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Food Motherhood Uncategorized

Introducing Baby to Solids – Guidelines I Follow to Ensure Optimal Gut Health

updated on January 17, 2021January 9, 2021Baked Goods Recipes Uncategorized

Eggless Butter Cake Recipe

When my eldest two were super little I had the perfect recipe for a moist, bouncy, eggless cake. It had taken me a couple of …

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updated on January 17, 2021December 28, 2020Food

Brioche Bread French Toast

If you’re looking for a decadent French Toast recipe, this is it! In this recipe I use thick slices of sweet, rich Brioche bread dipped …

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updated on January 17, 2021November 12, 2020Food Recipes

Shrimp & Vegetable Jambalaya (Instant Pot Recipe)

Jambalaya is a spicy one pot rice dish native to West Africa. It uses a combination of onion, celery, green pepper, thyme, in addition to …

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updated on January 17, 2021October 10, 2020Food Recipes

Pumpkin Macaroni & Cheese

Last Autumn, I heard of pumpkin macaroni and cheese and sort of dismissed the thought of pumpkin in macaroni. A few weeks later I had …

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updated on September 14, 2020September 14, 2020Food Lunchbox

5 Helpful Tips for the Lunch-Packing Parent

When my children were enrolled in school, one of my greatest joys as a mother was packing lunches and snacks for the school day. I felt …

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updated on January 17, 2021August 10, 2020Food South Asian Cuisine

Rava Laddu

Rava laddu is one of the first sweets that I learned to make. With minimal ingredients and minimal cooking time involved, it has always been …

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updated on August 2, 2020August 2, 2020Motherhood

Women Empowerment: More Than Just a Trendy Instagram Challenge

Patriarchy has taught us to envy, judge, and even destroy other women instead of working together to reach new heights. We preach about uplifting women …

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updated on August 2, 2020July 29, 2020My Life

The Fourth Trimester: A Post-partum Update

It’s been two months since I gave birth to Shree and the reality of it all is only hitting me now. Everything I passed off …

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updated on January 17, 2021July 26, 2020Culture

Varalakshmi Viratham

Varalakshmi Viratham/Fast falls on the first Friday before the full moon in the Tamil Month of Aadi (mid-July to mid-August). This year, the Viratham falls …

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updated on August 2, 2020July 26, 2020Motherhood My Life

Prioritizing Mental Health as a Mother

Do you guys ever feel like you’re just going through the motion of things? There are days, especially recently, where I’ve noticed myself moving about …

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About Me

Hello! I'm Geerthana Uthayakumar and I reside in Toronto, Canada with my family of six. I am a homeschooling mom to four fun loving and very energetic children who constantly keep me on my toes. My passion for cooking from scratch, wellness, and culture combined with my love for writing led to the start of Modern Day Brown Mom in 2015. Through my blog I share my parenting adventures, experiences as a young mother, recipes, tips for healthy eating and more. When I'm not looking after the household, experimenting in the kitchen, blogging or writing, I work on my passion project – Devi Wellness Company.

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Geerthana Uthayakumar
Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate having Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate having a baby in the midst of a global pandemic and spending the first year of her life isolated from family, friends, and the world. Pregnancy, birth, caring for a newborn, and post-partum are all exhausting and overwhelming experiences in itself. Add to it, safety precautions like masks and constant sanitizing, and social distancing, these experiences become even more overwhelming and anxiety-inducing especially for those of us already dealing with anxiety. I remember first hearing about the Coronavirus in late December of 2019, which is also coincidently when my pregnancy was confirmed. I went to every appointment and ultrasound alone because my husband and kids were simply not allowed. I found out the gender of my baby alone. And later I walked in with my hospital bags alone, gave birth alone, asked to be discharged asap after surgery because the anxiety of staying in the hospital was unbearable, and walked out the hospital 24 hours later with mask and baby because my husband was only allowed to drive up to the entrance with the infant seat. It wasn't easy after that either. Baby girl needed to go back to the hospital daily for for blood work. It was always her dad that comforted her because I couldn't carry a car seat after having had a C-section. On top of that we had three kids at home and my husband had to return to work 1.5 weeks after or risk losing hours. Luckily my parents were able to drop off pathiya curry for me and meals here and there for the kids giving me time off from cooking in the initial couple weeks. But it was definitely lonely with no family or friends dropping by to spend time face to face. My parents only got to hold Shree a month after she was born. Even that was short-lived as my mom returned back to work in September which was followed by the next couple lockdowns. Life is far from normal but it's the only norm Shree knows. And for now I spend time dressing her up and taking pictures to send our family and friends because that's the only way they get to watch her grow. Outfit: @snugglebugco Use code MODERNDAYMOM for 10% off any Snuggle Bug Co. outfit. #moderndaybrownmom
After a couple days of eating treats as snacks on After a couple days of eating treats as snacks on account of Tamil New Year, I figured it may be time to make something more nutritious for the littles. It's been a while since I made some crackers so we're taking a break from homeschooling to make some. This recipe requires no yeast/ baking powder, or kneading but you do have to roll it out super thin for it to turn crunchy. I use whole grain flour and mix in a combination of sesame seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black pepper, dried onion flakes, and dried kasthuri methi (fenugreek) leaves. Cumin, fennel, and black pepper is not only great for flavour but for digestion as well. You can add chia seeds, flax, dried herbs of your choosing but they are so awesome this way! RECIPE can be found in the archives of my blog. . . . #moderndaybrownmom #homemade #snack #crackers #homemadecrackers #momblogger #foodblogger#crackers #seedcrackers #bakingwithkids #treat #foodpics #foodshare #whatifeedmykids #foodshare #eatorganic #instayum #instagood #foodstagram #momlife #mommylife #motherhoodthroughinstagram #lifewithkids #mommyblogger #foodblogger #southasianblogger #tamilblogger #mothersofig #moderndaybrownmom
This week baby girl celebrated her first Tamil New This week baby girl celebrated her first Tamil New Year in a gorgeous pavadai sattai style dress from @mangalyamcollections and it reminded me of how much I strive to make Tamil traditions a part of my children’s lives. It is important to me that my children grow up aware of their heritage. Our culture will be one of the few, if not only tie that my kids have to their ancestral land. Much like myself, many of you have been influenced by an entirely different culture growing up simply because we were raised oceans away from our own land. As daunting as it may seem, integrating our own culture doesn't necessarily have to be difficult. For example I'm not very fluent in the Tamil language but fortunately culture encompasses more than just language. In addition to language, culture can consist of religion, values, beliefs, traditions, clothing, food, practices, and anything else that is shared as a collective. In my household we practice our religion, read and explore the literature, learn our history, consume the foods and dishes indigenous to our ancestors' land, partake in traditions, wear traditional attire when we get the opportunity to do so, and make attemps at learning our language. We opt to oil our hair, cook natural remedies to fight colds, follow certain superstitions, and more. These are just some of the ways that I'm able to tie us to our ancestors and thus our roots. And this is what will help my children build their identities because despite being born here their identity still remains Tamil. I'd love to know - In which ways are you incorporating culture into the lives of your children? . . . #moderndaybrownmom #tamilculture #tamil #culture #momlife #motheroffour #embracingculture #mothersofig #motherhoodthroughinstagram #southasianblogger #tamilblogger
When it's the day following Tamil New Year, tea ti When it's the day following Tamil New Year, tea time tends to look like this. Pongal, sundal, thata vadai, rava laddu, and butter cake with masala tea rounds out today's afternoon tea. RECIPES for Pongal, eggless butter cake, rava laddu, and sundal can be found in the archives of my blog. . . . #tamilnewyear #varusapirappu #tamilsnacks #tamilculture #tamilfood #eeeeeats #foodstagram #foodie #instayum #instafood #feedfeed #culture #foodphotography #moderndaybrownmom #momlife #motheroffour #embracingculture #tamil
Growing up my mom always sewed or bought matching Growing up my mom always sewed or bought matching clothes for my sister and I born 15 months apart. When we were teens we used to look back at the old photos and laugh at our matching attire. That which seemed silly then has become a fond enough memory for me to occasionally recreate that with my girls born 9 years apart. Thank you to the self-taught, super talented, Anushanthy @mangalyamcollections for making and generously gifting my girls (and myself) matching outfits in the most gorgeous colour combo for Tamil New Year. I'm so in awe of how elegant, simple yet meticulously detailed, and beautifully stitched each outfit is. #mangalyamcollections #mangalyambaby #tamilnewyear #daughters #sisters #traditionalattire #pavadaisattai #momlife #motherhoodthroughinstagram #mommyblogger #mothersofig #momblogger #southasianblogger #tamilblogger #moderndaybrownmom
Usually I'll be serving rice and traditional curri Usually I'll be serving rice and traditional curries on banana leaves to feast on for Tamil New Year. This year due to Covid, minimal grocery shopping outings, and I'll admit a lack of planning, I didn't get a chance to grab vegetables and banana leaves. Instead I turned what I had in my fridge and cupboards into a meal we are all thankful for. LUNCH: Chickpea and eggplant curry, tandoori panner, and cucumber salad served with fragrant biryani rice with raisins and cashews because that's how the little ones like their biryani. Plate: @kiddobloom . . . #lunch #tamilfood #tamilnewyear #eeeeeats #foodstagram #foodie #instayum #instafood #feedfeed #culture #foodphotography #moderndaybrownmom #momlife #motheroffour #embracingculture #tamil #southasianblogger #tamilblogger #mommyblogger
As someone living on adoptive soil and not the mot As someone living on adoptive soil and not the motherland, I've been told I don't look Tamil. I've been mocked for my accent when I speak Tamil. I've been criticized for teaching my kids Tamil culture but not teaching them the language enough. But it's not the shade of our skin or how much we are immersed in the culture or how well we speak the language (or not) that defines our Tamil-ness. We have the blood of our ancestors running through our veins and our Tamil-ness written in our DNA. And if not for the genocide, we'll all still be flourishing in our motherland instead of being dispersed all over the world in attempts to survive. Never having set foot on my ancestoral land, I do feel a void; a sense of longing to breathe the air, feel the sun on my skin, and relish in the land and the practices of my ancestors. Because no matter how much I am welcomed by my adoptive land and no matter how much I assimilate under its influence, my identity and that of my children will always remain Thamizh. As rich as our culture is, it's equally diverse and forever evolving so it's something we can carry with us, each in our own way, no matter which part of the world we call home. I hope you all remember that as we celebrate our new year today. For those that are not aware, Tamil New Year, varusha pirappu in Tamil, falls after the spring equinox on the first day of the Thamil month of Chithirai. Households are thoroughly cleaned to invite blessings into the home, hair is washed with a sort of herbal water made at the temple, a feast and various sweets are prepared, pongal (sweet rice) is made to usher in prosperity, new clothes are worn, kai vishesham (monetary gift) is given to children by elders at an auspicious time, and time is spent visiting temple and family and friends. Tamil New Year also marks the beginning of a new harvest season. Puthaandu Vaazhthugal to my fellow Tamils world-wide! #Tamil #thamizh #thamizhnewyear #puthaandu #moderndaybrownmom #momblogger #foodblogger #motherhood
Taking photos of babygirl Shree has become a missi Taking photos of babygirl Shree has become a mission and a half. Actually scratch that. Taking the kind of pictures I want of babygirl, you know the ones where she is looking and the ones that are not blurry, are nearly impossible these days. The second I put her down, she either crawls away, pulls herself up, slides down, or rolls away. She also wants to hold onto the milestone signs. I never posted these 9 month and 10 month milestone pictures because I wanted to redo them but time got the best of me and I figured these are good as any I'd be able to take given Shree's newfound abilities. At 10 months old Shree has learned a few words including the words "bad" and "mine" - of all the words she could have learned. She has her older sibling and role model Vishnu to thank for that 😬 There are still no signs of teeth coming in any time soon but I don't expect them until after 11 months anyways as that's around the time the older children cut their first tooth. I'm still in awe of how fast time has gone, despite us being stuck at home in the midst of Covid. But it looks like soon enough I'll be planning Shree's first birthday. Hair courtesy of big sister. SWIPE left to see her 9 month picture. . . #babymilestones #momblogger #motherhoodthroughinstagram #mommyblogger #moderndaybrownmom #ArayanaShree #9monthmilestone #10monthmilestone
When Akshaya first proposed the idea of starting a When Akshaya first proposed the idea of starting a small cookie business with her brothers, my head spun. I have four kids, one an infant who still wakes up at night to feed, I homeschool which means lesson planning and marking, and had just launched a small business myself. My days were already chaos, and so much like a race except there was not much time allocated for rest after each day's race. I'm not going to lie; I was hoping it would be an idea that would blow over. Except it wasn't. The kids were quite determined to make this work. When I was a child I heard "No" and "Go study. That's all you need to do" as a response to pretty much everything including when I wanted to learn to cook, get a part-time job as a camp counselor etc. Don't get me wrong, my parents wanted the best for me from what they knew to be best however I could have gained invaluable skills and confidence if I had done more than just study. Akshaya has been baking with me since she turned two years old. Now at 10, she's become quite the confident baker along with her two brothers who are equally interested in baking goodies. Athough I was hesitant because of all the work that will inevitably involved, I understood it would mean a lot to the kids to have me encourage and support this dream. Over the last month, I watched the kids come up with @foursprinklesofsugar, design a logo, decide on equipment, utensils, and packaging, learn to navigate IG and write their captions, test recipes and methods, troubleshoot when things went wrong, keep track of orders, learn to write formal emails, keep track of business expenses, learn business terminology, and recently calculate net profit. It has been such a rewarding learning experience for the kids. It just goes to show how much you can accomplish when you're given the opportunity to do so and more importantly when you have people that believe in you. I am so thankful for the family, friends, and all those who have supported the kids thus far. It truly means so much to them! Aprons gifted by: @designedbylux Logo: @ar.inks . . . #foursprinklesofsugar #cookies #smallbusiness #kidbusiness #kidentrepreneurs #moderndaybrownmom #momblogger
Believe it or not we used natural homemade dyes to Believe it or not we used natural homemade dyes to dye these Easter eggs. Until a few years ago, I always opted for regular dyes because I couldn't justify wasting food to dye eggs. Most natural dyes are made using a cup of blueberries, other berries, perfectly good spinach leaves, etc. However these eggs were dyed using kitchen scraps. I used only the beet top and bottoms for the making of the pink dye, the outer cabbage leaves of a red cabbage for the blue dye, matcha powder for the green dye, turmeric for the yellow dye, and instant coffee for the rusty orange dye. Each dye was made with one cup of water and 1 tsp of white vinegar along with the specified ingredient for the respective colour. There was very minimal food waste in achieving these beautiful, natural dyes. However we definitely had to soak them in the dye for a couple hours to achieve these brilliantly vibrant colours. Will you be dying eggs this weekend? Wishing all those celebrating, a very joyous Easter and a healthy and safe long weekend 🐇❤ . . . #Easter #easter2019 #easterproject #eastereggs #feedfeed #easterfun #naturallydyedeggs #naturaldyes #moderndaybrownmom #lifewithkids #motheroffour #mommyblogger #foodblogger #southasianblogger #tamilblogger
*GIVEAWAY POST* Last month we received the Educa *GIVEAWAY POST* Last month we received the Educator Grow Garden Kit from @sucseedcanada . SucSeed's indoor hydroponic gardens allow you to grow fresh produce year round, without the use of soil or sunlight. Instead of soil, this system uses rockwool which is a great growth medium for hydroponic growing. Each hydroponic system is built by at-risk youth who face barriers to housing and employment, giving them the opportunity to gain life skills and independence. Many units are distributed to schools, Northern Communities and food sharing cooperatives to help increase food security in communities that truly need the extra help. Whether for your own home or a classroom, a SucSeed Garden unit can help you grow your own produce and educate the future generation on agriculture, food security, and the benefits of consuming fresh produce via a hands-on approach. SucSeed Canada offers a variety in sizes of containers, accessories, and seeds to make your growing experience a breeze. We set-up our garden a little over a week ago and it was a simple and straightforward set-up and has been fairly easy to maintain thus far. The kids have been documenting the germination process and are super excited to harvest their crops during the next few growth cycles. I'll be sharing more in my stories for those interested. Today I'm excited to partner with @sucseedcanada to offer one lucky winner a Grow Kids counter-top growing container kit with the added bonus LEGO-compatible top, valued at over $169.99 plus tax. The Grow Kids Kit includes: - 12L grow tank optimized for 5 plants - LED grow light - Bubbler system - 1L of nutrients - Grow medium for 1 harvest - pH test strips - Lettuce seeds HOW TO ENTER: 1. Follow @sucseedcanada and @moderndaybrownmom 2. Like and save this post. 3. Tag three people who'd be interested in this giveaway. Multiple entries with unique tags allowed. 4. Share this post in your stories. * Contest closes April 5th, 11:59 EST. A winner will be chosen during the week. * Winner must contact me within 24 hours of being chosen. * Open to residents within Canada. #moderndaybrownmom #lettucegrowtogether #sucseedtogether #sucseedcanada
The past week the kids' father was dealing with an The past week the kids' father was dealing with an infection so I had him on a strict diet of easy to digest, mild meals that would help fight the infection and help his body heal. He ate them without complaints but today he finally felt better enough to go out and bring me fish and kanava (squid) to cook with the instruction that he didn't want any other vegetables as sides. He got vallarai sambol anyways because it's technically a herb and not a vegetable and that's just the kind of person I am 😅 Dinner: Kanava curry, mild yellow Vellameen (Red Snapper) curry, fried fish, vallarai sambol, served with rice and an extra chilli for heat. The recipes for fish curry and vallarai sambol can be found on my blog. If you're interested in the recipe for kanava curry, let me know in the comments below. . . . #moderndaybrownmom #tamilcuisine #seafood #friedfish #squidcurry #fishcurry #curryndrice#tamilculture #eeeeeats #foodstagram #foodie #instayum #instafood #feedfeed #culture #foodphotography #moderndaybrownmom
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