Blackberry Ginger Chia Jam

I try to stay on top of food trends when I can, but I have to admit, I have been a little lazy about experimenting with chia seeds. This may have something to do with my not-so-fond memories of a chia seed drink my husband purchased at Whole Foods a few years ago.......I remember it being very thick and absolutely, positively not refreshing at all. If I recall, we pretty much forced the drink down because it was likely the cost of a meal.

Although there are not many published studies on the overall health benefits of the chia seed, research is promising that, when eaten regularly in one's diet, it can help reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides. Perhaps this is related to the excellent nutrition profile this little seed boasts--it is a wonderful source of heart-healthy Omega 3 Fatty Acids and packs in 5 grams of fiber per tablespoon.  Chia seeds also contain some minerals including calcium and iron.

My favorite things about the chia seed are that it does not have to be ground to reap the health benefits like flaxseed does and that it can actually be used as a replacement for eggs in baked recipes. This makes them a great choice for vegans or those with egg allergies (1 tbsp. chia powder--ground chia--to 3 tbsp. liquid.)

Over the weekend I decided to try out the chia seed again. I whipped up a blackberry chia jam that was simple and pretty tasty.

Blackberry Ginger Chia Jam

·         1 ¼ cup frozen blackberries

·         1.5 tbsp. pure maple syrup

·         1 tbsp. chia seeds

·           Fresh grated ginger (amount per your preference)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the berries and maple syrup. Stir and cook the berry mixture for 10 minutes. Use a potato masher to mash the berries.

Next, add a tablespoon of chia seeds and continue to cook and stir for about 2-3 minutes or until the mixture resembles a jam consistency. Remove from heat and blend in freshly ground ginger (as much as you prefer!). Refrigerate and use within one week. Serves 6.
 

So what else can you do with your chia seeds? Here are some ideas:

- use them to thicken soups, puddings, gravies or sauces or to bind homemade veggie patties or meatballs

- sprinkled over a variety of foods including cereal (hot or cold), yogurt, fresh fruit, nut butter toast. 

-blended in a smoothie

-used after grinding in a baked goods or quick bread 

-added to a homemade granola or granola bar recipe 
 

**Because chia seeds do absorb water so well it is advised you eat them with plenty of fluids or use them in their soaked form (like in the jam). If you have swallowing difficulty,  it would probably be best to eat them soaked. Bottom line: don't toss back a big handful of dry chia seeds!

What I Ate Wednesday

I decided that sharing what I eat on a weekly basis might be a bit much (not to mention pretty repetitive), so these will now be occasional posts. 

My menu for today:

 

*Breakfast: Cheerios mixed with some Kashi Go Lean crunch, topped with diced mangos and strawberries;  unsweetened almond milk. (Some people look at me like I'm crazy when I talk about mixing cereal, but this is something I advise often to cut down on sugary cereal intake. I suggest that parents select a whole grain cereal with 5 grams sugar or less per serving and then mix in a small handful of their kiddos fun cereal--like Fruit Loops--along with some fruit. Eventually just fruit may be needed. You would be surprised how many of my adult patients I discuss this with too--there are many folks who never gave up their Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the morning!)

 

*Snack: Soy Au Lait from my favorite coffee joint (Green Bean).

 

*Lunch: Chickpea salad sandwich on whole wheat bread with mustard and arugula;  4 oz low sodium tomato juice and an apple; water. Just a note about the sandwich--this is a yummy alternative to egg salad. I mashed up roasted Garbanzo beans with an avocado, diced carrots, garlic, fresh grated ginger and curry powder. I took the fancy pic yesterday,  today at work my sandwich was a little less glamorous. 

 

*Afternoon snack #1: Plain Non-fat Greek yogurt with a little bit of granola; seltzer water

*Afternoon snack #2 (I could not wait for dinner!) Almond Coconut KIND bar. 

 

*Dinner:  Baked Salmon (a la Justin) and roasted broccoli and butternut squash (with turmeric!); seltzer water. Followed by a few animal cookies leftover by Jasper.

This Mama's Recommendations for a New Baby

If you are like me, the moment I found out I was pregnant I felt like I had to hoard away all kinds of treasures for my little one so that I would be prepared for anything. The truth is you will not be prepared completely, even with all of the fancy baby gadgets out there. My goal with this post is to help a few mamas save some dollars and register for or purchase those items that will be most useful for baby. You may find it helpful or perhaps you will throw it all out the window and get everything for baby anyway. Trust me, I understand!

 

New Baby Items I Did Without:

* Baby Wipe Warmer: My little one was born in the frigid temperatures of January and survived sans baby wipe warmer. A trick I learned from my mother-in-law: ball the baby wipe in your hand for a minute before applying.

* Diaper Genie: I might not really understand the full need behind this one because I cloth diaper Jasper 75% of the time, but I have not found it necessary. I received a small diaper genie from my sister (she had an extra) and once I realized I had to keep buying refills for that thing I forgot about it. We use a trashcan and just take any dirty diapers out when we leave the house daily.

* Changing Table and Perhaps a Changing Pad: I have never once used our changing table (for its purpose anyway!). Call me crazy, but the idea of changing a teeny newborn high off the ground (and sideways) frightened me, and now the idea of changing a wiggling toddler up there is equally terrifying! We use our bed or the floor in his nursery. Luckily, instead of actually purchasing a changing table we purchased a kitchen piece suitable for the purpose at an antique shop and painted it. It will look lovely one day in my dining room!

* Fancy Baby Bath Tub: I registered for an awesome baby bath tub (it had a Jacuzzi!) and I was excited to receive it. It is a very nice bathtub and I appreciate it, however it ended up not being very practical for us. It was a lot of work to get it all assembled and to fill the sprayer full of water for a short little baby bath. And then, we had to find a place to set the huge thing up to dry. A simple plastic bath tub that can be placed in your bath tub (or perhaps even just a sling) works wonderfully at a much lower cost.

*Glass bottles if your baby will be in daycare: I learned quickly this was a "no-no." Not allowed. Fortunately I did not have too many of them!

*Bottle Warmer: Our little guy will drink bottles cold. He loves milk that much! Your little one might, but if not and you want to save a few bucks, setting the bottle for a few minutes in hot water does the job too. 

 

*Ear thermometer: Apparently these are not accurate for babes less than 6 months (I did not know that) and even now this thing can read all over the place. We just use our cheapo thermometer under the arm (and add a degree) and our pediatrician advises that a rectal temp (yikes!) is really the gold standard.

 

*Bumbo seat: A high chair does just fine. And if your babe is chunky like mine, his legs won't fit in there anyway. Jasper learned to sit up wonderfully without this seat. When we traveled with him and there was no high chair available he just sat on our laps.

My New Baby Must Haves:

* Lots of clothes for the little babe: Lots, and I mean LOTS of, onsies and pajamas. We probably changed Jasper two times a night due to leaks and spit up for the first few months of his life. And, forget about jammies that button up or snap. Zipper ones are the way to go. Who wants to fumble with lots of snaps at 3:00 a.m.? Also-try not to buy sizes too far ahead for your little one, you do not know how big or small they will be. Jasper is at the top of his height and weight percentiles and always wears clothes much bigger than his age. Because of this he has several adorable outfits that he never got to wear.

* A Jumper Roo (or something similar--preferably one that allows for jumping--more fun!): Jasper got in this for the first time at about four months old and it was wonderful! My husband and I could actually make dinner together and he would entertain himself in it for 30 minutes plus!

* A humidifier: Jasper frequently has a stuffy nose and we do notice it gets worse when we get lazy about running the humidifier for a night or two. Sometimes we add drops of eucalyptus to help with congestion or lavender for those nights he does not sleep as well. Before using essential oils with baby check out the safety of them. There is a particular kind of eucalyptus to use with young children (smithii I believe). If you are in Greensboro, Loving Scents is an excellent resource.

*If co-sleeping: I loved my Arms Reach Co-Sleeper. This first time mama had to be with her little one all night when he was brand new! And, he is actually still sleeping with us, but that is another story! Not only was he sleeping right near me (yet out of the way) but it gave us lots of storage space for extra clothes, diapers, etc. in our room.

* A really good diaper or skin balm (without potentially harmful ingredients like BHA): our fave is the Nurturing Balm made by Episencial. We used this for the occasional bouts of diaper rash (it cleared it up quickly!) and on the little dry patches of skin Jasper gets in the winter. 

 

*If cloth diapering: Lots of cloth diapers and a good detergent to wash them in. We started when we had 20 in our stash and now we have close to 30. Our brand faves are Bum Genius and Katie-O, both with snaps, one size fits all. We use Charlies Soap (local) to wash them in. Don't be scared about cloth diapering, it's super easy and I'll write more about it later!

Carrier/ sling: We have the Ergo baby carrier and love it, however I'm not convinced it is the best one out there. We much preferred baby wearing (and still do) verses pushing Jasper around in a stroller. I also used the Ergo around the house while he napped in there so I could do a few simple household tasks.

Bottle rack (or extra drying rack) and drying mats: Washing and drying bottles has consumed the past year of my life. Go ahead and devote the counter space now. Now it has become lots of sippy cup and toy washing and its great having lots of space to dry them.

I did some research and asked some fellow mamas what they had to have with their little ones and what they could live without. Feel free to comment and share your answers too!

Mama #1: Had to have her Swaddle Me wraps. I must admit, while a blanket can do the trick, we loved these with Jasper (plus they were extra warmth). She could have done without her Boppy. I am on the fence here, I definitely used this a lot initially while nursing Jasper, but could a regular pillow have done the trick? Maybe!

Mama #2: Had to have a video baby monitor and could have done without the matching baby bedding set (bumpers, blanket, comforter etc.). Agreed about the bedding set. We just decorated the nursery with random finds and quilts we were gifted. 

Mama #3: Could have done without the wipes warmer and diaper genie and had to have a really good humidifier. She mentioned the humidifier helped their little one get several more hours of sleep at night  when she had a cold.

80/20 Your Life

I recently came across an article by Mark Manson offering advice on how to 80/20 your life. So, what the heck does that mean? Read on:

"In 1906 there was an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto. One day Pareto noticed that every year, 20% of the pea pods in his garden produced approximately 80% of the peas.

This got him thinking about economic output on a larger scale. Sure enough, he began to find that in various industries, societies and even companies, 80% of the production often came from the 20% most productive faction.

 

This became known as the Pareto Principle, or what is now often referred to as the 80/20 Principle.

The 80/20 Principle states that 80% of the output or results will come from 20% of the input or action."

 

The Pareto Principle can be applied to our life choices as well. I have started to give similar advice to my patients by encouraging them to make 20% of their very best food choices 80% of the time leaving some wiggle room for the 20% of the time when they make less than desirable food and beverage selections. A patient I visited last week was ecstatic that barbecued ribs fit into his wiggle room 20% as long as he boosted his recipe for baked salmon to his frequently eaten 80%. Whew, it can get a bit difficult to wrap your head around!

 

Food choices aside--we can use 80/20 as a tool to identify how we can get the most efficiency and the most enjoyment out of our lives. There are several questions we can ask ourselves. What do I spend 80% of my time doing that I only see a positive result from 20% of the time (ex. working long hours just to enjoy one or two vacations per year)? Or who do I spend 80% of my time with, yet only get 20% of my social satisfaction from? What can I do to spend more time with the 20% of people that I get 80% of my laughs and meaningful discussions from? How can I prioritize my day to spend more time doing the things that I enjoy?

 

Lots of questions! It can be daunting to ask ourselves these questions and be truly honest about the answers (at least it is for me!) because we may not like what we see. Some of us may we spend 80% of our time with coworkers, not our families and friends who we get 80% of our enjoyment from. Others of us may spend 80% of our time refreshing social media feeds or watching  television, yet we are really not reaping real pleasure from these activities. And if you are like me, you frequently tend to wear the same 20% of clothes 80% of the time (time to clean out the closet!).

Maybe some of us may have already done an 80/20 assessment and actually are spending 80% of their time with the people, places and passions they love!

 

The comments in this article got me thinking about what I do daily and reinforces intentions and goals that I have set for myself and my family. I wanted to share what I read not because I am an expert on the principle or am convinced examining your life through the 80/20 lens is for everyone, but because I hope a few of you may ask yourself these questions and identify something beautiful!

 

Read the full article here:  http://markmanson.net/80-20-your-life

 

“Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.”  
* Rumi

 

 

Baby Cakes

Let's face it. Pancakes are awesome. They are a treat in this household and I always look forward to our local farmer’s market pancake days (strawberry pancake day, pumpkin pancake day... you get the idea). On Christmas Eve I wanted to make red pancakes for Jasper to try and I thought that beets might be a wonderful way to get the festive hue into the batter naturally.  I prepared several, adorable, pinkish little pancakes (I froze most of them). You can imagine that I was a little sad when my baby would not eat them.  I have been casually adding them as an option at several of Jasper's meals over the past few weeks and have tried not to make a big deal about the fact that he refused them. When he refused, I did not mind doing my share to prevent food waste, these pancakes are quite tasty! My persistence paid off. One week ago he started gobbling them up and I decided to create another veggie pancake (spinach and broccoli) for him to enjoy (and he does). 

My hope is that your little ones (or you) will enjoy these baby cakes as well! 

Roasted Beet Cakes and Broccoli Spinach Banana Jacks

 

Ingredients

·         1 cup whole-wheat flour

·         3/4 cup all-purpose flour

·         2 tablespoons light brown sugar

·         1 tablespoon baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         3/4 cup beets (roasted and pureed with cinnamon--I used frozen) OR 3/4 cup broccoli and spinach (roasted and pureed with 1/2 a mashed banana and cinnamon--I used frozen broccoli and spinach)

·         1 1/4 cup milk (I used soy milk)

·         1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (low-fat)

·         1 large egg

·         3 tablespoons canola oil

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Preparation

    1. Sift the first 5 ingredients into a bowl.

    2. Place the rest of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk thoroughly to combine.

   3. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until just combined (you don’t want to overstir the batter — some lumps are good).

   4. Drop about 2 tbsp. of the pancake mixture onto a greased griddle or pan over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes or so on each side.

  5. Serve with toppings if you wish... (the beet pancakes are yummy with frozen berries, thawed and heated, and the broccoli ones might be good dipped in hummus)--I usually just serve them to Jasper as is.

      * To freeze: Place the pancakes in labeled zipper bags and freeze for up to 3 months