The Blog
Simple Elderberry Cough Syrup For Little Ones, 1 yr+
With all of the hands-on exploring and socializing that little ones do, it's easy to see why they commonly catch colds. One of my favourite immune boosters for children is elderberry syrup. It can help shorten the duration and severity of colds and flus, it's rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, and it's so easy to make. Unlike most store bought cough syrups, this syrup is free from chemical sweeteners, preservatives and artificial dyes, which have been linked to behavioral problems in children. It also tastes delicious so it won't be a battle to get your little one to take it.
My First Trimester & Morning Sickness: Baby #2
My first trimester was humbling, to say the least.
I actually won’t refer to my experience as having “morning sickness” because as many women can attest, the feelings of nausea are rarely confined to the morning hours. I could sometimes make it through the morning without getting sick but it always worsened around 6 pm, then I’d spend most evenings confined to the bathroom… miserable.
Simple Banana Pancakes- Great For Baby
Featured on Ergobaby
Bananas are a great food for little ones. They have a soft texture and natural sweetness that babies love. Ripe bananas are easy to digest and provide needed energy for growing bodies.
We also eat a lot of eggs in our house. When my son was introduced to solids we started with egg yolks and waited to introduce the whole egg with whites. The yolks are where the most beneficial nutrients are found. They are stocked with B vitamins, healthy fats, choline, and the harder to obtain fat-soluble vitamins A & D.
Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Bites
Every year we spend the week between Christmas and New Year's at our cabin in the woods. I always make a sweet treat to share with our friends. I try to choose something that's easy to make and healthier than the sugar-ladden sweets usually served during this time of year. We usually use almond butter at home, but I think that the peanut butter works very well in this recipe. Of course, if you are sensitive to peanuts or prefer not to consume them, these chocolate covered bites could also be made with another nut butter, like almond, hazelnut or cashew.
Why We Love Baby-Led Weaning
Featured on Ergobaby
When my little one was ready for solid foods I decided to use the baby-led weaning approach. In this method, finger foods are introduced right from the start and purees are skipped altogether. It was a wonderful fit for my family and I believe it really helped our son establish healthy eating habits.
Nourish Your Cycle & Reduce PMS
Featured on tribe de mama
Just like the cycles of the moon, a woman's cycle is experienced in four divisible phases. During this cyclical transition every month, a menstruating woman is given the opportunity to shed, release and reflect. As women we should honor our moon cycle, an outward reminder of our ability to create life. The focus during menstruation should be on nourishing your body with respect and gratitude.
Bone Broth for Babies
I’ve already written about the incredible benefits of consuming traditional bone broth during pregnancy, but this nutrient-dense liquid is also amazing for babies! Unlike store-bought broth or stock, which is cooked for only 45 minutes to 4 hours, bone broth is simmered for quite a long time. As the broth simmers, nutrients leach from the bones, leaving you with a wonderfully nourishing and flavorful liquid.
I'm Pregnant & Why I Decided To Share The News Early
It’s the social norm to wait 12 weeks, or about 3 months, to announce the news of your pregnancy. This is when the first trimester is over and the risk of suffering a miscarriage is greatly reduced. I followed this unwritten rule with my first pregnancy. With the exception of my immediate family, I kept the news from even my very best friends. I’m terrible at keeping secrets and I really hated every minute of having to keep that one.
What To Eat During Labor
Featured on The Tot.
Eating and drinking during labor, especially in the early stages, can provide you with the necessary energy and help you remain more comfortable. Labor is very aptly named because it is a physical task that requires both strength and stamina. Restricting your food intake during labor cause stress, nausea, vomiting, and headaches. Being properly nourished and hydrated can prevent you from becoming exhausted, which can prolong labor and lead to fewer contractions that are less effective.
Pineapple for Conception & Brazil Nuts for Implantation
In some trying-to-conceive circles, the foods to eat and foods to avoid can start to sound like folklore. It’s hard to know what might actually boost your chances and what’s a wild rumor. Pineapple and brazil nuts are often suggested foods to aid conception and implantation, but an explanation as to why they might help rarely accompanies the recommendation.
Miso Quinoa Stuffed Squash
It’s so important that a new mother eats energizing and nourishing foods, but with such little time to spare in the early days, she can use as much help as she can get. I made this stuffed squash dish for a friend who recently had her baby. It makes a wonderfully thoughtful offering for a new family because it presents really well and it’s also healthy, but it tastes like comfort food.
Planning Another Baby? Why Your Fertility Nutrition Matters
Women often consider using nutrition to prepare their bodies before becoming pregnant for the first time, but it's rarely considered for a second or third (or fourth or fifth) pregnancy. Once a woman has had a child, especially if she conceived with relative ease, she considers herself sufficiently fertile and probably doesn't think she needs nutrition to boost her fertility.
Maca Fertility Fudge
Every ingredient in this maca fertility fudge has been added for its fertility boosting properties. These tasty treats are stored in the freezer and help to balance blood sugar, stabilize energy, and provide lasting satiation.
These fudge squares are little bombs of healthy saturated and monounsaturated fat to nourish and support fertility. With the fat-free fad thankfully mostly behind us, many people are starting to embrace the fact that we really need healthy fat to function optimally. Nothing else that we eat (or don’t eat) has a bigger impact on our reproductive capabilities, but unfortunately, there’s still some confusion around what fats are good for us. I’d like to write a long post about this subject soon, but for now, I’ll try to simplify things as much as possible.
What We Ate: Thanksgiving Dinner Roasted On An Open Fire
We spent Thanksgiving at our off-the-grid cabin, a few hours north of Whistler, Canada. It’s such a magical place to be this time of year. The air is crisp, but still mild and the trees are bursting with colour. Friends of ours built a cabin on a nearby property and hosted an outdoor Thanksgiving feast, roasted over an open fire.
Why Your Baby Should Be Eating Fermented Foods
Offering children a variety of foods helps to broaden their palates, but "sour" is an important flavour that isn't usually given to little ones in western cultures. Traditionally fermented foods are a wonderful way to introduce sour flavours. Many children consume highly processed foods that are overwhelmingly sweet and salty. Giving fermented foods to children from an early age can actually lessen their desire to over consume sweet foods.
How I Prepped My Body For Pregnancy
To call the changes and adjustments a woman’s body goes through during pregnancy "miraculous" would be a bit of an understatement. Although a miracle, the reality is that carrying a child through those 40 weeks does take a toll on your body in many ways. Not all pregnancies are planned, but having time to prepare yourself physically definitely provides many benefits to you and your baby, even long after birth.
The best things a woman could do to prep her body really varies for each person, depending on her starting point. Some important things to consider addressing would be….
Salted Maple Hazelnut Fudgsicles
This week we celebrated the fall equinox. I absolutely love fall, it's my favorite season. The crisp air makes me feel energized and I can't get enough of the golden leaves on trees, wool sweaters, stove fires, hot tea... I adore it all. I should probably be posting about seasonally appropriate things like root vegetables, squash, and warming soups, but I had to get one more summertime treat in! These fudgsicles are dairy-free and use "nice cream" as a base, which is simply blending frozen bananas to make delicious soft-serve ice cream with wonderful consistency.
Mango Ginger Creamsicles
These mango ginger creamsicles are a kid-friendly treat and wonderful on a warm day. The ginger in them is subtle, but it’s a great ingredient to broaden your little one’s palate. Introducing your children to a wide variety of flavours from a young age can help them to be less picky. Using new flavours in their favorite treats is easier on the less adventurous child: like ginger in creamsicles.
What We Ate: Camping
It can be challenging to stay committed to healthy eating when you're out of your daily routine. My family travels often, so I've had some practice and this series "What We Ate" was created to share some of the ways I've managed to keep us eating well when we're away from home.
Baby's First Finger Foods: Size, Shape, Texture & Flavor
When babies begin eating finger foods, stick or finger shaped foods are great for them to practice with. This allows your baby to firmly hold the food in the palm of their hand and bite off little pieces (with or without teeth). If using baby-led weaning, the stick shape is fantastic for babies who have not yet developed their pincer grasp. Stick shape is still recommended even if your baby was fed purees first and their pincer grasp has already developed by the time they begin finger foods. It helps them to bite, chew, and learn how much food they can safely manage in their mouths.