Page 29 - Blog
July 16, 2014
Some days it is a struggle just to feed the kids lunch. Where on your priority list does making a healthy, tasty lunch for you fall? I hear ya.
Here is an easy option, full of super foods and good protein. Have some basic ingredients on hand, and you could be eating in less than five minutes.
About some of the ingredients:
Salmon – Full of healthy fats and omega 3’s. Keep some smoked salmon on hand in the fridge, ready to eat. Lately I have been enjoying “hot smoked” salmon more than lox. I found some wild-caught hot smoked salmon at Trader Joe’s that is almost as good as the salmon my husband smokes at home.
Avocado – A great source of vitamins and fiber. It provides a creamy taste to meals without dairy. Bonus, cut up tiny bits for baby finger food or mush with the back of a spoon. (Why make separate food for them when they can enjoy the same ingredients?)
Pickled Strawberries – Fermented foods provide beneficial probiotics, great for your digestive track. Pickled green strawberries are
June 30, 2014
My oldest is nearly 3-years-old. This year she was able to plan for Father’s Day. We talked about things we could do to play with him and make him happy. She wanted to buy him a small toy that “he would like.” I agreed that something like a ball would be a sweet gift from her so they could play together.
So the Wednesday before Father’s Day we went shopping. As we got out of the car she insisted we go to the drug store with the “red letters.” Like most 2- and 3-year-olds, my daughter knows what she wants. Usually the opposite of what I suggest. But I am trying to roll with it as much as possible.
With baby sister dozing in the Ergo, we strolled through the seasonal toy aisle. I tried to steer her towards beach toys, which we could use anyway, but she wasn’t interested. I tried to entice her with all the options for balls, like we had originally planned. Nope. She had her eye on this cheap, plastic, made in China, fishing toy. You know, the kind of toy that breaks in a day, is forgotten
June 26, 2014
Organic. Ethical. Ergonomic.
We're thrilled to announce that we are adding three gorgeous and eco-friendly carriers to our Organic Collection. Comfortable, safe, ergonomic and made from 100% Organic Cotton fabric (Oeko-Tex Certified), the Organic Collection is designed with your family and the planet in mind. With fabric as pure as baby's breath, each carrier is crafted with sustainable materials in a responsible, environmental manner.
The beautiful Ergobaby Organic Dandelion Carrier features a vintage-inspired all-over dandelion print in a soft, neutral taupe color that is sure to become your new everyday basic. A staple of childhood, blowing on a Dandelion releases dozens of seeds, illustrating letting go and starting something new.
Zen mama. Trust your instincts and find balance and a healthy life for you and your baby. Available now, the Ergobaby Organic Collection Carrier - Zen is the beautiful and eco-friendly way to carry your baby on your path to motherhood
June 24, 2014
[caption id="attachment_6825" align="aligncenter" width="1262"] PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER EMERLING[/caption]
Earlier this month, we partnered with Erica Chidi from The Mama Circle to work with some first time mamas. Nurturing women into motherhood and helping new parents feel confident as they transition into a new phase of their lives, The Mama Circle is a wonderful support and resource for new parents in the Los Angeles area. Erica opened up her garden to some gorgeous new mamas and babes for a first foods class. Gathered around a beautiful breakfast spread (mama needs nurturing food as well), she talked about how to gently incorporate first foods into a babes diet. Mamas got to try out the new Ergobaby Baby Carriers while Erica demonstrated some recipes for baby's first tastes.
Click on any photo to start slide show with take-aways from the First Foods Class. And be sure to scroll down for the recipes after the photo gallery.
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June 05, 2014
Rewind to December 2009. My wife was 11 weeks pregnant, and I was going to be a dad for the first time. In June of 2010 (ironically, the due date was a day before Father's Day) I was going to meet the baby boy or girl that I was already completely in love with...and then my world came crashing down. Three days prior to Christmas 2009, my wife and I lost our baby. I understand that bad things can happen during the first trimester, but that didn't ease our devastation. I put on a brave face for my wife by saying everything will be OK, and I told my inner circle that we'll dust ourselves off and try again - but privately I was a mess. I didn't eat, I lost a lot of weight, and spent a lot of my private moments in tears. I knew I had to move forward, but I didn't know how. I would hear stories of deadbeat dads, lazy dads, and dads who frankly don't give a crap - and I would become enraged. How in the world could someone father a child and not want to be involved in their lives? I'd give up anything
May 27, 2014
My husband and I can’t help but laugh over all the things we never thought we’d say as parents that pop out of our mouths (“What did I just tell you?” “Listen to your mother.”) We love our kids to bits, but man, is being a parent tough sometimes! In the new book All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood, award-winning journalist Jennifer Senior digs deep into this push-pull conundrum, looking at how parenting has changed over the last half century. She talked with me about some of the fascinating things she learned.
In All Joy and No Fun, you explore how, as parents today, we feel that the overall job of parenting is incredibly satisfying and fulfilling—all joy—but the day-to-day stuff completely wears us out—no fun. But you also discovered that that’s in great part because modern parents demand so much of themselves, right?
We do demand so much of ourselves! And a lot of it is about the context we’re living in. There are different external pressures we’re responding
May 09, 2014
Treat mom or yourself to a bright and festive meal that celebrates spring. Don’t feel like you need to make all the dishes—pick two or three and enjoy with all the special women in your life.
Ruby Sparkler
Makes 1 cocktail 2 ounces (60ml) RHUBARB-PLUM SYRUP (see below) 1 tablespoon ST. GERMAIN LIQUEUR 4 ounces (125ml) chilled PROSECCO or CAVA Pour the rhubarb syrup into a Champagne flute. Add the St. Germain and slowly pour in the prosecco or cava. Toast to Mother’s Day!
Rhubarb Plum Syrup
Makes 2 cups syrup 1 cup (122g) diced RHUBARB (from about 2 stalks) 1 ripe PLUM, pitted and sliced into wedges 1 cup (250ml) light AGAVE NECTAR 1. In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Add 11⁄4 cups (300ml) of water and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the syrup is bright red and the fruit has fallen apart, about 5 minutes. 2. Pour the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve, catching the strained syrup in a bowl below. (The fruit can be
May 05, 2014
Some women like to clean and organize. I’m more of a cook. But I am human. And cooking at 9 months pregnant and immediately after a baby is not easy. So when nesting hit me at the end of my last pregnancy, I was focused on FOOD! Let me share with you some ideas that helped me stock up my freezer and cupboards with easy to grab snacks and meals.
Easy to eat snacks for energy when breastfeeding:
Apples and Almond Butter
Dates and Almonds
Chocolate Milk!
Instant Oatmeal
Raw Energy Bites (As a bonus, this recipe helps with milk production)
Carrots and Hummus
Cashews and other nuts
When you do cook, make double and freeze the rest.
Buy some disposable foil casserole pans. Make one lasagna (for example) in your regular pan to eat right away and a second in the disposable pan to freeze.
For a round up of dishes that freeze well, please see my recent post “The Best Meals to Freeze Before Baby Arrives” featuring Pomegranate Lamb Moussaka, and other unexpected meals to put up.
Ask for meals instead
April 30, 2014
In the United States, the speed with which a mother recovers from birth and “gets her body back” is measured in weeks, not months. Magazines flaunt celebrities who lost the baby weight in just 2 weeks, dashed back to work after a mere month, while effortlessly bouncing a baby on their hip. Women are expected to return to work 6 weeks after giving birth, just as if nothing had happened. We are one of the only cultures that does not value the importance of slowing down and asking for support in the postpartum year. I would like to help change that. Here are ten tips for how you can enhance your physical, emotional and mental health in the first year after giving birth – whether this is your first or fifth baby.
Stay in Bed
As long as you can! Take all the help you can get in the first year after your baby/babies are born, and don’t feel guilty about it. A midwife I know has this rule of thumb: 1st week – in the bed, 2nd week -‐ around the bed, 3rd week around the house, 4th
April 24, 2014
Back in 2002, a mother living on Maui was not satisfied with the baby carrying options available to her. Looking to keep her new son close to her body, she tried seven different carriers, some of which worked fairly well, but nothing that satisfied her needs for comfort and ergonomics. With a background in design, she set out to create something that was both comfortable and easy for parents to use. With that, the ergonomic, comfortable design of the Ergobaby Baby Carrier was born.
With that humble design, Karin Frost revolutionized how we carry babies. Her soft structured carrier (SSC) design has become the gold standard. As we are celebrating our 10 year birthday, we wanted to visit with our founder, Karin Frost to hear about Ergobaby origins, how she helped change the safety testing for SSC's and the road ahead for Ergobaby.
Tell us about how you started Ergobaby
One of my most treasured and tender moments was feeling my sleeping baby close to my body, the rising and falling