Recipes for A Growing Baby

Fermented Sweet Potato

For a 6 month old baby

Poke a few holes in 2 pounds sweet potatoes and bake in an oven at 300 degrees for about 2 hours or until soft. Peel and mash with 2 teaspoons celtic grey sea salt and 4 tablespoons whey. Place in a bowl, cover, and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. Place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Smoothie for Baby
For an 8 month old baby

Blend 1 cup whole yogurt with 1/2 banana or 1/2 cup pureed fruit, 1 raw egg yolk (from an organic or pastured chicken) and a pinch of stevia.

Cereal Gruel for Babies
For a 1 year old baby

Mix 1/2 cup freshly ground organic flour of spelt, Kamut, rye, barley or oats with 2 cups warm filtered water mixture plus 2 tablespoons yogurt, kefir or buttermilk. Cover and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 teaspoon celtic grey sea salt, reduce heat and simmer, stirrring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve with cream or butter and a small amount of a natural sweetener, such as raw honey.

References: Fallon, S. Nourishing Traditions.

Baby Food

I know I have said this before, but I will reiterate here, avoid processed and refined foods as often as possible. This includes feeding baby commercial baby foods. Making your own baby food is really not that difficult and baby will be happy and healthy as long as a few guidelines are met.

First, be observant. Each child will vary, as far as age is concerned, when it comes to feeding. I have seen some children mature as early as 3 to 4 months old and yet others will wait until 6 to 8 months old. Take it slowly, watch baby, and introduce new foods one at a time.

So what foods should you start with? I would advise against cereal, which is usually recommended by the mainstream medical community. Grains are incredibly difficult to digest, given that infants do not have the necessary enzymes until much later. In addition, they are typically heavily processed. A recent Swedish study showed that infants given cereal suffered from low concentrations of zinc and reduced calcium absorption. This is in large part due to the added iron.

Instead, try adding egg yolks, which are rich in many brain-nourishing substances. Make sure the eggs are from pasture-fed hens. Boil them for 3 to 4 minutes, peel, and discard whites (whites should only be given after 1 year of age since they may cause allergic reactions). Next, mash the yolks (they should be soft, but not runny), and add a pinch of celtic grey sea salt (to improve digestion and brain development through critical trace mineral content). 1/4 teaspoon cod liver oil can be added to the mixture once a day for additional EFAs, as well as vitamins A and D.

Mashed bananas can be given at this time as well, if baby is hungry. Another good idea is to feed baby kefir, yogurt or homemade whey (added to mashed food). The probiotics will help the developing immune system.

At six months, pureed meats can be given for iron, zinc, and protein. Also, fruits such as avocado, melon, mangoes, and papaya. Continue moving up the complexity of the food, little by little. Now, vegetables, like carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets can be added. They should be cooked, mashed, and mixed with fat like butter or coconut oil.

At eight months, a variety of foods can be included. Creamed vegetable soups, stews, cottage cheese, custards, etc. Finally, by one year of age, grains, nuts, and seeds can be added. Even at this point, I recommend only giving baby pre-soaked grains that have been pre-digested by adding a tablespoon or two of homemade whey to the water, left overnight, and fully cooked. This is important to aid in digestion and to help alleviate possibilities of allergic reactions.

Do not give juice to babies. Avoid soy foods, margarine, and shortenings. Do not try to give low or reduced-fat products.

Reference: Allbritton, J. (CN). Growing wise kids. Retrieved 4 November 2008 from www.westonaprice.org.

Making Baby Formula

In ideal circumstances, breastfeeding your baby is the way to go. Multiple studies have proved that mother's milk has all the nutrients a growing baby needs to thrive. However, there are mothers out there that have found themselves in a predicaments where breastfeeding is not possible, for whatever reason. What do you do? I strongly encourage mothers to make their own and avoid commercial baby formula at all costs.

Simply put, commercial baby formula is heavily processed, is difficult to digest, contains synthetic vitamins and minerals in proportions outside of nature's, and lacks vital nutrients found in breast milk. This is not an acceptable substitute. The following is a recipe (you can find it on the Weston A. Price Foundation website) for formula made from raw milk. Some might question why there is no added iron for this recipe (there is already a small amount of iron in raw milk). The answer is that mother's milk is naturally low in iron. The body knows that iron competes with zinc, which is used for neurological development. Too much iron, for a child under 6 years old, leads to imbalances and eventually, toxicity.

MILK-BASED FORMULA

Makes 36 ounces
This milk-based formula takes into account the fact that human milk is richer in whey, lactose, vitamin C, niacin, and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to cow’s milk but leaner in casein (milk protein). The addition of gelatin to cow’s milk formula will make it more digestible for the infant. Use only truly expeller-expressed oils in the formula recipes, otherwise they may lack vitamin E.

The ideal milk for baby, if he cannot be breastfed, is clean, whole raw milk from old-fashioned cows, certified free of disease, that feed on green pasture. For sources of good quality milk, see www.realmilk.com or contact a local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation.

If the only choice available to you is commercial milk, choose whole milk, preferably organic and unhomogenized, and culture it with a piima or kefir culture to restore enzymes (available from G.E.M. Cultures 707-964-2922).

2 cups whole milk, preferably unprocessed milk from pasture-fed cows
1/4 cup homemade liquid whey (See article on lacto-fermentation for recipe)
4 tablespoons lactose*
1/4 teaspoon bifidobacterium infantis**
2 or more tablespoons good quality cream (not ultrapasteurized), more if you are using milk from Holstein cows
1 teaspoon regular dose cod liver oil or 1/2 teaspoon high-vitamin cod liver oil*
1 teaspoon expeller-expressed sunflower oil*
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil*
2 teaspoons coconut oil*
2 teaspoons Frontier brand nutritional yeast flakes*
2 teaspoons gelatin*
1 7/8 cups filtered water
1/4 teaspoon acerola powder*

*Available from Radiant Life (888) 593-8333
**Available from Natren (800) 992-3323 or Radiant Life (888) 593-8333.

Add gelatin to water and heat gently until gelatin is dissolved. Place all ingredients in a very clean glass or stainless steel container and mix well. To serve, pour 6 to 8 ounces into a very clean glass bottle*, attach nipple and set in a pan of simmering water. Heat until warm but not hot to the touch, shake bottle well and feed baby. (Never, never heat formula in a microwave oven!) Note: If you are using the Lact-Aid, mix all ingredients well in a blender.

Reference: Bishop, M., Enig, M. G. (PhD), Fallon, S. (Summer 2005). FAQs on homemade baby formula. Wise traditions in food, farming and the healing arts (quarterly magazine).