Category Archives: Feeding

Insanely Simple Snacks for Kids

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So, obviously these aren’t ground breaking recipes, here. I’m just sending out a reminder to moms that you can have healthy, cheap snacks ready for your kids in minutes without opening up a single processed food package. Keep a variety of fruits and vegetables handy so you can always come up with something creative last minute. Use what you have! If you have time to make some easy-mac, you have time for these!

1. Baked Sweet Potato Fries (8 months & up)

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 Slice sweet potatoes into french fry pieces. Coat with olive oil & a small amount of salt (only if your child is over a year). Spread them out on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 20-30 min, “stirring” the fries every 10 min. You can also skip the salt & sprinkle some cinnamon and honey (no honey till 1 yr) on them instead! Perfect for a teething baby to gnaw on, or an older child to snack on!

2. Hummus & Veggie Plate (18 mos & up)

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Cut up 1 or 2 of your child’s favorite vegetable. Put a dollop of hummus on the plate and let them dip as much as they want!

3. Fruit & Honey (honey after 1 yr)

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This is one of my favorite snacks. Adding some raw honey to a piece of fruit is a sure way to curb a sweet tooth. My favorites are strawberries, blueberries, grapefruit, and oranges.

4. Celery Sticks with Cream Cheese and Turkey (2 & up)

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Fill celery with cream cheese & top with a slice of shaved turkey breast!

5. Avocado Toast (2 & up)

Screen Shot 2013-04-14 at 7.45.08 PMSlice & mash ripe avocado on top of a healthy slice of toast.

6. Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips ( 2 & up)

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Slice an apple into thin slices. Slightly grease a cookie sheet with unsalted butter or coconut oil. Spread out apples & sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

7. Baked Kale Chips (18 mos & up)

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You can make these in so many different flavors. Sometimes I use soy sauce or grated parmesan, but normally I just stick with my basic recipe: Peel kale from the stem and rip into bite size pieces. Spread onto pan, coat them with olive oil, a LITTLE bit of salt, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until kale is crunchy. Careful with the salt, a little bit goes a long way with these. Even the pickiest kid will love them!

8. Peanut Butter & Banana Toast (2 & up)

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Spread some real, no sugar added peanut butter on a healthy slice of toast & top it with sliced banana. If you want it to be a little sweeter, drizzle some raw honey on top!

9. Frozen Grapes (18 months & up)

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Skewer some grapes, and freeze them! Can also be frozen and eaten without skewer for younger kids. Great alternative to sugary popsicles. You can also make a fruit shish-kabob with grapes, kiwi, mango, pineapple, etc. Fun!

10. Parmesan Cheese Crisps (18 mos & up)

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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put a tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese (fresh, not the one in the green can!) on the sheet and lightly pat down so it’s in a disc shape. Leave 2 inches in between each one. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Let cool, then peel off & you have parmesan chips!

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I highly encourage you to make snacks for your kids instead of opening up packages. Those foods are loaded with sodium, sugar, corn syrup, and other additives that will leave your kids feeling unsatisfied & still hungry. They will thank you one day!

Xo

Lisa O

Which Store-Bought Formula Is Best?

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If you are a mother who cannot breastfeed for whatever reason, or you’re ready to move on to formula, don’t feel bad. Being a mom is hard enough, and it sucks that people will ridicule mothers who feed their children formula. You’re doing a great job, so don’t let anyone put you down!

Screen Shot 2013-03-10 at 10.04.28 PMIf you’re like me, when I started giving Pearl formula, I was a crazy person researching every single ingredient in every formula, comparing them all. Sadly, in America, our infant formulas are packed with crappy additives and bottom-of-the-barrel ingredients. Corn syrup and palm-olein are among the many things that are not so great for your kids. Not only does corn syrup spike the blood sugar unlike regular sugar, most of it is coming from GMO corn, which, as we know, makes rats grow ears out of their asses & become covered in tumors.

Screen Shot 2013-03-10 at 10.07.05 PMJust think about the long term effects of these GMO’s on humans. The corn is genetically modified to be less nutrient dense than regular corn, so not only are your cells being deprived of basic nutrition, you’re exposing them to diseases! No wonder everyone has cancer, ADHD, etc. We put horrible things in our food and wonder why everyone is sick and dying.

Screen Shot 2013-03-10 at 10.09.47 PMWith that being said, you do have some good choices when it comes to infant formula. Personally, I try to stay away from Enfamil & Similac as their first ingredients labeled are:

Enfamil Ingredients

Enfamil Ingredients

Similac Ingredients

Similac Ingredients

Yes, you read that correctly. The formula is composed MOSTLY of corn syrup. Gross.

Even “Earth’s Best Organic” tries to hide the fact that they use corn syrup, so really, it’s no better. Here are their ingredients: Notice how they cleverly used the words “glucose syrup solids”…AKA corn syrup. Not to mention, it made my child extremely constipated. They are also owned by the massive food corp Horizon. Surprised?

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Earth's Best Infant Formula Ingredients

Earth’s Best Infant Formula Ingredients

SO, what formula is safe? You can either make your own baby formula using my recipe HERE …I use raw goats milk, but I know that’s not easy to obtain or affordable for most people. If you are determined to buy store-bought, powdered formula, here is your best option:

Ta-Da! Introducing Nature’s One Baby’s Only Organic FormulaScreen Shot 2013-03-10 at 9.48.28 PMAfter tons of research, I feel like Nature’s One isn’t hiding anything. They label the formula as a “toddler formula” to promote breastfeeding for the first year. It is perfectly fine to give to an infant, though. What I love about this brand is that they seem to actually care. They go above and beyond to clarify their beliefs. They are GMO free, corn syrup free, BPA free packaged, and they don’t use yucky fillers like palm olein oil They use brown rice syrup as the sugar instead of corn syrup. There was a huge uproar online a while back due to some study saying that brown rice syrup had unsafe levels of arsenic in it. Turns out it wasn’t such a big deal. So, naturally, Baby’s Only clarified this to make sure you know your baby is safe consuming their products: Check out their Pure10 pledge:

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Here are three other things they specifically point out:

  • Nature’s One® is proud to offer the only formula that contains USDA organic-compliant DHA. Babies who are fed other organic and conventional formulas are consuming life’sDHA™ oils, which are extracted using hexane solvent and treated with acid, and bleach.
  • The DHA used by Nature’s One is a fatty acid from egg yolk, while other infant formulas use DHA derived from algae and fungus, which is a triglyceride. The use of egg phospholipids in infant nutrition has been widely studied and understood to be more easily absorbed and offer greater bioavailability than DHA from the form of triglycerides.
  • Breast milk is made up of both phospholipids and triglycerides. All other formulas only contain triglycerides formulated with vegetable oil blends and life’s DHA, but are void of phospholipids. Nature’s One believes adding a phospholipid to formula achieves a more natural fatty acid profile compared to other organic and conventional infant formulas brands.

So, there you have it. Nature’s one offers the cleanest infant formula you can find in America. I believe it is available in lots of places, even wal-mart. If not, there’s always their website or Amazon

Email me if you have more questions on this topic, or leave it in the comments section!

Xo

Lisa O

New Baby Food Combo’s (with pics)

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Sometimes when you’re in the grocery store, it’s hard to put together ideas for baby food while your mind is on several different things and/or you are trying to wrangle the baby into the seat at the same time. Here are some things that I combined today, and they were all SO easy! One pot combinations, no baby food maker necessary. Note: for a video on how to freeze food into individual portions the easy way, check out this video I made a while back HERE

Strawberry, Spinach, and Rutabaga

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Combine strawberries, rutabaga, and spinach in a sauce pan, and put on medium low heat. Cover, and steam/simmer for about 10 minutes or until all vegetables and fruit are soft. Blend in food processor till smooth! Freeze in individual servings or serve fresh.

Red Lentils with Unsalted Butter

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Put a bag of lentils in a pot. Add water, so it covers the lentils by 2 inches. Bring up to a boil, then turn the heat down to low, and cover. Lentils should be very soft. You should be able to stir them and have it turn into a smooth paste. Add a tablespoon of unsalted butter and mix together. Freeze individual portions.

Asparagus & Avocado

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Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out asparagus on baking sheet & drizzle with Olive Oil. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes until asparagus are soft. Put the asparagus in the food processor and add a whole fresh avocado. Blend and freeze individual servings.

Strawberry, Banana, Cherry, Papaya

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Cut pits out of fresh cherries. Chop strawberries, papaya, and banana. Simmer the fruit together on medium low until soft. Blend and freeze individual servings.

***AND FOR THE BEST ONE YET***

Pork Chops with Yellow Bellpepper, Onion, and Apple

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This is so easy. Pre-heat over to 375 degrees. Put 2 boneless pork chops(can be substituted for chicken), some onion, an apple, yellow bell pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil in an oven dish. Cover with aluminum foil. Put in oven for 50 min to an hour, until pork is cooked through (it will be solid white when you cut it). Chop the meat and put all contents of the pan into the food processor and blend! Freeze in individual portions.

It’s very important to NOT add salt to your baby’s food. Unsalted butter is OK. 

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Don’t be afraid to try new things! Here are a list of vegetables and fruits that are great for making baby food. Write them down and bring them to the grocery store with you for inspiration!

*Beets, carrots, onion, celery, bell pepper, strawberries, cherries, eggplant, spinach, kale, garlic, papaya, rutabaga, asparagus, peaches, apples, corn, lentils, lima beans, chicken, pork chops, bison, avocado, bananas, green beans, peas, pumpkin, all types of squash, broccoli, oranges, mango, blueberry, pears and more!*

As with all foods, introduce ONE at a time before you combine several things your baby has never tried. Wait four days between new foods, to pinpoint allergies!

Xo

Lisa O

Baby Food Making Extravaganza

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I made a butt load of baby food the other night. It’s better if you get it done all at once and freeze it, in my opinion. Instead of using a babyfood maker, I just steamed the fruits and veggies in a pot, then blended them in the food processor. Here are some pics so you can get an idea of some good combinations!

Xo

Lisa O

How to Incorporate Meat Into Your Baby’s Food! (Video)

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Most moms want to incorporate meat into their baby food, but feel a little intimidated when it comes time to start cooking it. Veggies and fruit are so easy to prepare, and meat can seem sketchy. It isn’t. Here is a video of me showing you how to cook a puree with meat|. I’m using chicken breasts, and mixing them with sweet potatoes. You don’t even need a baby food maker, just a food processor (better than a blender). Sorry about the lighting, it was kind of dreary out today!

 

Xo

Lisa O

Pearl and I with a Baby Goat!

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We ran into some goat farmers at the farmer’s market. They produce goat milk products and sell them locally! The goat was so sweet and adorable!!! Such lovely creatures. Pearl was like, “hey, lemme tap that keg!”….If you didn’t know, I make her homemade baby formula from raw goat’s milk. If ya haven’t seen me in action making it already, watch the video below!

Xo

Lisa O

Homemade Baby Food!

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Here is a video of me showing you how to make homemade baby food using a BEABA babyfood maker. It is so super easy to use and you will save tons of money by making your own food at home! After baby no longer needs pureed foods, you can still use this to steam small bite size pieces of veg! Watch me make pear-sauce below, and yes, I am aware my bra is showing in some shots. SORRY! hehe I make joke

Links to the products used:

FRESH BABY STORAGE TRAYS

DR. BROWNS STORAGE PODS

BEABA BABY FOOD MAKER

Xo

Lisa O

Baby’s First Foods

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An exciting time for a mom is when we finally get to feed our baby food rather than just milk. Something important to remember is your baby’s tummy is VERY small! What may look like one bite of food to you is actually a lot for them, so it’s important not to over-do it.

The recommendation for starting solids is between 4-6 months (says the World Health Organization).  A popular trend right now is called “baby led weaning”, also known as BLW. Baby led weaning means you don’t give your baby solids until they can actually pick up the pieces of food themselves, put it in their mouth, chew, and swallow. While I get the point of BLW, I don’t necessarily agree with all of its terms. My main concern with BLW is choking. I personally feel that a baby shouldn’t be given anything but milk until 6 months at the earliest. Some people swear their baby needs to eat by 4 months, but I just don’t agree with that. Their digestive systems are too immature then. Also, at 6 months, your baby will most likely be WAY more advanced than they were at 4 months, so overall, I feel like it’s safer.

I felt pearl was ready for solids at 6 months because she lost her “tongue thrust reflex.” If you put food in your baby’s mouth, and they push it out with their tongue, that’s a sign they’re not ready. They lose this reflex till around 6 months. If your baby is spitting out half of the food you’re putting in his or her mouth, it’s too early! Don’t be in a rush, relax, and enjoy the easiness of only having to feed baby milk for now!

If your baby is ready, here is the format I’ve used for starting solids:

The first two weeks:

  • Breakfast: First, a bottle or breast, then 1 tbsp. of pureed fruit or yogurt

After the first two weeks, you can introduce a lunch solid:

  • Breakfast: First a bottle or breast, then 1 tbsp. of pureed fruit or yogurt
  • Lunch: First, a bottle or breast, then 1 tbsp. of pureed veg or avocado

After two weeks of doing the breakfast/lunch combo, slowly (if baby wants it), add another tbsp. of food to their meals. The whole point of this is to slowly adjust them to eating. You don’t want to give them a bunch of food at first. Take it SLOW. It will reduce fussiness, upset tummy, and bowel issues. Also, I highly recommend adding “Udo’s Choice Infant Probiotics” to your food or milk, as it greatly aids in digestion.

THE 4 DAY RULE:

Wait 4 days after introducing a new food. WHY? Because you want to make sure baby isn’t having an allergic reaction to it. This makes it easier to pin-point an allergy if you space it out well. After you know your child isn’t allergic, you can start mixing 2 foods together.

When your baby has been eating solids for a couple months, your goal is to get them to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. By 8 months, baby should have a food schedule that looks something like this:

  • Breakfast: Bottle—> 2-3 tbsp. of food
  • Lunch: Bottle—> 2-3 tbsp. of food
  • Dinner: 2-3 tbsp. of food—> Bottle (It’s switched here so baby can have bottle before bedtime, you don’t have to do it this way)

 

A typical food day for Pearl looks something like this: (she only eats breakfast and lunch right now)

  • Breakfast: Bottle—> 1 tbsp. of pureed pears, or apples, or prunes, sometimes I do 1 tbsp. of organic goat milk yogurt
  • Lunch: Bottle—> 1 egg yolk mashed with goat milk, or 1 tbsp of mashed avocado (both to a pureed consistency), or 1 tbsp squash, carrots, peas, etc.

What should you feed your baby first?

A great starter food is avocado. They are high in fat, creamy, and delicious, as well as super digestible by baby. Take a slice of ripe avocado and mash it with breastmilk or formula till it’s nice and smooth. When starting solids, make sure to feed baby in the MORNING. I made the mistake of feeding Pearl first at night, right before bed, thinking it would make her “full” and sleep better. OH MY GOSH, worst idea, ever. She fussed all night.

Another great first food is egg yolk. They contain DHA and ARA, 2 essential fatty acids for brain development. They are low on the allergen list as well. Egg WHITES are the ones you want to stay away from at first since a lot of kids are allergic to the proteins. Hard boil an egg, take out the yolk, and mash it with some breast milk or formula. Great for baby and easy to digest.

Fruit is a great option in the morning since it aids in bowels and it’s light. Some fruits that are safe are pears, apples, bananas(can be constipating, so if you notice this, cease banana eating!), prunes, and melon. Veggies include peas, carrots, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, and yams.

By 9 months, your baby will probably be able to put soft pieces in his or her mouth and mash them by chewing (much easier if they have 4 front teeth). But, by all means, puree your baby’s food till YOU feel comfortable about giving small pieces.

The most important thing is that you give your baby organic, wholesome foods! No pesticides, and no genetically modified stuff, please. Also, your best bet is to make your own baby food. It is MUCH cheaper, and your baby will be getting the best of the best. I will be posting  a video on how to make homemade baby food with my BEABA Babycook. It is so easy it will blow your mind! And remember, NO BABY CEREALS!!!!!!!

Peas!

Xo

Lisa O

Homemade Baby Formula

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Whether you are breast-feeding and need a supplement, or straight formula feeding, you can benefit from this.

Disclaimer: This is my own personal variation of the Weston A. Price foundation’s recipe HERE ….I am not responsible for your baby’s health, that’s YOUR job. This is my own personal version based on my research of what I think is best for my baby. I am not responsible for any variation you create, or any problems you face if using my recipe. If you want a recipe for the Cow’s milk, visit the link reference above.

OK, now that I’ve got that out of the way, I can tell you how freaking awesome this formula is. My daughter thrives on this stuff and I feel heaps better about giving it to her than commercial crap formula. This recipe puts ALL store bought (even organic)  to SHAME. All baby formulas, if store bought, are pretty much the same. They are all powdered (real, genuine whey cannot be powdered or it loses most of its essential components), processed, and contain bottom of the barrel ingredients. Long story short: I don’t trust em’.

Wouldn’t you rather give your baby whole, living milk if you are unable to breast-feed? When a baby goat is born, it is about the size of a newborn human. So, to me, it makes the most sense to use goat’s milk for my baby. In order to make it closer to breast-milk, we have to add a few ingredients. It takes me 10 minutes to make this every day. If you have time to check your face-book daily, then you have time to do this! Here is a video of me making it in my home kitchen. Recipe will be below video!

36 ounces of Raw Goat Milk formula

2 cups raw goat milk (if you absolutely can’t find it, use Meyenberg powdered goat milk in the same Ratio on can)

2 cups filtered Water

1/4 cup liquid whey (see video on how to make whey, it’s easy!) Human milk is more rich in Whey, so we have to add some to our mix to make it more like momma’s milk

1-2 tsp Blackstrap Molasses (aids in bowel movements, adds vitamin B, iron, and trace minerals)

4 tablespoons Lactose Powder (try it first, it’s the best. If your baby is severely lactose intolerant, use 2 tsp of organic maple syrup. These carbs are essential for brain development)

1/4-1/2 tsp Probiotics (you can use Udo’s Choice, which is available at most whole foods, and online. It contains all the necessary strands you need. Or find a similar INFANT probiotic)

1/2 tsp Cod Liver Oil (use fermented if you have the $, it’s double the price but great. This is a great source of DHA)

1 tsp unrefined, expeller pressed Sunflower Oil (for Vitamin E)

1 tsp organic Olive Oil (for monosaturated fats)

2 Tablespoons Virgin Coconut Oil (contains lauric acid- a medium chained fatty acid, and it a natural antiviral and anti-fungal found in booby milk)

1 Tsp Maxi Baby Multivitamins (or any other baby multivitamin, just make sure it’s safe for your baby’s age. I use this vitamin in place of the yeast flakes and acerola powder the other recipe calls for)

Blend all ingredients. Pour into bottles. Refrigerate. Warm up in hot water bowl before serving in order for the coconut oil to liquify! Make fresh daily!

I highly recommend one of THESE bad boys. Instant boiling water. I put some in a cup and put the bottle in for a couple minutes to warm. Also, Dr. Brown’s bottle warmer is excellent.

xo

LISA O

My Breast-feeding Story

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I’ve never publicly talked about this for fear of scrutiny, but I think it’s important to tell my story so other moms who are in the same boat don’t feel like they are alone.

Let me start out by saying I am a huge advocate of breast-feeding. There is nothing that can compare to the health benefits and bonding for mom and baby. Breast milk contains hormones and other things that scientists can’t even figure out. Breast milk is a living organism and it’s awesome. Everyone who has a baby should give it a shot because there is truly nothing better for your baby.

When Pearl was born, I was planning to exclusively breast feed her. I turned my nose up at the idea of formula (I’m just being honest). She latched on right away, and we had a great nursing relationship.

My first mistake was giving her a bottle of pumped milk when she was three weeks old. It is best to wait 3 months before doing that to avoid nipple confusion. In my defense, my husband was in the hospital (we were just finding out about the MS) and I had to leave the house to go see him there. Of course, I wasn’t going to bring a 3 week old to the hospital around sick people, so I left her at home for a couple hours with my mom and a bottle of breast milk. I did this a couple times a day for 4 days. I truly believe it had a major impact on our nursing relationship.

When Pearl was almost 3 months old, Jack and I had to travel with her for work. We went all over the place, Louisiana, Boston, New York….all that traveling was really stressful, and it wore on my milk supply. I sought out the advice from a top lactation coach. She urged me to pump every 2 hrs, take vitamins (mother’s milk and goat’s rue), eat a ton, and nurse her constantly.

When we were traveling, Pearl developed a little problem. She only wanted to nurse on my right breast. If we had been at home, I probably would have made more of an effort to make sure she was nursing on both breasts, but we all know when you’re out in public, and the baby is crying, you’ll do anything to make them stop. We were out of our comfort zone, and I wanted to comfort her. So, I did the best thing I knew how to do, put her on the boob she liked.

By the time we arrived home from the east coast, my left breast was about 2 cup sizes smaller than my right, and wasn’t making any milk. I tried vigorously to revive it, but Pearl wouldn’t so much as look at it, much less nurse on it! So, I continued for weeks to pump my left breast, getting about 2 ounces a day out of it, which is NOTHING compared to what it used to make.

Over the next couple of weeks, Pearl was in the worst mood. She was constantly hungry, eating every 45 min to an hr and screaming when I’d try to nurse her. She lost a little weight as well. One afternoon, Jack and I were so desperate, I called my Dr., and he said to go to the store and buy some Earth’s Best Organic infant formula. My heart sank. I could not believe I was about to feed my baby formula. I quickly mixed and bottle, super terrified that she was going to puke or not drink it, but luckily she slugged the whole thing down. I felt total relief.

I continued to nurse her a few times a day, when she was willing, and gradually started giving more formula, because it satisfied her. Over the next 2 weeks, she started to refuse to nurse and only wanted the bottle. This is when I gave up nursing. I pumped what little milk I had left for the next week and then it turned to nothing.

This is when Pearl became extremely constipated. So I switched her over to Gerber Good Start gentle. Good start breaks down their whey proteins into smaller particles making it much easier to digest. I also added Udo’s choice infant probiotics to the mix, and the combination made her super regular.

Over the next couple of months, I literally lost sleep over the thought of giving my baby commercial infant formula. I would think, “ok, I wouldn’t drink this high fructose cornsyrup, processed crap, so how can I give this to my infant daughter?” Finally, I came across the Weston A. Price foundation website and made a huge change. I decided to start making my own baby formula out of raw milk.

THIS formula puts commercial infant formula to SHAME. It is SO much closer to breast-milk than commercial infant formula. Make the switch and watch your child thrive! The difference is unbelievable.

It takes about 10 minutes to make every day. The thing is, if you have time to check your facebook everyday, then you have time to make it! Do your child a huge favor.

I personally chose to go with a raw goat’s milk formula instead of cow’s milk. I will be posting my recipe video, shortly!

Xo

Lisa O