Category Archives: Parenting

Kelly’s of Cornwall Banoffee Pie Ice Cream

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Kelly’s of Cornwall Banoffee Pie Ice CreamIngredients:

100g butter, melted

200g digestive biscuits

4 bananas

Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream ice cream or Kelly’s Cornish Dairy Vanilla ice cream

Jaffa Cake mini rolls

Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream and Honeycomb ice cream

 

 

 

Method:

  1. Line a cake tin with cling film.
  2. Bash the biscuits to make crumbs and mix with the melted butter.
  3. Push the crumb mixture into the cake tin to make a base.
  4. Chop the bananas into slices and use to cover the biscuit base.
  5. Cover the bananas with a layer of Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream Vanilla ice cream.
  6. Chop the Jaffa Cake rolls into slices and cover the ice cream.
  7. Finish off with a layer of Kelly’s Clotted Cream and Honeycomb ice cream.
  8. Place the tin in the freezer for a couple of hours and then serve.

 

This recipe has been created by Kelly’s of Cornwall with Alison Maclean, blogger of Fairy dust and Dragons as part of Kelly’s Creative Kids in the Kitchen 2014 campaign. To see Alison’s blog please visit http://www.dragonsandfairydust.co.uk

 

 

The Benefits of a Vegan Pregnancy

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vegan pregnancyAll essential vitamins and minerals can easily be found in a wide variety of vegan foods, including green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, lentils, pulses, beans, soy, whole grains and flax. So there is no need to worry about how to get enough protein, calcium, iron, omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D. The only exception is vitamin B12, which can be easily supplemented.

Actors Alicia Silverstone and Emily Deschanel have both had vegan pregnancies. Alicia says, “All of the vegan pregnancies I have witnessed have been way smoother than those of my non-vegan friends. … From my point of view, the more vegan you are, the more healthy you are and that makes your pregnancy go more easily and helps your baby to be super duper healthy!”

 

 

  1. Ward off morning sickness: Morning sickness is one of the least fun aspects of pregnancy, and interestingly enough, a vegan diet during pregnancy may alleviate some of those symptoms. Some studies have connected a diet high in meat and dairy with more severe symptoms of morning sickness. The science is this: Morning sickness is the body’s natural attempt to protect the fetus from unhealthy substances, physically clearing those substances (and the food that contains them) out of the mother’s body. Many of the chemicals that are cleared out most commonly come from meat and dairy products, because these products are at a higher risk for contamination. Thus, eating a vegan diet (ideally organic) may reduce or totally eliminate the symptoms of morning sickness. Unlike meat and dairy product, plants can help to rid the body of toxins, ultimately providing the fetus with lower amounts of unhealthy chemicals that we consume in our food.
    In addition, a vegan diet ensures that the mother is not consuming the foods that are commonly known to be harmful for fetuses, including fish and seafood, deli meats, and unpasteurized dairy products. Each of these can put a fetus at risk for birth defects, and eating a vegan diet guarantees that none will be an issue.

 

  1. A healthier, happier you: A vegan diet is great for your health! According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegans are less likely to develop heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or high blood pressure than meat-eaters are. Vegans get all the nutrients that they need to be healthy, such as plant protein, fiber, and minerals, without all the nasty stuff in meat that slows you down and makes you sick, such as cholesterol and saturated animal fat.

 

  1. It’s the best way to help animals: Every vegan saves the lives of countless animals each year. There is simply no easier way to help animals and prevent suffering than by choosing vegan foods over meat, eggs, and dairy products.

 

If you are considering making the switch to a vegan diet- please visit peta.org.uk where you can order a free vegan starter kit and find out more on how to have a healthy and happy vegan pregnancy.

 

PETA supporter and vegan mum, Kimberley Brewser says:

 

There was no doubt in my mind that a vegan pregnancy was what was best for me and, more importantly, my precious bundle.

 

Apart from my initial morning sickness, I thoroughly enjoyed my pregnancy. I’ve never felt better inside and out.

 

For any food that I craved, there was a vegan alternative, so I never felt that I was missing out. I always made sure that I had my favourite foods in the house if I had a craving. I ate very well.

 

While some of my pregnant friends suffered with low iron levels and high blood pressure, my iron levels were high and my blood pressure was fantastic throughout.

 

I’m a dancer and continued to perform at shows and dance throughout my pregnancy. I had so much energy. I was dancing four days before I gave birth.

 

Hadley was a healthy 7 lbs, 11 ozs when he was born. Now at 15 months, he continues to thrive on a healthy, varied and colourful vegan diet. He’s a happy, healthy, beautiful little boy.

 

Would I recommend a vegan diet to expectant mothers? Definitely!

 

 

Why Mothers Stop Breastfeeding

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GentleIt’s not your imagination– all babies go through a difficult period around the same age. Research by Dr. Frans Plooij Ph.D. and Dr. Hetty van de Rijt Ph.D., authors of The Wonder Weeks: How to Stimulate Your Baby’s Mental Development and Help Him Turn His 10 Predictable, Great, Fussy Phases Into Magical, has shown that babies make 10 major, predictable, age-linked changes – or leaps – during their first 20 months of their lives taking place around weeks 5, 8, 12, 19, 26, 37, 46, 55, 64 and 75. During this time, they will learn more than in any other time. With each leap comes a drastic change in your baby’s mental development, which not only affects his mood, his health, sleeping patterns and the “three C’s” (crying, clinging and crankiness) but also… babies drinking and comfort seeking habits. Unfortunately these Wonder Weeks are often a reason for moms who do not know about these wonder weeks, to stop breast-feeding their child.

With every new wonder week a baby gets a totally new perception of the world. Every Wonder Week is like waking up on a strange planet. A baby did not ask for this, did not see it coming, but suddenly this whole new world was there. What would you do? You would retreat to a well-known and safe place. For a baby that is mom. How would you do that? By literally clinging to your mom. Being one with her, holding on tight and the best way to do that would be via literally sucking yourself to your mom. This is where breast-feeding and Wonder Weeks meet. Whilst on the one hand Wonder weeks are in fact something good and signal progress in development, on the other hand, when the Wonder Weeks are misunderstood, they are often the reason moms give up breastfeeding.

“My daughter was crying so much that I was afraid something was terribly wrong. She wanted to breastfeed constantly. I took her to see the pediatrician, but he couldn’t find anything wrong with her. He said he just needed to get used to my milk and that many infants went through a similar crying phase at 5 weeks. I thought that is was a strange thing to say, because she hadn’t had any problems with my milk until then. Her cousin, who was the same age, kept crying, too, but he was being bottle-fed. When I told the doctor that, he pretended he hadn’t heard, I didn’t push the subject though. I found out about wonder weeks later on, but I keep on wondering why nobody told me about these wonder weeks earlier.” – Julitte’s mom, 5th week

Wonder Weeks and the milk doubting moms:

Wonder Weeks: One of the reasons mothers stop breastfeeding? As the baby gets more Clingy, Cries more and is more Cranky during a wonder week, many mothers start doubting themselves. Are they doing something wrong? If a baby wants to drink so often, does this mean they do not have enough milk? Or is their milk not good enough? Moms who know their baby is in a wonder week, don’t doubt themselves or their milk.

“Around the third wonder week my daughter suddenly started nursing less. After 5 minutes, she would start playing around with my nipple. After that had gone on for two weeks, I decided to start supplementing my milk with formula, but she wouldn’t have any of that either. This phase lasted 4 weeks. During that time I worried she would suffer from some kind of nutrition deficiency, especially when I saw my milk supply starting to diminish. But now she is drinking like she used to again, and my milk supply is as plentiful as ever. Now I know this is normal behavior during a wonder week. I never doubted my milk again since I know when these wonder weeks are.”
– Hannah’s mom, 19 th week.

Wonder Weeks and the exhausted moms:
Even the moms not doubting their milk sometimes give up breastfeeding. Simply because the impact of the leap on the behavior of their child is wearing them out. The moms that know about Wonder Weeks tend to be less exhausted as they know what is happening and that Wonder Weeks are actually a good thing.

Wonder Weeks and the mom of a six month old:
One of the most difficult leaps is the one of relationships, around six months after due date. The exact same time breast milk alone is not enough anymore and most parents start to give solid food as well. Mom is exhausted from the leap, doesn’t sleep or sleeps very poorly, while at the same time her child needs food. Just days after giving the first ‘meals’, the baby is in a much better mood. Often moms explain this whole sequence of events wrongly and seem to think their child was in need of other milk than theirs. While in fact the child just went through another leap and finished the leap when he turned six months.

Wonder Weeks and nipple cracks or abrasions:
Pain is, logically, one of the reasons moms want to stop feeding their child. When a child is in a Wonder Week he wants to drink many times more often than is normally the case. As this is one of the only times a baby is quiet, a mom doesn’t really pay as much attention to the feeding process as she normally would. Often resulting in wrong feeding positions, resulting in i.e. cracked nipples.

Making parents aware of Wonder weeks will enable parents to understand their baby’s behavior much better and will help many moms to continue feeding their child and to make sure these Wonder Weeks are not a reason to give up.

Dr. Frans Plooij Ph.D. and Dr. Hetty van de Rijt Ph.D. discovered the leap phenomenon while studying chimpanzee mother infant relationships in the Gombe National Park, Tanzania, East-Africa together with Jane Goodall. They are the authors of the book The Wonder Weeks: How to Stimulate Your Baby’s Mental Development and Help Him Turn His 10 Predictable, Great, Fussy Phases Into Magical

Dr. Frans Plooij Ph.D. is always willing to educate professionals about these Wonder weeks, or answer questions via Skype or email. He regularly has Skype sessions with moms around the world.

 

 

What To Eat When You’re Pregnant And Vegetarian | Book Review

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pregnancy, health, diet, food, what to eat, vegetarian, The phrase, ‘You are what you eat’, is never truer than when pregnant. In fact, both you and your baby are what you eat. If you are vegetarian, or just want to cut down on meat, then this book calls itself the ‘complete guide to healthy eating’. We put it to the test.

This book is an excellent guide. It has a handy reference of vegetarian-safe food and drink, checklists for pregnancy and post-conception, guidelines on caffeine and alcohol, tips on handling morning sickness, how to achieve a healthy weight, and then lose it again, advice on getting enough nutrients, advice on allergy-proofing your baby, food that affects a babies development and what you should eat when breastfeeding. Phew. That is quite a lot of information.

With its menu plans and tips for planning meals, the wealth of information in this book is vast. It even has graphs of how much you should weigh and what food you should eat, it makes a complicated time easy, at least when it comes to nutrition. I also thought the chapter on getting enough iron and avoiding anaemia is great for any mother-to-be. The common complaints during pregnancy and how to deal with them is great too. It covers most health complaints that occur in pregnancy.

What to Eat When You’re Pregnant and Vegetarian: The Complete Guide to Healthy Eating is a great book. A must buy if you are planning to get pregnant or already are.