Been busy at work and surviving the continual rain here in the Sunshine Coast hinterland - though the garden is suffering and things are literally rotting in the ground. Nothing much is growing - the beans, tomatoes and corn are looking very sad without the heat. Happily the cherry guavas are ripe and the kids are loving climbing the trees and picking their own.
Speaking of my kids - my four year old daughter has developed a relish for beef fat without any prompting by me…just the usual instinctive eating of fat that you see in kids. Last night at dinner when examining her plate she asked in earnest and with a hint of panic “where is the fat - why haven’t I got any fat”??? Then we pointed it out to her on her steak and then she sang a lovely little song “I’m a lucky duck I got all the fat…I’m the lucky duck I got all the fat…I love fat”. Made us laugh.
Now back to the lovely guava tree - guavas have one of the highest natural sources of vitamin C. Humans are almost unique in their inability to manufacture vitamin C. For instance goats are thought to make many thousands of mg per day and step up production 10 fold when sick. One theory as to why humans can’t is that as hunter gatherers we used to get so much in the diet from berries and wild fruits/vegetables that we selectively lost the ability to make it. So now we must rely on it in our diet. Vitamin C is an important nutrient for many things including immune health, for detoxification and for strength of skin, capillaries. Include vitamin C rich foods every day - raw, fresh fruit (such as berries & citrus) and vegetables (capsicum, tomatoes, greens) & herbs (like parsley) are the best sources. Vitamin C is water soluble and easily destroyed with cooking, oxygenation and heat & light etc. As always, fresh is best. Vitamin C rich foods are particularly important coming into autumn and the change of season.
Stay healthy and happy.
Karen
Karen McElroyNaturopath & Medical Herbalist31 Mary StreetNoosaville QLD 4566web: www.karenmcelroy.com.au
Feb 18th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Hi Karen
Nice to know someone here. You know I have been thinking about vitamin C with regards to Bella for months now. Bella can’t chew, so everything is mashed and she is very fussy. Basically she eats bananas with wheatbix and milk, endless combinations of veg mash and brown rice/wholemeal pasta and mashed meat with the fat, copious amounts of yogurt and some milk. I hide fish oil and flaxseed oil in here and there. Who knows how she gets vitamin C, but let me tell you, she is a bouncing supercharged tot with amazing skin and beautiful hair, so she must be getting enough C somehow? I read that lethargy is a sign of vit C deficiency. Amazingly Bella has never eaten any kind of junk food in her life and cannot stand anything other than fresh nourishing traditions kind of food. Somehow the Vitamin C is getting through. I just hope she isn’t actually deficient, but not showing any obvious signs! Thanks for the tip about the Guava Karen. I might try and sneak some juice into her breakfast as it is the only raw food she eats.
Feb 19th, 2008 at 3:19 am
Hi Karen,
I was wondering if you are able to tell me where I could find a table listing the maximum daily limits that kids should be consuming each day? i.e. not the recommended amounts but the max amount of sugar/ salt etc they should be having?
Or even if you could tell me.
Thank-you Karen.
Feb 19th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Bella sounds so healthy. I wonder what Karen’s thoughts are on eating wheatbix?
Feb 19th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Karen, do you know much about the levels of Vitamin C levels of raw milk? Here’s an interesting abstract of a study into fermented raw milk and Vitamin C. How do these figures stack up?
Feb 20th, 2008 at 1:41 am
Hi Sue
Thank you for your kind words about Bella. She is such a gorgeous little girl despite the fact that she has had feeding issues and has verbal Dyspraxia, a neurological condition which makes it hard for her to talk. It has been a very long journey to get past the aversion Bella has to chewing and lumpy food. At 2.5 years old Bella can only tolerate chunky mashed meals! My choice of wheatbix was due to its texture and mild flavour which Bella accepted. I tried the oatbix but I think she found it a touch gluggy, so I had to go with wheatbix. I will however experiment with other breakfast cereals when I get a chance to read the book Nourishing Traditions. I have booked it at the library and will pick it up in a couple of weeks. Karen is actually my naturopath and I have been wanting to have a consult with her for Bella, but I’m a bit broke at the moment, so it will have to be a bit later. I’m sure Karen can guide me with regards to Bella’s diet. Karen is such a wonderful practitioner and introduced me to Nourishing Traditions in passing a while ago. I’m lucky to have such a wise healer at hand.
In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions on healthy cereals which are not lumpy or gluggy which can be mixed with mashed fruit for a toddlers breakfast, I’d be happy to try it. I am concerned about the cereal being low GI as Bella won’t eat anything until lunch as she is a light eater. I’m so sorry, but I know nothing about good cereals or their preparation. I’m very new at this Nourishing Traditions!!!!!!
Feb 20th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Hi Joanne,
Vitamin C in human breast milk is about 40-50mg per litre, whereas cows milk when raw has only a few ~ 5mg per litre with pastuerised milk having only trace amounts. I guess cows make their own vitamin C as needed, so the milk doesn’t need much.
Feb 20th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Hi Rebecca
There aren’t any official maximum amounts as the RDI is the only level that are officially government set. There are nutritional guides in terms of therapeutic levels of nutrients which are generally much higher than the RDI…you would need to look up a nutrition text or try searching on line to see these.
In terms of sugar and salt I don’t think there are any set levels! Zero is the recommended intake of sugar in my opinion and salt intake should be minimal in children until their kidney function can handle any excess. Small amounts of salt in home cooking are (in my opinion) OK with children and are still usually much less than what is contained in commercial and processed foods. Kids sometimes crave salty things like olives and anchovies - which are fine in moderation and may possibly be linked to a genuine need.
Feb 20th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
That study on vit C levels of fermented milk is here:
http://www.ejpau.media.pl/volume7/issue1/food/art-06.html
Sorry, didn’t attach last comment,
Suzanne, have you considered vegetable soups made on bone broth with a dash of cream. Very Nourishing and easy to go down.
Feb 20th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Suzanne, I’m not sure what the good cereals are either so I wondered what Karen’s comments were on wheetbix. I’m sure wheetbix is a lot better than say cocoa pops or something similar!
Feb 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 am
Hi Suzanne,
I am not a professional but from my knowledge so far…all cereals that are found in a supermarket, in my opinion should be missed. All are made from grains which have not been prepared properly and contain excess amounts of sugar and who knows what else. They do not sustain either due to the quick absorption by the digestive system. In regards to different breakfast ideas I would kindly recommend getting your hands on a copy of Sally Fallon’s book ‘Nourishing Traditions’. The reason being is, it is not just a recipe book, almost a Gastronomic Encyclopedia that teaches the reader why and how to prepare food so that it is nourishing, digestible and gentle on the body. I was going to recommend Porridge and soaking it overnight before heating it but you mentioned nothing mushy. Sally has wonderful recipes for all types of breakfast food.
Have you tried introducing protein to her in the morning? Maybe poached eggs, they are soft but not mushy and may provide some different texture for Bella.
I hope this is a helpful suggestion?
Feb 22nd, 2008 at 3:42 am
Hi Rebecca
Bella likes mushy food which is not too lumpy or gluggy. The porridge idea might work if I can make sure it is not too gluggy. So should I soak the oats in water overnight and then drain off the water and cook it in milk? I would have to cool it enough so that it is just warm but not beginning to thicken into a gluggy substance. I then have to get the mashed banana into it to and see how the texture goes. I can’t give her poached eggs as they are too different for her. She is sensitive to touching foods and trying different foods that she hasn’t had before. Unfortunately, because she is fussy, it’s hard to then introduce anything new. It’s a very strange experience having a toddler who can’t chew and is sooo fussy. I am actually just happy that she ended up being able to tolerate anything other than superfine puree!! To my horror, I have to give her white bread and piklets to practice chewing on as she won’t touch brown bread. She doen’t really eat it, the point is to challenge her. Part of her feeding issues is touching foods. She is actually very bright and the paediatrician said that she had above average intelligence. Bella is just an odd little muffin when it comes to food. I’m glad I can sneak in what i like into her mashed mush meals. She really likes wheatbix so at the end of the day, if she prefers it than i have to give it to her as I’m sensitive about her having foods to eat which actually give her pleasure. She opens her mouth up wide for her banana wheatbix mash. When she is older she can negotiate the nutritional properties of the foods she is able to eat i guess. Thanks for the suggestion about the porridge, I’ll give it a go.
Feb 26th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Hi Suzanne,
I was wondering if you could try including raw egg yolks with the mash as the protein should help to sustain that little tummy for longer and if mixed through well she shouldn’t even notice. I do agree with Rebecca though that wheat bix should be completely avoided if possible as the grains have been heat treated which destroys enzymes and the grains haven’t been soaked. I’d even try omiting the wheat bix and use egg yolks and cream with the banana. A favourite breakfast food in our family is banana smoothies. The protein and fat lasts us all morning (I often add a little coconut oil too)
I have tried the recipe for breakfast cereal in Nourishing Traditions but the texture was kind of like soggy cake after mixing it with the milk.
I hope this helps.
Feb 26th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Hi Joanne
What a great idea. I would have to tell her it’s yogurt as she rejects new foods. I tried giving her homemade custard and she wouldn’t try it because it wasn’t yogurt and that is what she’s used to. Bella won’t even try smoothies as it isn’t plain milk! She makes it very hard for me. Her father is fussy to. His mother breastfed him for 5 years as he wouldn’t eat much food and she was worried he would starve. Nobody would take him for childcare as they couldn’t feed him. It wasn’t until he was 5 that he began to eat and only limited things. So, I’m just trying my best to nourisher her. I did exclusively pump breastmilk for her until she self weaned at 19 months. Bella wouldn’t breastfeed so I used a pump to express. She hasn’t ever had any formula. I tell you what, I have great respect for dairy cows!!!
Mar 1st, 2008 at 3:03 am
Hi Suzanne,
In regards to the porridge, the oats will have soaked up the majority of the water by the next morning so it is a matter of just pouring it in to the saucepan and heating it with milk until you reach your desired consistency. I agree with Joanne J in regards to trying to slip in raw eggs in her food.
White bread and pikelets…you could make the pikelets out of Spelt flour. The flour is soaked overnight in the water and the next day you add the remaining ingredients. The mixture is runnier than normal pikelet mixture but cooked the same in a frypan. You could even add mashed banana into it before cooking.
I once heard a professional say “It takes the introduction of a particular food 17-21 times before a child is willing to try it.” From my experience with children in food, like anything I think, it just comes down to what they are used to. All the foods she is currently eating, were once new foods but she at some stage began to eat them.
Touching foods…make it fun. If you could add fun into it, it could help remove any anxiety she has in relation to touching the food. Firstly you could start with what she is familiar with i.e. mushy pureed food. Imagine smearing a whole lot of the food on a place mat infront of both of you and play finger drawings in the food. Children are curious creatures and are often tempted to put things in their mouths. You could show her by doing your own picture in the food and then lick your finger and show immense pleasure by making mmm! noises. The curiosity may get the better of her and she may want to follow suit. This idea may sound crazy but it has worked for me in the past. If she enjoys this game you could add different tastes into the ‘finger painting’ i.e. have different coloured foods for her to mix herself and then you could say…”OH! I wonder what this colour tastes like?”
One other idea is involving her in the process of making food which often makes children more curious about their food. Bella may be able to sit at the table and help you cut soft fruit etc.
Suzanne, I was just wondering…does Bella feed herself the foods that she likes and does she show curiosity to the food you eat in front of her?
Mar 3rd, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Hi Rebecca
Bella sees a speech pathologist for her verbal Dyspraxia and aversion to chewing and eating anything other than mashed meals. I do a food activity each day where I do a tea party with her soft toys and the challenge is for her to touch the food and feed eat it to her bears. It’s hard enough just getting her to do that. She will feed her toy rabbit a carrot if oit isn’t peeled or chopped in any way. A banana has to have the skin on it for her to eat it, so that she doesn’t have to touch the actual banana. However, she is perfectly fine with playing with worms in the garden or snails, or dirt so she doesn’t have a sensory touch issue. I feed her her meals in front of the T.V so that she will eat it, otherwise she runs off. The speech therapists has said to just take it slow and not make a fuss or Bella could go off her food. She will walk around me if I have a plate of food, so as to not get too close to the food and pulls a face which suggests that I’m crazy for eating it. Bella did food exploration as a baby, but stopped when she realised she couldn’t chew the food and choked on it. Now she has adapted her meal times to keep her feeling safe and in control. My dad never liked touching food. He ate everything with a knife and fork or spoon!!! Maybe it’s all genetic?
Regards
Suzanne
Mar 5th, 2008 at 5:10 am
yep I think it is key to keep relaxed about it all and sounds like you are doing just that. No point getting stressed and annoyed during meal times. As many of us know, children will do things when they are ready and it pretty much sounds like this does run in your family. I wish you and Bella all the best as you continue to explore food.
Mar 13th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Hi Suzanne
It sounds like you’re doing a fantastic job with Bella.
My hat goes off to you for expressing breast milk for so long!
From my experience in working with children the aversion to food probably has more to do with her choking on it at such a young age and not genetics. Being able to breathe is essential to life - death occurrs in minutes if we stop breathing as opposed to days without water and weeks without food. Choking triggers a massive survival response in the body and nervous system and I would guess that her nervous system still equates food as a threat to survival. A little bit like us not touching a glowing hot element or a fire - our nervous system and brain know that this would equate pain and injury and we are wired (usually after an experience that involves touching somthing which burns us) to avoid situations or things that threaten our immediate survival. Maybe homoeopathic medicine would be helpful (plus they have no taste and can be dispensed in water)
Keep up all the good work.
Warm regards
Sarah
Mar 14th, 2008 at 4:04 am
Hi
I just wanted to thank everyone for all your wonderful suggestions as to helping Bella with her food issues and introducing NT breakfast foods. I have a copy of Sally Fallon’s NT book now and have almost finished reading it. I am going to try the soaking oats recipe as some of you have suggested with 1/2 wheatbix until Bella gets used to the new texture. I usually add Flax seed oil to her breaky mush and will keep doing this to avoid the oats getting gluggy as it cools. the oats need to stay soft and mushy/runny but thick. Sarah I think you may be right in some ways about Bella. The good thing is that she keeps trying to eat finger foods like pieces of bread. I have been taking bites of bread and exaggerating the chewing motion. To my surprise she has started to copy me. So maybe one day she will teach herself to chew by sheer will. Bella seems to have such a will to try and eat properly, I feel proud of her attempts.
Regards
Suzanne
Mar 15th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Hi everyone
I made soaked oats for the first time this morning for Bella. I soaked the oats in water and buttermilk. I also made soaked brown rice in water and buttermilk. I was wondering if you are allowed to rinse off the water you have soaked the grains in instead of skimming. Does the buttermilk have to be in the mixture whilst cooking it? I’m a bit worried that Bella and her dad will taste the sour buttermilk in the oats and rice ands not like it. It’s just easier if I rinse the water off with fresh water and then cook. is this o.k?
thanks
suzanne
Mar 16th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Great idea Suzanne. The buttermilk, whey, yoghurt, orange or lemon juice in the soaking water is just to provide the slightly acidic and wet environment you need to disassemble the enzyme inhibitors and other toxins. So by all means, drain the liquid and cook in new water. I also cook grains in bone broth for the kids who prefer savoury in the morning - the boys have more digestion related health issues and bone broth is very attractive to them. My daughter prefers bircher muesli soaked in orange juice as long as the dried fruit is added after, she hates soggy sultanas. It’s a slog making options for everyone but not long until they can do it for themselves, so worth it in my mind.