Misperceptions in the Grocery Store

I must have sounded like such a mean mom. One of those parents who makes up stories to get good behavior. Someone who doesn't want their kid to have too much sugar. That is not me, and was not why I said what I said. But I think that's what I looked like when I told my little one not to touch the candy on display at the check out line. Its all so shiny in its wrapping and at her height while walking beside me. Of course she'd want to grab it. But alas, I say don't, it will make you sick, you are allergic to it. And she looks at me confused, not understanding why she can't touch something. For I fear that if one candy bar opened in transit, and somehow its contents touched any of the packaging, she could then touch something with dairy. And I just can't allow that to happen. So I will be the mean mom... but really, I'm not.

Calcium Doesn't Just Come From Cows

How do you get calcium into a child who is allergic to milk? There are milk substitutes, but for the longest time, the only one we could use was soy milk. And for a while, we were concerned that she was sensitive or allergic to soy. There is also the concern of giving her too much soy (a balancing act in any diet). Of the vitamins available, they either bothered her stomach or she was allergic to a flavoring in it. So that meant no actual calcium in her system...or so you might think.

Many foods have calcium in it. Whether its as much as in a glass of milk or piece of cheese is unlikely. However, knowing that you need Vitamin D for absorption for supplements, and supplements are less absorbable than from a natural source, I'm hoping the Babe is getting something from what she eats. Foods richer in calcium include salmon, spinach and broccoli. She won't eat the first two, and presently won't eat broccoli (she used to love it!).

Today I heard, and then confirmed with a quick google search, that chickpeas have calcium. The light bulb went off in my head. My hummus-loving child is getting more calcium than I realized. Not a full sigh of relief here, but a little less maternal guilt. From what I read, 3 Tbsp of chickpeas provides 41 mg of calcium. This led me to check, and an avocado has 23 mg of calcium. The Babe also drinks Motts Plus Light apple juice fortified with calcium and Vitamin D. The label says it provides 10% of the daily requirement of Calcium per 8 oz serving. Not sure what that translates for a toddler's required daily amount, but again, its something. So, while she is probably not getting the 500 mg per day recommended for her age group, she is getting some. Added to my ever-growing list of goals is renewing the search for a vitamin she can ingest and will actually take (a two-part challenge).

Bagels

I know I've already posted about the past 24 hours, but ate something that was pretty good today and wanted to share.

We went to my parents for lunch today. While the Babe didn't eat much (oh what fun a picky food-allergic toddler can be), I enjoyed lunch. My mother attempted to make bagels. While the texture was hard, the taste was good. She followed a regular bagel recipe, substituting King Arthur's Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour (which I've never tried before, but will now). The recipe is detailed, and one of the steps required boiling, and then baking. The first bagel put in to boil apparently fell apart, so the rest just got baked. She thinks it was the high baking temperature that caused the texture issue, although I think it may have been because there was no xanthan or guar gum in the flour dough or recipe. Either way, they were tasty, just had to watch how I chewed them. And this is not a criticism of my mother's baking. Experimenting with gluten-free, dairy free, and egg-free recipes can be challenging to get the right taste or texture. Not all foods can be exactly replicated, and to get baked goods to be the correct texture, its not just as simple as replacing equal parts of alternative flours.

So now that I have something that could lead to an addiction (they really tasted good, have I mentioned that?), I'm going to have to make some. But I don't want to "proof" or knead dough. Silly me- I have a bread machine for this purpose! One day soon I will attempt to make bagels, using the machine to do the hard work to make the dough and then bake them in the oven, and will let you know how it goes. Right now I'm too tired to contemplate when that day will be, but it will happen... eventually.

Night 2

I thought I'd give an update on our second night of the Bedtime Wars. It involved 2 hours of trying to get her to go to sleep. I took the first hour, and then because I was getting angry and tired, I called in the reserves. I had enough of going in and out and over the stupid gate.

She had about 6 diaper changes during that 2 hour period, repeatedly telling us she was wet, or had "leaked". By the 4th or 5th time, it was Daddy's turn. She also had 3 different pairs of pajama bottoms last night (one of which was prior to putting her to bed), because of how we put the diaper on. So at about midnight, I got up, kicked my thankfully patient husband out of her room, and roared that she had to go to sleep. And you want to know what she did? She went to sleep. Well, until about 4:10 a.m., gently crying "mommy". In I went, and luckily she was still in bed. Soothed her, and she went back to sleep. She awoke at 7:10 a.m., gave her some juice, and then brought her into my room for another 2 hours (I woke her up so we could go out).

So last night we got 7 hours of her staying in her bed. I'm so tired, I really just want to let her go to bed with me, but that just puts us back at square one, or worse. So in a couple hours we will begin Night 3. Wish me luck (and some sleep)!

Battle of the Bed

Battle of the Bed and Bedtime is on. I am tired. I am tired of being pushed to the edge of my bed. I am tired of being kicked in the face, back, etc. I am tired of looking up at 3 a.m. to make sure my little one who is bordered by pillows on one side and me on the other, doesn't find her way over the side of the bed anyways. I am tired of my child thinking my bed is her bed and not my husband's bed.

So last night began the Battle of the Bed. The Battle of the Bedtime will be following one day soon.

Last night I had enough (I've had this reaction many times, but hopefully now it will stick). Over time we've had interruptions caused by travel resulting in the Babe ending up with me during the night, and then failing to get her back to a good routine. Routine yes, but not a good one.

At about 10:30 last night (yes, I know its a really late time to get a kid to bed), I took her into her room, and attempted to get her to go to sleep. Obviously bribing and threats did not work. An hour later and very irritated, I whipped out the baby gate. It has not seen any use since we moved here, and never for this purpose. I was locking her in the tower. She thought this was amusing, and in her own language said the equivalent of "bring it on". So I got her settled into her bed with a blanket, pillow and stuffed animal, put up the gate, turned out the light, gave kisses, and climbed over the gate. Waiting, waiting, waiting, until 2-3 minutes later she started howling. The bravado had ended and she wanted "Mommmmyyyy". I returned, we snuggled, and eventually she fell asleep. Until 3:10 a.m. I returned, she had some juice, snuggled in her chair, in her bed, on the floor. She kept falling asleep only to waken as I was half-way over the gate. Finally around 4:10 a.m. she fell back to sleep, until once again I heard her cry. I gave in at 4:30 a.m.

But its not over. I will rule my own bed again. Once that has occurred, we will work on getting her to sleep earlier in the evening. Maybe I can once again watch the news in my own bed- what a thought!

Easy Asian Chicken

Last night I got to go out to eat. While this is a treat for me since I don't take the Babe into restaurants, it does require someone to watch the Babe at home. About once a week the sitter comes and my husband and I have a date night. Last night he was busy at work and I made arrangements to go out with a friend. Hence, the need for our sitter to come over.

This does not let me off the hook as far as cooking for a night. Usually when the sitter comes the Babe gets hot dogs and french fries. I sometimes wonder if our sitter thinks that's all I feed the Babe. However, last night I was also feeding the sitter so I felt she might like something a little more substantive. Out came the Crockpot and some chicken. I had the leftovers today cold, and enjoyed them. So this recipe works well hot or served later cold.

Asian Chicken
1-1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Tamari (or soy sauce)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Mix together oil, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic powder.
2. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Pour mixture over chicken.
3. Cook on high 4-5 hours. Serve over rice.

Dinner Win

I previously mentioned trying to cook with curry. This is something new to me, but I'm finding more and more recipes within our restricted diet that are of Indian origin . I should mention that I grew up where onions and garlic were rarely used due to stomach sensitivities both my father and sister have. Once I got married, my then-new husband expressed how bland my cooking was (and I can now admit, not too good in general). I soon learned to cook with more flavor, although would like to incorporate even more.

Yesterday I caught one of the many shows I've DVR'd (can you guess what type of programming is usually watched in our house?!) which was about making Beef Vindaloo. It was by Aarti Sequeira of the Food Network, and her descriptions of the smells made it very tempting. I followed the general cooking process she used with minor alterations, but changed the spices based on what I had in the house. Also, I've never toasted spices before, so not ready to (one day though). The results were good. My daughter didn't even want to taste it, but once she had that first taste, she ate. And from my husband, when asked what I should change if anything, he responded that he would have liked more sauce. That recipe then is a winner to me.

Beef Curry
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
1-2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/3 cup vinegar
1-1.5 lbs stew meat
1 cup water
salt

1. Saute onions in oil until translucent, about 10 minutes. While cooking, in a cup or small bowl, mix dried spices except salt with vinegar.
2. Pour vinegar-spice mixture over cooked onions, let simmer for 2 minutes on medium-high, stirring frequently. *Warning: do not stand directly over pan, as you may inhale vinegar fumes.
3. Add stew meat, mix together with onion/spice mix. Brown beef for about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add water to pan. Add salt (about 1/4 tsp). Let mixture reach a boil, then cover and cook on low for 45 minutes.
5. Partially remove cover, cook for another 10-15 minutes to let the sauce thicken, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.