Adventures/Disasters In Finger Foods

My (almost) 8 month old is extremely interested in feeding himself. I have been trying to find foods that he can safely practice with feeding to himself. I started with Baby Mum Mums and formula based biscuits- they are pretty messy, and of course I gravitate towards a more homemade and wholesome alternative. But that hasn't been as easy as I expected.

We had great success with buttered toast fingers. Perfect. Just make sure the bread is whole wheat and without any grains/seeds in it.

Next I tried dicing up apples and pears and steaming them for about 30 minutes, hoping they would achieve a mushy texture that would melt/dissolve. They ended up being rubbery and too small for little hands to negotiate to a mouth- FAIL.

I tried steaming fingers of extra firm tofu which also remained rubbery. FAIL

I tried baking potato bits but the pan side browned resulting in a hard crust. FAIL

Finally I steamed chunks of white potato to a soft but firm consistency. I then dipped the chunks in plain whole yogurt and then in a crumb mixture of cheerios & rice krispies. This was perfect- a mashed consistency when gummed, and a good chunky size for wee fists.

I will continue to experiment......

Comments

I don’t have a Diastasis- Why is my abdomen still distended postpartum?

I get asked this question all the time! Here is my answer: Research has shown that 100% of pregnant women will develop some degree of diastasis recti. A diastasis is a lateral separation in the abdominal wall between the recti or “six pack”, due to a stretching of the midline connective tissue or “linea alba”. Although some diastasis will heal postpartum, in many cases a separation will remain without restorative exercise. Distention from DR will present as a doming in the midline. Women who heal a diastasis spontaneously or through restorative exercise may still find that their abdomens are distended, particularly after a meal and/or at the end of the day. If there is no diastasis, why is this? This abdominal distention does not occur in the midline, but rather across the entire abdominal wall. This is due to a weakened hypotonic TVA- transverse abdominis muscle. The TVA is the deepest anterior abdominal muscle, wrapping around the midsection like a girdle, with a left an

Teaching!

I love teaching. It is one of my passions and I am working towards incorporating more of it into my professional repertoire. As a personal trainer I teach 1-on-1 all day every day. When I present to groups, I reach more people at the same time. Since 2006 I have been giving talks at the Running Room to clinics of all distances. I love educating runners about core, effective cross training, incontinence, and the importance of training smart. Knowing they all want to be uninjured and still running in 10 years, they are a captive audience and I am always very well received. My runners give me great feedback, they love my talks, and the instructors keep inviting me back. I think my genuine enthusiasm comes through, and is a tremendous strength of mine when teaching. In 2014 I designed a Trainer Trainer Workshop to educate other fitness professionals on Diastasis Recti, pelvic floor wellness, and safely training the pre and postnatal demographic. It's a 4 hour presentation that I

Kate's Guide to Getting the Correct Sports Bra!

I wear an unusual size and it took me years to unlock the secrets to bra fitting (and finding!) I suffered for years in improperly fitting bras, and during exercise I would wear 2 or 3 just to get the support I needed. E very woman needs support while performing sports; not having proper support means that there is extra stress put on the back during various activities. Even low-impact exercise s done without the support of a sports bra can result in strain on the upper back and shoulders that can result in pain or worse- injuries that may develop over time. Sports bras affect a woman’s posture. Exercising without support can result in slouching to prevent painful bouncing which throws the back and hips out of alignment and impedes form, leading to potential injury. The most common mistakes are when women wear a bra that is too small in the cup and too loose around the body for example a 38e instead of a 36f. Note: When you go down a band size, go up a cup! Step 1: T

Kate Rita- Personal Trainer and Diastasis Expert

Search This Blog