Baby food Care
Hi Mommies,
One of my best friends asked me to keep a diary on the
recipes since they are far from conventional baby foods plus they are highly gourmet.
A gourmet creamy dream, that’s hard to resist. Other mommies are amazed how
this baby eats so much veggies everyday!
The secret is Firstly that the mom or the daddy or both
eats it too, and secondly you have to make it tasty for YOUR taste buds,
respecting the newly builded digestive system of the youngster.
Here i start a sequence of posts with all the ideas,
recipes and information i have to share with all the new mommies.
The idea is to have a menu that offers a baby, his/hers
essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, proteins, staples, chlorophyll,
carbohydrates, depending on the climate, country, continent and constitution of
the child.
For example we happen to be in northern Europe, where the
sun is rarely seen, with lots of rain, cold weather and long winters for more
than 6 months per year.
We also happen to have a Mediterranean DNA that needs the
sun mostly but cold weather...hmmmm not so much.
When it’s cold outside, the body must work harder to
maintain its internal temperature (stay warm) and that requires more fuel or
energy in the form of food. When we do physically demanding work, like
shoveling snow, in cold environments we may use 50% more energy than we would
if that work were done in moderate environmental conditions. Wearing heavy
clothing and walking in snow or trying to navigate ice-covered areas also
increases the demand for energy.
It is critical to consume enough food and liquid to meet
these increased demands. The primary sources of energy in foods are the macro
nutrients, carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Foods also contain critically
important micro nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
Taking these as indicators and after an exclusive 7 month
breast feeding, i begun to think and search for the best menu possible and my
gut feeling told me to start slowly introducing to him the following (always
using organic, seasonal veggies and foods):
~ Month to month ~
·
7-8 months:
start with fruits that it contains easy digestable enzymes, that‘s the apple,
pear, papaya, sweet pineapple, coconut water, banana. Use the fruits that are
in season in your continent for better ecology, digestion and health.
Preparation : steam the fruit and smash it or blend it for the first 2-3 weeks,
depends on the baby‘s appetite. Change fruit every few days.
· 8-9 months:
i wouldn‘t recommend yet any animal protein or any of the conventional milk or
any dairy. I suppose you keep up the breastfeeding for few more months at
least! Start with the salty as lunch and keep up the fruits same as the 7-8
months suggestions, according to baby‘s liking. Salty
intro: sweet potatoes, orange carrots, purple potatoes, red carrots,
white carrots, broccoli, zucchini, finokio, celery root, manioca/yucca, yams,
brown rice, quinoa. Use those as a bases ingredient, start with maximum mixing
2 of the above veggies and change every few days. Use the steamer and when
steamed soft put in blend with raw cold pressed (Greek) olive oil, and some
parsley or thyme or rosemary or a pinch of sea weeds(nori,wakame etc.) to
taste. (full recipes here)
· 9-11 months:
In this stage most babies starting to want more and more variety in foods and
the best is to give it to them in light seasoning sauces on top of your steamed
creams. Start with mixing 3-5 different veggies from the list above(or other
seasonal organic veggies in your aerea), now adding a bit of garlic in the
steamer, some Spelt bread (or other non-gluten) to chew in anytime during the
day(you don‘t want to fill your baby with gluten yet...) Introduce some avocado
(when in season), free range eggs soft boiled(put water to boil and when you
see the first boilling hapenning throw the egg carefully in the pot, count 5
min. and take out, let it cool and serve in a cup, mix it well so the baby can
easily eat it), introduce some dairy, like goat cheese, sheep cheese and if
your baby likes, introduce some yogurt(very little it can bring him wet burbs).
· 11-12 months: baby is now ready to eat almost everything. He/she is getting more nd more
hungry and is showing interest in your plate, so you better have a clean plate
to show him/her! Continue preferably with those steamed veggie creams or finger
foods (full recipes here). Breakfast is fresh fruit cream or fruit pieces.
Waiting for 20 min, you can give the baby some avocado or egg to add up in
breakfast and some Spelt or non-gluten bread. Keep this bread handy during the
whole day as babies tend to like to chew on things for teething purposes and
non-gluten bread(the hard part is the best you can give them). Lunch can be
steamed veggie creams and dinner can be the same as
lunch. Here i felt like introducing some almond milk and some organic baby
cream as a desert, since i didn‘t like to introduce any other sweet things and
my baby didn‘t like fruit as much!)
·
12-15 months:
This stage really is everything possible, sometimes the baby demands to eat
only your food! what we did is blending any kind of food we‘ve been having at
home only (always organic and clean cooking(not much spicy herbs, heavy sauces
etc.), we decided to take care of baby‘s needs and make our food as simple as
possible so we could all enjoy eating together. He would eat with us and be so
happy. After a month or so of him demanding the same food that‘s in our plate,
he changed again in liking his blended amazing baby recipes, that i provide for
you too
·
Drinks: Meanwhile
during his 11 month on, having these as his basic nutrients i supported him
with vegan proteins, other vitamins (vita. C, E), chlorophyll (green formulas,
green juices) and as much minerals as possible to keep a healthy toddler(with
no teeth!) ...WATER was introduced to my baby on the 9th month, that`s okey when they breastfeed if they don`t take it but he was taking some mountain tea and camomile from before which is like drinking water !! some babies from friends LOVE drinking water from the 5th month maybe earlier too, is completely a particularity of how ones system works...
General rule is this: Try everything you want to try, every week and see when baby is ready to take it. Babies knows best and mommies are their best supplier/supporter ! Listen to your intuition, when you reach the 12th month you will chill from all the anxiety of the "do i do this right?" , "is this healthy for baby?"... As a very good friend of mine says, babies are S T R O N G E R than we think, trust them !!
General rule is this: Try everything you want to try, every week and see when baby is ready to take it. Babies knows best and mommies are their best supplier/supporter ! Listen to your intuition, when you reach the 12th month you will chill from all the anxiety of the "do i do this right?" , "is this healthy for baby?"... As a very good friend of mine says, babies are S T R O N G E R than we think, trust them !!
How do we choose
the basic foods?
What is the essential nutrients Needed in a sun-less cold
country?
A comprehensive list (roughly) of the top 10 vitamins and
supplements to help counteract the common (and not-so-common) effects of
winter:
10. B vitamins.
Brutal winter air can bring hair, skin, and nail problems. Biotin gets to the
root (no pun intended) of the problem and rebuilds from beneath the skin,
unlike most topical ointments and shampoos. Biotin can also have enormous
benefits for pregnant women and diabetics.
9. Vitamin A.
This vitamin, like others, has valuable antioxidant qualities. Antioxidants
help to prevent the invasive actions of free radicals, substances that can lead
to common and uncommon ailments. Vitamin A also helps your eyes adjust to
different levels of incoming light, and with unpredictable winter driving
weather, top-notch vision could never hurt. (read here more details on vita. A)
8. Magnesium.
Cold months and dry air can lead to stress and dehydration, which can lead to
headaches and even migraines. Magnesium deficiency has recently been “uncovered”
as a possible underlying cause of certain kinds of headaches. The supplement
has also been linked to important heart functions, and in return, the cause of
certain heart problems.
7. Fish oil.
A lack of outdoor exposure can often lead to a lot of brain fog and
concentration problems. Depending on what part of the country (or world) you
live in, fish may or may not be a substantial part of your everyday diet.
According to clinics, fish oil also has many heart health benefits as well.
6. Vitamin B-12.
The cold, cloudy winter months can often lead to signs of depression and
anxiety, and even the disorders themselves. B12 is one of the first vitamins
depleted during times of depression and anxiety.
5. Vitamin D.
Needless to stay, for a lot of us, winter brings some pretty dreary weather.
Sometimes I won’t see the sun for weeks at a time. Since vitamin D is relayed
through (but not limited to) sunlight, northern residents don’t get a lot of
it. (read here more on vita. D)
4. Calcium. Not
getting the usual amount of exercise during the winter can lead to muscle
weakening. When our muscles aren’t up to par, more pressure is exerted on our
bones. Calcium strengthens the bones in preparation for a potential rise in
exercise with warmer temperatures.
3. Vitamin C.
Although other forms of immunity are emerging as effective, vitamin c is still
crucial in the cold/flu season battle. Drink pure fruit juices, many of which
contain 100% of your daily vitamin C requirement in a single glass.
2. Water. I
know, I know - it’s not technically a vitamin. However, increased time indoors
goes hand-in-hand with the arrival of winter, and indoors usually involves
turning up the heat. What goes hand-in-hand with “faux” indoor heating? Dry
skin and chapped lips, which many times represent dehydration. That pound of
lotion and chap stick you’re using everyday may only be covering up the
underlying cause.
1. Zinc. The closest you can
get to a “magic” vitamin during cold and flu season. Not only does Zinc boost
your immunity, but it has been proven to shorten a cold when you already have
one.
Natural daily
prevention & flu/cold treatments:
After such info(vitamins, minerals) i would add in season,
celery head and cellery stalks, spirulina, nori flakes, garlic, red bell
pepper, carrots white orange and red, finokio, broccoli, zucchini, more than 3
kinds of different mushrooms, parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, coriander, few
tomatoes, raw olive oil, free range eggs, spelt bread, cheese from goats or
sheep -only, almond milk, apples and fresh apple juice, pears and fresh pear
juice, bananas, lemons and very little mandarines, oranges and more.
I would choose to give him natural antibiotics and
homeopathy in the colds and flues, such as GSE from the bio shop of the
neighborhood in drops, some lemon and garlic to chew on, Good quality Vitamin C
powder in juice, few tea spoons of apple cider vinegar antibiotic (put in jar
half liter Organic Apple cider vinegar and chop in it 1 head of fresh picked
garlic, leave for 2 weeks at least and your antibiotic is ready-you can use
that for a year)and few recipes that I’m going to write in these posts on the
way.
The selection of veggies that are full of vitamins and minerals is actually so big, that i can’t even remember to write everything that i have been using for the past 8 months, but i will do my best writting most of them.
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