Earth Momma Wellness

04/13/2023

Pretty proud of myself. Tried something new and all great ingredients. No vegetable oils used. Fresh produce used. It was delish!

Chicken tikka masala w/basmati rice

03/18/2023

New snack idea alert!

Greek yogurt with the following toppings:
- love crunch granola
- raw pumpkin seeds
- coconut flakes
- mini dairy free chocolate chips
W/ a side of fruit (pineapple or any berry or berry blend)

02/20/2023

Chicken Coconut Curry 🍛 it was so delicious! Who loves Thai inspired food?

01/31/2023

Reflections: Feelings of gratitude are all I can think about today.

01/31/2023

01/26/2023

Absolutely agree! Skip the rice cereal 🥣

Skip the rice cereal when introducing foods to your baby!

Why? "Imagine dipping your spoon into a bowl of sugar and feeding baby a spoonful or two, that's essentially what you are doing when you feed your baby rice or grain based cereals." - Dr. Mercola

If that isn't reason enough, here are 10 more reasons to skip rice cereal:

1. Babies produce little to no amylase, which is the enzyme needed to digest grains properly. Infants produce much less pancreatic amylase (the workhorse of starch digestion) than older children do. NOTE: Breastfed babies do receive some amylase from mother’s milk to help digest starch; however, their bodies are much more equipped to digest healthy fats. (1)

2. Rice cereal is nutritionally void. Any iron that is added can easily be obtained through fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish (once baby is 6 months or older). The nonheme iron that is added is not as easily absorbed by the body. Also, rice cereal is refined, meaning that the bran and germ, which contains the most nutrients, have been removed to make it more shelf stable.

3. Doctors used to recommend rice cereal as a method to get baby to sleep longer at night, but research shows that this method does not work. (2)

4. Rice cereal can possibly raise your baby's insulin levels and can increase risk of Type I diabetes according to the Journal of Medical Association. (3)(4)

5. Babies who are fed rice cereal are consuming 3 times more arsenic than adults in relation to body weight. This is true even is the rice cereal is organic. The FDA found that inorganic arsenic exposure in infants and pregnant women can result in a child’s decreased performance on certain developmental tests that measure learning, based on epidemiological evidence including dietary exposures (5)(6)

6. Rice cereal fills your baby's belly and keeps it from getting nutrients from other healthy foods.

7. The undigested grains left in baby's digestive tract can cause an imbalance in gut flora and could potentially cause a whole host of issues such as allergies and weakened immune system.

8. There are much healthier options to offer baby when they are ready for solid food (6 months or older) such as many fruits and vegetables. Remember, just because you may not like a certain food, does not mean that baby will turn their nose up at it. My oldest son actually drank a liver broth that I made on a daily basis for months!

9. Babies need a good amount of fat for their developing brains and nervous system, especially in the first couple of years. Rice cereal does not provide this.

10. Rice cereal was recently found to have high levels of a chemical called perchlorate. This chemicals disrupts thyroid function which is crucial to brain development. (7)

****IF YOU HAVE GIVEN YOUR CHILD RICE CEREAL, YOU ARE NOT A BAD CAREGIVER!! THIS IS MEANT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION SO YOU CAN MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW. YOU’RE AMAZING REGARDLESS ♥️♥️****

🥦Also, check out my post on 10 Best Foods for Baby Published on 1/18/20 at 6pm CST!!!🥑

If you are interested in one-on-one nutrition coaching for you or your children, please contact me at dana@thrivekin.com.

Questions? Feel free to ask me anytime!

Sources:
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/8780901/?i=5&from=/6179037/related
(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/2672785/
(3) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/197391
(4) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/197392
(5) https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm493740.htm
(6) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2514074
(7)https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2019-10/BabyFoodReport_FULLREPORT_ENGLISH_R5b.pdf

01/20/2023

Oh Wowsers! I had to share because this looks so good and super easy to make. Let me know if you try it.

01/12/2023

This quote rings to the core of my beliefs. There are those who want to change and there are those who act to change. If you want something different, you have to do something uncomfortable. The thing is most people can’t handle the truth that they stay stuck and instead they have learned to make excuses. Remember actions speak louder than words.

01/05/2023

This 👇🏻 enough said!

01/04/2023

I’d like to start a nutrition and accountability group this month to help others start the new year on the right track.

Please comment below or private message me if you’re interested. Your job is to stay accountable to me by submitting what you’re doing each week. I will offer my feedback and provide tips, recipes, etc. Cost for this will be $40 a person and will last 4 weeks.

01/02/2023

January 1st- my first meal prep for the year

Made these Greek yogurt parfaits and not pictured I also made peanut butter chocolate energy balls.

12/16/2022

This right here! I’m so incredibly grateful to be given this today. There are a lot of deserving doulas who could have been given this award. I absolutely LOVE 💕 educating, it’s the reason I become a dietitian. Now being a doula I can continue this passion. I really do love my job!

11/17/2022

Welcoming a new life soon.

11/01/2022

As I am pushing through some difficult things, I’m reminded that it’s the hard things which make us stronger! If I continue to show up for myself, I will see the results. Changes occur through effort and time.

11/01/2022

Have you heard of power pumping? This is a great tool to help increase your milk supply. Remember the bottom line with milk production is supply and demand. Our bodies are very smart.

10/19/2022

Me after being with a birthing family for 24 hours. It was amazing, empowering, and so special. So grateful that I can do this, even though it exhausts me, every moment is worth every minute.

09/19/2022

I love to make Thai food. This was so good and helped me get some veggies in today. It was yummy!