Quick and Yummy Ahi Tuna Marinade

I am taking a little break from birthday party posts, although I do have some fun things to share from some recent birthday parties we have gone to. Soon...

Time for a recipe. A fish recipe. My husband recently brought home some ahi tuna, also known as yellowfin tuna. We eat fish about three times a month in our house. I have not eaten red meat or pork since I was 13, or poultry since I was 19. I have had two healthy pregnancies, without eating any of these and I look to nuts, legumes, eggs, cheese, yogurt, whole grains, and occasionally soy or fish for protein. Fish can be very nutritious and are packed with great nutrients such as omega-3’s, B vitamins, and lean protein. However, many fish are contaminated with toxins, such as mercury which can adversely affect brain development and the nervous system. There is a lot of conflicting information out there about what fish is safe to eat and in what quantities. All tuna generally has mercury in it, much of it in high levels. I have been told by a health care professional that a pregnant or nursing mom should not eat more than 3 6 ounces servings of ahi a month. All this to say, it is good to be knowledgeable about the fish you chose to eat. You can talk with your naturopath or MD about it. A reliable internet source for safe fish can be found on the Environmental Working Group's Website.

So, on to the marinade I made for the ahi my hubby brought home.

Asian Marinade for Ahi Tuna
By Tiffany Teske

This is enough for one 6 - 8 oz steak.

Ingredients
~ 1 Tbsp sesame oil
~ 1 Tbsp soy sauce (substitute 1 teaspoons of wheat-free tamari for gluten-free diets)
~ 1/2 Tbsp of grated fresh ginger
~ 1 small clove garlic, minced
~ 1/2 teaspoon lime juice

Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Coat the fish with the marinade, cover, and put in the fridge for an hour or more. Cook the fish by whatever method you prefer.

Self Portraits with My Babes

Images by Tiffany Teske

I took these images of my 2 1/2 year old daughter and my blossoming belly, which contains another little girl, whom we can't wait to meet. I love having the time to spend with my girl. To photograph her, and myself in the process. Here is an image of the Polaroids developing...

It's a....

GIRL!! Yippee :) Another girl for our growing family! Today we had our 20 week ultrasound, which went very well. The minute that we were told we were having a girl, both Andre and I were excited at the prospect of having a third child. We went three anyway, but he may have been swayed to stop at two if we had a boy and a girl. I have always wanted four, so stopping at two would have been a bummer, but I can compromise at three. Anyway, back to the little darling at hand... we are thrilled that Quinlyn will have a sister, since neither one of us do. She isn't quite grasping that the baby is a girl, to her it is just a baby. I have been beaming all day. A healthy baby girl! We are blessed.

Photo Session & Lining Up Some Exhibitions

Yesterday, I had a mini photo shoot with my friend, Kim, and her husband, Kevin. They are expecting their first child in March. One of my best friends, Jeanne, who lives in Maine, is a marketing consultant for a hospital birthing centre, and every couple years she asks me for some maternity and baby photographs for their brochure. Most of my maternity images are black and white, and generally bare bellied, but this year they specifically asked for color and no skin. That was easy for the baby photos but I needed to shoot a couple images of a headless couple with all their clothes on, with the man behind the woman, both holding the belly, for the pregnancy shot. No problem. Kim and Kevin were happy to oblige and while I offered them a complete photo session as a gift for being willing to be models, they are such kind people they would not accept it. I must admit it did bum me out a bit, because I like them so much, and I love to make photographs. Above is one of the photos I was able to sneak that includes their heads, so I can make them some copies...

I got to see Kim again later in the day when I went to the library to return some books and to talk with her about openings for exhibits at the library in 2009. She takes care of arranging for the artists and having an opening for them, but she will be leaving in late February for mat leave, so I wanted to get in now. In 2008, I had an exhibit in October. This time I chose November. With my own babe on the way, this gives me extra time. I LOVE to have exhibit opportunities lined up, because when life is busy, some times art making is the first thing to go. When I have some pressure, a deadline, an opportunity, I continue to work at making art. I will probably keep the schedule light this year, although I hope to submit to some publications. I am excited for this exhibit. I have something up my sleeve that I hoped to do last year, but then ended up doing the double exposure Polaroid show instead. Stay tuned...

Additionally, I have been asked, for the second year, to take part in the Women's Art Show, at the Banff Library. It takes place in March, because of International Women's Day. This exhibit showcases the work of local women artists. Once piece per artist. It was a great success last year and I hope to talk with more of the local women this year. I am not sure what I will exhibit yet, but will probably make a new piece for it.

Bloom

Today, I sold this in my Etsy shop. It has always been a very special image to me, since I took it of one of my very good friends, during her first pregnancy. She now lives in Spain, where she is from, so this image reminds me of her and makes me smile when I am missing her....

The woman who bought it lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where my husband is from, and near where we were living, in Wakefield, Quebec. It is so cool how small the world is, and how it takes the internet for this person to find me, even though I used to exhibit my work all over Ottawa! This very image has hung in public in Ottawa. She wrote me a sweet little note that says, "I love your work. I live in Ottawa Ontario and am feeling the pregnancy blues and this made me feel spring and beauty in the midst of winter! Thank you!" Isn't that lovely? It really made my day! From what I can tell from feedback ratings, this is only her third purchase on Etsy, and it is really cool that she chose my work. And that is spoke to her. That is what an artist needs to hear. And I think it is nice that I am pregnant, too. I am going to send her a little note back...

This image has really received a lot of good feedback. I had a student doula contact me, to ask if she could use it on her business card. While I would normally charge a fee for this, a small one for business card use, I believe so much in the importance of doulas for pregnant women, and I have been a student, that I said yes, please use the image!

I love being pregnant, and I love to capture this fleeting time in a woman's life.

The Sound of Our Babe...

Today we had our third midwife visit with our amazing midwife, Mireille. Our last visit was three weeks ago, and our babe was a bit shy when we went to hear the beating of its heart. But not this time!! Andre, Quin, and I heard our little bean for the first time. I wish I could share it via audio, I bet audiophiles record that... but I am a visual creator, so no audio for you. It is such a unique and amazing sound to hear the rapid beating of a little ones heart while in utero. It feels like Christmas came early. Both Andre and I remarked that this babe sounds more mellow than its big sis did. Imagine. We should find out in about three weeks whether bean is a boy or a girl...

Special Tea for My Blossoming Belly

I made my own mix of tea yesterday. Raspberry leaf tea is recommended for pregnancy and I was given a recipe for one by my wonderful naturopath, Dr. Samantha Frey, of the Banff Naturopathic Medical Clinic. If you are looking for a naturopath in Banff, you should go to her. If you would like to know more about naturopathic medicine here is more info. Raspberry leaf is a uterine tonic and most of the other ingredients are rich in minerals.




I went to my local health food store to pick up the organic dried herbs I needed. There are several commercial raspberry leaf teas on the market but I wanted to try my hand at mixing my own. Nothing can be simpler than making tea. No cooking involved. You just get the ingredients and mix them together in equal amounts. I poured them all in a stainless steel bowl and mixed with clean hands. I love to do things with my hands when possible, instead of with a spoon. It makes me feel more connected. In the end for about $8 I was able to mix enough tea to overfill a medium sized canister, I believe it is about 110 grams of tea.
The ingredients are:
Raspberry Leaf
Nettles
Oats
Red Clover
Peppermint (some people add this on a cup by cup basis but I love mint tea)
Rosehips (these can be added if you want an immune boost, since they are high in Vitamin C)

Use 1 teaspoon per cup of water. The tea should be steeped for 15-20 minutes minimum, but can be steeped overnight for maximum mineral extraction. This is what I did, because I like strong tea and want to get the maximum benefits of it.

It is recommended by Dr. Frey that pregnant women start to drink this after 16 weeks. I am not sure why, since I have seen it recommended earlier. I am 13 weeks. I tried it, to make sure it is good, but will hold off on drinking it daily for a few more weeks.

PRE Birth Announcements AKA Pregnancy Announcements

I really am not sure what you call these, but I wanted to come up with a clever way to tell our families that we are expecting another child. With our daughter, we lived near my husband's family so we were able to tell them all in person. And we called all of my family to tell them. Now, we don't live near any of our family and the prospect of trying to decide whom to call first, and when we would have time to call up to 10 people to tell them, was a bit daunting. I have a book by Danny Seo, "The Green Martha Stewart" called Simply Green Parties. I read it a few months back and there was a project where he used baby clothes as invitations to a baby shower. When I was at my friend's children's shop, I noticed some used preemie onesies for a few bucks a piece and had an idea... I could turn them into pregnancy announcements, mail them all on the same day, sit back and wait for people to start calling us. This way, since everyone lived in different areas, and had different commitments and schedules, we could expect about a call a day. What a great way to make recycled announcements out of these ultra small onesies...

Oh My Goodness, I am 8 1/2 weeks!

My calculations were just a wee bit off, I thought I was only 6 1/2 weeks pregnant, although, I had not actually sat down with a calendar to plot it out. I wanted to wait for my first midwife appointment. Yes, I am still pinching myself, because about two weeks ago, Alberta Health announced they will begin to cover midwifery care in on April 1st, 2009! This is AMAZING news and something I have been hoping for since we moved to Alberta when our daughter was 7 months old. We had Quin in a birthing centre, in Gatineau, Quebec, with a wonderful midwives Johanne and Christine. It was such a good experience, something I will never forget, and something both Andre and I were so happy with we wanted to do it again. Midwives are well trained, generous women, who save on medical costs while providing a healthy woman who is having a routine pregnancy with a less medicalized, more personalized experience.

Here is Midwifery Philosophy of the Alberta Association of Midwives:
The practice of midwifery is based on the understanding that pregnancy, labour and birth are profound experiences which carry significant meaning for a woman, her family and her community. Midwifery is grounded in the belief that having a baby is a natural life process and an opportunity for considerable growth. The intent of midwifery care is to enhance these life experience.

Midwifery is traditionally holistic, combining an understanding of the social, emotional, cultural, spiritual, psychological and physical aspects of a woman's reproductive experience. Midwives promote wellness in women, babies and families both autonomously and in collaboration with other health care professionals.

Midwifery is a partnership between a midwife, woman and her family which is based on mutual respect. The women is the center of the childbirth experience and a great influence on the health and well-being of herself and her baby.

I am blessed to have Mireille Caron, of Canmore, as my midwife. We had our first meeting with her tonight and I am so excited not only to be pregnant but to once again be under the care of a midwife. She said our babe is due around June 7th, 2009 :)

To read more on the funding of midwives in Alberta go to the Alberta Health site.

I'm Pregnant!

Yes, it's true :) My husband, our daughter, and I will be welcoming this little babe into our family sometime around June 4th, 2009! We are thrilled! I found out when I was only 3 1/2 weeks along, and I am now 6 weeks, and pretty much everyone we know, knows. Stay tuned for a couple of pregnancy related posts which I have been meaning to write. My life has been so crazy! Let's just say that during the week I found out I was pregnant, I was finishing matting and framing my solo exhibit for the Banff Public Library, hanging the show, working my 2 day a week job at Silver Spoon, teaching recycled art for the Banff After School Program, as well as digital photography and ballet for the Town of Banff Community Courses, planning my exhibit opening... then I got the stomach flu in the middle of the night, took the pregnancy test the next morning, and put the cherry on top of a crazy busy week that had its share of ups and downs. Things seem to only happen to me like this. When nothing is happening, nothing happens. When everything is happening, just add some more! The news of our babe did help me through the flu, and I was happy that I was fine the next day (was hoping the nauseau was all flu related and not morning sickness) and able to go to the opening. I drank denatured (non alcoholic) wine and no one was the wiser :) although I was bursting inside!

Funding for Alberta Midwives NOW

Today, Andre, Quin, & I went to Calgary to participate in a protest. Actually I would call it more of a rally. It was an event to protest the lack of funding for midwives in Alberta. I have always secretly wanted to be an activist, and this was my kind of rally, upbeat and positive.



I read about it in the local Banff weekly, The Crag and Canyon. May 6th is the International Day of the Midwife. A local woman, named Ulrike, planned this rally because she had her first child with the help of a midwife, in German, at no cost. Much like us, when she moved to Banff, she found out it would cost $3,250 to work with a midwife. She had her second child in Banff, at the Mineral Springs Hospital, with a doctor.



We had our daughter in Quebec, at a birthing centre, with two lovely midwives, at no cost, and it was the best experience we could ever hope for. Throw in on of my best friends, who was not only our doula but who was our chiropractor, and it was more than we could have ever dreamed. We moved to Alberta, the richest province in Canada, and found out that not only would we have to pay $44 a month, each, for our health care, but that if we wanted a midwife it would cost us over $3,000. Alberta is the only province in Canada that regulates midwives but doesn’t fund their practice. It is ridiculous when it has been proven that midwives save the province money, while providing women and men a safe, nature alternative to what has become the traditional, over medicalized North America way of birth.



These issues are something we are familiar with and are close to our heart. We are willing to pay the out of pocket cost if we have a second child because we believe in midwives. However, we would like to see the government fund this. In order for that to happen, in order to make a change, our voices need to be heard. I was thrilled when Andre read the same article, pointed it out to me, and said we should go to this rally. It is important that we be there. And if Ulrike, can arrange this whole event, while breastfeeding her 1 month old son, then we could certainly be there.



It was well attended by both the media and the public, the weather held out and even got sunny at the end. We marched once around the block, and I got extremely emotional, seeing all these people coming together to make their voices and beliefs heard. I will never forget it. Quin seemed quite happy to be there, she even commendeared someone's sign and held it for a long time. I think it was the flowers ;)