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Granola Bars that work!

Monday, February 8th, 2010

This recipe started as an Ina Garten, then was adapted via Smitten Kitchen, and ended up being edited again by me.
Makes 12 to 16 granola bars
2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I used unsweetened)granolabar

½ cup toasted wheat germ (don’t leave this out!)
2/3 cup agave nectar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cup dried fruit, or a mix of dried fruit (I used chopped dried cranberries and dried blueberries)
¼ cup chocolate chips (because everything I cook has chocolate in it) you could use carob also

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper. You will appreciate this later when you don’t need to scrub granola out of your pan.
Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
While the mixture is still warm, stir in the nectar, vanilla and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit and chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press it in until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible. I would recommend covering the bars with parchment and then pressing a smaller baking dish, to make a tight bar. Remember to take off parchment before placing in oven.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Allow bars to cool for 3 hours before cutting, otherwise granola will fall apart.

What do you like to put in your granola bars?

-Kelly

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Posted in Feeding | 3 Comments »

A great early finger food

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

At our Baby Food Making Workshop last week at Whole Foods in Cranston we all sampled Apple Chicken Balls.  What a big hit! Here is the recipe, as promised:

Makes 20 balls

Suitable for freezing

You will need

1 tbsp light olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated

2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Half tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme or sage, chopped or a pinch mixed herbs

1 chicken stock cube, crumbled (from one year)

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Salt and freshly ground pepper (from one year)

Plain flour for coating

Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1 Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté half the onion for about 5 minutes.

2 Using your hands, squeeze out a little excess liquid from the grated apple.

3 Mix the apple with the chicken, cooked and remaining raw onion, herbs, stock cube (from one year) and breadcrumbs, and roughly chop in a food processor for a few seconds.

4 Season with a little salt and pepper (from one year).

5 With your hands, form into about 20 little balls, roll in flour and fry in shallow oil for about 5 minutes until lightly golden and cooked through.

Recipe is from New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner by Annabel Karmel published by Ebury Press

Enjoy! -Kelly

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Posted in Class?, Feeding | 1 Comment »

Monday Morning Coffee Talk

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Good morning from Las Vegas. We scoured the convention center for the past 9 hours. This is the most exciting year yet! Some highlights on what we are bringing back:

Sunshine Kids, Radian Car Seats: You know we love these car seats at Bellani. As car seat techs, Kelly and I havesuperlatch_installation-rgb installed every brand of car seats out there. The Radian 65, 80 and XT are by far our favorite. We learned today about SUPER LATCH. What is it you ask? Super Latch takes the latch system to a whole other level. Instead of only having one anchor, Super Latch actually has three. The weight on it was truly impressive. Most cars are rated for latch until a certain weight…ie: Toyota may only hold a child in latch until 48 lbs at which time you will have to uninstall your car seat and reinstall using the seat belt. The new SUPER LATCH in all 2010 Radian Car Seats will enable you to use latch up till 80 lbs, no matter what car you drive! We are expecting all the 2010 Radian car seats to be arriving at Bellani 10 -1 -09. There are new colors for the XT and the 80. The 65 will have the same three colors. We are accepting pre-orders for the show now. Order while we are here in Vegas (until Wednesday) and receive 5% off your car seat! Call Bellani to reserve yours!

innopDo you Pack Smart? You can with Innobaby products. This is a product we have looked at every year we have been at ABC yet it never caught our attention until this year. What you might recognize is the Packin’ Smart all-in-one storage solution. It lets you stack and connect up to 5 containers together. Need to take cheerios, dried fruit, juice and other items with you? No problem. You can have it all in one place. After the baby food, use it for ribbon, pom pom (yes, I said pom poms) and any other craft item. You can also use it for powdered formula and liquids. What other product can you do that with?

innoBeing a Lactaion Counselor, this has to be my favorite product I saw today. It again is from Innobaby. It’s called Nursin Smart. The entire bottle is made of silicone. There is no plastic or glass. It is super light weight and break-proof. The bottle significantly reduces nipple confusion and provides a similar breastfeeding experience. The nipple actually moves in and out while the baby is sucking on it. It is much softer then your traditional nipple. The next item is the Spoon Feeder which is perfect for babies who refuse to take the bottle, babies for preemies and with cleft palates. I have had two lactation appointments in the last week where this would have been priceless to you. It’s like using a baby cup, but so much easier. Especially when it is 2:00 am and you haven’t slept in days.

Last product from this company, I promise. We hear a lot of customers ask us what to store their children’s food in. After making baby food their are great silicone trays to use, but how about storing freshly made food in the fridge or the strawberries you just cut up for your toddler. Innobaby has come out with Keepin Fresh. Airtight, leak proof GLASS containers. They come in Stage 1 up to 90 ml, or Stage 2 up to 110 ml. This is a great solution for storing all that wonderful food. Sorry there is no picture available, but they will be arriving at Bellani soon.

While strolling through the Modern Child section of the ABC Kids Show we ran into a new/old friend, Jessica Kim from BabbaCover. We first heard of BabbaCo when a new mom walked through Bellani doors with the cutest Infant Car Seat Cover I had ever seen. This fleece and flannel cover sat over the seat entirely. There were window flaps in the front and the back, side cargo pockets that can hold keys, wipes, pacifiers and such, and it really stayed in place! Every time this particular customer was in the store more than one customer would ask where she found it. Jessica is her friend from college, and what does any good friend do when they make baby products and their friend has a baby, but send her one. There is no doubt that it is really cute, and will draw lots of attention to your car seat, and keep germs away from your child. Is this something that we should add to the Bellani repertoire? Retail cost would be $86.00 and we would bring in this print in both Green and Pink.

Man, BumGenius/Cotton Babies is one amazing company. Started with just $100 seven years ago this brand has grown into quite the presence. The innovation hasn’t stopped this year. Cotton Babies is releasing the new Flip one-size cloth diaper system to retailers on January 1, 2010. This diapering system allows you to use any one (or two) of three possible inserts! The Flip is a one-size cover, working from 8-35 lbs that you can add a Stay-Dry insert to, this allows your baby to feel dry, while still being very absorbent, like a BumGenius 3.0. If you would prefer to keep Organic Cotton against your baby’s bottom, you could use the Flip Cover with a one-size organic insert that is made of the same 100% organic cotton that we have come to love from the BumGenius Organic All-in-One One-Size Diaper. Last, but certainly not least, the Flip will also have a One-Size Disposable Insert available, this is a dye-free, fragrance-free disposable insert that you could use while traveling, or for daycare, or if baby has a diaper rash and we need a good barrier! The Flip will retail with one of the two reusable inserts, either the Organic Cotton or the Stay Dry, $19.99 or $16.95 respectively. The disposable inserts will be $4.95 for an 18 pack. There is also an option for a Day Pack, 2 covers and 6 inserts, the total cost for the pack will be $49.95 for the Stay-Dry Liners, and $59.95 for the Organic Cotton. Bellani will begin accepting pre-orders tomorrow, September 14, 2009. Almost forgot, this will be in three colors, Zinnia, Ribbit, and Moonbeam.

Good night all or good morning,

Kelly & Shannon

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Posted in ABC Kids show 2009, Baby Needs, Feeding | 5 Comments »

Think your Sigg bottle is BPA free - think again

Friday, August 21st, 2009

We’ve been asked by customers countless times what we think of the Sigg bottles. We are very careful here at Bellani to only carry products we feel are safe for our customers. We considered carrying Sigg bottles because of their modern design and ease of use. However, we were just never certain just what those liners were made out of.

There is new information that just came out…read it for yourself here: Siggs Bpa Confession You Aren’t Going to Like it Anymore Than We Do.

Sorry, Sigg…being honest with customers is something that is really important to us. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with them. Glad we just got in the new Safe Sippy Cups!!!

-Shannon

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Posted in Feeding, Recalls, Safety | No Comments »

Don’t ask don’t tell - breastfeeding in the workplace

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

When the topic of would you or won’t you get plastic surgery (specifically breast augmentation) came up as a blog topic I remember telling Shannon and Kelly I can’t write about it because I work outside the home and I don’t want the male-dominated place I work to read all about when I want or don’t want to do with my breasts. Then I remember how public I was about my need to have a safe, private reliable place to pump at work and it made my comment to them seem sort of silly.

I work in the high tech industry and have my very own cubicle to prove it. I love my job and have flexibility in the work place but after I cam back to work with #2 I found it hard to pump and fit it all in. There were 7 moms using one space, which was an old shower room converted – there was a rocker, a shelf and an outlet. A keypad lock and a shower curtain kept the room off limits to people passing by. However with 7 women using the room if you missed your pumping start time by 10 minutes because a meeting ran late or whatever you were reduced to pumping in your car, borrowing an office and hoping no one walked in or the worst choice of all a bathroom stall. I spoke to someone in HR about it and got immediate results. They outfitted a room with a wonderful chair, lights, and best of all a sink! Now we had two places to go. I remember the facilities person asked why only 7 women needed 2 places to pump and telling him “well they have 4 lanes on Rte 95 for 1 hour of rush hour in the morning…it’s sorta the same situation with pumping.” He laughed and immediately “got it.”pump

Not everyone at work was so comfortable with the idea of taking time out to pump. I had to leave an all day meeting twice to pump and I remember a guy (grown man, father of 2) asking “how long are you going to do that?” and eyeballing my pump as I sat it under the table. For some reason his comment brought out the inner lactavist in me and I retorted “THAT…as in feed my child? Probably till she’s 18…THAT as in breastfeed my child? Well it’s none of your business but at least till she’s a year old. But now that I know it makes you so uncomfortable I will bring my pump to every meeting and leave it right next to you on the table…sound good?!” Needless to say he never asked me about pumping at work again!

I found that after I helped get the new mother’s room up and running and after I quietly exited meeting to pump and then return younger female co-workers would ask me about pumping, and other new Mom questions. It actually made me feel good and I didn’t realize until I put it out there in a semi-public way they were too embarrassed to tell their bosses they had to pump and instead sat in meetings uncomfortable and worrying about finding the time to squeeze in another pumping session. I learned speaking up about mom/work/life balance issues helps us all feel a little more normal and we get great advice and support from some of the mostly unlikely people and places. Moms –be it breasfeeding, not breastfeeding, birth mother’s or adoptive moms-are on a journey together and we need to have each other’s backs.

Stacey

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Posted in Feeding, Mom stuff | 3 Comments »

Really, an abscess. Are you Sure?

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

I just had my second child, I was 5 days postpartum. He weighed 4 pounds and arrived weeks early. He was absolutely perfect, except for the fact that he did not want to latch on. I went to see a highly trained, experienced Lactation Consultant at our top hospital here in RI for women and babies.

Rewind three years earlier…my first child was born, 6 pounds 6 oz right on schedule. He latched on pretty much from the beginning and did great. It was 3 weeks after he was born I woke up feeling a bit funny. I was tired and my body ached. A few hours later I had a fever of 104 degrees. Mastitis, urgh. I went on antibiotics and was fine, until 3 weeks later when it came back, then 2 weeks later after that At this time I developed a lump in my right breast. They concluded a blocked duct and to have it drained. I went to the breast health clinic at Women and Infants Hospital thinking they would have all the answers. The doctor stuck a 4 inch needle into my breast to drain out what was in there; he wasn’t expecting to find what he did. It surly wasn’t breast milk and it was sent off to the lab. I felt amazing after he drained it. My tennis size lump was now gone.

I continued to breast feed as normal.

Five days later the lump had returned…I went back the Breast Health Clinic, again they drained it. I was thinking they knew what they were doing; they are all about breast health. I went back 5 times over the next few weeks. The last time I had it drained it was the size of a softball. He had to use 3 huge vials to get everything out. It was 4 days before Thanksgiving and we were headed to my in-laws for dinner. I cried the whole way up to their house I was in so much pain. My husband called my OB because I couldn’t even talk. She told me to put ice packs on it and come into the office the next morning.

In 12 hours my breast was the size of a softball and I was in so much pain it was unimaginable. I was barely nursing on that side because of the pain, but I didn’t want to stop yet. He was only six months old. My OB referred me to a breast surgeon who was absolutely remarkable. My appointment was at 4:00pm in his Warwick office a week later. Mark met me there to take our son home. He asked if I wanted him to wait. I said I’d be fine, after all they are just going to drain it again. I decided to stop nursing 5 days before and figured because I wasn’t producing anymore milk this would just go away.

istock_000007440434xsmallDr. Faulkenberry took one look at my records (I had to go for an ultrasound because they were concerned it might have been a tumor) and said it’s an abscess and we need to drain it. I thought that’s exactly what I was thinking. I’ve had a needle stuck into my breast so many times it didn’t phase me anymore. Go for it! That wasn’t the way he was planning on draining it.

It took 3 nurses to hold my arms and legs down as he made a 3 inch incision into my right breast, and when the abscess started draining it felt like hot lava pouring over my body. It was like having surgery without any anesthesia. I remember him saying “I’m so sorry Shannon I didn’t think it was this bad” as I was literally screaming. This isn’t my normal behavior when I am hurt. I usually withdraw and get extremely quite and don’t move. They had to call in back-up to hold me so he could finish. Dr. Faulkenberry put in a drain that was 3 feet long and gave me a few stitches to hold it in place. The nurses (they were so sweet) couldn’t keep the tape on me because I was sweating so much. I walked out of the office so thankful I was his last appointment and no one was left in the waiting room. They would have run.

He gave me a prescription for pain. I remember driving, shaking and quivering trying to make it to CVS. The woman at the drive-thru said hold on, and got it right away. I must have looked that bad.

Flash forward three years when I was having problems nursing my second son. Because he wouldn’t latch, I was pumping and giving him the breast milk with a dropper. Go figure my right side wasn’t producing very much, hence going to see the lactation consultant. When she saw the scar on my breast she asked what it was. I told her I ended up with an abscess from my first child and her exact words were “An abscess, are you sure. I’ve never seen that and I’ve been practicing for 20 years. Maybe it was something else”.

I never went back to see her and that is part of the reason why I am a lactation counselor today. That remark will stay with me for the rest of my life along with the pain of the abscess. I always said I would rather go through birth 100 times than ever have to go thought that pain again. Lactation visits are one of my favorite things to do. I love being able to make moms feel confident about the road they have chosen, no matter how they have gotten there and what obstacles they have overcome.

-Shannon

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Posted in Feeding, Got milk? | 10 Comments »

The not so sweet side of false nutrition claims…

Friday, July 10th, 2009

So about a month ago I picked up a box of Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters…yes, at the age of 23 I still love a nice, cold Capri Sun every once in a while so I was thrilled to see a less sugary version of one of my all time favorite drinks. The label said no artificial colors or flavors so trusting this claim I bought the box and went home and popped the little straw into the pouch…what I tasted was artificial sweetener! I can always tell when something has artificial sweetener in it, there is usually a distinctive dry after taste.

How could this be? The package says no artificial colors or flavors. So sure enough I check out the ingredients label and sure enough Sucralose is one of the ingredients! What is sucralose??? Sucralose is the chemical name (that’s right, you did see the word chemical) for Splenda, which is one of the newer artificial sweeteners. Splenda is not natural. In fact, if you even go to the company’s website they clearly state in their FAQ section that it is not natural…so why on earth would the manufacturer of this children’s drink put that there are no artificial flavors in their product??? This made me very angry! But the bottom line is this…is you see the words “aspartame”(Equal,Nutrasweet), “sucralose” (splenda), “saccharin” (sweet n’ low), acesulfame potassium (not typically marketed under a trade name), or neotame (not typically marketed under a trade name either) then that product contains artificial sweetener. Stevia (could also be seen under the names Purevia, Truvia or Reb-A) which is the latest no-calorie sweetener to hit the market is actually natural (plant-derived) and is FDA approved, however many sources are still up in the air about whether or not it is safe to be consumed in large amounts over extensive periods of time because there simply is not enough research yet.

Last but not least, the very controversial high fructose corn syrup is natural. It is derived from corn, however the controversy surrounding it has risen from the fact that sometimes the corn from which the syrup is derived is genetically modified, although no chemicals are involved in this process many feel this tarnishes the product’s right to be named natural (the FDA even has been confused about this topic, in April 2008 they released a statement saying it was not natural then in July of 2008 they released another statement saying that it was natural).

So if I haven’t lost you yet let me just add a few thoughts…artificial sweeteners are not going to kill you… however due to the ambiguity of whether or not consuming large quantities of these chemicals is not detrimental in the long run, moderation is the key.

One more thing…shame on you for lying to us Capri Sun!

-Maryann
roaringwaters

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Posted in Feeding | 5 Comments »

The perfect dip to bring anywhere…

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

This winter I was looking for a nice afternoon-full-of-football treat. I came across The Passionate Foodie recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip. This was a mega hit! I’ve added my own (break it down and make it easy) components in parentheses for you!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
2 lbs of boiled chicken, cut up into small pieces (I buy the precooked, pre-packed grilled chicken strips)
2 boxes of plain cream cheese ( I use neufchatel cream cheese)
1 jar of Frank’s red hot buffalo wing sauce (and only use half!)
1 cup of blue cheese or ranch dressing
2 bags of shredded cheddar and jack cheeses

Preparation:
Place chicken, buffalo wing sauce and cream cheese in a large skillet on medium heat until the cream cheese is melted and incorporated into the mix. Add the blue cheese/ranch dressing and mix well. Pour into a casserole dish and mix on 1 bag of shredded cheese. Sprinkle the other bag of shredded cheese atop the casserole. Heat in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot with crackers, tortilla chips or bread.

I don’t particularly love cream cheese, however you don’t really have an overbearing tang from it.

from Kelly, pinch-hitting for Lisa

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Posted in Feeding | 8 Comments »

Mozzarella, Cherry Tomato and Basil Skewers

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Food, just not that into it. If you knew me, (and I believe you will if you continue to read these blogs) that food to me is a necessity to living. Something I have to do. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a good meal, I personally think it just takes too long and there are ten other things I would rather be doing. However, there are some times where I have to make things for entertaining purposes.

This is one of my favorite things to make in the summer. It’s cool, refreshing and everyone seems to love them. Here’s the recipe, then below I’ll let you know what I change to make it a bit easier:

Ingredients

  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 12 bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), about 8 ounces
  • 1 pint mixed red and yellow cherry or pear tomatoes
  • 12 basil leaves, preferably large
  • 12 (6-inch) wooden skewers

istock_000006664500xsmall1Directions

Combine the garlic, salt, pepper flakes, and olive oil in a medium glass bowl. Cover and microwave on high until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Cool. Add the bocconcini and refrigerate for at least 1 and up to 24 hours.

Thread a yellow cherry tomato onto a skewer, wrap a bocconcini in a basil leaf and add to the skewer, then finish with a red tomato. For a dramatic presentation, use both pear and cherry tomatoes. Halve the top cherry tomato and use it as a stand for the skewer.

Repeat with the remaining cheese and tomatoes. Save the oil for a dipping sauce and serve with a small bowl of kosher salt. (Copyright (c) 2004 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved)

What I do:
1. To make this quicker, I will buy the mozzarella balls already marinated, then just alternate the mozzarella, basil and tomato on the skewers.

2. The last time I made these I used fresh mozzarella with the basil and tomatoes. Everyone seemed to like it better. I still put out olive oil and kosher salt in case someone wanted to dunk a bit, but no one seemed to.

You can also use toothpicks and have them stand up for a different appearance. This recipe is really quick to make and the kids can help too! Enjoy.

-Shannon

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Posted in Entertaining, Feeding | 2 Comments »

As promised, my Rainbow Cake

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Time for some fun birthday surprises! So many people have asked me for this recipe, I had to post it. If you have been inspired, tell me about it, comment below.

I started this cake with two boxes of Betty Crocker Butter Yellow Cake Mix s-5th-birthday-021

( I know, if you know me, you know that the cake lover in me finds this unacceptable.  However, when I make a cake for the kids to devour, they just want something pretty.  If you want good cake, wait for another week!)

Make the cake mix according to box directions.

Now take out six similar sized bowls.  Evenly break up batter into the six bowls.  Now add food coloring to each bowl for it’s appropriate color.  I used rainbow colors of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet.  Use lots of gel coloring or food dye, or whatever it is that you use, but make the colors vibrant!

Next take your round cake pans, I used tw0 ten inch cake pans, and grease and flour (or parchment).  Take 1 cup of the red batter and pour it directly in the middle of your first pan.  Now, using a clean measuring cup, pour 1 cup of orange directly into the red, like pouring oil in the middle, go slowly, make it even.  You should still be able to see red, but it should be moving to the outside of the cake pan.  Repeat with the s-5th-birthday-135Yellow, Green, Blue and Violet.  Now, make one more of these, but do the colors in reverse.

Bake according to package directions.

Finished Product

Finished Product

When cakes are cool (really cool) slice in half, so you have four moon shapes.  I layered the moon shapes, with frosting in between.  Then frosted a crumb coat and flipped it on it’s side to make my “rainbow.”  I then frosted the entire cake in cream cheese frosting (my daughter’s favorite and so easy to make!), and added skittles to make my concentric half circles for the rainbow coloring.  Okay, so actually Mr. Guertin applied the skittles.  I was onto grilling eggplant.

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Posted in Family, Feeding, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

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