Shapes paratha and Paratha cheese rolls

My little darling can become a tyrant when it is time for eating. When I approach her with food, she tries ignoring me, runs behind her grandpa and hides or throws a tantrum. She will do anything to get away from eating. This condition mostly manifests during breakfast time and sometimes during dinner time. I need to keep updating myself with new ways of making her eat and eat healthy.

 

I have a thing for recipe books. I guess the beautiful pictures are the culprits, more than the recipes themselves. So the other day I was looking up some books in Crossword when my eyes fell upon Tarla Dalal's recipe books. They are these small Rs. 85-95/- books that are really handy to use in the kitchen and have loads of information on the kind of ingredients to use , the nutritional content, substitutes and so on. I picked up 'Kid friendly snacks' and 'Pastas and Pizzas'. While the 2nd one can wait, I dived right into the kid friendly snacks. You can understand my desperation if you have a picky eater in your hands.

 

The 1st one I tried was 'Shapes paratha'. Tarla Dalal's name for it was 'Paushtik Paratha' made into triangles and because I made all kinds of shapes it became 'Shapes Paratha'.

 

 

Ingredients

1 cup Wholewheat flour (The original recipe asked to add 1/2 cup of Besan flour)

1 Potato - Boiled and mashed

1 carrot - grated

Handful of Spinach (or any other greens)

1/2 tsp Jeera seeds

1/4 tsp Ajwain (Omam)

1/2 tsp Dhania powder

1/2 tsp Jeera powder

1/4 tsp Garam masala

4 tbsp curd

Salt

 

Method

1.  Mix the mashed potato , grated carrot & sauteed spinach together

2. Add the Wholewheat flour, Jeera seeds, Ajwain, masala powders & salt and mix well (I omitted the green chilli in the original recipe as my daughter has not been initiated to it yet)

3. Add the curd 1 tbsp at a time and kneed as you would chapathi dough

4. Keep aside for 15 - 20 min and add more flour if it is too loose

5. Use the rolling pin and start making a big chapathi (It need not be too neat as you are going to cut it out anyway)

6. Use cookie cutters or just use a knife to carve up shapes - square, rectangle, oval, star, Hexagon, circle, etc

7. Spray a little ghee in the pan and turn both sides to brown it a bit and serve with curd or chutney

 

My little one simply loved it and kept coming back saying 'amma some more suare'. A normal traditional paratha session would have just gone on and on. The next day I made some improvisation on the same dough to make Paratha cheese rolls. Just roll out and cut into rectangles and turn it on the pan to brown both sides. Then place a bit of cheese and roll it while it is hot. You could try spreading jam, peanut butter or any other spread you are partial to. That was a super hit too.

 

 

 

Pumpkin Spinach soup

Pumpkin/Butternut squash is packed with so many vitamins that it becomes a must-have in any child's food plan. The sweetish taste, the bright colour and the smooth texture makes it ideal for baby food. When a child starts solid food at around 6 months, you could just puree the steamed squash and add a dash of cinnamon for flavor. As the child grows and needs more complex textures and tastes, you could do try different methods of preparing squash. One such method that I use is given below, where you could sneak in any other less appealing vegetable like french beans, lima beans, broccoli,etc. I sometimes add spinach which given separately is a definite no from my daughter.

Ingredients

1 cup                    - peeled and cubed pumpkin/butternut squash

1 med                   - onion chopped fine

1 cup                    - warm milk

1 cup                    - spinach leaves (the stem might be hard for the child) or any other veggie

1/2 tsp                  - fresh or dried oregano, basil (any other herb your child is partial to)

1 pinch                 - cinnamon

1/4 cup                 - fresh coriander

2 - 3 strands         - saffron

1 tsp                     - olive oil (or sunflower oil)

                               salt as reqd

Method

1.   First add the saffron strands to the cup of warm milk and keep it aside(this is so that it gets infused). Then in a hot soup pot/pan add the olive oil and the chopped onion

2.  Once the onion turns pink, add the spinach leaves and stir until they wilt

3.  Add the cubed squash pieces and add some water

4.  Cover the pan and cook till the squash pieces are soft

5.  Add the herbs, cinnamon and the coriander and stir

6.  Add 1/2 cup of the saffron infused warm milk and cook covered for 2 more minutes before switching off the stove.

7.  Cool 1/2 of this mixture and then grind it along with the rest of the milk to get reqd soup consistency

8.   Now add the rest of the mixture to the soup and add salt as required

9.   Heat it on the stove for 1 or 2 min taking care that the milk  doesn't curdle

10. Serve warm

Instead of making this chunky soup you could grind the entire mixture to get a smooth soup. You could also add a dash of pepper if required and Voila! you have got a warm and nutritively rich soup that your child will love!

Eggless low fat Sweet Potato cake recipe

This was a recipe I had tried a while back when my daughter refused to eat anything and I started taking desperate measures in my attempt to put something in her stomach. I had used a microwave oven then and so this recipe is based on that. This is a recipe that I had improvised for sweet potatoes after reading the 'yum' blog (http://theyumblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/04/chocolate-apple-brownies-low-fat-and-vegan/).

Ingredients

2 cups             - Wholewheat / atta
1/2 cup           - Castor sugar (Powdered sugar)
1 cup              - Curd
1 cup              - Milk (more could be added if reqd)
1/2 cup           - Sunflower oil
1/2 cup           - cooked apple puree* (for sweetness)
1/2 cup           - walnut/almonds coarsely ground
1 cup              - chopped cooked sweet potato (u could probably replace with pumpkin too)
1 tsp               - vanilla essence
1/2 tsp            - cinnamon or nutmeg powder
2 tsp               - baking powder
1/2 tsp            - baking soda (optional)
1 tbsp             - flaxseed powder **(mixed with 2 tbsp water)
1/2 tsp            - salt

Method

1. Peel, Cube and steam sweet potato till it is just cooked & still firm to touch.
2. In a big bowl, add all dry ingredients & mix them together in one direction
3. In another bowl, mix all wet ingredients and then add to the dry ingredients bowl. Mix in one direction so that there are no lumps
4. The mixture should be liquid enough to flow when poured into a greased microwave dish. Add more milk if its too solid.
5. Keep the dish in microwave for 10 min. (Mine is an old model microwave oven and probably the wattage is lesser). For safety sake, set the timer to 5 min and check with a toothpick or knife if the cake's done. If not keep it for another 2 min and check & so on.

* Apple puree can be replaced with dates/raisin syrup where you need to soak dates/raisins in hot water for 5-10 min and then grind it for getting a syrup. This makes the cake moist and sweet without having to add extra sugar
**Flaxseed powder is an egg substitute required for binding the cake together. I have used the eqivalent of 1 egg here. You could add more as per your requirement

The resultant cake is moist and a bit dense because of using apple puree for sweetening, but is very delicious and has a better nutritive value. This could be given any time of day as a snack and will be lapped up by kids and adults alike.

The breastfeeding saga!

Well to put it in simple words... Breastfeeding isn't simple ..atleast not for all first time mothers! If somebody says "I did just fine the moment my baby was put to the breast" , then they are probably the lucky few who can confidently say that...While it is not exactly rocket science, it is not that easy either! You need quite a bit of practise and if both mother and baby are attuned to each other, then it is the greatest symphony in the world!

I was super excited about feeding my baby ... soon after my delivery the nurse put her to my breast..and voila! she found out that I had inverted nipples... She was super sarcastic when she said "Well,,how do you plan to feed her with this??" This... just after the exhausting task of delivering ...was a serious blow to my confidence..

After going back to my room, I tried to feed her in earnest in the sitting posture and I failed miserably...While it was somewhat better lying down, I wasnt getting the hang of it either. My little sweetie even though she was a just born baby tried her best to suck, but wasnt able to get a foot-hold..err.. a mouth hold if you can call it that. I was slowly panicking .... I was literally starving my baby and didn't know what to do !!! One of the nurses suggested using a nipple shield .. this I didn't want to do because I knew it will cause sore nipples which will again not help in lactation...I refused...

The next day the head-nurse came in and advised on  a nipple shield, without even examining my breast. By that time I had started pumping milk using a hand pump...this was probably one of the best things I had done at that time..this helped my supply...but this caused another problem which I didnt realise then - Engorgement. The supply must have been good, but as a hand pump isnt as efficient as a baby sucking, I could give her just 1 or 2 spoons of milk. This caused further anxiety and forced me to think that I was not producing enough milk.. Nobody thought to check my breast ....it was so heavy with engorgement and was very painful when I pumped...I thought this was how it was supposed to be...


Things took a turn for the worst after our homecoming.. I was pumping and pumping the whole day (and night) and didn't even get to look at my new-born properly... I was halfway between crying and yes,you guessed it ...pumping. Normal things like eating and sleeping myself just went out of the window. Then it suddenly dawned on me that I can't keep doing this for the rest of the year or so that I had planned on breastfeeding. When I finally met the LC in my area, she took one look at me and sent me immediately to a lactation centre. Another friendly soul there helped with the engorgement and fever. After 3 whole days of elation, excitement, relief, pain, anxiety, engorgement and fever,I slept peacefully that night while my mom gave formula to the little one.

What followed was a brief period of healing, pain again when I started using the nipple shield which seemed the only way out and then healing again after we, my daughter and me (seems like a miracle now) finally got the hang of things.


The nipple shield helped initially but caused so much pain and soreness, that the nipple used to bleed after every b/f session. To the uninitiated ....the word "shield" is so deceptive... It didn't do anything of that kind to me when I was using it... this silicone nipple should be used only for 2 weeks to kick-start the breastfeeding and then was to be replaced with the original. Sadly I had used it for more than 6 weeks by sheer ignorance and there seemed no way out.  Dr. Padmini Balagopal of MILC was a godsend to me then, when I fell back to the LCs for help and guidance. She made sure my daughter latched on to the breast and not to the shield then on and the rest, as they say, is history.

It might be surprising to many that I had placed so much importance on breastfeeding and thought it necessary to write a post on it. For some new mothers in my position, it would have been simple enough to just switch to formula and remain guilt-free even then. I don't dispute the argument that formula feeding might just be the perfect solution for some mothers who are genuinely unable to produce milk. But if you do seem to have a good supply to begin with, you should atleast give it a chance for the first 3 months. Normally all feeding problems sort out after those critical 3 months.

The child connects with the mother in more than one way while breastfeeding..the milk nourishes and strengthens, the closeness with the mother enhances the filial bond and the skin-to-skin contact seals this bond. It is not a coincidence that the mother feels so much more for the child than the father and the child runs to the mother first in times of need and reassurance. It is all down to those first few weeks after delivery and the bond that is created through that unique and almost mystical connection.

To all those first time lactating mothers, just hang in there..things can only just get better..And remember, when your child cuddles upto you all sleepy and full with milk, you will feel that all the trouble you underwent, is probably just worth that little half smile !

Weaning a breast-fed baby

http://www.lalecheleague.org/faq/weanhowto.html Was checking out this link from the experts. Was useful.

My two pennies on pregnancy!

There is no doubt that pregnancy is a great time for 1st time mothers... I am sure most of us do the following things which we are supposed to or would like to

- Eating proper food and drinking lots of fluids

- Exercises like walking

- Reading related books like 'What to expect when you are expecting'

- Registering in baby care/Preg care sites

All this is great, but we need to make sure we do the following too, which we most often miss out ...

Being prepared for the big day

• Register a month or two in advance in the clinic or hospital where you want to deliver
• Make sure the person who will accompany you to the hospital, when you have your labour pain, knows the route - the quickest! This person also needs to know what to carry during that crucial time because you will be busy having your pains!
• Keep all your medical records, first of all the registration papers/card in a single file and keep it where everyone in the family has access
• If your husband/mom can accompany you in the labour room, make sure he/she knows what is expected of him/her
• Last but not the least, get prepared mentally for the long hours and sleepless nights that will follow the delivery

Attending pre-natal classes

• Though reading helps, there is nothing more better than listening to experts who have been there and done it too. These classes introduce you to other people who are also expecting babies, makes you feel that you are not alone with your fears of childbirth and help in clearing out your most silliest doubts
• The husbands get to attend some or all of the classes and they get a feel of whats happening in their wives bellies and also how they can help
• You get to learn pre-natal exercises which are vital to how you cope with your delivery and come back to shape after the ordeal
• Understanding about breast feeding (while you can never predict your breast feeding experience, which I came to know first-hand, awareness is the best form of defense)

Discussing finances with your spouse/family

• Helps you to know where you stand financially
• Helps plan your future investments and priorities

And one of the most important things is to close your ears to all the well intended but misleading advices from friends, relatives on a range of childbirth/care topics that they claim they are experts on and just LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR or the PAED.

Most of us are aware of all these points, but we still tend to miss out on them due to complacency, carelessness or plain laziness. But being prepared is the best way to sail through the first difficult months of being a mother.

That is the only way you get to make time for the unpredictable issues that will (yes, they will!) crop up !!!

The delivery !

They say that all good things must end... my pregnancy was so good...that when i look back and compare it with motherhood ..wow..it was a fairytale..for poorly selfish reasons ofcourse... people were extra attentive, supportive and loving ... I was pampered at my work place and apart from being bloated all the time I didnt see what was bad in it at all... I guess you are getting the picture... but to come back to the point here... even that had to end...

Disclaimer: People who feel queasy & squeamish should go no further, for I am going to give a blow by blow account of my delivery here..

Sep 27th- My supposed due date -  I was happily blogging away about CWG, Suresh Kalmadi and the likes and didn't have any signs of any pain

Sep 28th: My last doc visit - Doc said "I can't believe this.. you still havent got any pain?!! Is this a Gaja Garbam or what (Is this an elephantine pregnancy?)" She then did a simple inducing procedure called stripping ..which was a bit uncomfortable and rather embarassing ..I felt a light pain in the lower back that evening ..but it wasnt the real thing

Sep 29th:

3:00 am - I was having a dream in which I was going into labour...It woke me up and I realized it was not just a dream & I was actually having real pains in my lower back... waited for the next 30 min thinking it would pass.It just became stronger and stronger. I decided it was time to wake up folks.

3:30 am - "Mom I think this is it.." She took it relatively calmly and went about making a drink for me...

4:00 am - I was sipping my drink and started having my labour pains earnestly. I was struck by the fact that how unlike it was compared to the movies. I wasnt writhing in pain exactly as they tend to show. I felt a breathlessness (if I could say that) every few minutes and a simultaneous pull at my lower back. We decided not to wake up K as he was sure to get tensed up which would not have helped at all!

4:30 am - Mom gave me a hot soothing bath and commented how flat my nipples were. We then woke up K.

5:00 am - Had a plate of hot idlis.K was aping around taking videos of me gobbling the idlis. I wouldnt have bothered eating if I had known all that went in had to come out.. thanks to enema.

5:45 am - Started for the hospital. This again wasn't the mad rush that I had imagined it would be :-) Reached the hospital in just over 5 min and admitted myself in the maternity ward.

Now I would have thought that having a loved one near you is the most sensible thing. But they refused entry to both K and my mom. And I was sitting alone braving my labour and the nurse did the admitting procedures. She then took me in and asked me to lie down to check the baby's position. This was the start of an ordeal of embarassment that will continue for the next 6 hours or so. I realized my doc had been really gentle when she had done the same thing till then. This nurse used all her strength in prodding and poking, and I was already screaming as if I was going to deliver then and there. She finally pronounced that it was just a 1 cm opening. She then gave me the enema and probably because I had irritated her too much, asked me to go in search of my room to use the toilet. There I was, holding my skirt up and worrying if I was embarassing myself and searching for the room. When I finally located my room I was almost in tears. I was already missing my mom and K while it was only 30 min since I left home. 

7:30 am - I was finally taken inside and made to lie down ..I guess in a labour room...My gynaec finally came in... the only smiling face around...I was still just 1 cm dilated...She broke my waters..and told me I will be a mess down there for some time...yuck...thank god I was not able to see it.. She asked me if I was able to bear the pain... I said yes I can...but probably she read something in my eyes and decided an epidural would make things better... she left the room saying that it will be some 8 more hours before I was fully dilated.. I thought ..What ?!! hughhhh nooooo....

8 - 9 am - They gave me my epidural finally and thank god the guy was friendly and was non-stop talking that I forgot about my pain..

9 - 10 am- Things felt better and my pain was dull.. I still felt my labour, but without the associated pain..

10:00 - 10:30 am - The pain suddenly started in earnest ...worse than before... and I felt like pushing ..and I didnt realize that this was the natural feeling one was supposed to feel... I thought I was going to pooh... and was telling the nurse on and on that I wanted to pass motion ..and I probably did too ..judging from her expression...

10:30 am - They increased the epidural dosage... and suddenly the duty doc asked a million dollar question to the nurses... did they empty my bladder ... and she got blank faces ... When epidural is given the lower body muscles tend to become sluggish and the bladder doesnt empty itself. It has to be done by inserting a catheter...When the nurses realized their mistake, I had already endured pain for over 1 hr(without having to), even though I had been given an epidural..

10:50 am - The duty doc was puzzled by my continuing pain and decided to examine me... she realized I had already dilated 10 cm by then and will deliver the baby soon whether they helped me or not... she said..   "You are about to deliver" ...Then started frantic calls to my gynaec... and when she ran in I was already hooked up wide and clear for her to work easily... None of the nurses thought to reassure me or talk to me.. I had to ask one of the nurses to please hold my hand...

11:15 am - My doc quickly gave me a local anasthesia and started cutting the vagina open so that the baby's head and shoulders can squeeze out easily.. I could just feel that she was doing without the pain... a part of me was happy that the wait was over ..and that I was going to deliver normally ...another part of me wanted to be patched up, the mess cleaned and to be soaked in a nice warm bathtub...While I was daydreaming the impossible detachedly, my active brain was trying to tell people around... GUYS I AM READY TO PUSH...

"Doctor I feel like pushing" ... to which my doc said... "No problem.. go on push.." .. now came the tricky part... I had no clue how to do it.. The instructor in the antenatal classes had said... when you feel pain then take deep breaths from your mouth... when the pain subsides start pushing...but she had never said how exactly to do it...
"Doctor how do I push"... If she thought I was mental to be asking such a question just then, she didnt show it..."Think you have not passed motion for last 3 days and then push"... wow... that was the simplest explanation one could give... and I started doing exactly that... "hmmmmmmphhhhhhhh..." 
"Good...but don't start shouting now...just push"... "Yes thats it push...push.."  People around me came alive suddenly and started coaching .. 

Then I gave a really big push......  "hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmphhhhhhhhhhhhhh...aaaaaaaaaaa"
I suddenly felt a great relief ..I thought I had done it... "Great... the head is out... now push again" 

 :-( I started again...
The paed entered suddenly ... my doc asked him to help me push.. now I wondered how he would do that...
he stood on a platform that was near the delivery bed ...and started pressing my tummy down... Then again I pushed really really hard...
"hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmppppppppppppphhhhhhhhhhhh...........aaa" ...

And  there was a single cry from my daughter... "Its Rohini... " my gynaec shouted ...already naming her after the star in which she was born..It was 11:23 am.

The relief , the happiness and all sorts of mixed emotions clouded my eyes and when the paed brought her close to me I felt she was the cutest, pinkest , warmest living thing I had seen in all my life...Felt humbled that this was the culmination of 4 years of waiting and I kissed her...and called her by her name...

I also realized one more thing.. something that mothers through the ages must have realized at that point of time...

A woman is strong... when she really really needs it... reserves of strength from nowhere emerge and help her to tide over pain and all kinds of weaknesses...the trick is to just believe in herself :-) !!!