Color Your Plate

Meal planning. Sometimes I enjoy it and sometimes its just another chore to be completed for the week. After a few years of going to the grocery store and wondering around the aisles trying to figure out what we should eat that week, spending too much money, and throwing away food that went bad before it could be eaten, my husband and I came to the realization of just how beneficial meal planning can be! It saves money and time, discourages eating out, decreases food waste, and encourages a healthier diet.

Our priorities when meal planning for our family include:
1. Making use of what we already have on hand
2. Making the most cost effective choices
3. Limiting processed foods (especially high fructose corn syrup and artificial coloring/flavors and choosing mostly whole foods- sometimes organic (more on that later)
4. Trying out new foods and recipes
5. Buying produce that is in season (and local if available)

Now that we have Dino, I will add another priority to the list. #6. Including foods of all colors to ensure a variety of nutrients are offered throughout the week.

To do this, I have made a list of common fruits and veggies in each "color group." We will choose at least one food out of each color to include on our weekly menu. This will be an easy system to include Dino in as he gets a little older. Since we all eat meals together, this will require my husband and I to try some new foods as well! Our menu this week includes:

Red: Tomato sauce, red apple, red pepper
Green: Spinach, green pepper, green apple
White: Banana, onion
Yellow/Orange: Butternut squash, sweet potato
Blue/Purple: Blueberries

Below is the list I created for us to use.

Color Your Plate!
Reds		Greens	White	Yellow/Orange	Blue/Purple
Lycopene, anthocyanins		Lutein, Folate, Indoles	Allicin, potassium	Carotenoids, vitamin A and C, folate	Anthocyanins
Red apples		Spinach	Banana	Tangerines	Blackberries
Red peppers		Green peppers	Onion	Apricots	Blueberries
Strawberries		Asparagus	Cauliflower	Butternut squash	Eggplant
Beets		Green beans	Garlic	Cantaloupe	Figs
Red potatoes		Zucchini	Potatoes	Carrots	Plums
Cherries		Peas	Turnips	Grapefruit	Prunes
Radishes		Green onions	Mushrooms	Lemons	Purple grapes
Raspberry		Limes		Mangoes	Raisins
Tomato		Lettuce		Nectarines
Watermelon		Kiwi		Oranges
Pink Grapefruit		Cucumbers		Papayas
Red Grapes		Brussel Sprouts		Peaches
Cranberries		Avocado		Pears
		Artichokes		Yellow peppers
		Green apples		Pineapple
		Broccoli		Pumpkin
				Yellow squash
				Sweet potatoes
Lycopene	Reduces risk of several types of cancer (especially prostate).
Anthocyanins	Antioxidant- protects cells from damage as well as keeping our heart healthy. Reduces risk of stroke, cancer, and heart disease.
Lutein	Helps to keep eyes healthy- reduces risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.
Folate	Reduces risk of birth defects.
Indoles	Helps to protect against cancer.
Allicin	Can lower cholesterol and blood pressure and may help reduce risk of stomach cancer and heart disease.
Potassium	Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol as well as reducing risk of stroke.
Carotenoids	Reduces risk of cancer, heart disease, and can improve immune system function.  Can decrease risk of macular degeneration (which can lead to blindness). Also, good for your heart- may reduce chance of heart attack and death.
Vitamin A	Helps form and maintain healthy skin, teeth, tissues, membranes and skin. It also promotes good vision- especially in low light.
Vitamin C	Protection against immune system deficiencies, heart disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling.

Mama Called the Doctor and the Doctor Said...

As I began my research on baby led weaning (BLW), I read several moms talking about their babies gagging a lot in the first few weeks of learning how to eat solid foods. I had already accepted the idea that Dino would gag and make terrible noises, but this was normal and how he would learn to eat. I watched videos of other babies gagging so I would know what to expect. We signed up for infant CPR and safety class so we would know what to do if he started choking. I was prepared. I thought.

On the menu for the evening was steamed carrots along with the Southern traditional dish of chicken and dumplings. He was loving the taste of the carrots, and then it happend! Gagging noises- eyes watering- Dino crying-Mommy crying (almost). He then worked the carrot out and all was great again. This happend a few more times, but it did not stop him from eating. Later on that night, he started making this crazy noise like something was caught in his windpipe. He would do it every few minutes and started getting his mom and dad a little (ok... a lot) concerned, so we called the doctor. We described what was happening and she said it sounded ok and not to worry about it but just keep an eye on him...which means no sleep for mom and dad! He did fine through the night, but in the morning he started making the terrible noise again. We made the executive decision to take him to the doctor to get everything checked out.

Dino's dad took him on in to see the doc. While waiting to hear the doctor's verdict, crazy thoughts were running around in my head. "I should have never fed him this way. I am going to have to take my blog down. I will just breastfeed him forever and never give him real food. Will I go to jail if something happens to him since I chose to feed him a not "normal" way? Why do I do weird things like this??" Finally the phone rang. Dino's dad was calling with the news from the doc. Apparently we have a "super healthy little boy" that is learning to play with his voice. What?? Seriously?? The doctor said he probably got a reaction when he made the crazy noise (hmmm...how would she know that?) and kept on doing it. So now what?

Back to plan. He had broccoli and sweet potatoes last night and all was well. My sanity is slowing returning.

Out on the Town



Enjoying his "KayKay Toast"



Pretty sure this kid is going to be a lover of food (like his mom and dad)! We were out of town all weekend, so he had mostly Mama Milk. Friday night we went to dinner with his KayKay and Pappaw at the oh-so-fancy Cracker Barrel. After searching through the menu, I had decided to order Dino the steamed baby carrots. I made sure to ask the waitress if anything was added to the carrots. She told me that they add butter and sugar to "give them a really good taste". I would be ok with the added butter, but didn't want the sugar...so back to the menu! I remembered hearing others say how much their babies loved "toast fingers", so we thought we would give that a try and ordered plain toast. When it came to the table, I cut it into strips (thus the "finger" part) and offered it to Dino. He really seemed to like it. It was very easy for him to hold while he sucked and nibbled on it a little bit. Plus, there was very little mess compared to the avocado! I had ordered a sweet potato with my meal and wanted to let him try a bit. After a failed attempt of handing him a bite in a preloaded spoon, my mother-in-law suggested a wonderful idea! Spread the sweet potato on the toast. Perfect! He really enjoyed the toast topping (aka "KayKay toast") and was not happy when it was all gone. It was a great first eating experience at a restaurant!

Oh and notice his make-do cloth diaper bib! Mommy forgot a bib, but thankfully the toast was not very messy!

So, what have your little ones eaten at restaurants? This worked out great, but I would love more ideas!

An Avocado Mess!

 

"I'm ready to eat, Mom!"

Little Dino decided it was time for him to eat! He has been joining us at the dinner table for several months now, but the past few weeks he has become VERY interested in our food. He tries to reach our food and gets very upset when we hand him a toy instead. Last night he was not going to take it anymore! We were having guacamole with our dinner and since I was planning on avocado being his first food, we decided to go ahead and let him taste. We put his bib on, wiped down the table where his food would go, and sliced a few pieces of avocado for him.

    

Yay! He made it to his mouth!

              
He LOVED it....well the times he actually got it to his mouth before it slid out of his hands! He did get frustrated that he could not hold onto it. Within seconds there was a green mess on the floor, in his bib pocket, on his seat, and all over him. We have decided to try something less slippery for his next food. Maybe broccoli?

P.S. My plan for the floor-cleaning-pups didn't work out last night.  On the way home yesterday I heard on the radio foods that can make dogs sick and of course avocado was one of them! I didn't have a chance to look this up last night before it was time to clean the floor, but after investigating this morning- I realize it would have been fine. Apparently they can be poisonous to rodents, horses, and birds but the only harm towards dogs is the pit (which was removed) causing them to choke.

Eggs, Peanuts, and Wheat! O My!

Food allergies are so common these days! It seems like every family I know deals with some type of food allergy. Although food allergies can be inherited, some kids with no family history still develop them. I want little Dino to be able to eat anything and not have to worry with this, so I am trying my hardest to prevent them! So, of course, I started researching.

Just like everything else I have been researching lately- the advice is widespread! Some recommend waiting to introduce the common allergen foods until 2-3 years of age. While others like American Academy of Pediatrics state that after 6 months of age, there is no research supporting the idea of delaying particular foods in order to reduce chances of developing an allergy.

A couple of studies have shown less food allergies when food is introduced closer to 6 months rather than waiting until after a year. An article on the American Academy of Allery, Asthma, and Immunology’s website discusses research that was published in late 2010. They found that babies that were given eggs at a later age (after 10 months) were more likely to have an egg allergy than the ones that were introduced to eggs at an earlier age (around 4-6 months). They state this could be true of other common allergens and could eventually change the infant feeding guidelines. http://www.aaaai.org/global/latest-research-summaries/Current-JACI-Research/Infant-feeding-guidelines-may-help-to-promote-the-.aspx

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, six foods account for 90% of food allergies in children: cow’s milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy and tree nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.). Other allergenic foods include: pork, fish and shellfish, oranges and other citrus fruits, berries, chocolate, tomatoes, corn, and food additives.

So what should we do with all of the conflicting advice? Honestly, I am not sure what the best route is! Since there is no research to support waiting and some research that favors earlier introduction verses later, we will not get too caught up with avoiding these foods. I do think it is a good idea to be aware of the most common allergens and closely observe your child when introducing those particular foods. Food allergy symptoms tend to appear within a few minutes to a couple of hours after eating. WebMD list the following symptoms to watch for with food allergies.

·         Hives

·         Flushed skin or rash

·         Face, tongue, or lip swelling

·         Vomiting and/or diarrhea

·         Coughing or wheezing

·         Difficulty breathing

·         Loss of consciousness

And also keep in mind that some foods are still off-limits until 1 year old for reasons other than preventing allergies. These include: honey (and processed foods made with honey), cow’s milk, and added salt and sugar.

For Dino, we will pay extra close attention the first few times foods like eggs or wheat are on the menu, but I don't plan to wait an extra amount of time to introduce these. What about your family? When did you introduce these foods to your little one? Did they have any allergic reactions?

The Pups Are Going to Love This!!



Every picture I see of babies feeding themselves, they (and everything around them) are covered in food! I have been reading up on other blogs and forums on what is working for other parents to reduce the crazy mess. Conclusion? Dogs! It seems that at least half of the parents said that their dogs help with the cleaning. Our poor furry babies have really been neglected since Dino has come along, so this could be a good way of making amends :)

Other great ideas for keeping floor clean: newspaper, table cloths, shower curtains, reusable "splat mats", and burp cloths. One mom said she would clean floor really well prior to eating and then when something fell in the floor, baby could still eat it instead of it getting wasted. I think using newspaper would be a great way to recycle and one mom even suggested throwing it in with the compost pile. We have used a plastic shower curtain for naked time- for easy clean up- and it works pretty well for that purpose, so I feel like it would be a good (inexpensive) option for when we want to cover the floor. Our house has hardwood and tile, so I think we will try the dog method first and see how that goes! 

I just recently added this Fisher-Price booster seat to my wish list on Amazon. It has really good reviews stating how easy it is to clean as well as taking with you for eating away from home. I love that it has separate trays. There is a feeding tray (the middle one) that can be washed in dishwasher and then another (the top one) to cover it and keep it clean. We have a high chair now that he loves, but it is covered in fabric so we may soon be ordering this one to use instead.

Another thing that will be important to consider is how to protect little Dino from the mess. We received several bibs at his baby showers, but if he looks like other babies I have seen eating, I just don't think they are going to do the job. I came across these from Ikea which I can order on Amazon. Plus they are very reasonably priced! I plan to order these today :)

Plates, spoons, bowls? Most BLW parents suggest just offering food to your little one directly onto their tray rather than plates and bowls (which will just get turned upside down and thrown around). We will not be feeding him with a spoon, but as he gets older, we will fill a spoon and allow him to practice using utensils.

Other items? I have ordered "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook" by Gill Rapley. I have heard really great things about this book as a reference and for ideas of foods the entire family can eat together.

Our supply/wish list: 

No Spoon-feeding!

One of the first things I registered for and was most excited about receiving during the pregnancy was a Baby Bullet! I had decided several years ago that I would make our own baby food at home rather than spending all that money on already prepared food. Over the past few months though, I kept coming across this term, “Baby Led Weaning” and hearing several other moms say that’s what they were doing with their baby. So, of course I had to research this! There are several resources on the internet talking about Baby Led Weaning; one of them, wholesomebabyfood.com explains, “In short, Baby Led Weaning (BLW) is skipping thin and runny purées and not feeding your baby with a spoon. BLW means offering your baby (age appropriate) foods that are soft-cooked and cut or mashed into small easily manageable pieces…The foods are then given to your baby to eat without being pureed and without being spoon-fed. You do the cooking, the cutting or mashing and the offering of the foods and your baby does the rest.” I was intrigued immediately!

No purees? How can this be? Surely a 6 month old cannot eat foods that have not been pureed. Wouldn’t they choke?!? These questions led me to researching the history of baby food purees. In an article discussing infant feeding throughout the past century (Fomon, 2001), I realized for many years (and still today), many infants are starting solid (pureed) foods much earlier than 6 months. The first introduction of food (usually cereal) ranged from 2 days to about 5 months of age. With introducing foods this early, the baby will still have the tongue-thrust reflex where they reject foods that hit their tongue as well as a very immature swallowing reflex preventing them from moving food from the front to back of their mouth. The only way to accomplish feeding an infant this young would be to spoon-feed pureed foods into the back of their mouth. So my thought- if we are waiting until 6 months and he is truly ready for solids, maybe we don’t need to puree foods. But what about the choking? Well it turns out that the baby’s gag reflex starts out closer to the front of the mouth and gradually moves back further as they get older. Because their gag reflex is not all the way in the back of their mouth yet, you may hear them gag when they are first learning, but choking is not common.

Are purees a bad thing? No, not necessarily. So why would we want to try BLW? A few reasons.

1.    Anything that saves money can be good thing! Dino will be able to eat the same foods we    will be eating (minus salt and sugar).

2.    Anything that saves time is a good thing! Making my own purees would require the extra time of food preparation.

3.    Research looks promising! A new article was published this past February concluding that the spoon-fed infants favored more sweet foods compared with the BLW group as well as the BLW group having a lower BMI (Townsend, 2012). BLW is gaining much popularity in the UK and is starting to catch on here in the US, but because it is a newer approach, research is limited. I have yet to read or hear a mom say anything negative about BLW that has used this method, but only positive, great things.

Although I don’t think this is necessarily the best feeding method for every child, I think it could really work well for our little Dino. Hey- It’s worth a try!

References:

Fomon, S. J. (2001). Infant feeding in the 20th century: Formula and beikost. The Journal of Nutrition, 131(2), 4095-4205. Retrieved from http://jn.nutrition.org/content/131/2/409S.full

Townsend , E. (2012). Baby knows best? the impact of weaning style on food preferences and body mass index in early childhood in a case–controlled sample.  BMJ: Nutrition and metabolism, 2(1), Retrieved from http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000298.full

First Bites: What will be little Dino’s first food?

We have decided to bypass cereal and move on to other foods (like veggies, fruits, and meat). I know, I know, this sounds crazy, but hear me out. Doctors commonly recommend starting babies on cereal fortified with iron to prevent iron deficiency anemia. The problem is that babies can only absorb a small portion of the iron in cereals (about 4-10% according to kellymom.com) whereas with breast milk, although it has a smaller amount, about 50-70% of the iron can be absorbed. Also, infant cereals are primarily carbohydrates and very little protein. For a breastfed baby, they are getting plenty of carbohydrates so meat or other protein sources might be more beneficial to their diet.

Although many nutrition experts are starting to advise skipping the cereal and much research is showing that full-term, breastfed babies are rarely ever iron deficient during the first year, we still want to make sure we offer plenty of iron rich foods for Dino. Also, Vitamin C aids in the absorption of iron, so we will make sure to include foods high in Vitamin C with each meal. Wholesome baby food has a great article about iron (http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/Iron.html) that includes a list of foods high in iron as well as foods high in Vitamin C.

So what will little Dino eat as his first food? Avocado! It's full of healthy fats and a great texture for his food- which leads to the next question- how will we prepare his foods?

6 Months?!? Why Wait So Long?

Everywhere I look and everyone I talk to has a different opinion of when to start babies on solid foods. Most of the literature I have come across says 4-6 months, but I am starting to see more and more recommendations to wait until 6 months- and their reasoning seems very sound.

One of my favorite breastfeeding resources, kellymom.com, explains that during 4-6 months of age, a baby’s intestinal lining begins to change. When they are born, they possess an “open gut” meaning that proteins and pathogens can enter into the bloodstream. This can be a good thing for breastfed babies because it allows all of the beneficial antibodies to enter the bloodstream and help fight off potential infections. The problem happens when the baby still has an "open gut" and proteins from food enter into the bloodstream. The immune system recognizes the protein as a foreign organism and may produce an antibody to fight it off, thus making a food allergy more likely. Because there is no way to know if their gut has closed yet by outward physical signs, waiting until 6 months increases the likelihood that their gut has matured and allergy risk is (theoretically) much lower.

Diagram from kellymom.com showing the difference between "open" and "closed" gut

To me this is the most important reason to wait, but other reasons include:

1. Baby should be able to sit up with very little assistance (which tends to happen around 6 months) to decrease risk of choking.

2. Teething and cutting teeth typically does not start until around 6 months. The drool has enzymes that help to digest the solid foods.

3. Young babies still have a tongue-thrust reflex that will push out anything that hits the tongue (making it harder to feed). Their swallowing mechanism is immature making it difficult to move food from the front to the back of their mouth. By 4-6 months, the tongue-thrust reflex begins to diminish and the swallowing mechanism allows them to move the food around better.

4. Exclusive breastfeeding (no other foods) for 6 months may reduce later risk of obesity. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15737952?dopt=Abstract for more info.

Little Dino's Plan

In just 15 more days my little Dino will turn 6 months! Although this is the time for many milestones, I am most excited about introducing him to real food! Over the next 15 days, I will be digging through research to develop our plan. You may be thinking to yourself, “A plan?? Why not just start with the typical cereal as his first food?” A few reasons. I love having a plan for everything (even though I have learned that most things don’t go as planned). I research/question everything- this may be due to my curiosity in life and needing to know the reasoning (or lack of) behind typical recommendations. And lastly, as a research dietitian, it just seems natural to browse through the latest research for the most updated findings. During the next two weeks, I will be answering the following questions and sharing my findings with you.

1.       What will be his first food?

2.       How should I prepare his first foods?

3.       Do I need to purchase any feeding supplies?

4.       Being exclusively breastfed up until this point, are there any nutritional concerns to be noted?

5.       How will I incorporate solid foods while continuing to breastfeed?