Fortunately, protein intake isn’t something most parents need to stress about. There is a good chance that most kids get enough protein in a day without putting too much pressure on them. We need to focus on where they are getting their protein from, rather than stressing about how much they are eating each day. 

Benefits of Protein For Kids

There are many benefits of protein for kids. It is essential for basically every area of their bodies. For young children, protein is important for growth and development. It helps to repair and build muscles, bones and organs, and it also helps kids’ bodies build a strong immune system.

Protein also helps keep them full between meals, which all moms want help with so they are not asking for their 12th snack of the day! It always helps to pair a protein, fat, and carb source for most meals to keep it well-rounded. It doesn’t need to be perfect every time, but it is a good foundation to go by for meals and snacks. 

High Protein Foods For Kids

Meat, Poultry & Seafood

Of course this one is a no-brainer, but there are many different ways that you can serve meat and seafood to your kiddos. You can serve them chicken cooked in different ways, ground turkey in tacos, add any type of ground meat to enchiladas or lasagna, add chicken or ground turkey into soups, do sheet pan dinners, or pan-fry your fish of choice. The options are endless!

Yogurt & Cottage Cheese

Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are both great high protein options if your kids can tolerate dairy. I always recommend buying organic when it comes to dairy products, and make sure you are getting things that are unsweetened so that you can control the sugar content. You can make yogurt bowls with honey, berries, and nuts (and you can serve cottage cheese the same way). You can also use yogurt and cottage cheese in pancakes to up the protein. You can get creative and stir in a small amount of protein powder to vegan yogurt to add flavor and even more protein, as well as make a fruit dip by combining greek yogurt, cinnamon, peanut butter, and maple syrup. My girls love to dip apples in this!

Cheese

You can use string cheese, sharp cheddar, or add shredded cheese on top of pretty much anything! Some easy options of are of course things like quesadillas, enchiladas, in sandwiches, or even cube up larger blocks of cheese.

Milk & Milk Alternatives

I have never given my kids whole cow’s milk, but that is just personal preference because I give them unsweetened soy milk, and they eat dairy in other forms. Whole milk or soy milk are both great options for higher protein milk. I don’t believe that kids really need to be drinking a ton of milk after they turn one like the recommendations have always been. If they are eating a variety of foods that are a whole food protein source, then they won’t really need to supplement with milk. But this is always a personal choice that you should talk to your doctor or dietitian about. A couple of ways that you can use milk in other recipes is to either cook your oatmeal in it, or use it in smoothies. 

Nut & Seed Butters

We love peanut butter in our house! But any type of nut or seed butter will add protein to so many things. You can add a spoonful to smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt bowls, dip fruit in it, the options are endless! 

Protein Powder for Kids

This one can be kind of tricky, because most parents don’t know if it is safe to give kids the protein powders that adults drink. And those are very valid concerns because a lot of them have very large amounts of protein and extra things in them that kids just don’t need. They don’t need to take in excessive amounts of protein in at one time, so it is smart to be careful. I have a select few that I use to make “chocolate milk” for my kids, and I only use a 1/2 scoop to mix with their milk so they aren’t getting too much. But one of the best protein powders that I have found that is actually made for kids is from Naked Nutrition. My kids love it, it tastes delicious, and the amount of protein as well as the extra nutrients in it are tailored to kids’ needs. This is amazing, and takes the worry away when trying to use protein for my girls. It comes in two flavors, so you can get creative with fun smoothies for them!

Whole Nuts & Seeds

One of the easiest ways to add protein from seeds to your kid’s diet is to add things like hemp seeds, flax, or chia seeds to smoothies and oatmeal. I almost always add hemp and flax to my kids oatmeal and they never even know it is there! 

Eggs

Eggs are a fantastic protein source for kids. You can serve them so many different ways, depending on your child’s preferences. You can of course serve them fried, scrambled, in tacos, or even casserole style. Egg cups are also a great way to add extra veggies in there too, or even egg salad sandwiches!

Protein Baked Goods

Adding protein powder, yogurt, cottage cheese, or nut butters to baked goods are a fun way to serve treats! You can do protein muffins, protein brownies, or different flavors of snack balls! Some of our favorite protein muffins to make are my chocolate banana muffins, and blueberry banana.

Bone Broth

Bone broth is not only a good way to add protein, but it is loaded with SO many other nutrients. I am a huge advocate of adding bone broth to your diet in some way. You can obviously use it in soups, but you can also cook your rice in it instead of water to up the protein. You can add a splash of broth when sautéing vegetables, or even use it in hot chocolate. I know it may sound crazy, but you really don’t taste it when you add the cocoa and sweetener! 

Beans & Legumes

Beans are a fantastic source of protein because they also provide fiber and complex carbohydrates. They are great for gut health, and provide a plant-based source of protein, which are perfect for vegetarian and vegan dishes. You can add them to soups and chili, make quesadillas with refried beans, and you can even make dips out of beans, like my White Bean & Goat Cheese Dip.

Alternative Pastas

Most kids love pasta, so this can be an easy win if you are trying to get them more protein without it being obvious. Pastas made out of chickpeas, or other types of beans and legumes are a great way to up the protein content, and normally kids won’t even know the difference. 

Veggie Burgers

There are lots of veggie burger options out there, but I would recommend the ones that are made with whole food ingredients, and don’t have a lot of fake fillers in them. Look for options that are made with beans, legumes, or lentils, and whole grains. 

Just remember, you are doing a great job feeding your kids! If they are eating a well rounded diet with foods from all of the food groups, they are most likely going to be getting enough protein. Whole foods are the key here because the nutrient density of their diet is so important for their growing bodies!

Thank you to Naked Nutrition for sponsoring this post! I appreciate you for following along and supporting the brands that support The Wheatless Kitchen!

The post Best Sources of Protein For Kids appeared first on The Wheatless Kitchen.

Over the past year, I have been sharing a lot of Sloane’s first food exposures and meals on Instagram. And over that time, I have gotten so many questions about how and when we decided to introduce certain foods to her. So now that she is 18 months old, and we have over a year of experience at this, I thought it was time I write a post about it.

I am certainly no expert at this. Bbaby-led weaning has definitely worked for us, and I recommend it to anyone that asks me about it.

I took the Feeding Littles online infant course, and it was extremely helpful! They are so knowledgable. I felt at ease knowing that I was learning about this topic from a Registered Dietitian and a Feeding Therapist. I highly recommend their course if you are wanting to go in depth on all things baby feeding. But for now, I am going to tell you everything that I have done with Sloane. Thi is in hopes that it will help anyone that may not want to take a more extensive course.

What is baby-led weaning?

Baby-led weaning is essentially the idea that you give your baby solid foods right from the start. Rather than only start with purees or traditional baby foods. I know that the term “weaning” can make it sound like you are trying to wean them from the breast or bottle, but that is not the case. You still want to offer breastmilk or formula until they are at least 12 months old. It really just means that you will be weaning your baby toward solid foods. You do not rush them, and just letting them explore all the new flavors and textures.

Whether you are choosing to do baby-led weaning with your baby, or opt for a few purees alongside, the choice is totally up to you. You have to do what is best for YOU and YOUR baby. Feeding your baby shouldn’t pose any strict rules, always do what you are comfortable with.

The Benefits of Baby-Led Weaning

One of the main reasons I wanted to do baby-led weaning is because it helps babies work on their fine motor skills. Also, it helps boost their oral motor development. By feeding them this way, they are constantly able to pick up different shaped foods with their hands and fingers. Also, they feel the different textures in their hands. And in turn, this will hopefully help them to become less picky eaters in the long run. They are exposed to foods in their natural state instead of everything being pureed.

One of the biggest benefits, according to some feeding experts, is that babies are able to learn the feeling of satiety (fullness). They will be able to listen to their bodies. They will know when they are full, and won’t be pressured to eat “just one more bite”. If they are only being fed purees, then they will end up eating the food faster. Their stomach won’t catch up their brain to let them know that they are full before eating more than they actually needed.

What about Choking?

One of the main concerns that parents usually have with baby-led weaning is choking. Most people are taught to believe that purees are safer than solid foods. However, from what I learned from Feeding Littles, that is not completely true.

The gag reflex on babies is more toward the front of their tongue than adults is. It is very common for babies to gag on their food, but gagging and choking are two very different things. When a baby gags, it is only because they are trying to learn how to move food around in their mouth, as well as learn how to chew.

Gagging is common and normal, and you will hear them make a sound, or even cough. The cough or gagging sound is actually a good thing because you know that their airway is not blocked. It is when they look like they are gagging. But no sound is coming out, that they could potentially be choking.

There has been research that says that babies who are given solids (cooked in the right way) are no more likely to choke than babies that are spoon-fed. As long as you stay away from foods that are known choking hazards, you should be just fine. (I will go over choking hazards down below.)

When to Start

There is so much research out there that says that babies really should be 6 months old when you start introducing solids. Their little digestive tracts are just not ready for solid food before then, so that is why we didn’t give Sloane anything but breastmilk before she turned 6 months. Ultimately, the choice is completely up to you and your pediatrician. Do whatever works best for you.

Another important milestone that needs to be met before you start solids is that your baby needs to be able to sit up on their own. When you put them in the highchair, you don’t want them to be hunching over and not able to hold themselves up, this could potentially turn into a choking hazard. They also need to be able to pick up food with their palms, so let your baby be the guide on when to start.

Start Slowly

At first, your baby will have a hard time picking up certain foods, they usually don’t develop their pincer grasp until around 9-10 months old. So this means that they will grasp the food with their hand, and only eat the part that is sticking out of their palm. You want to make sure that you cut foods into longer strips so that they have something to work with.

I think one of the biggest things that I learned from Feeding Littles is to not rush the process. Some babies take to food very quickly, and actually start eating some substance right away. And some babies just play with the food for a while. Both are perfectly fine! Babies need to play with the food to be able to get comfortable with the textures and flavors. All of this is new to them, so just be patient and know that if your baby isn’t eating the food right away, it’s okay!

You can introduce foods to your baby in a couple of different ways. You can just place a couple pieces of food onto the highchair and let them pick it up and play with it. Or, if they are having a hard time with that at first, you can put the food right into their hand and help them grasp it.

Let’s Talk About Food Allergies

Introducing common food allergens can be a sensitive subject for some people, especially if you have food allergies in your family. I won’t lie, I was a little hesitant about giving Sloane gluten because of my obvious allergy. This is definitely something that you want to talk to your pediatrician about because every baby is different, and every family history is different.

There are a lot of traditional thoughts about introducing food allergens one at a time, and some not until after the baby turns one. But these days, there is more and more research saying that the earlier you start introducing the common allergens, the less likely a baby is to develop an allergy to that food. Feeding Littles talks about this in their course, and I talked to Sloane’s pediatrician about it and she recommended that I introduce the foods to her early on. Luckily, she has never had a reaction to any food.

What foods do I start with?

There are really no rules as to which foods to start feeding your baby. This is all going to depend on the typical diet of the parents. The one thing you definitely want to take into consideration, though, is processed foods because of their sugar and salt content. Feeding your baby whole foods is always going to be better for their little bodies.

I started with pretty simple foods for Sloane. Avocado, roasted sweet potato, strips of ripe mango, etc. And then as she got used to those foods, I would add more. I ended up getting more and more creative as time went on because I got more comfortable with feeding her. Before I knew it, she was eating full meals with several components, not just single foods.

I started with just giving her foods at breakfast and dinner every day. We did that for a few weeks, alongside with me nursing her as I normally would throughout the day. She obviously wasn’t eating a ton at each meal, but she was learning.

I would always make sure that I nursed her before each meal so that she didn’t come to meal time hungry. Babies that are new to BLW can get frustrated if they are hungry because they don’t know how to technically feed themselves yet.

Foods to NOT give babies

While baby-led weaning advocates for babies to eat what the family eats, in a modified way, there are still some foods that babies cannot have right off the bat.

Honey is a big no-no for babies. Their bodies cannot handle honey until they are at least 12 months old because it can cause infant botulism.

Common choking hazards also shouldn’t be given to babies, and some even need to be avoided into toddlerhood. These include certain chips and hard crackers, hard candy, dollops of nut butters, whole grapes, certain hard raw veggies, and whole nuts.

Salt should also be very limited until they are at least 1 year old because their kidneys can’t handle much salt yet. Same goes for sugar, the AAP recommends that you not give your baby any sugar or sugar-sweetened beverages until at least 2 years of age.

First Food Ideas

Here are a few things that I made for Sloane in the first couple of months of BLW…

roasted sweet potato wedges

I would roast them either with olive oil, or I would do coconut oil and cinnamon

avocado

sometimes I would leave the skin on half of the strip to help her grip it, and sometimes I would leave the skin off and roll the avocado in almond flour to give her some grip (just pay attention to make sure they don’t try to eat the skin!)

mango strips

make sure the mango is very ripe so that it is soft enough

steamed apple wedges

raw apples can be a choking hazard for them because they don’t have teeth yet, so I would steam them until they were soft, sometimes I would throw some cinnamon on them too

egg strips

I would basically make scrambled eggs, except sort of like in omelette form. I would just let the eggs cook in an even layer, and then cut it up in strips so she could grip them.

banana

I started out by just breaking the banana in half and handing it to her, then after a while, I would cut them into coins

toast strips

lightly toast some GF bread so that it is not too crunchy, and I would spread a VERY thin layer of peanut butter or avocado

strawberry strips

I would take large strawberries and cut them into thinner strips or wedges

frittata

you can chop up bell peppers and spinach very finely and put them in a frittata

pesto pasta

penne pasta with homemade kale pesto

fish

she loved salmon and we would give her little pieces of ours

chicken

i would sometimes give her small pieces of shredded chicken if it wasn’t too salty

date balls

you can make date balls (or energy bites) out of dates and nuts and roll them into balls, just make sure everything is very finely chopped, and there are not big pieces of nuts

baby oatmeal

you can definitely use regular oats, but I used baby oatmeal for a few months because it is fortified with iron, I would mix it with breastmilk and cinnamon, and sometimes even added in flax or hemp seeds

yogurt

I gave her dairy-free coconut yogurt, as well as Siggi’s yogurt to introduce her to dairy, we have never given her fluid milk to drink

There are SO many more fruits, vegetables and meals that you can give your baby, these are just a few ideas!

Baby Products I love

• Gootensils – these are a great first utensil because it helps the food grip to the utensil when your baby can’t scoop yet
• Baby utensils
• Honey Bear Straw Cup – this cup is genius and how we taught Sloane to drink from a straw
• Small Open Cups
• Bumkins Suction Plates and Bowls – these are great for when babies are still young and can’t flip the plate. They eventually learn how, though. We really just gave Sloane the food right on her highchair for the first several months.
• Munchkin 360 cup – it took Sloane a while to figure this out, but when she eventually did, it has been great. You don’t have to worry about the cup leaking when they carry it around.
• Baprons – these things are one of my favorite baby products ever! Sloane always hated bibs around her neck when she ate, so these things are a God send. They cover their entire front, and you can throw them right in the wash when needed.
• Reusable snack bags – I use these to bring snacks for Sloane in my diaper bag. They are durable, wash easily, and cute!

Always remember, no matter what way you decide to feed your baby, you are doing a great job! Every baby is different, just have some fun and let your baby play!

The post Baby-Led Weaning -> How to Get Started appeared first on The Wheatless Kitchen.

I have been wanting to share her birth story for a while now, so I thought no better time than her first birthday!

Before I share our story, I think it needs to be said that we all have amazing birth stories, no matter how you brought your baby into the world. Every birth is natural, whether medicated, unmedicated, or through c-section. Every woman who has grown and birthed a baby is a FORCE to be reckoned with.

So let me tell you about Sloane’s story…

Sloane’s Birth Story

My reasons for doing an unmedicated birth

Before I was ever pregnant with Sloane, I knew that I had wanted to have an unmedicated birth with as little medical intervention as possible. I had learned about the benefits of doing it this way from my friend, who is a chiropractor who had already had two unmedicated births herself.

Other than her, I had never personally known anyone who had done it without meds (on purpose, at least). She told me all about her experience using Hypnobabies during her pregnancies, and she absolutely loved it and recommended that I look into it.

So, I did lots of research on unmedicated birthing programs, and Hypnobabies really resonated with me the most. Now, I will be completely honest with you and admit that I was a little skeptical. The thought of hypnosis seemed a little strange to me. But then I learned that it is not the kind of hypnosis that you see in the movies. They use something called somnambulistic hypnosis, which means that you are fully awake and aware of your surroundings the whole time.

I also read the testimonials of HUNDREDS of other moms who did the Hypnobabies program, and I was sold.

Here are some of the benefits of doing an unmedicated birth using Hypnobabies…

• most women end up using fewer drugs, or no drugs at all, which means less risk of side effects for them and their babies
• helps you release fear and tension during pregnancy and birth
• most moms have shorter labors since there is less resistance of the birthing muscles
• the birthing environment is much more calm and peaceful when the mother is comfortable, relaxed, and confident
• it “deprograms” your brain from the usual negativity of birth stories, thus releasing fear and anxiety that is normally related to childbirth
• it allows you to go into your birthing experience with confidence, believing that your body knows exactly what to do

And those are just a few of the benefits…

The two main reasons that I personally wanted to attempt an unmedicated birth were 1) I wanted to bring my baby into the world peacefully, calmly, and with confidence and 2) I wanted to minimize the risk of side effects that can come along with medication, for both me AND the baby.

A lot of Hypnobabies moms do home births, but I decided that I wanted to be in a hospital because I just felt safer doing it that way. I knew that IF anything went wrong, I would be taken care of by my amazing doctor and the nurses at the hospital.

The Hypnobabies Program

I won’t go into every single detail about the program in this post, but I wanted to give a quick description of how you prepare during pregnancy.

Hypnobabies sends you a book with all of the information you need to prepare for an unmedicated birth. It has everything about the body during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. It goes into the benefits of the program, and the mental preparation as well.

You are also given tracks to listen to throughout the six week program. They give you a schedule for when exactly to listen to each track. There are hypnosis tracks that you listen to while pregnant, affirmations that you listen to that aren’t hypnosis, and also hypnosis tracks that you listen to on your birthing day.

A Small Change of Plans

My original plan was to have a completely drug-free birth, no Pitocin, no epidural, as little intervention as possible. But my husband worked in college football at the time, and we were having this baby in October, right in the middle of football season. Perfect planning, right?

This meant that my plan of wanting to go into labor naturally could potentially leave us in a less that ideal situation if I happened to go into labor while Kenny was on the road for an away game. So, as we got closer to the due date, I had to make a decision. We were two days away from my due date, and Kenny was supposed to go to Iowa like 6 days later. I knew that there was a very good chance that I could go well past my due date, like a lot of first time moms do.

So, we decided to give it a few more days, and that we would induce three days after the due date.

I’m not going to lie, I was kind of devastated. All I could think about were all of the horror stories I had heard about Pitocin. I had always heard that Pitocin is a beast and can make the contractions so much worse. So of course I was scared that this was going to ruin the rest of my plan too.

I had to do lots of praying and soul searching in the days leading up to the induction. I went onto the Hypnobabies website and found testimonials of other moms who had to (or chose to) be induced for various reasons. It gave me SO much hope and reassurance that I could still do this the way I wanted.

GO TIME

The day was here. This baby was cozy in there and didn’t want to come out on her own, and I decided that I was more scared of Kenny not being at the birth because of a road game, than I was of being induced. So it was time to coax her out instead of wait on her.

We checked into the hospital at 6am, and we were taken back to get prepped and settle into our delivery room. I felt calm yet nervous all at the same time. They got my IV started and hooked me up to the fetal heart monitors. Both were things that I didn’t want because I didn’t want to be tied down, I wanted to be able to move around more. But, I accepted it and told myself that it was going to be fine.

They started my Pitocin at about 7:45am, and I really didn’t know what to expect. They start it low, and then slowly increase it at certain time increments. I was kind of expecting the contractions to start pretty quickly because that’s what I had always heard. But that didn’t happen for me. Kenny and I just kind of hung out for a while, talking and trying to pass the time because nothing was really happening. They had also checked my cervix around the time they started the Pitocin and I was already dilated to 3cm, so I definitely had that going in my favor. I had been dilated to 2 cm for like 2-3 weeks before my due date, so I knew my body was definitely ready.

I started to feel some tightness in my abdomen around 10am, but nothing painful. They kind of felt like Braxton Hicks contractions. But then around 11:30am is when I really started to feel it. They were extremely manageable, but it was definitely more than just a crampy feeling. This is when I put my headphones in and focused on my birthing tracks. I knew that it was going to get intense pretty soon, so I wanted to make sure I was relaxed and calm before that happened.

The birthing day track was a life saver. I honestly can’t even tell you what she said the entire time, but those positive affirmations really get into your subconscious and truly help you calm your mind and body. I felt in control, and the contractions were totally manageable.

Then at around 1:30pm is when things started to get REAL. The contractions were starting to get closer together and much more intense. I had been laying on the bed the whole morning, and had been going through contractions while laying on my back for a while, but when they started to get stronger, I couldn’t lay in that bed anymore. I felt like I needed to get up and move into a different position. So I stood next to the bed, put my hands on the bed, and just leaned up against it and swayed my hips back and forth during each contraction.

Doing this helped SO much. All of the pain I was feeling was low and in the front, so it felt so much better to lean forward a bit to relieve some of the pressure in the front of my abdomen. I stood like this for a couple of hours, just riding the waves of the contractions. They checked me again at this point and I was at 6cm, so Kenny texted my doula, Pauline, to let her know that I was progressing.

She got up to the hospital pretty quickly after that, and she was such a huge help. The first thing she asked me when she walked in was “what do you need from me right now?”

And my response… “I think an epidural would really help a lot.”

She just looked at me, smiled, and handed me some ice chips without saying a word. And this is why I love her! When I met her for the first time a few months before my due date, I was telling her about my desires for a drug free birth. And I told her that if I started asking for an epidural, to just ignore me, and remind me why I want to do it this way. I told Kenny the same thing leading up to the birth. Just ignore me and hold my hand if I started asking for the drugs. And that is exactly what they did. I honestly didn’t have many moments where I felt like I really needed the epidural, but there were a couple of times that I joked about it, and they just looked at me and smiled.

She went and got me a heating pad that they would press on my lower back, and she also got me an exercise ball to sit on between contractions when I was standing next to the bed. My legs were getting so tired from standing at that point, that it was amazing to be able to sit on that ball to rest.

By about 4:30pm, I was getting very fatigued, so I decided to get up onto the bed. I realized pretty quickly that I could NOT lie on my back, so they raised the bed up to a 90 degree angle. I got up onto my knees and leaned over the back of the bed, this way my legs got a little bit of a break.

Dr. Devine got there soon after this, and when she checked me, I was at an 8. At this point, my water had not broken on its own, which I was grateful for because I have always heard that contractions get even worse after your water breaks.

We decided that Dr. Devine would just break my water herself in hopes that it would speed things up a bit because I was so close anyway. And it worked, those contractions were super close together after that and my body even started involuntarily pushing. That was a BIZARRE feeling. I was back up on my knees, leaning over the bed again, and I felt my body pushing all by itself with every contraction. It actually kind of freaked me out because I didn’t really know that was a thing. That happened a few times, they checked me again, and I was at a 10. It was GO TIME.

It was about 5:45pm, and at this point, they started getting the room ready for delivery. I remember the doctor and nurses moving around the room, but I was really trying to focus on my birthing track in order to stay calm. When they told me that it was almost time to push, I remember having a brief moment of fear. I thought “OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE? WHY DIDN’T I GET THE MEDS? THIS IS WHERE THE REAL PAIN IS!”

But, I stopped myself. Took a deep breath, put my headphones in, and really tried to stay calm. This is where I told myself that I was almost there, and that I was about to finally meet my baby. The nurses were also extremely helpful at this point. They were always so encouraging, and I felt like I really had so many people there to cheer me on. Those nurses really are angels.

We started with the squatting bar. I told my doula that because I had the use of my legs, that I wanted to use gravity as much as I could to push. I pushed using the bar for about 30 minutes, but then I started to feel a little exhausted from having to go up and down in between each contraction. When you use the squatting bar, you pull yourself up to a squatting position for each push, and then lay back and try to relax in between each one, which is basically a workout in itself.

I looked at my doula and told her that I didn’t know if I could do it much longer, so she suggested that I just lay back and push because the baby was so far down the birth canal anyway. So that’s what I did. I pushed a few more times, with Kenny counting me down each time. I think that was my favorite part of the whole thing up until this point. Hearing Kenny’s voice counting for me while I pushed was so comforting, he was right there with me.

I pushed a couple more times, completely unaware that Sloane was almost out (I’m not joking when I say those birthing tracks work). Then all of a sudden, out she comes at 6:55pm. This kid had some strong lungs because she was LOUD. I actually remember laughing about it and saying “I love that she is crying so loudly!” as they put her on my chest.

In that moment, I had never been more proud of myself. I had always had this tiny skeptical voice in my head questioning whether I could actually have this baby without pain meds (and it didn’t help that I had people tell me that I was crazy), and I proved that voice wrong. Your body really does follow what the mind decides.

It was all so surreal. I felt like I already knew this little person that was laying on my chest. She was the cutest thing I had ever seen, and then I look over at Kenny and he is BAWLING. Like, I’ve never seen him cry like this in all the years we have been together. He was amazed and in love instantly.

We did it. She was here. All 7 lbs 3 oz of her.

Follow me on Instagram for more updates.

The post Sloane’s Birth Story appeared first on The Wheatless Kitchen.

Here are a few things that I think every new mom can benefit from…

1. Drink more water!

The easiest thing we can do, yet also the hardest! I swear I go hours and hours forgetting to drink water, and then all of a sudden realize that I feel dehydrated. I keep a reusable water bottle with me at all times, and it helps SO much to remind me to drink up! This is especially important if you are breastfeeding, it helps so much with milk supply.

2. Fuel your body

We have to eat the nutrients that our body needs in order to have the energy to chase our babies around all day. I love to load up on produce at the farmer’s market on the weekends to set myself up for easier meals during the week.

3. Get Outside

Getting fresh air and sunshine does wonders for my mood and sanity. Sloane and I go for walks around the neighborhood most days. It is nice for both of us to get outside, soak up some vitamin D, and get a little change of scenery that looks differently than baby toys.

4. Move your body for at least 10 minutes every day

While we’re on the subject of getting outside, this can be your form of movement every day. All it takes is 10 minutes to get the blood flowing and lift your mood. If I’m not going on a walk outside, then I’ll at least get a stretch in every day. On days that I have a little more time, I will pop in a workout DVD, or even find a yoga workout on YouTube and do it while Sloane plays on the floor next to me. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just move your body in whatever day makes you feel good.

Having comfortable and stylish workout clothes always motivates me a little more to actually want to workout. I have been loving Vie Active lately. These pink leggings are suuuuper smooth and soft, and have just enough compression to hold everything in in the right places. And this tank top is one of my favorites because it can be worn long, but also looks super cute tied up. You can use code ‘candace20’ to get 20% off workout apparel on their website!

It is starting to get extremely hot here in Arizona, so I need something that is sweat-wicking and anti-microbial so that I can stay dry and smelling fresh

Vie Active is a company that I think we can all get behind because they are so dedicated to empowering women with stylish, performance-driven activewear.

5. Get some ‘me time’

It is SO important to take a few moments for yourself every day. Whether that is a 10 minute shower after the baby goes to bed, or waking up 30 minutes before the baby to enjoy your morning cup of coffee in peace. You can recharge in these small moments.

6. Put your phone down

I am guilty of picking up my phone to check my email or scroll Instagram WAY too many times per day. I am really making an effort to put my phone away while Sloane is awake during the day to focus my attention on her and not be distracted. It is doing wonders for my mind, and makes me feel like I’m being more present.

7. Talk to Someone

We all have moments where we feel overwhelmed, and those are the moments where we NEED to talk to someone that we trust. Whether it be your husband, your mom, your best friend, or a therapist. Don’t hold your feelings in, it will weigh on you and affect you and your baby.

8. Ask for help

And while we’re on the subject of talking to someone you trust, ask them for help! I have a hard time with this sometimes because I want to just handle everything, and I let my pride get in the way because I want to just be ‘strong enough’ to do it all myself. But we don’t have to do it ALL, all by ourselves. People want to help, so let them.

9. Give yourself a break

Women, in general, are way too hard on themselves. And when you become a mom, that goes to a whole new level. I have had several meltdowns since Sloane was born because I felt like I was failing at something. Whether Sloane wasn’t napping well, or I was experiencing mom guilt, or the million other times when I have been too hard on myself for no reason at all. I am finally starting to learn that there is no perfect mom, we are all doing the very best we can and loving our babies in the best way that we know how. So keep going, mama. You are doing great!

10. Savor your baby

I think the best thing every mom can do is just savor the time that we DO have when our babies are little. They grow up so fast, and I know that we are going to miss the sleepless nights and wet kisses in a few years. Just slow down, and enjoy these precious moments.

This post was in collaboration with Vie Active. They generously sent me their product, and all opinions are my own.

Don’t forget to use code ‘candace20’ to get 20% off workout clothes!

The post 10 Healthy Habits for Every New Mom appeared first on The Wheatless Kitchen.

I think every pregnant woman deals with back pain (at least to some extent) at some point during her pregnancy. So many things can cause it –> carrying a bowling ball in your belly, added weight, poor posture, weak core and glutes, and the list goes on.

I definitely dealt with some lower back pain (especially in the third trimester) during my pregnancy. Luckily, it wasn’t severe, but it was enough to annoy me and interfere with my workouts as well as my sleep quality.

I did some preventative things throughout my entire pregnancy to make sure that I took care of my body from the beginning, before the pain actually began. But once the back and foot pain did finally show up, I made sure to adopt some new habits to help control it. Here are a few things that I did to relieve my foot and back pain during my pregnancy…

1. yoga/stretching

We all know that yoga and consistent stretching can do wonders for your back. I made sure to up my stretching game during my pregnancy. It helped loosen up my sore muscles, kept me limber, and helped my lower back pain tremendously. Even if it was just 5 minutes, I made sure to do some prenatal yoga or at least stretch my entire body every single day.

2. good posture

Practicing good posture throughout the day is something we should all be doing, whether you are pregnant or not. Slouching puts extra pressure on your neck, shoulders, lower back, and even your core. Any time I was sitting at my desk, on the couch, or in the car, I tried to remind myself to sit up straight and practice good posture. I also did a meditation every morning where I would make myself practice perfect posture, and I always felt SO good afterward.

3. supportive shoes

I think I only wore heels once or twice during my entire pregnancy because it was just so difficult to wear uncomfortable shoes when my center of gravity was off. Wearing supportive shoes is so important during pregnancy for several reasons –> it is safer because your equilibrium is off and you don’t want to take a chance of tripping and falling, it is better for your back, as well as more supportive for your feet and ankles.

During pregnancy, your body releases a hormone called relaxin, which relaxes the ligaments in the pelvis, as well as the rest of the body. This can put you at more risk for injury simply because your ligaments are loose, which means you can sprain an ankle or pull a muscle pretty easily. This is why wearing flat, comfortable shoes is a must.

But I took it a step further and wore these SUPER comfortable inserts in my shoes. These Wiivv inserts were created specifically for me, and gave me custom support from the ground up. They gave me a custom arch that was digitally mapped to my feet FROM MY PHONE. What? Crazy.

I wore them in pretty much all of my shoes, from my tennis shoes when I worked out or was walking a lot, my cycling shoes when I taught my classes at CycleBar, and even my casual everyday slip-on sneakers. They have a really nice cushion to them and are SO much better than any stock insole that I’ve ever tried. They really are like a Posturpedic mattress for your feet!

I think my favorite part was getting to use the Wiivv app to map the insoles to my feet and then getting to design them with whatever graphic I wanted to put on them!

* Wiivv is having a Black Friday sale on all of their products that lasts through tomorrow! (Monday 11/26) You can BUY ONE GET ONE 70% OFF! This includes all of their products as well as their gift cards, go take advantage because you will LOVE these insoles!

4. chiropractic care

I work in a chiropractor’s office, so I have been fortunate enough to get to learn about the amazing benefits of chiropractic care. If you live in Lubbock, go see Dr. Matt at Infinity Wellness Center, he is the BEST.

I had been getting adjusted since before I was even pregnant, and obviously continued that throughout my pregnancy. I would go once a week to get adjusted, and it did wonders for my back and hips! It just keeps everything aligned properly, allowing your body to do what it needs to do to grow that baby, and to also keep the baby in a good position. In my experience, it really relieved the pressure in my lower back, every time I left there, I always felt so much better.

source

5. sleep support

Until I got pregnant, I never knew that pregnancy insomnia was a thing. Geez! I had such a hard time sleeping! From all of the hormone changes, to the growing belly making it hard to find a comfortable position, I was just not getting very restful sleep. That is, until this pregnancy pillow was recommended to me. Oh my gosh, it was like a Christmas miracle. Pretty much every woman I know recommended that I get some sort of pregnancy pillow, and they were right, it helps so much. It supports your back and belly, as well as gives you something to put between your knees for added hip support. Do yourself a favor and get one of these!

*Wiivv generously gifted me their insoles and sandals, but all opinions in this post are my own.

The post 5 Ways to Relieve Foot & Back Pain During Pregnancy appeared first on The Wheatless Kitchen.

How I’m Feeling

I felt pretty great during most of the second trimester! My nausea went away, I had more energy, and I felt SO much better than I did in the first trimester. We were able to take advantage of this by traveling a ton this summer. We went to Houston to visit family, and then were able to go one a couple of really fun vacations to Miami and Austin.

Right around the 28 week mark (the start of the third trimester) is when my energy started to take a dive again. I’ve been told by just about everyone that this is totally normal, and you definitely start to feel tired during the third trimester. I’m back to taking daily naps, and trying to get as much sleep at night as I can. I have to take advantage of it now and sleep before the baby gets here, right?!

I still haven’t really had any issues with swelling in my feet and legs yet. Hallelujah!

Food -> Cravings + Aversions

My appetite for most of the foods that I couldn’t handle in the beginning came back, and I was feeling like a normal person again! I have definitely noticed that my appetite is much smaller than it used to be. I’m assuming that is because as the baby grows, she is pressing on my stomach and making it more difficult to fit much food in there. I get full a lot faster, so I feel like I’m constantly snacking instead of eating big meals.

I’m still craving fruit like crazy and could EAT MY WEIGHT in watermelon and peaches right now. I’m pretty sure that the amount of watermelon I eat is the main thing that keeps me hydrated in this summer heat.

I can tolerate chicken again, but it really just depends on the day. At least I’m back to eating vegetables, though!

Exercise

I’m still teaching my CycleBar classes, as well as my barre classes. I have definitely backed off on intensity and frequency throughout the past few months, but I’m feeling good! I haven’t really dealt with too much back or hip pain, which I’m still shocked about! I figured by now I would surely have been feeling it more in my back, but not yet.

I really do credit my consistency with working out to the fact that I really haven’t had too many aches and pains throughout this pregnancy. I have kept my body moving (with modifications) the whole time, and it has been a lifesaver! I stretch and do a little yoga every single day, and then either cycle or do barre a few times a week. This has really kept the blood flowing, which I think helps with swelling. It has also kept my muscles and joints limber, and not stagnant. I know this will only help me feel my best during that tough postpartum period.

Self-Care

I have really made it a point to take good care of myself during this time. Self-care doesn’t always have to look like massages and bubble baths (even though those things have definitely happened!). It is also about the little everyday things that make a big difference in how you feel, like moving your body, eating well, and taking your prenatal vitamins.

I am making it a point to keep lots of nutrient dense foods in my everyday diet, and always take my prenatals and omega-3 supplements. I’m definitely getting lots of nutrients from all the fruit I’ve been eating.

Epsom salt baths are still a regular occurrence too. I probably sit in an epsom salt bath about once a week, and I try to make sure I do this to take care of my muscles after my workouts. It has been helpful for my back and hips after I teach my cycling classes.

Like I said before, I take the time to stretch, meditate and relax almost every single day. This not only helps my body feel great, but it helps me calm my mind as well. My mind has the tendency to wander from time to time, so taking a few minutes every day to relax has made me feel much calmer over the past few weeks.

One of the biggest things that I’ve been doing is giving myself permission to sleep more. I tend to feel guilty if I sleep in too much, or am taking too many naps and not being productive. But during this entire pregnancy, I have been giving myself a little more grace and sleeping as much as I can. Naps, early bedtimes, later mornings, all of it. I mean, I’m growing a human, it’s hard work! ha!

Highlights

I said this in the 20 week update post, but my favorite thing is still to be able to feel her move around in there! I know that those kicks are going to be the thing that I miss the most about pregnancy.

My belly is definitely starting to get more uncomfortable as the days progress. She is getting bigger, and taking up a lot more room that I just don’t have. My baby bump is pretty tight (or so I keep getting told when people rub my bump), and I have definitely been FEELING that tightness. It is just a crazy feeling to have, and it is only more intense when she is rolling around in there. And let me tell you, she is ACTIVE. I’m pretty sure she never stops moving, she is going to be a very busy little girl. But, I’m not complaining because as uncomfortable as it is, watching my belly move and feeling her kick is my favorite thing ever.

The post 30 week pregnancy update! appeared first on The Wheatless Kitchen.

I haven’t done any pregnancy updates on TWK yet, and I’ve been getting questions on how I’ve been feeling, and what I’ve been doing differently during pregnancy. So I though it was about time for an update…

How I’m Feeling

The beginning of the pregnancy was pretty rough, I was extremely nauseous ALL the time, and got sick a handful of times during the first trimester. I pretty much lived on a diet that consisted of toast and crackers. I was extremely fatigued (as are most women in the first tri), and really had to practice giving myself a lot of grace for feeling like an unproductive human in society for two months straight.

But then when I hit about 14-15 weeks, things really took a turn. The nausea started to subside, which immediately made me feel so much better! It felt like a Christmas miracle when vegetables actually started to sound appealing to me again, ha!

At about week 18, I also started to see a huge difference in my energy levels. I mean, let’s be real, I still get tired way quicker than before I was pregnant, and still take a nap on most days. But overall, I’m not feeling the need to sleep all day every day. Hallelujah.

Food -> Cravings + Aversions

Because I felt so sick during those first couple of months, nothing really sounded good to me. Except for toast and oatmeal. Those two things were my lifeline. I had a strong aversion to chicken, and still kind of do most of the time. Vegetables did NOT sound good to me, every time I tried to make myself eat a salad, I would just want to gag. This is how I knew pregnancy hormones were a real thing, because not wanting vegetables was so not like me!

But once the nausea started to subside in the second trimester, all of those normal foods started to sound good again. I could handle vegetables, and I have been really craving fruit. Mostly apples, berries, citrus fruits, and watermelon. I’m pretty sure I’ve been eating my weight in watermelon.

Exercise

I am still going strong with teaching my CycleBar and barre classes! Starting this week though, I am lowering the number of classes I am teaching per week because I am trying to really listen to my body. And my body is telling me that it needs a little bit of a break. I am still definitely able to move pretty well on the bike, but I just know that I need to tone it down a bit.

This will give me the opportunity to actually do some of my own workouts at home, which I’m so excited about. Up until now, all of my classes have been taking up all of my energy, so I’m pumped to be able to start incorporating some more prenatal pilates/yoga/weights into my routine.

I really attribute staying active (even when I was feeling sick) to the fact that I really haven’t had too many aches and pains thus far. I’ve had a few moments of lower back or hip pain, but that hasn’t happened often and I think its because of exercise. I know the common pregnancy pains will definitely get worse as the baby gets bigger, but I am so grateful that I haven’t had too much of that during the first half of this pregnancy.

Self-Care

I’ve been trying to make sure that I really take care of myself throughout this pregnancy to ensure that I can feel my best. Other than regular exercise and incorporating lots of nutrient dense foods, I have been doing a few self care rituals that have been so beneficial.

Epsom salt baths have been my best friend. I’ve been better about doing them during the second trimester so far, and they have helped so much! I haven’t really had any swelling yet, and I think the baths have helped with that. Epsom salt provides magnesium, which can help with tension and sore muscles, so any time my muscles are a little sore, a bath is happening! This can also help a ton with back and hip pain, so I’m sure I’ll be using them for that in the future too.

I’ve also been taking the time to stretch, relax, and meditate every single day. Even if it is just 5 minutes, it does wonders for my mind and body.

Honestly, I think the biggest thing I’ve been allowing myself to do more of is SLEEP. I’ve had a lot of restless nights throughout this pregnancy, mostly due to the fact that I’m already getting a little uncomfortable when I lie down at night (and the belly isn’t even that big yet!), so I’ve been letting my self sleep in a little later, as well as take naps when I need them. I used to feel guilty and unproductive if I let myself nap too often, but now I’m embracing it and I feel so much better. The work will get done eventually, so I just keep reminding myself that I’m growing a human and that requires rest!

Highlights

I think the coolest thing that I’ve experienced so far is getting to feel the baby move around all the time. I think that is probably every mom’s favorite part of pregnancy. It is so bizarre to feel her jump around in there, and every time it happens, I can’t help but smile.

Kenny finally got to feel her kick from the outside the other day! I had just had some coffee, and she was doing gymnastics in there! I could tell she was kicking harder than normal, and luckily I was with him so he could feel her too! (I very rarely have had caffeine, so I guess when I drank that cold brew, she went a little nuts!)

Another highlight is that I’m finally starting to get a bump! It took a while, but she’s out there now! Trying to dress myself every day has been interesting all of a sudden. Nothing fits quite like it did, but I can still fit into a lot of my regular clothes. So I’m kind of in that in-between stage right now. I don’t mind though, I’m super grateful for this little bump, and I feel really lucky to be growing this little girl. That being said though, I’ll take any advice I can get on maternity clothes.

Sweet Gifts

Our friends are THE BEST, and baby girl has already received some of the cutest gifts. I am so grateful that she is going to have so many wonderful people in her life.

I will be back in a few weeks with another update!

The post 20 week pregnancy update! appeared first on The Wheatless Kitchen.

I started this website to help other people that have to live with food allergies and intolerances, and I never want to lose sight of that on TWK. This space has been as much for you as it is for me. I have learned so much along the way, and my favorite part of blogging and being a part of this community is getting to connect with you guys. Even after 5 years, I still get so excited and giddy every time I get an email or message about someone making my recipes.

So to everyone who has ever read a post, made a recipe, or given me kind words of encouragement, THANK YOU! You guys have allowed me to use my voice and share my love for wellness, and I am so grateful. I have put so much time and love into this space, it really has become my baby over these past 5 years…

Which brings me to our BIG NEWS…

We are adding a new team member to The Wheatless Kitchen!

We decided that it was time to add to the mix, and we have never been more excited about anything in our lives. Baby Bell will be joining us in October!

If you saw this post from last year, then you know that we have gone through a lot to get through this moment. But God’s timing is always better than ours, and we could not be more excited for this gift that He has given us.

This little GIRL is going to be helping me whip up gluten-free cookies in the kitchen in no time!

The post 5 Year Blogiversary + BIG NEWS! appeared first on The Wheatless Kitchen.

The club of women that never got to meet their baby.

Babies lost in the womb were never touched by fear. They were never cold, never hungry, never alone, and most importantly they knew love.

I can only imagine how some women feel completely alone in their grief, because I have had many of those kinds of moments. Even when you have a wonderful husband, and supportive friends and family, you can still feel alone. I don’t want the subject of miscarriage to be taboo anymore. We need to talk about it, women need to know that they are not alone.

source

You go through a rollercoaster of emotions. Is it my fault? Could I have done something differently? Why couldn’t my body keep my baby safe? I felt that my body was supposed to be a safe haven for this baby, and I had a moment (or a lot of moments) where I didn’t understand why it wasn’t. My body couldn’t hold on to my baby, and I couldn’t help but question if it was my fault.

My flesh really struggled with my spirit on this one, but in the end, I know that it was nothing I did. These things just happen sometimes, for reasons that we will never understand. It was not my fault, and for every other woman out there that has gone through this. It is not your fault either.

“But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed…” – 2 Timothy 4:17

This experience has changed me for the better, it has given me new eyes to see things in a way that I have never seen before. I am making the choice post loss to be happier than ever before, because when I leave this earth one day, I want to be remembered as someone who was joyful, no matter the circumstance. I want to have made a difference in other’s lives, and have left a positive legacy, and this is something I can make happen for this child.

I don’t get to raise this baby, I don’t get to celebrate Christmas with this baby, I can’t watch this baby’s first steps or hear their first word, but I can make their legacy one of joy, rather than sadness. No feeling lasts forever, but the lessons we learn while we’re experiencing those feelings very well may.

Through this experience, I learned that allowing yourself to feel the pain can be a good thing. It’s human to hurt, and we need to let ourselves go through it. When we fight it, it pummels us like a rogue wave. But when we don’t fight it, it passes right over us and we are able to keep swimming. And by letting myself FEEL the emotions, God has been doing some big work on my heart. He has stretched me and changed me in ways I never thought possible. He SEES me in my time of suffering, and He sees you in yours too.

I have been a Christian for quite a few years now, and have been following Jesus for quite some time. But never before have I been forced to put all of my trust in Him than I have over these past few months. It is true when you hear people say that you are never closer to God than when you literally have no hope without Him.

In my weakness, He is strong. And through all of this, the thing that brings me the most comfort is knowing that the first thing my baby saw when her little eyes opened was Jesus.

I feel so strongly about the power of bringing our individual places of darkness into the light. In today’s world of social media, we tend to only show only our highlight reels. But I think we need to start talking about the hills AND the valleys, to normalize things that can sometimes be taboo.

This no longer needs to be taboo, or a silent tragedy that women go through. IT IS OKAY to not be okay. IT IS OKAY to cry. IT IS OKAY to grieve. IT IS OKAY to scratch everything off your to-do list and call it a day. IT IS OKAY to be strong and brave and broken all at once.

I am standing with you.

For those of you who have gone through or are going through a miscarriage, know that I’m grieving with you and surrounding you in love. It is okay to talk about, it is okay to share your feelings, because you are allowed to have those feelings. Don’t ever let anyone tell you how to grieve, or how long to grieve. This is your process, and you will get through it because you are strong. You are strong because you carried that baby (no matter how long), and even though you never got to meet that baby, you are a mother. And THAT makes you strong. He might not change your current circumstance, but He is changing you.

I AM CHANGED FOR THE BETTER. MY STORY MATTERS. YOUR STORY MATTERS.

I will always look back at these pictures of Kenny and I with such bittersweet feelings, because our baby was with us when these photos were taken.

The post I Am Changed for the Better appeared first on The Wheatless Kitchen.