A Breakfast Must

Warning: This is assvice. Advice that no one asked for and maybe no one wants but I'm giving it anyway. I'm pretty sure that's how you define assvice.

Since Sebastian and Collette were about a year old (maybe younger) we have been giving them Irish oatmeal (steel-cut oats) for every breakfast. As the Head Chef of the Soto Household, I made the executive decision that we would stick to one breakfast, leaving my creative juices flowing for lunch and dinner. 6+ months later, and everyone, even Lola, is very happy with this decision.

Here is why you should try it first thing tomorrow morning.

1. It's easier than you might think. It's true that they take almost half an hour to cook, similar to the way you would cook rice. Compared to a bowl of cereal or even instant oatmeal, this is longer. However, you can make a big batch so you only have to cook it once a week. You can easily reheat the oatmeal in the microwave (not so for oatmeal made with rolled oats) in 30 seconds with a little bit of water or milk.
2. It's easy to add in yummy and nutritious things. Getting my kids, and I assume most kids, to eat fruit isn't a big problem. However, I do have issues with fruit going bad and I also like to buy fresh fruit in season. For this reason, I buy a lot of frozen fruit. Unfortunately, not all frozen fruit thaws nicely - think mushy thawed strawberries. But when added to oatmeal, mushy fruit is no big deal. Even frozen fruit will warm up quickly in hot oatmeal. We have also done nuts and raisins - a big hit but very chewy! You could easily add in prune juice if your having some poop issues. I bet you could get creative and add shredded coconut. For extra flavor, I always cook mine with cinnamon and about 1-2 tbsp maple syrup for the whole batch.
3. It's VERY cheap. Boxed cereal seems pretty inexpensive. And, truthfully, it is. No one will go bankrupt eating cereal for breakfast. But steel cut oats purchased by the pound are much less expensive. I cook my oats one cup at a time. This yields about 3 cups of cooked oatmeal. That lasts the kids about 4 days, maybe more. I add a lot of fruit and that stretches the oatmeal out, but still. One cup of oatmeal (uncooked) costs 60 cents. That means its costs me 15 cents per morning to feed both of my kids oatmeal, plus the fruit. If I gave them cereal (one that I find a close comparison in terms of nutrition and lack of weird stuff) it would cost me 4 times as much.
4. It's a good choice for your body. I'm not going to get into the specifics of nutrition here but oats are great choice, regardless of which kind you choose. Supposedly, steel-cut oats contain more fiber, gram for gram, than the rolled oats or instant oats.
5. Easy for toddlers learning to use a spoon. These oats make a thicker, sticker oatmeal than rolled oats, IMO. Now, you may not like that as a taste or texture preference but for my 18 month olds, its a great food to help them learn to use the spoon. Success is almost guaranteed once the spoon hits the bowl. And it takes some serious flinging (still all to common around here...) for it to fall off.

What do your kids like for breakfast? Have you tried Irish oatmeal?

Holy Watermelon!

The twins, Billy and I went to Penny and Ned's first birthday party this weekend. Fun was had by all, the birthday boy and girl were cute as could be, and Sebastian and Collette discovered a new food - watermelon. Sebastian was fussing (shocking! I know...) so I decided to calm him with food - don't worry, I've taken my name off Mom-of-the-Year Ballot. Between cookies, brownies, cupcakes, hot dogs and fruit salad, I figured I should go with fruit salad - more of the junk food left for me!

As it turns out, watermelon is a terrific finger food for my kids. When they hold things, they tend to squeeze them really hard so foods like banana and avocado won't work as finger food. Well, watermelon is quite fibrous and doesn't yield much when grasped by a baby hand. However, the babies can still bite and chew the watermelon, even without teeth. Finding more finger foods has been a goal of mine lately so I was pretty excited with this discovery.

Lucky for me, watermelon is very much in season and I picked one up at the grocery store. $5 each - regardless of the size. Naturally, I picked the biggest one I could find. And because it was so enormous, I made Billy chop it up - HOLY SH!T. I have enough watermelon to feed the twins until Christmas. I have some in the fridge and three very large, very full freezer bags in the freezer.

And of course, I don't even like watermelon. Figures.

On that note, any other finger food suggestions? My biggest issues are things that are too small for Sebastian to pick up (for example: he is really bad with Cheerios) and things that are too squishy. I have used the "roll it in some cereal dust" idea and this has helped but does not turn a squishy food into a non-squishy food. Big winners so far (in addition to watermelon) are bagels, croissants, sweet potato fries (when I don't burn them), Arrowroot biscuits, Club crackers and strawberry quarters. Note the overabundance of carbs on this list. Sorry, Dr. Atkins.

8 Months & Thursday Theater

I started this post two days ago and its already outdated. Gotta love how fast things change with babies. Also, the video for Goddess' Thursday Theater is hiding at the bottom of the post so I guess you're just going to have to read the whole thing.

For me, 8 months is a big milestone because we can start a new bunch of foods. In particular, we will add (or have already because I cheated and started a bit early) meat, berries and spices to their diet. Blueberries and strawberries went over just fine. We added some cinnamon to their strawberry oatmeal breakfast and it was fine but when we tried again the next day (with apples) I put in a bit too much and both babes got a rash around their mouths. No other symptoms but for now, no more cinnamon.

Meat is up next - I'm not really sure how I feel about pureed chicken (or beef/pork/turkey) but if Gerber does it, I guess I can. Still kind of revolting.

We also have started finger foods. You already know how its going with Cheerios. Mommy Esq. suggested we try bagels and, wouldn't you know it, they love 'em. Billy thinks they are unhealthy but its not like we need to keep them on the Atkins diet or anything. Anyway, they will probably be carboholics just like their mommy so we should just get on with it.

In non-food 8 month news, Sebastian is DYING to crawl. He rolls around constantly to get where he wants but I can tell that he would prefer forward movement. Unfortunately, he hasn't realized that he needs to use his knees* and that's kind of an important aspect of crawling. Oh well. He'll get there - I'll worry about it when the pediatrician tells me to. And knowing her, that won't be for a while.

Now Collette - she could care less about rolling/crawling/moving. I do not see an athlete in this one. Unless they make blogging while simultaneously channel surfing a sport because I could totally see her getting into that. Although, she does put her hands in front of her from a sitting position but, like her brother, hasn't yet discovered her knees.

*Update: This is the part where my post became wrong because I waited one day to finish writing it. Yesterday, Sebastian discovered his knees and has been doing the pre-crawl rock, featured below. I was beyond excited for this little breakthrough - it makes all that whining totally worth it.



And finally, their chair pictures:




Happy 8 months, Sebastian and Collette!! I couldn't ask for better babies than you two.

Makes My Monday: Birthday Weekend

What a great birthday weekend to make my Monday. Relaxing and enjoying the good weather is just what the doctor ordered and certainly prepares me for Billy's departure.

So, why was this weekend good? Well, for my loyal readers, you know that it was my birthday weekend. I turned a whopping 28 on Friday. My dad got us 3lb steamed lobsters and they were delicious!!! Then, we headed out to the movies and saw "The Hangover". This was kind of a guy movie but hilarious! Of course, you know you're a mom when the whole time, you worry about the poor baby and omigod why aren't they running to CVS to buy some formula and feed that poor baby and omigod, that baby isn't in a car seat and omigod, it's Vegas and sunny and I'm pretty sure that baby needs a sun hat and some sunscreen, ahhhhhh!!! Sheesh - they were right. Having a baby does change everything. Now I even worry about fictional infants...

On Saturday, we loaded up the babies and went to my niece's birthday bash. It was pretty low-key. We had some hot dogs and other grilled meats while we watched the big kids try to catch fish with their little nets in the pond. The weather was perfect and, except for the spider that tried to lay eggs in my skin on the way home, it was a wonderful day! PS - Thanks, Billy, for saving me from aforementioned spider.

And on Sunday, we picked up our fourth double stroller. It was a steal at $50 and will replace the snap'n'go as our stroller of choice for running errands. Its a Mclaren and retails for $200 so I was pretty psyched to find one in good condition for cheap. The fabric could use a washing but its works perfectly and that's all I really cared about.

On that note, is this a twin thing or do singleton moms also have a stroller for every conceivable occasion?

Lastly, an update on the adventures of making my own baby food, because I know you have been waiting: I'm a dumbass. There's a reason why Gerber makes millions of dollars a year and I...don't. I needed some more bananas and was looking for the ripe ones because they mash up better. I spotted some with the brown splotches and they were huge - score! I got home and read this label on one of them. It said: Colombian Plantain. Riiiiiiight. That's why they were so much bigger than all the other bananas. Awesome.

Lucky for me, babies can eat plantains at this age. It cooked up fine and is kind of like a banana crossed with a white potato - sweet but also starchy. I mixed it up with some papaya this morning and the babies gobbled it up. Crisis averted yet plans to go global with my baby food business have been tabled.

So, fill us in! What got you going today?? Link up with Cheryl at Twinfatuation so we can read all about it.

I Heart My Blender

Ya, I'm that mom. I make my own baby food. I have yet to buy a box of baby cereal or a jar of food. This must be the Gemini in me because in my own diet, I'm all for pre-packaged, convenience, and ingredients/additives that I can't pronounce. But for some reason, I have decided that my babies will have food that's as a natural as I can make possible. I can't grow my own apples or bananas, but I can puree the stuff I buy at the store.

Now, before you get all, "oh, she thinks she so awesome and green and she should just get off her stupid high horse," hear me out. (probably you weren't thinking that but I have an undiagnosed problem with paranoia...just ask Billy) I do this for a variety of reasons and they don't all have to with being high and mighty. But I will say this: I do think its healthier. But only marginally so. I don't think that jarred baby food is bad for babies or that Gerber is evil - I have plenty of their onesies. I just think "homemade" is a tad better.

Another reason I do this is because I like cooking. I enjoy being in the kitchen and smelling the smells and mixing the concoctions. It's a like a little hobby for me. And since having the babies, I haven't cooked grown-up food as much as I would like so this is one way of getting me back into the swing of things. It's also nice to know that I don't have to buy baby food separate from grown-up food. We eat bananas, so do the babies. We eat avocados, so do the babies. We eat brown rice, so do the babies. And eventually, I will be cooking real meals for them anyway so I figure, why not start now!

Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that homemade food tastes better. Again, maybe only marginally so. But still, I like that I can select the freshest fruits and veggies and know that they will taste their best. I can select the variety of apples that they like best and have them try different kinds. I can even make fruits and veggies that they don't sell in baby food jars. Mango-avocado is a delicious combo! I know, because I finished Collette's when she got full. I might try that spread on my next burrito.

So, ya - those are my main reasons. Oh ya, and I can't stand the thought of all those baby food jars going in the trash. But then again, they can probably be recycled...whatevs.

And to be honest, it doesn't take up a lot of time or effort. If you have the time (and some people flat out don't) and you decide this is what you'd like to do with it, great! If you'd rather have a social life, that's probably better. But for the anti-social, blender-weilding:

• Buy enough of any one fruit or veggie to fill at least one ice cube tray. My trays hold about 20-25oz.
• Go to http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ to get the preparation instructions. This website is my baby food bible. Has all the nutrient info, too, as well as fun *recipes* for all different ages/stages.
• After food is cooked/peeled/whatever, put it in your blender or food processor. (I use a regular old blender that I had in hopes of making adult frozen beverages. Oh well.) I use my Puree setting for most foods but sometimes need a higher one (Liquefy!) to get the job done.
• If you like, save some puree in the fridge for the next 2 days. Otherwise, pour everything in the ice cube tray, put some plastic wrap over the top and lay it flat in the freezer.
• In the morning, grab a freezer bag, label it with the date and the food, and pop the cubes in. If they stick, just run some warm water over the bottom - that should do the trick.

To date, the twins have tried apples, avocados, bananas, green beans, peaches, prunes, pears, mango, oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potato, butternut squash, and peas. We have done all sorts of combos and the only thing they really dislike is green beans all alone. Mix it with some sweet potato and down the hatch it goes. Papaya is next - I'm just waiting for the one I bought to ripen!

(The fruits of my labor - so cute and colorful! See, I told you it's fun. They eat about 2.5 cubes each at a meal, although I think we can bump it up to 3 - these babies LOVE their food!)

Our only issue with feeding is that the babies kinda hate their high chairs. I have no idea why. They are adjustable and soft but they just don't like them. I think once they can sit on their own, they will like the idea of sitting in a chair like that for "extended" periods. Right now, I pretty much have to put food in their mouths immediately after plopping them in. And they don't last long in their chairs after the meal has ended which makes clean up a challenge. But as with all things baby related, this too shall pass.

Does anyone else out there make their own baby food? What are some of your favorite combos?