Toddler Menu

This is a neat little guide I found on wholesometoddlerfood.com I just printed it off and highlighted things that looked good to me. It's nice to give you ideas for meals! Enjoy.

BREAKFAST	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
GRAINS	Warm Oatmeal Whole Grain Toast	Buckwheat Pancakes - (make a batch ahead of time and freeze for quick & easy breakfast!)	"Cold" Cereal (Soak in milk if needed for those still mastering the "Crunch factor"	Veggie & Cheese Omelet Whole Grain Toast	Apple Dutch Baby
FRUITS	Applesauce mixed into the Oatmeal Natural Fruit Spread for Toast	Bananas Fortified Fruit Juice	Blueberries on the cereal	Diced Peaches Fortified Fruit Juice	Sliced Melons or Fruit Salad
DAIRY	Milk or Yogurt Smoothie or Yogurt mixed into Oatmeal	Milk	Milk or Yogurt Smoothie Cream Cheese for the Toast		Milk or Yogurt Smoothie Cream Cheese for the Toast
PROTEIN	Turkey Sausage		Turkey Bacon		Turkey Bacon or Turkey Sausage
MID-MORNING SNACK	Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter and grated carrots on top - drizzle with honey Fortified Fruit Juice or Water	Fruit dices with a light layer of Yogurt - top with wheat germ Milk	Mighty Muffin Tin - add diced veggies to the Muffin Tin and add dipping sauce in one section Fortified Fruit Juice or Water	Frozen Ban-Ola (recipe in Snack section) Slice the Frozen Ban-Ola and Serve Milk	Muffin with Cream Cheese & Fruit spread - cut into small sections; arrange with apple dices in the middle Fortified Fruit Juice or Water
*Remember, foods may be served soft cooked if needed - not all Toddlers will be able to eat "raw" veggies or fruits! Always ensure that foods are appropriate for YOUR toddler. Consult with your pediatrician about introducing Peanut Butter

LUNCH	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
GRAINS	Warm Whole Grain Pita with **	Pasta Salad with Olive Oil and **	Whole Grain Toast Sandwich with **	Pita Chips (slice Pita bread into "chips" and toast)	Grilled Whole Grain Sandwich with **
FRUITS	Sliced Bananas	Apple Slices	** Avocado & Cream Cheese	Fruit Salad	**Sliced Banana Fortified Juice
VEGGIES	**Chopped Cooked Broccoli	**Carrots, Cucumbers, Broccoli, Zucchini, Olives	Carrot Sticks & Dipping Sauce	Diced Veggie Medley (warm & cooked or cold w/dipping sauce)	Tomatoes, Broccoli, Carrots, Celery, Cucumbers with Yogurt Dipping Sauce (Recipe for Dipping Sauces)
DAIRY	Fruit Yogurt **Cheese	Cheese Sticks and/or Milk	Fruit Yogurt Smoothie	Milk	Milk or Yogurt Smoothie and/or Cheese Cubes
PROTEIN	**Turkey, Ham or Chicken Slices (Natural!!)	"Toddler" Meatballs (Recipe)	Sautéed Spiced Tofu Cubes	Chicken Nuggets - (make a batch ahead of time and freeze for quick & easy lunch!)	**Peanut Butter
MID-AFTERNOON SNACK	Toddler Trail Mix - raisins, O cereal, carob or yogurt chips, dried fruits Milk or Water	Graham Crackers with Applesauce and/or Cheese slices, Peanut Butter Fortified Fruit Juice or Water	Fruit Dices & Cheese cubes Milk or Water Milk, Fortified Fruit Juice or Water	Baked Apple Slices topped with Muesli & blueberries (Recipe) Fortified Fruit Juice or Water	Mini- Sandwiches on whole grain bread Milk or Water Fortified Fruit Juice or Water
*Remember, foods may be served soft cooked if needed - not all Toddlers will be able to eat "raw" veggies or fruits! Always ensure that foods are appropriate for YOUR toddler. Consult with your pediatrician about introducing Peanut Butter

DINNER	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
GRAINS	Serve the Family Grain - make some noodles if necessary
FRUITS	Serve a side of fruit dices or slices if desired
VEGGIES	Serve the Family Veggie - add grated cheese to tempt your Toddler!
DAIRY	Milk, Yogurt on the Side, Cheese Cubes on the Side or Grated Cheese on side
PROTEIN	Serve the Family Protein - serve with a dipping sauce if needed to tempt your Toddler
*Remember, dinner is typically the meal that is most often NOT eaten by Toddlers! Make it colourful and fun in it's presentation when possible!

Autism and Vaccines

This is something I would ask every parent to look into. My pediatrician brought it to our attention and asked that we would do a little research of our own before giving Nelson his MMR vaccines. I'm very thankful that I did. I would like to share this article I came across today. I hope you will take the time to read not only this article, but do a little research yourself. The MMR can be taken later in life. I feel that it's worth waiting for and avoiding the chances of Autism. Autism is becoming more and more common the Autism Society of America website states "Today, 60 individuals will be diagnosed with autism, and their families have no clear path to treat the symptoms of this medical condition." A report done concluded "The prevalence of autism had risen to 1 in every 110 births in the United States and almost 1 in 70 boys." It's worth looking into.

Larry King Asks

Friday, March 7, 2008

Larry King Asks, “What Should Parents Do Now?” Dr. Bob Has the Answer.

Last night Larry King interviewed the parents of a nine-year-old child who developed symptoms of autism shortly after receiving nine vaccines at her 19-month checkup. This family was the first ever to win a court case against the government that claimed vaccines triggered autistic-like symptoms in a child. The government conceded the case before it even went to trial, awarding the family a considerable sum of money under the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

Larry King also invited Neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta and two other pediatricians to discuss this issue and try to allay parent’s fears. Mr. King asked his guests, “What should parents who are worried about vaccines and autism do now? Should they go in for their regularly scheduled vaccines?” The consensus among the doctors was yes (although one doctor did voice some concerns over the issue) and that there is no conclusive evidence that vaccines cause autism. They suggested parents talk to their doctor and continue with vaccines as scheduled.

But Larry didn’t quite seem convinced in light of recent events, and vowed to continue the discussion at a later date. Mr. King seemed to be searching for more answers to offer worried parents.

Well, my Alternative Vaccine Schedule is the answer Larry King is looking for. The three main worries that connect vaccines with autism involve mercury, the measles component of the MMR vaccine, and vaccine chemical overload when too many shots are given at once. My vaccine approach circumvents all three worries and allows parents to fully vaccinate their children in the safest manner possible. Keep in mind that science hasn’t proven that any of these worries are even warranted. Yet, every parent with a young baby is concerned nonetheless. So here’s how my vaccine schedule addresses these issues:

First, mercury has been taken out of all vaccines as of 2002, except for some brands of the flu shot. As long as a parent knows to make sure their baby gets a mercury-free flu shot, this particular toxic metal isn’t a risk anymore.

Second, the measles component of the MMR vaccine can be delayed until age 3 years or later. Next to the mercury worry, this live virus vaccine (given at age 1) has come under the most fire. Because autism seems to occur or become most apparent between age 1 and 3 years, my vaccine schedule doesn’t give the measles vaccine until AFTER that age. Once a baby’s neurological system has matured for a few years, and normal language and social development are in place by age three, autism would be extremely unlikely to then be triggered by a measles vaccine given at that later age.

Third, many parents worry about overloading a baby’s little system with so many vaccine chemicals and germ ingredients in the large groups of vaccines given at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. Why not spread those vaccines out? Give 2 shots at a time instead of the recommended 6. Spread the shots out over several years instead of bunching them all together in the first 18 months. Give the most important vaccines first, and follow up with the less critical ones later on. My Alternative Vaccine Schedule does just that.

The child in this particular court case unfortunately had all of these three elements against her. In the interview with Larry King, the parents stated their daughter got 9 vaccines all at once at her 19-month checkup. The mother began to explain how they had skipped vaccines at 12 months (but she didn’t get to finish her statement), and so had to catch up with more shots at 19 months. If she got 9 vaccines at that age, this means that she received the MMR, DTaP, Polio, HIB, and probably Chickenpox vaccines all at one time. Normally these would be spaced out and given in 1 or 2 dose groups at 12 months, 15 months, and 18 months. But this child got 6 months worth of vaccines all at once. Plus, there was a significant amount of mercury in these vaccines back then.

The child was later found to have a mitochondrial disorder (which could make a child more susceptible to vaccine injury), BUT it isn’t actually known if this disorder was already there, or was part of the metabolic and neurological damage the child allegedly suffered after the vaccines.

Bottom line – parents who have huge worries over this issue can choose not to vaccinate while their babies are young, as long as they understand the risks of diseases and take steps to minimize that risk. But some of these diseases can be fatal, and vaccines ARE an important step in disease prevention, as the parents of this child clearly stated in their interview. Parents who choose to vaccinate CAN do so in a safe and logical manner that minimizes the risks of reactions. I encourage all vaccinating families to discuss my Alternative Vaccine Schedule with their doctor.

posted by Dr. Bob Sears

Related Links : Autism , Dr Sears