Milk It!

We’re at this great stage where Zach is beginning to eat just about everything we do (although sometimes I have to mash it up a bit because he only has 5 teeth).  A couple of nights ago he devoured copious amounts of homemade garlicky baba ganoush, followed by mahi mahi with shitake mushrooms and grapefruit reduction!  He’s also finally figured out how to drink out of a glass (more about that in another post), but he’s not crazy about the concept of plain water.  I’ve successfully transitioned him from the soup to solids, but this meant a decrease in his liquid consumption.  Enter the most glorious of foods… Sesame seed milk!

Seeds are Mother Nature’s powerhouse of nutrition…

Seeds are the “eggs” that contain the nutrients needed to nourish the growth of a new plant. So their high nutrient content shouldn’t come as a surprise. What’s surprising is that we generally relegate these nutritional wonders to the occasional snack rather than making them staples of our diet…

With their gold mine of healthy minerals and their niacin and folic-acid contents, seeds are an excellent nutrition package. They are among the better plant sources of iron and zinc. In fact, one ounce of pumpkin seeds contains almost twice as much iron as three ounces of skinless chicken breast. And they provide more fiber per ounce than nuts. They are also good sources of protein.

Sesame seeds are a surprising source of the bone-building mineral calcium, great news for folks who have trouble tolerating dairy products. And seeds are a rich source of vitamin E. The only drawback: Some seeds are quite high in fat. Sunflower and sesame seeds provide about 80 percent of their calories as fat, although the fat is mostly of the heart-smart unsaturated variety. (Source: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/fresh-ideas/healthy-dinners/health-benefits-of-seeds-ga.htm)

Here’s how I make Zach’s milk:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unhulled sesame seeds
• 2.5 cups of water
• 3 pitted prunes or dates

Procedure:

1. Put everything in a blender.
2. Blend on highest setting for at least 1 minute but preferably more, until you don’t see any chunks of prune whirling around.
3. Use a spoon to push the liquid through a colander or strain through a thick cheese cloth, making sure you get all the liquid out (very little pulp should remain).
4. Refrigerate and use within 48 hours.

Note: You might have to score the nipple in your baby’s bottle because this milk is pretty thick and hearty!  Yum!

Zach drinks two or three 6-oz. bottles of sesame milk each day.  The nutritional value is mind-blowing and he loves the taste!

Food Fight

Yesterday at the park I struck up a conversation with a grandmother who’s visiting from Argentina to help her daughter, who just had her second child.  The older sibling, a little girl named Carla, is only 15 months old.  Carla’s grandmother told me that the little girl’s world has been turned upside-down with the baby’s birth, and for the past week she has refused to eat anything except fruit.

Every couple of minutes, the grandmother would interrupt our conversation to walk across the playground and shove a blueberry into Carla’s mouth.  She told me how worried they all were, because prior to the baby’s arrival Carla had been a good eater.  I told her that food is one of the few things over which children have control (bowel movements being another, to a certain extent).  When they feel their world has become unpredictable, they try to gain a semblance of control by using the only means at their disposal.   Carla is a bright and perceptive little girl, so she understands that her food intake is of great interest to the adults around her.

From my experiences as a teacher, I know that food is a hot-button issue among parents.  Most of the calls I received after school were from parents complaining that I didn’t make their children finish their vegetables!   Several times I saw one desperate mother strap her child into the car seat after school and then force-feed him the remainder of his lunch… Scenes like these hurt my heart, because I understand that the parents have the best intentions but also know that they’re making matters worse and setting up their child for a lifelong dysfunctional relationship with food.

I loved this article on helping your child establish a healthy relationship with food from the beginning.  Everything it says is spot-on and following this advice will help prevent or heal food-related issues.  The article also reminded me of a story from my childhood, which I want to re-post from my old blog as an example that a child’s relationship with food will change when your approach to mealtimes does, too.

*******************

When I was three years old, my family moved to a small condominium complex in Mexico City.  Our next-door neighbors, a registered nurse and her husband (a doctor), also had two young children.  The girl, Lorena, was my age, and we quickly became close friends.

Lorena was a pale and skinny little thing who was afraid of everything (including her over-bearing mother).  She would categorically refuse to eat anything except canned tuna fish.  Her mom would sit with her at the dinner table for hours, forcing her to gulp down cream of spinach or some other healthy food.  After hours of fighting (several times she even tied her down in desperation), her mom would break down and open a can of tuna.

Apart from the eating issue, Lorena suffered from a slew of “ailments”, including allergies to cats and mysterious rashes.  She took medicine constantly and was regularly covered in ointment to heal her hives.

When I turned five, my family and I moved to the countryside near San Diego.   My parents bought a beautiful hilltop  house with a swimming pool and two acres of open land.  The first summer we were there, my mom called Lorena’s mom and, after much negotiating, arranged for the little girl to travel with some relatives to San Diego so she could visit us for two months.

When Lorena arrived, she brought a small suitcase with her clothes, and a larger one filled with medication, ointments, and cans of tuna fish.  A letter from her mom stated: “Lorena is a very picky eater, and frankly it’s a struggle to get her to eat.  When you get tired of fighting with her, feel free to open a can of tuna since it’s the only thing she likes.”

My mom took one look at the quivering little girl, stashed the medications and tuna fish in the closet, and announced that it was lunch time.

“What’s for lunch?” my brother and I eagerly asked.

“Turkey sandwiches and carrot salad,” answered my mom.

“I don’t like turkey and I don’t eat carrots,” said Lorena.

“OK, then don’t eat,” replied my mom calmly.

“Can we eat her food?” we asked, ravenous after playing outside all morning.

“No, that’s Lorena’s food.  She’ll eat it when she’s ready,” answered my mom.

“I’m not going to eat,” replied the defiant five-year old, pushing her plate back and crossing her arms in front of her.  “I want tuna fish.”

“There’s no tuna fish,” said my mom patiently.  “There’s turkey sandwiches with carrot salad.”

My brother and I wolfed down our food, and when we were done, we grabbed Lorena’s hand and ran outside to play in the pool.  My mom put Lorena’s untouched food away and picked up the phone to arrange for swimming lessons, because five-year old Lorena didn’t know how to swim.

That evening, after chasing frogs, riding tricycles, and going down the water slide for five hours, we were called inside for dinner.

“I don’t want to eat any of that,” said Lorena upon eying the chicken, potatoes and vegetables my mom had prepared.

“Well,” answered my mom calmly,  “This is what’s for dinner.”

Lorena sat pouting with her arms crossed while my brother and I inhaled our portions and asked for seconds.

The next morning, we woke up to scrambled eggs and refried beans.

“I don’t like eggs or beans,” grumbled Lorena.

“Well, it’s what’s for breakfast,” answered my mom, while my brother and I piled our plates high.

To make a long story short, Lorena went on a two-day hunger strike.

On the third day, my mom served Lorena her usual portion of whatever was on the menu, and Lorena ate.  And ate.  And ate.

She ate vegetables, chicken, meat, potatoes, rice, eggs, milk, fish, fruit, and everything else my mother served her from then on.

Over her two month stay, the frail weakling of a child gained 10 pounds, achieved a healthy sun-kissed glow, and learned to swim.  Her allergies never manifested themselves (even though we had two cats) and she didn’t have a single rash during her entire eight-week stay.

Towards the end of the visit, my mom arranged for Lorena’s mom to spend a week with us in San Diego before flying back with her daughter.  When Lorena found out her mom would be arriving the next day, she broke into a rash and pooped in the pool.

And she refused to eat anything other than tuna fish for the rest of the stay.

Montessori Mealtimes

I come from a Hispanic culture, where mealtimes are sacred.  As children, we were expected to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner sitting down at the table.  We were also expected to remain seated throughout the meal, have appropriate table manners, and join in or at least listen to the conversation.  Weekend meals at home and in restaurants were three-hour affairs, especially as my brother and I got older and could partake in adult discussions about politics and current events.

Those times around the table were the happiest moments of my childhood.  I felt accepted, respected, and part of a unit.  I learned to debate my viewpoint and accept counter-arguments.  I discovered that food wasn’t just sustenance; it embodied culture, heritage, family history, art, science, pleasure and yes, even some pain.  Mealtimes taught me discipline, respect for my elders, pride in my cultural heritage, and the joy of service. 

I want the same experiences for our child, and I know that to get there I have to start now.  I want Zach to understand that mealtime is a pleasurable moment of the day where one can relax, converse, and savor food.  I also want him to understand that there are certain expectations during mealtime: he should remain seated until everyone has finished; he shouldn’t play with his food; he should try at least two bites of everything; and he should join in the conversation or listen attentively.  To parents whose children get up and run around the dining room, play with their food, eat only chicken nuggets, or demand to watch TV during mealtimes, these expectations might seem a bit unreasonable.  I feel that they are achievable – and important – goals that any child can reach with the right preparation.

When Zach was younger and started eating solids, I would prepare his meal while he played on the floor and would bring him to the table when everything was ready.  Little by little, I’ve set up a mealtime routine that emphasizes the qualities I want to help him develop.  I always announce mealtime to him, place him in his Tripp-Trapp at the dining room table, and give him a toy so he can entertain himself while I warm up his meal.  When I first started doing this about 4 weeks ago, he would throw a fit from the moment I sat him down to the moment the first bite of food made it into his mouth.  As a very hungry five-month old, he did not understand the concept of waiting.  I persevered, letting him watch from the table as I prepared his food, telling him what I was doing each step of the way, and assuring him that his food would be ready soon.  This morning, I was amazed to see how much patience he has developed in just a few short weeks!  He no longer cries while he waits, and instead watches me as I move around the kitchen and plays quietly.  If you want to teach a child how to wait, the best way to do it is to give him opportunities to wait! 

I also want him to understand that we don’t get up from the table during mealtimes.  To model this behavior for him, I had to make sure I had everything necessary for his meal.  After a couple of weeks of kicking myself every time I realized that I had forgotten something in the kitchen, I decided to buy a tray. Problem solved!  Now, while his food is steaming, I prepare his glass bowls, cloth napkin, cleaning towel, spoon, glass, water pitcher, and fruit compote.  When his food is ready, I place it on the tray and bring everything to the table.  It’s such a relief to know that I have everything I need in one place! 

Right now Zach can’t leave the table until I take him out of his chair, but we chose his Tripp-Trapp precisely because it will give him the freedom to climb into and out of his chair when he starts walking.  I want Zach to develop the necessary discipline so that he can remain at the dinner table of his own accord,and this starts by modeling.  (If you think it isn’t possible for a toddler to sit for meals, I invite you to visit a Montessori Infant Community, where children as young as 15 months sit together for 20-30 minutes, enjoy their meal quietly and respectfully, and then clean up on their own).

While Zach eats, I talk with him.  I must admit that having one-sided conversations takes some imagination!  I tell him what he’s eating, ask him if he’s enjoying it, and discuss either what we’re going to do that day or what we did during the day.  I don’t ramble on during the entire meal, because it’s also important to let him focus on the act of eating and allow him to explore the flavors and textures of his food.  I make sure we establish eye contact while we talk, and I respond to his babbling with smiles and verbal acknowledgment.

During mealtimes, I make it a point not to answer the phone or check my e-mail and I expect my husband to do the same when he joins us for dinner.  Sometimes I have to put off eating dinner until Zach is done because I can’t juggle eating and feeding him at the same time, but at least we are all sitting together and Zach and his dad are enjoying each other’s company at the dinner table.

Montessori teachers are often reminded to “teach by teaching, not by correcting”.  This means that you should model appropriate behavior, set reasonable expectations, and prepare the environment so that you and your child are successful.  By so doing, you avoid having to nag, threaten, and punish.  It takes a bit of planning and discipline, but the results are worthwhile and extend to other areas of the child’s life!

Making the Soup

Last week I wrote about our experience with the Jaramillo Soup.  The beauty of this soup is that you can make it with whatever you have in your fridge, so it’s economical and uncomplicated.  When I started making it for Zach, I began by giving him 2 oz. three times per day, mixed with breast milk (plus nursing on-demand the rest of the day).  This meant that I was making about 1/3 of the recipe featured here.  I gradually increased the amount of soup based on his demands and hunger level.  By six months of age, he’s drinking four 9-oz. bottles of soup each day (plus purees for lunch and dinner made from other things like sweet potato, corn & spinach, etc. to practice spoon feeding).*  When you see how much he eats you’ll find it shocking and cruel that anyone would expect THIS big baby to be on a breast milk-only diet until he turned six months.

*Since I started this post a week ago (hello, busy life) I have weaned Zach from the bottles and I’m spoon-feeding him 100%.  This is described at the end of the post.

Ingredients:

Vegetables

• 1 chard leaf
• 1 kale leaf
• 1 lettuce leaf
• 1/2 zucchini
• 5 green beans
• 1 large broccoli floret
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/3 sweet potato

Legumes & grains (soak all legumes and brown rice the night before)

• 1 tbsp. mung or azuki beans (or any beans you have)
• 1 tbsp. green lentils (or yellow or brown)
• 1 tbsp. brown rice
• 1 tbsp. quinoa (doesn’t need to be soaked)

Animal protein (a portion approximate to the size of your baby’s palm)

• Dark meat chicken, grass-fed beef, chicken livers* or fatty fish (i.e. salmon)

*Liver can cause constipation but it’s a great source of nutrition, so play it by ear and go easy at first.

Fruits

• 1/2 avocado
• 1 sliver of papaya (approximate size = three of your fingers)
• 6 prunes
• five chunks of mango, 1/2 peach, handful of blueberries, OR any other seasonal fruits without the peel (note: NO bananas, strawberries, or citrus)

Optional: DHA cod liver oil for babies (2-3 ml) or a tbsp. of quality olive oil

Water: Ideally use spring water or reverse osmosis water, but at least use purified water (no tap water!!)

Equipment: pressure cooker (or regular soup pot, but it takes longer)*, blender, ceramic or glass bowl, glass bottles, cross-cut nipples (use a sharp knife to cut a cross in the nipple so the soup will go through).

*I have a T-Fal pressure cooker; it’s affordable and works really well.

Instructions:

The night before, measure out the legumes and grains and leave them soaking in two cups of purified water in a glass or ceramic bowl (no plastic, even if it’s BPA-free!).  You can

You can chop up the veggies or cook ’em whole.

also prep baggies with washed and pre-measured veggies for the whole week (note: if your veggies are not organic, make sure you disinfect them with grapefruit seed extract).  Do the same thing for the animal protein; portion the meats, wrap them in parchment paper and then put them in baggies to freeze.

I prep the veggies every Sunday.

In the morning, pour the legumes and grains into your pot with the water they soaked in, and add the vegetables and animal protein.  DO NOT put in the fruits or oil, and DO NOT use any sweeteners or seasonings.

Cover the pressure cooker and turn on the heat as hight as it will go.  When it has built up pressure and starts steaming, turn down the heat to medium-low (just enough to maintain pressure) and set a timer for 15 minutes.  Alternately, you can pressure cook the grains and legumes for 10 minutes, bring down the pressure, add the veggies and protein, increase the pressure again, and pressure cook for five more minutes (I just find this to be more of a hassle).  If you are using a regular pot, you will have to let the grains

Grains, legumes, veggies and animal protein ready to cook.

and legumes cook for about 45 minutes, then add the veggies and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the fruits and oil in a blender.  When the timer goes off, quick-release the pressure and transfer all the soup ingredients from the pot to the blender.  Blend on the highest setting for at least 30 seconds, or until everything has been perfectly pureed because little chunks of food can clog the nipples.  (I bought a $15 Oster blender with a glass blender jar, and it works great on

“liquify” mode). If the soup is too thick, add a little more water or some 100% organic fruit juice (I like prune, pear, or apple).  It takes a few days to get the consistency just right; have a toothpick handy to unclog the nipple if necessary.

Pour the soup into the bottles, screw on the nipples, put on the caps and put the bottles immediately into the fridge.  Try to put them on a bottom shelf, not in the door racks, so that they’ll stay very cold.  If your fridge isn’t very cold, put ice in a large container and nestle the bottles among the ice, and then put the whole thing in the fridge.  Failure to cool down the bottles can cause your baby to have gas, especially with the afternoon and evening feedings.

Ready to blend…

It sounds like a huge hassle to make the soup, but it’s actually quite quick once you have a system.  It takes me about 30 minutes each morning, and I can rest assured knowing that my child has wholesome, healthy, and home-cooked meals for the rest of the day.

CAVEAT: You MUST makethe soup fresh each day.  This soup should not be stored overnight nor should it be frozen.  Your child deserves fresh food to get off to a healthy start!

To heat up the bottles, you can use a bottle warmer (I have the Dr. Brown’s warmer and it works great if you set it for 5:30 minutes).  Always make sure to shake the bottle thoroughly to even out the soup temperature and test the soup on your hand before giving to baby.  The soup should be served warm.

Yummy!

If you are going out, take the soup in a thermal bag with ice and make sure it stays as cold as possible.  To reheat on the go, ask for a large cup half-filled with hot water and immerse the bottle for 5-7 minutes, then shake.

It is also possible to make the soup thicker and spoon-feed it to baby.  Now that Zach is eating really well with a spoon, I am making three separate purees from the items I cook (I still cook everything in one pot but I use less liquid during blending to ensure a thicker consistency):

1. A puree made from legumes, grains, a 4-minute egg yolk and some pastured butter (this is for breakfast and mid-afternoon meal)
2. A puree made from veggies, animal protein, and cod liver oil (this is for lunch and dinner)
3. A puree made from the fruits and avocado (this is “dessert” after each meal)

   

   Bottoms up!

In just two days, he successfully weaned from using the bottles, which he had been using since he turned 3 months.  He LOVES to eat with a spoon and has made great progress in that department.

This soup has changed our lives for the better.  Our child is happy, healthy, strong, and sleeps like a champ.  It’s never too late to start making it!  If you have any questions on how to make it, please e-mail me or leave a comment.

The first time we tried spoon-feeding the soup… It’s gotten a lot better since then!

A Mission of Nutrition

I’m aware that what I’m posting here might not be viewed favorably by everyone, and that’s OK.  I just ask that if you have negative comments, please keep them to yourself or write them on your own blog (I won’t approve negative comments for this post, so don’t bother writing them).  This is a very sensitive topic for me, but I chose to write about it both for future personal reference, and to provide an alternative to mothers out there who might find themselves in my shoes.  Thank you!

“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.”   -Bertrand Russell

I nursed Zach exclusively from the day he was born, but because he gained a lot of weight and grew well, I soon realized that breast milk wouldn’t be enough for him (he was 10 lbs. at birth and has been in the 98 percentile for size, weight, and head circumference since his first check-up).  At 2.5 months of age he weighed and measured more than most 6-month olds; he was constantly crying, nursing non-stop during the day, and waking up to nurse desperately several times a night.  Imagine a growth spurt that never stops… He and I were both exhausted!

My mother, a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, had become familiar with a doctor in Colombia who had developed a special soup for newborns that had wiped out malnutrition in several rural areas of his country, and which has been used by millions of families around the world for almost 50 years.  She had recommended the soup to several of her patients, and their babies were thriving!

I began making this soup for Zach the day he turned 3 months, giving him a few ounces and following up with my milk.  The first day, with much hesitation, I gave him two ounces in the morning, two at lunchtime, and two in the evening.  That night he slept from 8pm to 4am.  Not only did his body readily assimilate this food, but his entire personality changed.  He immediately stopped crying, became more engaged and focused, napped more consistently, and started regularly sleeping 6-8 hours in a row at night (when before he would sleep 3 hours if I was lucky!).

I was both sad and happy; sad because my baby had been HUNGRY for weeks and I had done nothing to help him, and happy because I had finally found the solution to what was ailing him.  Every few weeks, he demanded an increase in the amount of soup I was feeding him and was angry when he emptied the bottle… It was like he was telling me that this is what he needed to thrive!

Just like we tailor education to fit the needs of each child, we must tailor nutrition to satisfy each child’s requirements as well.  Expecting all 3-month olds to have the same nutritional needs is as crazy as expecting all 6-year olds to have the same cognitive abilities and interests.  

I weaned him from breast milk by the time he turned 5 months because he is lactose-intolerant, but thankfully the soup provides the nutrients, vitamins and minerals he needs to continue to grow strong.  I am approaching the weaning process considering the soup to be “breast milk” and all other foods to be “solids”; as he becomes more adept at eating with a spoon at the table I will slowly reduce the amount and frequency of the soup until he’s obtaining all his nutrition from solids, ideally sometime between 9 and 12 months of age as recommended by Dr. Montanaro.

A Mission of Nutrition

The soup was developed by a Colombian doctor, Hernan Jaramillo, who worked with malnourished children in a rural area of the country.  Before he initiated his nutrition program, malnutrition was rampant at the hospital where he worked and babies were dropping like flies.  Mothers who didn’t have enough breast milk were told by doctors to put their babies on formula, causing the parents to go into debt and making already weak children sick (because formula is full of chemicals, processed cow or soy milk, and sugars).

Dr. Jaramillo understood that although breast milk is essential, it does not measure up to the complete nutrition that the child was receiving in utero.  As any true scientist would do, Dr. Jaramillo studied the composition of breast milk and conducted HIS OWN tests on the digestive systems of newborn corpses.  His experiments led him to conclude that babies are perfectly capable of digesting and using the nutrients from whole foods when prepared in certain ways (in stark contrast to the campaigns of “only milk for the first 6 months” promoted by medical associations, who are financed by the pharmaceutical companies that make infant formula).

A few years after Dr. Jaramillo introduced the soup in the pediatrics ward of his hospital, the level of infant malnutrition in his town plummeted to – and stayed at – 0.05%, while in other comparable regions it’s anywhere between 50-100%!!!  He implemented the policy of feeding all the children in the hospital this soup as a complement to breast milk (or in the place of formula) from the day they were born, and soon the hospital pediatrics ward emptied out because the children weren’t getting sick anymore!!  He also noticed that their cognitive development had increased dramatically; even children with mental retardation were benefitting, in many cases improving enough to go to normal schools!

The beauty of this soup is that it is made with the foods that families already have in their homes.  Even the poorest family in the countryside has the ability to make it, saving THOUSANDS of dollars (a study calculated that the Jaramillo diet is 10 times more affordable than purchasing formula) and providing their child with appropriate nutrition and a dietary education that lasts a lifetime.

My mother’s Mexican housekeeper, whose 6-month old granddaughter has benefited tremendously from the Jaramillo soup, recalls that when she and her siblings were babies, their mom would breast feed them but would also give them atole (a porridge made from corn) and mashed fruits and vegetables from their small plot of land.  “We ate what we had, from the time we were babies, and we all grew up strong and healthy, with none of these allergies that kids have now,” she told me.

I decided to go back to the basics and chose to listen to my maternal instincts, the wisdom of my cultural heritage, and especially to my son.  As Montessorians, we dedicate our lives to supporting each child’s right to develop to his full potential.  This support must include the area of nutrition, for what is our body and brain but the product of what we consume?  Without appropriate nutrition, the brain and body cannot function correctly.  An incomplete nutrition is as much an obstacle to development as a crib or a walker.  Isn’t it time we did something about it?

Here is Dr. Jaramillo’s website (in English): http://dietajaramillo.org/jaramillo_en/index.htm  (Note: some of the links show up in Spanish but when you click on the link, the ensuing text is in English)

Here are the instructions for the soup: http://dietajaramillo.org/jaramillo_en/complementaria.htm

There are two Facebook groups where parents share their experiences and provide advice to others interested in making the soup.  They are both in Spanish but worth visiting if you can understand the language.  The soup gets nothing but rave reviews from parents; many admit to being hesitant at first, but all are thrilled by how happy, strong, and healthy their children have become:

Yo tambien alimente a mi hij@ con la Dieta Jaramillo

Dieta Jaramillo – Sopa Jaramillo

On my next post I will explain how I make the soup, in case anybody finds it useful.