Brain Building Pesto With Asparagus

Asparagus, parsley, and basil are rich in the anti-inflammatory antioxidant quercetin and folic acid, which nourishes the growing baby’s brain and spinal cord. Serving it over zucchini noodles increases enzymes in food to balance blood sugars. The Romano and anchovies are rich in calcium and minerals.

Ingredients

For the pesto:

1 cup of parsley

2 cups of basil

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts or shelled pistachios

For a dairy free version or for added calcium and vitamins add 3 anchovies

For the sauté:

2 carrots sliced

1 red bell pepper cut into slices

1 bunch of green onions cut into 1” pieces

1 bunch of asparagus chopped into 1” pieces

For the noodles:

3 small zucchinis shaved into thin strips with a potato peeler

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper

Romano cheese to taste.

Toss the zucchini, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl and place in fridge for 20 minutes.

Blend the parsley, basil, sundried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, and optional anchovies together in a food processor.

Sauté all vegetables, except zucchini, lightly. Add in the pesto from the food processor. Serve over zucchini or pasta and season with Romano cheese to taste.

What is Baby Led Weaning?

Baby led weaning is a philosophy of introducing solid foods in a way that allows your baby to control their experience. It is very sensory. They get to fully engage in the variety of colors, flavors, and textures of food verses the “baby food” pureed method. With baby led weaning babies are eating the same foods that the rest of the family is eating. It’s affordable and easy to do. No special foods need to be prepared.

In the 1900s experts recommended introducing grain cereals to babies before other solid foods. Research has since shown the first foods babies need are iron and protein rich foods. Breastmilk is high in sugars and at nine months, the protein content of breastmilk dips slightly. Due to breastmilk’s high amount of carbohydrates, the last foods breastfed babies need added to their diet are grains and sugary foods.

Remember that introducing solid foods to your baby is just as much about their learning as it is about nutrition, so have fun with it!

What are some foods to share?

Bright colored foods are fun and packed with phytonutrients!

How do I know if my baby is ready?

1. Age. Is my baby over 6 months old? 6 months of age doesn’t guarantee babies are ready for solids. Some may not be ready until up to 12 months old.

2. Trunk support. Can my baby sit upright on their own?

3. Hands to mouth. Is my baby able to bring toys to their mouth on their own?

4. Pincer grasp. Is my baby able to grasp with their fingers? Would they be able to pinch and pick up foods?

5. Interest in food. Are they showing interest in family meals? Have they tried to grab food when people are eating?

What meals can my family eat with our baby?

Here are some examples:

1. Stew. Take chunks of meat and vegetables and put them on the highchair tray.

2. Rice and beans. Give your baby a small bowl so they can pick up beans with their fingers. Add some chunks of avocado.

3. Scrambled eggs and toast. Your baby can try egg curds and piece of toast

4. Grilled chicken breast and vegetables. Try chicken breast strips and spears of vegetables.

5. Roast broccoli with tofu. Give whole pieces of broccoli to hold and munch on and slices of tofu.

Check out our breastfeeding Youtube playlist below for more information and be sure to subscribe to our channel for new content!

Try this Neapolitan Pudding for Hormone Balance

Chia seed pudding is one of the best things you can eat to increase your fiber consumption and balance your hormones due to it’s high fiber and iron concentration. Chia seeds are naturally low in carbohydrates. The fiber works to remove excess hormones in your body and balance your blood sugars. This recipe is diabetic friendly, gluten free, and wonderful for anybody trying to lose weight, especially on the abdomen. It can be used to help ease morning sickness and relieve first trimester constipation.

Recipe

1/2 cup chia seeds

1 can full fat coconut milk

1-3 drops of almond extract

1-3 drops of stevia (optional)

Quart Mason jar

1/4 cup chopped almonds

2 pieces dark chocolate cut into small pieces

3/4 cup chopped frozen or fresh cherries

Mix your chia seeds, coconut milk, almond extract and optional stevia in a mason jar. Fill the mason jar to the top with water and stir. Let chia seed pudding set for 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator to allow chia seeds to bloom. Once the chia seeds have bloomed, stir the mixture again.

Dish up a serving of the pudding. Add in chopped almonds, cherries, and dark chocolate. Enjoy!

*Note: For a fat-free version, replace water and coconut cream with plant-based milk such as almond or flax.

Immune Boosters That Are Safe During Pregnancy

In the midst of cold & flu season, keeping our immune systems strong is at the forefront of all of our minds. But when you’re pregnant, it can be tricky to know what immune boosters are safe to use.

Luckily, there are a few natural immune boosters that are pregnancy-safe. Here are four immune boosters that will help you to strengthen your body’s ability to fight off seasonal sickness:


1. SPEARMINT
It’s safe to use throughout your pregnancy (and with your kids), and makes for a great soothing tea. Our favorite way to get a regular dose of spearmint is by drinking it as a tea. Spearmint teas can be found at your local grocery or drugstore.

2. VITAMIN D3/K2
During the winter months, our bodies normally don’t get enough D3 from sunlight (especially in the midwest). It’s important to make sure that your body is getting at least 6,400 IU of D3 per day. This will help to prevent gestational diabetes, hypertension, colds, and the flu. Breastfeeding moms who take this amount don’t need to give their baby additional vitamin D drops, as the vitamin D will go through the breastmilk.

3. MUSHROOMS
Mushrooms contain strong antioxidants and nutrients that have proven immunological properties. We recommend incorporating reishi, maitake, and shitake mushrooms into your diet. Add them into a stir fry, roast, or saute them and eat them as a side dish.

If mushrooms aren’t your cup of tea, you can take capsules of reishi, maitake, and shitake blends as an alternative.

4. ZINC
This is an essential mineral often found in seafood, pumpkin seeds, and organ meats. We recommend eating seafood or supplementing it with grass-fed beef liver capsules during your pregnancy. 

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For more prenatal and postpartum nutrition tips, connect with us on Instagram at @cincinnati.birth.center. To learn how to prevent high blood pressure during pregnancy, read our recent blog post. 

How can I prevent my baby from being born premature?

Did you know you have power to help keep your baby from being born too early? Claim it! Here’s a few simple steps you can take:

1. Eat foods with protein

   Every snack or meal you eat needs to include protein. Fish and seafood. Eggs. Meat. Cheese. Nuts. Yogurt. Beans. Dark leafy greens. Seeds.

2. Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day.

   Dehydration will cause contractions. Drink lots of water each day. If you have trouble with water, purchase a pitcher and fill it up in the morning and drink from it throughout the day to measure your intake. When you pee, the toilet bowl shouldn’t change color too much. If it does, keep drinking! It’s annoying to go to the bathroom all the time but so worth it!

3. Hire a midwife (this one’s our favorite)!

   Yes! Hiring a midwife cuts down your risk of having a baby preterm almost completely! Why you ask? Because midwives spend LOTS of time in prenatal appointments answering your questions, brainstorming with you about how to boost your diet, and finding solutions with you for all sorts of pregnancy related issues.

4. Drink good bugs.

   Your immune system is made up of several pounds of good bacteria (you may know them as probiotics)! These good guys live on your skin, mouth, gut, and in your vagina. When your good bacteria are down, bad bacteria can take over and cause bad breath, cavities, sickness, and preterm birth. Boost your good bugs by staying away from sugary processed foods and eating or drinking probiotics. Foods kefir or yogurt, kombucha, water kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, natto, miso, and pickles are full of probiotics. Choose pickles and sauerkraut that come from the refrigerated section (Claussen are my favorite), because only the refrigerated kind have probiotics.

5. Eat the rainbow

   A diet low in micronutrients will increase your chance of developing pregnancy complications and having your baby too soon. Look for fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in colors. The brighter, the better. Eat as many colors as you can throughout the week in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables. I also recommend taking a supplement called Juice Plus to boost your levels of micronutrients.

6. Chocolate.

   Doing things that make you feel good increases happy hormones in the brain called endorphins. When these hormones are boosted it goes to your baby and tells them to grow big and healthy. So be intentional about doing things you love during this pregnancy! When was the last time you took a bath with two cups of epsom salts for relaxation? Have you asked your partner or kids to give you a massage recently? How about just sitting down for a minute to enjoy a nice hot cuppa? If it’s hard for you to do nice things for yourself, consider that even small kindnesses you do to yourself will bring positive change to you and your family for years to come!

Chocolate increases levels of feel good hormones in the brain!

Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes To Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some of our suggestions for how to feast

It’s so easy to go overboard with the sugar around the holidays. Tips on how to keep your blood sugar balanced are to accompany sweets with protein and fats, keep hydrated (carbs require more water to digest), stick to serving sizes (think 1/2 cup for rice, potatoes, and higher carb foods), and eat lots of fiber from fresh and cooked vegetables (brussel sprouts, salad, carrots, slaw, etc), seeds, and whole grains.

Here’s some healthy recipes to try:

If you’re wondering how to make healthy desserts that avoid common allergens such as wheat and dairy see:

Magdalena Wszelaki’s gluten free and paleo friendly recipes that everyone will love

For desserts rich in nourishing minerals see:

Lily Nichol’s dark chocolate bark with raspberries and pumpkin seeds

Did you know babies born to mothers who eat chocolate during pregnancy cry less?

Rebecca Katz’s tripple tripple brittle

This recipe is rich in zinc and other trace minerals that balance hormones.

Post Zombie Apocalypse Pregnancy: Here's What you Need to Know

So you find yourself pregnant in a post-zombie apocalypse world.. What can you do to keep you and your baby healthy?

Having a healthy pregnancy post-zombie apocalypse can be a challenge. We’ve summarized a list of tips from some experts.

1. “Any water is better than no water. Any filter is better than no filter. A filter that takes out heavy metals and bigger toxins is better than one that only takes out heavy metals. A filter that takes out all of that and hormones is better than one that does not.” We recommend the Berkey filter https://www.berkeyfilters.com/ -April Kline, midwife, author of Small Changes, Profound Results

2. “Get yourself in community. Anytime you experience multiple major life events in one year (moving, losing a job, starting a new romance, losing a relative, having a baby), it puts you at greater risk for depression and anxiety. Since everyone has been affected by this, be gentle with yourself and realize you are under a tremendous amount of stress. But if there’s anything good that’s come from this, I can say Americans finally get how important it is to have a tribe and receive support. Before the apocalypse, many Americans really struggled to find the support they needed and I’m thankful to say that’s not the case anymore.” -Meghan Nowland, midwife

3. “Emphasize protein foods, especially fresh fish and wild game. Eat the organs such as heart and liver, these will provide you with essential nutrients, iron and b vitamins, that may be lacking in your diet. Try to avoid a diet based on canned foods.” -Association of Nutrition Experts Post-Apocalypse (ANEPA)

4. “Forage for dark leafy greens. Thankfully, dandelion greens, nettles are plentiful in our post-apocalyptic world, are high in iron, and support your liver. Red raspberry leaves, mint, and strawberry leaves can be harvested and brewed into a nourishing prenatal tea. Oregano and garlic are go-to antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic herbs.” -Herbalists After Apocalypse Heal (HAAH)

5. “Really listen to your body. Remember, you know what’s best for you and your baby. Having a baby post-apocalypse may not be ideal, but remember, your body was made to do this! People have been having babies outside of the hospital for thousands of years. Harness strength from your ancestors” - A local Priestess and healer

6. “Find time for yourself. You likely spend most of your time doing things to survive, such as hunting, cleaning your gear, and keeping your feet dry. Take a minute or two each day to meditate and ground yourself. Find a tree to hug. Focus on your breathing. Tune into your pregnancy and talk to your baby. This will really help you carry your baby to term” -Guide and former yoga instructor

7. “The baby is born, the placenta is born, the milk comes in, and the sun rises in the east.” -Linda Smith, breastfeeding expert. In other words, you’ve got this!

Younger people imagine what this building would have looked like before. Maybe it was an important area of commerce? Perhaps a marketplace or center of community?