KRYS LOJEK, NUTRITIONIST
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Encouraging a fussy eater 

13/7/2016

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   A few hacks to get your kids eating well

Are your kids fussy eaters?
Holiday on Fraser Island, visiting the turtles
We are in the midst of school holidays  I have a 13 year old child who is gluten free due to an intolerance, who is a particularly fussy eater.   So, I thought this was the perfect time to strip his food choices back to healing foods.  
This is a lot easier said than done, realising that the whole journey starts with me.  I had to stop giving in to all the demands for gluten free breads and gluten free weetbix that are loaded with additives and preservatives.  Then I had to think of other things that I knew he would eat and make them healthier.
For some children introducing new foods is a work in progress, but what I have found works extremely well is introducing new foods when they have friends over.  Firstly they discover that if their friends eat it then it’s really not that bad and they try it.  Even if it is only a teaspoonful, that is progress, because the more times you put it in front of them, the more they will eat.  
I have been introducing pumpkin soup for what seems like years.   Looking at his food preferences, he has quite a mature taste in foods, having a leaning towards herbs such as rosemary, oregano, thyme etc…  I decided to give this pumpkin soup a make over.  Inspired by Danielle Walker from Against all Grain I did a version of her roasted vegetable and chicken soup.   This has a great combo of pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, onion and garlic in a broth base.  Soup couldn't be more nourishing with all of these yellow and orange carotene rich vegetables roasted in coconut oil, as carotenes need fats so they can be absorbed by our body.   So I was ecstatic when he asked for seconds, and then a second helping after dinner.  I just needed to stop myself from making it over and over again day after day until he got sick of it, instead just once a week to make it a special treat.
The other success that I had was homemade jellies and marshmallows.   Well, how wonderful it was to come home to kids choosing jellies and marshmallows from the fridge as a quick snack.  Little did they know that they were a probiotic hit made from kombucha and probiotic powder with the added goodness of gelatin.  I have been really getting into using grass fed gelatin lately with all of its anti inflammatory, gut healing, joint healing qualities.
Some other food hacks that I have been using:
  •  Ask them what they like about certain foods ie texture, taste, smell
  • Observe them when they eat.  What do they eat first, what do they eat last, what foods do they avoid.
  • Help them write a list of  foods that they would like to have and make them healthy options
  • Let them help in the kitchen.  Often if they help to prepare foods, they are more likely to eat them.
  • Get rid of all unhealthy food options in the  fridge and  pantry.  If it is there they will find it.  If you have hiding places, they have already found them.  Avoid leaving small change around in case they get the urge to visit the shops and make even worse food choices.
  • Always cut up vegetable crudites with meals whether they eat them or not.  If this is your 12th year of putting raw vegetables and fruit in front of your child at each meal, don’t despair one day they will eat them.  
  • Buy organic fruit and vegetables.  Especially if all they eat are carrots and broccoli, make sure they are organic and serve up to 2 serves at a meal rather than one.  Leave the skin on potatoes when cooking to preserve all the nutrients.
  • Bulk up mince meals such as chili,  shepherd's pie,  spaghetti bolognese, with pureed vegetables they don't eat.
  • Make a vegetable stock paste once again with vegetables they will not eat and add to meals instead of salt.
  • Use honey as a sweetener.
  • Add eggs to any meal at any opportunity  i.e.:  instead of two eggs in custard use four.
  • Use grass fed gelatine to thicken gravies, custards, rice puddings, desserts - any opportunity available.
  • Introduce kombucha and other fermented drinks such as kefir, coconut kefir, milk kefir etc.
  • Back to basics at breakfast, eggs are great with low nitrate bacon.
  • Saute grated cauliflower with leeks and garlic as a base for fried rice - They won't know!
  • Try potato and cauliflower mash.  Use small amounts of cauli first then increase slowly.
  • Cauliflower crust pizza bases are delicious and worth trying. This was a very simple swap for my son.
  • Avocado chocolate mousse is a favourite especially when avocado’s in season.
  • Smoothies are also a favourite in our house, I sneak in coconut oil and probiotic powder, but it is over if I get caught.
  • Praise, praise, praise when they try a new food or eat their meal.
  • Create an incentive plan, find out what they really want and work towards it in exchange for trying new foods.
  • Avoid feeling frustrated that they are not eating the foods that you would like.  
  • The most important point - eat with your kids.  Sharing meals together as a family, studies confirm that children eat a wider variety of foods, enjoy the communication, learn more and improve relationships within the family.   

It has been a successful two weeks so far.  I have enjoyed creating meals and snacks that will see the end of gluten free weetbix and gluten free breads forever.  We haven't come up with any substitutes, but we don’t need to.  It's about experiencing a wider variety of foods, with differing textures, smells and tastes.  
Prepackaged, convenience foods can sabotage all of your efforts in seconds.  Try not to fall into the trap again, because if you have a fussy eater it is about making every food choice as nutrient rich as possible to help them grow, develop and eventually eat everything that nature intended.
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The Going Grey Dilemma

1/7/2016

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Picture
I began going grey in my early 40's, but it wasn't until mid 40's that I decided to start colouring my hair.  At that stage it was every 4-5 weeks at the hairdresser for a 1-2 hour time frame.  Soon, as the greys became more pronounced the visits increased to every 3 weeks.  Does that sound familiar? What I struggled with the most was the time commitment, and the exposure to all the toxins in the hair colour and the fragrances in the hair salon.  During this time I was reskilling as a nutritionist, studying all about nutrition, often while having my hair done.  Never waste a minute, ever.  I felt the need to look younger, but this was not the authentic me.  Instead I was bathing my body in toxins,  which it had to work hard to get rid of.
I had a fabulous hairdresser, who decided to go out on her own.  In her own salon, she researched every single brand of hair colour on the market, looking for the lowest toxic, organic range possible.  She tested Origin and Mineral, liked the results and began using all the products in her salon.  This was fabulous for me.  I was having a wonderful hair colour with minimal toxins.  So if I had the product why decide to go grey?
It was an overwhelming feeling, that it was time.  I am a nutritionist.  My message is to live a low toxic life, with natural, beautiful food.  It has taken me over a year to get to this stage.  I am not fully grey, but with clever blending and dulling down of the colour on the ends has given me this new look that I embrace.
So will going grey mean that I won't be as attractive or sexy.  Why the hell not.  George Clooney looks dam good grey, and so does my husband.  And I find the both of them very attractive, especially the latter.
For me ageing is about embracing who you are.  I do my best to look after the body that I have with good food, exercise, great company and laughter.  

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    Krys Lojek
    Nutritionist 

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