SPOTLIGHT: Sea Vegetables

I've never been a fan of sea food in any way, shape, or form so the eating of seaweed is pretty new to me. When I first went veg I greatly increased my soy intake because I replaced every meat and dairy product with a soy version. Soy binds iodine, which the thyroid needs, so if it's not available to the thyroid because it's bound to all that soy you can see that it can be bad for health over time. My thyroid swelled so bad I was having difficulty breathing! Knowing how important iodine is in the diet has been a good thing because I normally wouldn't think to add iodized salt to Oliver's blends and sea vegetables are certainly not something I would normally think to add if I didn't know how healthy it is to include some sources of iodine. Today I added some of the most beautiful sea vegetables to the afternoon blend. They come packed in salt in the refrigerated section of our Whole Foods. I have long used dried kelp, adding a few shakes to savory blends and a maybe a shake or two more on days I am using soy. It's easy to find that stuff at any health food store. If you are not including some form of iodine in your blends you should!

RECIPE: GOLDEN SOUP

Ollie went NUTS for this soup and kept licking it off his spoon for about an hour and a half. I kept adding drops to his spoon from his bolus syringe and so besides the super radness of him eating orally (it's the most he has EVER eaten!) I got to reinforce that it is yummy food that is going into his tummy through his tubes. It was just a great day and I thank the soup!

1 c Imagine Organics Carrot Almond Soup or similar (90 cal)

1/4 mashed potato flakes (70 cal)

handful soaked almonds (120 cal)

1/4 c butternut squash (30 cal)

1/4 c Naked Juice Power-C Smoothie (30 cal)

1/4 c coconut milk (100 cal)

3 oz silken tofu (50 cal)

1/4 c corn off the cob (30 cal)

1 tbsp oil (120 cal)

1/4 c rice milk (30 cal)

ABOUT 670 CALORIES AND 45OmL

RECIPE: PASTA & VEGGIES

1/4 c cooked lentils (80 cal)

1/2 c cooked whole wheat pasta (80 cal)

2 tbsp hummus (120 cal)

about 1/4 c strained tomatoes (I don't measure but just drizzle some in! bonus cal)

frozen spinach (just a bit defrosted and warmed in hot water - bonus cal)

1/4 c walnuts (200 cal - a big fat big cal boost)

1/4 c silken tofu (50 cal)

a bit of whatever veggies we have chopped up for dinner that would blend well

rice or almond milk to thin

ABOUT 530 CALORIES AND 350mL

RECIPE: FRUITY PASTINA

1 oversized jar pureed fruit baby food (90 cal)

1/2 c juice (Naked Juice Smoothie 85 cal) or more to thin

4 tbsp dried semolina pastina (160 cal) cooked with

1/2 c hot rice rice milk (60 cal)

tbsp oil (120 cal)

small handful soaked almonds (about 120 cal)

tbsp agave nectar (42 cal)

ABOUT 677 CALORIES AND 450mL

Hello!

My son, Ollie, has been fed via tube since he was just a few weeks old due to defects along his midline/GI tract. He has recently been enjoying tasting foods and is even consuming a bit by licking smooth purees off his spoon. Until he was ten months old he received all nutrition through a j-tube (goes to the jejunum instead of the stomach like a g-tube, but he has one of those, too!). When he was ten months old he got a fundoplication (surgery to prevent stomach contents from going up the esophagus) and we were able to start introducing food to his stomach. Rather than just give him the same formula as he was receiving through his continuous j-tube feeds I added simple foods to the formula, like multigrain baby cereals, juices, and smooth baby foods. Before long we were doing a lot of his daily calories through his g-tube with real food blended up in a blender and the rest of his calories through a homemade j-tube formula using real foods. As we've continued on this blenderizing journey we've watched as issue after issue that had been plaguing my son disappeared.There has been some trial and error and we are still learning a lot from other parents and tubies, but we are quickly getting the hang of it. As we continue to provide our son with wholesome, healthy foods rather than canned commercial slop (formula) I thought I'd share some of what we are doing and we've learned here and also share resources available to the feeding tube community. For a ton of recipes, advice, and information on feeding your tube-fed child real food you should check out BlenderizedDiet.Net and You start with a tube.... The forums on BlenderizedDiet.Net are a must-visit to learn a wealth of info on blending meals and their Facebook page, Blenderized Food for Tubies, should be on your list as well. Look for me! I'm Ollie's Mom-Jen.