Natural Birth and Baby Care.com

I missed Real Food Wednesday last week So I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss it this week!  This week’s carnival topic is “Rookie tips from You” – dedicated to helping you get started with better nutrition.

All moms spend time thinking about how to improve nutrition.  And I think it’s safe to say the thought overwhelms you.  It overwhelms me and it’s one of the things I’m most passionate about (besides birth and babies!) I thought I’d share some simple tips for getting started, and some things that have helped me:

• Switch to real butter for flavoring cooked veggies and soups.
• Use olive oil and red wine vinegar on your salads if making your own dressing is intimidating.
• Switch to coconut oil for sauteing, or a coconut oil/butter mix.
• Buy fermented foods if making them scares you   Real lacto-fermented sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles can frequently be found even at conventional grocers.   You can also buy yogurt and (unsweetened) kefir.
• Learn to love your crock pot.  You can make delicious real food in your crockpot easily!  You can also cook beans in your crock pot overnight.
• Roast a whole chicken in your crock pot and use the bones to make chicken stock.  This is very, very easy to do and a great basis for better nutrition.  You can even make the stock in your crock pot if you need to be away from home.
• Use your home made chicken stock in soups throughout the week.  Soups are really easy to make too.
• Soak beans and grains you’ll need for the week all at once, then store in the fridge.  This one tip has helped me a lot over the past few weeks as we’ve been eating a 100% traditional foods diet.

And a couple of tips related to children:

• Feed your children lots of fat.  At least 6 tablespoons a day is good for young children.  Give them whole milk, whole milk cheeses, whole yogurt, and butter.  If you give them salads dress them with plenty of olive oil.  Flavor their veggies generously with butter.
• Feed your children at regular times throughout the day.  Children like routine and they learn to understand that they eat at meal and snacktimes – not around the clock.  Do nurse your baby on demand!
• Do not be a short order cook!  Teach your children that what is served is what they have available to eat.  Encourage them to at least take one bite of a food they think they will not like.  Teach them to thank the cook and show appreciation for food even if they don’t care for it.
• Please see the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome if you have a very picky eater; it gives helpful advice on teaching children to eat good foods.

Get more information on how to get started with better nutrition by visiting Kelly the Kitchen Kop!