Carrots and Ear Infections

I've been under the weather all weekend long. It started with a sore throat on Thursday evening and grew over the weekend to include throbbing sinus pain and a completely stuffed nose. Naturally, I went to the doctors this morning and as with every time, I was amazed that she prescribed tea, carrot juice and nose drops. Yeah.

My regular doctor here (the Hausarzt) is very homeopathic. The fact that I am still nursing has her erring on the side of caution. ALL.THE.TIME. So, I am hoping and praying that the tea, nose drops and carrot juice help to cure me because being sick bites the big one.

While I was there, the doctor asked how Alexa was feeling. I told her that she's been having trouble sleeping the past few nights and that yesterday and today she was pulling on her ears. She very kindly checked Alexa's ears and the poor little bean has fluid in her right ear again. No antibiotics here though. I have to massage near her nose and give her carrot juice. Not kidding.

I was swimming in a sea of sinus headache and trying to keep Alexa from wiping everything off of the good doctor's desk, so I let the carrot juice suggestion go by without so much as a "Huh?!". However, once I made it back home I tried to figure out why in god's name she would prescribe carrot juice for an ear infection.

All this talk of carrot juice had me very intrigued, so I googled it. The World Carrot Museum had a ton of really cool and interesting information on the health benefits of carrots. Apparently, carrot juice can help dispel mucus from the ear. No wonder the doctor recommended giving Alexa a little carrot juice.

Carrots have other amazing health benefits as well: they're very high in potassium, carrots can help reduce bad cholesterol and also when eaten regularly, can help enhance the quantity and quality of breast milk in nursing mothers. Carrots are amazing!

Sometimes the American in me just wants a prescription for antibiotics and to call it a day with all of this being sick nonsense. Other times, I'm amazed that a little patience, a lot of tea and water and some rest can cure just about every illness. There are so many home and natural remedies that actually work, we just need to take a little time to educate ourselves about them.

After reading about all of the amazing health benefits of carrots, I did in fact look up several recipes for carrot juice. I even whipped up a batch for my little bean. Here's hoping it helps!

*Update* Food for All of Us - Recipe

The spinach and rice cubes that I made in Food for All of Us were a little bitter on their own. The first night I gave them to Alexa I added a little bit of rice cereal, but she still didn't seem to like the taste very much. She only ate about 4 or 5 baby spoonfuls. The second night I added a carrot cube, so now that's 2 Tablespoons of food (normally she only eats 1 Tablespoon, or one baby cube), and she ate it all! The sweetness from the carrots canceled out the bitterness. Success! Tonight we are trying spinach and rice mixed with sweet potatoes.

Food for All of Us - a Recipe

Family dinner: Pangasius filets over spinach and rice

Ingredients:
2 Pangasius filets (a white fish filet)
1 bag of frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups uncooked, parboiled rice
3 cups water
Lemon
Rosemary
Chives
Celery
Parsley
Cress
Salt & Pepper
Garlic Powder

Lay the 2 fish filets in a baking dish. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary, chives, celery, parsley, cress, and garlic powder. Top with lemon slices and bake covered on 170 C (340 F) for 30 minutes or until fish is white and flaky. The last 10 minutes I uncovered the fish and increased the temperature to 200 C (390 F).

In a small pot, add 1 1/2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water. Cook for 15-20, or until rice is tender.

In a large pot, put frozen spinach in pot and cover with water. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Drain spinach when it's finished cooking. Set some of the spinach water aside for the babyfood.

Serve fish over the rice and spinach. Add additional salt, pepper and garlic powder to rice and spinach while plating.

Baby food Spinach & Rice
Ingredients:
Frozen spinach
Parboiled white rice
Water that the spinach was boiled in

Instead of separately cooking food for Alexa, I just cooked enough for all of us. **Important side note - I did not add any seasonings or salt to the family serving until after I removed Alexa's portion**

1/2 cup of cooked spinach, drained
1/4 cup of cooked white rice
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons  water from spinach

Purée spinach rice mix until you reach the desired consistency. Spoon into ice cube trays and freeze. Since this was the first time making a mix I wasn't quite sure on the how much spinach and rice I'd need. I did a 2:1 ratio, but it still only made 11 spinach/rice cubes. A normal baby food batch prior to this has yielded 26 baby food cubes.

My First Attempt at Baby Food - Carrots

On Sunday we get to give Alexa carrots. I'm super psyched to see how she likes real food! I mean, she's getting rice cereal now, but let's be honest...it tastes like cardboard. I bet she's absolutely going to love eating something with flavor!

I did a lot of research online about making your own baby food. I talked to friends who made their own when their kids were little. I also spoke with my cousin who now makes baby food for baby #2. Her kids have survived and are thriving so I figure she's a pretty great resource! After reading, talking and taking it all in, I came up with my own recipe for carrots...

Ingredients:
5 carrots - (I used 3 large and 2 medium) washed (very well), peeled, and cut
1/2 cup of water - (I used tap water that I boiled and let cool)

Supplies:
Cutting board
Peeler
Knife
Pot with lid
Steamer
Strainer
Bowl
Mixer
Tablespoon
Ice Cube trays (I used 1 1/2)

Approximate time:
31 minutes (5 minutes prep, 21 minutes steaming time, 5 minutes puree and pour)

After gathering all of my supplies and getting all the carrots washed, peeled and cut I steamed them for 21 minutes, or until I could have mashed them with a fork. Since this was kind of an experiment I'll walk you through my process...

I originally only put the carrots on for 7 minutes. They were absolutely hard when I tested them, so I added another 7 minutes. They were softer at this point, but there was no way I'd have been able to mash them with a fork, so on we steamed! After the third 7 minute round they seemed good to me.

I drained them well in a strainer (I was worried about the nitrates!) and then added half to the container I would puree them in. I then added a little water (**NOT the water that the carrots were steamed in!). I started pureeing...added more water, added more carrots, added more water, etc. until I got the consistency I was looking for. I used 1/2 cup of water total. Depending on the consistency you're looking for you may need more or less water for your puree.

**Note, I am no baby food making expert!** I just winged it. Your baby might like a more watery puree, mine was medium thick. I tried to base it on how Alexa likes her rice cereal. I'll let you know how it goes over next week.

After the carrot puree was the consistency I wanted it to be, I used a tablespoon to scoop it into ice cube trays so I could freeze it in portions.

From what I've read online (and what I've been told), each frozen carrot cube is one serving. We shall see if one carrot cube fills up my growing gal!



**Update - The carrots were a hit! She absolutely loved them. I'm not sure if one cube is really enough for her, especially if I give it to her without the rice cereal, but this is a learning process. We'll see how tonight goes!

Starting Solids

While we were in the U.S., I started Alexa on Organic Rice Cereal by Earth's Best. I've been giving it to her once a day in the evening around dinner time. I think that it has been helping to fill her up a bit more than what my breast milk alone was doing.

At her four month check up, the doctor was a little angry with me for starting her on cereal before she was actually four months old. What surprised me was that the doctor seemed more upset with me for feeding Alexa cereal on a spoon rather than giving it to her in a bottle! This was totally shocking. I told her I plan on continuing the cereal until we start her on fruits or vegetables and what would be her preference.

She told me to start her on veggies first, carrots to be specific, but not until she is exactly four months old. We'll be starting veggies on Sunday...her 4 month birthday :)

She also said that we could introduce a new vegetable every three days as long as she doesn't have any adverse reactions to anything we give her. Then, after four weeks of veggies to start her on meat (!) and also to add another meal. Four weeks later, add fruits and another meal. So, within two months my little bean sprout will be getting breakfast, lunch and dinner!!! Ahhhh where has the time gone?

As far as introducing new foods, I am a little nervous about giving her carrots. I have read quite a number of articles and blog posts about making your own baby food and what foods to start with and what foods to avoid. Surprisingly, carrots were on the foods to avoid list due to their high nitrate content. I am still going to do a bit more investigating into the whole carrot conundrum, but I am curious to know what other parents fed their babies first. Fruits or veggies? Which veggie did you give first? Any parents out there who make their own baby food...what did you serve first? Also, please feel free to send along any recipes that your baby really enjoyed!