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When 100 Days of Real Food asked me to write a recipe for a healthy alternative to PediaSure®, I was very excited. I am an integrative pediatrician, and real food is what my practice is based upon. I have seen the effects of synthetic processed foods on children, and anything I can do to help spread the word about whole food nutrition makes me over-the-moon excited!
Note: Don’t confuse the electrolyte drink Pedialyte® with PediaSure®, a liquid meal replacement. PediaSure® is a dietary supplement created by Abbott Nutrition, which also produces Ensure and Similac.
- My First Encounter with PediaSure®
- PediaSure® Ingredients
- How One Mouthful of PediaSure® Changed My Clinical Practice
- Are You Using PediaSure® as a Substitute for Real Food?
- A Whole-Foods Diet Instead of Supplements
- A Word About the Pro-Inflammatory Effects of Dairy
- How to Feed a Picky Eater
- Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality* Recipe
- Smoothies Are the Gateway to Health
- Other PediaSure® Alternative Recipes
- Notes on Blending Smoothies
- Nutritional comparison of PediaSure® Vanilla and Dr. Kilbane's Liquid Vitality
My First Encounter with PediaSure®
I was on a long road trip some three years out of pediatric residency and miscalculated how much food I needed to make it from Charlotte, North Carolina to Kelley’s Island, Ohio. When I ran out of real food I was famished and forced to purchase something at a West Virginia gas station.
I bought a bottle of PediaSure®. Odd, right?! It seemed like the only reasonable choice among a sea of chips, candy bars, and jerky. Despite being a pediatrician, until that moment I had never laid hands on a bottle of PediaSure®, which is also why I had never read the label.
I opened the bottle and began drinking before I finished pumping my gas. What ensued looked like a scene from a Jim Carrey movie. I gagged and nearly spewed the liquid contents all over my car. Then I read the ingredient list.
How many of these PediaSure® ingredients can you pronounce and would you cook with at home? (Not to mention sugar is the second ingredient!)
PediaSure® Ingredients
Water, Sugar, Corn Maltodextrin, High Oleic Safflower Oil, Milk Protein Concentrate, Canola Oil, Soy Protein Isolate, Pea Protein Concentrate. Less than 0.5% of the Following: Short-Chain Fructooligosaccharides, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Cellulose Gel, Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Tuna Oil, Potassium Phosphate, Cellulose Gum, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Soy Lecithin, Monoglycerides, Salt, Potassium Hydroxide, m-Inositol, Carrageenan, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, L-Carnitine, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Niacinamide, Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Lutein, Cupric Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenate, Sodium Molybdate, Phylloquinone, Vitamin D3, and Cyanocobalamin. CONTAINS MILK AND SOY INGREDIENTS.
How One Mouthful of PediaSure® Changed My Clinical Practice
Despite my gnawing hunger, I immediately threw the bottle away. There was no way I was putting that chemical tasting, sugar laden drink into my body. And to throw away a perfectly good can of ANYTHING goes fully against my nature; I normally don’t waste a thing.
From that day forward, anytime a family came to see me in the clinic and the child was on PediaSure® , I did everything in my integrative pediatric power to get them off of it.
First, we would move them onto smoothies made with real food. Next, we would decrease the amount of processed foods they were eating. And ultimately, we would get them predominantly eating fresh whole foods with smoothies used as an adjunct to a healthy diet.
Once these kids were off processed foods, the clarity, energy, and vibrancy astounded everyone who knew them.
Featured Comment
I am soooooo very grateful for doctors such as you, who are actually focusing on ‘perscribing’ traditional/natural food and drinks (as opposed to all the chemical and artificial items and supplements being produced in factories today).
Are You Using PediaSure® as a Substitute for Real Food?
The kids I am talking about are generally healthy but eat a lot of processed, pro-inflammatory foods as well as PediaSure® . The children with medical issues like a G-tube or poor growth are in an entirely different category because these kids need high-density calories in a small volume of liquid. I wrote a post on G-tubes, PediaSure® , and pureed whole foods for these families.
But if you are a parent who is giving your child PediaSure® to be sure she is getting adequate vitamins and minerals from her food, this information (including the PediaSure® alternative recipes below) are for you.
A Whole-Foods Diet Instead of Supplements
Like my clinic patients, my goal for you is to move your child over to a wholesome, whole-foods diet. We absorb nutrients much better when they come in natural forms like real fruits and vegetables and are not synthetically created.
This same thing goes for dietary supplements. Many supplements are the synthetic equivalent of the natural vitamins and minerals. Adding synthetic foods to our body creates more work for the liver, the main organ responsible for detoxifying the body.
So when 100 Days of Real Food asked me to come up with a natural substitute for PediaSure® , I was delighted. However, I didn’t realize how challenging it would be to get the caloric and nutrient equivalent of PediaSure® into 8 ounces of liquid without using synthetic ingredients or protein powders. But I did come pretty close when I concocted what I have dubbed Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality.
The second key part of this blog post is to help you understand the process I take children through to help shift their taste buds from the world of synthetic foods to the world of real foods.
A Word About the Pro-Inflammatory Effects of Dairy
Before I get to my recipes, I need to tell you why they don’t contain dairy. Dairy is a pro-inflammatory food. It often inflames the gut and does not allow the body to absorb nutrients properly.
Children who suffer from constipation, recurrent stomach aches, eczema, chronic runny nose, recurrent ear infections, and much more are often eating and drinking a great deal of dairy. Many of the PediaSure® products contain dairy, and indeed sugar, which is the second ingredient, is another pro-inflammatory agent.
Look at these pictures of a patient before and after eliminating inflammatory foods from his diet! I want to explicitly state that he was never using PediaSure® . We simply figured out what food group was inflaming his system and removed it.
Liquid calories keep the tank filled, but foods that are closer to their natural form do more to not only sustain the body, but they also help it to heal. It is more difficult for the body to heal on processed foods alone because they are inherently inflammatory.
How to Feed a Picky Eater
It is sometimes necessary for parents of picky eaters to reach for supplements and/or meal replacement drinks like PediaSure®. But when possible, we want our child’s diet to consist of eating real fruits and veggies. The most difficult part of creating nutrient-dense smoothies is finding a taste and texture that kids will drink.
You see, the typical American child’s taste buds are constantly bathed in processed sugars. This affects their taste preferences. However, once we begin giving their body more of the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients they need in order for their cells to work properly, their taste buds begin to shift and the palate expands.
That’s where my methodology comes in. I advise parents to gradually decrease their children’s liquid calories so they will be hungry and eat more real food. Spinach, sprouts, fruits, nuts, and seeds pack a great deal of real food nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients compared to cow’s milk or PediaSure®. And they taste a lot better, too!
And let me clarify, PediaSure® definitely contains many vitamins and nutrients but as with everything in nature, our bodies absorb and utilize real foods much better and more efficiently than synthetic products.
I hear you saying, “Enough theory! What’s your recipe?” Here it is:
Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality* Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 cups rice milk (or almond milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, or water)
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds (soaked (start with 1 tablespoon and if the kids do well with the texture gradually increase this to 2 tablespoons))
- 1 cup mango (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup pineapple (fresh or frozen)
- 2 bananas (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 ounce sprouts ((alfalfa, broccoli, pea, etc. – these can be sprouted at home or from seeds (or) 1 ounce of micro-greens)
- 1 tablespoon nut butter (optional, if more protein is desired)
Instructions
- Mix the greens and the liquid together in a blender until smooth and then blend in the rest of the ingredients.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
I know you’re saying, “There’s no way my child is going to drink this!” And this is where my gradual process of shifting kids’ taste buds comes into play.
Smoothies Are the Gateway to Health
If your child has never had a smoothie, which is what Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality really is, I want you to begin with one of the simple, easy to digest Starter Smoothies listed below and gradually work up to the Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality.
Even Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality can be evolved. There is a lot of natural sugar in two bananas, a cup of pineapple, and a cup of mango.
My goal is to have you gradually decrease the fruits that are not only high in vitamins but also in natural sugars and increase the foods that are high in nutrients and have a lower natural sugar content, such as spinach and other dark leafy greens, chia seed, flax seed, hemp powder, sprouts of all type, microgreens, and healthy oils like coconut.
The MOST important thing at the beginning is to make sure your child likes that first smoothie. We have only one first shot at this so let’s make it count!
If they like it, they will keep asking for more!
Other PediaSure® Alternative Recipes
Starter Smoothie – Banana Berry Heaven
- 3 spinach leaves (fresh blends up the best)
- 1 banana (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup of frozen berries (strawberries or raspberries are a good start) or 1 peeled orange
- 1 cup of water or 1 cup of milk other than cow’s milk (i.e. organic coconut, rice, hemp, or almond)
As your child gets used to this smoothie, enlist her in helping to prepare the Intermediate Smoothie.
Intermediate Smoothie – Pina Colada
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon chia seed (soaked)
- 1 cup pineapple
- 1 cup frozen mango
- 2 bananas
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Intermediate Smoothie – Cilantro-Mango Detox Green Smoothie
(Recipe from Simple Green Smoothies – this is one of my favorites!)
- 1 ½ cups spinach, fresh
- ½ cup cilantro, fresh
- 2 cups water
- 1 ½ cups mango
- 1 cup pineapple
- 1 tablespoon chia seed (soaked) – this is my addition
- ½ avocado
Once your child enjoys these smoothies, try giving him Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality.
These recipes are not set in stone. PLEASE play around with them to match your family’s preferences and seasonal pantry. Our vitality is closely linked to what we put in our bodies. Living foods create energetic, healthy bodies.
If your child is generally healthy but is drinking PediaSure® just to get some calories, then you may be able to start adding these smoothies into their diet while decreasing their PediaSure® intake.
Notes on Blending Smoothies
A high powered blender works best to make it smooth for those children who are particular to tastes and textures. VERY IMPORTANT!
Spinach: Fresh definitely mixes up better than frozen and it’s best if you mix any greens with your liquid first and then add the rest of the ingredients.
Chia seeds: Soak for 10 to 15 minutes in 3 to 4 tablespoons of water before adding to your smoothie. This makes them gelatinous and they will mix better.
Coconut oil: At room temperature it is liquid and at cooler temperatures it is solid. So I usually blend everything first and then add the coconut oil.
Sweeteners: If your child still needs any of these recipes sweeter, consider maple syrup, honey, or black strap molasses (black strap molasses has a great deal of iron in it, but it does not have the greatest taste for young palates).
The liquid base: Smoothies should never be based on commercial juice products. Juices bought in the store, even if they are organic, are predominantly naturally occurring sugar. Freshly extracted juices are a whole different ball game and can be extremely healthful.
I prefer water as the base over any of the other milks. However, here are some brands I find to be better than others until you can switch to water:
- Organic almond milk (365 Whole Foods Brand)
- Organic Rice milk (Trader Joe’s Brand)
- Organic Coconut Milk – Unsweetened (SO Delicious Brand)
- Hemp Milk Original (Pacific Brand)
Other great flavors to add: Ginger, fresh lemon or lime, vanilla, and cacao powder can be great flavor enhancers in many smoothies.
Nutritional comparison of PediaSure® Vanilla and Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality
This is a very crude comparison of the nutrient content between Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality and PediaSure® . I used an online nutrient calculator www.nutritiondata.self.com.
Albeit a rough estimate, I thought it was important to walk you all through this exercise to see what nutrients nature puts together versus what man synthesizes in a lab.
I do not advocate using protein powders for children, so I kept it out of this recipe and gave a nut butter option, which would add 3 to 4 grams of protein depending upon which type of nut butter is used. I don’t even like using the processed milks (almond, coconut, hemp, and rice), but as I transition many of my patients onto real foods and off of dairy, these milks give smoothies the creaminess the kids were previously getting with yogurt or cow’s milk.
Even though we do not have a true PediaSure® equivalent here, I think this is a great start! When I am seeing patients in my clinic, I make up the nutrient difference using whole food supplements, Vitamin D (and sunlight), and a small handful of other supplements that help to fill in the gap that you see between the PediaSure® and Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality.
So hop on over to my site where I have more information on nutrition, and health in general. You can also sign up for my newsletter and online course.
If you want to become a patient, you’ll find all the information you need there, too. To inquire about becoming a patient call 704-708-4404.
A special thanks to the following health coaches for their input:
- Tracey Fox www.greatholistichealth.com
- Haynes Paschall www.therightbite.com
- Adri Warrick www.thewholetulip.com
References:
- The China Study by T Collin Campbell, Thomas M Campbell II, Howard Lyman, John Robbins
- The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife, CN, ND
- Life Force – Superior Health and Longevity by Brian R Clement, Phd, NMD, LNC
- Nsouli et al. The Role of Food Allergy in Serous Otitis Media. Annals of Allergy 1994;73(3):215-219.
- Host A, Halken S. In: Pediatric Allergy: Principles and Practice. Mosby-Year Book, Inc; 2003:488-494.
- Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. Adverse reactions to food. Available at: http://www.allergy.org.au/aer/infobulletins/adverse_reactions.htm.Sicherer SH.
- Pediatrics. 2003;111:1609-1616.
*Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality is not designed for kids who are on a feeding tube. It is designed for kids who are generally healthy but need to get some more real food into their systems. This post on G-tubes, PediaSure® , and pureed whole foods is a helpful reference. Dr. Kilbane’s Liquid Vitality should not be used in place of PediaSure® unless you talk to your own healthcare provider, and it is not intended to be a meal replacement, simply an adjunct to a healthy diet.
If a child was starving no one would care if it was pedia sure or a smoothie. You have to do what is right for you. If you have time to get good vegetables and make smoothies fine if you have to save time get pedia sure. Most toddlers will use the sugar in both playing and being kids. Love you’re children teach them to be good people and pray or whatever you do for wisdom. If you spend time listening to all the doctors and not listening to your heart and what you know about your child you loose precious time that could be with your child. Brush their teeth twice a day regardless to what they eat and live your life. Kids will be picky but at the end of the day you will know what is best for that little person.
My son just turned two, average height but low weight. Recently won’t eat any meat proteins (seafood, chicken, pork, beef) or alternative proteins (tofu, beans), and is allergic to peanuts & coconuts. Doctor recommended pediasure but then I read the ingredients. In your recipes, what would be a good substitute for coconut oil?
Hi Ellen, I would try reaching out to Dr. Sheila Kilbane for this question about her alternative to PediaSure recipe, or consult your doctor on some appropriate substitutions. – Nicole
Must be careful with anything containing cilantro— *many* people are genetically predisposed to perceive the flavor of cilantro to taste like soap. The degree to which that flavor comes out is variable, but most people who hate cilantro will tell you it tastes like strong soap, while those who think it makes things taste weird might not be able to pinpoint the soapy flavor unless they try cilantro in isolation from other ingredients.
Just be careful introducing anything with a lot of cilantro, especially to a picky eater…. It may backfire badly.
So you’re a doctor that can’t pronounce the names of vitamins and minerals? What medical school did this lady go to? I can appreciate the desire to get kids off of processed and sugar heavy foods, but the fear mongering “I can’t even pronounce this” is ridiculous. Most of those ingredients, ie vitamins and minerals, are contained in the foods used in her “vitality” drink.
Hi Melissa, it’s a general statement that we even use a lot while addressing highly processed food, basically meaning if it’s not something that you normally use to cook with at home (like maltodextrin and high-fructose corn syrup) then it isn’t something that we want to consume from a packaged product. – Nicole
I have a 3 year old autistic daughter who ONLY drinks pedisure. We’ve done smoothies in the past for her and she was fine with some of them. She has a very strong sensory issue where she will not put anything in her mouth. Not even her fingers. Ima and my wife want her off pedisure because the sugar intake. I don’t want her teeth to have cavities. And she is entirely constipated all the time. We’ve taken her to a gi specialist and he just said give her miralax. But that only helps if I give her excessive amount then she just poops water. It’s a struggle. I just want something that can help her start eating healthy and off pedisure.
I just got back from my daughter’s 18 month check up and the doctor is really pushing us to start her on PediaSure. It is frustrating because we cook almost all of our children’s food at home and limit the processed foods they eat. I know she’s getting a good amount of fats, etc., but because both my kids are highly active, neither have kept up with the weight for their growth curves (my MIL always says my kids are short because my husband and I are both short and my husband is Filipino). ANYWAY, I don’t want my kids drinkig all the added sugar, soy, and unpronounceable ingredients, but I feel like my doctor is scaring me into it, telling me she’s not getting enough calories for her brain. Not really sure what to do – I feel like she eats enough and I can’t (and won’t) force my kid to eat beyond what she wants to eat. She has a good diet – avocados, cheese, nuts, proteins, veggies, fruits, etc. I’ll give the smoothies a shot and hope she goes for it!
I’m sorry to hear about your feelings after visiting the doctor. As a mother of a 3-year-old boy who is active, growing, and smart, in my own opinion, you have a mothers instinct. I would give this smoothie a try and keep doing what you’re doing. :) You can also get a second opinion from another doctor. – Nicole
I came across thisbpost looking for healthier alternatives to Pediasure. I am praying I can get my extremely picky, autistic son to drink these. He has been losing weight as he has gotten more restrictive with the foods he will eat. It’s been a catch-22, because he has a metabolic condition where he must eat, or he starts to vomit (ketotic hypoglycemia), so we’ve resorted to feeding him what he *will* eat, instead of insisting on good foods, simply because it is dangerous to wait until he’s hungry enough to eat anything (he is incredibly resistant to eating so many foods)
I tried your vitality smoothie on my very picky boys and …. they loved it! So did my husband! I am incredibly grateful for this recipe, as I was looking for a soy-free alternative to Pediasure, and I will be making it regularly!
Even pediasure is good so why go for alternative
It’s very expensive here.
i really believe and trust this product and actually i used this product for more than 2 years already for my toddler! but recently i encounter a very disgusting experience of the product!
i just open a can of pediasure when i saw a hair on it, and after i check all the content if the can and i found an ensect and another hair..
Hi! My nine month old wAS put on pedisure today becAuse she went from being 50% at birth on every thing to 3% and below now. Would this be a better option for my daughter? She eats really well and breastfeeds.
Hi there. I would suggest that you contact Dr. Kilbane directly here: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/.
In principle I’m with you. and practice my challenge is a volume of food not being picky so I get a lot of wasted food when it’s real food, time, logistics. The chances of my toddler drinking a Fresh Smoothie in general is great – she has smoothies regularly – but within minutes that you noted is the best time is zero. I can take me 60 or 90 minutes to feed her a modest meal. We are forever eating and she is forever refusing any significant amount of food. She’ll eat a few bites and then the rest is a fight. we are on periactin now which has stimulated her hunger substantially. I’m not thrilled about medicating her and I worry that the results will be temporary her losing whatever weight gain she had when she ultimately comes off of it but for the time being she’s gaining weight. I would love to find more natural alternatives to stimulate hunger and PediaSure excetera excetera.
I have a 2year old boy who weighs 21lbs. He is a failure to thrive child. I have been giving him pedisure that he hates and will sometimes vomite it up. He sometimes swallow his food with out chewing. I have read your sight and was looking for some ideas on weight gain. Can you please help me.
Hi there. I would suggest that you contact Dr. Kilbane here: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/.
My daughter 2 years old just received a bone marrow transplant 102 days ago currently not eating very well and if she keeps loosing weight they will have to place an NG tube. Nutritionist told us to put her on pediasure or boost. Do you think I could try these smoothies out or another alternative of pediasure??
Hi there. That is a question for a doctor, for sure: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/. Wishing your little one a quick recovery.
Hi there. I would suggest that you contact Dr. Kilbane here: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/.
I noticed that your shake has more sugar than Pediasure. Can you explain the rationale/reasoning behind this or suggest a way to decrease the sugar amount? Specially since sugar amount is one of the biggest drawbacks to the Pediasure
Hello. These are naturally occurring sugars found in the fruit (real food ingredients). They are not added sugars.
My daughter has the same dark circles under her eyes and no other symptoms of side effects from inflammatory foods. Are you able to disclose for the child in the picture which food caused him to have the dark circles under his eyes? That would save some time for me, to see what would work first. I can start eliminating pro-inflammatory items ones by one. She does not have any environmental allergies. She does not have any GI manifestations. She does not have any behavioral diagnosis or issues. She does pretty well in school. Thank you for your information. Best, Nancy
Hi there. You can learn more from Dr. Kilbane here: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/.
Sure so the boy in the picture was mainly sensitive to gluten. Dairy did not seem to cause a big issue for him. I hope this helps!
Good afternoon. My 6. Year old grandson sustained a brain injury on December 10th of 2015 after Boeing kicked under the jaw by someone swinging their 9 year old around in circles. The blow severed his carotid artery, causing a stroke and a bleeder in his brain. This resulted in a crainiotomy and the loss of 2/3 of his brain. We are so thankful that we still have our boy. He currently has a Trach and a Mic-key feeding tube, but hope that one day he will have both removed as he can swallow and breaths on his own without the need of oxygen. He keeps having to be admitted for edema thoughout his entire body and went from weighing 69 to a whopping 99 this week. He is being given Pediasure at 8:00 AM, 12 noon, 4:00 PM and at night from 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM. The day feeds are at 150 ml at 150 and the night feed which has been reduced 3 times now is at 55 ml for 10 hours. I believe a lot of his issues is the Pediasure and keep asking his nutritionist at Children’s to find an alternative food for him. I am extremely concerned about the rapid gain in weight and feel the odds are stacking up against him with the weight. He is in several therapy sessions but can’t hold his head or himself up and the bigger he gets the harder it will be. Do you have any suggestions?
I am so sorry to hear your story. I can’t imagine how hard that must be. I would try contacting Dr. Kilbane directly to ask her opinion: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/. Wishing you and your family well.
Hi Karen
If I can add my two cents, pediasure is the root of some of your grandson’s issues. Jan 2016 my daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor in which she had surgery, radiation and now chemo. After surgery the oncologist suggested that we put in the mickey so that during treatment, we did not have to worry about her nutrition as we could feed her through this tube. Of course we agreed and not long after radiation started, we had to use the mickey and pediasure was given. After 3 weeks on this source of food, i researched day and night to find the reasons why she puked it up all the time and complained of a sore stomach. I stumbled on blenderized food diets and it has been the best discovery ever. It took 2 weeks for her to get use to it but it real food and healthy and nutritonal. No modified junk. please research it, it will help
How can I buy from her supplement for fussy eaters like my 21 months toddler.
Alternate for Pediasure. I know there is more product known as pediasmart but it does have soy…and we are vegetarians…
My Neice’s 14month toddler is a picky eater, and she is asking me if it is a good idea to start him on Pediasure. My first reaction on reading the ingredients is a definite no. How can she help him to eat healthily and what could she use instead. She still sends him to his day care with one bottle of breastmilk.
There is another product called Pediasmart that you should look into. It is an organic alternative to Pediasure made by a much better company. It is the best alternative I could find aside from a whole food diet.
Hi there. Head over to Dr. Kilbane’s site and pose this question: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/. She is our go to for this kind of advice.
My daughter is 16 months and under 20 lbs (was 17 lbs at 12 months) she was 5 weeks premature and I battled HG during my pregnancy and didn’t gain much weight, Not sure if that’s why she has always been small or if it is just genetic. I EP (pumped only) for 11 months and she had frozen breast milk from 11-13 months. The first few months she screamed 10-12 hours a day, every single day. Her diapers were green and sometimes had blood. I eliminated ALL dairy (including all processed food) and not only did I feel better than I ever had in my life, but the screaming stopped. We moved her to organic soy milk after my frozen milk was gone and she is doing really really well on it. My issue is that she LIVES off of fruit, honestly she eats an entire mango, banana, two oranges, an apple, avocado, peach and berries everyday. We started with veggies and didn’t introduce fruit until she was 10 months but she is obsessed and refuses to eat pretty much anything but chicken, cucumber, kale (weird right?) fruit, eggs, nut butters and coconut yogurt.
I am wondering if there is any type of smoothie I can give her to help her gain weight and bridge the nutritional gaps ? we put coconut oil on everything, hemp seeds on everything but every time I have tried smoothies she isn’t into it. Any one have any suggestions for fruit smoothies but high in calories and hidden veggies?
So happy to have found this recipe! I want to make this right away, but have a couple of questions about the chia seeds…one, I read that it is better to grind the seeds to get maximum benefits, is this true? Second, I read that babies/toddlers don’t digest chia seeds the same we do, and therefore there is not as much a benefit to them. Can you please advise as to what your opinion is on this? Thanks.
HI there. This might help: http://longevity.about.com/od/antiagingfoods/a/Chia-Seeds-Ground-Or-Whole.htm. I am not sure about the digestion aspect.
How much smoothie is a serving? How much and how often do you give to a child? Seems like each recipe makes quite a bit. Thanks.
Hi there. Head over to Dr. Kilbane’s site and pose this question because I am not positive on this one: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/. She will happily guide you. :)
I am looking for a natural pediasure replacement for my son who is an extremely limited eater. He drinks water and milk and eats grain and milk products only. We bring him to feeding therapy to no avail. Having said that these recipes will not work for him, only something that has similar consistency and flavor as milk. Will keep looking/experimenting.
I like this article.. But I wish people didn’t not worry so much about not being able to pronounce ingredient words! If you looked at the chemical make up of fruits and vegetables it would have vitamin and mineral scientific names- a few similar to what’s in the pediasure drink. Example: vitamin B12 is cyanocobalamin). I do 100% agree with the whole foods approach but many consumers are not well versed in food science.
^Agreed 100%! Just look at how many people have been (and continue to be) fooled into thinking that dihydrogen monoxide is a dangerous chemical, when it is simply H2O (water!). Just because something is hard to pronounce does not automatically make it bad for you.
The Dr. Kilbane recipes says it is 3 servings. Does that mean that the nutrient analysis should be divided by 3. In other words, is one serving only 71 calories? I am looking for a pediasure substitute that has equal calories.
Hi Coral. Head over to Dr. Kilbane’s site and pose this question because I am not positive on this one: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/. She will happily guide you. :)
Dear Dr. Sheila Kilbane,
I am soooooo very grateful for doctors such as you, who are actually focusing on ‘perscribing’ traditional/natural food and drinks (as opposed to all the chemical and artificial items and supplements being produced in factories today).
I am an RN. I studied nursing in Germany and have always been partial to first finding and trying a non-medicinal approach in order to relieve and cure minor symptoms. For example, cramps: damp, warm wraps; sore throat/distressed vocal chords: soothing chamomile-flowers tea, fennel tea, and/or freshly steeped sage-leaves tea; headache: check your fluid intake ~ so often, our bodies are just *begging* for fluids, but sadly, the over all public just is not taught which symptoms to be aware of when the body needs to hydrate; electrolyte booster before/during/after work out: fresh apple juice [1/2] + water [1/2]…..
At any rate, I commend you on your work of *getting the word out there* to as many as possible. In an age where instant gratification is expected and practically demanded, it is important to emphasize that “fast” is definitely not always the route that is best for us in the long run.
More power to you, and I will definitely be continuing to read your 100 Days of Real Food blogs, and look forward to following you on FaceBook.
May God bless and keep you always.
Peace, Light, and Love,
Laura Spinner
I’m a subscriber of Lisa’s blog and originally found 100Days through Facebook. Based on my last two pediatric appointments, I will be switching. My 12 month old son, EBF with addition of REAL FOOD at 7 months, is healthy, bright, alert, and beyond happy. He’s 21.5 lbs; 2 lbs less where her chart says he should be. She barely encouraged our breastfeeding all along and wanted to push formula on us at his 9 mo check-up. Yesterday, she recommended Canation Instant Breakfast as a cheaper version of PediaSure to “add some more protein meat” onto his already perfectly chubby body. I tried to not let my jaw hit the floor! I smiled and nodded, happy to have requested his records to be ready at my departure. All I could think was, “more chemicals?!, fake nutrition?” I’m trying earnestly to find a practitioner who blends real food nutrition with Eastern meets Western practice.
Thank you for this post!!! I’m eager to try the smoothie recipes.
Need a pedialyte/ natural oral rehydration recipe as well. Thanks!
Hi Leah. Here ya go: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/31/homemade-pedialyte/. ~Amy
Hi Lindsay. Be sure to contact Dr. Kilbane through her site: http://www.sheilakilbane.com/. ~Amy