Tag Archives: fiber

Mooie!

Blenderized, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, , , , , , , , , , ,
enteral-feeding
Night Feeding Via Pump

Ok it’s been a while since I been able to add a new recipe so here goes.  I’m dedicating this to 2 young tubie warriors.  This ones for you, kiddos!

Three years ago, right before Matt had his hip surgery, his digestive tract started giving him problems again.  I was trying to avoid putting him on laxatives so I developed a green smoothie that I had hoped would help him.  I originally put fruit in it and offered it to him to drink.  He liked it (sort of) but he only drank 2oz.  I knew that was not enough to work so I went back to the drawing board.  Then it dawned on me.  He has a g-tube!  He doesn’t need to drink it so I can remove the fruit and add more greens!  It worked.  The added greens allowed me to add more fiber without fighting with him about the taste.  Now when I give him a bolus feeding or hang his bag for his night feeding he smiles and says, “Ooh! Mooie!  Yup.  You got it.  That’s where the name came from.

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Bolus Feeding

Since each child and adult that are g-tube dependent have different issues, I caution you to check with your doctor before changing a feeding regimen and, if you get the ok to to try this, add small amounts at first and watch for adverse effects.  I do not recommend making this smoothie with anything else but a Vitamix.  The Vitamix blends the greens so finely that there are little or no leave particles to get caught in the filter of the feeding bag.  If the filter gets clogged that feeding stops and the alarm goes off.  It’s less of a problem for bolus feeding but, if there is difficulty in breaking down solids, it could cause issues. All of the ingredients are added to the Vitamix container by weight. That way there is no measuring so it comes out the same every time. It also makes for a quicker blend. Just put the Vitamix container on a food scale and add the ingredients. No more measuring cups and spoons to wash.

Ingredients:

  • 3oz + 5oz of peppermint or chamomile tea
  • 6oz of greens (your choice)
  • 2oz of fresh Aloe Vera gel (optional)
  • 3oz avocado (or 2oz of avocado + 4 tsp of organic olive oil)
  • 1oz Organic apple cider vinegar
  • 8oz DIY “Ripple” (split pea milk)

Directions:

  1. In the 32oz Vitamix container add 3oz of the tea, the greens, the Aloe Vera gel (if you are using it) and the avocado and secure the lid.
  2. Select variable 1.
  3. Turn the machine on and quickly increase the speed to variable 10, then to High.
  4. Blend for 1 minute.
  5. Turn the machine off, return the switch setting to Variable and the dial setting to 1 then remove the lid.
  6. Add the remaining 5oz of tea, the vinegar and the DIY “Ripple” (split pea milk) and secure the lid.
  7. Turn the machine on and increase the speed to Variable 6 and blend for 10-20 seconds or until all the ingredients are combined.

Makes 2 14oz smoothies. Matthew’s night feeding is 500mls so I rinse the container with enough filtered water and add it to the feeding bag to ensure he gets the full dose. I have also added 1 tsp of fresh pureed ginger when Matthew’s stomach was more upset than usual.  Feel free to experiment with different greens.  Sometimes I will buy the large bag of Power greens or spinach from Costco along with Romaine lettuce hearts.  I also keep a close eye on the local farmer’s market for greens that are on sale.  Parsley is great because it helps settle the stomach.

Chia Seeds

Know Your Super Foods, , , , , ,

Most of us are very motivated to live healthier lifestyles these days and rightfully so.  With problems such as obesity, diabetes, cancer and allergies on the rise, it would be foolish not to.  We are also very quick to jump on the band wagon when some new “super food” comes along.  It’s easy to do when all we hear and read is how our food is poisoning us and making us sick.  That being said we need to “KNOW OUR SUPER FOODS!”

Today’s topic is chia seeds.  When I was growing up, they were only good for growing pets at Christmas time (Come on now, we all remember the commercials).  So when the internet and airways became abuzz with how good these tiny seeds were for you, I got interested.  I read that they were high in protein and fiber and, because I’m always looking  for new sources of plant based protein for Matthew, I was eager to try them.  There were no instructions on the bag so I just tossed some in to a batch of Matthew’s oatmeal.  When his oatmeal became extremely thick, I decided to research them further.  I found out that they absorb about 27 times their weight in water!

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Dry chia seeds

After 5 minutes

After 15 minutes

So what’s the big deal?  If the seeds aren’t soaked first, people like Mathew could end up with a blockage because the chia seeds adsorbed the water out of their digestive tract.  So, before you add any new food to your diet, research, research, research!  If you have health problems, talk with you doctor.

Want to know more about chia seeds?  Check out this link:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/20141021/use-chia-seeds-with-caution-researcher-warns

Pureed Whole Grain Pancakes

Blenderized, Pureed, , , , , ,

All of my pureed diet recipes must pass a taste test.  I feel, if I won’t eat it, why would anyone else?  I sampled this recipe and it a tasted like an amped up Cream of Wheat.  I had one of my girls taste it and she cleaned the plate!

GE

1/3 cup of water
4 pancakes (or 4oz by weight)

  1. Add ingredients the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid.
  2. Select Variable 1.
  3. Turn machine on and increase speed to Variable 10.
  4. Blend for 10-15 seconds using the tamper to press the ingredients into the blades.

Food Tip: Serving this warm with maple syrup has all of the flavor of my whole grain pancakes minus the chewing. Increase or decrease the water 1 tablespoon at a time to reach the desired consistency.

Food Tip: If fiber needs to be restricted, use my whole grain pancake recipe but use ½ cup of oat flour, ½ cup quinoa flour and ½ cup of all purpose flour instead of the combination listed.

Money Tip: Of course you can use a prepared pancake mix or frozen pancakes but those will always more expensive.

Time Tip: As with all of my pureed recipes, any leftovers can be frozen in ice cube trays and stored in Ziploc bags for future use.