Functional Nutrition Therapy
 
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Lima beans!  The reactions I have received to feeding my baby lima beans have been facinating.  Growing up lima beans were a part of out regular diet.  They taste good one of the most buttery of the bean family and moist not dry like pinto or black beans.  Yummy!  Daniel enjoys lima beans and so last Friday I made baby food lima beans.  I cooked the frozen version, blended them and then added olive oil and italian seasoning.  They tasted like mashed potatoes.  So good I almost decided to not feed my son the lima beans, don't worry he got to eat the lima beans.  Jedidiah (my son) loved the lima beans, he even would take a bite and hum as if they were so good.  They were so good, remember they tasted like mashed potatoes.

Saturday friends asked what Jedidiah was eating now and I was suprised to hear the recations of "Lima beans? Icky.  Does he eat them?"  This is a good thought to consider:  Baby's don't know what types of foods they like.  We as adults and influencing people in their lives teach them to like some foods over others.  The only flavor baby's are born to like is sweet, because mother's milk is sweet.  Much of what we teach them to like is a combination of early exposure and the reaction of the adults around them.  If an adult says a food is icky then the child believes the foods is icky.  We then wonder why the child starts to tell us that foods are icky.  We trained them.  The best part about this is we can train them the oposite way also.  I personally do not like cooked carrots.  Jedidiah ate cooked carrots a week ago.  As he is being fed carrots, I smile real big and say, "Mmm, carrots!  Aren't these carrots so yummy.  I know you are going to love carrots."  We can reinforce these good food habits before the bad ones take hold. 

Just remember lima beans + olive oil + italian seasoning = mashed potato flavor.
 
 
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Once you have a day that is established for going grocery shopping the next step is to figure out what are you going to purchase.  This is a tough step for many people.  Although it seems like it would take more work in an already hectic schedule, I recommend completing a menu plan for the week until you have established a pattern of what foods you will need.  A menu plan will not only help with grocery shopping but can be a great tool to get children on board with what you will be eating as a family.  Key steps for realistic menu planning are:
1.  Think simple. - A meal should contain a protein, starch and low starch vegetable.
2.  Use foods you already know how to make.
3.  Leftovers are a busy person's life saver.

Below is a start to a sample weekly menu.  Notice I have not dealt with any food allergies.
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I have had several conversations lately with mothers regarding the confusion about their babies, multivitamins and iron.  To help bring some understanding breastmilk contains 0.5mg/L of iron.  If a 5 month old is drinking 5 oz of milk 7 times a day this would be 35oz/day or approximately 1 liter.  As you can see a breastfed baby does not get much iron.  Fortunately, breastmilk was designed as the perfect food for an infant.  The iron contained in breastmilk is absorbed better than any other form of iron.  Babies get 50% of what they drink.  In addition if your baby was born full term (37-42 weeks gestation) then they received all the additional iron needed to survive for 6-8 months without supplementation.  This is because during month 7-9 of mother's pregnancy all the stores of iron the baby needs for the 1st 6 months of life is transfered.  It is a miracle!  They have enough iron to last just until they should be starting to eat meat and iron containing foods.  Breastmilk is the perfect food for an infant and does not need to be supplemented with food or formula for the first 6 months of a baby's life.  It is important to remember that formula was created to mimic breastmilk and we do not need to get our breastmilk to mimic formula.  To ensure mom has enough nutrient to make complete breastmilk there are several things you can do.  
     1.  Eat a whole foods diet with adequate protein and vegetables.
     2.  Drink at 8-12 cups of water/day (8 oz glasses)
     3.  Take a multivitamin - your prenatal is a good choice or switch to another multivitamin.
     4.  Eat 2-3 servings of fish per week or include a balanced fish oil.
     5.  Include 2000-6000 IU of Vit D in your supplements or ensure you baby gets 5-10 minutes of sunshine between
         the hours of 10am - 2pm.  (supplement may be the safer choice)
 
 
 
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I listened to another nutrition lecture this weekend and the theme that came up again is: "Eat a Whole Foods Diet."  This seems to be the talk of the town as many books have been writen and websites published that are all saying the same thing.  I think I say "Eat a Whole Foods Diet" at least a million times each day.  (Ok, it might not be quite a million.)  And when the topic comes up most of the time I get this blank look in their face.  Sometimes it is because I am talking to a person who has never cooked or hates to cook.  Sometimes it is as basic as not knowing what is considered a whole food.  And many have a blank face because they are already getting 4-6 hours of sleep at night and "Whole Foods" equals less sleep and they are already exhausted.  So let's talk about starting to eat a whole foods diet in pieces that are doable additions to your week.

The 1st step in eating whole foods is going to the grocery store.  I know that is obvious, but there were many weeks right after my son was born that I could not figure out how to get the grocery store.  Every time I tried my son would have a crying moment and who wants to take a crying baby to the store.  Do you have a crying baby in your life?  You could be working long hours, have teenagers, be in college or just have a hard time getting out of your house.  Whatever your "crying baby" is it is important to find a time/way to obtain groceries.  One of the best ways for me to get grocery shopping in is to pick a day of the week and go that day everyweek.  Right now my grocery day is Sundays.  Sundays are a great day for me, because my husband is home and I can do the grocery shopping without a baby boy.  It also provides Daddy and son time, which they love.  This is for right now our perfect solution.  What is your perfect solution for finding time to grocery shop?
 
 
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Jedidiah is my boy.  Isn't he cute!  I know I am a parent and totally biased.  And all this is not even the point. 

Jedidiah turned 6 months old this week on March 18th.  And I, the nutritionist mommy, could not wait, because 6 months is a magical age.  It is the age babys start to eat solid food.  I had been planning this moment since I was 3 months pregnant (I know it is a little early), because that was when Daddy and I planted our summer garden and we knew this would be his 1st foods.  Wednesday night came and we made zuchini (frozen from the garden) blended it with breastmilk sat Jedidiah down in the high chair.  He had been eyeing and grabbing at our food for weeks so I just knew he would love to eat.  I put the spoon to his mouth.  He opened it.  I put the zucchini in his mouth.  He spit the food out, like all babies do.  I put the spoon to his mouth and he didn't want another bite.  I was devistated.  I love vegetables!  How could my child not like vegetables!  But to get discouraged would be to allow Jedidiah to get discouraged and I know FOOD IS FUN.   I love food, Dad loves food and Jedidiah will love food.  So for the next 4 to 5 feedings we go through the same routine with me cheering in the background or foreground, getting excited at anytime he takes a bite at all.  Then I start to think about how thin most people make baby cereal when that is the 1st food.  It is almost like liquid.  My zucchini was not that thin.  It was the consistancy of normal baby food.  I took the zucchini and thinned it out and low and behold MY SON LOVES ZUCCHINI.  MY SON WILL LOVE FOOD JUST LIKE MOMMY AND DADDY!  What a relief.  And I just laughed and called Daddy.
 
First Post! 02/26/2010
 
I just saw another vitamin D level way below 30 this week.  WOW!  Thinking that it is heart health month and vitamin d is vital to how well our heart functions.  There has been research on cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, strokes and the risk of diabetes.  If you are new to the vitamin d craze or have never heard Dr. Michael Holick talk about vitamin d, check out this video.   It is entertaining and informative.

http://www.uvadvantage.org/portals/0/pres/