Tasty Tuesday: Fruit Salad

On today's menu is a yummy fruit salad; not too much about it, but the perfect treat in the heat. Last weekend, we were all kind of out of it still. Richard was just slowly recovering from his stomach bug, and 2 days are just not enough time to get over a week of literally no sleep, especially since I didn't get much more sleep on the weekends either. Saturday was stressful as well, toting a toddler and a baby through furniture stores, so we determined this Sunday to be our day to relax. The weather was beautiful, so we decided on a nice doener for lunch on my parents' patio. The afternoon we spent at the playground, watching Lily getting rid of some of her endless supply of energy that only young children seem to have (I even have a theory that they feed on our energy, or so it seems). After about 3 hours Lily slowed down, and we took on the journey homeward with a baby and a toddler stroller; our way led us by the local gelato place, which seemed to be just the perfect thing for a sunny, warm Sunday afternoon. Instead of stopping right there we decided to get the kids home first and opt for a German-style "ice cream coffee" (coffee with vanilla ice cream instead of ice cubes!!). Home we arrived, Violet was asleep in her stroller, and Lily went down in her room, grown-up time!!! I headed over to my parents house to ask them for some cold coffee, but for once, there wasn't any.. So what to do? Waiting for a freshly-brewed coffee to cool? That would be too late. So we went for the next best thing, fresh fruit salad and ice cream. Even as a grown-up I still enjoy dessert before dinner every once in a while!! Here's my recipe (as easy as it gets):

Cut up fresh fruit; I used
1 banana
2 small apples
2 nectarines
1 pear
a handful of strawberries

Divide the fruit among 2 bowls, sprinkle with lemon juice, and top with 1-2 scoops of vanilla ice cream. Dust with cinnamon for the special something and enjoy!

Sharing such a treat just the two of us after an active day outside with the kids was the perfect finish of our weekend!

Hiatus Break: My First Article On Adventures in {Baby} Food

As you all might have noticed by now, my blog is on involuntary hiatus due to weird living conditions. I don't know how it is with you, but I am all about atmosphere when it comes to writing. I used to stay up after Richard went to bed, sit on our comfy couch with a cup of tea or hot chocolate, and recap the day. Now, our computer sits in my grandfathers former workshop, which is not quite the environment I need to relax and be creative.

Anyways, this is just as a little break from this hiatus and to let you all know that we're doing alright. As soon as we have moved to our new apartment by the end of the month or early next month, the blog will continue as usual. As of now, I would like to share an article with you that I wrote for Adventures in {Baby} Food, an awesome website I am writing for. Please check it out for yummy recipes, advice on many topics around baby and children, as well as great give-aways.

Here's my article on relieving gas in young infants, beyond your gas-relief drops.

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I can imagine that most of you parents dealt with this at one point: a bubbly baby wiggling around and wailing in pain, trying to get the nasty gas out, followed by a few relieving pooties and maybe a poop. I dealt with gas with both of my daughters. For our older daughter, we turned to gas relief drops from the local retailers once she hit the 2-months mark, for lack of further options. Now, with our second daughter, our wonderful midwife helped us analyzing the issue and using more natural ways to relief our daughter from her gas pains.

The first, and probably easiest way, is for your moms to analyze your own diet, in case you’re breastfeeding. I spent a few nights walking my daughter around the apartment, trying to offer some relief. Soon, our midwife suggested cutting all milk and milk products from my diet. This was hard at first, but soon found valid alternatives. Milk hypersensitivity is one of the main reasons for gas in newborns, which does not mean that your baby will be lactose-intolerant. The protein in cow milk, which can be found in human breast milk, can just be too complex for baby’s immature digestive tract to deal with. Further common hypersensitivities include soy, coffee, and very acidic foods.

In case changing your own diet does not help, your choice of natural remnants is considerable. Brewing a serving or two of fennel tea each day helps to reduce gas in your baby’s tummy and also soothe her digestive tract. Kidsorganics recommends making this tea yourself “by taking a small handful of fennel seeds, placing in a tea diffuser, and steeping for at least 5 minutes in a cup or pot of hot water”. Please only give your baby a few drops of this tea, because it also acts as a mild diuretic and could cause dehydration if given too many servings. You can also look for soluble fennel or well-tummy/anti-gas tea in your baby food aisle.

Another remedy for gas in young infants is homeopathic chamomile pearls. They are easy to dose (just place one or two pearls in your baby’s cheek once or twice a day) and can provide instant relief for your little one. Chamomile pearls are all-natural pain relievers and can also be used for teething. If this sounds like your option, please consult a naturalistic doctor in your area before giving it to your baby!

One last natural gas relief remedy for your baby, which is 100% without side effects and can also cure other digestive issues such as constipation, is all-natural caraway seed ointment. Just rub a tiny amount on your baby’s tummy in the morning after the first diaper change and at night after bath. The massage, along with the essential oils, helps relaxing your baby and has a positive impact on her overall digestion.

Most of the remedies described above can be purchased fairly inexpensively in your health food store, the baby food aisle at your local retailer, or over the internet, for example at Zooscape. As with all medications, please consult your pediatrician or naturalistic doctor before starting your wee one on a regiment.