No Veggies for Me: Guide to Children and Vegetables

As a health coach for families and mothers, I hear one common problem that appears in most families and at most dinner tables.  Aversion to vegetables.

“No Mommy!!!  I won’t eat my ________!!!”  Fill-in-the-blank with your choice of vegetable.

It’s always the vegetables, rarely the mashed potatoes, the macaroni and cheese, or the cookie.  If it is colorful and vibrant in flavor naturally, an alarm goes of in their little brains with a warning, “WARNING:  This item is a vegetable!!!  Avoid at all costs!!!”  And so they do.  They kick up a fuss.  They start crying.  They refuse.  The broccoli ends up in the floor.  The carrots swished in unnatural ways.  Spinach . . . well that’s in your hair.  It’s a new look.

Is all this pain necessary?  Is there some better way to do vegetables?  Why do children identify vegetables as “bad?”

I have some answers for you.  Vegetables do not have to be alien invaders and strange food groups that your children are forced to consume.  In fact, if you consider the guiding principles below, you may find that veggies are welcome into the house as a friend.

Getting Children to Eat Vegetables

Why your children hate their vegetables

This is really the point isn’t it?  Your children have learned to hate their vegetables.  At the early age of 1-3, something has taught them that vegetables are less preferable.  Why?  I will provide four reasons that children learn to hate their vegetables.

Reason #1: Baby food

When we first introduce vegetables to our children, we often give them baby food that we have bought in a grocery store.  Some parents buy organic, some buy regular, but the problem is the same.  Have you […]

By |January 8th, 2018|Brooke S., Food or Foe, Mom, Real Food Recipes|0 Comments
Read More

Whole Grains and Phytic Acid – Process grains naturally

How to process whole grains naturally

Whole Grains: Good or Bad?

In reaction to the over-processed, nutrient-deprived grain products that fill our supermarket shelves, many families have returned to using whole grains. Whole grains are what our ancestors used before we reinvented food to what you see today. So shouldn’t this return to the past be great?

Yes, but we are missing a pivotal step.

Whole grains are what our ancestors used, but we have lost the skills that allow us to naturally process the grains so that our bodies properly utilize the nutrients in the grain. Even our ancestors “processed” the grain before eating it. They didn’t use heat, machines, and extruders; instead they used God’s natural fermentation process to help release the nutrients from the grains.

Grains naturally contain phytic acid, a nutrient blocker. This phytic acid keeps the grains safe while going through the intestinal track of animals so that the seeds can travel to new places to be reintroduced to the ground. However, this is bad news for humans. We want to gain nutrients from the grain and this phytic acid blocks the absorption of magnesium, calcium, zinc, and other essential nutrients.

Therefore, we need to soak and ferment our grains (including seeds and beans) to decrease the phytic acid before we consume them. For oatmeal, this can involve taking 2 cups of oats, 4 cups of warm water and 2-4 tablespoons of whey, yogurt, or buttermilk and soaking them for 7 to 24 hours. Other grains can be soaked in other methods to get rid of the phytic acid.

Do you have any questions about soaking, fermenting, or phytic acid?

How to soak oatmeal

By |October 23rd, 2017|Brooke S., Food or Foe, Traditional Recipes|0 Comments
Read More

Real Eggs Vs Borg Eggs – Learn More Now

Almost everyone uses eggs.  Recipes call for them.  You may have them for breakfast.  You pick them up in white sterilized Styrofoam at the grocery store.  You know about real eggs, right?

We know a version of eggs that have been washed, resealed, packaged, and made to look all identical by selecting all the same sizes.  It’s like calling Borgs from Star Trek human.  And if you are not a Trekkie, just ignore that last comment.  I’m going to give a comparison between real eggs and not so real “Borg” eggs.

Real Eggs VS “Borg” Eggs

Real eggs are not washed; they have a natural protective coating surrounding them that protects them from the air and bacteria.

Borg eggs are washed and sterilized removing their natural protective coating and leaving them open to pick up bacteria from the environment.

Real eggs are various sizes just like babies are born different sizes.  They are also different colors as real chickens lay eggs of all different colors (including white).

Borg eggs are only accepted in certain sizes and colors.  The commercialized chickens must lay white eggs or brown eggs.

Real eggs that haven’t been washed can be left out on the counter for as much as two weeks without spoiling.  This is done all over Europe.

Borg eggs will go bad quickly when left out.  Since they have their natural protective coating removed, they are now porous and susceptible to bacteria.

Real eggs are nutritious and have Vitamin A, D, and K2 as well as Choline and healthy cholesterol.

Borg eggs may have DPB (Disinfection By-Product) from being cleaned by Chlorine.1  They may also […]

By |November 18th, 2016|Brooke S., Food or Foe, Real Food Recipes|0 Comments
Read More

Four Food Myths to Watch Out for

 

Four Food Myths | Boholistic Mom

I am a little worked up about health lately.  So many people around me are ill and I want to do something about it.  I truly believe that a lot of illnesses are preventable, treatable, and, most importantly, brought on by false nutritional education.

Many illnesses are preventable.

I believe that we were created to have good health.  Why don’t have good health then?  Many of the reasons that we have poor health is due to the fact that we have forgotten the traditions of health passed down to us from our parents, their parents, and up the generational lines.  We are to respect and honor our parents, but we have rejected the wisdom of the past.

I’ve put together four food myths in order to underline four easy ways that a family can change their health by beginning to make small changes in their eating and drinking.  Consider these myths and please feel free to ask questions by commenting at the bottom of this blog.

Four Food Myths

“Fats are bad.” – FALSE

Processed, factory-made fats are horrible for you. They need to stop being served as food. However, natural fats from olives, coconuts, and even grass-fed (or naturally-fed) animals are essential for health. Without real fats, the body suffers.

 

“Water is healthy.” – FALSE

Not all water is healthy. The government has decided to allow chemicals, drugs, and other pollutants to remain in our water in small amounts. They have decided that these small amounts are allowable. Healthy bodies may be able to filter these pollutants, but let’s face it, who is actually healthy these days? Consider researching filters for your drinking water. Your kidneys will thank you.
“Grocery […]

By |November 14th, 2015|Brooke S., Food or Foe, Real Food Recipes|0 Comments
Read More

Why and When to Buy Organic Foods

I started my organic journey in 2008.  My husband and I had just moved to Gulfport, Mississippi and we realized that we needed to make some life changes.  I was struggling with IBS.  He is in the military and needed to keep fit to pass his fitness tests.  On top of it all, we wanted a family.

Nothing gets you started thinking about organic foods more than having a baby.

We did not know what the first step to health was at that point, most people don’t.  So we started eating more organic produce and shopping at farmer’s markets.  This was one of our first steps toward the lifestyle that we now maintain.  It was small, but each step matters because you’ll never arrive if you never start.

There are some things that eating organic foods will change in your life and there are some things that eating organic won’t change a bit.

Organic Benefits

  • Decreases pesticides in body
    (pesticides linked to ADHD)
  • Increases health of liver
  • Lessens brain fog
  • Increases antioxidants
  • Decreases exposure to GMO crops

Not Going to Happen

  • Losing weight magically
  • Fixing all health problems
  • The “Organic” label doesn’t make it healthy

Organic foods have health benefits that are cascading in effect.  These foods have less pesticides.  Having less pesticides means your liver will be healthier due to having less chemicals to process.  When your liver is healthy, your brain is much healthier.  When the liver is taxed, the brain gets foggy.  The liver keeps toxic substances from building up in the blood and reaching the brain.1  Your brain […]

By |June 3rd, 2015|Brooke S., Food or Foe, Real Food Recipes|3 Comments
Read More

Healthy Fats

Healthy Fats | Boholistic Moms

I don’t know how you were raised, but if you were raised during the 80’s and/or the 90’s you may have been raised on a low-fat diet. Fats were bad. All of them. Butter was replaced with margarine. Lard was not even mentioned, much less used. Cheeses were artery cloggers and vegetables were all eaten plain.

This was my life from 1983 until around 2001.

I mention in my other post how confused I was about the need to avoid fats and to lessen my calories. Then eventually people began to say to avoid carbs too.  How could I possibly avoid fats, avoid carbs, and lessen my calories to keep my weight balanced?  It became apparent to me that something was awry.  These “food experts” didn’t really have their act together.  In fact, did they even know what we should eat to be healthy?

I found the answer out in 2013.  The answer was so simple that I’m amazed that I’d spent so long trying to figure out the solution to my food dilemma.

Eat real food.

I go into this in more detail here, but in this post I want to speak exclusively about healthy fats.  Eating healthy fats, because truly not all fats are bad.

You need healthy fats to produce cholesterol which is the mother of all hormones.  You absolutely need cholesterol in order to produce hormones in your body.  All of the highest fat REAL foods contain cholesterol.  These two are the dynamic duo of proper hormone production.  Without healthy fats and cholesterol, you cannot function the way that you were made to function.  Your hormones help to regulate your brain, […]

By |February 12th, 2015|Brooke S., Food or Foe, Real Food Recipes|1 Comment
Read More

Coconuts: A to Z

Coconuts: A-Z | Boholistic Mom

(This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a benefit from your order.  Thanks!)

Inside The Coconut

Coconuts are filled with beneficial commodities.  Coconut fat (often labeled as raw virgin organic coconut oil) is a medium-chain triglyceride, which means it is a special type saturated fat.  According to a study done in 1983, these same medium-chain triglycerides had rats loosing fat deposits in the lab.1  In 2004, a study in India found that Virgin Coconut Oil decreased the total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, LDL, and VLDL cholesterol levels and increased HDL cholesterol.2 Aka, coconut oil helped the body maintain the good cholesterol and decrease the bad cholesterol.  Also, unlike other oils frequently used in the USA, a study performed in India shows that coconut oil has no correlation with coronary heart diseases.  This fat is not a contributor to heart disease, so if you are watching out for your heart or your husband’s heart, this oil will help you remain heart healthy.

The coconut oil, meat, and milk will help you stay healthy and make amazing dishes.  Read on to find out how to pull a coconut apart on your own!

Coconut Collaboration

I was able to team up on this post with a friend of mine who moved to Guam.  Erena is much more experienced with coconuts than I will probably ever be!  So I asked her how she choses her coconuts, cracks her coconuts, and also how she uses her coconuts.  Here’s what she had to say!

How Do You Choose a Good Coconut?

A green coconut usually means the coconut hasn’t formed and is […]

By |December 6th, 2014|Brooke S., Food or Foe, Real Food Recipes|0 Comments
Read More