Local News
Local woman authors ‘‘Happy Tummies”
As a first-time mother, Karen Folcik wanted to do everything right for her infant son. She read a lot of varied information about when to start feeding babies solid foods and what foods were best. As a result, Folcik started researching in earnest to learn what was best according to scientific studies. Her research and personal journey led her to write a new book about feeding babies called “Happy Tummies.”
“I wanted to know everything about how to feed my son,” said Folcik. “I was worried because at the time there were some recalls on prepared baby foods and I was hearing that they contained water and preservatives. Babies have tiny stomachs and don’t eat much so every bite counts.”
As a social worker, Folcik was no stranger to research. She immediately started looking into data driven scientific studies to find out how to feed babies. She soon learned that feeding solid foods before six months can be detrimental to proper digestion. In addition to slowly adding in new foods to make sure that foods are being tolerated, it is important to add different textures of food as babies get older.
Folcik makes things very easy for new moms to use “regular” food to feed their babies. With each recipe, she gives multiple ways to cook the food to make preparation easier. It is important to have a blender or food processor to puree the cooked foods. If you can only afford to get one of these tools, she recommends a food processor because they allow more control over the texture of the food.
Thumbing through the book produces some surprises to old-school moms with a staggering variety of recipes that sound delicious using many interesting ingredients. Beans and grains are important ingredients in many recipes- especially for older babies.
“I love coming up with different flavors for babies, but I often find that simple is best. It is so much cheaper to feed babies the same food that the rest of the family is eating and it gets them used to the types of food that the family eats,” said Folcik.
Homemade baby food can be stored for up to three days in the refrigerator or much longer in the freezer. Baby food can be frozen by scoops or in silicone ice cube trays and then stored in a bag or container so that mom can thaw just what she needs for a meal.
Happy Tummies is available at www.HappyTummiesCoookbook.com or will soon be on Amazon. You can meet the author at the Lehi Harmon’s on August 8. At 6:30 p.m. Folcik will teach a class (reservations are required) and at 7:30 there will be “Meet and Greet” with snacks from the book. Folcik will be happy to sign books and will have them available for purchase.
