No, I did not lose a kid.
The store, Migros, had a sale - 10% off everything - today. Being continually distracted by shiny things, I completely forgot until I ran there to get a substitute dinner for what I had planned. There were banners everywhere yelling 10% off to anyone with the attention span of a gnat. Like me! So I call the husband to tell him, just in case he needed to pick up anything from the Migros City, which prompts the big girl to start in.
Mama, I want a gipfeli (croissant).
I want french toast for lunch tomorrow.
Do I get to eat lunch tomorrow?
Can I have some fruit.
Are you listening to me?
I. want. a. sample.
Finally something easy that I can say yes to, a sample. I glance inside the sample case and see that it is cut up rustic bread with a piece of salami on top. Sure, no problem. I tell the girl there is salami on top of the bread because she is somewhat picky about her meat intake. Sure, whatever mom.
I am finishing up my convo with H about the sale when the girl says that she likes the sample and wants it in her snack bag for tomorrow. Only then do I take a good look at what they were giving out for samples.
It was salami, horse salami.
Eww. No way. I told the girl that she already had a gipfeli for her snack and I'd buy (a different kind) salami next week. shh.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Baby Food Done the Swiss Way
Baby Boy is now 6 months old plus a little bit and has been trying out the jarred baby foods here in Switzerland. I was planning on starting slowly and just introducing simple, mashed up versions of what we eat but Baby Boy has his own plan - to eat as much food as quick as possible.
He is still nursing a ton and has gained 1 kg since I took him to be weighed a couple of weeks ago. Incidentally, there is a free service in Switzerland where you can take your baby to be weighed and have his growth measured between well baby visits. This service is provided by a nurse and she will also answer questions about parenting or whatever baby related question you have. If you are in Switzerland and want to find the local service, it is under the Muetterberatung.
So far Baby E has tried plain, mashed avocado, banana, and cooked sweet potato. All with mixed success.
There are three brands of jarred baby food that I've seen, HiPP, Holle, and the dreaded Nestle. Holle is bio (organic) and available at the pharmacy or reformhaus. It is the most expensive and at least the jarred apple and blueberries tastes terrible. HiPP and Nestle are both available at grocery stores and HiPP is mostly organic.
They have some strange baby food concoctions here. The first meats (4 month olds) are chicken or veal. Baby E looked at me like I was playing a cruel joke on him when I gave him meat. There are other mixtures that are very Swiss. Bircher muesli, risotto, spaghetti, all pre-mashed for a 6 moth old.
All those options and Baby E is sitting here chewing on his feet.
He is still nursing a ton and has gained 1 kg since I took him to be weighed a couple of weeks ago. Incidentally, there is a free service in Switzerland where you can take your baby to be weighed and have his growth measured between well baby visits. This service is provided by a nurse and she will also answer questions about parenting or whatever baby related question you have. If you are in Switzerland and want to find the local service, it is under the Muetterberatung.
So far Baby E has tried plain, mashed avocado, banana, and cooked sweet potato. All with mixed success.
There are three brands of jarred baby food that I've seen, HiPP, Holle, and the dreaded Nestle. Holle is bio (organic) and available at the pharmacy or reformhaus. It is the most expensive and at least the jarred apple and blueberries tastes terrible. HiPP and Nestle are both available at grocery stores and HiPP is mostly organic.
They have some strange baby food concoctions here. The first meats (4 month olds) are chicken or veal. Baby E looked at me like I was playing a cruel joke on him when I gave him meat. There are other mixtures that are very Swiss. Bircher muesli, risotto, spaghetti, all pre-mashed for a 6 moth old.
All those options and Baby E is sitting here chewing on his feet.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Farmer's Market at Hauptbahnhof
Today the kids and I went to Zurich's Hauptbahnhof (Zurich's main train station) to check out the weekly farmer's market and see what was in season.
For those in the Zurich area, the farmer's market is upstairs in the huge hall every Wednesday.
The girl, who has never voluntarily consumed a grape in her life, begged for me to buy grapes. I didn't think there was a chance of a snowball in a hot place that she would eat them but I bought them anyway. She ate a significant number of them. Win!
I also picked up some Swiss chard, an eggplant for baba ganoush, some orange carrots, purple carrots and REAL CHEDDAR CHEESE. Yes, I am yelling, that is how exciting cheddar is.
Before I move on to the cheddar, I must tell you about the brilliance of the farmer's market. The produce vendors really know how to get kids to eat new things. S doesn't eat carrots. She just doesn't. At one organic stand, the woman asked S if she wanted a carrot to eat. She seemed dubious but took it anyway and ate it. Then the woman asked her if she wanted a purple carrot! Yes, she did. So I bought both. We'll see if I can recreate the magic at home.
Now for the cheddar. Switzerland has a lot of cheese but not a lot of cheddar. I miss American cheddar - specifically Tillamook. That is unavailable here but at the farmer's market, the British Cheese Centre has a stall and sells real cheddar.
For those in the Zurich area, the farmer's market is upstairs in the huge hall every Wednesday.
The girl, who has never voluntarily consumed a grape in her life, begged for me to buy grapes. I didn't think there was a chance of a snowball in a hot place that she would eat them but I bought them anyway. She ate a significant number of them. Win!
I also picked up some Swiss chard, an eggplant for baba ganoush, some orange carrots, purple carrots and REAL CHEDDAR CHEESE. Yes, I am yelling, that is how exciting cheddar is.
Before I move on to the cheddar, I must tell you about the brilliance of the farmer's market. The produce vendors really know how to get kids to eat new things. S doesn't eat carrots. She just doesn't. At one organic stand, the woman asked S if she wanted a carrot to eat. She seemed dubious but took it anyway and ate it. Then the woman asked her if she wanted a purple carrot! Yes, she did. So I bought both. We'll see if I can recreate the magic at home.
Now for the cheddar. Switzerland has a lot of cheese but not a lot of cheddar. I miss American cheddar - specifically Tillamook. That is unavailable here but at the farmer's market, the British Cheese Centre has a stall and sells real cheddar.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Stella's Banana Brownies
A wonderful woman and mom named Stella gave me this recipe, oh two years ago? It is my go-to recipe when I just must have brownies and now I am sharing it with you, all 5 of my readers. :)
Once you get the hang of the recipe, it can be whipped up in 5-10 minutes and in the oven to cook. Upshot is yummy brownies within an hour.
Stella's Banana Brownies
¼ C butter
¼ C bananas, mashed (I use 2 bananas)
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
½ c all-purpose flour
6 T cocoa
¼ t baking powder
1/8 t salt
Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove and put it in a large mixing bowl. Add the mashed bananas and stir. Then add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Be careful about adding the eggs if the butter is still hot because it might slightly cook the eggs. I will not tell you how I know that.
In a separate bowl or very large measuring cup, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Then dump it all into the wet ingredients and mix well.
Pour into a (greased) 9x9 pan and bake on 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. I usually skip the greasing the pan step but these also don't usually last long enough for other people to see them.
To add a minute amount of nutrition I use whole wheat flour instead of white and I think that turns out fine.
Yum!
Once you get the hang of the recipe, it can be whipped up in 5-10 minutes and in the oven to cook. Upshot is yummy brownies within an hour.
Stella's Banana Brownies
¼ C butter
¼ C bananas, mashed (I use 2 bananas)
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
½ c all-purpose flour
6 T cocoa
¼ t baking powder
1/8 t salt
Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove and put it in a large mixing bowl. Add the mashed bananas and stir. Then add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Be careful about adding the eggs if the butter is still hot because it might slightly cook the eggs. I will not tell you how I know that.
In a separate bowl or very large measuring cup, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Then dump it all into the wet ingredients and mix well.
Pour into a (greased) 9x9 pan and bake on 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. I usually skip the greasing the pan step but these also don't usually last long enough for other people to see them.
To add a minute amount of nutrition I use whole wheat flour instead of white and I think that turns out fine.
Yum!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Let's Make More Steak Mommy
My big girl started eating steak on her fifth birthday.
Ever since she started solids, she had some texture issues and meat is a big one for her. It started with homemade baby food. Try as I might, I could never get it smooth enough for her so I went to the store bought organic baby food. I liked that stuff because it didn't have any hidden ingredients, what was on the label was the sum total of what was in the jar. Unfortunately, she could never eat the stage 3 (or lumpy) baby food. She'd gag or vomit or both.
As she got older, her protein sources were limited. She'd eat milk, cheese, eggs, tempeh, seitan, (the latter 2 are unavailable in Switzerland) and the occasional bites of chicken as long as the texture is destroyed in the cooking process. Oh and whole pinto beans from Freebirds World Burritos.
When we moved to Switzerland, she stopped eating cheese and Freebirds is too far away for take out so that reduced her protein sources further.
About a week before she turned 5, I told her that now that she is 5 I bet she is old enough for steak. She bought it. On her fifth birthday she tried steak and declared that she likes it. A lot. So I try and buy it so she gets protein.
Yesterday I made steak for dinner and gave her a decently European portion. She ate it and then we had the following conversation:
Big Girl: Mommy, I want more steak
me: I am glad you liked it but it is all gone
Big Girl: nooooooooooooooo Make more
me: (chuckle) I can't make more, it isn't like bread where I have the flour and can cook more.
Big Girl: We can go shoot a cow to make more steak.
me: (dying of laughter on the inside) I don't think the farmer would appreciate us shooting his cow.
So there you go. Run out of steak? Go shoot a cow.
Ever since she started solids, she had some texture issues and meat is a big one for her. It started with homemade baby food. Try as I might, I could never get it smooth enough for her so I went to the store bought organic baby food. I liked that stuff because it didn't have any hidden ingredients, what was on the label was the sum total of what was in the jar. Unfortunately, she could never eat the stage 3 (or lumpy) baby food. She'd gag or vomit or both.
As she got older, her protein sources were limited. She'd eat milk, cheese, eggs, tempeh, seitan, (the latter 2 are unavailable in Switzerland) and the occasional bites of chicken as long as the texture is destroyed in the cooking process. Oh and whole pinto beans from Freebirds World Burritos.
When we moved to Switzerland, she stopped eating cheese and Freebirds is too far away for take out so that reduced her protein sources further.
About a week before she turned 5, I told her that now that she is 5 I bet she is old enough for steak. She bought it. On her fifth birthday she tried steak and declared that she likes it. A lot. So I try and buy it so she gets protein.
Yesterday I made steak for dinner and gave her a decently European portion. She ate it and then we had the following conversation:
Big Girl: Mommy, I want more steak
me: I am glad you liked it but it is all gone
Big Girl: nooooooooooooooo Make more
me: (chuckle) I can't make more, it isn't like bread where I have the flour and can cook more.
Big Girl: We can go shoot a cow to make more steak.
me: (dying of laughter on the inside) I don't think the farmer would appreciate us shooting his cow.
So there you go. Run out of steak? Go shoot a cow.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
The Thing About Making Cookies at Midnight
At 10:44, my friend Amy sent me a link to this recipe of homemade Oreos. I quickly scanned the ingredient list and realized I didn't have what it takes to make the Oreos tonight and, like any good Swiss store, the grocery stores were all closed. But I had to have cookies or rather cookie dough - tonight. Fortunately I did have everything I needed to make oatmeal peanut butter cookies so I threw those together and added some cocoa powder for good measure. I will see tomorrow how they bake up.
The bonus will be in the morning when my big girl wakes up, sees the mess in the kitchen and asks if I made cookies last night to make her happy. I will say yes and she will be. <3
The bonus will be in the morning when my big girl wakes up, sees the mess in the kitchen and asks if I made cookies last night to make her happy. I will say yes and she will be. <3
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Swiss Kids and Their Food
So I've been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and I posted about the Swiss children and their knives. There is a bit of an update to that post. See, I went into the forest with the big girl a couple Fridays ago and saw a minor accident with one of the children and his knife. Most of the kids wear their knives around their necks on shoelaces or attached by chains to their belt loops. One boy walked out of the clearing where the teachers were and used his knife. I saw him walk into camp crying. I was about 30 feet away and I could see blood covering his thumb and part of his hand. A teacher rushed to him and bandaged him up and when I saw him later he was happy with a nice big bandage on his finger. *eek*
About the Swiss kids' food. When S started kindy, I was told that she needed to bring snack to school every day. I was instructed, quite forcefully in fact, that I should not pack anything with sugar in it. The snack I packed the first day was inspected and I got a Swiss nod of approval because it was raw rot peperoni strips (red bell pepper). I've had a chance to look around the class and see what the kids pack for snack. Frequently it is carrots, bell pepper, apple, clementines, even raw zucchini with a slice of bread and meat or cheese. The bread is always the artisan bread they make here or a small pretzel. I've seen some crackers and cream cheese but usually it is just my daughter that brings that sort of thing. On Fridays, the kids bring sausages to cook over the campfire and eat on their whittled sticks. Nothing is prepackaged.
Lunch is a little harder to scope out because Swiss kids all go home for their midday meal. It is a bit of a hold over from when moms stayed at home but the moms here adjusted for working part time or full time by switching off child care. My Swiss informants tell me that the big meal is lunch and they cook a large meal for their kids. The kids get out at noon and for the older kids with afternoon class, need to be back at 1:30 or so. That gives an hour and a half to eat, digest, and come back to school. Right now S only goes in the morning so we will have to see how the lunch thing works for her.
About the Swiss kids' food. When S started kindy, I was told that she needed to bring snack to school every day. I was instructed, quite forcefully in fact, that I should not pack anything with sugar in it. The snack I packed the first day was inspected and I got a Swiss nod of approval because it was raw rot peperoni strips (red bell pepper). I've had a chance to look around the class and see what the kids pack for snack. Frequently it is carrots, bell pepper, apple, clementines, even raw zucchini with a slice of bread and meat or cheese. The bread is always the artisan bread they make here or a small pretzel. I've seen some crackers and cream cheese but usually it is just my daughter that brings that sort of thing. On Fridays, the kids bring sausages to cook over the campfire and eat on their whittled sticks. Nothing is prepackaged.
Lunch is a little harder to scope out because Swiss kids all go home for their midday meal. It is a bit of a hold over from when moms stayed at home but the moms here adjusted for working part time or full time by switching off child care. My Swiss informants tell me that the big meal is lunch and they cook a large meal for their kids. The kids get out at noon and for the older kids with afternoon class, need to be back at 1:30 or so. That gives an hour and a half to eat, digest, and come back to school. Right now S only goes in the morning so we will have to see how the lunch thing works for her.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Tidbits by Hiltl - Yummy Vegetarian Food in Zurich
Tonight (or rather last night since it is just after midnight) we stopped by Tidbits on our way home from meeting friends. I've been wanting to try Hiltl, a 111 year old vegetarian restaurant in Zurich city since I heard about it but so far it hasn't happened. Tidbits is a more casual version of the fancy pants parent restaurant and somewhat kid friendly. They have a tiny kid area for toddlers but it was occupied when we got there so we sat European-style at a communal table.
Baby E was asleep in the Storch wrap so I took my big girl to the buffet and put the food she pointed at on her plate. Now, I really like buffets for S because she will try stuff that she won't try at home. I'm not sure why kiwi is all of a sudden palatable when cut up by someone else but usually she will carry it over to eating at home later so I don't complain too much. The bigger issue is that buffets usually have terrible food. I just don't like it.
This buffet wasn't like the usual buffets though. It did have the usual, numerous salad and fresh fruit options. There were also some Indian-inspired foods and a token American option - jalapeno popper - like the ones found at bars all across America. S had rice, salad, and pineapple which are her usual standbys but she also ate kiwi and snap peas. Well, not together. I tried a little of just about everything but my favorites were the curry quinoa with cranberries, Moroccan bulgar, and the dal. Everything was pretty good except for the hummus. I am not sure what they did to the hummus but, just no.
Once you 'load' up your plate you take it to the counter to be weighed. The buffet is by the 100 grams which is not a lot of food. S's plate came to about 300 grams. I forgot how much it cost but it was about 3-4 CHF per 100 grams.
I'm glad I tried it and now I really want the Hiltl cookbook. Both because I collect cookbooks and because I really enjoyed the food. The cookbook is 60 CHF though and that is a little steep for the budget right now. Oh well.
I almost forgot to mention that Baby E got to eat too but he only gets breastmilk and that was free.
Baby E was asleep in the Storch wrap so I took my big girl to the buffet and put the food she pointed at on her plate. Now, I really like buffets for S because she will try stuff that she won't try at home. I'm not sure why kiwi is all of a sudden palatable when cut up by someone else but usually she will carry it over to eating at home later so I don't complain too much. The bigger issue is that buffets usually have terrible food. I just don't like it.
This buffet wasn't like the usual buffets though. It did have the usual, numerous salad and fresh fruit options. There were also some Indian-inspired foods and a token American option - jalapeno popper - like the ones found at bars all across America. S had rice, salad, and pineapple which are her usual standbys but she also ate kiwi and snap peas. Well, not together. I tried a little of just about everything but my favorites were the curry quinoa with cranberries, Moroccan bulgar, and the dal. Everything was pretty good except for the hummus. I am not sure what they did to the hummus but, just no.
Once you 'load' up your plate you take it to the counter to be weighed. The buffet is by the 100 grams which is not a lot of food. S's plate came to about 300 grams. I forgot how much it cost but it was about 3-4 CHF per 100 grams.
I'm glad I tried it and now I really want the Hiltl cookbook. Both because I collect cookbooks and because I really enjoyed the food. The cookbook is 60 CHF though and that is a little steep for the budget right now. Oh well.
I almost forgot to mention that Baby E got to eat too but he only gets breastmilk and that was free.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Jamie Oliver has nothing on Switzerland
There is a lively discussion on a message board I visit about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Usually I don't watch anything that isn't a fake crime drama but I was interested to see who this Jamie Oliver character was and what he had to say about school lunches and processed food.
Toward the end of episode 2, Jamie tells the cooks and the principal that the kids would need a knife and fork. The reaction was priceless. It was like he asked them to give the kids a machete, not a butter knife. This brings me to kindergarten life in Switzerland.
Every Friday, big girl spends the morning (8:15 - 12) in the forest. They build a fire (the kids drag sticks for firewood), play games, sing songs, and all those other things kids do in the forest. A couple of weeks ago I went with because big girl was upset about leaving me. That week the lesson was "whittling a stick with their own Swiss Army knife." I have to admit, I was a little shocked by the idea of giving my 4 year old a Swiss Army knife and sending her into the forest with a little - but really not much - supervision.
All the kids were taught how to open the knife, cut away from their body, and close the knife with their jacket sleeve. I am not sure how much my big girl (age 4, nonspeaker of Swiss-German) understood so I will be going to school with her until her Swiss-German gets better or the end of the year.
Oh, and the Swiss eat everything with a knife and fork. Even pizza. The kids definitely know how to use one by age 4.
I have a cold and really need to go to bed but next post will be about the kids' food.
Toward the end of episode 2, Jamie tells the cooks and the principal that the kids would need a knife and fork. The reaction was priceless. It was like he asked them to give the kids a machete, not a butter knife. This brings me to kindergarten life in Switzerland.
Every Friday, big girl spends the morning (8:15 - 12) in the forest. They build a fire (the kids drag sticks for firewood), play games, sing songs, and all those other things kids do in the forest. A couple of weeks ago I went with because big girl was upset about leaving me. That week the lesson was "whittling a stick with their own Swiss Army knife." I have to admit, I was a little shocked by the idea of giving my 4 year old a Swiss Army knife and sending her into the forest with a little - but really not much - supervision.
All the kids were taught how to open the knife, cut away from their body, and close the knife with their jacket sleeve. I am not sure how much my big girl (age 4, nonspeaker of Swiss-German) understood so I will be going to school with her until her Swiss-German gets better or the end of the year.
Oh, and the Swiss eat everything with a knife and fork. Even pizza. The kids definitely know how to use one by age 4.
I have a cold and really need to go to bed but next post will be about the kids' food.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Slowcookers in Switzerland
The Swiss apparently don't use crockpots. I say this because it took me months to find one. Then I did and it was devoid of features. I used a nice programmable slowcooker in the US that allowed me to set a timer and ignore it until a buzzer went off however many hours later.
The only reasonably priced slowcooker (under 100 CHF) was available at Migros City in the electronics department. For the low price of 50 CHF, I picked up an unknown brand (Mio Star) that has a manual switch and four settings, off, low, high, and warm low. It does have a removable liner for easy cleaning and it seems to work pretty well although the high setting seems to run a little hot.
Today red beans and rice was on the menu and my apartment smells spicy. Yum.
The only reasonably priced slowcooker (under 100 CHF) was available at Migros City in the electronics department. For the low price of 50 CHF, I picked up an unknown brand (Mio Star) that has a manual switch and four settings, off, low, high, and warm low. It does have a removable liner for easy cleaning and it seems to work pretty well although the high setting seems to run a little hot.
Today red beans and rice was on the menu and my apartment smells spicy. Yum.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Being Pregnant + Living in Zurich =
Being hungry all the time.
Portions are small, protein is expensive, and stores are closed on Sundays.
Portions are small, protein is expensive, and stores are closed on Sundays.
Monday, September 15, 2008
A New Era is Upon Us
S has started requesting (and eating!) her own concoctions. This morning she asked the husband for a turkey, cheese, peanut butter and honey sandwich. W didn't want to make it for her because he was sure she wouldn't eat it. We decided not to force her to only eat what we deem to be acceptable meals so he made the sandwich. She ate the whole thing!
Truth be told, I used to eat the craziest things, including peanut butter on hot dogs, so I can't blame her that much. It is surely genetics. :D
Truth be told, I used to eat the craziest things, including peanut butter on hot dogs, so I can't blame her that much. It is surely genetics. :D
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Today and my girl
This morning my girl woke up, looked at me and told me she was too tired to go to school today. So we played hooky. We met up with fun kids at the mall for a playdate and drama ensued. Mostly it revolved around whether S wanted to use the potty or not. That girl is loud!
Tonight I was listening to the girl in the hall talking:
Diet Coke, some beer, chips, cookies, a little popcorn...
We eat pretty healthy for the most part (and rarely drink soda!) but she proceeded to list all the unhealthy things we ever eat. Goofball. She said she was taking a little bit of food off the wall and eating it. Husband joked that we should let her watch tv because then she would have less boring imaginative play.
Tonight I was listening to the girl in the hall talking:
Diet Coke, some beer, chips, cookies, a little popcorn...
We eat pretty healthy for the most part (and rarely drink soda!) but she proceeded to list all the unhealthy things we ever eat. Goofball. She said she was taking a little bit of food off the wall and eating it. Husband joked that we should let her watch tv because then she would have less boring imaginative play.
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