5 Easy Ways To Improve Your Digestive Health

Little Mashies reusable pouches, reusable wraps, reusable bags

Written by Talisha Kendell (Author Tummy Buggies, founder littlemashies.com)

 

It is widely accepted now that we have more genes from gut bacteria than we do human genes. What does this mean for the everyday normal person? Well, research is starting to uncover only the tip of the iceberg and it’s already showing that gut bacteria plays a significant role in our health and in our modern day diseases. But what does this actually mean? It means we need to look after our digestive health in the same capacity, as we need to look after our physical or mental health.

Gut Health

  1. Listen to your gut:

We now know more than ever before that digestive health is important for both physical health and mental health. Make it common practice in your household to take note of when your digestive system isn’t feeling too well. Don’t just shrug it off, listen, and pay attention! Our bodies are very good at showing us when something doesn’t sit well with us. We might get reflux, or gas, stomach pains or a bloated belly. All these things are an indication that something is not quite right. Pay attention and experiment with trying to find the culprit that is causing the undesirable digestive system symptoms. Work with an integrative doctor if needed to uncover what your symptoms mean.

 

  1. Start increasing fresh plant based foods:

Making changes to ones diet can be a long drawn out process. Do yourself and your family a favour by starting that process today. It doesn’t matter if you have digestive symptoms or not eating a greater amount of fresh, living plant foods that have grown in the earth will benefit everyone. Start with simple additions to your usual diet, that way you wont feel as though you are missing out. Adding a salad to every dinner-time meal is a very easy way to start. Once you have nailed that try and bring in a bowl of green vegetables with your lunch-time meal. If that’s too hard because you are at the office or out and about with kids then have greens for breakfast! One of my favourite go-to dishes is water fried green veges with scrambled eggs on top. It is absolutely delicious and even the fussiest of eaters love this when they come to my house.

 

  1. Add in some fermented foods:

There are so many fantastic products available now at farmers markets or health food stores that have real living good bacteria in them; there really is no excuse to start experimenting with finding ones you like. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kim chi are packed with nutrients, enzymes and probiotics. Milk Kefir, kombucha and water kefir are a great probiotic alternatives to a regular smoothie, juice or soda. Start with just a tiny bit a day and work your way up to more. You can even buy ice cream now that is laced with probiotic rich kefir. Or make your own with this simple recipe.

Gut Health

  1. Get outdoors:

Beneficial bacteria are all around us and being outdoors, in nature is a proven way to both make you feel good AND get exposed to more microbes. They say diversity is the key when it comes to gut bacteria and good health so getting exposure to the great outdoors can only do good. More than that, being outside can help alleviate stress, which is a big player in killing off your good bacteria. So exercise, enjoy the sunshine, dig in the garden or play with pets. Any of these activities are an easy way to start promoting good digestive health.

 

  1. Get on board with bone broth:

One of the best ways to help seal and nourish the gut is through bone broth based soups. Whether you are a big meat eater or not using real (not packaged) bone broth soup is an easy way to get essential amino acids, minerals and cartilage compounds – all which help the gut at the cell wall level. You don’t have to sip on soup in a cup; you can easily add bone broth to your stews, rice dishes, pasta, and vegetables. Just use it instead of using water when you cook. To make it easy, buy (or make) the broth and immediately freeze it in small portions to use daily with each meal. To begin with I used ice-cube tray portion sizes until I was used to the flavour and now I’ve increased to snack bag size portions with every cooked meal. Some people even put a couple of broth cubes in their morning smoothies (you might want to try it the normal way first)!

  

Nurturing our digestive system is something we can all do in our own homes and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Everyone can start with these 5 basic changes that are both easy to implement and proven to have a substantial impact on overall gut health.


Gut health – Learn more 

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BABY feeding FAQS

Simply add it to the cart, pop in the coupon code, and it will remove 100% of the price.

At 6 mths of age you can introduce a range of puree's to your baby (see our baby food recipe book and use coupon code RECIPE to remove 100% of the price at the checkout).

For baby led weaning you skip the baby food puree altogether and start with large (2 finger sized) pieces of the food. We would of course do this on our Little Mashies sucky platter! So from 6-9mths of age in baby led weaning foods should be the size of about 2 fingers so that the baby can pick it up and self feed. They also need to be well cooked so they are soft, and with no loose pieces (for example tiny florets that can break off on broccoli, or a slice of apple that's so thin it can break when gnawed on).

From around 9mths with baby led weaning you chop the food very small (to avoid choking). I would suggest 2-4 grains of rice in size. It's a small piece so that if they swallow it whole they won't choke. In traditional baby food recipes this is the stage where we mash food so it has a little texture.

At around 12mths of age in baby led weaning the food goes up to bite sizes (and this is the same in non baby led weaning kids), about fingernail sized pieces. Of course some babies will be on a different timeline depending on whether they have heaps or a few teeth.

Every baby is different and you just have to watch carefully and get to know how your baby is with food. Never leave them alone whilst eating, and I also recommend sitting them at a table with you for all meals if you can. It helps set the expectation for later in life and you can be a role model for how to eat well. Around 18mths you can offer your little one larger serves again (so a whole apple for example) so that they can learn to take smaller bites themselves, to chew, and to swallow.

It is widely recognised that babies should start solids around 6 months of age. At this time reusable baby food pouches can be really convenient to take your homemade healthy puree with you when you are out and about. Spoon attachments are available so you can feed your baby directly from the pouch from 6 months old. Without a spoon attachment babies usually start feeding themselves pouched food around 8 months old. This is when they hit their independant phase and what to do everything themselves. A pouch is a lot cleaner than a bowl and spoon in these circumstances. We do however advise that you give your baby a variety of meals, not just ones that are in a refillable pouch.

Refilling your reusable yoghurt pouches is easy! Simply turn the reusable food pouch upside down and open the wide double ziplock at the bottom of the pouch. Once the zipper is open you can spoon yoghurt into the pouch or pour it in (out of a jug or bottle).

If you are concerned about making a mess you can use a kitchen funnel so that all of the yoghurt stays away from the yoghurt pouch zipper.

Another idea that we commonly do at home when filming videos (but it would also be useful when holding a baby in one arm), anyway.. the idea is that you put the pouch upside down in a glass (with the lid on), open the ziplock and the glass acts like a second hand, holding the pouch still whilst you spoon the yoghurt in. This is what I do when I only have one hand to use for the refill!I also tend to refill my reusable yoghurt pouches in bulk. I'll buy a good quality yoghurt from Coles or Woolworths and will fill a whole 10pk of pouches in one go so they are all ready for snacks on the go.

My kids always want to eat when they are out and refilling the reusable pouches one at a time just doesn't work for us. The only time i do that actually is when I've pureed a meal that my toddler refused, put it in a reusable pouch, and given it to her again. Oh and the other time I do singles.. there are two actually. When we go for ice-cream (it is so much cleaner when in a pouch), and when I have leftover smoothie (again, it stops me getting smoothie all through my car, pram, or playroom).

Little Mashies refillable yoghurt pouches are compatible with pouch filling machines that are on the market. Our spout is universal so even though we don't think you need a filling machine, our reusable pouches will fit. All of our yoghurt and baby food pouches come with anti-choke lids as standard.

Cleaning reusable baby food pouches is easy! We have designed Little Mashies refillable yoghurt pouches without corners so there are no places for food to get stuck (we would hate your little one to get sick from old food stuck in corners)!

When you open the ziplock you can see all the way through the pouch to ensure it is clean. If you have a dishwasher you can clean the pouch using that, otherwise you can wash your reusable baby food pouches by hand and this takes around 20 seconds. Little Mashies squeeze pouches are BPA Free and are safe to wash with warm water.

If you need some meal ideas for your refillable pouch you can find home made yoghurt here, baby food recipes here, and pouch smoothie recipes here.

Now, to clean your Little Mashies food pouches by hand simply open up the ziplock at the bottom and take off the cap. Run warm water through the open ziplock with the baby pouch facing downward so the water comes out of the spout and into the sink. The shape of Little Mashies reusable pouches acts like a funnel, pushing out food and making the pouch very easy to clean.

To start washing your reusable pouch, squirt some dishwashing liquid into the refillable pouch, then use a baby bottle brush to clean the inside walls (just like a baby bottle). To clean the spout use a straw brush (like the ones we have here), and clean it in the same manner that you would clean the teat from a baby’s bottle. Give the reusable pouch a rinse and place it over a kitchen utensil in the drying rack to dry. If you don’t have time to dry it fully place it in the freezer until you are ready to use it again. Do not put wet reusable food pouches in dark cupboards or draws. They are very easy to dry if you have removed the cap, and placed something inside the zipper to keep the pouch open (we use a whisk, tongs or a spatula).

Note that if you continuously wash your pouches in the dishwasher the high temperature will make the zipper wear out more quickly. At home we wash our pouches mostly by hand because it is so quick and easy and then just use the dishwasher when we have had loads of kids over and served reusable yoghurt pouches or smoothies to them all.

Oh and while I remember if you use the code RECIPE at the checkout it will remove 100% off the price of the baby food recipe ebook so you can get some inspiration for your refillable pouches.

Some parents start introducing a sippy cup or straw cup to their babies around 6 mths of age. This can make it easier to transition from breastmilk or bottle feeding around 12 mths of age. Most paediatricians recommend babies 18 mths or older use an open sippy cup rather than a bottle, so anytime before then is fine. This is why we have a 4 in 1 sippy cup, so that you don't have to purchase seperate products as your baby moves through the stages of learning how to swallow and drink. To shop the Little Mashies silicone sippy cup, check out our baby feeding range here.

All of our baby food recipes are contained within our ebook. You can get a free download by using the coupon code RECIPE at the checkout. Simply add it to the cart, pop in the coupon code, and it will remove 100% of the price.