My husband is adamant about not letting our daughter eat dairy. He has cited many studies showing the negative effects of dairy on the body, including being linked to allergies, and even cancer. He can get quite firm when it comes to dietary concerns for the household, while I’m more of a everything-in-moderation type of person. This means he doesn’t want our daughter drinking whole milk as pediatricians recommend for those transitioning from breast milk or formula.

I certainly have nothing against milk or dairy in general. Whole milk is the perfect next phase liquid for babies. They get the fat they need for their growing brain, plus calcium and other important vitamins. However, I want to respect my husband’s demand request so I started researching good alternatives for whole cow’s milk. Unfortunately, there isn’t really much out there. The top alternatives seem to be rice milk, soy milk, goat’s milk, none of which have the good high-fat content that is so beneficial for a growing baby and child.

I started to think that we’d have to go with whole cow’s milk after all. Then I started thinking: there’s got to be millions of kids out there whose parents are vegetarians and don’t give their kids milk. What do they do? I then realized that while whole cow’s milk is a convenient way to package the nutrients you should serve to your child, you can get all these nutrients from different foods. For example, we can take soy milk (which we already drink; we don’t consume cow’s milk) and feed her that while supplementing the fat that’s missing from other foods.

Avocados with it’s superior fat content is a good supplement to add to her diet. I can also give her bread drizzled with olive oil. I can put some sunflower seeds and other nuts through the food processor mix with sugar, a bit of oil or maybe soy milk and turn that into a paste for breads, or keep it dry an sprinkle it on cereals or just feed it to her as it is.

I think we’ve got a good game plan. For parents who are concerned only with what cows are fed (feeds with preservatives, etc.) and how that affecs the milk, you can also try USDA-approved Organic milk.

Wish us luck!

When I found out that I was pregnant with my daughter I was a vegetarian. This was a lifestyle I grew up with and had gone back and forth with over the years, but I was determined to try my best to maintain a vegetarian diet throughout the pregnancy. I did this with my doctor?s blessing, and I tried my best to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

Fast forward to my fourth month of pregnancy. My morning sickness had subsided and one night while out with friends I suddenly got the most irresistible and undeniable urge for cold fried chicken.

Cold fried chicken? What?

I valiantly ignored this urge for three or four days until I just couldn?t stand it anymore. I called my husband while I was at work and asked him to immediately go buy a bucket of fried chicken and then stick it in the fridge so it would be cold by the time I got home. My mouth was watering the entire drive home. When I arrived home I dashed to the fridge, ripped open the bucket, and ate that cold fried chicken as though it was the first meal I?d had in weeks. My husband watched me with an expression on his face that could only be described as amused intrigue. I haven?t been a vegetarian since.

I never had the fabled pickles-and-ice-cream cravings, but cold fried chicken was the most prevalent craving throughout my entire pregnancy. A friend of mine craved chocolate pie when she was pregnant, and another wanted apples with every meal. I?ll never forget, however, how pregnancy switched me from content vegetarian to ravenous carnivore.

There has long been some debate about whether vegetables are better for you raw or cooked. Recent research by the University of Parma printed in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry has shown that the level of antioxidants (the nutrients in fruit and vegetables that are good for our immune system and overall health) varies depending on how the vegetables are cooked. Broccoli, for instance, has more antioxidants when steamed than it did when raw, but in other cases the cooked vegetables had less antioxidants than the raw versions. It seems that there is no pattern that is best for all vegetables, some are best boiled, some steamed and some raw.

This research only covers the levels of antioxidants, other vitamins, minerals and enzymes still need to be researched. Another area that needs to be studied is whether cooking enables the nutrients to better absorbed.

Further Information

Cooking Veggies May Not Cut Nutrients

Living and Raw Foods