World’s Easiest Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C, a vitamin that has been shown to help your immune system ward off and fight colds and other illness. When you are pregnant, your body’s immune system is compromised and your ability to take medication to handle illness is limited, that’s why it’s so important to stay as healthy as possible!

This is my basic recipe for the easiest homemade tomato sauce in the world. It uses canned tomatoes – which are perfectly healthy as long as you buy the ‘no salt added’ variety. Really. Read the the labels, if you are not buying ‘no salt added’ tomatoes then you are in for a shock. Regular canned tomatoes can have up to 400 mg of sodium per serving vs the approximate 28 mg that ‘no salt added’ tomatoes have. I do add salt for taste, but even with adding your own salt the sodium level is still way lower.

Ingredients
Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 red onion chopped
1 Can of plum tomatoes – 14 oz – No Salt Added
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cinnamon

In a skillet heated on medium heat, warm a small amount of olive oil. Add to it onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes juice and all (though if you are using diced tomatoes drain 1/2 the liquid from the can) and break up the plum tomatoes using a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until liquid reduces and the sauce is the consistency you like. Add in oregano and cinnamon – these are optional but add a depth of flavour to the sauce.

That’s it! As easy as opening one of those jars of pre-made sauce but without the preservatives. Feel free to add any number of other items such as other veggies or meat. Add them to the pan and cook after the onions but before the tomatoes.

Cheese Please!

Cheese can be an important source of protein and calcium, but when you are pregnant there are some types of cheese that Health Canada says you should avoid. It need not be scary! And it isn’t difficult, just remember these two rules:

1. Stay away from soft, mould-ripened cheeses such as brie and camembert.
2. Do not eat cheese made from unpasteurized milk – most often blue cheese, feta and goats cheese though you can find versions of these cheeses made from pasteurized milk.

Don’t despair if you love these cheeses! As long as they are cooked and piping hot all the way through, they will be safe to eat.

It might be easy to avoid these types of cheeses but why do you need to? Well – when you are pregnant your chances of getting sick from bacteria such as Listeria, are higher. In fact, pregnant women are more than 20 times more likely to get a Listeria infection. While a Listeria infection can cause flu-like symptoms for healthy adults, pregnant women can be hit harder because during pregnancy your immune system isn’t functioning as it normally would, and the infection can harm your baby.  

So take precautions and ensure the cheese you are eating has either been pasteurized, or cooked thoroughly – both of which kill bacteria.

Pumpkin & Apple Oatmeal Baby Food

Well the attention of the avocado and banana baby food was so positive that I’ve decided that maybe my baby food recipe days aren’t over… so here we go! 

Babies can have pumpkin introduced into their diet as early as 6 to 8 months old. Pumpkins are actually a fruit, and a great source of Vitamin A, beta carotene, potassium, protein, and iron. They are also very high in fiber so should help with constipation.

This recipe is made using pumpkin puree – you can buy it canned, just make sure that you don’t buy pumpkin pie mix which has added spices and sugars. You can also opt to make your own. Simply cut a pumpkin in half, remove seeds and ‘pumpkin guts’ and roast in the oven at 400 degrees until soft enough to mash. The length of time it will take should be approximately 30 to 45 minutes, but it will depend on the size of pumpkin you use. Go for the smaller ‘sugar’ pumpkins, the ones sold for baking… not for jack o lanterns.

Ingredients
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cup cooked and cooled oatmeal
Dash of cinnamon or nutmeg 

Mix together applesauce, pumpkin, oatmeal and spice. Left overs can be stored in an air tight container for over a week.

Blueberry Smoothies

To finish off smoothie week let’s try one with frozen berries! Using frozen berries allows you to use less ice in your mixture thus getting a greater concentration of flavour. They are also PACKED with antioxidants and other healthy goodies, so much so that they are often on refered to as a ‘super food’.

 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup yogurt (vanilla, strawberry or blueberry work best)
1/2 cup milk
2 TBSP honey

Combine in blender, pulse until smooth.