New Member from the US...

[JoAnne427]

Hello - I stumbled across this site as I was searching through Google for baby recipes - and have spent the last hour really enjoying some of the posts! Quite a variety of topics (and personalities!) - I have not yet found any others sites as interesting as this one!

So here is my gig - I am working full time - have a nine month old daughter - and my company is telling me that within 30 days I have to either relocate to New York City or be without a job - and last week I purchased a home in suburban Connecticut (about 2.5 hours outside of Manhattan), so relocating is not really an option!

I have recently weaned my daughter, and while I have been giving her jarred foods, I would like to go with fresh from now on. I have been mashing fruits and veggies, but want to offer some more variety. Anyone know of where I can find some simple, healthy recipes? (Simple very key!) With all of the changes I am facing - I need some ease - but really want to feed my daughter fresh foods...

Any advice greatly appreciated!

[Pupuce]

Welcome JoAnne... hope you find us useful as well... I lived in Canada a long time and have nephews and nieces there... some things are similar but you'll notice that quite a few are different.
Why don't you have a look at the UK Amazon website : www.amazon.co.uk?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21...
A book I REALLY recommend is What should I feed my baby by Suzannah Olivier. I like it because it gave me ideas of other things to feed my kids like red lentils or quinoa or other vegetables that I might not have heard or tried myself. The recipes are also very simple but I do want to warn you that half the book is on nutrition. I know that book's available via amazon and there you can view the reviews (I haven't read them recently so I hope they are as positive as mine!!!)
Good luck on the job front - I am myself in an challenging position of having a job but having to find a new one ASAP... so I am looking at all my option but unfortunately staying at home isn't one !
Also look at other postings on food on this site... I am sure you'll get some ideas, and get chatting with us. There are a few Americans (and other nationalities) on this site.

[IDismyname]

Welcome JoAnne!
I'm pushed for time, but ds used to love couscous! I'd cook a casserole, mince up the left overs, and add couscous to it. He especially loved a lamb recipe I used to do with dried fruits, so it was slightly sweet.

[Rhiannon]

JoAnne, welcome to Mumsnet. Can't remember much about weaning sorry. R

[JoAnne427]

great idea with the couscous! funny enough, that is what I just finished having for lunch with my salad (still trying to lose pregnancy weight!). Thanks for the responses...

[charliesmummy]

Hello JoAnne, I am 4 months down the line from you but I found, making huge batches of cottage pie - eg minced beef, onions, peas, carrots and loads of mashed potato/or sweet potato on top, or chicken breast cooked with loads of different veg and a sqirt of tomatoe puree, fillet of cod cooked on top of the oven in thick cheese sauce with loads of veg and mashed potato (Again) on top, all recipes that I got from The Planet Organix Book by Lizzie Vann- I did kind of adapt them a bit, just NO SALT. They were all really simple, OK so the preparation of chopping everything took a while, but it was worth it (well I say that I don't think my baby will be giving me a medal when he grows up - but you never can tell), when I say it was worth it, it was that I just froze everything in little tupperware containers and then took them out of the freezer the night before. One of my girlfriend's told me a great tip - and only if your baby can do eggs - was that she cooked up a huge omelette with ham cheese and mushrooms - then gave her baby half one day and half the next! wrapped in a couple of slices of whoemeal bread!, great for some sort of start on finger feeding. I do admit to complete failure with thick soup and repeat refusals EVEN with the childminder who can always manage to get my ds to eat anything.

Regarding your job - I expect that finding a job nearer within 30 days is out of the question, so are there any employment laws that can delay the inevitable - nursing mother, still expressing etc. I managed to fib a bit and say that I was still breast feeding until month 9 and expressing, so I did not have to go back to VILE night shifts - at least its a thought! Why I don't know.

[winnie]

Hi JoAnne427, welcome to Mumsnet. I don't envy your employment problem. I hope it works out for you.

With regard to introducing more variety into your babies diet simple is definately the key. However, I would highly recommend that you simply adapt what you eat for your baby. It will save a lot of time, money and energy.

One of my toddlers favourites is pasta in a tomato sauce made of tomatoes, onion and garlic. Doesn't take long and you can add seasoning for yourself. Other easy things include baked potatoes, risotto, and casseroles. Simply put your childs portion aside when you prepare yours before adding seasoning. I have also found that making a big batch of vegetable soup at the beginning of the week and keeping it in the fridge makes an easy stisfying lunch. Break bread into the soup and one has a solid consistancy and the infant gets his or her vegetables without even knowing it. Soup can be as simple as boiling 3 or 4 seasonal vegetables together and liquidising and maybe adding natural yogurt to it before serving. Hope this helps...

[winnie]

I meant to add. My toddler is now at the feeding himself stage an dthe bread in the soup definately helps with htis too

[JoAnne427]

Okay I just spent about 15 minutes typing something that didn't post! Yikes, I am a total dork...

Thanks for the responses - I just logged on for the first since Friday - moved into the new house this weekend so I didn't have a chance to do much else! Yesterday we went out to breakfast and my little punkins reached out of her car seat, grabbed my wheat toast, and started chomping on it! So I have realized that I have just been a total wimp about feeding her "people" food, and am going to be a bit more adventurous about it, and just mush up what we eat.

CHARLIE'SMUMMY - you have a good point about the job - I was told today that the firm I work for may end up having to come up with jobs for those of us who are being left jobless - apparently they have been sued (successfully!) for discrimination, and have to be very careful about who they let go. I had already had a gripe with them because they did my six month review four days after I got back from maternity leave (and I had been out for four months! they didn't even record that - just said I had been hard to get in touch with - duh!). So I think laying off a working mom wouldn't look too good for them. I would still love to get another job, I merely would prefer that my exit be on my terms!

Thanks again, I have never posted before on a chat board - it's very helpful! And fun...(maybe I need to get a life!!!)

[Pupuce]

Trust me Joanne - several of us need a life !!!!! And you'd think we would be too busy with babies running our lives ! Must not be true !
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