My Whole Foods Pantry

Healthy eating is worlds easier when you cook at home. These days food that strengthens, heals and nourishes the body is pretty hard to find in fast food restaurants and donut shops.

If you want to increase the number of meals you make at home you'll need a stocked kitchen. Local, humanely-raised meats, fresh fruits and vegetables and free-range eggs are great staples to have. These can be picked up weekly at a farmers' market. But there are a number of things you can store to have on hand whenever you need them:




Oils: olive, grapeseed, coconut
Vinegars: balsamic, red wine, rice, apple cider
Seasonings: Himalayan salt, black peppercorns, fresh and dried herbs, spices, chili flakes, garlic, ginger
Grains: quinoa, millet, whole-wheat couscous, brown rice
Seeds and nuts: sunflower seeds, walnuts, cashews, chia seeds, flax, hemp
Beans and lentils: small bean mix, pinto beans, green lentils, beluga lentils
Sweeteners: raw sugar, agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, brown sugar
Other: popcorn, baking soda, vanilla extract, spelt flour, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, coconut, dates, prunes, alfalfa seeds for sprouting, cornmeal, carob chips

With these ingredients you can feel confident preparing healthy meals (even without a recipe).

Healthy Routine for a 7-Month Old

Oliver is coming up to 7 months now.

• He talks. Well, he yells "mama" but I'm pretty sure it's a catch-all word for things like "look I can do push ups", "give me more apple puree" and "I'm stuck under the rocking chair".
• He eats. Well, about 1/2 the food goes in his mouth and the other 1/2 forms a food-beard
• And he crawls. It's an interesting technique we call the slingshot where he gets on all-fours, rocks his body back and forth gaining momentum and then shoots himself forward, ending in a face plant but that much closer to whatever he's hunting.

We're not ones for schedules. In fact pretty much everything we do, including nursing, sleeping arrangements & introduction of solids, can be considered "baby-led". That being said, Oliver has given me some clues as to what type of routine he likes for the day. He's not too fussy about it - the guy's been known to willingly (and on good behaviour) attend rock concerts, movie theaters and hockey games. But in general, here's what we do:

Morning
- Wake up around 8am
- Nurse and a much needed diaper change
- Play!
- Nurse and nap from around 11am - 1pm
Afternoon

- Eat a fruit or veggie (he likes carrots, apples, squash, yam, avocado, banana, mango)
- Play, nurse

- Nap from around 4pm - 6pm
Evening
- Eat a protein (lentils, egg yolk, beans)
- Play, maybe a bath, nurse
- Around 8pm: pj's and a diaper to last the night, then nurse and sleep (he doesn't always go in his own bed, he might continue sleeping in the family room until we go up)
- Around 11pm when I go to bed I might nurse him once more
- Sleep! (Oh yes, sometimes there's a night-nurse)

The most important things are he still gets at least 5 nursings a day (more if he wants it - he's the boss!) and 2 long naps. So far I've only implemented lentils as a protein but the fruits and veggies are much enjoyed. As he gets older it'll be imperative that his 2 solid meals contain iron. He is still on a vitamin D supplement as well.

So that's our day! We have a blast and love every second of it. If you have questions about your baby, ask away.

Free Lecture Tomorrow: WEIGHT LOSS

I will be presenting a free lecture tomorrow (February 22nd, 2012) on:

Weight Loss - What Works, What Doesn't

At the Stoney Creek YMCA - 920 Sunningdale Road at Adelaide, London ON
In the London Life room (ask at the desk)
Sessions at 11am and 7:30pm

You do not need to be a member of the gym to attend