A story about sleep (deprivation)

It’s no secret that new parents are sleep deprived and I am no exception. People talk about their babies having sleep problems, but my story is a little more complicated because it’s not only my 8 month old son, Bodhi having ‘sleep problems’ but for the first time in my life I have had to face with my own sleep battle… insomnia.

As a child I was ‘a great sleeper’. My parents tell stories about me as a child taking myself off to bed, falling asleep with my head on the dinner table, sleeping long hours as a teenager and as an adult, my partner T talks of me ‘sleeping for Australia’. I have always needed 10 hours a night to feel refreshed. I love sleep, so much and have never had a problem getting to sleep and staying asleep, until now. Even writing the word sleep, I get a little tickle in my brain, a deep longing for the delicious rest I am so completely starved of.

So, what happened? Well, it all started with having a baby. Babies by nature are notoriously bad sleepers because their REM cycles are shorter and they often wake up between light and deep sleep states. I know this now, but I didnt read anything about baby settling and sleep methods for the first 12 weeks, chosing to parent purly on instinct. This instinct involved picking B up when he would cry, wearing him in a sling/ baby carrier and walking him to sleep every day nap and again at dusk, feeding him whenever he appeared hungry and having him sleep either beside or in our bed at night. And I feed him to sleep whenever he wants to (despite people warning of bad habbit forming).

By 8 weeks he was ‘sleeping through the night’ (for babies this means uninterrupted sleep for 6 hours or more). I was so thrilled that my baby was a ‘good’ sleeper and put it down to how secure he must have felt by ‘attached parenting’. But this pattern only lasted until 14 weeks. All of a sudden B started waking every 45-90min, sometimes up to 12 times a night. I would cuddle, burp or nurse him and he would go back down quickly (most of the time) But why was he waking so often?? Perhaps it was due to a “Wonder Week” phase of huge neurological development, or a growth spurt making him want to feed more frequently, a gassy digestive system, who knows. Whatever it was I was at it’s whim.

And after three nights of constant waking. I became an insomniac. While B went back to sleep for his next round of 45min or so, I would stay awake until the next rousing, again and again. The torturous nights dripped away. My mental health deteriorated and I began to fear the dark hours. My partner T was out of town a lot and I felt completely alone and desperate. And it’s not like the days were any respite because B needed to be held or interacted with constantly. I couldn’t put him down for more than a few minutes without him crying out. He was tired, I was tired and his nap times were always on me, in the carrier. I would try to transfer him to his little bed again and again, but he would wake. Sometimes I tried to nap with him side-lying in bed, he would sleep, but I would remain awake, despite being desperately tired.

So, here I was with not only a baby’s sleep issues to grapple with, but now, my own.  One of my wise Yoga Mummas said you’ve got to fit your own oxygen mask before helping others. I realised if I was going to get through any of this, I HAD to help myself get some sleep. I posted to my Yoga Mummas and have had a bunch of great suggestions many of which I was already using, but I helps to get the confirmations to keep on keeping on.

I have learned that sleep comes easiest when the nervous system is calm (so why anyone would let their baby cry to sleep is completely beyond me) and when the body is relaxed and the mind is present. There are  now a bunch of things I do in my daily routine to help pave the way for restfulness and sleep and after a 12 week battle with insomnia I have FINALLY broken the cycle.

Here are a few things I tried:

* Jogging, in attempt to exhaust myself before bed (mixed success)

* Chamomile and other sedative teas (lavendar, oat flower, passionflower)

* Skullcap (herbal smoke, which very noticeably calms the nervous system)

* Magnesium supplement (again to calm the nervous system)

* Not clock watching (it will drive you insane)

* No screens (i got into the habit of reading on my phone in bed, but the light from the screen tricks your brain into thinking it’s time to be awake)

* Focusing on the present, with conscious breathing.

* Trying not to fear for tomorrow and how tired I would be, it can build anxiety which blocks sleep

* Yoga nidra recording by Dr Siddharth Ashvin Shah.

Yoga nidra is really the only thing that worked. It’s yogic sleep, a conscious, deeply relaxing meditation where you observe your breathing and areas of your body in a particular sequence, helping you to bring your mind into the present for an experience of conscious sleep. It’s hugely effective for reducing anxiety and stress as well as any other condition where you struggle to turn you mind off, such as insomnia. The yoga nidra recording I chose by Dr Shah is specifically designed to ease the body into actual sleep, so it begins with a yoga nidra but gives you permission to actually slide into sleep, rather than remaining conscious for the duration. I would sometimes need to listen to the 20min recordings again and again, never more than three times before I fell asleep. But it began to really work for me. And overall the yoga nidra has improved the quality of rest I am getting when I sleep and I now I function surprisingly well on 6-8 hours of broken sleep. Regardless of whether you suffer from insomnia, I think all new mummas should do yoga nidra. A 20 minute session has a similar effect on the brain as 2-3hours of actual sleep! It’s helped me be a more calm, energetic, patient and present mumma.

Budget Wholefood for 2013

I love organic wholefood but I spend to much money on groceries and waste too much good food.

So my challendge for my family this year is to still eat well but reduce the dollars we spend on food. I’ve written down some strategies to shop, cook and eat smarter.

* No wasted food!

This is the biggest one for us. For a while now I have been getting a weekly produce box from Food Connect Sydney but if I need to top up veggies or fresh protein from now on I will only buy for today or tomorrow. Future menu planning is fun but often I get really ‘inspired’ in the grocery store, I buy too much and end up letting stuff go mouldy or out of date.

* Enjoy Simplicity.

I love a bounty and sometimes I want everything on my plate, but a good stir fry or salad doesn’t need 20 ingredients. If I want to spend less money and less time cooking, need to learn to be cool with five ingredients and make them count!

*SPROUT and SOAK

This requires just a hint of planning, but I think if i can get grains, seeds and legumes (not all at once) soaking I have a head start on the next day, and it means I can buy cheaper bulk dried chickpeas and lentils instead of relying on cans.

* Batch cooking- to swap or freeze

This helps the budget as well as being a time saver (very important to me as a new mum). I’m thinking of precooking grains like brown rice, quinoa etc and storing in fridge so I can quickly throw together a grain salad dinner. It also helps my partner T, who’s a self confessed kitchen beginner if there’s obvious ‘dinner’ stuff in the fridge and freezer. So I’ll do that well as continue batch cook ups of soup or sauce to freeze. Finally, my mother in law does a weekly chicken bone broth, so I’m thinking about proposing a trade for some kefir (if we each doubld batch we save time and share the benefits).

* Shop Smart– Seasonal and Bulk

I’ll continue to buy a weekly box of seasonal fruit and veggies from Food Connect and bulk (sauces, oils, grains, dried legumes) from Alfalfa House. I do this from time to time but need to get more committed! Then any premium products like coconut oil or sea vegetables or superfoods I’ll buy from one of my new favourite websites– iherb.com. Prices are about 40% less than what you pay in healthfood stoes, it ships from California, but fast, in like 2 days and it feels like foodie xmas when it arrives! Use the code ZVM640 for $10 off your first order over $40.

* Dehydrate

I’m getting an Excalibur dehydrator for my birthday next week which I am super excited about!! This will invite a whole new way of cooking, bring more raw food to our diet and has potential to help us save money. A few things I’m keen to try: sprouted ‘bread’, jerky (fast tasty protien and iron filled snack), veggie chips (kale and beetroot will be among the first) and dried fruit wraps.

* Ferment

I’ve been conscious of the benefits of consuming the friendly bacteria and probiotics for a while now, but kombucha drinks and top brand of probiotics are really expensive if you are doing it daily. I’m planning homemade Coconut Kefir and Kim Chee in my future!

* Grow More Food!

Today I harvested kale, tomato, basil, beetroot and parsley! We have a lovely little balcony garden and intend to keep it rolling.

* Choose when to get the premo stuff and when to compromise

This year I’ll be thinking more about where I can comprimise in order to live on a budget and still have some nice premium foods along the way. For example, I can live with cooking with Rice Bran Oil- it’s cheap $6/litre and I’ll keep the nice extra vrigin olive oil to add to salad (if I’m making dressing even still I’d mix it half half with sunflower oil to get the flavour and make it go further). Same with good bread– it’s worth it to me to pay $7 for a nice loaf of wholegrain sourdough over white puffy sugar $3/loaf stuff. On the flipside I will choose to make my own pasta sauce in bulk instead of buying the jarred stuff.

So hooray for 2013 goals and food adventures. Lets see how I go sticking to it and look forward to writing many recipe postings along the way!

A story about breastfeeding and causes of low supply.

Breastfeeding is often not as easy as it looks because while it is a completely natural way for a baby to be nourished it is in fact a learned skill by the mum and bub team. Babies are born with a sucking reflex, however they need to learn how to attach properly and, with the help of mum positioning them, remove milk effectively.

My boy, B and I got off to a slow start, which I now know was due to him having head trauma from the birth which gave him facial tension and a lop-sided palate, making milk removal difficult. As breastfeeding works on the principle of supply and demand, if the milk is not removed the body will slow down production. So my supply gradually dropped. It wasn’t until week 14 that we resolved the issue, thanks to determination on my part, support from many great women and lots of research which helped diagnose and resolve the issue.

So what happened?

After B’s unexpected ceasarian birth I was able to feed him within the hour and he seemed to be going well, but by day four I had badly cracked nipples and he was jaundice. Jaundice sets in when the baby doesnt remove the bilirubin from his system fast enough. Feeding is integral to this process as it is removed in the babys wee. The catch is that jaundice makes bub tired, making feeding more difficult- he kept falling asleep! On day 5, while I was down feeding B in ICU, a woman walked past and asked if the feeding hurt me, I said yes and showed her my cracked, bleeding nipples. She said he mustn’t be attaching properly and gave me some suggestions including telling me to pump for a day to give me a break from his gnarly (my expression) latch. And this was the extent of the guidance I was given in hospital. I found out later that one of the midwives who was attending to me and B was infact a lactation consultant, she however paid no attention to our feeding.

By the time we left hospital on day 6, B had lost the standard 10% of his birth weight and was down to 3.4kgs. No alarm bells here. Within a week of feeding at home my nipples were still really sore and a girlfriend, who also had a new bub, gave me nipple sheilds to protect them from the agony I was in at each feed. This helped (not sure why no-one at the hospital had mentioned this, instead they had me pumping and bottle feeding top ups). The cracks quickly cleared up at home and I could soon feed without the sheilds. But my new baby tended to scream a lot (colicky?) vomit a fair bit (refluxy?) but other than this, everything was ok, I thought.

I started to become aware that something was not right when B hit 5 weeks– he still had not regained his birth weight (this typically happens in 10 days). He was looking very scrawny and the nurses at my local early childhood health centre suggested I get pumping after each feed to boost my milk supply. I’d feed him, wait 20min, have something to eat and get the pump out- 10min on each side. I was only getting about 20-30ml of milk and doing this 8 times a day, losing sleep, but managing to comp him with the milk I had pumped.

A week of hardcore pumping efforts passed and B actually lost weight. My efforts were to no avail it seemed so the ECC lactation consultant advised me to go on a prolactin stimulating drug called Motillium (more about this under Pre-Glandular issues) but it did nothing for me. B had been spitting up a lot from the beginning which made me think perhaps he was just losing milk for vomitting too much up, and crying from reflux pain, so after some discussion with my GP I began comping him with an anti-reflux formula. This did little for the vommitting, infact I think he threw up more, but he did start gaining weight… slowly. By 8 weeks he was a 4.3kgs and in the 9th percentile, down from the 60th at birth. He had gained 500g on his 3.79kgs at birth but was still such a skinny little baby. Since I’d been comping him with formula from 6 weeks (around 60-120ml a couple of times a day), my supply really had dropped. I would frequently sit down to nurse and my breasts were completely soft. I pumped frequently but still found it hard to get more than about 20-30ml. I cried a lot, devastated that I could not give my baby everything he needed to thrive. I hated having to give him formula because I really believed in breastfeeding, for it’s health benefits as well as for our bonding.

I ended up switching to Homemade Formula, (recipe by Weston A Price Foundation/ Nourishing Traditions Cookbook) as I wanted to give him real food, rather than the canned powdered nestle stuff. It was a bit more work, but totally worth it.

Through this experience I met and bonded with quite a few other mummas who had difficulties breastfeeding. Not all have managed to resolve their issues. Some have weaned early, some still need to supplement their babies with formula in order to give them all the calories they need to thrive and some are still looking for answers, hopeful to get back to exclusively breastfeeding.

It’s hugely dissapointing to be a believer in breastfeeding and to not be able to exclusively breastfeed you bub. It can be a real puzzle to diagnose and it seems it can be difficult to get the right advice and support even with the ABA in Australia.

So how did we resolve the issue?

Well, we were lucky enough to be invited to a lactation conference to demonstrate breastfeeding. We received a consulation from the amazing Bridget Ingle, a lactation consultant from Brisbane with 20years experience. She was the key note speaker at this conference and gave B and I a conusltaion right there on stage. She examined his head and palate and asked me about the birth. Her immediate response was that the issue was not me. Yes, I had low supply now, but she thought that his mishapened head and pallet were causing difficulties with his latch and by the time my breasts were half full it became too hard for him to continue to remove milk. She suggested I get a supply line and give him all his comp feeds via the line rather than a bottle and continue to take B to the chiropractor for infant cranial massage. She also helped me with getting a better latch position to make it easier on him.

The supply lines is not cheap ($80 or so), it’s totally awkward to set up, and really only suitable for home use (unless you are feeling really confident). BUT it saved our breast feeding relationship! The trickle of milk relased by the supply line at the nipple gave B the motivation to continue to suck which enabled him to remove milk and stimulate more let downs and thus boost my supply.

ABOVE: Medela Supply Line and Supply Line in action (also called SNS, Suplemental Nursing Systen)

In addition to using the supplyline I took Bo to our family chiropractor three times a week for three weeks to have adjustments and by his 14 week birthday I was breast feeding exclusively and by 16 weeks all his head tension was gone. In addition to these external aids, I began eating all the lactogenic foods I could get my hands on and continued to pump (still not getting much more than about 50ml, the pump just doesn’t really work for me). More on milk stimulating foods below.

It’s been a long hard journey, but I am overjoyed to be exclusively breastfeeding, so proud of myself for not giving up and eternally thankful for all the support and advice I received. B is back up in the 60th percentile for weight and has delicious rolls all over.

Now, having read many blogs and books and having spoken with many midwives, lactation consultants and breast feeding counsellors I have begun getting involved with my local ABA and plan to do my training to be a breastfeeding educator. But for now, I’m going to attempt to break down some of the issues which cause low supply and offer some sugestions for getting back on top of things.

Three reasons for Low Supply:

Pre-Glandular: Essentially a hormonal problem. Prolactin is the hormone responsible for producing milk. It is the highest overnight. Sufficient prolactin is the starting point for milk making. Not all women have normal prolactin levels after the birth. However there are things you can do. There’s contraversial drug on the market called Domperidone (brand name Motilium) which helps stimulate prolactin by blocking dopamine. Sounds kind of risky, right, since dopamine is the feel good hormone. I was prescribed Motillium by a well meaning lactation consultant at my local health centre when I was in the early stages of trying to figure out why my bub wasnt thriving. I researched it and discovered it was actually formulated as an anti-nausea drug, but the side effect was a boost in prolactin which aided milk production and since it has been used to help adoptive mothers begin to lactate. The dopamine blocking aspect worried me a little but I took it anyway. A week in, I went pretty crazy and there was no change in my supply. So I stopped.

A note on the relationship between Dopamine and Prolactin. Anything you ingest which spikes dopamine can cause a wobble in your prolactin levels and thus effect milk making. Stimulants like caffine and sugar can cause the feel good rush, so if you are looking to boost supply it’s best to stay away from food and drink containing these.

 

Glandular: Micromastia or Breast Hypoplasia is the insufficiant growth of glandular tissue in the breast. Breasts will not increase in size during pregnancy and the mother will likely not be able to produce enough milk for her baby. Baby Center offers some sugestions to get started with pumping to stimulate milk production to the highest potential.

I’ve also found that the herb Goats Rue is hugely effective in increaing the capacity of the glandular tissue. Again I thought that perhaps hypoplasia may have been my issue as A) I have small breasts and B) they did not go up a full size during pregnancy. After 4 days of taking a very strong infusion of the herb my breasts expanded so much I got a whole lot of stretch marks, so yes the herbs definately increased how much milk I could hold, but it did not increase the rate of milk making. So, clearly it works but glandular tissue insufficiency was not my issue.

 

Post Glandular: Any interference with milk removal inhibits the suply/demand system of production. This could be baby related: head trauma from birth, tongue tie, cleft pallet, a sleepy baby etc or mum realted- inhibited let down reflex (related to oxytocin production), hemmorhage, retained placenta etc. Most private lactation consultants are able to examine your baby and check to see if there is a physiological issue impacting their ability to feed and they might then recommend a osteopath or a chiropractor trained in infant cranial manipulation who can assist in correcting the issue.

I found the La Leche League book– Making More Milk very helpful in breaking down causes and solutions for low milk supply.

If there is a post-glandular issue your supply might have dropped already in which case pumping, supply line and lactogenic foods can all help. Motherfood is a wonderful book and blog which has loads of suggestions for foods which stimulate milk making, as well as those to avoid.  It also serves to bond low supply mummas, as the fight to increase milk is a tiring, tedious and time consuming.

During my crusade to increase supply I favoured eating quinoa, oats, almonds, dried fruits, flax/linseed and brewers yeast. I doctored Housepoets Lactation Cookies recipe to add even more lactogenic foods and elimiate dairy and wheat and reduce sugar. I got off dairy (because it makes B throw up more) and I have suspicions about soy as well, so have restricted my soy to just one soy latte a day (if only cafes used almond milk!).

Now I’m taking calcium supplement and a ton of greens these days to make up for not having dairy and it’s working very well. I also take a probiotic (so does B) to maintain good gut flora.

Finally I will share a few of Bridget’s words which inspired me… “it’s never too late” to increase supply (despite what some people will tell you) and “keep at it”. After two formula free days I suddenly had to give B four tops ups the next, I was devasted at the thought of going backwards. But sometimes it takes a while to get established and staying positive is hard, so continue surround yourself with other breastfeeders (ABA meet ups are great for this in Australia) and stay determined… it’s your superpower!!

Homemade Baby Formula

In this recipe Slapdash Kitchens gets uber precise and specific with homemade baby formula. There’s no sprinkling of herbs or dashing of this and that because this is no ordinary meal, it is- to be exact, a formula, and the next best thing to breast milk I can give my bub to help him thrive while I am trying to resolve my milk supply issues.

No one will argue that breast milk is the ideal nourishment for a baby, it’s all they need for the first approximately the six months of life, but not all of us have the capacity to produce all the milk our babies need. So instead of running for the S26 or Nestle made concoctions of lab ‘food’, I’m experimenting with a homemade baby formula where all the ingredients are from real natural sources to provide my baby’s developing mind and body with all the nutrients he needs to thrive.

 

It all started with one of my yoga mummas- G, who mentioned she was using this concotion for her bub and as it turns out the recipe is from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook which I own! I had previously started comping my bub ‘s breastfeeds with a Nestle anti-reflux forumla for his vomitting. Yuck! Alas it made no difference to the vomitting, so I decided to give the homemade stuff a crack. It’s a bit of a committment and more than slightly overwhelming to gather the ingredients (and in my case a new blender) to embark on the task of whizzing up the formula daily, but it only takes 10min once you have everything laid out but the real challenge lies in the ability to grab the time. My boy loves to sleep in his ergo, strapped firmly to my chest so in these moments I have two free hands to mix up his supplement formula

 

The recipe I used is from Nourishing Traditions Cookbook and available from Weston A Price Foundation website, I’ve reprinted it here at the bottom of this post but if you go to their website, they supply recipes for Cow, Goat and Liver formulas and are a wealth or information with tips for getting organised, making your own whey and where to buy the best quality cod liver oil in multiple countries. All you need to know really.  I used iherb.comto source most of the ingredients (use code ZVM640  to get a discount off your first order) The cod liver oil (Blue Ice) came from GPA Wholefoods. And the milk, cream, youghurt (for making whey) just came form my local organic grocery store… ook out for Cleopatra’s Bath Milk, and you’ll find it’s 100% raw organic milk form Jersey cows.

 

Typically babies under one should not drink cows milk as the protien is different to breast milk and hard to digest, but the homemade recipe adds other ingredients to make the milk be more easily digested by a human baby. For example, breast milk is much higher in lactose (the milk sugars, which is why it’s so sweet) and whey, so we ADD extra of these ingredients to the homemade formula. And because cows milk is higher in casien (milk protien) than breast milk gelatin is added to assist with digestion.

Everything else in the formula is for nutrient purposes– coconut oil for it’s anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties, sunflower oil for vitamin E and fatty acids, probiotic for their gut flora, and cod liver oil for vitamin A and D, Acerola for vitamin C. All the ingredients are of the highest quality and organic.

 

THE RECIPE 

 Ingredients 

• 2 cups whole raw cow’s milk, preferably from pasture-fed jersey
  

  cows

• 1/4 cup homemade liquid whey (See recipe for whey, below) Note: Do NOT use powdered whey or whey from making cheese (which will cause the formula to curdle). Use only homemade whey made from yoghurt, kefir or separated raw milk.
• 4 tablespoons lactose¹
• 1/4 teaspoon bifidobacterium infantis²
• 2 or more tablespoons good quality cream (preferably not ultrapasteurized), more if you are using milk from Holstein cows
• 1/2 teaspoon unflavored high-vitamin or high-vitamin fermented cod liver oil or 1 teaspoon regular cod liver oil³
• 1/4 teaspoon high-vitamin butter oil (optional)¹
• 1 teaspoon expeller-expressed sunflower oil¹
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil¹
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil¹
• 2 teaspoons Frontier brand nutritional yeast flakes¹
• 2 teaspoons gelatin¹
• 1-7/8 cups filtered water
• 1/4 teaspoon acerola powder^{1, 2}

 

Instructions 

• Put 2 cups filtered water into a pyrex measuring pitcher and remove 2 tablespoons (that will give you 1-7/8 cups water).
• Pour about half of the water into a pan and place on a medium flame.
• Add the gelatin and lactose to the pan and let dissolve, stirring occasionally.
• When the gelatin and lactose are dissolved, remove from heat and add the remaining water to cool the mixture.
• Stir in the coconut oil and optional high-vitamin butter oil and stir until melted.
• Meanwhile, place remaining ingredients into a blender.
• Add the water mixture and blend about three seconds.
• Place in glass bottles or a glass jar and refrigerate.
• Before giving to baby, warm bottles by placing in hot water or a bottle warmer. NEVER warm bottles in a microwave oven.

Satisfied Baby after a feed… 

When making the formula it’s important to get organised, steralize all your equipment with boiling water and use the best quality ingredients you can. It’s a bit of an outlay of money up front but when it all balances out the homemade formula costs much less over time than even the most pricy store bought powdered formula.

 

Cost comparison with homemade formula vs organic store bought 

Recipe Below Will Make	36	Ounces
Ingredient	Quantity	Unit of Measure	Price
Raw Milk	2	Cup	$1.38
Liquid Whey	1/4	Cup	$0.28
Lactose	4	Tablespoon	$0.35
Bifodobacterium Infantis	1/4	Teaspoon	$0.48
Cream	2	Tablespoon	$0.09
Regular Cod Liver Oil	1	Teaspoon	$0.11
High Vitamin Butter Oil	1/4	Teaspoon	$0.31
Sunflower Oil	1	Teaspoon	$0.03
Extra Virgin Olive Oil	1	Teaspoon	$0.06
Coconut Oil	2	Teaspoon	$0.13
Nutritional Yeast Flakes	2	Teaspoon	$0.08
Gelatin	2	Teaspoon	$0.20
Filtered Water	1-7/8	Cup	$0.00
Acerola Powder	1/4	Teaspoon	$0.06
		Batch Total	$3.54

 

Baby Formula Cost Comparisons
Brand/Product	Cost/Ounce	Cost/Year	Avg. 1st Year Savings
Nourishing Traditions	$0.10	$953.89
Earth’s Best Organic with Iron	$0.17	$1673.93	$720.05
Vermont Organics	$0.15	$1442.97	$489.08
Bright Beginnings Organic	$0.13	$1238.56	$284.67
Similac Organic Infant	$0.16	$1576.85	$622.96
Enfamil Premium Newborn	$0.15	$1413.41	$459.52

And nutritionally it’s pretty tight with breast milk…

Breast Milk and Homemade Formula Nutrient Comparison Chart 

Based on 36 ounces.

These nutrient comparison tables were derived from standard food nutrient tables and do not take into account the wide variation in nutrient levels that can occur in both human and animal milk, depending on diet and environment.

	Breast Milk	Cow’s Milk Formula	Goat Milk Formula	Liver-Based Formula
Calories	766	856	890	682
Protein	11.3g	18g	18g	15g
Carbohydrates	76g	79g	77g	69g
Total Fat	48g	52g	54g	36g
Saturated Fat	22g	28g	30g	16g
Mono Fat	18g	16g	16g	12g
Poly Fat	5.5g	5.6g	5.7g	5.6g
Omega-3 FA	.58g	1.3g	1.2g	1.0g
Omega-6 FA	4.4g	4.2g	4.4g	4.5g
Cholesterol	153mg	137mg	166mg	227mg
Vitamin A*	946IU	5000IU	5000IU	20,000IU
Thiamin-B1	.15mg	1.05mg	1.1mg	.19mg
Riboflavin-B2	.4mg	1.2mg	1.2mg	1.9mg
Niacin-B3	1.9mg	2.5mg	4.4mg	14.2mg
Vitamin B6	.12mg	.51mg	.60mg	.65mg
Vitamin B12	.5mcg	1.9mcg	2.8mcg	39mcg
Folate	57mcg	236mcg	284mcg	159mcg
Vitamin C	55mg	57mg	59mg	62mg
Vitamin D	480IU	450IU	525IU	460IU
Vitamin E***	9.9mg	6.2mg	4.7mg	4.9mg
Calcium	355mg	532mg	548mg	NA**
Copper	.57mg	.38mg	.58mg	1.9mg
Iron	.33mg	1.4mg	2.2mg	5.4mg
Magnesium	37.4mg	91.3mg	96.1mg	34.5mg
Manganese	.29mg	.034mg	.12mg	.24mg
Phosphorus	151mg	616mg	729mg	344mg
Potassium	560mg	949mg	1228mg	750mg
Selenium	18.8mcg	15.4mcg	18.7mcg	31.1mcg
Sodium	186mg	308mg	320mg	NA**
Zinc	1.9mg	2.8mg	2.7mg	2.5mg

* Vitamin A levels in human milk will depend on the diet of the mother. Nursing mothers eating vitamin A-rich foods such as cod liver oil will have much higher levels of vitamin A in their milk. Commercial formulas contain about 2400 IU vitamin A per 800 calories.

** Calcium and sodium values for homemade broth are not available.

*** Vitamin E values are derived from commercial vegetable oils. The vitamin E levels for homemade formulas will be higher if good quality, expeller-expressed oils are used.

Slapdash Kitchens presents: Broccoli and quinoa SMASH~!

I’ve been awake since 4am and was craving broccoli. So, in my sleepy haze I whipped up this monster.

Now, normally I rave about how tasty my creations are, but in the tradition of Ghetto Xmas, this is another colossal failure.

It began with a saute pan, some olive oil, leaks, shitake mushrooms and broccoli. So far so good. 

It all went wack when I decided to make a broccoli and cauliflour pure to ‘sauce it’. Enter more olive oil (ok) anchovies (hmmm, oookkkaay) lemon juice and fig vinegar (wtf). I sauced the veggies and added some boilled red quinoa. It’s pretty nutrituous but totally weird tasting.

This was my breakfast.

And I have made so much I will now be eating it for lunch and dinner as well. Mo.

Baby Bodhi and Boobie Bikkies

There’s a new human in my life or as Tom and I call him; our tiniest friend.

Meet Bodhi Nevada, born August 1st. 3.76kg and 53cm long.

 

It’s been a whirlwind month adjusting to my new job as a mummy. He is very beautiful and requires near constant attention, it’s all about cuddles, sleeping and his favourite… the MILK BAR 🙂

So today I’m baking some lactation cookies to boost milk supply. The key ingredients are brewers yeast, flaxseed meal and oats. i’ve adapted the recipe slightly from Housepoets Famous Lactation Cookies. Find the original here.

In my vesion I replace the wheat flour with qunioa flour and butter with coconut oil as it’s super nutritious for breast feeding because of the high lauric acid content.

“Coconut oil contains large amounts of lauric acid, a powerful anti-microbial fatty acid that protects the immune system of the fetus and newborn. Pregnant and nursing mothers should eat coconut oil to increase the quality of the womb environment and breast milk” – Dr. Claudia Pillow

And I use a banana instead of two eggs (which combined with substituting coconut oil for butter, makes them vegan) and add dried apricots instead of chocolate chips because of their lactogneic properties. I’ve also experimented with using half a cup less sugar and the recipe still works well.

 

 Baking with Bodhi sleeping on me

Ingredients :

 

* 1 cup coconut oil (can use butter if you prefer)
* 1 cup rapadura sugar (or raw sugar)
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 6 tablespoons water
* 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal
* 1 large soft banana
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 cups quinoa flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3 cups steel cut oats (soaked over night til soft)
* 1 cup dried apricots (or chocolate chips or bit of both)
* 3 heaped tablespoons of brewers yeast (found in a good healthfood/ wholefood grocery store)

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven at 160 degrees C. Mix together 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and water, set aside for 3 minutes. Cream (beat well) coconut oil and sugar. Add the banana, mix well. Stir flaxseed mixture and add with vanilla to the coconut oil mix. Beat until blended. Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and sultanas/chips. Add to coconut oil mixture. Stir in oats then sultanas/chips. Scoop teaspoon sized balls onto greased baking sheet. The dough is a little sticky, so it helps to use a scoop.

 

Bake 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies.

 

Serves: 6 dozen cookies

 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Active Ingredients: Oats, flaxseed meal, brewers yeast (you can just add these foods to your diet in other ways: like adding flaxseed meal to your cereal, eating porridge and drinking stout etc)

NOTE: while these cookies are geared towards lactation, they wont make your partner or best friend who’s not breastfeeding begin to spout milk. Totally safe for sharing!

Ghetto Xmas; a pork is not a ham

Did I tell you about my ghetto xmas?

It started with a leg of ham, or rather a leg of pork which I proceeded to studd with cloves, glaze in orange honey mustard and bake for a zippy half hour expecting results, domestic goddess results! But the leg was 8kgs, not the kind of leg that will cook in 30min and it was raw, not cured. Lesson; a pork is not a ham.

Sister and the “ham”

Amazing food experiences in New York City

Five Days in NYC on a mission for food and art with and equally passionate food and art lover, we’ll call her AO. We were armed with THE LIST, which was not a travel guide, but a private collection of favourite places to eat complied by a friend of a friend, detailling the most extraordinary food experiences the city has to offer.

MOMOFUKU

David Chang’s Momofuku (above) Best pork belly buns ever (more like a taco than a bun). Some weird wine (Chard/Reisling with Botrytis). Tasty and pretty Beef Shank Ramen. Didn’t totally blow my socks off, but the pork buns were so good we came back for seconds the following day.

SAKE BAR DECIBEL

It began with a Sake Bar– Sake Bar Decibel. a little red glowing sign above a vine covered set of stairs leading down to an underground speakeasy of sorts. Ate Beef Udon. Crunchy beef, appropriately squishy udon, flavourful broth… really amazing!

SOBAKOH

More Noodlefun was had at SobaKoh not on THE LIST, but I’m adding it because noodles were handmade by the noodle artisan here in the window and I love that kinda thing.

THE LITTLE OWL

The Little Owl in the West Village is a small neighbourhood place serving Modern American food. It was packed on Monday night. The food involved lots of truffles – I think they appeared 8 times, too bad AO is was not a truffle fan, “smells like bum” she says. So we went for a series of three apps which the kitchen split for us and presented on a pretty long plate. Very cool of them. Above form the left is Bibb & Beets salad with pumpkin seeds; center is the pork and veal sliders with marinara sauce; right is the duck salad. All delicious!!

Afterwards we went to Gottino, a really sweet and stylish Italian wine bar. The rosemary honey gelato is extraordinary.

WE ❤ TACO GIRL

Not a dining experience, but food related. Hooray for Late Night Taco Girl. We liked her in her little window, like a popup diarama art installation, she was the ruler of her domain. High fives for tasty street food and the servers who work late to dish it.

ELSA

A beautiful cocktail bar with bold style and yet completely unpretentious. AO and I LOVED this place. It smelled of yummy flowers and was filled with pink and white lillies. We sampled two delicious, cant remember their names, cocktails and hung out til 2am, on a Sunday. Crowd is chill. Staff are lovely.

BROWN

Finally, Brown, a little cafe in the Lower East Sie was my favourite experience of the trip. Baked eggs are their specialty and check out the spread you get. I ordered chorizo and leeks,AO went for the smoked salmon and goat cheese. So hearty and delicious!