Spice up Your Life: Add Spices to Your Food
I often get questions about how to add variety to a child’s diet. I get it, huge fibrous veggies can be daunting. So what do we do - how do we encourage variety and broaden a baby / child’s palate?
baby steps.
Via superfood sprinkles. In the form of herbs and spices.
Spices are a game changer especially when they’re high quality.
Herbs & Spices
They’re incredibly nutrient dense. Fantastic at growing a baby/child’s (& adult’s!) palate to make adventurous eaters of them.
In this video, I’m adding one of our favorite anti-inflammatory superfood spices: TURMERIC and pairing it with Organic Cracked Black Pepper & quality salt for flavor and mineral benefits.
Nutrition hack
Pairing turmeric with a bit of black pepper allows for the absorption of the turmeric so your body can reap all the benefits!
TURMERIC PEPPER CHICKEN INGREDIENTS:
Pasture Raised Chicken (I prefer chicken wings & breasts but drumsticks work too!)
100% Avocado Oil (I prefer Primal Kitchen or Chosen foods brand to make sure it is a pure avocado oil)
Generously sprinkled with Turmeric, black pepper, and salt (feel free to add oregano if you want even more of a nutrient & flavor boost!)
Optional: We love to slice up carrots and bake them underneath the chicken - most of them come out crispy. all of them turn out so delicious as they soak in all the spices & the chicken fat. Carrot fries FTW 🙌🏼
Instructions
Chop carrots into finger shape sizes. Spread across a baking tray. Cover carrots with chicken. Spray all the food on the tray with avocado oil. Sprinkle (I have a heavy hand because we LOVE flavor bursting bites) with quality salt, black pepper, and turmeric.
Bake in oven on air fryer mode at 420F* for 20 min. flip chicken and carrots and bake for another 15min until chicken is fully cooked and carrot fries are crisp at the edges.
*Every oven has a different strength so play around with yours and make sure your chicken is thoroughly cooked!
BENEFITS of Turmeric
Potent anti-inflammatory & antioxidant
Potential to improve heart health
Potential to improve brain health (Alzheimer’s)
Possibly helps improve symptoms of depression & arthritis
Korean Side Dish: Stir-fried Dried Anchovies Myeolchi-bokkeum (better than the rest)
Sweet, salty, and crunchy. It’s one of the most popular Korean side dishes and it’s super easy to make. Most recipes that store-bought and restaurant-made versions use include ingredients like syrups, excessive amounts of sugar, inflammatory oils, and sauces that can cause digestive upset.
Our Recipe
Has a SUPERFOOD ingredient that not only makes this taste delicious but also supports a healthy microbiome AND:
Improves energy levels & muscle recovery (from the pollen)
Supports the immune system (from the propolis)
Enhances cognitive function & supports hormone balance (from the royal jelly)
Maybe you guessed that it’s a Bee product by now!
Ingredients
6-7oz dried anchovies (found at a Korean market like H MART)
3 TBSP of 100% pure avocado oil or coconut oil (ghee or butter works too)
3 TBSP of minced garlic (~3 garlic cloves)
3 TBSP of BeeKeepers Naturals SuperFood Honey*
Optional: sprouted pumpkin seeds or nuts of choice (more nutrients + crunch!)
Directions
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place dried anchovies (no oil at this point) in skillet and stir for a few minutes, until the anchovies turn a shade darker.
Place the dried anchovies in a colander and shake vigorously. Small crumbs/broken pieces will fall through. Set aside. This step makes the final dish a lot more tasty (removes the bitterness).
Add non-inflammatory oil/fat of choice and minced garlic to the skillet and fry the garlic over medium heat until garlic turns slightly golden.
Add in dried anchovies and SUPERFOOD HONEY. Lower heat to Low. Mix until the anchovies are well coated.
Add in optional crunch: we love raw pumpkin seeds in ours, but sesame seeds or peanuts and almonds are fun too!
Serve warm or cold— enjoy!
Storage: keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
* Use Code: MUMWITHABUN for 20% off of BKN’s Superfood Honey
It’s delicious and every ingredient makes this side dish (or snack) a true powerhouse of nutritional goodness.
Dried anchovies: low in mercury, rich in calcium, and high in DHA #brainfood — it’s a superfood in and of itself
Avocado or coconut oil: the healthy fat of choice helps the body absorb the nutrients from the dish
Garlic: extra immune support and umami
*BKN SUPERFOOD Honey: truly unlike the rest, this secret sauce replaces the weird syrups and sweeteners that restaurants and supermarkets use to make their version sticky
Sprouted Pumpkin seeds: not only nutrient dense but also we love the crunch factor.
*Use Code: MUMWITHABUN for 20% off at beekeepersnaturals.com
See blog post for the full recipe, ingredients, and instructions!
Hand Sanitizers DO NOT Get Rid of Allergens
⚠️Hand sanitizers DO NOT remove food protein, y’all!
🚰🧴Always use (allergen free) soap + water + friction (scrub) to clean hands and surfaces that have come in contact with a food allergen
One thing I must refuse to do as an allergy mom is to leave my child in the care of someone who is truly not allergy aware and not at all curious to learn how to become someone who is … While I’d love to drop off my child at a nursery, my priority remains: keep my daughter alive
This is a True Story:
When I tried to check her into a nursery, I began sharing that my daughter has food allergies - this was their response: “we are very allergy aware here”
🫥I explained that while kids may not actively be snacking around her, she will still react from any residual allergens on their hands… so if they touch a toy and she touches it or puts in her mouth... her body will react.
The response that helped me decide not to come back: “We have all kids sanitize their hands with a gel hand sanitizer when they first come in”
❌myth: sanitizers remove/kill food allergy protein…
✅truth: sanitizers do nothing to food protein 👉🏻
soap + water + friction is what lifts and removes/washes off allergens/food protein
For example, if there was a cashew on my hand and I poured an entire bottle of gel hand sanitizer on it, it would not magically disappear 🫠 I wish hand sanitizer worked like that 🪄