What and when you eat can have a huge impact on how you feel. Watch this video to learn more.
Next week: Are you sleeping enough to be happy?
Is my baby ready for solids?
I’m asking myself this question now. Little Jillian is 5 months old now and many of the women in my baby group are discussing this very question. Is it time? How do I do it? What comes first?
I’m also getting this question from my relatives. The older generation is asking “so when do they recommend starting solids now?” They are realizing that research changes and views change with generations.
So what is the right thing to do?
As with any parenting decision I think the most important thing is to be confident in your own decision. All parents will do things differently, so you need to be ok with that. Gather the information and make informed decisions about everything. This can seem overwhelming, but listen to your intuition and also to trusted health care professionals.
I’m referring back to what I learned in Pediatrics class with my mentor in naturopathic medicine. So here are a few considerations to take into account:
Is my baby ready for solids?
- Able to sit up well without support
- Tongue reflex is gone – baby doesn’t automatically push solids out with her tongue
- Teeth are starting to come in
- Baby is interested and watches what you are eating
- Baby can pick up food and put it in her mouth with pincer grasp
The following are NOT good reasons for starting solids:
- Baby is “big” or has doubled her birth weight – the AAP recommendations of starting solids at 6 months make no execptions for babies who weigh more
- Baby is “small” – ounce for ounce, breastmilk has significantly more nutrients than any type of solid food and is easier to digest and assimilate
- Baby doesn’t sleep through the night – 2 studies have shown that babies who eat solids before bed had the same patterns as those who had no solids
If you want more information on how I’m going to introduce foods, what order etc, bring your baby in for a well baby check to become a patient and I can coach you through it.
Cleanse with Your Friends begins!
I have begun instructing a great group of women with The City of Barrie program – Cleanse with Your Friends.
We are all starting our cleanse within the next few days. I’m gearing up to start tomorrow and came up with a new snack:)
Black Bean Avocado Dip
- 1 can black beans, rinsed well
- 1 avocado
- 2 cloves of garlic
- juice of half a lemon
Blend all ingredients in a food processor. The colour is kind of greyish afterwards but it tastes great! Eat with carrot and celery sticks, cucumber and some brown rice crackers. Mmmm!
Day 1 for me starts tomorrow!
March Break Fun Skate
WOW! What a fun time we had on Friday evening. Everyone at The Healing Oasis would like to thank our friends and family for coming out and sharing in some fun and light activity.
Not only did we have an amazing ice rink all to ourselves for an hour, we had an entire party room filled with kids and parents and friends…and SNACKS! All of which were a hit!! And we had SO many people ask us for our recipes we thought we’d share them with you to enjoy with your own friends and families. (Look for the recipes in our next blogs.)
We hope everyone had as much fun as we did and we look forward to seeing even more of you at our next client appreciation event….perhaps a summer BBQ!?
To view the e
ntire photo album from our fun skate day simply find us on Facebook and become a fan.
With sincere thanks,
The Healing Oasis Team
Munchies for Munchkins
Tonight I will be instructing the Meals and Nutrition for Munchkins with The City of Barrie. I’ve had a lot of fun preparing for this seminar while looking at cookbooks, which are my favourite type of book. I love trying new recipes and this gave me a great opportunity to check out new books and recipes to share with the parents attending.
Here I have made the “Hale and Hearty Fruit Dip” from The Kid-Friendly Food Allergy Cookbook by Leslie Hammond and Lyne Marie Rominger. F.Y.I. This book is available at the Barrie Public Library.
For the smiley snack:
I used a plain rice cake for the face, spread the fruit dip on the face, orange slice for the mouth, dried cranberry for the nose and 2 whole, natural almonds for the eyes. The hair is unsweetened coconut flakes. Steve, my guinea pig, loved it!
For those of you who missed the class, stay tuned for more of my informative sessions with The City of Barrie.
Fruit Dip:
- 1 cup cottage cheese (or yogurt)
- 1 tbsp honey (optional, local honey is the best)
- 1/2 firm banana
- 1/3 cup fresh or frozen berries (I used raspberries)
- Squeezed juice from 1/2 fresh orange
1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Refridgerate for 30 minutes and serve with fruit or rice cakes and crackers.