chaptertwo

Greening Your Pregnancy Diet

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The body and brain of a child growing in utero are fuelled by nutrients. These nutrients come from the mother’s tissues or from her daily intake of food and drink. These nutrients build the baby and provide for the physical changes within the mother’s body: growing the placenta and doubling the volume of blood. While this may be completely obvious, it continually amazes me to realize the magnitude of this basic biology. Not only are you what you eat; your baby is too. In addition, evolution put your baby first in line at the buffet. That means the baby will get what he needs from the nutrients you consume and even draw on your reserve stores of protein, healthy fats, calcium, and other nutrients. Thus, a mother can suffer from health problems related to lack of nutrients, even if the child does not. Nutritional deficits can plague women for a lifetime after having their babies and can become a problem in future pregnancies, especially if a woman’s nutritional stores are increasingly depleted. The nutrients that a woman consumes to help grow a baby and maintain her own optimal nutrition should be abundant, of high quality, and easily absorbed. These nutrients, after all, make up the blood, tissue, bones, brain, and other organs of our bodies and that of the baby-to-be.

Not all food is created equal, and not all of our bodies are equally able to make use of the nutrients we consume. Refined and fried foods, processed sugars, and food additives don’t just fail to nourish; they can actually rob a body of precious nutrients. Similarly, foods that contain pesticides, synthetic hormones, or other environmental toxins can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb and use the nutrients in the food itself. And if a woman isn’t digesting well, then she won’t be able to make full use of the nutrients she does eat.

So how do we grow healthy babies while maintaining a mother’s health and restoring it after the birth? It’s not as hard as it may seem.

What We Wish Our Grandmothers Had Told Us About Eating for Two

When my grandmother was having her children, the medical establishment encouraged women not to gain too much weight during pregnancy. Doctors would even prescribe diet pills to help expectant mothers stay slim. The general attitude was that the traditions of the past had gotten it wrong and that eating for two was not scientific. American Medical Association (AMA) vice-president Dr. William Carrington warned at that time that eating too many calories would not help grow a baby, but would be “stored as fat in odd and embarrassing places about the body of the mother.” The medical community continued to warn women throughout most of the twentieth century about the harm of gaining too much weight, usually suggesting no more than 15 to 20 pounds (7 to 9 kilograms) was recommended, and often much less. The general sentiment was that the growing fetus was so small that it did not have a great nutritional need. They were wrong.

Today, many people still assume that overweight women don’t need to consume as many nutrients because they have more nutrients stored. In fact, the opposite is often the case, with many overweight women actually having considerable nutritional deficiencies. Obesity is not a state of being over-nourished, but rather a risk factor for nutritional deficiencies, particularly in many of the antioxidants and fat-soluble vitamins. Studies done on donor eggs show that the obesity factor is not so much genetic as epigenetic: these studies found that the birth weight of the baby was not correlated with anything of the donor’s, but rather with the weight of the mother who carried the child. Obese mothers are more likely to have underweight and undernourished babies, who are more likely to go on to be overweight themselves. Some scientists speculate that undernourished babies are born “hungry,” as if their metabolism thinks it was born into a world of scarcity, and thereby get more efficient at storing fats and hoarding calories.

Thank goodness that many doctors, midwives, and pregnancy books today are far less fixated on total weight gain, and many are actively supportive of good nutrition. Even in the few years between my first and second pregnancies, I noticed a subtle shift in attitudes. I almost never even weighed myself with my second, while with my first I was nervous about the 45 pounds I had gained. I was extremely grateful, however, for every one of those extra pounds by the time I got to six months postpartum. By then, I weighed less than I had before I had gotten pregnant and was working hard to eat enough while I felt my remaining fat supplies literally being sucked out of me. My friend who had her baby at the same time was a little older than me, and she found she didn’t lose that final “five pounds” until after she stopped nursing. Then, she lost it with ease, and she regretted the worry she had carried with her for the past two years.

Unfortunately, too many doctors, midwives, and pregnancy books still focus on the total weight gain or the long list of “Don’t Eats,” rather than on the more significant nutritional needs of nourishing another living being. I’ve always found the Don’t Eat lists to be questionable from both a scientific and an anthropological perspective. How can a good raw cheese and a glass of wine with dinner be such an awful dietary choice for North American women when our French counterparts are told it is fine to have both? Luckily, there is a growing field of science and medicine focused specifically on what composes the best nutrition for health, including for growing a healthy baby.

The Research

There is an entire field of science developing that studies the connection between the nutrition of the baby-to-be in the womb and the connection to chronic disease in adulthood and into future generations. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) studies how the months of pregnancy — and the conditions encountered while in the mother’s womb — lay the foundation of the immune system and shape the wiring of the baby’s brain, the function of the organs, and the child’s metabolism. Dr. David Barker initiated this field of science three decades ago with his research linking chronic diseases in adulthood to low birth weights.

Your mother’s nutrition during pregnancy (and now yours) is one of the most important indicators of future health. As the organization Better the Future puts it, “Nutrients flow across generations.… This means that a woman’s nutrition directly affects not only her own child’s health, but her grandchild’s health as well.”

Despite this rapidly developing field, most doctors today are taught very little about nutrition. Only 27 percent of medical schools in the United States offered the recommended 25 hours of nutritional training, according to a 2010 government report. Fortunately, there is a growing movement of doctors, nutritionists, and other healthcare providers who take an integrative approach to health and nutrition through science, case study, and diet. Known as “functional medicine,” this approach focuses on conscientiously supporting the body with the nutrients it needs to keep it in tip-top working condition; in other words, using food as the first line of treatment.

Good Eating Can Be Simple

Margaret Floyd Barry is a functional nutritionist, mother of two, and author of the Eat Naked series of books. Margaret is one of my favourite sources on nutrition because she so thoroughly combines traditional wisdom and current science. She has also learned how to apply this to her own life while running a business and juggling the needs of a preschooler and a nursing child. Her website, www.eatnakednow.com, provides resources for finding a functional nutritionist in your area or working directly with Floyd Barry.

According to her, “the most important thing for pregnancy is that the woman is eating a really nutrient-rich diet the entire time.” Eating healthy doesn’t have to be hard. In traditional societies, or even 200 years ago, people didn’t know any of this stuff. They just ate food.

So if you start to get overwhelmed, or if you’re getting conflicting advice, go back to the basics: you are in building mode, and the best building materials for babies haven’t changed in the long span in which humans have evolved. Nutrient-dense foods are those that contain good fats and good proteins.

Floyd Barry adds that, before a woman starts worrying about denying herself things in pregnancy, she should focus on adding nutrient-rich foods to her diet and getting her digestive system really working. Getting digestion working well can be as simple as balancing your blood sugar through the slow-carb principles explained below and by adding probiotic-rich and healing foods to your diet.

In Floyd Barry’s experience, women who are eating and digesting really well naturally eat enough protein (approximately 113 grams with every meal). But they may have to work harder to get enough good fats, and these are particularly important to a developing baby’s nervous system. Fatty proteins are the best; lean proteins — low-fat protein powders, protein bars, and low-fat milk — should be avoided.

Animal fats are a great way to get fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A, that help us make use of the protein we eat. When we eat lean proteins with very little fat and fat-soluble vitamins, our body must use stored fat-soluble vitamins to make proper use of the protein. This can lead to significant deficiencies that can affect sex hormones, vision, and the baby’s brain and nervous system. When you eat fat with your protein, it not only provides more nourishment, it also tastes better!

“I don’t know a pregnant woman who doesn’t crave carbs,” says Floyd Barry, “so be smart about it.” One way to do this is to front-load every day and every meal with the most important foods: the good fats, the proteins, and the green, leafy stuff. “If you start with a starch, you will crave starches all day long,” she cautions.

These “slow-carb” principles help mothers-to-be ensure they get the good fats and proteins they need. This includes front-loading the veggies and meats and some legumes and saving small portions of starches — such as a third of a cup of quinoa or half a sweet potato — for the end of the meal. Another trick for pregnancy is to stay in front of the hunger with appropriate fatty-protein snacks such as nuts, cheese, sardines, avocado, bone broth, or nut butter on apple slices (plain fruit as a snack can spike your blood sugar). Check out the The Green Eating Recipe Handbook, on pages 64–71, for additional inspiration. Eating foods naturally high in protein and containing good fats, front-loading the good stuff, and enduring snacks follow the same principles will help even out blood sugar levels, improve digestion, and give the baby a steady flow of the nutrients he needs.

Pregnancy is a time to eat nutrient-dense foods; it is not the time to do any sort of cleansing, which includes juice cleanses and strict vegan diets. These kinds of cleanses not only can deny the growing baby important nutrients, but also can cause toxins stored in the mother’s body to move through the placenta and into the baby. It’s also why Floyd Barry says that “Quality trumps everything else” when eating during pregnancy. You can learn how to source the best-quality animal products, vegetables, fruits, and grains in the Organic-ize your Diet section on pages 55–63.

It is also important to properly prepare foods at home: rinsing, soaking, and cooking as needed. No restaurant or manufacturer of packaged food can prepare meals as well and as affordably as you can yourself.

So, what are the most nourishing and healing foods that Floyd Barry recommends you eat during pregnancy? They include organ meats, fish, bone broth, and fermented foods. Foods to further promote good digestion include apple cider vinegar, beet kvass (helps with fat digestion; see the recipe in the Recipe Handbook), and probiotic drinks like kambucha and yogourt shakes, as well as the aforementioned bone broths and fermented foods.

Focus on adding these foods to your diet and using the above strategies to achieve balance before worrying about denying yourself the occasional milkshake or chocolate-dipped pickle surprise.

How Can I Tell If I’m Digesting Properly?

To assess if you’re digesting well, just check out your poop! Good digestion results in excrement that has the consistency of soft-serve ice cream and is a nice chocolate brown colour. (Yes, I do recognize that was gross.) There won’t be undigested food bits and it won’t be super stinky. It does not require any effort or straining, nor does it require a magic elixir such as fibre or a cup of coffee. It will happen at least once a day — best if it is three times a day, shortly after each meal. And it will require only one wipe.

For optimal digestion, your stomach needs to be acidic. What?! You may be thinking that an acidic stomach would make issues of heartburn and acid reflux worse. Not so. These are all actually symptoms of hypochlorhydria, meaning the stomach is not acidic enough. For optimal digestion, the stomach needs to have a pH of about 1.5 to 3 (out of a scale of 0 to 14, seven being neutral and everything under being acidic). The blood, on the other hand, is a bit alkaline, at about 7.4. With too little acid in the stomach, food starts to ferment. This creates gas, indigestion, or sometimes stomach acid that will flow back into your food pipe and lead to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Proper stomach acid is essential to make proteins and fats available, maintain energy levels, defend against parasites, and protect against food allergies and certain autoimmune diseases. Stress, antacids, vegan diets, poor diets, age, and certain medications can decrease stomach acid. With so many causes, many adults need help to balance their stomach acid levels. Floyd Barry recommends a few things to try at home before seeking out a functional nutritionist for help:

1. Eat slowly and in a relaxed state.
2. Give yourself time to digest after a meal, such as a leisurely 15-minute walk or a quick rest on the couch.
3. Eat your last meal of the day three hours before you go to bed.
4. Drink a glass of warm water with 1 tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar before meals (or, if you just can’t do it, substitute fresh lemon juice).
5. Follow all the slow-carb principles in the previous section, including front-loading the good fats, proteins, and vegetables at every meal.

Digestion versus Metabolism

Metabolism isn’t the same as digestion. Digestion is the process of breaking up the food into its nutritive components, and metabolism is the process by which the cells of your body use the energy they got from the digestive process to fuel the cellular work of the body. The length of time your food takes to go from being eaten to being pooped out has little to do with your rate of metabolism.

The foundation of our metabolism begins in the womb. With the cutting of the umbilical cord starts a process that continues until we die. Our metabolism is composed of both catabolism — the breakdown of large molecules to create energy — and anabolism — using this energy to build up complex molecules needed for developing new tissue and for healing. Enzymes and their helpers make this happen. They support the metabolism but aren’t used up in the process.

When we digest, our bodies break down the food into its basic, and smaller, nutritional components: proteins turn into amino acids; carbohydrates and compound sugars are converted into glucose or dextrose to be made into blood; and fats get turned into fatty acids. These amino acids, fatty acids, and sugars are then circulated in the bloodstream until put to use by the cells, where they join with enzymes, vitamins, and minerals to release energy for immediate use, such as building your tissues, or creating the brain of your growing child, or going into storage for future use. At this point, digestion becomes metabolism — the biochemical processing of the nutrients delivered by way of digestion.

Forget Pelvis Size: It’s Metabolism That Decides When Baby Comes

The predominant theory for many years was that a baby was born “early” so that a human baby’s relatively big head could squeeze through a mother’s relatively narrow pelvis. This theory is being replaced by one that suggests that it is actually the mother’s metabolism that decides when a baby is born. Babies are born when the mother cannot put any more energy into gestation and fetal growth. If they waited any longer, the mother would enter into a metabolic danger zone. A woman needs a lot of calories to support her own metabolism as well as the baby. There is simply a limit to the number of calories a body can burn each day. I like this theory, because it’s exactly what it feels like to grow a baby: my babies were all born exactly when I felt I couldn’t possibly carry them inside one more day!

The Gut: Your Second Brain

Digestion and the work of the gastrointestinal (or GI) tract is so important that ancient healing traditions such as Ayurveda and TCM both consider the health of the mind to be inextricably linked to the health of the gut. Indeed, we now know there are millions of neurons that connect the brain to our “second brain,” aka the enteric nervous system, which controls the GI system and stretches from the esophagus to the anus. This system not only controls digestion, but also can work in conjunction with the brain in your head to influence physical and mental well-being. This connection is at the heart — or stomach — of why we have terms such as “gut-feeling” and why, when we have an awful row with our partner or a bad day at work, we might feel “sick to our stomach” about it. The gut can also help us feel good. The “feel-good” molecule serotonin, produced in the gut, goes into the blood and can help repair cellular damage in the liver and lungs. A 2006 study suggested that stimulation of the vagus nerve, responsible for automatic body functions such as digestion, can be effective for chronic depression. As well, our GI system plays a central role in our immune health: approximately 70 percent of the cells of our immune system reside in the gut.

Digestion starts in the mouth, and that’s why chewing slowly and maximizing saliva contact can be so important. After the food leaves the stomach, it then comes to the next biggest player in the digestive system: the small intestine. The major work of digesting starches, proteins, and fats happens here, with chemical support coming from the liver and pancreas. As the starches, proteins, and fats get broken down, the small intestine absorbs the nutrients into the bloodstream through millions of minuscule hair-like villi that line the intestinal wall. Whatever isn’t absorbed into the small intestine passes on to the large intestine, aka the colon, where it is further processed and where water gets absorbed. Whatever is left of what started as food and drink is removed from the colon through defecation.

Our Natural Detoxification Process

These days, everybody has heard of detoxification, even though it’s not a concept that my grandmother learned much about in her college’s home economics program. Though our world has a growing number of toxins to which we are exposed, toxins aren’t new. Indeed, detoxification is just our body’s way of cleaning up, and that includes natural processes, such as metabolism. Those used up biochemicals don’t just hang around indefinitely, but are broken down and disposed of like your recycling or garbage. Thus, our bodies are busy cleaning up after all the usual aspects of living — eating, exercising, having babies, aging. Plus, we’ve added all sorts of new toxins to the mix, like recurrent stress, medications, environmental factors, and processed foods. Our body’s detoxification system can help with modern pollutants to some extent, but not always. Breakdowns occur when the system gets “gummed up,” when the input of toxins increases, or during pregnancy and breastfeeding when our babies receive some of what is being detoxified from our bodies.

The liver is the workhorse of detoxification, and there is a great deal of variability between people in how much and how well their livers can handle detoxification. The liver tries to filter out the junk, such as pesticides, medications, used-up hormones, unnecessary by-products of digestion, and indigestible leftovers like some food additives. As well, the liver meets with many toxins that are inhaled (not just from car exhaust and factories, but also from nail polish and cleaners, or even that new pressed-wood bookcase).

Nutrition can help support the health and effectiveness of the liver and the other organs of detoxification, which include the skin (which I’ve heard referred to as the “third kidney”), lungs, kidney, and colon. Particularly helpful are B vitamins, folate, some of the amino acids, antioxidants, and many of the minerals.

A baby’s organs of detoxification aren’t fully developed at birth — a new baby can’t sweat, the blood-brain barrier isn’t fully developed, and the organs are still forming — and thus a newborn cannot detoxify adequately on their own.

You Are What You Eat 101

Every day, we need to consume fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water to thrive. These nutrients are the building blocks of blood, bones, tissue, brain matter, and other organs. They also help detoxify the body.

• Bones are made up of protein and minerals.
• Muscles are made up of protein, vitamins, and minerals (including B12, iron, and folate).
• The brain is made up of fats and proteins.
• The blood is made up primarily of plasma (which is largely water, proteins, vitamins, and minerals) and red blood cells and a much smaller ration of white blood cells and platelets.
• Organs are made up of tissue, which is made up of cells.

While we may continue to live if we aren’t getting enough of some essential nutrients or trace minerals or vitamins, if we don’t have enough of everything we need, the body starts stealing from itself, which it can only do for so long, and it can cause stress on the adrenal and thyroid glands, resulting in muscular soreness, brain fog, excessive fatigue, insomnia, hypoglycemia, and headaches. When a woman is pregnant, the baby takes its share of these elements, even if there isn’t enough left over for the mother. If there isn’t enough of, say, fat being ingested to build the baby’s brain, the baby’s brain will be affected.

Pregnancy and Cravings

If a woman goes into pregnancy with less-than-perfect digestion and nutrition, then she is likely to crave things — usually carbohydrates or sugars — that could destabilize her blood sugar or compromise her digestion. During pregnancy, cravings may be a sign of particular nutritional deficits. But it is unlikely your body needs ice cream, potato chips, or, in my case, hot and sour soup. If cravings were tied that directly to their corresponding nutrients, we would all crave kale, fish oil, and bone broth!

Even worse, sometimes the very foods we crave contain anti-nutrients, which stop our bodies from getting what they need out of the healthy foods we do eat. For example, while hot and sour soup may not seem an awful food to eat during pregnancy (and I ate a lot of it), it often contains a number of anti-nutrients, including MSG (which occurs in most soy sauce and is added to many Chinese dishes) and soy. MSG can block the body’s absorption of taurine, which is essential in the development and functioning of the brain and nervous system and in the body’s detoxification processes. Soy has been linked to other problems that I will discuss later.

An Introduction to Anti-Nutrients

Thanks to anti-nutrients, we can’t eat crap and then dose up on the world’s best vitamins. Anti-nutrients can be natural (such as isoflavones from soy or phytic acid from improperly prepared grains) or synthetic (food colouring, artificial sweeteners, or pesticides), and they can interfere with your body’s ability to make use of the nutrients from the good food you do eat. Anti-nutrients can also harm your body’s digestive process, lead to inflammation, and otherwise contribute to chronic conditions such as infertility, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Some of the most troubling anti-nutrients are food additives, which can be natural or synthetic. Both can be problematic, especially for men and women concerned with their fertility or growing a child.

The Green Mama’s List of the Seven Most Dangerous Food Additives

One of the most important first steps in healthy eating is to avoid food additives. All of the ingredients in the following list are considered safe by the Canadian and U.S. governments, but thanks to independent researchers, the data is piling up to prove they may be anything but safe.

1. Artificial sweeteners, including aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) and saccharin

   Aspartame has been linked to the development of lymphomas, leukemia, and mammary cancer at levels “close to acceptable daily intake for humans,” according to a study that also found increased carcinogenic effects if exposure began as a fetus. The FDA unsuccessfully set out to ban aspartame because of research suggesting it “might induce brain tumours.” Studies have found that men who drink diet sodas are at increased risk for non-Hodgkin lymphomas and Type 2 diabetes.

2. Artificial food colouring

   Artificial food colouring was originally derived from coal tar (yes, the stuff used to patch roads) and is now more often derived from petroleum (as in what is used to fuel cars). They are often mixed with hydrocarbons like toluene, xylene, and benzene. All of these things are as bad as they sound: studies link their use with cancer in mice and hyperactivity in children. Some colours, such as Yellows 6 and 5, have been linked to endocrine disruption, which may contribute to breast cancer and lowered sperm counts. Researchers at the University of Southampton studied more than 1,800 children aged three years and found that, across the board, children behaved better without artificial food colourings and worse with them.

   You can learn more about spotting artificial food colouring in the Label Reading 101 section later in this chapter. Thanks to a December 2016 law passed in Canada, food companies will now have to do more than just add the word colour to the label. (Not much more, but it’s a start.)

3. Carrageenan

   This ingredient is used to thicken or stabilize certain foods, and it is found in many infant formulas, dairy alternatives, and all but one of my favourite brands of ice cream (urgh). It belongs to a family of molecules that can’t be digested, but, because it comes from red algae, it’s considered “natural.” Small amounts in food are thought to be safe for adults, but the WHO has said it is inadvisable to use carrageenan in infant formula as it might be absorbed by the gut and affect the infant’s developing immune system. A review of 45 available animal studies published in 2001 associated its use with the development of cancerous lesions in the colon.

4. Fructose

   Wait, you are thinking, isn’t fructose the better kind of sugar? Not so! Fructose triggers the body to make fat and blocks the ability of the body to burn fat. It depletes energy and triggers hunger. Liver cells break down fructose into a fat known as triglycerides. This also creates uric acid as waste. Both of these are linked with obesity, Type 2 diabetes, bad cholesterol, and fatty liver diseases. Studies suggest that a pregnancy diet high in fructose may harm the placenta, restrict fetal growth, and be associated with other pregnancy disorders such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. Fructose crosses the placenta so sugar addiction can start before kids are even born. Dr. Robert Lustig, author of Fat Chance, notes that the earlier you expose a child to sweets, the more they will crave it later. This includes exposure to infant formula, natural juices, and sweetened milks.

5. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

   The main ingredient in MSG is free glutamic acid, or glutamate, which is considered “natural” because it is an amino acid. Naturally occurring glutamates aren’t dangerous, but processed glutamates like MSG have been linked to short-term effects such as headaches, difficulty concentrating, skin reactions, mood swings, and depression. Some studies suggest it could play a part in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s. For some people, MSG over-stimulates the nervous system, causing an inflammatory response that is cumulative in nature and so can get worse over time. Children and pregnant mothers in particular should avoid MSG because it can affect the developing fetus and alter the developing baby’s brain.

   MSG is the most prevalent of the food additives, so it’s nearly impossible to totally avoid. A flavour enhancer, it works by over-exciting brain cell receptors. It can hide out under many different names, including autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, hydrolyzed proteins, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, plant protein extract, and soya sauce, and can even be found in some items with labels that state “natural flavourings,” “does not contain MSG,” and “organic.”

6. Nitrates

   When we digest foods that contain nitrates, our bodies form compounds called nitrosamines, which are known to be carcinogenic. Research suggests that mothers who eat nitrate-containing foods during pregnancy are more likely to have offspring who will develop brain tumours. The more nitrate-containing processed meats, the greater the risk to the child. Sodium nitrate/nitrites can be found in some food preservatives, lunch meats, bacon, pepperoni, hot dogs, and some well waters (usually near agricultural areas). Once again, because it can naturally occur in some vegetables, like celery, it’s considered “natural.” Thus, nitrates can still be found in meat products claiming to have all “natural ingredients” and “no added preservatives.” The same research that found a connection between eating nitrate-containing processed meats and brain tumours found there was no such correlation with eating nitrate-containing vegetables. They also showed that women who took prenatal vitamins, especially with vitamins C and E, had less risk than those who did not.

7. Trans Fats

   Fat is really important in our bodies. It works as a chemical messenger for our hormone systems, it repairs tissues, and it protects our organs. Our brain is 60 percent fat. Trans fats, masquerading as those oh-so-important healthy fats, displace essential fatty acids, but they can’t do the job as well. The result is that they disrupt healthy fat balance and can harm the structure of the brain and nerve cells.

   For babies-to-be, trans fats cross both the placenta to enter the blood of the fetus and, later, into breast milk. A pregnant or nursing mother’s blood profile of trans fats will almost exactly match her baby’s. In a pregnant mother, they are associated with low birth weights, smaller head circumference, problems in visual and central nervous system development, and preeclampsia. Dr. Jorge Chavarro, of the Harvard Nurse’s study, found consuming trans fats increased the risk of infertility for both men and women.

   Trans fatty acids (or “partially hydrogenated oils,” as they often appear on labels) are found in things like margarine, vegetable shortening, fried restaurant foods, and microwave popcorn. Hydrogenated oils are made by first heating a vegetable oil to a high temperature, injecting it with a chemical solvent, and finishing it with bleach and a deodorizer.

“Natural” Anti-Nutrients

We might expect anti-nutrients when we eat a hot dog chased down with a diet float, but most people’s biggest exposure to anti-nutrients comes from things they probably think are healthy. These include cereal grains (especially refined flour); Omega-6 oils from sources such as corn, cottonseed, safflower, and soybean oil; sugar and high-fructose corn syrup; and processed soy products such as soy milk, soy protein, and tofu.

Plants use anti-nutrients to protect themselves, so most plant-based food contains some anti-nutrients. Nutritionists have a “Top 10” list of naturally occurring anti-nutrients:

1. Phytic acid (found in grains and legumes)
2. Gluten (found in glutinous grains)
3. Flavonoids, such as tannins (tea, fruit skins, and wine)
4. Oxalates (soybeans, rhubarb, spinach, peanuts, chocolate)
5. Lectins (seeds, legumes, wheat, peanuts, soy)
6. Saponins (soy, chickpeas, and other beans)
7. Protease inhibitors, such as trypsin (soy, beans, grains, nuts, seeds, and nightshade vegetables, which include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers)
8. Isoflavones (soy)
9. Solanine (nightshade vegetables)
10. Amylase inhibitors (beans)

These natural anti-nutrients serve a function in moderation. Kale, wheat berry, and tomato plants need to have a little bit of protection to keep them from being eaten by all of the bugs. Ongoing research suggests that while eating too much of these naturally occurring anti-nutrients is likely bad, having a little bit might help balance blood sugar and protect us against cancer. The key is in preparation. Understanding how to properly prepare food will eliminate the negative effects of these natural anti-nutrients and leave the nutrition (and taste!) available to us. It’s usually quite simple. Read more in the How to Green Your Diet section later in this chapter to learn why your grandmother soaked her beans and rice and babied her sourdough starter.

Essential Nutrients and Where to Find Them

The best sources of nutrients are from whole foods, because our bodies have evolved to access the most nutrients from whole sources. Procuring and preparing the most nutritious foods while minimizing anti-nutrients requires some vigilance when buying prepared food products, but it becomes easy when cooking simple ingredients from scratch. Even then, we may not get all the nutrients we need through our diets alone. Many foods are less nutritious than they were a hundred years ago because the soil they are grown in is more depleted of nutrients. (Just like we rely on nutrition to grow, plants rely on nutrients in soil.) In addition, there are far more toxins today than there ever were in the past, and these toxins can put undue stress on the body, further inhibiting our ability to access the nutrients that are in the food.

Consequently, most people need to supplement their diets for optimal health. Don’t skimp. Poor-quality vitamins, like poor-quality food, will be lower in nutrients and higher in anti-nutrients. Look for a prenatal vitamin that is made from real, organic food without added dyes, artificial flavours, or fillers. Pay particular attention to getting essential fatty acids from fish oil (which will include vitamin A), vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, folate (not folic acid), iodine, and iron (if you need it), and consider supplementing with a high-quality probiotic.

Fats

Fats are essential to our health. They help to build your growing baby’s brain and eyes. They surround the cells of your body and build the hormones that underlie a healthy pregnancy. You and your baby’s nervous systems contain more DHA (from omega-3 fats) than any other tissue, and you need a lot of DHA and EPA (also from omega-3 fats) for the nervous system to function well. During pregnancy, the fetus takes from the mother all the fats she needs to develop her brain and nervous system. This exchange continues through the breastfeeding relationship. In order for the baby to get the nutrients he needs for optimal brain, visual, and neurological development — and for a mother’s brain to function well — they both need the right kinds of fats before, during, and after pregnancy. These include the essential fats (aka essential fatty acids), such as the aforementioned omega-3. These are necessary for life but aren’t made by the body and so must be supplied through food.

Besides omega-3, omega-6 essential fatty acid is the other big player in the functioning of the body and brain. Unfortunately, the optimal ratio between these fats is way out of whack in most humans, and this imbalance is causing health issues. We used to eat diets that were nearly balanced in omega-3 and omega-6. Today, however, our diets give us approximately 16 times more omega-6 than omega-3. This excess of omega-6s in the diet can cause chronic inflammation and be a factor in the development of many common diseases, including allergies, asthma, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and joint pain.

It’s not that omega-6 fatty acids are bad. Inflammation is the body’s appropriate response to injury. The problem is a lopsided ratio that can lead to chronic inflammation and the diseases that go with it. The solution is to eat less omega-6 and more omega-3. The primary sources of omega-6 in most North American diets are processed seed and vegetable oils such as sunflower, corn, soy, cottonseed, and canola (in roughly that order). The biggest contributor in most diets is soy oil, namely because it can be cheaply produced, making it a popular ingredient in many processed foods. Start looking for this ingredient on labels and you will see why omega-6 stores have increased so dramatically in human fat and breast milk.

The richest sources of omega-3s, which include all-important DHA and EPA, are marine sources such as seafood and fish oil. There are plant-based sources, sort of. Flaxseed, pumpkin seed, walnut oils, and seaweed all contain a precursor nutrient that must then be turned into EPA and DHA to be useful. The problem is that most bodies aren’t very efficient at this conversion. It’s hard to get enough of the most necessary essential fats without relying upon animal sources. Yet researchers suggest that most of us will benefit from more of all the sources of omega-3, so don’t stop eating those plant-based sources as well!

Seafood is the best source. Studies show that women who consume fish or fish oil have smarter children than those who do not, even though studies also show that neurotoxins accumulate in fish, especially the neurotoxin mercury, which can cause severe developmental issues in children. To put it really simply: fish contain omega-3s, which make your kids smart, and they also contain mercury, which can make them dumb. The longer-living, and often bigger fish, tend to have more mercury, and more mercury makes kids less smart. So, what is a mother-to-be to do?

I recommend you still eat fish, just eat safer fish. And take a daily dose of supplemental cod liver or fish oil that has been tested and certified mercury-free (read up on the added benefit of fermented cod liver oil). It’s recommended that pregnant women eat the equivalent of two servings of fatty fish a week or take the equivalent of 200 mg of DHA from fish oil supplements. Most women today get far less than this. It is also important to supplement your diet with DHA long after pregnancy and breastfeeding to replenish your body’s stores. Doing so can even help protect against postpartum depression. Read Baby- and Mama-Safe Seafood on page 46 to learn which fresh seafood is best for you, your baby-to-be, and the fish populations.

Animal products can also be rich sources of omega-3 as long as they are exposed to sunlight and pasture or grass and are raised using organic techniques. Animals raised in such a manner have fat stores with more omega-3 and less omega-6 than conventional sources. The best omega-3 animal sources are eggs, particularly the yolk, from pastured chickens and the organs and meat from ruminants fed grass — that includes beef, bison, lamb, and goat. Pork and chicken have less of many of the essential nutrients, including omega-3 fats, and more omega-6, but as long as they are raised along the lines of organic standards and allowed to eat grass and other natural feeds, rather than a diet based on grains, they will also be a decent source of some omega-3. A recent Canadian study found that the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio in butters was particularly bad in Canada, where our butter has become more like the ratio of those to-be-shunned vegetable oils above. The culprit? Our industrial feeding practices and all the soy and corn in dairy cows’ diets. The good news is that organic butter from grass-fed cows can be sourced from farmers’ markets or at certain grocery and specialty stores in Canada.

Plant-based sources of omega-3 include walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, sea vegetables, natto (a traditional Japanese food made from soybeans), Brussels sprouts, kale, spinach, and watercress.

The best oils for cooking and eating include ghee (clarified butter), extra- virgin olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia oil, duck fat, lard from organic and pastured animals, walnut oil, unsalted grass-fed butter (not good for high-temperature cooking), and flax oil (but not good with even medium-high heat).

Synthetic omega-3 supplementation is best avoided. There is a growing trend to add omega-3 supplementation to foods ranging from conventionally raised dairy to juice boxes and baby food. The problem is that most omega-3 supplements taste fishy, so these foods must then undergo processes to remove the flavour. In my opinion, there isn’t enough research to suggest that the end result is actually safe and effective.

Baby- and Mama-Safe Seafood

Fish and seafood can be great for growing brains, preventing depression, and general health. Unfortunately, seafood can also contain mercury and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl). Despite these contaminants, research indicates that women who eat fish during pregnancy have smarter children. So don’t avoid seafood and fish; just eat it wisely.

The healthiest and safest choices for seafood and fish for Mama, Papa, Baby, and the Earth are

• Anchovies
• Farmed Arctic char
• Farmed oysters
• Farmed rainbow trout
• Wild Atlantic mackerel
• Wild sardines
• Wild Alaskan salmon (chum, coho, or sockeye)

Enzymes and Their Helpers

It’s not just the fats; enzymes and coenzymes also keep things in the right balance. They play a major role in taking away both natural and synthetic toxins in the body. Dietary factors, such as anti-nutrients, can really mess things up in the enzyme world. Vitamin A and the B vitamins, including B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5, and B6, as well as vitamins C and E and magnesium and zinc are necessary precursors to enzymes.

Folate is perhaps one of the best known of the enzyme helpers. It is essential for women before and during pregnancy. Folate promotes healthy neural tube formation, adequate birth weight, and proper development of the fetus’s face and heart. Folate, which naturally occurs in foods such as liver and lentils, should not be confused with folic acid, which is not normally found in foods. Folic acid can be converted into usable forms of folate, but that conversion is limited. Also, folic acid does not cross the placenta like natural folate. Consuming too much folic acid from supplements — even at the recommended 400 mcg per day — can lead to high levels of un-metabolized folic acid in the blood, which can mask B12 deficiency, depress immune function, and even promote the development of certain cancers.

This does not lessen the importance of folate for mothers-to-be. Nutritionist Margaret Floyd Barry recommends a total of 800 mcg to 900 mcg per day. Ideally we would meet the need through food, but that is difficult for most women to accomplish. Remember, a nutrient eaten is not the same as a nutrient absorbed. Folate absorption in particular relies on having enough zinc in the body. To get enough zinc and folate, most women will need to increase their food sources (such as really high-quality organic liver, properly prepared legumes, and lots of dark leafy greens) and take a supplement. Since most supplements use folic acid instead of folate (it’s easier and cheaper), seek out a special folate supplement from your local health food store or on the internet. Look on the ingredient list and avoid anything that says folic acid on the list, and instead choose something with folate, 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate, L-methylfolate, or Metfolin.

Choline is related to the all-important folate and has an even more direct role in the development of a child’s brain and nervous system. It provides protection against neurotoxins. The RDA (recommended daily allowance) for pregnant women is 450 mg per day, but more can be beneficial and will not be harmful. Choline can be obtained from organic, grass-fed organ meats such as liver, kidneys, and brain, as well as egg yolk, whole dairy, caviar, fish roe and some fish, nuts, legumes, and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards, turnip, Chinese cabbage, and radish, for example).

Vitamin A plays an integral role in developing the cells, tissues, and organs within the body, including the brain. The current RDA of vitamin A for pregnant women is 2,600 IU, but keepers of traditional wisdom say it should be much higher, ideally 20,000 IU and preferably from cod liver oil. Vitamin A is found in high-quality, organic organ meats (especially liver); whole milk, butter, and eggs; and in the aforementioned cod liver oil (but make sure you get one with naturally occurring amounts rather than synthetic vitamin A).

Vitamin K, or potassium, is best known for helping the blood to clot. We are just beginning to fully understand all of its other benefits, one of which is to work with vitamin D to help with overall health. Vitamin K keeps calcium in the bones and out of soft tissue, and deficiency of it is thought to play a part in varicose veins, osteoporosis, tooth decay, brain problems, and a number of cancers. It is a fat-soluble vitamin that we can’t make ourselves and doesn’t store well; thus, many people are deficient in vitamin K, especially K2, which works in the blood vessels and bones. Vitamin K1 is found in leafy greens, while vitamin K2 is found in fermented foods, grass-fed animal fats, and the naturally fermented Japanese soybean called natto, as well as in goose liver, cheese, egg yolks, and butter.

Vitamin D helps build bones and develop the lungs of the growing baby. These days vitamin D is considered a sort of wonder vitamin that also helps with weight management, mood, and overall health. One study specifically looking at vitamin D and pregnancy found that women who took 4,000 IU of vitamin D every day in their second and third trimesters showed no evidence of harm but had half the rate of pregnancy complications (such as gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and preeclampsia) as those that took only the recommended 400 IU. Vitamin D comes from sunlight and fats from animals “fed” sunlight, either because they were allowed to graze outside or, for seafood, ate a lot of plankton or seaweed. It’s nearly impossible to get enough vitamin D from the sun, particularly in Canada. Unless you eat a lot of cod liver oil, fatty fish, and lard, you probably don’t get enough from your diet alone either. (African-American women were the most likely to be deficient in vitamin D, followed by Hispanic women. The darker one’s skin, the more vitamin D that may be required.) Mothers who are deficient are more likely to have babies that are deficient in vitamin D, and this continues through the breastfeeding relationship.

Magnesium deficiency is one of the leading nutrient deficiencies. It affects an estimated 80 percent of people. The body uses magnesium in everyday activities such as the heart beating, production of hormones, muscle movement, and metabolism. Although we only need relatively small amounts of magnesium, this nutrient must be replenished constantly, either from food or supplementation, in order to keep deficiencies from developing. Magnesium levels are affected by too little or too much calcium, vitamin K, and vitamin D.

Magnesium can be found in dark leafy greens, nuts and seeds, fish, beans and lentils, whole grains, and bone broth. Because of soil depletion, it can be hard to get enough through your food. It can, however, be supplemented through the skin in a spray-on supplement. Its use may even help with symptoms of nausea in pregnancy. Pregnant women need 350 mg to 360 mg of magnesium daily.

Vitamin E was called Fertility Factor X after it was discovered that rats could not reproduce without it, and then it was renamed tocopherol, from the Greek “to bring forth childbirth.” Vitamin E is thought to be essential in building the nutritional transport system of the human placenta. It can be found in palm oil, animal fats, nuts, seeds, fresh fruits and vegetables, and freshly ground grains.

Iron deficiency or anemia is very common in pregnancy and should be checked for in your routine blood work. If you are low in iron, eating foods rich in heme iron will ensure the iron is more easily absorbed and be less likely to cause constipation. These sources include liver, beef, clams, and oysters. Plant foods are a source of non-heme iron. Heme iron is typically absorbed at a rate of 7 to 35 percent; non-heme iron is typically absorbed at a rate of 2 to 20 percent. If your maternity care provider also recommends an iron supplement, it is advised that you take it apart from the rest of your vitamins because other vitamins can interfere with its absorption. Iron chelate is supposedly the most non-constipating form in supplements. Taking vitamin C (in supplement form or in vitamin C–rich foods) makes the iron more absorbable; calcium (such as from your leafy greens or milk or from a supplement) blocks absorption.

How to Green Your Diet to Grow a Happy, Healthy Baby

Here are a series of action steps listed from ♥♥♥(biggest impact, and possibly more work) to ♥ (quick and easy) to help you green your womb for your child and for future generations.

1. ♥♥♥ Organic-ize your diet. Know what foods to eat beyond organic (for example, grass-fed meats and dairy), what foods to always buy organic (for example, your leafy greens), and which foods you can cheat on and when. Read the Organic-ize Your Diet section for guidance, but when in doubt, buy and eat certified organic, as it’s a trustworthy label that will protect you and your baby-to-be from food additives and residue from chemical pesticides. It may even help you get more nutrition per bite.
2. ♥♥♥ Focus on your digestive health. Read your poop for clues: if it floats or has undigested food in it, is very firm or very loose, or is less frequent than once a day, you probably need digestive support. Try the tips in this chapter to help improve your digestion. If this doesn’t work, consider working with a functional nutritionist. Betaine hydrochloride, which supports the production of hydrochloric acid in your stomach, may help. Margaret Floyd Barry says it may be the single most important supplement a person can take. Getting help to support your digestion is one of the best investments you can make. Your baby is depending on every bit she can get for growing a strong body and big brain.
3. ♥♥♥ Learn to prepare your food in a healthier way. Yes, even really healthy foods, like all those leafy greens and organic legumes that are so essential to the health of your growing baby, should be prepared to minimize their naturally occurring anti-nutrients. In short:
   • Rinse. Rinse all of your foods, even the organic ones, to remove dirt, germs, and any pesticide residue. When rinsing grains or legumes, rinse until the water runs clear.
   • Soak. Soaking, especially your legumes and grains, helps remove a significant portion of the anti-nutrients. I recommend soaking most legumes and grains at least overnight, but most beans do well with an even longer soak. Some of these will release a soapy or scummy film that should be disposed of before and during cooking. It can help to use a tablespoon of whey, yogourt, or lemon when soaking to further break down the anti-nutrients and to help release the enzyme phytase, which will further break down phytic acid and release other beneficial nutrients. For instance, put your oatmeal or porridge in the pot the night before with warm water and a bit of yogourt, and let it soak overnight. (To learn about how to properly prepare grains, I particularly recommend the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell.)
   • Sprout. Sprouting is a great way to break down anti-nutrients and make the nutrients more digestible. Most seeds (except chia and flax) can be sprouted, but don’t eat alfalfa sprouts, which are particularly high in a number of anti-nutrients, including L-cavanine and saponins, and can also be contaminated by salmonella and E. coli. See the Green Eating Recipe Handbook on pages 64–71 to learn how to soak-sprout your own nuts.
   • Ferment. Fermenting grains as a sourdough can break down anti-nutrients, such as gluten, and it tastes great. You can capture your own sourdough, or you can buy a sourdough starter on the internet or at your local natural food store.

     Fermenting vegetables is a really easy way to start fermenting. It breaks down anti-nutrients in raw foods and introduces healthy bacteria into your gut. A food that you ferment yourself can be way more effective at this than even a probiotic supplement. You can start as easily as making your own sauerkraut or nonalcoholic ginger “beer” or ale. See the Green Eating Recipe Handbook on pages 64–71 to get started. From these you can move on to fermenting other vegetables, making flavourful kimchi, or trying other drinks such as kefir or tibicos. I highly recommend Sandor Katz’s book Wild Fermentation for additional recipes.

4. ♥♥♥ Adopt a diet rich in nutrients. This will involve eating regular servings of mama-safe seafood, coconut oil, organic and grass-fed butter and liver, real milk, beef and other fatty animal proteins, eggs, bone broth, lots of all sorts of vegetables (especially leafy greens), fermented foods and beverages, whole fruits, and properly prepared grains.
5. ♥♥ Eat home-cooked meals. In North America we are in a weird food bubble where food is cheaper than anywhere else relative to spending, and we spend way more of our food budget out in restaurants than our peers around the world do. It’s very unlikely that you can get someone else to prepare food with ingredients as high quality as you would at home for the same money. Save your food dollars for better food, and prepare and eat more meals at home.
6. ♥♥ Learn to make bone broth. Bone broth from high-quality meat sources is one of the most cost-effective mineral- and nutrient-rich foods that a person can eat. It is right up there with fish oil, egg yolks, real milk, and grass-fed butter in its importance in a pregnancy and postpartum diet. Bone broth, aka stock, contains minerals in a form easily digestible. While it is not the food with the highest amounts of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, silicon, or sulfur, it does have them and numerous other nutrients in one of the most easily absorbable forms. As well, bone broth is rich in gelatin, which can help ease food sensitivities and gut imbalances. That gelatin comes from the breakdown of collagen in the animal bones. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. It builds healthy bones, cartilage, skin, arteries, and the placenta. To get started making your own homemade broth, see the Green Eating Recipe Handbook.
7. ♥♥ Learn to read labels in order to avoid the worst food additives and other anti-nutrients. Remember that with many food additives, the chemicals of concern are considered natural and thus can hide under inconspicuous titles such as natural flavouring. The best-researched foodies these days say that if your great-grandmother (or someone’s great-grandmother) wasn’t eating it, then it’s probably not real food. In other words, your great-grandma wasn’t eating that strange no-fat yogourt in a squeeze pouch or that can of soup or that vitamin water, so you’d be better off without it, too.
8. ♥♥ Eat the most important foods — that’s the fat, protein, and vegetables — first, and then finish with the starches. Do that for each meal and throughout the day in general. You will find your blood sugar and mood will thank you.
9. ♥♥ Filter your water. Tap water and bottled water, even in North America, can be sources of parasites and bacteria as well as other contaminants. A lot of tap water also contains lead from old pipes. Similarly, some scientists believe that our overexposure to fluoride — found in much of North America’s drinking water — is lowering IQ, weakening bones, and delaying the eruption of teeth. Don’t take this information and go running toward the arms of the bottled water industry. Bottled water has even fewer regulations protecting it and devastates the environment using 1.5 million barrels of oil a year. Buying bottled water would cost a family of four over $1,200 a year. Instead, I suggest you invest in a good water filtration system for your home and carry either a glass or stainless steel bottle for drinking. You can buy a countertop product, such as a Berkey. It rarely requires new filters and is less than $400, but it is slow. The under-the-counter options filter much faster but usually are more expensive, and they need their filters replaced more often. You will pay extra to remove the fluoride, but preliminary research suggests that it’s worth it. If you don’t have access to a water filter or truly cannot afford one, you can lower the lead content in water (that might come from old pipes) by letting the water run at the tap for at least ten seconds before filling your cup or pot.
10. ♥♥ Reduce the amount of plastics in your kitchen and your diet. This includes from food packaging: cans, food taken out from restaurants put into Styrofoam, plastic, or non-stick paper. It is safer and more environmentally conscious to use ceramic, glass, or stainless steel containers, which come with few safety concerns and are more easily reused. Learn more about the toxins in plastics in the Green Mama-to-Beware appendix at the end of the book.
11. ♥♥ Make sure your coffee or tea is organic and naturally decaffeinated. The pesticide residue from the growing process and the chemicals used in most decaffeination processes include many known toxins. Some of the most popular brands are the worst offenders. You can protect yourself by buying certified organic teas and coffee, which means that they are grown without toxic pesticides and that if they are decaffeinated, the process is done without dangerous chemicals. I’ve always found it hard to find my favourite loose-leaf tea certified organic and decaffeinated, so I buy the organic and decaffeinate it myself. Decaffeinated doesn’t mean without caffeine: decaf tea or coffee can have 1 to 20 percent of the original caffeine. To decaffeinate your own loose-leaf tea at home, all you have to do is steep your tea leaves in hot water for 30 seconds to one minute, then drain this first rinse off and re-steep. It is estimated that almost 70 percent of the caffeine is removed in the first brew.
12. ♥ Don’t routinely drink juice, soda, sport drinks, or fancy coffee drinks. Drinks, even the kinds without added sugar, pack a powerful punch on blood sugar. Without the added fibre to slow down absorption, they not only mess with blood sugar, but they also make it hard to absorb any supposed nutrients. This makes their calories empty. Even worse, the over-consumption of sugar can program the unborn child toward a sugar addiction.
13. ♥ Take a food-based organic prenatal supplement. Make sure the supplement has folate (not folic acid). Also consider supplementing with high-quality fish oil, such as cod liver (without synthetic additives); additional vitamin D; vitamin K; magnesium; and a high-quality probiotic.
14. ♥ Eat a variety of flavours. Your baby can taste what you eat through the amniotic fluid, which can be flavoured by your food choices. You can set the foundation of your future child’s diverse food tastes by eating sour, spicy, and bitter flavours as well as the usual sweet and savoury.

A Better Cuppa

Tea

I start every morning with a cup of tea. This is because black, green, white, and all the variations of tea are full of antioxidant-rich flavonoids. Well, actually, maybe it’s just because I love the taste and ritual, and coffee makes me loopy. Unfortunately, tea leaves can contain a lot of pesticide residue. And some of the most popular brands are some of the most contaminated. These include Celestial Seasonings, Tetley, Bigelow, Twinings, Mighty Leaf, Teavanna, Republic of Tea, Yogi, Tea Forte, Trader Joe’s, Tazo, and David’s Teas, according to a study by Eurofins. Many of these teas far exceed what’s considered safe levels of pesticide exposure. Since those standards are pretty questionable to begin with, that’s a big cup of pesticides. Yuck! Even worse, these teas disguise other known or suspected toxins, such as artificial food colourings, under the term “natural flavourings.”

Tea is made from the leaves, and sometimes stems, of the Camellia sinensis plant and is often grown in China or India. The pesticides used on these plants have very little chance for removal before becoming part of our morning routine. Luckily, drinking organic loose-leaf tea will significantly reduce exposure to pesticides, while maximizing the health benefits of good-quality tea.

Coffee

North Americans drink a lot of coffee. Research suggests that coffee can also have antioxidant health benefits, but drinkers — and especially workers — can suffer from the intensive pesticides used in production. Look for certified organic coffee — shade-grown isn’t the same — to ensure you and the farm workers are both looked after.

Buying organic tea and coffee is especially important when buying decaf. That’s because most coffee and tea is decaffeinated using chemicals, including the possibly carcinogenic chemical methyl chloride (dichloromethane) and the slightly less toxic ethyl acetate, of which traces can be left behind. More natural methods of decaffeination include using carbon dioxide or just water and osmosis, known as the Swiss Water process (developed in Burnaby, British Columbia, by the way!). Only the carbon dioxide or Swiss Water methods are allowed in coffees certified organic.

Organic-ize Your Diet

Organic Eating 101: It’s Important

Every functional nutritionist, toxin scientist, and holistic medical professional that I spoke with for this book and the first Green Mama book says that children and parents-to-be, especially moms while pregnant, should prioritize eating organic. The evidence is all too clear: pesticides in foods have been linked by many credible scientific studies and extensive research to obesity, autism, cancer, birth defects, and neurological problems in children.

The good news is that we can limit our own and our children’s exposure to many of the worst toxins by eating organic. Studies have shown that children who eat primarily organic produce have fewer pesticides in their bodies than their conventional eating counterparts. Eating organic is an effective strategy for lowering exposure to antibiotics and artificial growth hormones, as well. Organic foods can also be more nutritious per bite and especially high in antioxidants.

If you occasionally feel conflicted about organics, I can relate. On the one hand, reading the studies and speaking to the experts makes me believe in the importance of organic. But many people can’t afford to eat organic, including my own family members, such as my sister, who just had her third child. Luckily, the price differential on organics has gotten slimmer and continues to decrease with the prevalence of organic sections in most grocery stores and the increase in farmers’ markets.

Organic foods are a multi-billion-dollar industry that is growing fast. The majority of Canadians — that’s 20 million people — say they regularly buy organics.Eighty-six percent of Canadians, particularly those in the 18- to 36-year-old demographic, say they expect to continue or increase their organic spending.

I believe the most important foods to buy organic are dairy and meat (including poultry), though this accounts for less than a quarter of Canadian organic purchases.

Organic Shopping 101: Where to Spend Your Food Dollars

The keys to organic-izing your diet are to know how to best spend your food dollars by understanding when it is important to buy organic, when organic isn’t enough, and where you can save your money and go for conventional instead. An important tool is learning to read labels so that you don’t accidentally get fooled into spending more for something unless it truly is better.

1. Go beyond organic for animal products. The most important foods to eat beyond organic (organic and pasture-raised) are animal products. This includes meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs. Making sure you go beyond organic to find animals fed their natural diets and given access to sunlight means you will get more nutrients, as well. Remember the Canadian cows with their poor-quality butter? The solution is to find organic butter from grass-fed livestock. Similarly, chickens raised in pastures with real sunlight lay eggs that contain more vitamin A and beta carotene, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and vitamin D than eggs collected from chickens living in indoor cages. Organic isn’t enough when buying fish either. Learn more about this and how to find better animal products in the Label Reading 101 section.
2. Keep in mind that natural isn’t the same as organic. Natural isn’t a meaningful, third-party certified label. It can mean just about anything. This can be especially tricky for processed meat products, such as hot dogs, salami, lunch meats, and bacon, all of which can contain high levels of nitrates and still be labelled “all natural.” I enjoy the taste and convenience of processed meat products, but their consumption has been linked to certain cancers. I recommend you buy these products organic and frozen, without preservatives. Better yet, make your own by cutting thin slices of home-roasted chicken breast or beef and freezing it.
3. Buy organic oils. Cooking oils, even those from vegetables, can contain pesticides. Similarly, you want oils to be minimally refined to get the most from their nutrients, such as certified organic virgin olive oil.
4. Buy organic grains. This includes breads, pastas, and other grain products. Grains are a relatively pesticide-intensive crop. When grains are packaged into a food, you can’t rinse them to remove any chemical residue.
5. Rice. Even organic rice can have very high levels of arsenic from contaminated groundwater in many rice-growing areas. Women and children are advised to limit their rice consumption to once a week and to properly rinse and soak rice to help minimize exposure. I love rice and eat it regularly; I minimize exposure by limiting all forms of processed rice, such as rice crackers and breads, and saving my exposure for eating rice dishes. I also buy organic rice from more mountainous areas, where the groundwater is cleaner, and I often mix my brown rice with (generally less contaminated) white rice. Rinsing and soaking rice before use can also help. So can cooking it with excess water and then refreshing it after it first boils.
6. Make sure you buy organic baby food (or anything else that is concentrated). If you eat a lot of something, whatever that is, make sure it’s organic. And if you are eating a lot of something concentrated like ketchup, make sure it’s organic. This is because in concentrated foods like baby food and ketchup, any pesticides in the ingredients could be concentrated as well. Remember, too, that a baby eats more per pound and drinks more by volume than an adult. And his developing system is far more vulnerable to pesticides.
7. Know the most important fruits and veggies to buy organic. The Environmental Working Group refers to the most contaminated fruits and veggies as “The Dirty Dozen” and looks at the average amount of pesticide residue on commonly eaten fruits and vegetables (after it is washed or peeled). Conventional apples can contain the residue of 42 different pesticides, and conventional celery 64. Yikes. (If you want to check out a particular food, you can scare yourself silly at the website www.whatson myfood.org). To avoid the most pesticides on your fruits and veggies, here are the ones I would strongly suggest you always buy organic:
   • Peaches/nectarines/apples/pears/plums (and other orchard fruits)
   • Celery
   • Berries, including strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and red raspberries
   • Tomatoes
   • Sweet bell peppers and hot peppers
   • Leafy greens, including spinach, kale, collard greens, and lettuce
   • Potatoes
   • Grapes (especially those that are imported)
   • Carrots
   • Summer squash and zucchini
   • Cucumbers
   • Hawaiian pineapples

Less contaminated fruits and vegetables include onions, avocados, asparagus, frozen sweet peas, mangos, kiwis, domestic cantaloupes, and sweet potatoes.

Label Reading 101: What’s Behind the Label

Organic/Biologique

To be able to use the word organic on a food label in Canada or the U.S., the product must have at least 70 percent organic ingredients and be free of GMOs and the worst of the food additives. A Certified Organic product contains at least 95 percent organic ingredients, and has an official USDA or Canada Organic/Biologique label. These products are grown without chemical herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers, sewage sludge, or GMOs. Animals raised organically have access to pasture, eat organic feed that contains no antibiotics, and do not receive synthetic growth hormones. Organic products cannot be irradiated or have synthetic additives. The USDA Organic label can also be used on personal care products that meet the organic food standard for their products, meaning they are not only organic but made of edible ingredients. Canada does not have a similar option.

Canada’s organic label has come under criticism recently because, unlike in the United States, Canada does not require field tests and it outsources certification in countries such as China that have questionable environmental standards. Nonetheless, the Certified Organic label for food is still the best assurance of quality.

Cage-Free, Free-Range, Grass-Fed, Hormone-Free, Antibiotic-Free, Natural, or All-Natural

These terms can be used without the independent verification that a third party provides. This makes them meaningless. Add to the list “No Antibiotics Used” or “No additional hormones added.” When I see one of these terms without a third-party certification, I assume the company is greenwashing. Here’s who certifies.

Meat/Poultry

The Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) label certifies small, independent farms that give their animals access to grass pasture, don’t use growth hormones, don’t routinely use antibiotics, and provide humane slaughtering practices. Certified Humane is a similar, less rigorous standard. It is available to corporate farms and doesn’t require that the animals have had access to the outdoors. The grass-fed label, certified by the Food Alliance, the American Grassfed Association, or the USDA, requires that animals eat a grass diet although they may still have been confined to pens or feedlots. The Global Animal Partnership 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating, developed by Whole Foods and now with third-party certification, offers a range of options. A “5+” represents the highest quality of organic animal husbandry but all steps prohibit growth hormones and the routine use of antibiotics.

Unfortunately, kosher and halal labels do not restrict growth hormones, pesticide residue, or antibiotic use. Similarly, “natural” means something has been minimally processed, but it does not restrict artificial growth hormones, antibiotic use, or pesticide residues.

Eggs

For the best eggs, look for labels such as AWA, or certified by the Canadian Organic Regime, the Certified Organic Association of BC, Pro-Cert, or BC SPCA. These labels indicate that the hens aren’t fed antibiotics and spend time running around outdoors, rather than being locked inside overcrowded barns (with the exception of those labelled “Free-Run,” which means they are given area to run around only indoors).

Eggs labelled “vegetarian fed” is almost a certain indicator that the chicken has been raised entirely indoors and fed grain. This isn’t a healthy diet for chickens and consequently doesn’t make the healthiest eggs for human consumption either.

The best options for eggs are those that are certified organic and pastured with one or more of the above labels to back it up. Or find a neighbour or farmer near you who raises their own hens in their backyard and see for yourself if they are given access to pasture and organic feed.

Fair Trade

FLO-CERT and Fair to Life are two organizations that certify products or ingredients to ensure that farmers are paid a living wage and are treated fairly. They support co-operatives and family farms, especially in the developing world, and minimize middle men. Their growers use sustainable farming practices with limited agrochemicals and no GMOs. This can be a particularly meaningful label when buying products, such as textiles or coffee, where there are often particularly unfair labour practices.

Sustainable Seafood

The USDA and Canada Organic/Biologique labels are currently meaningless when it comes to fish, so be wary when you see seafood labelled as organic. Proposed standards are on the way. In the meantime, other labels exist to indicate you are getting fish that was caught with respect to the health of the oceans, was not cloned or fed GMO food, and wasn’t treated with the heavy doses of antibiotics fed to most farm-raised fish.

In general, seafood labels focus on the health of fishery stocks.The Marine Stewardship Council label indicates that seafood is wild-caught and the fishery is practising some care of fish stocks. Seafood Watch by the Monterey Bay Aquarium provides guides for sustainable fisheries by region. Canadians have a similar system called SeaChoice and the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise certification. Greenpeace posts a Red List of the most endangered food fish species on its website.

To find seafood that is lower in mercury and other contaminants, Seafood Watch maintains a Super Green List and the KidSafeSeafood program reports seafood choices that are gentler on both Earth and body. Read the Mama & Baby Safe Seafood box on page 46 to learn about the best seafood to eat and more about how to find truly wild salmon.

Salmon

Living on the West Coast of Canada, I have learned a lot about salmon. The most important take-away of which is to never eat farmed salmon. Farmed salmon is routinely contaminated with antibiotics and food dye, and in Canada and the U.S. it might be genetically engineered (aka cloned). It also tends to have “significantly higher” levels of organochlorine contaminants such as PCBs and PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ether), according to a 2004 study in the American Journal of Environmental Science and Technology.

How Do I Avoid Eating Farmed Salmon? 

Unfortunately, Canada has weaker labelling regulations than either Europe or the United States. Fish in Canada can be sold without labelling to reveal anything about it, such as whether it is farmed, if it contains artificial dyes, or if it is genetically engineered. So you need to be aware.

It is possible to find truly wild salmon by following these tips:

1. 1. Beware of the labels “Atlantic salmon” or “Wild Atlantic salmon,” because it is farmed. There are no truly wild Atlantic salmon fisheries in Canada because the Atlantic salmon is an endangered species. Most of Canada’s Atlantic salmon is farmed in the Pacific, so it’s not even Atlantic in origin, just in breed. 

2. 2. Only buy wild Pacific salmon. Of course, the ideal is to find a local fisherman selling his wares from his boat or at your local farmers’ market. Since that isn’t an option for most people, you can buy from a fish vendor who takes pride in knowing his sources. Also, look for labels to back up environmental claims, such as those by the Marine Stewardship Council. Learn more about reading labels for fish, and all products, in the Label Reading 101 section.

NON-GMO or GMO-Free

GMOs — or genetically modified organisms — aka GM or GE (genetically engineered) refer to plants or animals created through the changing or merging of a species’ DNA. Canada allows GM varieties of corn, soy, sugar beets, canola, apples, and salmon. It’s the fourth largest producer of GM crops, well behind the U.S. and Brazil. We also import GM cottonseed oil, papaya, and squash. rGBH tainted milk products come from the U.S. in processed foods that contain milk solids or powders such as frozen desserts or mixed drinks with dairy. In the 20 years since GM ingredients were first introduced into Canada, these foods have made their way into most of the processed foods available in Canada. Unless you buy foods labelled organic or NON-GMO, you are almost certainly getting them in packaged foods that contain corn, canola, soy, or sugar.

Unless the GMO-free claim is backed up with the NON-GMO Project label or, even better, one of the Certified Organic labels mentioned above, it’s a meaningless claim. It should be noted that the NON-GMO label does not mean that a product is organic. Indeed, having a NON-GMO label on something like strawberries is meaningless as strawberries are not currently being genetically modified anywhere, yet they are a pesticide-intensive crop. You are far better-off spending the money on the organic strawberries or skipping over all the conventional strawberries, including the NON-GMO ones.

Gluten-Free and Other Allergen Labelling

Food allergies are on the rise and can be deadly. In the U.S. and Canada, labels must note foods that contain the top allergens, gluten, and added sulphites. When something has an added “Gluten-free” label that means that the item does not include any gluten-containing ingredients, although there still may be cross-contamination. An item can be certified gluten-free as long as it has 20 parts-per-million of gluten or less, which is safe for those with celiac disease.

Growing a Healthy Baby as a Vegetarian

I was a vegetarian, and for some years a vegan (strict vegetarian), during my early adult life. I chose this path for a mixture of health, environmental, and ethical reasons. But I do not recommend this for the preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum years. I’m not knocking the power of a plant-based diet. Indeed, I have known and read about people recovering from very serious diseases through radical plant-based diets. Yet, for most of us, the research (and every nutritionist and doctor that I interviewed for this book) suggests that the healthiest diets for growing babies are those that are based primarily on the consumption of lots of fresh, organic vegetables, with a good mix of organic whole grains, fruits, fats, and animal products.

If your religious beliefs or ethics require you to be vegetarian, then that is the right choice for you, although I do encourage you to seek guidance in ensuring you and your child are getting enough amino acids, calcium, iron, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, and good fats in general.

If not, then I urge you to consider including small amounts of animal protein, especially bone broth and fish oil, into your diet. Make sure they are from sources as happy, healthy, and free-ranging as you, yourself, want to be.

It can take extra work to raise your child vegetarian, especially vegan. Here is what you need to know if you are contemplating having a vegetarian baby:

1. First and foremost, a vegan baby should be breastfed for as long as possible (at least a year). There is some concern that the breast milk from vegan moms may lack sufficient DHA, an omega-3 vital for eye and brain development, and taurine (an amino acid). Similarly, postpartum mothers need to be very careful about these levels for their own health and happiness.
2. Babies and young children need cholesterol to build their brains and nerve cells. Egg yolks contain both cholesterol and choline used for healthy brain development. For vegans, cholesterol can be made in the body from healthy saturated fats such as avocado, flax seeds and oil, and coconut oil. But it’s not clear that babies can synthesize all the cholesterol they need from vegan sources alone.
3. Children need good-quality fats. Brains are made up of 60 percent fat, more than a third of which is the essential fatty acid DHA. Essential fatty acids are fats that the body can’t produce itself. They are found in fish, fish oil, and seaweed, and can be made from olive oil, seeds, and nuts. Read more about fats in the Essential Nutrients and Where to Find Them section on pages 43–69.
4. Children need bile to process fat, and taurine plays an essential part in the production and flow of bile. Taurine is also essential in the development and function of the brain and nervous system, kidney development, and the removal of toxins from the body. Taurine can be low in strict vegetarians, as meat, fish, and dairy (and breast milk) are its major sources. Although adults can manufacture some taurine themselves from the essential amino acids methionine and cysteine, newborns cannot. Taurine production can be inhibited by chronic candida, bacterial imbalances, elevated levels of mercury, lead, and cadmium, and exposure to MSG. Urine analysis has shown taurine deficiency in 62 percent of autistic children.
5. Children need protein. The protein in meat, fish, eggs, and milk is usually considered of higher quality, but protein can be gotten from plant sources such as peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, seeds, sprouted nuts, and some whole grains. Learn how to cook and prepare and combine foods to maximize their protein content and minimize the anti-nutrients that might inhibit absorption.
6. Common deficiencies to watch for in vegetarian diets are B12, found only in animal foods; vitamins A and D, which are most easily absorbed from meat, fish, eggs, and high-quality butter; minerals such as zinc; and omega-3 fats, which are usually found in fish.
7. Soy can inhibit the absorption of protein and minerals and should be avoided altogether in babies.

The Green Eating Recipe Handbook

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The tricks and recipes included in this section will help get even the most reluctant cook started on the joy of home cooking. Many of the recipes are contributed by functional nutritionist Margaret Floyd Barry and her chef husband James Barry of Eat Naked and the Naked Food Cookbook. Visit them online at www.eatnakednow.com. The rest are adapted from my own kitchen or from favourite cookbooks from the Further Reading section on page 226.

Blood-Sugar-Stabilizing Snacks

The trick to balanced blood sugar when snacking is getting lots of good fatty proteins. This might mean eating cheese slices, oysters, sardines, or an avocado, or putting nut butter on apple slices. Or you can try a handful of sprout-soaked nuts or kale chips, a cup of broth, or a fat bomb.

Fat Bombs by Eat Naked

This is a delicious and easy snack that’s great for getting those healthy fats important for baby’s development and your blood sugar handling. The sauerkraut gives you a little probiotic boost and nice tang. Whitefish caviar is packed with omega-3s and is quite affordable. It’s also a little salty, so it balances out the creaminess of the avocado and the tang of the sauerkraut.

This recipe makes one or two snack-size portions, depending on how hungry you are.

Ingredients:

1 avocado

2 tablespoons (18g) raw cultured sauerkraut, either store-bought or homemade

2 teaspoons (11g) whitefish caviar

Directions:

1. Cut avocado in half lengthwise and remove the pit.
2. Add one tablespoon sauerkraut to each half of the avocado in the little hole left from the pit, and place a teaspoon of caviar on top of each.
3. Enjoy! (I just scoop it out with a spoon.)

Kale Chips by Eat Naked

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale, stems cut off and roughly chopped (approximately 3 cups [750ml])

1 tablespoon (15ml) coconut oil, slightly warmed so that it’s in liquid form

1⁄4 teaspoon (6g) sea salt, or to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C)
2. Place chopped kale in a bowl and drizzle with coconut oil. Using your hands, mix the kale and oil so that the leaves are lightly coated.
3. Spread out the kale on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt to taste.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove tray from oven and stir. Return to oven and continue to cook for 5 to 6 more minutes, or until just slightly browned and crispy.

Soaked Nuts

You can make organic, raw nuts (such as pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews, or skinless hazelnuts) more digestible and remove the phytotoxins on their skins by placing them in a bowl and covering them with salt water — about 1 cup of nuts to 2 cups of water with just under a tablespoon of salt (I rarely use measuring spoons). Just dissolve the sea salt in the warm water and see that it tastes about as salty as tears or the ocean. After 6 to 12 hours (never soak cashews more than 6 hours), drain the nuts and spread them out on a baking sheet. Place the sheet in a warm spot (130°F to 160°F). A dehydrator, your oven at the lowest temperature, or even on top of a radiator or near a wood-burning stove works well. It will take about 24 hours for them to become completely dry. One time I didn’t get my almonds dry enough and they developed mould, a disgusting and expensive mistake.

Probiotic-Rich Foods

Making your own probiotic-rich foods is so simple once you start. You are literally making something from nothing by capturing bacteria from the air to make food that is alive with lots of the good microbes that our guts need and want. Most probiotic-rich food has far more positive bacteria and types than even the best probiotic supplement. All you need to get started is good-quality sea salt or Himalayan salt, filtered water (without chlorine or fluoride, which will inhibit the fermentation), and a few glass jars.

Simple Sauerkraut

Shred cabbage and layer it into a jar along with enough salt to make the final result salty like the sea. A pinch with every layer of cabbage should get you there. Put a rock or something similar on top (not metal) to weigh the sauerkraut down and leave a bit of head room in the jar. The cabbage and salt will produce a brine, and within a few hours there should be enough brine to cover the sauerkraut. If not, add a bit of water and taste to make sure everything is still slightly salty. Leave it for about a week, but check on it every day and push the cabbage under the brine to keep mould from forming. In about a week, you should have slightly bubbly, probiotic-rich sauerkraut. Store in the refrigerator or a cold cellar and enjoy!

Beet Kvass

Ingredients:

2–4 organic beets

1–2 tablespoons (18–36ml) of sea salt

filtered water

Directions:

1. Wash the beets and trim off the leaves and bottoms. Chop into small cubes (don’t grate).
2. Place the beets in a large glass jar — the 2-litre size works best.
3. Add the sea salt to taste, to make a slightly salty brine.
4. Fill almost to the top with filtered water, leaving a bit of head room.
5. You can kick-start the kvass by adding a 1⁄4 cup (60ml) of juice from your prepared sauerkraut (above).
6. Cover the jar tightly and leave it on the counter at room temperature. Check every day to see if it is to your desired taste. This usually takes two to four days.
7. Once it is to your taste, stick in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
8. Drain off the liquid and drink.

You can make it again using the same beets, up to three times. Leave a bit of the liquid in the jar to start your next batch.

Ginger Beer

This is the most complicated of the fermented recipes, but it still isn’t that hard — and it’s delicious: better tasting and better for you than any soda or most commercially available fermented drinks, such as kombucha. In this recipe, you will start by making what is called a “bug,” the probiotic-rich starter, kind of like a sourdough starter.

Make the ginger bug:

Grate a bit of organic ginger with skin into a jar. I use about two inches. Add some water and some unbleached sugar. I sweeten like I salt, by tasting to see if it tastes sweet. Cover the jar with a cloth and leave out. Every day, stir it and add a little more ginger and sugar until the mixture is quite bubbly. This bug can be kept forever. Store it in the refrigerator, where you will occasionally dump a bit of the water out and feed it more sugar and ginger. Just take it out and liven it up before your next use.

Make the ginger beer:

Fill a cooking pot with water (about half of the final volume you want to make). Add finely sliced or grated ginger. Use about 5 to 15 centimetres of ginger root per 2 litres of water in the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Note: The final mixture should be more gingery than you want it, because it will be diluted. Strain the liquid into a new container and add unrefined sugar to taste, about 2 cups (500ml) per 2 litres of concentrate. Stir and then add cool filtered water until it is the amount and flavour you like. I like to add a bit of lemon juice at this stage as well — again, to taste. The mixture should be brought to room temperature before adding the ginger bug. I usually add 1 cup (250ml) of ginger bug for each 4 litres of liquid, but you can adjust as you like and it will still work. Stir well. Now, you can put the liquid directly into bottles and cover them. Let it sit until it is bubbly, and then bottle it. Be careful: once it is bottled, you can over-carbonate. If you bottle in plastic, you will know when the ginger beer is done because the bottle will get hard and bulge slightly. If you, like me, prefer to bottle in glass, you must be much more careful. One way is to do at least one bottle in plastic to gauge how the others are doing. I have had serious and scary explosions occur, where glass flew everywhere from over-carbonation. Once you put the bottles in the refrigerator, the fermenting process will slow down, but still enjoy it within a few weeks.

Simple, Nourishing Meals

One of Margaret Floyd Barry’s tips is to remember to front load your day and each meal with all-important fats and proteins. This will aid in digestion and stabilizing blood sugar. You might start your day with two fried eggs served with greens or simple breakfast porridge served with a generous dollop of organic, grass-fed butter. Add a cup of bone broth as an appetizer to lunch or dinner, or make the meal a nutrient-packed soup with salad. Here are a few recipes to get you started.

Simple Breakfast Porridge

The typical breakfast cereal is made from grains that have been extruded, which destroys the fatty acids, vitamins, and amino acids in them, making them hard to digest and even toxic. These grains aren’t soaked, obviously, so the phytic acid hasn’t been reduced. This isn’t to mention the problems associated with non-organic cereals, which are often genetically modified to have even more pesticides than usual. Hot breakfast cereals can be a more nutritious alternative.

The simplest way to prepare this is to take your favourite grain, such as organic rolled oats, and soak them overnight to make them more digestible. Soak 1 cup (156g) of oats in a cup of warm water with 2 tablespoons (30g) of plain yogourt (or whey, if you have it, or lemon juice if you are allergic to dairy). In the morning add another cup of water and cook. It takes about 10 minutes on medium-low heat. Add in a lot of butter at the end and you are ready to go. Top as you like. My kids prefer this served with pure, organic maple syrup, but I eat mine with salt, pepper, and some nuts and seeds. There are two of us in my family who can’t digest oats, so we have done this same recipe with quinoa and spelt flakes.

For a more protein-packed breakfast porridge, you can make your own blend and tailor it to make it gluten-free or whatever you prefer. Use approximately 1 cup of each grain. I recommend any, or all, of the following: yellow split peas or red lentils, barley, spelt, rice, quinoa, millet, and oats. Combine your grains and blend or food process until medium smooth and well mixed. Store in a container in your refrigerator until you are ready to use for making breakfast porridge. Use the basic recipe above to cook: 1 cup of the grain mixture soaked overnight in 1 cup (250ml) of warm water with 2 tablespoons (30g) of yogourt (or other). Add an additional cup of water before cooking the next morning. Depending on the blend, it may take longer than oatmeal (lentils and brown rice are slow). Cook for 15 to 35 minutes on medium-low heat until to desired doneness.

Fish Broth

This is a great recipe adapted by Floyd Barry from Sally Fallon Morell’s excellent cookbook Nourishing Traditions.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons (28g) organic butter

2 onions, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1⁄2 cup (125ml) dry white wine

3 or 4 whole fish carcasses, including heads, of non-oily fish such as sole, turbot, rockfish, or snapper

about 3 litres of cold filtered water

1⁄4 cup (60ml) vinegar

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

a few sprigs of fresh parsley

1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large stainless steel pot.
2. Add the vegetables and cook very gently, for about 30 minutes, until soft.
3. Add wine and bring to a boil.
4. Add fish carcasses and cover with cold, filtered water. Add vinegar.
5. Bring to a boil, covered, and skim off the scum and impurities as they rise to the top.
6. Tie herbs together and add to the pot. Reduce heat to absolute lowest, and simmer for at least 4 hours or as long as 24 hours.
7. Remove carcasses with tongs or a slotted spoon and strain the liquid into pint-size storage containers for refrigeration or freezing. Chill well in the refrigerator and remove any congealed fat before transferring to the freezer for long-term storage.

Simple Fish Soup

Fish stock can be used as the broth for just about any recipe, from a substitution for water when making rice or barley to the base of clam chowder or vegetable soup. My favourite recipe is for making a simple Asian noodle soup. I cook the noodles separately, heat the broth, add my favourite vegetables (usually carrots, bok choy, green onions, and a few slices of cucumber) and then serve with freshly chopped cilantro or basil. I adjust the flavour as needed by using organic bouillon, flavoured vinegars, or herbs.

Chicken Bone Broth

Use a whole chicken (with the feet if you can get them). Remove the internal organs and cut off the meat for other recipes or for adding to the final soup. (I’ve also used the carcass after baking a whole chicken.) Place the chicken or chicken pieces into a large stainless steel pot with 4 litres (or a bit more) of cold water and 2 tablespoons (30ml) of apple cider vinegar. Let stand 1 hour. Add vegetables. I keep a bag of vegetable scraps in my freezer, so I just add that. For a more consistent taste, add one large onion, two carrots, three celery stalks, and four cloves of garlic, all coarsely chopped. Bring to a boil and remove any scum with a slotted spoon as it comes to the top. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 to 24 hours. Chefs tend to vote for less time, but some nutritionists say the longer the better. Right before turning off the heat, add a bunch of parsley. Allow to sit and cool. Strain the stock into a large pot or bowl. Put into the refrigerator and allow to cool completely. A layer of fat will congeal on the top. Remove this before using or separating the broth into containers to freeze. I often turn about a quarter of it into chicken broth cubes by pouring it into ice cube trays, freezing, and then storing in freezer bags so I can just grab one or two as needed.

Chicken Soup

Chop and cook one onion in a soup pot. Add slices of chicken (raw or cooked). Pour in about 1 litre of homemade broth. Add your choice of vegetables, such as two carrots and three stalks of celery, both finely sliced. Cook on medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Boosted Burgers by Eat Naked

Organ meat is nutrient-dense and really healthy for pregnant and nursing mamas. The Barrys have a local farmer who sells a product he calls “boost” — ground, grass-fed bison with 10 percent beef liver ground into it. This is a tasty way to sneak liver into your diet without anyone noticing. Not everyone is as lucky as the Barrys to have such a forward-thinking farmer nearby, so they developed this recipe for the rest of us! Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

2 oz (60g) frozen beef liver, still frozen

1 lb (1⁄2 kg) ground grass-fed beef or bison

1 teaspoon (5ml) dried oregano

1 teaspoon (5ml) paprika

1 tablespoon (14g) coconut oil or lard from pastured pork

Directions:

1. Grate or mince frozen liver into a large mixing bowl. Pro tip: Since most beef liver is sold in sizes significantly larger than these small portions, try cutting the liver into 60 gram portions when you first buy it before freezing.
2. Add the ground meat and spices. Stir to mix well.
3. Divide the ground meat mixture into 8 equal portions and roll each into a ball. Set aside.
4. Heat the coconut oil or lard in a large, heavy-bottomed fry pan (such as a cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, place the meat balls in it, using a spatula to press down on them to make patty-shaped.
5. Cook for 3–4 minutes on one side until nicely browned, then flip to cook on the other side. Cook for another 3–4 minutes or until just cooked through if you like it pink in the middle, or a little longer if you like them more well done.
6. Serve with your favourite hamburger fixings, such as lettuce, fresh farmers’ market tomatoes, homemade pickles, or mushrooms sautéed in lots of butter.