Little Bites Nutrition

28/08/2023

Maddie has been loving 🍌 on toast for breakfast lately 😍

She can be a very selective eater (this can fluctuate depending on how she’s feeling) so I am enjoying the range of foods she’s happy to have this week. I’m guessing there might be a growth spurt coming soon.

Whether it’s big or small, breakfast is a staple in our house. Breakfast sets us up for the day by providing our bodies with energy and nutrients.

If you are struggling with breakfast remember that it’s ok to eat the same thing if that’s what works for now, that something small is better than nothing, and breakfast can be any food- not just traditional cereal or toast.

31/03/2023

I feel like this is a great one to bring back. Five years later and I still take this approach.

She had so much leftover chocolate from last year that I just threw it out a few weeks ago.

Easter chocolate 🍫🍫🍫

When Maddie was in her first year of life we chose to limit added sugars. She didn’t know what sugar was so we took advantage of the time and offered her all sorts of other flavors.

Fast forward to her second and now third year of life and we are now teaching her about her tummy voice and how to choose a well balanced diet for herself.

As a parent or caregiver you can offer a well balanced diet including ‘sometimes’ food and allow your little one to choose when, what, and how they eat. On days like today their ‘sometimes’ food may be out of balance but remember this is a learning opportunity and will help to teach self regulation. We can’t expect our little ones to self regulate if we are the ones in control all the time.
Allow them to listen to their tummy voice today, provide a range of other healthier snacks, and tomorrow pack everything up and pop it away for treats.

Some tips?

🌟 Talk with them about how they feel and whether their tummy feels full. Talk about what it means to ‘listen’ to your tummy voice.

🌟Offer a range of healthy options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks even on days like today. Making healthy options available is important to allow healthy choices to be made.

🌟Make sugary foods available and don’t make a big deal about it. Give them control over choosing how much and when they eat. This will lead to self regulation over time.

Sugar is a highly talked about item and many parents try and limit their child’s intake. But Di you know how much is recommended and why? The World Health Organisation recommendation is to keep free sugars below 10% of your total daily intake. Free sugars are sugars of any type that are added to a food or beverage and excludes sugar from dairy, fruit, and vegetables.

Read more on global sugar guidelines for adults and children here: http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars_intake/en/

13/02/2023

Packing school lunches is probably the thing I found the most difficult about Maddie transitioning to school.

She’s particular about what she likes to eat so it’s taken me a while to get into the groove.

One thing that I find is a lifesaver is making sandwiches ahead of time and freezing them. They thaw out really quickly (if you put them in the lunchbox frozen they will be thawed out by lunchtime). Plus the bread stays nice and fluffy and fresh.

I’m always on the lookout for lunchtime hacks so let me know if you have any to share 👇

😉

08/02/2023

Do you know about the big 8 and how to introduce them into your little ones diet?

When introducing solid foods to your baby, include common allergy causing foods by 12 months (ideally before 8mo) in an age appropriate form, such as well cooked egg and smooth peanut butter/paste.

If you notice any swelling of the lips, eyes or face, hives or welts, vomiting, or any change in your baby’s well-being (becoming very unsettled), soon after giving a new food, your baby could be having an allergic reaction. You should stop feeding your baby that food and seek medical advice.

Call an ambulance immediately if there are signs of a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), such as difficult/noisy breathing or your baby becomes pale and floppy, or if there is tongue swelling.
Allergic reactions usually occur quickly, within minutes, while other reactions to foods may be delayed.

06/02/2023

Do you know someone who wants to know more about introducing solids to their baby? Let them know about my next session....

I have FINALLY finished my masters and am ready to jump back into running my popular Intro to Solids Zoom sessions starting next Monday 13th with 1 - 3pm

💛Sessions are $35 - use code EARLYBIRD10 to get $10 off

BOOK HERE: https://events.humanitix.com/introduction-to-solids-with-nutritionist-amalie-atuff9j9

During the session we will cover:

☑️How to support and progress through your chosen weaning style (BLW, Combo, or Traditional weaning)\
☑️First aid for choking
How much children typically eat at each age and serving sizes
☑️The best ways to prepare foods
☑️ When are the expected fussy periods and how can we support them through these
☑️ How to encourage your little one to be an adventurous eater
☑️An overview of allergies/anaphylaxis and how to use an epipen
☑️ Q & A for any additional topics

25/01/2023

A really good read!

I had a few people reach out to me yesterday about an email from a well known baby company offering some… interesting advice in regard to night feeds. This email, aimed at babies aged 11 months old, tells parents that:

“If your little one is regularly downing more than about a pint of milk a day there’s a danger they’ll fill up on milk and then be a light or picky eater during the day. Not only is this frustrating for you, it can also have the knock-on effect that hunger will strike again in the dead of night, causing your little monster to get you out of bed for a milk top up feed."

The article goes on to tell us to simply “cut out the night time feed or replace it with water.” In order to “Reset the pattern of three good solid meals, daytime milk and no night time waking.”

The parents who reached out to me were wondering if the article is accurate or not. So I thought we could look at a really useful study:

In 2015, Professor Amy Brown did a study where she found almost 80% of babies aged between 6 and 12 months of age were waking AT LEAST once most nights. A little over 60% of these babies were having milk feeds when waking. This was the same regardless of whether the baby was breastfed or formula fed.

While Prof Brown DID find that babies were less likely to feed at night if they ate more solids in the day, they were NOT less likely to wake up. Let me say that again:

MOST babies wake up at night REGARDLESS of how they are fed and giving them MORE solid food in the day is NOT proven to reduce night time wake ups.

Denying little ones milk when they wake up won’t make them sleep better. It MIGHT make them grumpy, keep you awake for longer, and if you’re breastfeeding, it could cause blocked ducts, mastitis or even reduced milk supply.

The NHS is deliberately vague about night-time feeding and sleeping. Across their various messaging you’ll notice statements such as “Some babies will be sleeping through the night at this age.” Or “Your baby will wake to feed for at least the first several months and even longer.” There is NO formal guidance in the UK that says babies SHOULD be sleeping through the night by a certain point.

Remember that until around 12 months of age the main source of nutrition for babies is MILK. Yes, they need solids – but it is NOT advised to deliberately cut out night time feeds in favour of solid food.

For EVIDENCE-BASED and holistic sleep supporting, check out my downloadable, pre-recorded Holistic Sleep 101 Workshop. It is suitable for babies from birth to school age, and is suitable regardless of how your baby gets milk. You can access this via my website - link in the comments!



(Source: Amy Brown Infant Sleep and Night Feeding Patterns During Later Infancy: Association with Breastfeeding Frequency, Daytime Complementary Food Intake, and Infant Weight. Breastfeeding Medicine volume 10, 2015)

16/12/2022

🎄Christmas traditions 🎄

I was just talking about some of my favourite Christmas tradition with the girls in the office and it made me curious about everyone else’s.

Do you have any Christmas traditions?

We love to make gingerbread cookies and I have been using the same tried and tested recipe for years. It wouldn’t be Christmas in our house without them!

05/06/2022

💡Breakfast ideas 💡

Pancake mix keeps well in the fridge for a few days and pancakes also freeze well. Make up a batch and store them in portions to pull out when you need them.

We had ours topped with yoghurt and banana 🍌😍

05/06/2022

If gardening is a bit too much for you then sprouts might be a good option to try. You can get a little propagation system like this from Bunnings for $19 or simply use a jar.

Maddie and I are eagerly awaiting ours …

02/06/2022

Toast doesn’t need to be boring! There are no rules with what can go on toast.

One of the questions I see the most online is parents asking for more meal ideas. Toast is a great finger food for BLW babies and Traditionally weaned babies who have progressed to solids.

Here are some ideas for my favourite toppings:

💡Cream cheese and sliced beetroot
💡Nut butter and berries
💡Vegetable spreads like avocado, beetroot, hummus etc

Check out my blog post on the website ‘breakfast ideas for your little one’ if you need more help! (Excuse the formatting though- I’m no tech guru and my website is a constant headache!)

31/05/2022

This looks fantastic for kids with allergies as well a those looking for spreads that are school friendly!

30/05/2022

Maddie helped me to film a video. I wasn’t game to have her run the camera for a live though 🤣🤣 I’m just glad she didn’t cut my head off!

25/05/2022

Look what popped up in my memories from 6 years ago 😍

18/05/2022

A great resource for families navigating allergies.

Food allergy support saves lives!

There are more than 800,000 Australians living with allergy but less than 1% are subscribed to our FREE allergy support and advice network. We have a dedicated telephone helpline with trained health educators to listen, share information and resources, and point people in the right direction for treatment.

Tag a friend to let them know that Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia is here to help 👉 https://allergyfacts.org.au/faw

13/05/2022

Helping in the kitchen 🥬

One way to expose children to food is to have them help with meal prep and serving up food. Helping with food gives them time to look, smell, and touch without the pressure of eating it. For children with anxiety around foods this can be a helpful first step to widening their safe foods.

This will look different depending on their age and skills.

Some simple ideas:

🍎 ask them to fetch foods from the cupboard or fridge for you when you are preparing a meal

🍎 putting together a salad from things you have prepared

🍎 chopping foods for you (a safety knife may be needed)

🍎 stirring for you

🍎 serving up food for the family (this can create some great discussions around how much we would serve up and why)

Let me know how you get your own little one involved in mealtimes 👇👇

10/05/2022

🍎 HALF EATEN FRUIT 🍎

I found this old video when I was looking for stuff to post on my tiktok account. Maddie is 6 and I STILL find half eaten fruit around the place.

With the cold weather coming on here in Melbourne it might be time to make some apple pie 🥧

07/05/2022

The difference between a best before and a use by date.