Healthy Mum, Happy Baby

Well, I just found out there’s a little bit missing in the recipe instructions for this recipe from p. 128 of “the book”. Oops! As this is one of our kids’ favourite recipes and ours as well, I wanted to put a quick correction in here.

In step 3 you add the peeled & chopped broccoli stem to the garlic, anchovies, olive oil & chilies.

Thanks Heather for the heads up!

And did I mention this is so, so fast. Especially if you put the water for the pasta onto boil when you start all your chopping.

I have been a bad, bad, blogger and ironically there’s a lot I want to blog about, but for now this great article on getting your garden growing and getting your kids keen on their veggies will have to suffice: Crops your children will grow to love

So, someone is MUCH more of a foodie (and chef) than I scoffed at the Hummus recipe in the book because it didn’t contain lemon zest, which is apparently where all the flavour lies. So next time you make Tina’s Hummus from page. 110 of the book try adding some lemon zest, I’m going to…

And Andrew made the Salmon & Spinach Quiche (p. 154) and came up with the idea of layering salmon, cheese, spinach & cheese (as opposed to salmon, cheese and spinach as the recipe suggests) and I have to say, it tasted better.

I recently did an interview with Canadian site Mommyagogo about being an entrepreneurial mum. As I usually interview entrepreneurial mamas for yoyomama, it was interesting being on the other side of the page. In addition to the interview, Mommyagogo also has three copies of Healthy Mum to give away and two recipes from the book on the site (in case you want to try before you buy!)

Mommyagogo is for mums in Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo, but it’s worth checking out, for the recipes and book reviews alone…but seriously, they do have lots of great info.

Last week the Government of Canada launched a new site – Healthy Canadians – and it’s a one stop health shop, combining recall info from Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Not only can you track all food and children’s product recalls in one place, but there’s info on healthy eating, healthy pregnancy, active kids, family safety, the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, toy safety tips and more. You can also sign up for info on food recalls and product safety news, or just rely on us to keep you posted. We are a bit worried that there are so many toy and food recalls that they need a site all of their own, but at least it’s an easy and centralized way to find the info.

Healthy Canadians: www.healthycanadians.gc.ca

Well, after not posting for ages there’s so much nutrition stuff going on this week that I’m all in a lather.

I heard this on the news last night and wanted to follow up and then I saw it on Treehugger, so wanted to share: Debate Over Seafood and Pregnancy Rages On .

A well-respected coalition of scientists from private groups and federal agencies are saying that  pregnant and breast-feeding women should eat at least 12 oz of fish and seafood weekly for their baby’s optimal brain development.

However, the US government still recommends that pregnant and breastfeeding women eat no more than 12 oz per week as mercury contamination is an issue. Health Canada’s recommendations seem to revolve more around tinned tuna than fish in general, but all in all I’m stumped. Between conflicting info on Vitamin D and Seafoood who’s to know what to do? All I know for sure is I didn’t take enough Vitamin  D or eat enough Seafood (given these new recommendations) while pregnant and nursing, so for those of us past the stage of being able to help our babies develop it’s a bit depressing. Mind you, all you can do is what you know that the time.  I’m going to see if I can track down a dietitian and see if I can get more info…

Here’s more info: www.brainybabieshealthykids.org/press-release-100407/

Well, now the Canadian Paediatric Society is recommending that women who are pregnant and nursing take 2000 IU of Vitamin D daily.  And even that may not be enough to ensure that babies are protected against an increased risk of asthma, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis, dental malformation and inflammatory bowel disease – all of which have been linked to Vitamin D deficiencies early in life.

And the Canadian Cancer Society is recommending that adults take 1,000 IU of Vitamin D daily, as it can help lower your risk of several types of cancer including breast, lung and colon.

So let all the preggo & breastfeeding women you know know…

So while I have been following the recommendations from Health Canada I’m starting to wonder. I think I’ll find a nutritionist and do a piece on it for yoyomama (and add all the details here as well of course!)

I saw this article on CBC.ca today about toxic pollutants:

Toxic pollutants kill up to 25,000 Canadians annually: B.C. study

This line in particular freaked me out, “There are many contaminants individuals simply can’t avoid. They’re invisible. We can’t see them. We can’t smell them. We can’t taste them.”

So does that mean I should just give up on feeding my kid’s organic food whenever possible and trying to weed out their more toxic looking toys? I think I’ll keep working from the every little bit helps point of view, but still, it’s kind of depressing.

Well, Health Canada has updated their recommendations for how much Vitamin D we should take. And their new recommendations is that until more research has been done, they will not be changing their recommendations…

Health Canada: Vitamin D & Health 

Vitamin D crops up in health news almost daily right now.

Not only does it cut your cancer risk, but it increases your longevity and it helps prevents osteoporosis. CBC recently has done some indepth coverage of Vitamin D which notes that “The recommended daily allowance of vitamin D in Canada is 200 IU for the general population and 400 IU for people 50 and older. Some health authorities suggest that this amount is too low, saying that as much as 2,000 units a day is safe.” The article concludes “The U.S.-based Institute of Medicine of the National Academies has set 2,000 IU of vitamin D as the daily maximum tolerable amount. Health Canada warns exceeding this limit could lead to an overdose that can cause kidney stones as well as damage to the heart, lungs and blood vessels.”

So obviously Health Canada needs to look at their recommendations, and this month they are, and when they’re updated I’ll update the info here as well.

And while I believe in trying to get most of your nutrients from your diet, I am tempted to start supplementing with Vitamin D and am wondering if the kids should be too. I’ll have to do some research and get back to you.