Baby Led Weaning - A Typical Week

When I started this blog, the main purpose was to write about my adventure with weaning and specifically, Baby Led Weaning. I have been posting pictures of my Laid Back Boy self feeding and eating his solids on Facebook and I have had a few comments and messages from people who are welcoming these photos as they give them inspiration and ideas.

When I first started weaning with JC, I sought help and advice from one of my friends who had already been through this phase with her daughter and had great success. We discussed typical menus and what to feed when out and about and this was really helpful to me. I also invested in a cook book (I chose to buy Gill Rapley's Baby Led Weaning Cookbook, and no this isn't a sponsored post!) Before JC, I couldn't even make soup. I had no experience of cooking and what I did cook was pretty rubbish. I found that by sharing ideas with others and picking up a basic cookbook really helped me. When JC moved on from weaning and I grew in confidence with cooking, I bought a new cookbook called My Daddy Cooks, or as I like to call it, my saviour. This is written by a stay at home Dad and is just perfect for quick and easy family meals. He has a new book coming out soon (4th June 2014) and I can't wait to buy it!

So in the spirit of sharing ideas, here is our menu for the week. Our whole family will eat the same thing (give or take a few minor differences like cows milk, real butter and tomato sauce! It is designed to be varied within the constraints of my maternity pay budget and quick/easy to prepare with a 3 year old running around under my feet. Although not always listed here, I would try to offer a savoury followed by or accompanied with fruit. This is a contentious subject as people differ in their opinions on fruit and sugar etc but this is my choice and I am not a nutritionist. I am not advising here, merely showing an example of a typical week in our kitchen. I offer cooled boiled water from a cup with every meal and he still takes 2 7oz dairy free bottle feeds and 3 breastfeeds each day. The recipes for many of these can be found in the Baby Led Weaning Cookbook although I change and adapt them to suit myself now. I hope you find these helpful . . .

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Porridge (not the baby stuff, real oats) and mashed blueberries. (Loaded spoons)	Lentil and Vegetable soup with bread dippers	Grandad Kevy’s Homemade Burgers with carrot sticks
Tuesday	Scrambled Eggs and strips of toast with pure spread	Tuna Croquettes, green beans and carrot batons	Beef and Onion Stew and Mashed potato
Wednesday	Dairy free Eggy Bread and tropical fruit salad	Lentil and Vegetable soup with bread dippers	Chicken Salad
Thursday	Drop Scones (like pancakes but thicker) and melon strips	Tuna Croquettes, baby corn, broccoli	Meatballs in Tomato sauce and  spaghetti
Friday	Porridge (not the baby stuff, real oats) with apple and cinnamon puree. (Loaded spoons)	Sardines on toast Fresh fruit and soy yogurt	Bacon Wrapped Chicken with broccoli
Saturday	Egg and soldiers (Pure spread) Pear strips	Tuna mayo pasta	Meat Loaf with broccoli and carrots
Sunday	Drop Scones (like pancakes but thicker) and mango strips	Lentil and Vegetable soup with bread dippers	Roast Chicken Dinner

 

MuMenTuM - This week it's all about the protein

Our little #mumentum group is growing every week and the support on Twitter is fabulous! Liska set up this group to help us all lose our Mum Tums and have us looking and feeling our best. There has been some chat about people going OTT about Cybermummy and that losing weight for a conference is silly. I agree. Losing weight for Cybermummy is silly but Liska did not set this up for Cybermummy. She motivated us by using Cybermummy as an initial goal, something to look forward to and aim towards. I know that this group will continue long after the conference is over.  There are some #mumentum ladies who are not even going to Cybermummy! I just wanted to second what Liska says here that this is not about vanity and that we all have our own personal and important reasons for ditching the mum tum. The support from all the ladies involved is fabulous and just what we all need right now. Liska is the perfect person to host this linky as she is extremely motivating and supportive through her emails to us and her tweets. Thanks Liska! 

Every week a new plan. I have realised that this is not working and that consistency is the key. I have really enjoyed being diet free for a few weeks and I am loving the exercise. I didn't manage my exercise last week as JC had German Measles and I was kept extremely busy nursing him all week. I did stick to my meal plan though and I really enjoyed eating every carefully planned dinner. 

This week I have decided to focus on eating more protein and less carbs as I am feeling a little sluggish. So I am turning to the old faithful Slimming World to help me. I am doing a 'red' week which means I will be eating lots of protein (lean meats, fish, poultry, eggs) with oodles of vegetables and fruit. I started this yesterday and I can feel that I am less bloated already. I have signed up for my classes again this week. I fit this into my week by going when JC is in bed. My local gym runs a class every evening at 8.30/9pm so this gives me plenty of time to put JC to bed and let my dinner digest. 

So here is the plan this week . . . 

Exercise: 4 classes (Body Balance, Body Combat, Aqua jog, Zumba)

Health: drink a glass of water with every meal, 5 a day fruit and veg

Food:

Breakfast - porridge and fruit

Lunch - salad with ham and feta

Day	Dinner
Monday	Bacon and Vegetable Bake with mixed veg
Tuesday	Homemade burgers and salad
Wednesday	Bolognese and salad
Thursday	Chicken Tacos
Friday	Tasty Beef stew and veg
Saturday	Citrus Chicken and mixed veg
Sunday	Tarragon Stuffed Chicken wrapped in bacon with mixed veg

Best Laid Plans

Image Courtesy of Zaggora.com
 (This bum does not belong to me, that would be wishful thinking!)

This is a MuMenTum post that will link up on Liska's blog alongside a few other lovely ladies who want to lose their Mum Tums. The MuMenTum blog hop is open to everyone who has a mum tum and wants rid. We support each other daily through twitter #mumentum and we meet up weekly on a Monday to share our plans, pains, achievements and inner ramblings relating to diet and exercise.

Well I said a few weeks ago that I am giving up diets and focussing on the exercise. It has gone quite well this week. I have been to a few classes at the gym, all ones I really enjoy like body balance and aqua fit. I am going to go to the same classes this week and add in a couple more. My targets for this week are:

• Attend at least 4 classes at the gym (Can't wait to go in my HotPants when they arrive!)
• No unnecessary snacking between meals
• Drink more water, one glass with every meal
• Stick to the planned meals

I like a plan and I always have a good week when I plan out my meals, shop online for the ingredients I need and of course, stick to the plan (this is the hard bit). I have made a meal plan this week and it's not based on any kind of diet at all. I just thought, what do I want to eat? What would the picky hubby eat? What is easy to cook with JC clinging on to my ankles? What can I make that he can also eat? What is cheap to make because I am on a tight budget? What can I cook that will use similar ingredients so that I don't throw out loads at the end of a week?

I feel like I have many plates to spin but I sat down and came up with a plan for the week. I have included it in the post as it might give you inspiration if you feel stuck in a rut or fancy a change. There is nothing fancy about any of the meals. They are plain and simple and that is how I like my food. Sometimes it's the way you cook things that makes the difference. For example, a soggy baked potato done in the micro would look and taste uninspiring but rub a little rock salt and rosemary on it and stick in in the oven under the grill for 5 mins and you will see and taste a huge difference (Jamie Oliver tip). 

I haven't included my breakfast and lunch as it is usually porridge for breakfast and soup and a bread roll for lunch. Sometimes I mix it up with a feta cheese salad or a ham baguette if I am feeling especially adventurous.

Day	Dinner
Monday	Chicken Stirfry with noodles (Cook with sesame oil, remove JC’s portion then add soy sauce for us)
Tuesday	Baked Potato Night with choices of different fillings and corn on the cob and salad (beans, cheese, tuna, bolognese in freezer)
Wednesday	Spaghetti Bolognese (Make a big batch and freeze some)
Thursday	Fish Cakes, sautéed leek and potato, mixed veg (leek and potato are from leftover veg bought for making soup)
Friday	Steak Tacos with Rice (Serve JC’s with a pitta bread)
Saturday	Chicken stuffed with quark, tarragon, garlic and some grated lemon zest, wrapped in bacon cooked in oven 220 for 30 mins. (serve with potatoes and mixed veg)
Sunday	Pasta Night (easy peasy homemade tomato and bacon sauce this week)

I have a new code for anyone who want to pre order a pair of HotPants

The £4.40 I will receive as payment you typing in my code will be donated to the Post Natal Depression Service in Edinburgh run by the charity CrossReach.