Milk It!

We're at this great stage where Zach is beginning to eat just about everything we do (although sometimes I have to mash it up a bit because he only has 5 teeth).  A couple of nights ago he devoured copious amounts of homemade garlicky baba ganoush, followed by mahi mahi with shitake mushrooms and grapefruit reduction!  He's also finally figured out how to drink out of a glass (more about that in another post), but he's not crazy about the concept of plain water.  I've successfully transitioned him from the soup to solids, but this meant a decrease in his liquid consumption.  Enter the most glorious of foods... Sesame seed milk!



Seeds are Mother Nature's powerhouse of nutrition...

Seeds are the "eggs" that contain the nutrients needed to nourish the growth of a new plant. So their high nutrient content shouldn't come as a surprise. What's surprising is that we generally relegate these nutritional wonders to the occasional snack rather than making them staples of our diet...

With their gold mine of healthy minerals and their niacin and folic-acid contents, seeds are an excellent nutrition package. They are among the better plant sources of iron and zinc. In fact, one ounce of pumpkin seeds contains almost twice as much iron as three ounces of skinless chicken breast. And they provide more fiber per ounce than nuts. They are also good sources of protein.

Sesame seeds are a surprising source of the bone-building mineral calcium, great news for folks who have trouble tolerating dairy products. And seeds are a rich source of vitamin E. The only drawback: Some seeds are quite high in fat. Sunflower and sesame seeds provide about 80 percent of their calories as fat, although the fat is mostly of the heart-smart unsaturated variety. (Source: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/fresh-ideas/healthy-dinners/health-benefits-of-seeds-ga.htm)

Here's how I make Zach's milk:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unhulled sesame seeds
• 2.5 cups of water
• 3 pitted prunes or dates

Procedure:

1. Put everything in a blender.
2. Blend on highest setting for at least 1 minute but preferably more, until you don't see any chunks of prune whirling around.
3. Use a spoon to push the liquid through a colander or strain through a thick cheese cloth, making sure you get all the liquid out (very little pulp should remain).
4. Refrigerate and use within 48 hours.

Note: You might have to score the nipple in your baby's bottle because this milk is pretty thick and hearty!  Yum!

Zach drinks two or three 6-oz. bottles of sesame milk each day.  The nutritional value is mind-blowing and he loves the taste!