Category: Motherhood

Healthy First Birthday Cake Recipe

Lydia | December 3, 2013

If you’re like me you will be very conscious about what you feed your baby and the effect it can have on their health. Good nutrition is key to your baby’s development. Feeding your child a natural wholefood diet will set them up for life by providing the best foundation possible for their health and learning.

Baby’s first birthday or Christmas is an incredibly exciting time. The temptation to introduce artificially sweet foods may be high but these could lead to your baby developing a taste for sugar and can cause tooth decay.

Feeding your baby natural foods will ensure that no artificial sweeteners, colours, preservatives or additives are consumed, all of which have adverse health effects. You can celebrate baby’s special day with a healthy cake that is naturally sweet and contains no added sugar.

The main ingredients of this healthy first birthday cake or Christmas celebration cake are bananas and apples which are both sweet and good for baby. The fruit in this cake makes it really moist so it’s perfect for babies to eat.

Bananas are rich in potassium, a mineral that is necessary for normal growth, metabolising carbohydrates and promoting mental alertness by helping to deliver oxygen to the brain. Apples are very nutritious and provide a good source of vitamins A and B1 as well as being rich in pectin, a soluble fibre that helps to slow glucose absorption.

Healthy First Birthday Cake Recipe

Ingredients

2 large bananas
2 apples
2 tablespoons pure apple juice
¼ cup sunflower oil
2 free-range eggs
2 cups brown self-raising flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease a cake tin or line with baking paper.

2. Wash and grate the apples (peel if desired).

3. Mash the banana in a bowl, add the grated apple with the apple juice and mix together.

4. Add the vegetable oil and stir into the mashed banana and apple.

5. Add the eggs and mix well.

6. Gently stir in the flour and cinnamon.

7. Bake at 180 C for 25 minutes or until a cake skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

8. Remove from the cake tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

This cake is delicious on its own or it can be served with chopped fresh berries and drizzled with natural yoghurt.

Discovering and eating new healthy foods is also a great way to engage your baby in sensory play. Baby will love breaking this soft cake up in their fingers. There’s no doubt it will be smashed and squeezed before being eaten, it’s all part of the fun!

Lydia Oliver, Nutritional Advisor

This article was published in the December 2013 edition of Mummy and Me Magazine.

I offer one to one nutrition programmes for breastfeeding, post pregnancy weight loss, weaning advice, weight management and health. Contact me.

New Arrival Bundle by Baby Elegance

Lydia | October 17, 2013

House of Fraser have just launched the New Arrival Bundle by Baby Elegance. It’s perfect for busy expectant parents and includes everything you need for your new baby in one package, whilst giving you the freedom to choose from a range of colours so you can personalise your baby bundle to suit you.

When I was pregnant the last thing I wanted to do was to spend time on my feet in busy shops trying to find everything we needed for our baby. I did the majority of shopping for baby essentials online and let my fingers do the work whilst my feet were firmly in place on an elevated cushion.

The uniqueness of the Baby Elegance New Arrival Bundle is that you have the option of choosing a pre selected bundle or creating your own. If you choose to create your own a representative from Baby Elegance will call you at your leisure to select the colour options of your choice (have a cup of tea in hand).

Included in your Baby Elegance New Arrival Bundle are all the baby essentials you need:

The lovely selection of Moses Baskets and Snuggle Pouches gives you the choice of pink, blue or cream to suit all needs.

The Cot Bed is perfect for when baby has outgrown their moses basket. You can transition your baby from cot to bed when they are ready, saving you money and space.

Exclusive to House of Fraser the New Arrival Bundle is only £899 and includes free delivery to mainland UK.

Disclosure: I was sent a Baby Elegance baby blanket from House of Fraser for writing about the New Arrival Bundle by Baby Elegance.

Introducing Your Baby to Dairy

Lydia | September 2, 2013

Nutritionally, babies need breastmilk or infant formula until they are one year old. From the age of six months full-fat cow’s milk can be used in cooking and with baby’s breakfast cereals and cow’s milk can be introduced as a main drink from the age of 12 months.

Dairy is an important part of your child’s diet providing essential nutrients such as calcium. When you start weaning your baby at around six months of age you can begin to slowly introduce a variety of foods.

Dairy can be given to baby from the age of six months in the form of cheese but avoid giving blue cheese or soft unpasteurised cheese, such as Camembert and Brie, until your baby is at least one year old. Blue cheese and unpasteurised cheese contain live bacteria which carries the risk of food poisoning.

Yoghurt is a good source of dairy for baby and can be given from the age of six months.

Allergies to Cow’s Milk

Some babies are allergic to cow’s milk so it is important when weaning your baby to introduce foods one at a time over a few days to check for any allergic reactions. You should seek urgent medical help if you think your baby is having an allergic reaction.

A food allergy is when the immune system reacts to a certain food protein resulting in a physical reaction which can occur immediately or within three days.

If your child has cow’s milk allergy the symptoms will start when cow’s milk is introduced into their diet. Symptoms of cow’s milk allergy could result in diarrhoea, vomiting, skin rashes, stomach cramps and difficulty breathing. In rare cases cow’s milk allergy can cause anaphylaxis.

Cow’s milk allergy is a common food allergy in children and most children who have this allergy grow out of it by the age of three, although it is estimated that 20 per cent of adults will continue to have cow’s milk allergy.

Alternatives

Aside from cow’s milk products there are many food sources that contain high levels of calcium. So if your child does have an allergy to dairy products you can still make sure your child’s diet is rich in calcium. Some good sources of calcium rich foods include sesame seeds, sardines canned in oil, spring greens, tofu, watercress and kale.

Lydia Oliver – Nutritional Advisor Only Best For Baby