Clockwise from top left, we have here milled chia seed, ground flax seed, oatmeal and hulled hemp seed also known as hemp hearts.
Hemp Hearts (Hulled Hemp Seed/ can also be called a nut)
Can be blended to anything, adding amazing nutrition. Including all omegas, protein, fat. Mom and dad, add it to your smoothies, salads, berry yogurt and cottage cheese parfaits, you deserve it!
Milled Chia Seed
Like hemp, chia is another raw superfood! This ancient seed was cultivated by the Azteks. It can be used a an egg substitute in some baked recipes and is one of the healthiest things you can feed your little one. Read an earlier blog post about how to prepare it, here.
Milled Flax Seed
Soak it for up to 3 days or simply add before or after blending when child is over 8 months. Flax is insoluble fiber and a constipation remedy especially effective combined with prune water.
To ease diarrhea, feed instead homemade brown rice cereal, banana, avocado, apple and other soluble fibers.
Oatmeal
Eat raw oatmeal in moderation but it is do-able!
Know any others? Grateful if you would share in the comment section below!!!
Nobody said you have to choose, you can mix! That's what I do. Per instance, today I pureed raw yellow bell pepper, some tomato and will be adding mashed steamed carrots prior to freezing.
cottage cheese & apple & berries (use mesh strainer) apples chunks are hard to see in the sauce... when feeding baby, check spoonfulls by squishing agains side of bowl
cooked green bean puree & banana
apple, mango, peach - oh wait - that's all raw!!! Bet you everyone in your house loves it ;-)
any puree & chia gel. chia gel is liquidy so I don't hesitate to keep the commercial cereal on hand because it is a great thickener.
hulled barley (one less manufacturing step than pearl) homemade cereal & apple & spaghetti sauce, ours isn't spicy, has beef
brown rice homemade cereal & spinach (or other raw) juice & pureed leftover zucchini boat (various veg, spices, olive oil) removing cheese and bread crumbs! ;-P
You can see now that the possibilities are endless and that it is not difficult to make your baby'shealthy food while introducing a wide variety of vegetables.
Combinations are especially made easy when you have a small bullet type blender, a good knife and cutting board.
There are many advantages to making your baby's cereal; you have the opportunity to choose the healthiest unprocessed grains, there are no unpronouncable ingredients and you save a few dollars especially when making it organic. Not to mention the pride you will feel in knowing that you are giving your child the best food available!
The first step is grounding the cereal to a sandy powder. My photo above shows the grains in both forms. They can be economically purchased in bulk quantities.
Ready? Using a food processor, blender or the milling blade in your Baby Bullet, ground either brown rice, kasha (roasted buckwheat) or hulled barley to a powder and store in an airtight container. I re-use glass jars. Note that hulled barley is less processed than pearl so contains more nutrients but you can use either form of the cereal.
Add 1/4 cup of ground cereal to 1.5 cups boiling water, whisk constantly for 10 minutes and add water as needed, keeping the cereal at a low boil.
Let cool and serve with vegetable, fruit, raw juice or the protein puree of your choice. Cooked baby cereal can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours or frozen in batches and should be fortified using breastmilk or commercial baby formula just prior to serving - not while it is cooking.
I prefer not to have to cook cereal every day and since I feed my baby various types of cereal, including raw cereals, I only need to prepare cooked cereal once or twice per week. When I cook a batch, I freeze half and refrigerate the rest.
For optimal smoothness, blend the cooked cereal with your puree just before serving. This is no trouble if you are used to blending partially raw meals on demand anyways!
Even if you don't always serve homemade food, be proud of making the best choices for your family without forgetting about yourself. I didn't even consider making my first baby's cereal. We are all on this planet to learn and progress at our own pace!!! Live well ; )
My favourite month is coming to an end. There are three main reasons why I love July: summer weather (I'm in Canada), my birthday, and yes, of course, fresh RASPBERRIES!
We buy them fresh and frozen all year round for everyone to indulge (usually at breakfast or as desert with greek yogurt - wayy less caloric than ice cream!)
Baby Guillaume is almost 8 months old and has been enjoying this seedy fruit for 3 months already. I want to share some ways now to introduce fresh seedy fruit like strawberries or raspberries to your little one's palette. Watch the video above to see tools I use and for quick instructions.
The wild raspberries picked in my yard today yielded about 1/3 cup of juice. You can also use the mesh strainer method for blueberries let's say if you want to reduce your child's insoluble fibre intake and increasing their digestability (to save time, it is best to puree bigger fruits prior to straining). The resulting puree is silky smooth, seedless and antioxdantly nutritious ; ) There are no preservetives so you'll want to consume it promptly or freeze.
And because it is very liquid, you'll need to mix it or drink it...here are some ideas on how to use it up:
Add it to a pureed apple, banana, mango or cereal for your baby's raw breakfast or sweet treat after something more savoury. A toddler would love this too, as would likely anyone else instead of jam or in a smoothie.
Dilute with water in a sippy cup. Your baby does not need to know sugary drinks exist just yet! Let him/her discover whole food tastes firsts!
Mix in with store-bought applesauce or plain yogurt to add raw goodness to processed foods.
My eco tips today have to do with avoiding waste. Raspberries are small but packed with good stuff so you don't want to waste more than you will already be throwing in the compost bin with the seeds. First, ensure you scrape the bottom of your strainer to catch all juice. Then, when you've transferred the puree from bowl or measuring cup to the serving or freezing recipient, rinse, pour the tinted water into a sippy cup or bottle, refrigerate and serve to your child instead of plain water or add to YOUR homemade iced green tea or lemonade.
save you brain power because you don't wonder all morning how you'll get through all of your e-mails today AND grab something to eat.
save you brain power because you don't have to ask yourself what to eat
give you time to do something healthy during lunch hour (or half hour) like go for a walk instead of standing in line at the cafeteria
are better for the environment than going to drive-thru
have less packaging
are home cooked and as healthy as you make them
show good example to kids about saving money and the environment
serve as reminders of all that fantastic family dinner conversation that took place the night before. You might even giggle.
Leftover work lunch tips
when microwaving, use glass or re-usable dishes that you keep at the office so you don't heat the plastic container, which saves you money and is better for your health
Keep cutlery at the office along with a dishtowel, dish soap and a scrubby sponge or cloth oh and perhaps a few napkins and placemat to make you feel special - take these home on weekends to wash
If you are eating at your desk, which is not recommended unless you are doing something to advance you personally, cover your keyboard to avoid crumbs getting in between the keys and to prevent you from working for at least 5 minutes while you scarf down your delectable meal made with love and wholesome ingredients
Leftover Planning Inspiration
My lunch today is bbq'd salmon garnished with lemon, sundried tomatoes and herbs from my garden. I'll have it cold, on a bed of fresh picked spinach, a handful of parsley and a piece of avocado. Yes, I have the luxury of eating at home and am making it count! (Eric could have taken this delicacy to work but didn't grab it- I'll be showing him this blog post tonight!)
Always cook extra quinoa, pasta, rice or couscous that you can later transform into a new dish
Grill extra veggies to make amazing sandwiches
Have salad fixings (grated zucchini and carrot, fresh herbs, raw nuts, homemade vinaigrette) ready to go the night before
keep extra cut fruit (melons, kiwi) which you served as desert, as snacks for the lunchbox
I have posted on how to incorporate raw foods to your baby's diet.
Today, I offer a word of caution. It is not safe for your baby's sensitive body to have only raw foods. Some foods like onions and berries per instance can be more allogenic than when cooked and raw vegetables can be harsh on a newly developing digestive system.
I also feel the need to mention that our family isn't all raw, we aren't even vegetarian but we think it important to have something raw at each meal, we have many meatless dishes throughout the week, limit our dairy and carbs intake and recently have decided to eat more fresh fish. Health changes don't need to be made all at the same time. Be gentle with yourself! To know more about our approach to eating healthy, please read this article on our website.
Eventhough documentation or raw food for babies is scarce, I believe we should follow the medical system and researched "normal" dietery guidelines in food introduction calendars for babies but also add raw goodness to their diets daily by juicing greens, mixing milled chia and flax seed gels with cereal, making fresh organic fruit purees (banana, avocado, orange, very ripe pear, mango, etc) .
For optimal nutrition when cooking veggies, whether boiling or steaming, save the vitamin packed water for your next puree batch (raw or cooked), mixing it in cereal or serving it cooled instead of juice. Babies need water, why not give them their own Vitamin Water?
I used the water from cooking the carrots and turnip seen in this video for blending raw spinach puree prepared later that same day. Which brings me to mention that raw foods oxidize rapidly especially once chopped or juiced.
Idealy, thaw baby food the same day you will use it, not at room temperature though, to avoid the spread of bacteria. Don't use the microwave either (to prevent hot spots that can burn baby's mouth and keep your raw food, raw!) I usually take one day's rations out of the freezer the night before and let the cubes thaw in the fridge. You can also use hot water for quicker thawing.
Here's another informative video from YouTube with tips:
This video did spark a question for me; I don't know when it is a good idea to stop offering store bought instant baby cereal preparation but I will research this. Lisa demonstrates her constipation relieving recipe, mine was posted last week. She stresses that breastmilk or formula must consist of baby's main source of nutrition during the first year.
Some ways to keep you and your kiddies cool and well hydrated:
keep pitchers in the fridge so you remember to drink plenty of cool water, iced herbal tea, diluted juice; avoiding sugars and caffeine
put on a dampened t-shirt; this is great for young children or toddlers when you don't have AC (people in the desert do this) you can even try wearing wet socks to bed
clothes blinds on South side of your home or office and avoid that solar thermal effect
stay in the coolest place of your home i.e. basement
stick a bottle of skin lotion in the fridge and after at least half an hour, moisturize!
wear ligh coloured flowing clothing - specifically avoiding black, dark blue and red if you will be out in the sun
take a cool foot bath
place a bucket of ice or ice packs by your fan
avoid using the kitchen oven, clothes dryer, plug-in kettle or any other heat source
turn off electronics
eat watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes, oranges and other thirst quenching raw fruits and vegetables
avoid constipating foods like dairy or bananas
if you really can't stand the heat in your appartment go to a mall or cafe where the air is cooled
kids complaining? make paper fans!
once the sun sets go for a stroll barefoot in the grass
