None of my little ones have seemed too enthused over solid foods at first (you would never guess this from the way my big kids pack food away now.) Galen seems no different.

As I’ve talked about before, our family follows traditional food recommendations from groups like the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation. There are talks in those groups about how no traditional culture delayed solids past 6 months. But I think even if they introduced solids starting around six months, not all babies took to the with great gusto straight away.

I am, however, trying to offer to Galen pretty consistently, and I’m being very choosy about what he gets. Galen’s first official food was a spoon of baked sweet potato covered in butter. He seemed to like that.

Most of his meals thus far have been egg yolk, however. Egg yolk and then egg yolk with a little bit of liver grated in to them. (In case you are wondering, it’s the egg white that is usually allergenic and should be delayed until baby is a year. I feel comfortable giving my baby egg yolk – I did wait several days after his first taste before giving anything else to watch for reaction.)

Some evenings he has attacked his egg yolk and liver with gusto. Other nights, not so much. He’s also had a taste of homemade chicken broth – he was unsure of exactly how to proceed with getting that off the spoon. And he greatly enjoys banging a chicken drumstick bone (all attached small bones/slivers picked off) around, but hasn’t really yet managed to the bone to his mouth.

The best starting foods for babies are not, as we’re told most of the time now, grain cereals. Cereals are really hard for babies to digest. Because Scott has a hard time digesting grains we’re planning to delay giving Galen any grains until he is 2 years old. But for all babies grains are hard to digest – the digestive enzymes for grains begin to develop in the second and third years of life. Even rice cereal is not easy to break down – and it’s also pretty worthless nutritionally.

Nutrient rich foods are the best thing to start your baby on. I always wait until six months to introduce solids though some people still like to introduce at four months. But after six months you can give your baby egg yolk (I soft boil Galen’s), tiny amounts of grated liver, butter, and broths. Babies need a lot of fat I also feel pretty comfortable with giving sweet potato, avocado, and squashes to babies around the 7-8 month mark.

I am excited about starting Galen on solids and I’ll continue to share our adventures. Enjoy the above picture from one of Galen’s first solid meals… it’s also a rare shot of him without a hat Sorry it’s grainy – it was taken with our video camera!

For more information on feeding babies check on my review on the book Healing Our Children.

Low milk supply seems surprisingly common in modern societies.  There is heated debate about whether this was so in more traditional societies – I haven’t seen any answer convincing enough to allow me to weigh in on any side of the issue.

(Note: please allow me to clarify that “seems” means that it appears common when you talk to many women. However, professionals believe, and I tend to agree, that low milk supply is actually quite rare in our present day, even among mothers who are not getting good food. I have participated in a lot of heated debate about this issue and I’ve known this issue to come between women before. The reality, I think, is that it is not common – however many women worry – needlessly – about the fact that it does *seem* common. )

However, a few women struggle with low milk supply and I do know some ways you can boost your milk supply through nutrition. Others may want to boost supply so they can pump and store extra milk or donate to a milk bank.  Remember, if you’re truly struggling with supply issues there are many other strategies you should be trying – such as increasing frequency of nursing. Get more ideas from Dr. Jack Newman.

The “Supplements”

One of the first things you’ll hear when you mention struggle with milk supply is “oh my friend used (insert food, drink, or herb here) and it really helped her milk supply!”

There are some things that have been shown to boost supply, and you can use them as a supplement to your diet.

• Oatmeal has been known to boost milk supply.  A bowl of oatmeal daily, or even oatmeal cookies, may give you a greater supply.
• Quinoa, a grain, has been used by traditional societies during lactation and is said to boost milk production.
• There are various milk teas on the market.  No, these aren’t teas made with milk.  They’re made with herbs that are supposed to boost milk production.
• Fenugreek is an herbal supplement you can take which many women have found helps boost milk production.  You know you’re taking enough when your sweat smells like maple syrup.

Your Diet

Though the above are nutritional strategies that can work, I believe if you’re suffering from low milk supply you should examine your diet.  Experts say poor nutrition doesn’t cause low milk supply.  However, poor nutrition can eat up your own nutrient reserves, causing stress and exhaustion for you.

You have heard that it really doesn’t matter what you eat, you’ll still make milk for your baby (and it’s still better than formula!)  Well, that’s true – but a higher quality diet makes higher quality milk*.  And a high-quality diet can help you to have abundant milk.  There may really be times when milk supply can’t be improved – but improving diet is one of the most basic steps to try and will benefit you no matter what the outcome.

Fats are Vital

The first step to take is to examine your fat intake.  No, I’m not going to tell you to cut out the fat.  In fact, I’m telling you the opposite.  Make sure you’re getting enough fat.  Be sure you’re eating good fats – “good fats” are traditional fats like coconut oil, butter, olive oil, tallow, and lard.  Avoid new “industrial” oils (such as corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated oils) like they’re a plague… they are!!

Use butter liberally to enhance the flavors of your foods.  Select full fat dairy products and don’t trim all the fat off your meats.  Drizzle olive oil on your salad greens.  Enjoy your food will full flavor.

How Much are You Eating?

Next up… are you eating enough?  Read through my nutrition pages to be sure that you’re eating well.  The late Dr. Brewer, the Weston A. Price Foundation, midwives, and other professionals all advise continuing your pregnancy diet during lactation.  Don’t obsess over pounds – just be sure you’re getting what you need for your baby.  Pregnancy and nursing do cause nutritional stress on your body.  You are growing another being.  You’re not going to be able to eat as if it were just you.  You left those days behind when you conceived your child!

Cut out unhealthy foods.  Processed foods, sugars, excessive carbs.  Get rid of those things if you feel like you need to “cut back” on something.  But eat healthy foods liberally – to satisfaction.  And don’t lie to yourself.  If you’re still hungry after supper have a small snack at bedtime.  If 3 meals a day aren’t cutting it for you (they don’t for many nursing mothers!) have snacks between your meals.

Eating plenty of food, and getting plenty of fluid, will help boost your milk supply.  You would not believe how many mothers I have ask me about milk supply who admit, when I ask them about what they ate that day, “oh, I had coffee for breakfast, and a small salad for lunch.  I’ll probably have a little bowl of pasta for supper.  I just don’t have time for anything else.”

Mama, make some time!  I confidently tell Galen “Mama needs to eat, or you don’t eat!”  There are lots of foods that can be easily prepared while your baby is in a carrier, in a bouncy seat, on a blanket on the floor, or being entertained by someone else.  I know it’s important to be attached to your baby – but your babe will not suffer because you’ve taken 10 minutes to prepare a meal!  Take a look at my pages on managing motherhood for more meal tips.

Eat Properly Prepared Foods – and Eat Some Raw

This next advice could get really broad, so I’m going to keep it to a summary.  You should prepare your foods properly.  This is primarily talking about grains, legumes, and seeds, which may be hard for your body to digest if you just eat them “as is” or simply cooked.  A soaking overnight may help make them more digestible, which in turn will make it easier for your body to utilize them and leave more energy for milk production.

Things you should soak are wheat, oats, rye, and other grains.  Nuts and beans (legumes) should also be soaked.  This is as simple as dumping your food into a glass bowl, adding some whey (the watery stuff that collects in your yogurt) or lemon juice, and setting the bowl in a warm place overnight.  Just add salt to nuts.  For flours (wheat, rye, etc.) you can soak with part of the cooking liquid.  The next day just pick up where you left off in the recipe.  After your nuts have cooked overnight re-dry them in a warm (not hot) oven.  It’s pretty easy and could help improve your digestion and help a fussy baby.

Also enjoy some foods raw.  Easier-to-digest vegetable salads are great with olive oil and raw wine vinegar drizzled over them (some veggies, like spinach, are best served cooked).  And enjoy at least some of your animal products raw.  In our world the easiest way to do this is to eat raw milk cheese, which is legal to buy at stores.  You can also make a number of raw meat appetizers (please use grass-fed animal meat) or enjoy soft-boiled eggs (please use pastured poultry eggs).  Or if you have access to it you can drink raw milk, or have raw milk yogurt or kefir.

That brings me to raw, cultured foods – which are very good for you.  I have noticed the absolute biggest boosts in my milk supply after I began to add extra cream to my milk, added yogurt with live cultures and lots of butter to my morning oatmeal, and began having a fermented vegetable condiment consistently each day.

Sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and chutneys are all cultured condiments when prepared traditionally.  You can find many of these items at your normal grocery store – make sure they say “raw” or “live cultures.”  These foods aid your digestion.

An Overall Effect

These dietary improvements are all beneficial to your overall health.  They’re not a miracle cure for low milk supply.  But by taking steps to improve your nutrition you are well on the way to creating better health for you, and good diet often directly correlates with the quality of milk you make for your baby (even if you’re not at a place where you can make dietary changes right now, your milk is still better than formula).  I know when we committed to a better diet in January of this year I noticed within the first week that my milk supply became more abundant and my milk was much richer.  Galen could hardly keep up!

Enjoy the benefits of improved nutrition for both you and your baby.  For more information on cooking techniques or the “whys” of what I have recommended check out the books listed at the bottom of this article.

*If you pay no attention your nutrition whatsoever you are still going to make milk for your baby and it is still going to be the best choice for your baby.  When I had my first baby I lived far, far below the current poverty lines and I couldn’t afford expensive organic foods.  I could, however, learn about nutrition and cook basic, healthy foods.  My baby thrived on my milk.  So even if you feel that you have little money to spend for food, know your milk is tailor-made for your baby.  Breastfeeding is best no matter where you are in relation to the poverty line.

I still strongly recommed that all mothers study nutrition and do what they can to improve their family’s nutrition for their own health’s sake and that of their children.  There is a wealth of resources at your fingertips for the best price out there – free.

Get more great breastfeeding how-to’s from these other bloggers participating in the Motherwear Carnival of Breastfeeding:

• Motherwear’s Breastfeeding Blog: How to help your baby kick the nipple shield habit
• Marketing Mama: How to pump successfully at work
• Mama Saga: How to breastfeed (or just look like you know what you’re doing)
• BabyReady: How to get baby to take a bottle
• Strocel: How to get breastfeeding off to a good start
• Baby Carriers Down Under: How to breastfeed hands-free
• Blacktating: How to treat a cold while breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding Moms Unite: How to become a breastfeeding support professional
• Breastfeeding Mums: How to wean a breastfed toddler
• Mama Knows Breast: How to get a spouse to help with breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding 1-2-3: How to teach your baby nursing manners
• Zen Mommy: Using YouTube to stop nosey questions!
• Happy Bambino: How to deal with unsupportive family members
• The Bee in your Bonnet: How to be comfortable around nursing mothers
• MoBleez: How to naturally increase your milk supply – try seaweed
• Milk Act: How to care for a sick nursling
• Maher Family Grows: How to to increase milk supply using supplements
• Tiny Grass: Tandem Nursing – how to do it without driving yourself and your nurslings crazy!

Now that we’re done I can say that we’ll stick with the traditional foods style of eating.  Not 100% because that’s just hard in “modern” life.  But I learned some valuable lessons to help make healthy eating more do-able.  The biggest thing was to make sure that I have good meals in the freezer ready to go when I need them.

We ended our challenge and went ahead and ordered a pizza right after.  The end result of that was strange.  First, the pizza did not taste nearly as good as I remembered pizza tasting.  It just tasted sweet which really wasn’t pleasant.  I wanted a cheesy, saucy taste and it was just sweet.  We decided that next time we want pizza we’re just going to make it ourselves with homemade crust.  By getting pizza we’re already getting something with gluten anyways, and it may as well be healthier than ordering from a pizza place.

The pizza also gave me an upset stomach and tore my digestive track up from start to finish, so I certainly wasn’t endeared to it at all…  It got at least one of the kids too (evidenced by the fact that our kids sometimes forget to flush after going potty).  However, nobody wanted to confess forgetting to flush

Speaking of gluten – we’re a gluten-free home because Scott is gluten-intolerant – we did try properly prepared sourdough bread on the trial.  And happily it tastes not only delicious, but Scott is able to eat it with no ill effects.  I think that’s one of the biggest bonuses of eating well, and of eating so much soup, broth, and ferment food.  Those things have helped our digestion enough that Scott can tolerate sourdough (this is real sourdough though, fermented starter and allowed a slow rise – he still can’t eat the “fake” sourdough that’s sold in most stores).  We’ve been getting a loaf every couple of weeks or so and enjoying slices buttered.  I’m happy because this summer we may actually be able to have some picnic lunches with sandwiches.  My one lament about being a “GF” house is that the ease of sandwiches isn’t available.

The kids all did well and ate voraciously (as per usual) during the challenge.  Cassidy does seem to have gained some weight, which makes me very happy.  Her face looks a bit fuller and she’s getting some padding.  I think she could stand to gain a bit more so I’m still focusing on a good fat-rich diet for her.

So where are we going from here?  I’m going to keep working on a nutrient-dense traditional diet.  I’d like to keep up with about 90% or so of our eating being traditional foods.  I’ve gotten into the habit of soaking things and I think I’ll be able to keep that up.  Using dried beans instead of canned is quickly becoming a habit

We’re also going to try and focus on more local foods straight from the farmer.  We’re planning to sign up for a CSA for our summer and fall vegetables, supplemented with our own first gardening effort.  I’m looking forward to both of those things.  We try and buy our red meat locally too, from a local beef herd and also from a bison herd.  Once we get a freezer (if we can manage it in this house…which isn’t likely) we’ll probably buy beef by the half cow which will be really nice!

I’m also taking advantage of our local buying co-op to get good food in bulk (like our dried beans, rice, and oatmeal) because bulk buying allows for a good discount and gives us the whole foods to prepare.

I’m really pleased with how un-complicated our grocery lists are now.  Vegetables, grains, and meat and dairy and we’re pretty much set.  Canned tomato products and coconut milk are about the only thing we buy in a “processed” state.  It’s nice.

And of course the food has been delicious!  I feel like we’ve really enjoyed good foods, and I’ve learned to streamline some so I can enjoy them even more   I’ll continue to work on tweaking our diet and decided some further health goals for our family – the 30-day trial system is working well for us!

We did have a point this weekend where I had to give in and allow the use of corn tortillas from the store.  I had no other grains or beans ready to go, everyone was hungry, and my family is not satisfied with a meal that doesn’t include either grains or beans to give some sort of carb illusion.

The moral of the story – always have beans or rice or something that is properly prepared in the freezer.  Actually, I always need to have meals in the freezer that can be pulled out and cooked.

The real issue was I was exhausted.  As I’ve mentioned in my blog posts the past couple of days, last week was completely exhausting for me and by the weekend I could hardly function.  I felt like I was walking around in a fuzz and I’m just thankful I don’t have to “go to work” like Scott does.  I’m not sure how I’d manage that.

So last week highlighted again the need to have good, nutritious meals in the freezer, or the ingredients to put together quick meals with minimal preparation.  This week I’ve planned to double most of my main dishes so that I’ll have that freezer supply.

Now that Galen is here it’s going to be awhile before I can do a marathon freezer cooking session like I did to have us supplied with meals (and yep, we’ve eaten all 44 meals) – but I can double or triple recipes relatively easily.

I don’t feel burned out like I did after the first 7 days of our trial.  Last week’s issues were mostly unrelated to meal planning, and the strategies that worked to help streamline in the kitchen really have helped.  I still spend time in meal preparation – around 20 minutes for breakfast, 30  minutes for lunch, and an hour for supper – but on the whole I feel it’s going well.  I’d like to get the time spent on supper down further, and think I may try to start doing some of the prep at snacktimes.  I found that helped last year before Galen was born.

Overall we are feeling good.  The “big boys” Asher and Brennan came down with colds last week, but the rest of us didn’t.  Their colds went pretty quickly too so their bodies cleared whatever was needed to be cleared.

The big kids are all pretty cheerful and content, helpful, and strong.  Galen has been cranky the past few days and drooling a lot.  It’s early yet for teething but maybe there’s something going on down deep?  He has been going to bed easier most nights.

I’m feeling great (other than tired) and feel like I’ve been able to spend a lot of time being productive.  This is a good thing because I start to feel like I’m going crazy if I’m not “being productive.” :p

Scott says that he’s feeling good and that makes me happy.  I like providing good food that makes my family happy.

Getting more efficient

First, soaking everything for the week at once then putting it in the fridge was a lifesaver.  It really helped me because I didn’t need to try and remember to soak things when I was already tired in the evenings.  The only problem I’ve encountered with soaking everything on the same nice is that I run out of glass bowls.  I did major soakings over two nights because of this.

The other thing that helped a lot was making sure I keep up with the kitchen cleaning.  This is challenging because like I said before, we use so many dishes and pots and pans.  But it’s much easier to take a few minutes to rinse and soap the pots down right after I use them than it is to convince myself to go back into the kitchen after I’ve finally gotten everyone fed.

I do feel like I’m getting more efficient in the kitchen, though.  I’m working on a few other things too, like being sure I’m cooking 1 or 2 meals every week that can easily be doubled or tripled to put in the freezer, and planning a crock-pot meal or two.

We have two crock pots, which has been really handy.  One is a 5 quart size and we also have a smaller sized one, I’d say it’s a 3 quart one.  I tend to make entrees in the 5 quart but the 3 quart is perfect for cooking beans and things.  I also tried doing beans overnight on low without boiling them first this week and that works very well for all the types I tried (kidney, black, and pinto).  I am still soaking them the night before.

How we’re feeling

Physically still feeling good.  Regular every day.  I’ve always had these small bumps along the backs of my arms – you couldn’t see them but I could feel them and I can’t feel now.  I’ve also had a wart on right hand forever and it is almost gone!  This thing has been stubborn enough to live through multiple freezings.  And now in two weeks it’s disappearing completely.  I’m happy.

The kids are doing well too.  They’ve continued to be very cheerful and helpful.  Our house has never stayed so nice.  Part of this is because after the holidays we started working really hard on teaching them to take care of their possessions and our living space.  But I think full bellies and good nutrition certainly help their dispositions.

Scott had to eat a lunch at the office last week so that interrupted his 30 days.  He’s mentioned several times that he’s never felt better than he does now though.  Not sure if that’s just all the good traditional foods or just me cooking for him :p

I’m still tired but I think that’s more from not going to bed until later than usual this past week, and having some children up in the night than anything else.

No battling with cravings at all this past week (for me at least).

Enjoying the challenge

All in all I’m really happy with how things are going and looking forward to the next two weeks.  I feel like my kitchen is looking great and I’m starting to get a better hang of how to keep traditional foods prepared.

This week I’m going to go over various traditional food protocols I’ve written out from all the books I’ve been reading to try and refine our meals even more.  I’m also working on posting reviews of the books I’ve been reading; I’ll post to the blog when I finish those!

Yes, this week we’re eating a lot of winter squashes.  But they are inexpensive and in season so I’m serving them. Avocados have also been on perpetual sale, we must be getting a lot trucked in.

This week I’m experimenting with a suggestion of Dr. Pottenger’s, which is to serve a green salad and two cooked veggies with supper each evening. We’ll see how that goes (i.e. does it stress me out a ton?) I can remember that my grandma always served a salad and 2-3 veggie sides.

As far as salad goes those are working out very well. I buy two heads of lettuce each week and use one for the Caesar salad and one for the Enzyme salad – those two salads carry us through the week for suppers and even a couple of lunches. The carrot salad I make with our liver supper makes a little less but it still goes for that meal and for a lunch. So salads are working out nicely.

We’re beginning week 2 of our “traditional foods” 30-day challenge. Thus far benefits have been: my milk supply is literally overflowing, and the milk is very rich; Cassidy seems to be putting on some weight, the kids are pretty cheerful, and everyone except Scott seems to be full for a time between meals.

The kids and I sometimes get a snack that Scott doesn’t get though, and he really dislikes being hungry. I’m still working on good snacks to send with him to work – pints of soup, I finally got our crispy nuts done, etc. And at night after supper I try and make a nourishing before-bed snack because he likes those too. I tend to crave sugar and carbs at that point as well.

I’ve written about some of the challenges I’m facing in my food challenge 7 day update. I’ve also considered some ways to streamline my kitchen time in that post. My “to-do” lists look more manageable now :p

On to the menu plan!

Monday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: Black bean soup and kimchi
S: Meat loaf (using brown rice instead of bread crumbs); enzyme salad; simple soup; steamed broccoli (w/ hollandaise if I’m motivated); steamed squash, kraut.
To-Do: cook rice @ lunch, soak rice, start fermented sweet potatoes, soak rice, start kraut

Tuesday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: Beans and rice, Jamaican style; simple soup, kimchi
S: Chicken supreme (using leftover chicken); Caesar salad; coconut chicken soup; sliced avocado; steamed squash, rice, kimchi
To-Do: start beans and rice early AM, make whey, soak rice, start crock pot kidney beans before bed.

Wednesday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: White bean chili soup; kimchi
S: Liver w/ onions; Balsamic carrot salad; simple soup; steamed spinach; steamed squash; rice; kraut
To-Do: visit farm store for beef products, soak liver in lemon juice (at lunch), thaw a bison heart.

Thursday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: Beef stew; kraut
S: Black-eyed peas and greens; enzyme salad; coconut chicken soup; sliced avocado; rice; kimchi
To-Do: soak rice, study a new fermented veggie recipe for trying next week.

Friday – B: Eggs, beef and veggie scramble; oatmeal with butter and yogurt
L: Minestrone; kraut
S: Spaghetti w/ meat sauce served over rice; Caesar salad; Roman egg soup; steamed broccoli; steamed squash; kraut
To-Do: cook pinto beans in crockpot overnight, grind bison heart.

Saturday – B: Scott makes breakfast
L: Pate; fermented sweet potato; squash; kimchi; coconut chicken soup.
S: Chili (making a triple batch to freeze two portions); Caesar salad; simple soup; sliced avocado; steamed squash; rice; kimchi
To-Do: start chili cooking at lunchtime

Sunday – B: Scott makes breakfast
L: Omelettes; simple soup; baked beets; kraut
S: Roast chicken over potatoes; Enzyme salad; simple soup; carrots sautéed in butter; steamed squash; kraut
To-Do: soak rice, soak oats for the week, sprout seeds, start chicken stock, soak – kidney, pinto, and black beans for the week

Visit the Organizing Junkie for more meal plan ideas!

I have been having major cravings too, to be fair. All for usual stuff I crave – sub sandwiches, chocolate, and the most horrible – Pasta Roni Shells and White Cheddar :p Talk about processed! They’re all passing cravings, and I’ve been able to get rid of most of them by having a hearty snack, like a slice of raw milk cheese and a glass of milk, or an avocado half or something of that nature. It’s the fattier and protein rich snacks that seem to help with the sugar/carb cravings (which is what I have).

Burnout

The other huge challenge encountered…on Friday to be precise… was burnout from being in the kitchen. I found myself completely and utterly tired of being in there, of cooking, preparing, and more than anything else, serving it all out.

I already wrote that I planned to do all my weekly soaking at one time. With the exception of our rice I’m going to soak everything for the week tonight and put it in the bottom of the fridge to await its turn to be cooked.

I’ve also been calling the children into the kitchen to help carry plates and cups out. Scott helps with that for many meals as well. It’s strange that I find serving so overwhelming but I do. Maybe it’s time to let the kids learn to serve out salads and veggie sides onto their own plates too.

Today I feel absolutely exhausted which I believe is due much more to the fact I was up past midnight lats night than it is to anything with our diet.

Thinking of Solutions

I’ve still been pleasantly full most of the time. The only drawbacks so far have been spending so much time in the kitchen and the cravings. But I think cravings are to be expected when my body is getting completely weaned from processed foods. And I’m working on the kitchen time.

I need to come up with some “quick meals” for when I can’t make the planned meal for whatever reason. I did well last night, when we got home quite late. I simply pan-cooked a steak and some mushrooms then used beef stock and cream to make a quick sauce and served it over leftover soaked and cooked rice. I had leftover salad that I served on the side.

Normally I rely on stocks to make soups in a pinch but I didn’t get my chicken stock started, nor did I have any of the beans I normally make soups with. So that brings up another thing – I absolutely can’t miss anything I’m supposed to prep on a day or else we’re really out of luck.

Or I need to make sure there’s always back-ups. That’s probably most prudent. I should plan to get several quarts of stock up in the freezer and I think I’ll freeze cooked beans in cup-sized portions that could easily be added to a soup. I’m also planning a huge batch of chili this week which I should be able to put two meals up into the freezer for.

A Need for Planning

So this takes a lot of planning, and I’m still working out how to be most efficient so I’m not getting overwhelmed with kitchen time – and I don’t run out of good food so we end up eating junk.

I’m hoping to learn some good “quick meal” recipes too. This week’s Real Food Wednesday is going to feature real “fast food” – I can’t wait.

On Kids and Milk

On the kid front the kids are doing great – and I’m thrilled that Cassidy couldn’t button a pair of pants this week! Upon trying on some pants that she’s been unable to wear (because they’d fall off) she found they fit nicely. The kids have all been pretty cheerful and content.

My milk supply is more generous than ever. I have never had a problem with supply but this is just ridiculous – showers of milk anytime Galen nurses and it’s thick and creamy. It’s a bit annoying to me because I get flooded constantly (Galen still nurses pretty much every hour), however, I can’t really complain about so much milk of good quality!

Hopefully this week I’ll get things more streamlined and figured out. I’m also hoping I”ll have more energy. It’s going to be interesting to see how things go as we enter week 2 of our challenge!

I haven’t noticed much difference in how I feel physically other than I find I tend to have a pleasantly full tummy most of the day.  Moving from breakfast to the mid-morning snack is my hungriest time.  Other than that I tend to be pretty full unless I sit around reading about food (I do that a lot right now :p)  I’ve also been nice and regular going to the bathroom which has been a problem for me so I’m pleased.

So Much Soaking

The biggest part of the challenge has been all the soaking.  Going from mostly canned beans to dried beans means remembering a lot of soaking.  Pair that with oatmeal that needs to be soaked every night, several nights of rice, and nuts and I feel like I’m doing a lot of soaking.  

I read a tip today to put soaked beans in the fridge – I may start soaking all of my beans on Saturday or Sunday night, then putting them in the fridge the next morning to be ready for the week.  It seems like it will be easier for me time-wise to do all the prep for soaking at once.  I could probably do the same with oatmeal for the week, actually.

Dry Bean Tip

A bean idea (Scott actually thought of it) that’s been working well for me is to have my beans soaked one night, then put them in the crock pot on low the next night.  By morning I have great beans.  I’ve been bringing them to a boil on the stove, then pouring them into the crock pot; I may try a batch without that first step.

Dishes that Never End!

Another challenge that’s come up is dishes – I’m preparing food so often, and so much food to fill the family up, that there are always dishes.  Cassidy washes our eating dishes (plates, cups, silverware) – but I do the pots and pans, and on nights when we’re running behind, I have everything because Cassidy goes to bed.  Scott has a project going at work right now and has been late some which means supper is late.  I don’t mind that (it gives me more time to have everything ready!!) – but the dishes are getting overwhelming. 

We generally hand wash though we have a dishwasher.  I feel it’s important for kids to have responsibility and the dishes are a good one (plus we’d go through all of our dishes before we got to supper if we didn’t hand wash between meals.)

I’ve begun to try and make sure I wash pots/pans/cooking utensils as soon as I’m done with them.  It’s hard though, because as soon as it’s done it needs to be on the table, and then we’re sitting to eat.  Maybe I should fill the sink with hot soapy water and dump the pots and pans in as soon as the food is served, then do a load quickly after we eat and before Cassidy does dishes.  I could put them on the dishwasher racks to dry.  Then it would be being used for something…

How the Kids are Doing With It

I have noticed that the kids, especially Cassidy, have had mostly cheerful dispositions the past few days.  They’ve also been willing to go and play outside – Cassidy and Asher for long periods.  This is really nice, especially since we’ve been having weather down into the tens and under during the day.  They come back in happy and warm. I really think good food helps to make a cheerful and calm child (other things help too, mind you!).

I’m still hoping that this 30 days will see Cassidy gaining some weight.  I’m also hoping all the good fats and warm foods will help the kids’ hands to be a little warmer.  They tend to have cold hands and that’s always bugged me.  I feel like they should have warm hands, because it seems if their hands are cold, they must be cold.

Scott

We’ve been trying Scott on properly soaked oatmeal this week and thus far that seems to be going well. I load our oatmeal down with butter and a bit of coconut oil, which I suspect probably helps. I’m also trying to make sure he gets plenty of good snacks to help him stay away from the carbohydrate-full snacks, we’ll have to see how content that keeps him, or if he’d prefer me to stock his normal snacky stuff (chips and salsa… which I’d like to make for him once I can get some corn!)

Trying New Things

We tried kombucha for the first time last night and it was pretty good. Definitely fizzy. I may try making it here at some point. It seems like it might be a nice refreshing drink in the summer. Since I haven’t had soda in years the “fizzy” feeling isn’t something I miss or long for. But kombucha is a nice probiotic drink and I can see benefits to having it around, especially when it’s hot. Which it isn’t at all right now :p

A Couple More Tips

So thus far my major challenges are in planning/executing traditional meals because there is extra preparation involved.  I’ve already found the beans in the crockpot idea, and making a huge salad to last through three dinners works well.

Another thing I’ve found is I can usually steam a veggie over something I’m already cooking – last night I steamed over the red potatoes I was boiling.  Tonight I steamed over the beef stock I have going on the back burner.  It’s easy to pop the food in a steamer basket and set it over the pot.  I successfully avoided microwave steaming because of this! I’ve also found I can place a double-boiler pan over a pot that’s already cooking to melt butter for a sauce if I need to.

Thoughts for the Coming Days

Next week I’m hoping to get a raw meat dish in at least for a snack for the kids and I (not sure how keen on the raw dishes Scott is yet).  I’d also like to finally get around to sprouting some nuts.  I’ll continue to work on streamlining my kitchen time and hopefully will continue to see cheerful dispositions and full bellies with the children!

I’m also hoping to see that I stay regular in bathroom endeavors :p And that Galen of course continues to grow and remains the relatively laid-back little fellow that he is. Feeling a bit less fatigue would also be great – though I’m not sure I’m going to get that because I think being a homeschooling mother of four, running a business, and being wife to one great hubby kinda means I’m going to be tired some of the time!

The hour is upon us… today is the start of our 30 day food challenge.  We’re taking 30 days to follow the principles of the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) and the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (PPNF).  Everything I prepare will be based on the principles of eating healthy traditional cultures had.  And foods I’m buying will be either from the “Best” or the “Good” category in the WAPF 2009 shopping guide.

The only exception I can think of will be Scott’s daily coffee because I’m not going to ask him to give that up.  I’m also not holding Scott to it because he’s a grown man and can decide what he wants to eat for himself – but at home he’ll be getting my cooking and I’ve been working hard to send good snacks with him to work.

I’ll be blogging throughout the trial to report how I’m feeling, and how I’m managing a traditional foods lifestyle with a family of six.  Traditional foods take more planning and preparation than processed foods from the market so it’s a little overwhelming to think of not taking any “shortcuts.”

I’m going into the challenge slightly bummed because I like making enchiladas once a week or so, but we can’t use store-bought tortillas during the trial.  I’ve been planning to make some but our source of whole corn is sold out   So no properly soaked tortillas until I find a source of non-GMO whole kernel corn.

My major goal for the challenge is to get myself into the habit of properly preparing grains – and to learn how to manage traditional foods with a large family to care for, homeschooling, and running a business.  I’m also hoping to work on eating more seasonal foods and, of course, avoid most canned products (tomato products are going to be an exception to the canned stuff avoidance).

I hope this eating style will also make good nourishing breastmilk for Galen and that it’ll put a little meat on Cassidy’s bones!

Ok… onto this week’s menu plan, and I’ll update how things go!

Monday: B -Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal (we are going to have Scott try soaked oatmeal this week), beet kvass “shot”

L - Coconut fish soup, kraut

S - Balsamic carrot salad, Coconut chicken soup, Sweet potato “coins,” Liver with onions and mushrooms.

To-do – Soak kidney beans, soak oatmeal, soft-boil eggs, crockpot chicken, start chicken stock, boil white beans + transfer  small crockpot for overnight cooking.

Tuesday: B - Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal; beet kvass “shot”

L - White Bean Chicken Chili soup (chicken from the crockpot chicken yesterday), kraut

S - High enzyme salad, Egg soup, Red potatoes + butter, spinach + butter, Shredded chicken (served with poulet au porto sauce, chicken meat from our crockpot chicken yesterday)

To-do – soak rice, boil kidney beans and transfer to crockpot to cook, soak oatmeal

Wednesday: B – Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal; beet kvass “shot”

L - Beans and rice Jamaican style, Simple soup (whatever soup takes my fancy that meal), kimchi

S - Caesar salad, Simple soup, kraut, steamed winter squash (w/ butter and nutmeg), rice, Hearty Hamburger and Heman sauce (I love this recipe lol!)

To-do – start beef stock (morning) soak oatmeal, soak nuts, start fermented sweet potatoes, soak rice

Thursday: B - Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal; beet kvass “shot”

L - Beef stew, kraut

S - High enzyme salad, French onion soup, Baked beans, rice, kraut

To-do – soak oatmeal, soak rice, roast nuts

Friday: B - Egg, Beef, +Veggie Scramble; soaked oatmeal; beet kvass “shot”

L - Pate, fermented sweet potato, steamed squash (w/ butter and nutmeg!), kimchi

S - Ceasar salad, Roman egg soup, kraut, broccoli w/ hollandaise, spaghetti sauce, rice (yes we eat our spaghetti sauce over rice…in a gluten free family you learn to like strange things)

To-do – Soak lentils, soak rice, try Bacon, Egg, and Cheese muffin recipe (a GF recipe!)

Saturday: B - Scott makes breakfast

L- Omelettes, Simple soup, kraut, baked beets

S - Simple salad (in otherwords, one I throw together) and dressing, Korean beef soup, kraut, Lentil loaf

To-do – start beets early AM!, soak black beans, go to to farm store

Sunday: B - Scott makes breakfast

L – Black bean soup, kimchi

S - High Enzyme salad, Simple soup, kraut, steamed squash (w/ butter and nutmeg), Roast chicken and potatoes

To-do – start black beans early AM, soak oatmeal, start fish stock, sprout seeds, start kraut, soak white beans, grind beef for breakfasts

Snack Choices:

We have milk with every snack, and I add extra cream to the milk several times a week.

whole milk yogurt, raw milk cheese (spread with butter for me and kids), crispy nuts, soft boiled eggs, avocado, pate, marrow and cheese, bacon egg and cheese muffins (new recipe we’re trying this week!)

Visit the Organizing Junkie for more meal plan ideas

And I want to feed them well. I have been working on progressively improving our diet. We’ve been focusing a lot on traditionally cultured foods lately – like sauerkraut and pickles made in a brine solution, not vinegar. These foods, like traditional yogurts, have many probiotic bacteria in them that help enhance health. (Look forward to seeing some information about my kitchen experimentation in the blog :p)

We’ve also been eating more nutrient dense foods like organ meats, and trying to get as much meat as we can from pastured animals. We eat a lot of eggs and enjoy healthy traditional fats like butter, coconut oil, and tallow.

Now why would I choose to eat like this?

Doctor Price’s Invaluable Work

An extremely interesting study carried out by a dentist named Dr. Weston A. Price brought a lot of valuable information to the table (no pun intended) about the nutrition of traditional cultures. Much of research and observation is highly interesting to me because it centers on the health of children and women – women pre-conception, women pregnant, and women nursing their children.

Dr. Price went to many, many traditional societies around the globe in the 1930′s and observed these peoples and what they ate. He found that as long as they ate their traditional diets the people were healthy and had almost non-existent tooth decay. He noted that the children were healthy and happy, and that mothers had good pregnancies and made rich, abundant milk.

He noted that women hoping to get pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children ate lots of foods especially high in nutrients.

And he found that where traditional cultures began to eat “modern foods” – processed flours and sugars, canned foods, sweets, etc. – their dental health deteriorated remarkably. And the bones structure of children being born was weaker, children and adults were more disease prone, women had trouble with pregnancy and nursing, etc.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words…and Dr. Price took thousands of pictures of his findings. His work is amazing and it truly proves the benefits of eating good traditional foods – meats from animals eating what they’re supposed to (so animals raised on pasture…not in cages), fermented foods, organ meats, clean raw dairy, good fats (butter, coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil, rendered suet and lard – yep, even saturated fats!) – all kinds of food we’ve been told for years not to eat – and we just keep getting sicker and sicker.

I get a lot of information about eating real, nutrient dense foods (and preparing them) from a foundation set up to help get the word about traditional nutrition out – the Weston A. Price Foundation.

For a basic tour of the WAPF and vital nutrition principles for you as you’re TTC, pregnant, and raising your child click right here!

The WAPF gives its information away free of charge so that you can get tons of valuable information. They do provide a membership and one of my favorite benefits is their quarterly journal – I look forward to every issue, and many, many of their issues are on baby and child health – and health while TTC and pregnant.

I highly recommend membership so you can increase your knowledge on nutrition and give your children a legacy of health that will touch generations of your family Click here to print the membership form – feel free to put my name (Kristen Burgess) as the referring member!