 cup (160g) plain flour
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 derees C
2. Grease 10 large muffin tins (souffle dishes are too large - sturdy coffee cups might do. They rise a bit when cooking, but not as much as a souffle. Put some cocoa powder in the cups and roll them around until coated).
3. Break chocolate into small pieces and melt with butter in bowl over simmering water
4. Beat the eggs until fluffy. Mix in sugar. Sift in flour and fold gently.
5. Slowly fold in melted butter & chocolate.
6. Bake for 8-12 mins until the top is firm. Up-end onto a plate and dust with icing sugar, or serve with scoop of icecream or cream (but you don't need it). The inside should be liquid.
08 April 2006
Breakfast aficionado
I'm a bit of a fan of eating breakfast out - a good hearty breakfast prepared for you that would take ages to make and clean up after at home. Coupled with a really decent coffee and/or juice. We have found a few reliable breakfast spots in our suburb or close to the pools we swim at, and regularly treat ourselves to breakfast after a swim or lengthy walk.
This morning we decided to try somewhere new. Bit of a mistake. Waitress pandered to her regular customers (who arrived after us and had their meal before we could even manage to get her to take our order). Then when our meal arrived, it fell short of its promise, seemed reheated instead of fresh (gross), and was drowned in so much maple syrup that even Elvis would have tried to pour some off into his empty coffee cup.
Oh well, you never find new gems if you don't venture off known territory from time to time...
This morning we decided to try somewhere new. Bit of a mistake. Waitress pandered to her regular customers (who arrived after us and had their meal before we could even manage to get her to take our order). Then when our meal arrived, it fell short of its promise, seemed reheated instead of fresh (gross), and was drowned in so much maple syrup that even Elvis would have tried to pour some off into his empty coffee cup.
Oh well, you never find new gems if you don't venture off known territory from time to time...
28 March 2006
Whale of a time
An odd part of our recent visit by a Norwegian and Japanese was talking about whaling. I’m sure you know that both Norway and Japan are commercially whaling* despite the International Whaling Commission banning it for 40 years.
I’m nor entirely sure how the topic came up, but we frequently tease my sister-in-law (also Japanese) about having tried whale once, so it might have come up in the same sort of manner. I know that the Japanese claim that whale is a traditional food is a crock of s**t – they never had the boats to effectively go deep sea whaling until the 1900’s, and even then, didn’t really resort to it until many people were starving after WW2. Otherwise, some coastal villages used to eat whale from time to time, but only if one washed up on shore.
It is more that some of the baby boomers now in power in Japan sentimentally remember whale saving them from hunger in their childhood, combined with Japan’s lack of land and ability to produce only 55% of the country’s caloric needs, which is driving some of the society to fight for continued commercial whaling. A parallel story is that my Auntie’s husband, who grew up in Germany and migrated soon after the war, won’t eat stuff he was forced to eat during the war (turnips, pumpkins etc) and dismisses it as pig feed. Not endangered animals, I know, but funny that the opposite mindset can exist when it comes to facing things that you were forced to eat things during times of hardship. I don’t understand the history behind Norway utilising whale and eating whale meat, but find it hard to believe it’s that important to their culture.
So here we were in our lounge room with our guests calmly and dispassionately discussing the taste of whale meat as others would carrots or beans. They asked if there was any whaling going on in Australia, and said no, it’s been banned here for several decades due to whales being endangered species.
I know that a lot of people are ignorant about ecological issues – they don’t have to study biological sciences or geography beyond year 10 at school, and never really care enough about species being endangered to look into it. It seems our guests had been sheltered from this issue in their lives in Norway or Japan. This couple who stayed with us are religious – I’m talking being a Lutheran minister religious. The bible doesn’t strictly cover environmentalism, and this is one of the things that I find doesn’t sit well with me and Christianity. Christianity preaches looking out for the common good, treating others as you would yourself etc etc, and in my mind, a large part of looking out for the common good is ensuring there is enough for everyone to live without poverty and preventing greed from taking from those in need INCLUDING future generations. Bizarre in my mind that sustainability and christianity don't very often go hand in hand. But then I don't mix much in religious circles so how would i know?
*or “catching them for scientific research” or whatever they call it
I’m nor entirely sure how the topic came up, but we frequently tease my sister-in-law (also Japanese) about having tried whale once, so it might have come up in the same sort of manner. I know that the Japanese claim that whale is a traditional food is a crock of s**t – they never had the boats to effectively go deep sea whaling until the 1900’s, and even then, didn’t really resort to it until many people were starving after WW2. Otherwise, some coastal villages used to eat whale from time to time, but only if one washed up on shore.
It is more that some of the baby boomers now in power in Japan sentimentally remember whale saving them from hunger in their childhood, combined with Japan’s lack of land and ability to produce only 55% of the country’s caloric needs, which is driving some of the society to fight for continued commercial whaling. A parallel story is that my Auntie’s husband, who grew up in Germany and migrated soon after the war, won’t eat stuff he was forced to eat during the war (turnips, pumpkins etc) and dismisses it as pig feed. Not endangered animals, I know, but funny that the opposite mindset can exist when it comes to facing things that you were forced to eat things during times of hardship. I don’t understand the history behind Norway utilising whale and eating whale meat, but find it hard to believe it’s that important to their culture.
So here we were in our lounge room with our guests calmly and dispassionately discussing the taste of whale meat as others would carrots or beans. They asked if there was any whaling going on in Australia, and said no, it’s been banned here for several decades due to whales being endangered species.
I know that a lot of people are ignorant about ecological issues – they don’t have to study biological sciences or geography beyond year 10 at school, and never really care enough about species being endangered to look into it. It seems our guests had been sheltered from this issue in their lives in Norway or Japan. This couple who stayed with us are religious – I’m talking being a Lutheran minister religious. The bible doesn’t strictly cover environmentalism, and this is one of the things that I find doesn’t sit well with me and Christianity. Christianity preaches looking out for the common good, treating others as you would yourself etc etc, and in my mind, a large part of looking out for the common good is ensuring there is enough for everyone to live without poverty and preventing greed from taking from those in need INCLUDING future generations. Bizarre in my mind that sustainability and christianity don't very often go hand in hand. But then I don't mix much in religious circles so how would i know?
*or “catching them for scientific research” or whatever they call it
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