Happy Holidays

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May 2010 bring health, love and happiness to you and your family!

Looking Forward To The Holidays

Having a child to experience the holidays with is one of the greatest gifts. I am looking forward to creating new family traditions with Paul and Julian. When I look back at my own childhood, Christmas always holds fond memories- the tree, family, great food and of course gifts. It is a wonderful time of the year.

We started by putting up the tree. I always buy an ornament whenever I go on vacation, or something special happens in my life, so decorating the tree is a walk down memory lane. I plan on continuing this and also getting ornaments for Julian every year. Christmas music was playing on the iPod, and Julian really enjoyed it when daddy turned on the lights. Of course, the cats love it too- it gives them a place to curl up under at night.

We also got our picture taken with Santa at Northwestern Stables in Fairmount Park. The picture is great, so this will also be an annual outing. I also love that it is a fundraiser to support the horses!

Julian is 8 months, so he will not remember this Christmas, but for me it is laying the foundation for many more holidays to come. I feel like the magic is back in the holidays, all thanks to our little man. I'll remind him of his first Christmas by taking lots of pictures of course.

Happy Holidays to everyone, and a wonderful 2010. Feel free to post any holiday traditions you share, or memories from your childhood of the holidays!

I Passed

Great news! I just got the results of my food safety test (the first step in getting our business up and running) and I passed. Now, we just need to figure out how we want to package our product. We're learning a lot about the packaging business, different types of containers and environmentally friendly options.

We're also going to take a class to help us finish up our Business Plan. We keep moving forward:)

For the moms out there, tried a new combination today that Julian loved- avocado banana. Give it a try!

I Think I Can Have It All, Why Not?

My interest in nutrition came about from my work as a veterinarian. My job at VCA Cat Hospital of Philadelphia opened my eyes to the epidemic of obesity in our pets. Currently it is reported that over 50% of our pet population is overweight! I think the majority of the patients that I see on a daily basis are overweight. When I approach the subject with my clients, many are surprised that their cats are carrying extra weight. Our perceptions are skewed and even though studies show that if our pets are maintained at their ideal weight they live longer (average of 2 years longer, which in pet years is a long time) I often find it difficult to get clients on board with weight loss. I make sure I talk about nutrition with each of my clients. Getting our pets to lose weight is not easy, so I need to educate my clients on why it is important for their pets health.

Check out this article on pet obesity where I was quoted:

http://www.obesitydiscussion.com/forums/miscellaneous-obesity-studies/porked-pets-reflect-u-s-2707.html

So I think it is natural that I want my family to be healthy and eat right too. So can I have it all? A career, family life, friends, a new business? I don't see why not! But I need to educate moms on why homemade food is better then all the other options available. Here are my reasons...

Organic

First, the subject of organic versus non-organic seems obvious to me. If I can choose a food without pesticides, growth hormone or antibiotics, absolutely I will. We don't know the effects long term for a lot of these chemicals, but I am sure if they can be avoided our bodies will benefit. Do you even know what they are spraying on the produce you're eating, or which injections they give to the animals you are eating? It's scary to think about.

Freshness

Have you ever wondered why the jars and pouched found on shelves are good for over a year? When I make my food fresh, it will keep three days refrigerated or three months in the freezer. Unless I add something to keep it from spoiling, that's the maximum time it will stay fresh. Some companies use additives and preservatives. Most store organic brands, which don't use preservatives, are heated to very high temperatures to prolong the shelf life. This diminishes the color, texture and nutrient content. I love looking at the vibrant colors of the fruit and vegetables I cook for Julian. Take a peek at the expiration dates on the foods next time you're in the supermarket. (And look at the color.)

Flavors

Most important, have you ever tasted any of the food you feed to your baby? I do! I love eating the leftovers that Julian doesn't finish. It tastes exactly like it should, delicious. I feel that eating fresh produce from the start will help Julian transition to eating fruits and vegetables as a normal part of his diet. It makes sense- he is used to the flavors from the start.

Variety

I have made many fruits and vegetables that you just don't find in store bought baby foods. I believe the variety is opening up Julian's taste buds, and giving him the experience of flavor. Also, the texture of the food is closer to what we would experience- it's not a uniform purée. The zucchini is thin and watery, the sweet potatoes are thick. The different textures give Julian a whole new experience at each meal.

Can you have it all?

It's funny how when you have a child, your priorities automatically shift. No matter what you are doing, when your baby needs you, you drop what you are doing and tend to him. I could be watching my favorite show, trying to talk on the phone, at work, or just trying to get some quiet alone time and when Julian needs me, I am there. That part of you that wants to be selfish is dampened and you put your all into this little being; however, you need to keep true to yourself as well.

I have had many interests and passions in my life. I am fortunate to have a wonderful family, a caring husband, dedicated friends and a career that I enjoy every minute. When I am with these people or doing the work I love to do, I feel fulfilled, needed and sane. It completes me and is the anchor for my "old" life. I think by investing my time into the things I enjoy, it ultimately makes me a better mom. Of course, you feel that guilt when you drop him off at daycare, but the time away makes the time we spend together even more precious.

So I question sometimes, why do I want to add something else to my already overflowing plate? Am I crazy? Maybe, but something is drawing me to this business. I see a real need for our children to eat healthy. With the obesity epidemic raging, it is even more important to start our children out as healthy as we can from the start.

Paul, my husband and business partner, was asking new parents about the food they use or plan to use for their babies to gain some insight into the market. We were surprised that many did not have the time to research the options yet, or didn't know that fresh organic food is more nutritious than processed organic foods. So I feel my first task with this business venture is to educate. And I will. In the next blog.

He's Rolling!

I waited over 7 months for this. Paul found Julian yesterday in his crib on his belly (we put him to sleep on his back as good parents are told to do;) We've been practicing, and practicing but he never made it past rolling onto his side. Now I am just waiting to witness it for myself.

What have I been making?

Good question! I'm having a lot of fun with the winter produce available right now. I really enjoy exposing Julian to new foods and flavors. Most of the vegetables he is enjoying aren't available in commercial baby food. So far Julian has experienced sweet potatoes, peas, apples, zucchini, butternut and acorn squash, pumpkin, pears, avocado, bananas, mango, cranberries, blueberries, cherries, and carrots. The best part, though, is since each food is frozen into individual one ounce cubes, I can mix different, complimentary flavors together at meal times. Some of his favorite combos so far are pumpkin banana, apple blueberry, & squash and pears. Me and Paul get to eat whatever he doesn't finish!

I'm having difficulty finding a cereal that he'll eat. We started with the rice, and he refuses it. He'll eat some of the mixed whole grain cereal by Happy Bellies, so I try to sneak that into at least one meal. I just bought some oatmeal, so we'll see how that goes tomorrow.

My plan for the business is to offer a few of the flavors first and see how we do with sales. Any input on what I should offer first? I was thinking 5-7 flavors that are always available, and maybe a weekly special with something that is in season/local.

Cranberries! Yum

Cooking fresh, organic cranberries in honor of Thanksgiving. They're tart, but he liked them! I'll pair it with apples tomorrow. After heating on the stove until the cranberries burst, I puréed them until smooth. What I'm not using tomorrow I froze in an ice cube tray for later.

Down to Business

Ashleigh Brilliant said, "Good ideas are common- what's uncommon is people who'll work hard enough to bring them about." I'm starting to realize the hard work it is going to take to get this business up and running. The idea part is easy. It came to me a few weeks ago as I was making Julian's food for the week. I love doing it. It gives me tremendous satisfaction to know exactly what he is eating. I figured, why can't I share this with everyone? Wouldn't all babies benefit from starting off with good, organic nutrition. Isn't it important to start their love of fresh fruits and vegetables from the start? I think so! I heard last night on the Biggest Loser (love that show) that 1 in 3 children are obese. Wow. So my passion remains, and I do have the drive to get this business off the ground.

I'm taking a food safety class required by the agricultural department the first week in December. I have to pass a test, which should be a piece of cake. I haven't met a test that could bring me down yet:) So once that is done, we have to navigate both the state and the city permits. I hear that it is not easy. Of course, each agency will charge us the appropriate fees to file our paper work, and they each have their own forms that need to be filled out. I am calling insurance companies to get quotes, contacting my accountant to get advice on incorporating, and thinking that I need to find a lawyer to help file all the forms. Again, wow. We now have our EIN number with the IRS, and started to file our name with the state. Am I missing something? I'm sure I am, but we press on because we believe in this product and how it could impact the lives of our children.

What's in a name?

When you're pregnant, the first question you're asked by all once you are showing is, "Are you having a boy or a girl?" Paul and I figured that there are so few surprises left in life, we would not find out the sex of our baby during the ultrasound. The decision was easy, sticking with it was hard. It's so tempting as they're rolling the probe over your belly just to peak, or ask the technician to tell. We managed to resist temptation, and Julian's sex was unknown to us until the day he was born.

The problem, though, is agreeing on a name. We also had to come up with a boy and a girl name. Moreover, we decided that we wanted to honor Paul's spanish heritage and choose a name that could translate into both Spanish and English. It's funny, we came up with our girl's name immediately and we both loved it (I'm not sharing, sorry, until the next one arrives:) but we struggled, and even argued, over the name we liked if we had a baby boy. It wasn't until we saw our little, baby boy that we could agree on his name- Julian. It just fit.

Now as we "give birth" to our business, we again struggled with our name. The Spanish word for pure is puro. We also considered the Spanish word for baby, bebé. We brainstormed our vision of the company- pure, organic, baby, fresh.... How do you decide something so important? Just like with Julian, when we saw PūrO Baby on paper, we knew we had the name. We managed to incorporate the Spanish and English. By capitalizing the O we are highlighting the organic component of our foods. So now we begin the process of incorporation. We are registering our name with the state, got a web address (no page yet, but maybe soon), and signed up for email. PūrO Baby was born!

Starting our own business, oh my!

Six months ago, our lives changed forever. On April 25th, Julian (aka Jujube) came into our world and it hasn't been the same since. We were happy to have a healthy baby boy, but never realized how much it would affect our day to day life. The first couple of weeks were rough! Paul and I walked around looking like zombies from the lack of sleep; however, we weathered the tough times and after a few weeks we managed to get into some sort of schedule. We started to get more sleep, and actually enjoyed our new role as parents. Over the past few months, we grew into parenthood and embraced the joys it brings to our lives.

From this experience grew a need. I wanted to provide my son the very best nutrition. My goal was to make sure his food was fresh and always organic. Each week I prepare Julian's meals from fresh organic produce and freeze it to be heated up as needed. I feel that his food is vibrant (it retains the natural colors), flavorful (the food is never heated to high temperatures, and doesn't lose its texture), and nutritious. I see that Julian enjoys the foods I make, and I love that I know exactly what he is eating. So... I began to think- what are other busy parents doing?

When it comes to baby food you have few choices- make it yourself (takes time and effort) or buy from the supermarket (where most foods are cooked to high temperatures to extend the shelf life and lose a lot of the taste, texture, and nutrients.) I am lucky enough to have the time and energy to make Julian's food, but what about everyone else? PūrO Baby was born- almost exactly 6 months after Julian arrived.

We are in the very early stages of developing our company, so follow along with me and my husband, Paul, as we navigate through parenthood and starting our very own company. If you are in the Philadelphia area, maybe you'll get to see our baby food real soon. Now, I better get some sleep. Julian is sleeping through the night, but likes to wake up bright and early!!