Make Plain Yogurt Tasty for Children and Adults - Add Cooked Pears

I should say I used to like all the creamy and tasty yogurts [yoghurt] out there, but then when I changed to a healthy life style and started to read labels, I was amazed what all kinds of stuff is added to make it delicious and for those who are conscious about weight, to make the fat free ones. Extra sugar, I still don't understand why. Probably because all the fruits added are not that sweet, meaning probably not riped too. Then fat free - you know that they add extra chemicals to reduce the fat content. Therefore, the best recommendation of mine is, get normal 1% up to 3% fat yogurt, have little bit and enjoy it.

Now, how to make it delicious. Peel bosc pears [the sweet one], dice and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350-375 F, then puree. Let it cool and add to yogurt as much as you want to make it tasty; however, do not indulge on the pears, but rather on yogurt. This combination makes yogurt nice and sweet, and some say even more delicious. Then if you like other fruit, you can cut up some fresh fruit , and spice it up with cinnamon. Note that if you get a nice sweet red delicious apples, this may have the same effect.

I actually like plain yogurt plain or with vegetables, but children may be a bit fussy about its taste, however addition of pears can make a difference. I introduced yogurt to my baby at 11 months, and if your doctor recommends earlier, then go for it. He actually didn't mind like me eating the plain yogurt too, probably because I ate so much during pregnancy. Plain yogurt is excellent for balancing levels of the bacteria cultures in our system. We all have bad bacteria, so it is always good to eat yogurt to add good bacteria. Its all about balance.

Here are nutritional benefits of yogurt in general: excellent source of protein, rich in calcium, rich in potassium, source of B vitamin riboflavin, it is easier to digest than milk due to the culturing process, boosts immune system, can reduce cholesterol, improves colon health and may reduce risk of breast cancer due to improved immune system, reduces yeast infection [Candidiasis], and it aids in healing intestine infections. The plain yogurt is better than the taste enhanced yogurts because they contain less calories than the one with added fruit or sugars, they contain less fillers to make it creamy, contain more protein and calcium, and you will note also that there are no added sugars.

When buying yogurt here are some pointers. Look for containers with ingredients containing live and active cultures of Lactobacillus acidophilus or Bifidus bacteria cultures. Look for the ones with no added sugar - bingo - choose plain yogurt. Lastly, the active bacterial culture decreases after the expiration date, therefore, guess what you really need to check the expiry date on the containers.

Best Treatment for the Cradle Cap - All Natural

I have done some research on the cradle cap when I found some on my baby's head. I didn't actually find it visually - I actually experienced funny odor. This is when I noticed yellow residues attached to my baby's scalp. Since I have been very cautious using excessive soaps and creams on my baby, I was looking for natural way to cure it. I wasn't able to cure the cradle cap immediately, but it did work on the end. I used the virgin olive oil. After every water bath, I would smear my baby's head with the virgin olive oil. In the morning I would gently brush off from the head. I would repeat this for three days in the row. What olive oil does, it loosens the yellowish residue so it can be brushed off. However, I noticed that would go away for a week or two; therefore I would repeat the treatment. I read it somewhere that all it is a baby dandruff, and it will come back, and it can go on until child is a five years old. The nice thing about the olive oil is that it is harmless to your child, and you can use it all the time. Unfortunately, you need to time treatments in the way that your baby or child is home for few days, otherwise, hair may be a bit oily. Since my baby's hair is very fine, it was hardly noticeable. Next day after last day of treatment, I would wash my baby's hair with a gentle shampoo. Just so you know results may vary, and you can come up with your own application of virgin olive oil, some may need more days, and some less.

The Great Canadian Invention Series: Pablum Baby Food or Cereal

Time to feed your baby solid food. What are you going to feed her or him? Or do you have any ideas for breakfast for babies. Let me give you one suggestion, how about baby pablum - another great Canadian invention. Did you also know that Bobby Orr, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Trudeau and Anne Murray had pablum baby cereal for breakfast when they were infants. Well, I did not. The pablum baby food story started with three doctors working at the SickKids Hospital at Toronto back in 1930s who were concerned about the nutritional value of baby's daily diet. Back then cereals were part of the baby's diet, but there was not enough vitamins and minerals to ensure healthy growth and development. First, the nutritional biscuit for children was invented which was fortified with vitamins. After intensive research and testing in that area this lead to invention of the pre-cooked highly in the nutritional value cereal called pablum. It was based on the wheat meal, oatmeal, cornmeal, wheat germ, bone meal, dried brewer's yeast and alfalfa, and so it is now.

Nutritious Bananas Not Just for Adults But For Babies Especially

Bananas, a world’s most popular fruit is a very nutritious fruit full of vitamins and minerals, and let’s not forget it is also a very tasty fruit on its own or in baking or cooking. Everyone, adults, toddlers, babies enjoy it, and let’s not forget the monkeys.

What Do We Know about Banana’s?
I am not going to give you everything here about bananas, but you should know that bananas likely came from Malaysia. It is hard to believe, because I always thought they came from South America. However, since it is a very popular fruit consumed, it is also highly cultivated fruit in most tropical areas around the world.

Nutritional Value of the Bananas
Bananas are high in potassium, and are obviously recommended to patients who are low on potassium. Go figure. However, if you are pregnant then most likely your baby is consuming all your nutrients during pregnancy; potassium is one of them that will deplete and you will know it by getting sometimes a charley horse in your legs. Therefore, you have that one banana or two. However, watch out in some cases bananas can cause constipation – moderation is the key. Let us not forget the fiber, protein, carbohydrates and sodium. Now, you can see how this can be an excellent fruit for malnourished children. In addition to make this fruit even more nutritious, it contains vitamin A, B, C and few minerals like Calcium, Magnesium along with small traces of Zinc and Iron.

What Is a Connection between Bananas and Monkeys?
This for a life of me I couldn' answer, and here is one answer I found on the ezine: Monkeys and Bananas. I hope it is true, and if it is I have nothing to do with it.

How to Eat Banana?
Yes you are probably saying, who doesn't know how to eat bananas. Well, if you already know, here are few tricks I did learn over the years. First, in order for the banana to ripe nicely keep them in one bunch, if you you want to preserve them longer, take them apart. But remember when you pick them avoid bruised ones. Another interesting trick someone told me one day is to peel banana from the bottom, and all the strings will go away with it. So much for fun peeling my banana, they had to ruined it. So not you know how to eat banana, so go banana.

How to Feed your Baby Banana?
Finally, something related to the title of this post. I started to give banana to my baby at age of 4 months. Just a little bit, not even a full baby spoon. This was for my baby to learn how to eat with the spoon. I did some research, and I found that you don't have to cook bananas before giving them to babies. However, I am one of those paranoid mothers, so I would always steam them in the steam of the boiling water. When feeding baby I would lightly scrape surface of the banana to generate mashed banana. It works very well, you don't really need any equipment to do that.

Important Note: 'Nitrates and vegetables. Some types of strained vegetables and fruits - including spinach, beets, turnips, carrots, green beans, mixed vegetables and bananas - contain nitrates, and should therefore not be given to infants younger than 4 months...In sufficient concentrations, nitrates can cause these children to develop methemoglobinemia, a condition in which blood cells do not transport oxygen efficiently.' [1]

Things People Say about Bananas

‘On a traffic light green means go and yellow means yield, but on a banana it's just the opposite. Green means hold on, yellow means go ahead, and red means where the hell did you get that banana at...’ once said by Mitch Hedberg, an American Comedian, 1968-2005.

‘Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana’ once said by Groucho Marx, an American Comedian, Actor and Singer, 1890-1977.

‘Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana’ once said by Bill Gates, an American Entrepreneur and Founder of Microsoft Co., b.1955.

And the last one, ‘Monkeys throwing bananas at keyboard could have written a better post’, the best one I have seen and you can read it about yourself.

Time to Frame the Banana
No I am not talking about putting a banana to jail. I am talking putting a nice picture of a banana on your wall. Hopefully you have learn something new here about bananas, therefore we should feel like we own something to bananas so why not framing nice banana picture on your kitchen wall? Here are some of the best photos of the bananas I have seen on Internet, some free and some for purchase.

Fotosearch.com
Crestock.com

Time to Go Banana
Here you can find banana humor. I am sure some of them are composed images, but they are darn funny. Read more...

REFERENCES
[1] 'Better Baby Food', 2nd Edition, Your Essential Guide to Nutrition, Feeding & Cooking for All Babies & Toddlers, by Diana Kalnins, MSc, RD, and Joanne Saab, RD, The Hospital for Sick Children, pg 46.
Document Release: 1; Document Last Modified: March 16, 2009

Safety First for Babies – When Buying Books for Babies, Toddlers and Children in General

As we walk into any bookstore, or any other place that sells books for children, we get overwhelmed with the range of colourful attractive children books. Putting the attractiveness aside, we must also look at safe books for babies. What I mean by safe book is the printing and design of the book. Aside note that many books now don’t even specify the age this book is intended to. I guess the publishers worry that if they will specify the age, then only mothers with child in that age range will buy this book. This is my opinion, and I say that because I have seen book from publishers that specialize in children’s books, and they do tell you the age of the child.

Let’s talk about books for babies. Yes, we do want to read books to our babies. We want them to touch the book and feel it. However, one thing parent must always do is not to leave a child unattended with the book. Babies when they start teething they will grab books and believe or not chew on it. As a parent you tell me if the printing ink is nutritious for your baby – no it is not. Watch out especially for the books made of fabric, or hard books that may be painted.

The next factor that may be unsafe for children are books with those things that have flip flaps. They are cool and very entertaining for you baby or toddler, but all you have to do is always be around your child. Sometimes they may come off very easy and the book becomes a choking hazard if unattended baby will consume it. Lastly the books with round corners are much better than the books with sharp corners. The pictures of the books below are the two examples. The sharp corners become dangerous especially when flipping pages, often may scratch babies face or even poke.

So next time you shop for a book for your baby, you may want to consider the above points.

	Peak-a-Baby is a book where the corners are rounded. Excellent book to be introduced at age of 2 months.
	Ten Little Ladybugs is a book where the corners are sharp. This book can be recommended for older babies, but please do not leave your baby alone with this book.

REFERENCES
[1] Peak-a-Baby by Karen Katz, A Lift-The-Flap Book
[2] The Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth, Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith

Document Release: 0; Document Last Modified: February 17, 2009