Friday, September 16, 2011

Sili Squeeze!


Squeeze pouches are quickly becoming the new thing in on the go snacking (and sitting at the table too). They're easy, neat and kids seem to love them. The one downside is that they are expensive and wasteful, but that's about to change.
Introducing the Sili Squeeze - a reusable squeeze pouch that you can fill with any assortment of purees and it's dishwasher safe and easy to clean.


Order here. They come in 2 sizes and aren't much more expensive than a couple packages of the single use squeeze pouches.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Iron

Children aged 1-12 need 7-10mg of iron a day (lower end for smaller children, increasing as they grow) and if your child isn't eating meat it can be hard to hit that total each day. Adding an iron supplement to their diet is one option, but most taste horrible and are rejected by the child. Here is a list of iron levels in common foods and ideas to help aid iron absorption.

Iron Levels

To help aid iron absorption:

  • Continue serving iron-fortified cereal until kids are 18-24 months old.
  • Serve iron-rich foods alongside foods containing vitamin C — such as tomatoes, broccoli, oranges, and strawberries — which improves the body's absorption of iron.
  • Avoid serving coffee or tea at mealtime — both contain tannins that reduce iron absorption.
  • If you have a vegetarian in the family, monitor his or her diet to make it includes sufficient iron. Because iron from meat sources is more easily absorbed than iron from plant sources, you may need to add iron-fortified foods to a vegetarian diet.

Signs of an iron deficiency:

  • feeling tired and weak
  • decreased work and school performance
  • slow cognitive and social development
  • difficulty maintaining body temperature
  • decreased immune function, which increases susceptibility to infection

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

We did it!!



At Emma's 3 year appointment she FINALLY made it on the growth chart. It's been a very, very long journey and to say that it feels good is an understatement. My baby girl has finally done it, no more FTT!!!!!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

On the go



When you're trying to feed your child a high calorie diet, snacks can be very challenging. Most easy snacks aren't high calorie AND easy to transport. Below is a list of snacks we find easy to travel with and aren't too nutritionally lacking.




  • Cereal
Can be kind of messy to transport, but we use these reusable snack bags. They're super easy for Emma to use and they're very easy to clean.

Some Cereal Options:

Kix – (1 ¼ cup) 110 calories, 1g fat, 2g protein

Trix – (1 cup) 120 calories, 1.5g fat, 1g protein

Cheerios – (1 cup) 100 calories, 2g fat, 3g protein

Fruit Cheerios – (3/4 cup) 100 calories, 1.5g fat, 1g protein

Yogurt burst cheerios (3/4 cup) 120 calories, 1.5g fat, 2g protein

Chex (rice) (1 cup)- 100 calories, 0 fat, 2g protein

Wheat Chex (3/4 cup) – 160 calories, 1g fat, 5g protein

Quaker Granola (the oats and honey variety does not have corn) (1/2 cup) – 210 calories, 6g fat, 5g protein

  • Granola Bars

Nature Valley – 90 calories, 3g fat, 2g protein

Quaker – 100 calories, 3g fat, 1g protein

  • Dried Fruit

Raisins (1/2 cup) 217 calories, 0 fat, 2g protein

Apricots (1/2 cup) – 157 calories, 0 fat, 2g protein

Apples (1/2 cup) – 104 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

Cranberries (1/3 cup) – 140 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

  • Popcorn

Oil Popped (1 cup) – 55 calories, 3g fat, 1g protein

  • Squeezable packets

GoGo Applesauce – 60 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

Revolution Foods Mashup Strawberry Banana – 60 calories, 0 fat, 1g protein

Peter Rabbit Fruit Pouches Apple Grape – 80 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

  • Crackers

http://www.latejuly.com/late_july_organic_snacks/2008/01/our-bite-size-c.html

Cheddar bunnies snack packs – 140 calories, 6g fat, 3g protein

Graham bunnies snack packs – 120 calories, 4g fat, 2g protein

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Protein

I've heard from many friends that getting their children to eat meat is always a challenge and they're wondering about alternative protein sources. I've thrown together a list of non-meat protein sources. If your child has good dairy intake, chances are that protein isn't something that you need to worry about. A typical toddler only needs 16 grams of protein a day, which you can find in 2 cups of whole milk. However it's always ideal to feed your toddler a varied diet so that they are getting their nutrients from a variety of different sources.

Description Serving Size Grams of Protein


Veggie burger 1 patty Varies
Tempeh 1 cup 31
Soybeans, mature cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 22
Beans, White beans, mature seeds, canned 1 cup 19
Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 18
Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow 1 cup 17
Wheat flour, whole-grain 1 cup 16
Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched 137 16
Oat bran, raw 1 cup 16
Beans, Navy beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 16
Beans, Kidney beans, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 15
Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 15
Buckwheat flour, whole-groat 1 cup 15
Beans, Lima beans, large, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 15
Beans, Cowpeas (blackeyed), immature seeds, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 14
Beans, Pinto beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt 1 cup 14
Beans, Kidney beans, red, mature seeds, canned 1 cup 13
Beans, Cowpeas, common (blackeyes, crowder, southern), mature seeds, 1 cup 13
Beans, baked, canned, with pork and tomato sauce 1 cup 13
Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached 1 cup 13
Beans, baked, canned, plain or vegetarian 1 cup 12
Beans, Lima beans, large, mature seeds, canned 1 cup 12
Bulgur, dry 1 cup 12
Quinoa, cooked 1 cup 11
Cornmeal, whole-grain, yellow 1 cup 10
Peas, green, canned, regular pack, drained solids 1 cup 8
Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked 1 cup 7
Oat bran, cooked 1 cup 7
Spaghetti, cooked, enriched, without added salt 1 cup 7
Tofu, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride 1/4 block 7
Spinach, canned, drained solids 1 cup 6
Spinach, frozen, chopped or leaf, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 6
Buckwheat groats, roasted, cooked 1 cup 6
Bulgur, cooked 1 cup 6
Peas, edible-podded, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 6
Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5
Asparagus, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5
Beans, Cowpeas (Blackeyed), immature seeds, boiled, without salt 1 cup 5
Peas, edible-podded, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5
Corn, sweet, yellow, canned, vacuum pack, regular pack 1 cup 5
Potato, baked, flesh and skin, without salt 1 potato 5
Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked 195 5
Whole wheat bread 2 slices 5
Broccoli, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5
Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels cut off cob, boiled, drained, without salt 1 cup 5