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HELPING FAMILIES WORLDWIDE

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Our team is made up of holistic nutritionists, naturopaths, birth & parenting educators, occupational therapists, dietitians, midwives, nurses – and above all, mothers.

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Have you felt scared to add salt to your family me

Have you felt scared to add salt to your family meals or offer certain foods to your baby because of the sodium content? We hope this post relieves some of that fear and helps make meal times more enjoyable.

Please refer to our blog for a detailed look at the research on sodium intake for babies, as well as the current Australian guidelines.

References
1. Quader ZS, Gillespie C, Sliwa SA, Ahuja JK, Burdg JP, Moshfegh A, Pehrsson PR, Gunn JP, Mugavero K, Cogswell ME. Sodium Intake among US School-Aged Children: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2012. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017 Jan;117(1):39-47.e5.
2. O’Halloran SA, Grimes CA, Lacy KE, Nowson CA, Campbell KJ. Dietary sources and sodium intake in a sample of Australian preschool children. BMJ Open. 2016 Feb 4;6(2):e008698.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4364.0.55.007 – Australian Health Survey: Nutrition First Results – Foods and Nutrients, 2011-12. 2014: Canberra

UNSMOKED NITRATE-FREE HAM Unlike the vividly pink

UNSMOKED NITRATE-FREE HAM

Unlike the vividly pink ham commonly found in stores, this home-cured ham contains nothing but salt, sugar and real herbs and spices. It’s important to note that the absence of additives such as nitrates, artificial flavours or colour enhancers, means that this ham differs in both appearance and flavour to the smoked leg ham you are familiar with. The art of home curing is slow yet simple. Most importantly, it’s deeply satisfying being able to serve your family a wholesome alternative to commercially processed ham. If you plan on cooking a ham for Christmas, allow approximately 300g of cooked ham per person (this will likely be less if you are serving the ham alongside other meats).

Serves 4 to 6
2 kg free range boneless pork leg or sirloin roast

For the brine
3 Litres water
1 Litre pressed apple juice (not from concentrate) or omit & add an extra litre of water
800g fine sea salt (20%)
400g demerara sugar (10%)
12 juniper berries
1 Tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed
4 bay leaves, crushed
4 cloves

For the glaze - optional
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
½ orange, juice and zest
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice or ground clove
Whole cloves (optional)

Method
Put all of the ingredients for the brine into a large saucepan, bring to a boil, and leave to cool. Transfer the brine into a food-grade bucket and chill to 3°C.
Weigh your piece of pork and record the weight. Place it in the bucket and submerge it completely in the brine. Use a clean plate or weight to keep it submerged. Refrigerate for 3 days per kilo. So for a 2kg roast you will need to keep it in the brine for 6 days.
Once ready, remove the ham from the cure, wipe it dry with a clean cloth, and place it on a wire rack, uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours. Your ham is now ready to cook.

Put your ham in a large cooking pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Remove any foam that comes to the surface. Reduce the heat to low & simmer very gently until the internal temperature reaches 70°C. This will take anywhere from 1-2 hours. Remove from liquid and allow to cool slightly.

Glazing method in comments

Know the phrase “less is more”… Many babies

Know the phrase “less is more”… Many babies and toddlers will go through phases of feeling overwhelmed by the visual sensory aspect of food. If your little one is refusing food, throwing food, or has become distressed at mealtimes you might like to try reducing the amount of food being offered. You can do this by placing a smaller, more manageable amount of food on their plate, by offering family-style-serve-yourself meals for older toddlers or by allowing your child to eat off your plate. Your little one can always ask for more!

Have you tried this with you little one? Got any questions?

IRON RICH RECIPE! Smoky beef & beans with herbed

IRON RICH RECIPE!

Smoky beef & beans with herbed yoghurt | serves 6

•Heme iron from beef
•Non-heme iron from kidney beans (can use two cans and omit beef mince to make it plant-based)
•Vitamin C from capsicums to help absorption
•One meal for the whole family
•Freezes well so great for meal prep if you make a double batch

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil (or tallow or lard)
3 sweet potatoes, cut lengthwise into quarters
1 large onion, sliced
2 red capsicum, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
500g beef mince
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed well
2 cups bone broth (or water or stock)

Herbed Yoghurt - optional
1 cup coconut yoghurt (for maximum iron absorption) or full fat Greek yoghurt (or creme fraiche)
⅓ cup coriander, finely chopped
⅓ spring onion, finely chopped
Lime juice, to taste

Method
1.Preheat the oven to 180°C. Toss the sweet potatoes in olive, then spread them out on a large roasting tray and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until soft and golden.
2.In the meantime, heat the remaining olive oil in a wide lidded frying pan over low-medium heat and add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt. Fry until softened, stirring, then add the capsicum. Stir, then put the lid on and allow them to steam for 5 minutes.
3.Remove the lid and add the garlic. Cook for 2 minutes before adding the smoked paprika, cumin and oregano. Cook these until fragrant, stirring regularly and adding a little more oil if needed.
4.Turn the heat up and add the beef mince. Cook for 5 or so minutes or until the meat has browned. Add the kidney beans and broth or water, and simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce reduces.
5.Serve with roasted sweet potatoes and a dollop of herbed yoghurt (omit for babies who have not yet been introduced to dairy)

Spoon-feeding: Puree beef mixture with sweet potato and broth or water until smooth. Stir through some minced beef for a more textured puree.
BLW: Serve beef mixture alongside large wedges of soft sweet potato and squashed beans.

Improving iron absorption While the amount of iron

Improving iron absorption
While the amount of iron consumed is important, it isn’t the full story. The metabolism of iron relies on optimal absorption - something that we can influence through food (as well as a healthy gut).

The following have been shown to be useful in improving iron absorption:
Vitamin C (found in foods such as capsicum, seaweed, citrus fruits, kiwi fruit, broccoli, and strawberries) (1, 2, 3)

Lacto-fermented vegetables (such as sauerkraut, beetroot kvass or other traditionally fermented vegetables) (4)

Malic acid (found in apples and pears) (5)

You may also like to consider cooking with cast iron cookware as this can increase iron content of food by 3-5x - particularly when cooking at a high temperature or with acidic foods (6)

Some of our iron rich plant foods are bound up with compounds collectively known as “anti-nutrients’’ as they impair the absorption of the nutrients in the plant. The antidote to this is soaking, souring or sprouting your grains, nuts, seeds and legumes (7,8). The research also showed that vitamin C consumption significantly counteracted this effect!

We can’t talk about iron absorption without mentioning the effect of cow’s milk consumption. Excessive consumption of cow’s milk is a major contributor to iron deficiency in toddlers over one year of age (9,10)

For this reason it is best to limit cows milk consumption to less than 500 mls in 24 hours (9,11)
Cow’s milk as a beverage is not recommended in children under 12 months of age.

Any questions? Ask below!
(References in comments).

Did you know that there are different types of iro

Did you know that there are different types of iron in our diet? There is haem iron (from animal foods) and non-haem iron (from plant foods). Although both forms are great to include in our diet, they are not absorbed equally. Haem iron is absorbed much better than non-haem iron, which makes it particularly beneficial for our little ones when their iron needs are so high.

This post is designed to show you that iron CONTENT and iron ABSORBTION are not the same. Credit to @lilynicholsrdn for the idea of how to explain this.

Another thing to consider is that iron absorption is not static. It can be influenced (increased or decreased) by other food/nutrients. You can learn more about optimising the absorption of iron from plant foods in our new Plant Based eBook (link in bio).

References:
1. R Hurrell and I Egli, 'Iron bioavailability and dietary reference values', The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010, 91(5):1461S–1467S
2. Ems T, St Lucia K, Huecker MR. Biochemistry, Iron Absorption. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan
3. Janet R. Hunt, Moving toward a Plant-based Diet: Are Iron and Zinc at Risk?, Nutrition Reviews, Volume 60, Issue 5, May 2002, Pages 127–134

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