Articles
Is it Still Good?
Part I
Part II
BabyTalk magazine / BabyTalk.com, March 2007
Are you always digging a bottle or jar out of the fridge and wondering uneasily
if it's still okay to feed your baby?
Let's Do Dinner
American Baby magazine, June 2006
Having a baby doesn't mean an end to your social life. Here's how to pull
off a no-fuss party.
One-Handed Eating
Part
I
Part II
BabyTalk magazine / BabyTalk.com, May 2006
Quick, healthy, no-mess foods you can eat without a fork and knife.
Need
the free Adobe Reader? Click
here.
Tips for The One-Armed Cook (ModernMom.com)
by Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel
If you are soon to be a one-armed cook, preparation is the key to success. Stock your kitchen now to make those early weeks at home with your new baby just a little less stressful.
- Stock Your Pantry: Staples like pastas, grains, and pasta sauces; cans of beans, vegetables and fruit, and diced tomatoes; cartons of good quality chicken, beef, and vegetable broth; and bottles of salad dressings and marinades are the basis for great meals in minutes. Many delicious meals can make it from pantry to table in 20 minutes.
- Stock Your Fridge: Keep bagged salads, pre-cut veggies, and assorted dairy products including grated or shredded cheeses, sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese, and milk on hand which will give your pantry meals a fresh taste and appeal. The items from the produce aisle will need to be restocked more frequently, but the dairy products are ultrapasturized and have long expiration dates.
- Stock Your Freezer: Keep frozen chopped onions, assorted veggies and fruit, flour tortillas, piecrusts, meatballs, and chicken tenders on hand to boost flavor and nutrition at a moment's notice.
- Stock Your Kitchen: A cordless can-opener, kitchen shears, a non-stick saute pan, rubber bottom mixing bowls, and a slow cooker are kitchen essentials. Don't be afraid to put some of these items on your baby shower wish list. A slow cooker will be a lot more useful to you in the long run than will a baby wipes warmer!
- Double Up: When you are making a great one-dish meal or entree, make it a double batch. It takes such little time and effort to prepare a double recipe and you can freeze the second portion for a future meal. This is a great habit to get into even before the baby is born.
The real pay-off for these survival strategies is that you will ultimately
spend more time with your baby and less time in the kitchen. But don't throw
away the take-out menus - a new baby can unexpectedly redirect your day,
thwarting the best intentions of even the most organized new parent.
Copyright 2006 by Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, RN, CCE,
www.theonearmedcook.com
How to Stock Your Freezer -
The One-Armed Cook Way!
Dinner's almost ready!
By Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, RN, CCE
Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, RN, CCE are the authors of The
One-Armed Cook: Quick and Easy Recipes, Smart Meal Plans, and Savvy Advice for
New (and not-so-new) Moms, published by Meredith Books. Visit them online at
www.theonearmedcook.com
A stash of frozen veggies, fruit, flour products, meats, and pastas will boost flavor and nutrition at a moment's notice. And don't forget to put some cooked one-dish meals in the freezer so that anyone can defrost and reheat dinner.
Veggies: Bags or boxes of spinach, broccoli, peas, beans, corn, and our all-time-fave-can't-live-without: frozen chopped onions!
Fruit: Bags of peaches, blueberries, cherries, and strawberries are great starters for warm fruit cobblers, delicious fruit pies, and of course, that stand-by quick fix — a fruit smoothie.
Breads: Dinner rolls, sandwich bread, flour tortillas, and pie crusts are all freezer-friendly.
Meats: Fully-cooked chicken tenders, chicken strips, and meatballs are protein-rich additions to soups, stews, and pasta sauces. They can even turn a ho-hum cheese quesadilla into something a bit more tempting.
Pastas: Fresh or frozen ravioli and tortellini go right into boiling water
without defrosting. They're a last-minute dinner dream.
Copyright 2006 by Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, R.N., C.C.E.,
www.theonearmedcook.com
How to Stock Your Pantry -
The One-Armed Cook Way!
Dinner's only minutes away
By Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, RN, CCE
Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, RN, CCE are the authors of The One-Armed Cook: Quick and Easy Recipes, Smart Meal Plans, and Savvy Advice for New (and not-so-new) Moms, published by Meredith Books. Visit them online at www.theonearmedcook.com
Your pantry is your life preserver in the turbulent sea of mealtime preparation. A well-stocked pantry can always answer the question, "What's for dinner?," and usually meals can go from pantry to table in 20-30 minutes. Here's what to keep on hand:
Pastas: Choose different shapes to keep kids interested — macaroni, penne, wagon wheels, and alphabets are some of our favorites. Dried tortellini is a wonderful addition to soups. Have some linguini and spaghetti on hand, too.
Grains: There are so many delicious varieties of rice like wild and brown (both add extra nutrition) and the oh-so-fragrant jasmine rice. Couscous is a last-minute cook's best friend — just boil water, add couscous, stir, and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes!
Cans: Beans (there's a huge variety out there), vegetables, and fruit. Jazz up a salad with a can of drained mandarin oranges, pump up the protein in a quesadilla by adding some black beans, pack on the flavor with diced tomatoes seasoned with Italian herbs.
Cartons: Vegetable, chicken, and beef broth come in handy 32-oz-size resealable cartons and are a great base for any soup or sauce, and seasoning for rice, pasta, and potatoes.
Jars: Flavor-boosters like roasted red peppers, olives, and marinated artichoke hearts come in glass jars. Pasta sauces of every conceivable variety come in jars, too, and with a cooked box of pasta, are a family's quick-and-simple answer to the dinner dilemma. Peanut butter and nut butters are fail-safe choices for sandwiches and for dipping cut-up fresh veggies.
Bottles: Salad dressings are for more than just salad! Keep your favorite oil-based dressings on hand for superb marinades for chicken and beef. There are also many ready-made marinades on the grocery shelf near the barbecue sauce and ketchup.
Condiments: The usual suspects are mustard and ketchup, but add soy sauce or tamari, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, barbecue sauce, jellies, jams, preserves, and chutneys — all give a huge boost of flavor to a dish.
Breads and crackers: Keep your favorite cracker on hand as a vehicle for a spoonful of high-protein hummus, or even a scoop of peanut butter. Pita chips, bagel chips, breadsticks, and tortilla chips are ready-made dippers and scoopers for appetizers.
Dried fruit and nuts: Raisins and chopped mixed dried fruit and nuts can be added to rice or couscous to liven up the dish with flavor and texture; plus, they are great additions to oatmeal, cereals, yogurts, salads, vegetables, and even savory dishes like chicken curries.
Baking supplies: Flour, sugar (brown and white), baking powder, baking soda,
vanilla extract, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, cake mixes and frostings
are the essentials for whipping up a batch of cookies, a cobbler, or a birthday
cake.
Copyright 2006 by Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, R.N., C.C.E.,
www.theonearmedcook.com
How to Stock Your Refrigerator -
The One-Armed Cook Way!
Fresh veggies and dairy products round out your meals
By Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, RN, CCE
The veggies will need to be replenished regularly, but the dairy products are ultra-pasteurized and have longer expiration dates.
PRODUCE
Bagged salads: Lettuces in a variety of mixes eliminate the steps of washing
and cutting. Use the spring mixes right away — they usually
only last a couple of days, and save the romaine-based mixes for later
in the week. Baby spinach is ready for a salad or sauté. Coleslaw
and broccoli slaw mixes make these picnic favorites ready in minutes.
Pre-cut veggies: They are taking over the produce department — baby carrots and carrot sticks, celery sticks, broccoli and cauliflower florets, fresh chopped onion, bottled minced garlic and ginger, and more! These are all great shortcuts for easy snacking and are totally recipe-ready.
Ready-to-eat fruits: The incredible convenience of cut-up fresh fruit may be a worthy trade-off for the increased expense. Grapes, apples, and berries just need a good washing.
Tofu and soy products: They're a low-fat, high-protein, nutrient-rich, economical alternative to meat.
DAIRY
Milk and butter: Keep whole milk around until your child reaches age 2, and
then switch to 2 percent milk. Skim milk gives you the same calcium and protein,
but without the fat. Half-and-half and whipping cream give body and
satisfying "mouth feel" to soups and sauces. There is no substitute
for real butter in baking and fine sauces, but margarine will also do.
Cheese: Cream cheese in blocks for cooking and baking, and whipped cream cheese for easy spreading on bagels and sandwiches are useful. Resealable zip-top bags of shredded and grated cheeses are the way to go for quick additions to meals. Cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan, and "Mexican blend" are widely available — stock up when they are on sale — they freeze beautifully. Stick cheese is great for handy snacking.
Cartons: Sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, and ricotta are quick high-calcium and protein-rich snacks as well as great ingredients for smooth, rich soups, sauces, and casseroles. Eggs, scrambled for breakfast or in a frittata for lunch, are always satisfying. Containers of pesto, prepared hummus, guacamole, and pico de gallo are convenient choices for dipping.
Packages: Flour tortillas, refrigerated biscuits, pizza dough, and pie crusts
are the bases for meals in minutes.
Copyright 2006 by Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, R.N., C.C.E.,
www.theonearmedcook.com
Kitchen Prep for Expecting
Cooks
If you are soon to be a one-armed cook, preparation is the key to success
By Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, RN, CCE
Stock your kitchen now to make those early weeks at home with your new baby just a little less stressful.
- Stock your pantry: Staples like pastas, grains, and pasta sauces; cans of beans, vegetables and fruit, and diced tomatoes; cartons of good-quality chicken, beef, and vegetable broth; and bottles of salad dressings and marinades are the basis for great meals in minutes. Many delicious meals can make it from pantry to table in 20 minutes.
- Stock your fridge: Keep bagged salads, pre-cut veggies, and assorted dairy products, including grated or shredded cheeses, sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese, and milk on hand, which will give your pantry meals a fresh taste and appeal. The items from the produce aisle will need to be restocked more frequently, but the dairy products are ultra-pasteurized and have long expiration dates.
- Stock your freezer: Keep frozen chopped onions, assorted veggies and fruit, flour tortillas, piecrusts, meatballs, and chicken tenders on hand to boost flavor and nutrition at a moment's notice.
- Stock your kitchen: A cordless can opener, kitchen shears, a nonstick sauté pan, rubber-bottom mixing bowls, and a slow cooker are kitchen essentials. Don't be afraid to put some of these items on your baby shower wish list. A slow cooker will be a lot more useful to you in the long run than will a baby-wipes warmer!
- Double up: When you are making a great one-dish meal or entree, make it a double batch. It takes such little time and effort to prepare a double recipe, and you can freeze the second portion for a future meal. This is a great habit to get into even before the baby is born.
The real payoff for these survival strategies is that you will ultimately
spend more time with your baby and less time in the kitchen. But don't throw
away the take-out menus - a new baby can unexpectedly redirect your day,
thwarting the best intentions of even the most organized new parent.
Copyright
2006 by Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, R.N., C.C.E., www.theonearmedcook.com
Hand-y Kitchen Equipment
Stock your kitchen with these basic pieces
By Cynthia Stevens Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, R.N., C.C.E.
Ideally, most people meet the challenge of preparing dinner with two free arms. But new parents may find themselves in unfamiliar territory on their journey from stove to table. They will inevitably have to pick-up a little culinary hitchhiker along the way, which leaves them with only one free arm to accomplish the task at hand.
Encountering these "speed-lumps" (which affectionately refers to your babe-in-arms) will be much easier if you have stocked your kitchen with basic pieces of equipment that will make your "one-armed" endeavor more manageable:
- Rubber Bottom Mixing Bowls: A rubber bottom stabilizes the bowl so it doesn't slide away from you as you're mixing. OXO GOOD GRIPS Mixing Bowls come in three sizes that nest neatly for convenient storage. They feature a non-slip handle that is easy to grip and wide lip and spout to make it easier to pour ingredients.
- Sturdy, Easy Grip Kitchen Tools: OXO also manufactures a variety
of sturdy GOOD GRIPS kitchen tools with soft, non-slip handles for a firm
grip that are ideal for the "one-armed cook":
- Kitchen Shears are ideal for cutting open packages of cereal, cheese, chocolate chips, and any other packaging you can think of; snipping fresh herbs or flower stems; or cutting meat or vegetables.
- Pizza Wheel is great for slicing more than just pizza. Use it to cut quesadillas, sandwiches, brownies, and pan cookies into bars.
- Angled Measuring Cups let you read measurement markings by looking straight down into the cup without having to lift it off the counter to eye level to check accuracy.
- Long Handled Cooking Utensils keep you and baby as far away from the heat source as possible. Stock up on some basics like spatulas, tongs, a slotted spoon, serving spoon, ladle, pancake turner, spaghetti server, and grill tools.
- The "Chef'n"-brand Mini Pepper Grinder has a unique, one-handed design unlike the two-handed hold-and-twist motion of traditional grinders. We absolutely adore their two soft-grip "bunny ear" handles that squeeze together to grind the pepper into our recipes for a fresh-ground flavor boost.
- Cordless Can Opener: Opens all sizes of cans with "one-armed" ease. Several manufacturers make a handheld, cordless can opener that really can be operated with one hand.
- Non-Stick Sauté Pan with Lid: Foods cook evenly and clean up seems effortless with a non-stick surface. "Ovenproof" makes it more versatile, allowing it to move from atop the stove, into the oven or under the broiler. Buy the best quality your budget can afford – there is a distinct difference in durability. And please remember to use nylon, silicone, or wooden utensils to prevent scratches.
- Slow Cooker: Place the ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning and when you are ready for dinner, dinner is ready for you! Just try to resist the urge to lift the lid. Each time you sneak a peek, you must add 15 minutes to the cooking time.
In addition to preparing the nursery for your new life with baby, some advance
preparation in the kitchen will help to serve you better during your many
hours of need. You may even want to add these essential pieces of kitchen
equipment to your baby shower wish list.
Copyright 2006 by Cynthia Stevens
Graubart and Catherine Fliegel, R.N., C.C.E.
