It has been a while since my last blog post. So much has happened and I want to share it all. Especially, the day-to-day adventures… Like the day I learned that Maddy could use the water bottle as a ladder and climb the pantry shelves. Or, the day when the boys decided to try to cross pee-pee, streams while peeing (in the toilet) and sprayed the pee all over each other, the walls and the floors. Awesome!! This is daily and some days, man is it hard. But, this time is not about me, it’s about the kids. The tantrums come and are sometimes hilarious in hindsight, but beyond stressful at the moment. The key…don’t let them suck you in! Easier said than done, right? We are also preparing for a family vacation to the mountains! YAY! YAY! YAY! Today, I will share my food prep plans. I also want to share my resolutions to girls’ constipation problem… exciting! Like my friend said, until you are a Mom, you don’t know how exciting poop is!
I am still weaning the girls from nursing. We are down to two-morning feedings, one at lunch and one at night. Everything was going great until they stopped pooping. They had always been regular until the weaning. I am a nurturer and knowing how harmful constipation can be, I dug my heels in to try to resolve the issue. The pediatrician suggested glycerine suppositories, prune or pear juice, and a stool softener. When I saw their little faces straining to poop, it broke my heart and I felt they needed relief. So, I tried the suppository and the juice. The suppository produced a stool but it was very hard and small. I knew this was not ideal and they needed a real resolution to the problem.
So, my research led me to the following remedy: increase fruits and vegetables that aid in detoxification and are high in water, decrease protein to about 1-2 ounces per meal, and increase fiber and fluid. I also added tummy soothing chamomile and ginger tea. Here is a list of things that I added or increased that helped relieve their constipation:
Pureed spinach, kale, Swiss chard: steamed and raw in a smoothie with blueberries and strawberries.
Celery, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, and zucchini: lightly steamed and pureed, then served with grass-fed butter or coconut oil
Dried chamomile and freshly grated ginger steeped in fresh water and cooled. They get about 6 ounces each per day.
Coconut water is diluted with fresh water. They get about 6 ounces each per day.
Raw whole milk and yogurt in smoothies and in a cup, about 5 ounces of milk each per day.
Freshly cooked meat only. Nothing is reheated. As I learned that reheating protein changes its structure and can irritate the gut.
Soaked freshly ground Chia seeds and flax meal.
I also added soaked and well-cooked beans and oatmeal. They love the apple, pear, and banana muffins with teff and buckwheat. I will post the recipe soon. They are wonderful because they don’t crumble much and are easy to eat.
I took out carrots, bananas, and applesauce as I learned that all three are constipating.
I also changed probiotics to diversify their strains. It took about four days and presto… back on track!!
The other big event in the Slater house is preparing for our trip to the mountains. We plan to leave on a Friday and return on a Monday. That means enough food for two, six-hour car trips, and three days of meals. Piece of cake!! Here is the list so far:
4 loaves of buckwheat/millet bread
1/2 pound raw milk cheddar cheese
1 pint of homemade olive oil mayo (super easy to do!!)
3 cans Kirkland tuna in water
2 cans wild-caught salmon
2 cans of wild planet sardines
1 pint of cashew/almond/pecan butter
1 batch of seed bagels (I substitute soaked Chia seeds for the eggs)
1 double batch of strawberry bars (recipe to come)
1 double batch of sorghum flour pancakes (recipe to come)
1 double batch of banana pancakes with coconut flour
2 dozen eggs
2 pounds of cut whole organic chicken
1 pound pastured pork bratwurst
2 pounds grass fed ground beef
1 pound pork liverwurst
1 large clamshell of mixed greens (for salads)
4 avocados
2 tomatoes
6 sweet potatoes
1 pound of green beans
1/2 pound grass-fed butter
olive oil/red wine vinegar
1 cantaloupe
2 pounds strawberries
12 bananas
1-quart raw milk yogurt
1-quart raw milk
1-quart coconut water
1 batch of chickpea flour cookies
1 batch of seeds and fruit granola bars
That is the list so far. I may add some veggies or fruit to the list. It is definitely more food than we will eat. But, it is better to be safe with extra than not have enough. We will not eat out for anything, including the car trip. That is another whole strategy… Plan snacks/meals that are car-friendly (aka. Not a car seat cleanup nightmare). I am not planning ahead for minimal kitchen time once we arrive. Only hiking and playing for this girl!! The last time we went to the mountains, I was 19 weeks pregnant with the girls. I detailed our food list and activities here. This time the girls are here, almost weaned from nursing and eating solids. So, I have to make plans for them too. The Nutribullet will definitely be packed for the trip.
Life gets more interesting every day with two sets of twins. It keeps me sharp and eager to continually find new strategies to manage “life”. Honestly, overall it’s not too bad. I’ve seen a lot of blogs describing having twins as horribly difficult, but I would say no. I don’t have anything to compare it to because I’ve only had twins. But, I look at it this way I delivered two babies in one day, so I can do pretty much anything.