Tag Archives: Food

Baby led weaning follow up: What my two-year-old eats

March 29, 2018 Zoe

As parents, I feel like we have so much to worry about. How to get a kid to sleep, or nurse, or eat, or learn, or talk, or potty trained. And there are so many techniques, so much advice out there. But in the moment, it’s hard to know which version will be best for your kid, which is why I thought I’d do this baby led weaning follow up and share what my two-year-old eats.

I’ve written on the topic a bunch, and if you want to go back and read my rant about people pushing me to give her solid foods before it was time, you can do that over here. I also wrote about a force-feeding incident, why baby-led weaning is good for development, and even that awesome moment when Harley finally seemed to find her appetite. You are welcome to read those words, but don’t worry, we’ll start from the beginning and then get to the update part. Continue Reading

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Comment Child Development, Food

How I make bone broth for free

February 14, 2018 Zoe

If you’ve spent any time looking into healthy living advice online, you’ve probably heard the benefits of bone broth. This magical elixir is credited with giving you healthy hair and nails, improving your digestion and generally just curing every malady you can think of. Let’s get real here for a second, though – bone broth is essentially stock, as it’s been called for many years, and you can make bone broth for free.

I love to do this on a regular basis. It saves me money on other recipes, plus it means I get to enjoy drinking a couple mugs of broth during cool winter afternoons and evenings. Maybe it’s good for digestion, and the collagen might be helping my skin, but mainly it’s a great source of extra nutrients and flavor that doesn’t cost me anything. Continue Reading

Comment Food, Health

Food Health Recipe

It’s not just in our heads – food prices are ridiculous

May 24, 2017 Zoe

Remember a while back when I asked you all how much you spent on groceries? A wide range of answers came in, mostly depending on how big families were, where you were based, and if you were really good about budgeting and meal planning. I tried to be more aware of our spending, but it actually just brought me down. Sure, I could just bulk up on cheaper starches, but that didn’t seem nutritious nor particularly appetizing. In fact, that wasn’t even that much more affordable. I mean, yes, rice, pasta, and pap are all a lot cheaper than steak and roasted veggies for dinner, but they’ve also gone up in price in recent years. Food prices as a whole seem to have gotten out of control, and it’s not just that I don’t know how to shop or something.

I saw this article in my twitter feed over the weekend, and I just had to read through it. I’m not going to go into the whole thing about regulation and retail pricing, mainly because I’m not 100% convinced that it’s all the evil corporations’ fault. However, this quote about the actual cost of living in South Africa jumped out at me: Continue Reading

6 Comments Food, South Africa

Food Prices South Africa

Best places to eat with a baby in Joburg [UPDATED]

April 3, 2017 Zoe

Babies are known to turn people into homebodies. It’s just such a mission to go anywhere. You need to bring so much along for your kid – nappies, wipes, bum cream, toys, change of clothes… the list seems to just go on and on. I know so many people who hardly leave the house once they spawn. However, Dean and I like going out for a drink. We like eating a meal out of the house sometimes. And it really is a lot easier than you might think. We often frequent Hogshead – we sit in the non-smoking section and they are absolutely lovely to us. That said, there are some really easy and nice places to go with your baby and even toddlers or kids that don’t include the likes of Spur.

I’m not trying to knock Spur – it’s certainly got its place. However, I generally prefer to support smaller businesses, local restaurants and pubs rather than chains. I also want a place where the kid can be happy but the adults can also enjoy above average food/drink. So, here are my picks for the best places to eat with a baby in Joburg (or with a toddler or small kid), just in time for school holidays where you might be wondering where on earth you can go with your munchkins. Please feel free to comment with your picks, too – I certainly haven’t managed to try all the places, so these are just the ones that have impressed me so far. Continue Reading

8 Comments South Africa

Food Foodie restaurants

Finding her appetite

February 22, 2017 Zoe

I have written about our journey with food a few times by now. I wrote when I was frustrated that people were pushing Harley to eat solids before it was time (and even a force feeding incident). I wrote about baby led weaning and why I think it is good for baby development. I even wrote about Harley eating some interesting stuff, but there is something I didn’t write about – my worry and fear since she turned one. You see, the mantra of baby led weaning is “food before one is for fun”, and it worked great. I never worried if Harley just played with her food, tried stuff but didn’t swallow or whatever else; before one year old she could rely on breastmilk as her main source of nutrition and I didn’t need to worry if she didn’t really eat most days. But since her first birthday, I’ve been concerned about her lack of appetite for real food, her lack of interest in it for the most part.

As much as I kept telling myself that baby led weaning was the right path for us, of course I doubted myself. I wondered if I should have been pushing food on her more, striving to get her to eat more than the occasional piece of rice cake or tiny shred of chicken, pork or lamb. She loved to play with food, but I feared that she wasn’t really eating, wasn’t really getting the nutrition. Her poo started changing (I know, gross, and too much info, but it’s the reality of food vs breastmilk) but I still didn’t believe that she was actually eating enough. Well, things have finally really changed, and it appears my tiny person is developing a healthy appetite. Continue Reading

3 Comments Food, Parenting

Baby led weaning Food Solids