Healthier Toddler Jelly Recipe

As much as I can, I try to avoid feeding my son with readymade snacks and meals. My reason why I do that is because of the large amount of sugar and salt in this pre-packed food. Don’t get me wrong; I do have a few packets of ready-made snacks like crackers and rice cakes, which I also give my son. What I try to avoid is to give it to him regularly. I want him to get used to eating food made from vegetables or those that are not too sweet or salty. Besides, I believe that babies are born without knowing anything. It is our duty as their primary caregivers to teach them about what they need to know in order to survive. One of those things I wish to impart to my son is for him to learn to eat healthy and make healthy choices in the food he eats.

To me eating healthy does not mean we need to shut all guilty pleasures like cakes or crisps. Moderation is the key, and now that I am a mom, I try to moderate giving these items to my son. Or if I am creative (or have the time!), I try to make it my own. I don’t want my son to grow up without knowing these yummy treats, anyway.

One of those sweet treats regularly given to kids as snacks is jelly. I can remember I used to finish a whole bag of those brightly colored jellies in just one sitting! I don’t think there is any kid who doesn’t like jelly! It is sweet, soft, and best served cold! Some jellies even come with brightly colored spoons!

Now that I have an idea just how much sugar can get into a single pack of those ready-made jelly, I try to make my own version so I can lessen the sweetness and allow me to use natural sources of sugar.

Homemade Jelly!

Recipe:

1 packet ALSA gelatin, unflavored and unsweetened OR  1 pack agar powder

Water (read the instructions that comes from the packet how much water is needed)

½ c pressed juice (not from concentrate!) – if you have the time, you can make your own juice!

2 tbsp cooked apples, unsweetened

1. Read the cooking instruction that comes with the gelatin or agar powder. Check how much water is needed for the jelly to set. If the instructions calls for 1 ½ c of water, only use 1 cup. The reason is that you are going to add in more liquid because of the juice.

2. Mix the water and gelatin together. Stir until it is dissolved.

3. Put in a pot and warm it under medium heat. Continue stirring until just about to boil.

4. Once it reaches almost boiling point, remove from heat and set aside. Add the juice and apples. Stir a bit more to combine.

5. Wait for about 10-15 minutes and you will notice an opaque-ish film on top of the jelly, remove that film so you have a clear jelly after.

6. Test the jelly after every 15 minutes to see how cool it is. For my case, I had to wait for about 30minutes because the container I am using is made of plastic.

7. Once cool, transfer to jelly moulds or any container you wish. I didn’t have mini jelly moulds so I re-used the Popsicle containers I have. It still looked quirky, but it won’t hold the shape in the stick.

8. Place the jellies inside the fridge and wait for about an hour before serving.

9. Serve cold and enjoy!

Note: Here are  the ingredients or items I used to create this:

Breastfeeding Awareness Month

August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month. I did not know about this but I was inspired to make my first two articles with BlastingNews related to breastfeeding. It was probably my subconscious' way of telling me to be a part of this momentous event. Click this link here to read my article in BlastingNews.

In our country where I originally came from (Philippines), moms celebrated this event with a bang! Over 300 breastfeeding moms gathered together and breastfed their babies or toddlers at the same time! I was unable to attend (unfortunately) but the event seemed liberating!

I am happy for my fellow breastfeeding moms in the Philippines because they experienced seeing a community of moms whom they share the same endeavors with. 




OT:
I have other articles published in BlastingNews. Click here and here to view and have a read!

Useful Tips When Making Child's Meals

Ready-made meals are very convenient. Just choose a packet from the grocery aisle, put in the cart and pay before leaving. Super fast and convenient! Plus, it reduces the amount of chore that you need to do when you get home. It is an easy way to get things done for parents who are working or too tired to make meals for the kids. But did you know that ready-made meals, even those made for kids, contain a lot of sugar?

A number of recent studies show that babies who were given ready-made meals tend to be fussy eaters when they become toddlers. Scientists also discovered that the some diseases we have when we become adults like obesity; are traced back to the nutrition we received when we were infants.

I am not saying that we should NEVER give our children ready-made meals. We could be in a situation that ready-made meals are the only choice that we have. However, new parents should not think that ready-made meals are healthy. They are not. And the frequency that we give these to our children should be very limited. Ready-made meals should only be given to children when we are outside or if we are on-the-go. When kids are at home, homemade meals should be the number one choice.

When making meals for your kids, especially babies, here are some useful tips:

• Do not cook for a single serving only. Cook in batches and freeze.
• Do not add salt especially if your child is under 12 months old. Their tiny bodies only need a very little amount that they can easily get from breast milk or formula.
• Buy small containers to put your child’s meals. This is extremely helpful when feeding babies.
• Do not think that you need to be a professional chef to cook for the baby. Babies do not have a clue what delicious food is. Parents and people that feed the child influence the baby’s palate.
• Do not be afraid to mix-and-match vegetables and fruits to make your child’s meals.
• Introduce your baby to natural food such as fruits and vegetables first. Avoid ready-made rice cereal or artificially flavored cereals as first food for the baby. These do not have any guaranteed health benefits to your baby.
•  Do not be afraid not to follow what your mom said. This is a tricky one especially if you still live with your parents or they live nearby. The generation that they lived in received a different advice in weaning the baby and recent studies oppose what they know of. Explain that there are recent studies that back up what you are doing and show her the article, if possible.

Breastfeeding Journey: 18 Months Ago

When I learned that I was pregnant with my son, I decided early on that I will try to breastfeed him. Yes, try to breastfeed. The reason why this concept came to me with a hint of doubt is due to the fact that my mom and aunt also just tried to breastfeed their kids. I was also told that my aunt was unable to breastfeed my cousin (her firstborn) because she did not have milk but had milk on her next kids. My mom then went on to tell me that breastfeeding is painful and very uncomfortable especially when you are back to work. So from then on, I had this concept in my head that I may or may not succeed to breastfeed my son and I was OK with that.

When my son was born, I was filled with so much doubt in myself whether I will have milk. It is probably because of the story my aunt shared with me. Our first few latching sessions were not successful as well. My son had a really bad temper when it comes to latching and hates the feeding schedule of 2-3 hours. He would sometimes latch OK with me but often times, he wouldn’t. I even told the midwife that maybe because I have no milk that’s why my son doesn’t want my breasts. To which I receive the reply that really struck me up until this moment, “You became a mom, it is impossible not to have milk”.

Unfortunately during the early days that we stayed at the hospital, I gave my son some formula milk. I was so overwhelmed with all the mixed emotions I was going thru, not to mention that my son was losing a bit of weight and jaundiced. I was tired, a new mom, sleepless and so I had given into the strong temptation to feed him the bottle. I felt so guilty not being able to provide for his nourishment so I chose to give him a bottle to make sure he is not hungry. 

When we arrived back home, that’s when I started to do a bit of research about breastfeeding. How it makes it unique and how to be a lot successful about it. I should’ve done this before I gave birth so that I was a lot more informed. I don’t blame my mom and aunt, probably they don’t know any better and just sharing what they know. I was especially devastated finding out about the virgin gut! If only I can turn back time and protected my son’s virgin gut. Guilt still haunts me up until now, but I cannot do anything about it. I can only try to make up for my mistakes in the past.

From then on, with the support of my husband, I ditched the formula and applied all the new information I gathered from reading on breastfeeding articles that I find online and also by asking questions to our local health nurse. It wasn’t easy. It took a lot of hard work, patience, tears (from me), nipple creams and plugged ducts before we got the hang of it. I tried all the possible methodologies that would work for me and my son so we can have a synchronized understanding how to make our breastfeeding relationship work. It was a long and painful process but totally worth it. Looking back now, there were times that it was a lot easier to give up. But being able to find encouraging articles online allowed me to persevere and exhaust all efforts that I can to push myself to make it work.

Fast forward to 18 months now, and I can proudly say that I am still breastfeeding my son. I don’t know up until what age I would allow him to breastfeed. I don’t have a weaning plan at the moment either. All I know is that I love it when he is breastfeeding and touches my face as he stares into my eyes. I love how calm, peaceful and natural it feels.

For new moms out there who are planning to breastfeed, seek help and read on about breastfeeding even before your little one is born. This is your weapon when doubt hits you as you start with your breastfeeding journey. This is mostly applicable to first time moms who feels that they are alone and don’t have anybody to encourage and teach how to do it right. Don’t be like me that only reached out to get educated on breastfeeding when my little one is already with me.

If you are one of those moms stressing about breastfeeding or having breastfeeding issues right now, I am sending you lots of love and virtual hugs. It can be done, even if you feel that you can’t.

Unforgettable Experience During Labor

Since this is going to be my first post, I thought I’d start with the things that caught me off guard when the time comes that I will deliver my baby. These are the things I learned or stuck to me as something that I need to share with fellow moms or moms-to-be. Here are the top 5 memorable experiences I have when I was about to give birth.

• Pain, lots of it. I don’t mean to scare new moms or women who want to be mothers out there, but I don’t want to sugarcoat things either. Before I gave birth, I thought that my monthly period was the worst pain in my life. But I was so wrong! When I came to active labor, words are not enough to describe how much pain I am in. I was constantly asked how much pain I feel by the midwives attending to me and my constant answer was that “I think I am breaking some of my spine right now”.
• You can’t plan how you want to give birth. I wanted to have a normal delivery because my mom would always tell me that it only takes a week and your body feels back to normal. This concept was stuck to my head and somehow my maternity leave was planned all around it, that I will have a normal birth and I will feel back to my old self after a week. I was so wrong. When I checked into the hospital, my baby was in a comfortable head down position, the proper position for a vaginal birth. We were waiting for a couple more hours so I can dilate more and when my Consultant arrived to check on me, she saw that my baby moved and is now feet first! I wasn’t prepared for this at all and my plans of getting back to my normal self in one week shattered in an instant. I felt that I was a failure as a woman, mother and as a daughter (yes, I felt that I let my mom down at that time).
• Having a female Consultant eliminates the chances of a male Consultant present at your delivery room. The hospital that we attended to is also a school for midwives. I knew from the start that there would be students so it was OK for me for them to stay there. What I was trying to avoid are male Consultants. It may sound silly but I deliberately chose a female Consultant to attend to me. I thought that if I chose a female Consultant there is no chance that someone from the male specie will be present when I am about the give birth. Again, I was so wrong in this regard. Because I was put into an emergency C-section, the anesthesiologist that will inject epidural to me was a guy. I initially thought that after he administered the epidural, he will be gone and don’t get to watch the ‘show’. That did not happen. He stayed for the whole duration while I was giving birth.
• C-Section does not necessarily mean that your husband stays overnight. This one came as a huge shocker to me. My husband was prepared to sleep over at the hospital with me to help me take care of the baby. Plus the fact that we paid for private care and I had a C-Section, I initially thought that this is a no-brainer and the hospital will allow him to stay, right? This is another wrong assumption. My husband was only allowed to stay every day for up until 9PM and should arrive at 9AM the next day. And to add more fun to it, the baby stays inside my room the whole night! Hooray!
• There are no words to describe when you first see your baby. After the long, painful process of giving birth (painless if you have epidural!), the key moment is to finally meet that tiny creature living inside your body for about 9 months. As the Consultant hand over your little angel to you, emotions will come surging to you. You will cry and laugh at the same time. Your thoughts will be filled with so much uncertainty at that instant as you come into the realization that you are indeed a parent now and responsible to the little person you are snuggling close.