ThinkBeef

We teamed up with the Team Homan curling team this year: three-time Canadian national champions, world champions and 2018 Olympians, Rachel Homan (skip), Emma Miskew (third), Sarah Wilkes (lead), and Joanne Courtney (second).

2019 was a special year for Team Homan as both Rachel and Joanne embarked on their greatest challenge to date – they both became first-time moms!

We captured their journey in a 3-part video series from getting ready for baby to introducing the babies to their first solid foods. Check out the latest installment: Babies at the Table –oh so cute!!

Part 3: Baby at the Table: The First Steak! Moms Joanne and Rachel share a homemade lunch together with their six-month old babies Ryatt and Alex. Watch how they turn their Steak & Lentil Salad meal into nourishing baby food for the kids. Fun to watch this introduction to first foods! (LIVE NOW)

Part 2: The Big Reveal – see how these busy moms manage getting ready for competition with babes in tow.

Part 1: Getting Ready for Baby – athletes plan pregnancy carefully for their busy competition schedules!

PART THREE: Babies at the Table – First Steak! Rachel and Joanne enjoy a break from competition with a simple, protein-packed lunch. Joanne is one smart cookie, so she cooked extra foods to blend for babies Alex and Ryatt. Life is simpler if you make baby food yourself from the nourishing meals your whole family enjoys. And as a nurse, Joanne knows that babies need to boost their iron at six-months of age, so why not steak? Afterall, beef is nature’s concentrated source of easy-to-absorb heme iron. These wise moms know that with baby-sized tummies, every bite counts!

Making iron-rich baby food:

Watch along as we introduce both babies to an iron-rich meal.

Get the Recipe!

Just click for the Steak & Lentil Salad recipe…

PART THREE: Babies at the Table – How to: Life is simpler if you make baby food yourself from the nourishing meals your whole family enjoys. Babies need to boost their iron at six-months of age, so why not steak? Afterall, beef is nature’s concentrated source of easy-to-absorb heme iron. And with baby-sized tummies, every bite counts!

Make baby food from family meals: How-to

Follow along as we make baby food from the ‘adult’ meal.

KEY steps to steak for baby

• Wash hands and surfaces well when making baby food. Avoid any contact with raw meat juices while preparing cooked baby foods.
• When introducing steak for the first time don’t season
• Don’t char steak for baby
• Cook to medium doneness – 160ºF (71ºC)
• Trim cooked steak to get only lean beef in the food processor/ blender
• Cut cooked steak into small chunks or thin strips for blending
• Add breast milk or formula to thin while blending/processing
• Spoon into ice cube trays, freeze covered. Once solid, store frozen cubes into sealable freezer container. Date and keep frozen until ready to serve. Use within 1 to 2 months.
• Thaw in fridge or microwave, testing temperature of microwave thawed foods on the inside of the wrist to test that it is just room temperature for serving.

For more great info on beef for babies, check out this post…

PART TWO: The big BIG Reveal: Mom’s and Babies unite! Joanne and Baby Alex welcome Rachel and Baby Ryatt, over for a simple grilled marinated flank steak salad lunch.

First Reunion:

A first look at the new Team Homan members!

Get the Recipe!

Just click for the Marinated Flank Steak and Summer Peach & Quinoa Salad recipe…

PART ONE: Getting Ready for Baby: Both Rachel and Joanne are busy planning ahead for their big event by making two nourishing, freeze-ahead meal builders: a marinated steak recipe & big-batch scoopable seasoned cooked ground beef. The BIG SURPRISE? Rachel went into labour 2 days before the video shoot, so it’s up to Joanne to get into the kitchen solo to lend a hand. Watch Joanne in action (videos below). Get the Big Batch Beef recipe (below).

Planning Ahead:

Joanne talks about getting ready for Baby, and how she had to ‘squeeze in’ a baby in the off season. That’s the importance of planning ahead!

Joanne Gets Cooking

Joanne talks about the importance of protein when planning freeze-ahead meals for a healthy delivery and busy baby schedule.

Support for Rachel:

Joanne supports her team-mate on and off the ice by sharing her Big Batch Beef with Rachel. Sneak-peak: catch the first cuddles of Rachel with her newborn.