January 24, 2008

• Culinary creations

  I have really gone overboard with baby food making lately. Work has been brutal, and because I haven't gotten to spend much time with Jack at all (maybe half an hour to an hour Monday through Thursday? ), I've put all my energy into staying up late to make him food. Even though he doesn't know the difference, it makes me feel better to know that I'm still doing something for him! Our freezer is now full of cubes of pureed organic produce. Here is a picture of some of my frozen creations:

  

  Starting in the back, at the 12 o'clock position, then going clockwise:

  * Steamed sweet potatoes pureed with steamed broccoli florets and a little bit of breast milk
  * Pureed stewed Fuji apple
  * Steamed spinach puree
  * Roasted butternut squash puree
  * Steamed zucchini puree
  * Steamed sweet potato mash
  * And in the center of the plate, a pureed blend of steamed carrot, sweet potatoes and parsnip

  Last night, after I took this picture, I also made a pureed blend of stewed Fuji apples and pears with a pinch of cinnamon. It tasted so great that Johnny requested I make some for us! Jack hasn't had all the foods yet; we are slowly introducing him to different foods, veggies first. So far, he loves sweet potatoes and zucchini. He likes green beans, and he's not a fan of avocado. Then again, neither am I! I'm glad he likes some greens, though. Soon I will be introducing him to spinach, then butternut squash, then apple. Oh, and he loves his oatmeal. He'll just gobble that stuff up. Like mother, like son! Tonight he is having zucchini mixed with sweet potato. Mmmm.

  Speaking of culinary creations, lately I've been cooking a lot, too. It's been after work and after Jack goes to bed, so it's a very late dinner, but recently Johnny and I bought this cookbook with health-conscious recipes. It uses full-fat butters and stuff, but in moderation, and really emphasizes bringing out the natural good flavors of veggies, fruit and meat. It doesn't cut carbs, but each recipe comes with a picture and the calorie count per serving. I was surprised to find that every recipe I've made so far is really delicious, especially since I have really high standards when it comes to food. Last night, I made a basque-style chicken breast, with diced tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, paprika, cayenne pepper and oregano; the other night, it was turkey Italian sausage with polenta, tomato sauce, peppers and garlic. I've also made a Manhattan clam chowder from the book. It's been good inspiration; there are only so many healthy dishes in my arsenal! Usually we have a main dish with two veggies for dinner, and we're full ... and it usually only "costs" us about 400 calories! A long time ago, Johnny told me (during one of my unwarranted pre-baby "I have to lose weight" phases) that calorie-counting was really made for a control freak like me. I didn't believe him, but it turns out he was right. I love food, and this way I can eat what I want but keep tabs on everything. We started this three weeks ago, and now I'm only three pounds away from my goal weight. I'm actually seven pounds lighter than I was in mid-December. I never thought it could go so fast; I've been stalling since I lost the initial huge amount of weight postpartum, but since I was at a normal weight anyway, it was hard to lose the last few pounds. Now I'm almost there, yay! My old work pants now button up without creating a muffin top.

  I do think weaning has made a difference, too. I weaned Jack on his six-month birthday. It was getting too time-consuming to pump at work. I'd get paged all the time, and we don't have a lactation room at work (or offices with locked doors), so it was nerve-wracking. Plus in my line of work, sometimes you really can't take 15 minutes away (especially if you want to leave by 5 p.m.!). Jack was also getting so hungry it was hard to keep up with him, and it was stressing me out rather than making me feel good about mothering. Six months was always my short-term goal, so I decided to call it quits and pack "the girls" away. I'll take 'em out again for the next baby. Although weaning was very physically uncomfortable for me, I have never been so happy to see my small boobs  back! I will never complain about being flat-chested again. It's the way to go. Anyway, I think my body was hanging on to extra fat to make milk, because as soon as I stopped, losing weight became much easier, especially combined with working out 3 times a week (after Jack is in bed) and the calorie counting. Soon enough I will have my former fabulous self back ... yesterday I was hit on in the grocery store, a first since Jack's been born. It made me giggle -- I think the guy must have been June's age!

  OK, enough about me ... here are some cute pics of Jack!

  

  

  

  Tomorrow this cutie pie takes his first flight ... we are heading to Louisiana for Johnny's mom's 60th birthday celebration and family reunion! I'll update with lots of pics when I'm back.

  • 2:18 pm
  • 24 Comments