Our 1st Month of BLW

Our first month of BLW has been a huge success. From baby's first meal to her first time eating in a restaurant, she's learned so much, so quickly and has blown us away.

The pictures below document everything our girl ate in her first month of BLW, I post them daily on Instagram. There were (and still are) a few days when she only has one or two meals due to sleeping through meal times or through us being out and about. Most days we try for three meals and she eats as much, or as little, as she wants to.

For interest, I'll list her meals after the images.

Obviously some meals fit more than one category, I've tried to be as clear as possible! :D

GRAINS
Weetbix
Whole grain toast (plain, vegemite and peanut butter)
Crumpets
Banana muffins
Porridge
Baked Porridge finger
Cheese Pizza
Naan bread
Pasta
Pikelets
Yorkshire pudding
Stuffing


FRUIT

Banana
Strawberry
Pear
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Mango
Pineapple
Orange
Grapefruit
Peach



VEGETABLES
Green onions
Cucumber
Tomato
Potato
Celery
Red Capsicum
Cos lettuce stalks
Butternut Pumpkin
Brown onion
Broccoli
Carrot
Snow Peas
Zucchini
Sweetcorn
Green Beans
Cauliflower
Peas
Spinach

DAIRY & EGGS

Eggy Banana Bread
Greek Yoghurt
Scrambled Eggs
Cheesy Omelette
Cheddar
Cream cheese
Quiche

MEAT & FISH
Bacon
Steak
Minced Beef
Tuna
Hoki

Hulk Muffins (a BLW favourite!)

 

If you have ever read anything about Baby Led Weaning, then you have probably seen a reference to "Hulk" Muffins - so called for their bright green colouring. There are many recipes about, and many that I have seen call for honey, which is a strict no no for under 1s, and often salt which should also be limited. The fact that these muffins are PACKED with spinach which is great for getting in the extra iron that baby needs meant that I needed to improvise a little. After looking at a quite a few recipes (including many shared on Baby Led Weaning for Beginners) here's what I came up with.

Honey Free Hulk Muffins

Makes approx 12

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour plus 2 tsp baking powder OR 2 cups whole wheat Self Raising flour

1-2 tsp cinnamon (I like a little extra!)

3/4 cup full fat milk

1 tsp vanilla extract or essence

1/2 cup golden syrup (in place of honey - you could use honey if your little is over 1 year old)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1 large banana

180g baby or regular spinach (as close to this as possible - some bags I have seen are only 160g)

Method

Step 1

Preheat oven to 170C and prepare your muffin pans. You can use liners or spray with cooking oil. Next time I make these I'll prepare a few mini muffin size as well!

Step 2

Combine flour (and baking powder if needed) and cinnamon in a bowl.

Step 3

Blend all the remaining ingredients together until completely mixed. You may have to stop to scrape down the sides occasionally.

Step 4

Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and fold together until just combined.

Step 5

Spoon batter into the muffin pans, filling about 3/4 full. 

Step 6

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until muffins are firm when pressed on top. If you choose mini muffins, check them regularly. Mine did start to brown slightly as I left them a little too long!

Step 7

Cool on a tray before serving

or not! we shared one still warm with melted butter!

My little girl loves these. I am considering a savory version too, somehow working a little cheese into the mix and omitting the syrup. But for now, if you try these, let me know what you think!

 

Baby's First Meal!

 We had been planning baby's first meal for a long time. Initially we thought it might come later, around Christmas or her 1st birthday, when all we knew about was the 'traditional' way of introducing solids.

Once we learned about Baby Led Weaning, we knew right away what the first family meal we would share would be. The first meal hubby ever cooked for me was a roast chicken dinner, and that would be the first dish he would cook for our girl.

After all the build up, I had to keep reminding him that it was possible she wouldn't eat anything. Some babies don't really self-feed much until 8 or even 10 months according to what we had read. He was fine with that, you only get one first meal, so we wanted to make it special either way.

The next step was a matter of when. There are certain markers for readiness when it comes to starting solids, not just with BLW. Baby had been sitting up independently since 5 months, so we had that covered. She had lost her tongue thrust reflex. All we were really waiting for was to reach the 6 month mark.

The meal was a huge success. She was right into it! They say that one of the signs of readiness is interest in food. She had been watching us intently during meal time for the past few weeks, she put all that observation to great use! She not only picked up the food and brought it to her mouth, she actually ate some of it! We also learned some useful info on how to prepare food for her in the future (finding the balance between soft to eat, but not too soft to squish as she picks it up).


We were apprehensive about baby's 6 month appointment, wondering what they would have to say about the fact that we had only started solids the day before not two months earlier, and that we were doing BLW. When asked about solids, I said that no, we hadn't started cereal, we were going stright to 'table food' - the MCHN suggested we look into BLW! I told her that's what we were doing, I was just used to people not understanding. We showed her some photos from the night before and she was thrilled. Just popped in the reminder of no honey under 1 and to make sure that everything else was prepared appropriately. She also reminded up to offer lots of iron rich foods, and to breastfeed before meals.

We could not have asked for a more positive experience for baby's first meal!

Diet Blow Out

As you may have read, I had a pretty rough month in May. As a result of this, I totally blew my low carb eating plan that I have been following so carefully, and easily, for the previous 8 months. Unfortunately, I think I have put back on almost all the weight that I lost in that time.

But, this week marks a fresh start and I have my eating plan all worked out.

Breakfast - yoghurt OR breakfast quiche
Mid-morning snack - macadamia nuts
Lunch - Tuna salad or vegie soup
Mid-afternoon snack - almond crackers and cheese OR breakfast quiche
Dinner - mexican beef and veg with cheese and salsa
Dessert - low carb chocolate cheesecake

That's a lot of food, and I usually miss the mid morning or afternoon snack depending on work. I have done all the cooking and I have the week's meals prepared, so there wont be any temptation to stray.

Here's to a new beginning!

Coconut Cravings

I absolutely adore the taste of coconut. I use coconut oil in my cooking whenever I can, I love coconut milk in my curries and stir fries, and I LOVE Bounty bars.

On a low carb diet, a Bounty is out of the question. I tried the Atkins brand low carb equivalent and had severe stomach pains, I'm guessing due to the malitol used. I tested it again a week later just to be sure it wasn't a coincidence, I needed my coconut fix!

Today I decided to come up with an alternative. I was looking into making my own low carb condensed milk, but I'm not interested in leaving the house today to buy the ingredients I need, so that will have to wait for another time. I was considering rolling to balls, making a log... but went for the quick, easy option, mini cupcake moulds.

Low Carb Coconut Treats

2c desiccated coconut

1/2c coconut cream (mine had been in the fridge so I just used the solids)

1/4c Natvia (will probably use less next time)

Mix together and divide between moulds, I filled 24 and had enough for 4 or 5 more.

100g Old Gold

2 tbsp coconut oil

Melt together and pour into moulds over top  of coconut mixture.

Refrigerate until set, keep refrigerated.

Totally love these, they're about 3.6g carbs each, with about 1.5g fiber, so... yay! Low carb coconut fix!

Low Carb Baking

It's Sunday again!

I'm getting my fix in the kitchen this week, rather than crafting - but I have been to Spotlight today and stocked up on a whole lot of materials for my next projects!

Since starting my low carb eating plan, I have found that my weight is finally coming under control. My problem is that about 6 years ago I gained a whole lot of weight very quickly, about 20kg in 6 months. This was due to depression and a number of other factors. Once I had myself sorted out, no matter what I did I could not budge the weight. I joined Weight Watchers, I counted calories, I exercised every day (all that did was make me more hungry and harder to keep under that calorie count!) and I even had blood tests done to see if there was anything else going on.

After about 4 years of this, on my return to Australia after being in the UK for 3 years, my doctor suggested a low carb diet. I was scared about giving up all the foods I loved and often craved (bread, rice and potatoes being the worst!) but also about the effect this would have on my baking. I have since found that there are a multitude of alternatives that can be made for traditional recipes - here are a few of my latest.

Muffin in a Mug
This is a quick and easy recipe that I have been experimenting with. The basic recipe is:
1/4c almond flour
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2 packet sweetener
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp oil or butter, melted

You mix all the dry ingredients, add the wet and then microwave for 1 minute. I sometimes find them a little too 'eggy' so cook for another 20-30 seconds.

I usually cook these in a big soup mug to give a wide, flat muffin which I usually slice in half and toast. I have also taken out the sugar and cinnamon to make a savoury muffin which I have used as a burger bun. Today, I tried 3 different variations:

Coconut Muffin in a Mug

1/4c almond flour

1/2tsp baking powder

1 tsp natvia

1/8 c shredded coconut

1 tsp coconut essence

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp coconut oil, melted

"Sticky Date" Muffin in a Mug

1/4c almond flour

1/2tsp baking powder

1 tsp natvia

1/8 c finely chopped dates

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp oil

Choc Date Brownie in a Mug

1/4c almond flour

1/2tsp baking powder

1 tsp natvia

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8c finely chopped dates

1/8c chopped unsweetened dark choc

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp oil

(As this one has a few added extras, I cooked it in a narrow mug so I could cut it into three pieces)

I also wanted to have a go at making cheese scones. I knew I wouldn't be able to match that light fluffy texture, but thought I would be able to get quite close.

Cheese Scones

3c almond meal (I used 2 1/2c almond meal and 1/2c flax meal)

1 tbsp baking powder (this was a guess, maybe a little more next time)

1 tsp salt (might leave this out next time)

2c grated extra tasty cheese (I might add a little cooked, chopped bacon next time!)

1/4c thickened cream

2 eggs

1. Mix dry ingredients

2. Add cheese

3. Add eggs and cream

4. Mix until dough forms

5. Roll out to about 2cm thick. I cut mine into rounds, but the fastest way would be to cut dough into squares or triangles. I got 22 from the batch, will probably make them a little thicker next time.

6. Cook at 165 for about 20-25 minutes

If you are reading this and have made the conversion to low carb, what is your favourite recipe? Please share in the comments!

Get Back In The Kitchen!

I used to love cooking until I got married. Hubby is a very fussy eater and all my favourite dishes that were a hit in Aus before I moved would get suspicious stares, pleas of "I'm not really hungry" and eventually end up in the bin. Very sad as I also have a severe aversion to waste.

I ended up taking on his bad eating habits (curry, bolognese and more curry was about it, and all straight out of a jar) until I realised one day what a mess I was making of my body and that I had to take control. He could eat what he liked, but I was going to get back to eating fresh cooked home made meals.

Any time hubby even hinted that something looked interesting, usually from an advert on TV, I would make it the next week. Happy to say he now eats a lot more widely, but still refuses to eat any fruit or veg. Strictly meat and potatoes only, which seems to be a UK tradition he was raised with.

As for me, after referrals to a dietitian here in Aus and trying many different types of meal plans, we finally hit on one that worked, low carb. I was really sceptical at first as I love all those high carb, starchy things like bread, potatoes, pasta and rice. I know the fact that I recovered my long lost joy of cooking has really helped, I spend ages looking up recipes on the web, trying out low carb substitutes and so on. Usually I stick with a fairly regular plan but every now and then I need something different or a little bit of a treat.

It was hard at the beginning, but now I truly think I would like to stay low carb in the future, not just till I lose this weight. I feel so much better (after the initial fatigue in the first week or so) and the weight is slowly and steadily coming off.

I don't usually photograph my food, but thought I would share a few pictures of the some of the low carb creations I have made.

From top:

Mini Zucchini Quiche

Chicken, Bacon & Egg Salad

Muffin in a Minute Burger

Mini Lime Cheesecake

Flaxseed and Almond Meal Loaf

YUM! =]