First Foods to Feed Your Baby

Most experts agree that  6 months old is a good time to introduce solids to your baby. And there are good reasons for this …

Very young babies have poor control of their throat and tongue muscles. This makes swallowing difficult and can cause choking or gagging. The risk of allergies may increase if baby’s first foods are introduced too soon. Some studies have suggested that it can led to obesity.

Introducing food to your baby is the beginning of a healthy adventure in food.  You are not limited to only starting out with cereals. Many babies like the taste of sweet Potato or other nutrient dense foods even more.  Preparing your own homemade baby food isn’t as difficult as you may think. With the right tools, it  is quite simple.

•  Making baby food using fresh, all-natural ingredients has many benefits, including:
• Increased nutritional value from fresh produce
• Elimination of additives
• Can be modified for any diet needs
• Lower costs
• Tastes better

Some ideal first foods when introducing solids at 4 to 6 months include

• Apple  Unsweetened applesauce, or tiny apple chunks that have been softened by cooking in the microwave
• Avocado diced into small, bite size pieces
• Banana mashed or cut into slices which have then been halved or quartered
• Baby carrots, green beans, peas and squash
• Baked or boiled sweet potatoes, in tiny chunks
•  Plums, peaches, pears, and apricots, gently cooked if necessary
• Pear juice is easier to digest so it makes a great first juice.
• To minimize the risk of allergies, it’s a good idea to wait until your baby is at least a year old before introducing citrus fruits (including oranges, lemons, and grapefruit) kiwi, strawberries, peanuts and peanut butter, eggs, soy products (including soy milk and tofu), and cow’s milk (including cheeses, yogurt, and ice cream). If there is a family history of food allergy, consult your doctor or allergist for advice on when to start your baby on these more-allergenic foods.
• Babies under a year should not be given honey or corn syrup as they carry the risk of botulism.

Great web sites that I found on baby food recipes

http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com and http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/

Great Reasons to Eat Caraway Seeds

• protect from cancers ( colon), infection, aging and degenerative neurological diseases.
• rich source of dietary fiber. 100 g seeds provide 38 g of fiber
• helps lower  LDL cholesterol levels

• Caraway spice is an excellent source of minerals like iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, selenium, zinc and magnesium. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation. Zinc helps regulate growth and development, sperm generation, digestion also gas and indigestion. Potassium  plays an important part in   helping  control the  heart rate and blood pressure.
• The seeds indeed are storehouse for many vital vitamins. Vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C as well as many B-complex vitamins like thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and niacin.
• The seed is common to German, Russian, Indian, Indonesian and Scandinavian cooking. 
• Most commonly used in breads and with cabbage

Green Tea

Green Tea is a strong antioxidant and natural diuretic. Green tea also speeds up fat loss, prevents cancer and improves blood sugar ( good for diabetics)  & circulation. Drink green tea in the morning instead of coffee.

Are you getting enough sleep?

Part of a healthy lifestyle is also getting enough sleep. The average person does not get enough sleep. Most teens need about 8½ to more than 9 hours of sleep each night. The right amount of sleep is essential for anyone who wants to do well on a test or play sports.

Are you getting the right amount of calories?

How Many calories does my body need?
Calorie Range
Children                                                  Sedentary                                              Active
2-3 years                                           1,000                                                      1,400
Females
4- 8 years old                                    1,200                                                       1,800
9-13 years old                                   1,600                                                        2,200
14-18 years old                                 1,800                                                        2,400
19-30 years old                                2,000                                                       2,400
31-50 years old                                1,800                                                        2,200
51 plus                                                  1,600                                                        2,200

Males
4- 8 years old                                   1,400                                                        2,000
9-13 years old                                  1,800                                                        2,600
14-18 years old                                2,200                                                        3,200
19-30 years old                               2,400                                                        3,000
31-50 years old                               2,200                                                        3,000
51 plus                                                2,000                                                        2,800

By the USDA
Sedentary means a lifestyle that includes only the light physical activity associated with typical day to day life
Active means a lifestyle that includes physical activity equivalent to walking more than 3 miles per day at a 3 to 4 mile per hour, in addition to light physical activity associated with typical day to day life.
These are guild lines and the numbers may vary on the individual. Health and other factors can also raise or lower the calorie intake number.

The Great Benefits of Juicing

Part three of Juicing VS the Smoothie

• Freshly made juice gives you all the nutrients without any of the associated digestion. A freshly made juice bypasses your need to digest through the fibers before you get all the nutrients of the fruits and vegetables. This is ideal for people who have digestion problems and who need to heal themselves before they can absorb nutrients from whole foods. This ability to bypass your digestion and go straight into your nutritional system is important for giving your body a break and allowing it to heal itself fully.
• Juice is ideal for cleansing and healing. Many people have healed themselves and undergone complete transformations by following a supervised juice fast or juice feast. The idea is to drink only freshly made juicer for an extended period of time to allow your body to take a break and work on deeper issues that require healing. Remember to consider the benefits of organic produce when you’re juicing, especially if you aren’t peeling your produce.
•  Vegetables are better juiced whereas fruits are better eaten whole. Fruits need all of the fiber in order to slow down the absorption of sugar in your blood stream. The exception is that of mixing apple juice with vegetables. Vegetables contain less sugar and therefore don’t need as much fiber to slow down the absorption.
• Juice gives you an instant energy boost. When you’re drinking freshly made juice, you’re getting all of the energy right away without waiting for your body to digest through it.
• Cleaning a juicer can be quite a task. Both take just as long to prep the vegetables before using them. No time is saved on one or the other.  A juicer definitely requires a little bit more time for cleanup.  A juicer is also more expensive than a blender.
• Juices don’t make you feel full. After drinking juice you might be satisfied for 30 minutes to an hour. After drinking a smoothie, you might be satisfied for two to three hours. So if you look at juicing as  away  to add nutrition into your day with natural products instead of  a meal that is right on track. A Smoothie will fill you up as a meal.
• Juice allows you to juice almost any produce. You might never put a beet or a carrot in one of your smoothies, but you can definitely make juice out of these ingredients.  It is a great way to sneak in vegetables that you normally would not eat or don’t like the taste.
•  Juicing and smoothies can potentially lead to increased absorption of nutrition. This is certainly the case for the elderly, or people who have a hard time chewing through foods properly.
• If money is an issue then I definitely think a blender is a better investment because you’re not wasting the fiber of the fruits and vegetables that you’re blending.
• If you have gardens full of fresh vegetables and don’t know what to do with it. Juicing is a great option.
•  Juice does have an advantage in terms of nutrition because it is already broken down so that your body can absorb the nutrients better.

A smoothie or a juice? Let’s hear your thoughts and comments on blender verse juicer!

Benefits of Smoothies

 Smoothies keep longer in the refrigerator than juice does. Smoothies contain all of the fiber that the fruits and vegetables naturally have. Because everything is still in the drink itself, you can actually store smoothies but must drink it within 24 to 32 hours.
• The fiber  is also good laxative. Since smoothies still contain all of the fiber from the fruits and vegetables, the fiber cleanses the colon as it passes through. It will help keep you regular, and cleanse your body on their way out.
• Sugar is absorbed slower because of the built-in fiber.  Green smoothies allow you to have fruit without experiencing the aftermath of a sugar spike and crash. The fiber will keep the flow of sugar regular as your body digests it and it enters the bloodstream. Fruit smoothies will have the same effect as eating whole fruits, so you may experience fluctuation in sugar levels, but nothing compared to fruit juice.
• Blenders are easy to clean. Because blenders are so easy to assemble and clean a lot of people tend to use the blender instead of juicing. Also the blender can be used for other things and if you stop making smoothies you will still have a good blender for everyday use.
• You can easily add supplements and nuts into smoothies. When you’re making a smoothie you can add a spoonful of hemp protein powder, spirulina, flax seed. You wouldn’t necessarily add these supplements to a glass of juice, either because of the taste or the texture