Bellamy’s Organic is excited to announce the release of our series of video clips explaining our products, their preparation and answering your frequently asked questions. There are 7 clips in the series so far (with more to follow…) that were filmed right here in the Bellamy’s kitchen in Launceston, Tasmania. We will be releasing the clips over the next 7 weeks.
The series covers the following topics:
Ready to Serve Meals
Infant and Follow-On Formulas
How to Prepare Infant Formula
Formula Hint and Tips
First Solid Food: Baby Rice
Toddler Milk
Fruit Snacks
We thought we might use this week’s blog to talk about the clips content, production and purpose. What better place to start than the presenter herself?
The star of the show
When deciding who best to present these short informative videos, we thought we’d look for a young attractive clearly spoken host. Luckily Liana, our Bellamy’s Organic Communications Officer, is all of these things! Liana is a regular Bellamy’s blogger and is most likely the person you talk to if you have a customer enquiry via our Website, our Facebook and Twitter pages or over the phone, so it made perfect sense for Liana to feature in these web clips. After watching, I’m sure you will agree she has done a great job!
I asked Liana why she agreed to help make these videos, “Every day I talk to Mum’s and Dad about specific queries regarding our Bellamy’s Organic range, I take great pride in being able to assist our customers, however I have realised that sometimes there’s questions that are best answered by demonstrating in person……and now I can. Plus, now our Bellamy’s customers can put a face to the voice at the other end of the phone”.
What can you learn?
I asked Chris, the Head of Marketing, what the reasoning was for the decision to go ahead with these videos, “We understand that Bellamy’s users are modern mothers who keep abreast of things. They tend to know more than the average about nutrition and childhood development and they like to research and find information quickly. As a result, we produced these short videos so that they could quickly find out how to make and serve our products and get some useful tips along the way.”
Chris added that the modern-day mum wants “no-nonsense answers” and hopefully that’s what we’re providing. The content covered in each episode relates to different products across our range and specific frequently asked questions about them. Liana says that many episodes feature how best to prepare and serve the products as these are common queries, “Most of the time I can answer questions straight away concerning best practice questions about our products, but if I am ever unsure, I ask Amanda our Quality and Compliance Specialist. Amanda has a technical background in food production and children’s nutrition (and she is a mum with two gorgeous girls!).” Amanda believes in a personal approach, “When answering queries, I try to give clear, technically accurate responses in a way that is easy for parents to understand”. This comes across in the easy to watch nature of the video.
Where and when can you find these videos?
We will be releasing these videos via our weekly blog over the next 7 weeks, you can also find for your convenience the latest video on our blog’s sidebar as well as thumb nails displaying the episodes released so far. We will also add each video to our YouTube and Vimeo channel by the end of the week for each release, this way each clip will always be available for your reference.
Lastly we have to send out a huge thanks to the local producers of the clips, Bethanie and Clint from CB PhotoFilm for their help and patience. They did a fantastic job! You can check out their work here: www.cbphotofilm.com Thanks also goes to Kirby from The Loft Salon and Brianna Schipper Professional Makeup Artist for doing Liana’s hair and make-up.
Oh, and if you did want to try the topic of this week’s clip for yourself click on this link.
New research from The University of Edinburgh has found that in a study of 2000 families with five year olds, those children who eat the same meals as their parents are far more likely to have healthier diets than those who eat different foods. In light of the new findings, the paper recommends that government advice to families should be kept simple to help establish good eating habits in their children’s early years.
The Infant & Toddler Forum, an independent team of early years’ experts, has been working in this area for many years and in 2010 developed the Ten Steps for Healthy Toddlers initiative which promotes simple and concise advice that can be applied everywhere toddlers are fed. It focuses on what foods to offer and what behaviours to instill, to promote good habits for health, growth and development.
Judy More, paediatric dietitian and member of the Infant & Toddler Forum said: “Our own research shows that parents are often anxious about providing nutritious meals and snacks, with over one-third stating that having clear practical advice on what and how much to feed toddlers would make mealtimes easier. To address this need, we set out to review the existing evidence on toddler nutrition and produce a set of simple messages that are aligned with current government advice and promote family meals. Ten Steps for Healthy Toddlers consists of ten easy-to-follow practical steps to support families and carers with toddler mealtimes, looking at behaviours as well as nutrition.”
Feeding Toddlers
As soon as your child starts on baby food you can start applying the 10 steps and they become progressively relevant. We have reproduced an outline of the 10 steps below, with thanks to the Infant & Toddler Forum. You can get more details on each step from the link at the bottom of this blog.
Eat together as a family
You choose the nutritious food: let your toddler choose how much to eat
Offer foods from all the 5 food groups everyday
Keep to a routine: offer three meals and 2 to 3 snacks each day (little and often)
Offer 6 to 8 drinks each day: water is a good choice
Give vitamins A & D each day as a supplement suitable for toddlers
Do not force feed!
Reward your toddler with attention, NOT FOOD
Limit fried foods, crisps biscuits and fizzy drink to VERY small amounts
Encourage physical activity
Remember though, that young toddlers will still get much of their nutrition from milk and Bellamy’s Organic Toddler Milk is a good wholesome choice. For an introduction to solids for your little one, you may also like to try our brand NEW range of Ready to Eat meals. They’re available from Chemist Warehouse stores nationally, and of course you can buy on line from our website.
Our whole team have been working hard on this project, so it’s great to see all that effort rewarded at last. Congratulations to all of our team, especially those who devised and tested all of the delicious recipes.
We hope you’ll look out for our new Ready to Eat Meals range. We think your baby (and you) will love it!
First Baby Food
Our range is designed to be a first food for babies, usually after they have started solids with baby rice, which is traditionally the first solid food. We have recipes suitable from 4 months, from 6 months and from 12 months.
Organic Baby Food
As with everything we do, our new range is 100% certified organic. Our Ready to Eat Meals range is available at Chemist Warehouse nationally from this month. You can also find our new range in various independent stores across Australia and of course, on our online store.
The great thing is that now mums in Australia can, for the first time, buy 100% Australian made organic formula AND organic baby food under the same, trusted Australian brand. Quietly, we’re pretty proud of that.
New guidelines on introducing food flavours to babies recommends that variety and difference is the best way to go and that new flavours can be introduced quite quickly. With that in mind our recipes are designed to let your little one explore a simple yet slightly more sophisticated range of flavour combinations. There are some great flavour combinations here and we hope your little one will approve.
The range has six savoury recipes, which will be available at the end of May:
pumpkin & tomato risotto
cauliflower cheese, potato & corn
chicken, sweet potato & cous cous
chicken, chickpea & sweet red pepper
broccoli, beef & brown rice
spring vegetable macaroni
And we have five fruit-based recipes, which are available NOW:
apple & fig oatmeal
banana apple porridge
peach & apple
mango, blueberry & apple
berries, cinnamon & apple
In case you’re wondering why they all contain apple, remember that babies are starting out with food flavours and getting used to them. Apple is a more neutral taste and makes a great “carrier” for other flavours. A full “burst” of fig or mango may not be well received! Importantly, all our fruit is of course 100% certified organic. And none of our ingredients come from China. It’s all top quality produce from certified organic farms.
BPA Free Packaging
Our Ready to Eat Meals range comes in soft pouches with a spout. The packaging is BPA free and has a choke safe cap. There’s a clear base so you get a preview of what you are feeding your baby; you can see the colour of the food inside and get some idea of the texture.
Slightly older children will be able to feed themselves, too, just by squeezing the pouch. However, we recommend that you feed younger children with a spoon. Experts say that it’s better for their developing mouths and gums.
Child Food Safety
We take great care with all aspects of cooking and packing baby food for your little one. We choose the highest quality certified organic ingredients and none of our ingredients come from China. All of our ingredients are tested to make sure that they don’t contain any nasties – and by that we mean GM, pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, and other harmful chemical by-products of traditional (yesterday’s) farming practice.
All of our packaging is integrity tested to make sure the seals are safe and secure with no leaks so the pouches won’t explode or let any nasties in. Our manufacturing facility uses the highest quality manufacturing equipment and adheres to the strictest HACCP food safety and manufacturing practices. This is a standard recognised worldwide for ensuring food safety in food production processes. Finally, we test the finished product again to ensure the highest safety standards are met and that no nasties have got in.
Food Safety Temperature
We suggest serving our Ready to Eat Meals at room temperature with a spoon. If your baby likes their food warm, stand the pouch in hot water but never microwave the pouch. Just test it first before feeding your baby by shaking the pouch and then squeezing a small amount onto your wrist. If it’s a hot day, you can try refrigerating the pouch first for a refreshing alternative.
Feeding Baby Food
Remember that these are new tastes. Don’t be surprised if you see a wrinkled face the first time! Stay with it. Our products have been specially prepared to offer new taste sensations without being over-powering but little ones need to get used to them. Ideally baby should consume our meals at one sitting, but that will not always happen. If one recipe gets refused, come back to it at the next feed. Be sure to put the cap back on, refrigerate after opening and use within 2 days.
Our new range is not just for babies either, try some on your muesli or mixed in with your yoghurt. Yum!
We’re really proud of our new Ready to Eat Meals range and we hope that you and your baby will love them as much as we do!
At Bellamy’s we are strong believers in what we call Mindful Eating. In fact, thinking about the food we give our babies and children started us on the organic baby formula journey in the first place. Mindful Eating is becoming more important to all of us in Australia because of the ever-increasing problems people have with weight control.
So how does Bellamy’s Organic product range relate to mindful eating? In short, the more you think about your food, and your baby’s food, the greater your, and your baby’s, health and wellness. Diet is one of the keys to a long and healthy life. Mindful Eating can get that journey started correctly.
Organic Baby Food
Mindful eating is exactly what it says. You just think for one second before you buy something or put it in your mouth. Ask yourself: What’s in this? Do I need to eat this? Could I easily eat something healthier? It’s not hard, really. But it is important – especially for babies, because they can’t be Mindful. They rely on you for their choices.
Babies are pretty tough, really, and nature has equipped them to be able to deal with a lot. But nature couldn’t really foresee a world where some food contains harmful chemicals and much of our processed food is altered in one way or another. Pure foods are a better bet for babies and children because their systems are still developing. Organic baby foods are a very good choice.
How to Eat to be Healthy
We’re reminded of a little experiment that acclaimed psychologist Dr George Blair West took us through some time ago when he was tal0king about savouring food. We were to get anything we wanted from the table at the conference room at morning tea, but we were not to eat it, just bring it back into the room. Then Dr Blair West asked us to smell the food we had chosen and to think about it. Then we were to touch it to our lips and feel the texture, then to place it to our tongues and taste it. Finally, we were to take a small bite and chew it slowly. After that, we were told that if we wanted the rest we could go ahead and eat it.
Almost everyone in a hall of 100 people put the food back on the plate! After thinking about and really tasting the muffin I had picked up, I didn’t want the rest!
That was the first time that we understood the difference Mindful Eating can make. We wouldn’t expect people to go through the routine outlined above every day. But try it once. You might just find that a lot of stuff you thought was tasty quite simply is not – when you think about it. So, don’t eat just anything because its there – give it a little thought. You’ll probably find that not only will you enjoy your food more, but you might lose some weight, too!
Our message here is that Mindful Eating for babies and children is a way for you to positively guide their expectations of food. This means that you think about what you feed them. Toddlers really will eat fruit and vegetables if you present them. Over time, they will look to them before chips and even chocolate. Or if they don’t they will more likely take chips and chocolate in moderation. Of course, we hope that Mindful Eating will naturally lead you to choose more organic food and for your baby. Bellamy’s Organic range is a great place to start.
Getting pregnant is harder than most people think and many factors influence conception including age, health, and weight to name just a few.
If you are under 25 years old, you have a one in four or five chance of becoming pregnant. This means that it “normally” takes four to five months for conception to occur if you and your partner are in optimum health and are actively trying.
If you are between the ages of 35 and 40 you have a one in six to seven chance of becoming pregnant with the conception rate dropping with each year closer to age 40. Statistics are only an average in this case and everyone is different. And you can increase your fertility to some extent by the life style choices you make.
There’s no question that one of the ways to increase your fertility is to ensure you have a healthy body. A good way to do that is for you AND your partner to eat healthy food.
What is healthy food?
Think about what you eat. Eating the right things is perhaps the easiest way to help get your body in the best shape to conceive. That means eating real food. Wholesome certified organic food is a great choice because it does not contain harmful pesticides and other chemicals. Eat it raw where you can and freshly prepared. You’ll get the right sort of nutrition and you’ll detox yourself at the same time! And don’t forget the easiest trick of all for a healthy body: reduce the caffeine and the alcohol to (almost) zero if you can and drink plenty of fresh, pure water. It hydrates the skin, cleans the system and it makes you look younger. Here are some food tips to set you in the right direction:
What should I eat to get pregnant?
Nuts, seeds and pulses
Contain plant chemicals called phytoseroles, which are known to promote testosterone production. Nuts also contain magnesium, which balances levels of the hormone prolactin, which can compete with testosterone. Almonds are regarded as the most nutrient-containing nut, high in important reproductive system nutrients including zinc and L-arginine. Sunflower seeds are regarded as the most nutrient-containing seed.
Iron and protein
Regulate blood sugar levels and also contain amino acids and B vitamins vital to hormonal functions and fertility. Most plant sources such as legumes, nuts and seeds need to be combined to get the full range of nutrients, whereas animal protein is a complete protein. Before conceiving, you need to get your iron levels up, as iron status at the time of conception affects the development of the baby, the pregnancy and breastfeeding, and it’s important for healthy ovulation. Research shows that once pregnant it is very difficult to increase iron levels.
Good fats
Are essential in maintaining cholesterol, the basic building material for the sex hormones responsible for ovulation and healthy sperm, which is why healthy fats in your diet can boost fertility. Good food fats include coconut oil, hemp, oil, eggs, cold pressed olive oil (unheated), flax oil, organic meat fats, organic cultured butter and fish oils. These fats also deliver fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
Avocados
Are a rich source of vitamin E, which is an essential nutrient for fertility. This powerful antioxidant supports healthy circulation to the reproductive system and helps to regulate ovulation and cervical mucous production. Avocados are also full of monounsaturated fats and contain folate, iron and beta-carotene, a form of vitamin A.
Garlic
Contains an abundance of fertility-boosting nutrients. It is a good source of the mineral selenium, an antioxidant that supports conception. Selenium is thought to protect the embryo from damage, preventing chromosome breakages that could play a role in early miscarriage. Garlic is also a source of vitamin B6.
Broccoli
Is a great source of folate, a B-vitamin essential to a healthy pregnancy. This vitamin has been proven to prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Broccoli alone won’t provide enough folate, so you will need a supplement (women are advised to take 400mcg of folic avid for at least four months prior to pregnancy). Broccoli is also a good source of vitamin C, which is needed for egg maturation and ovulation.
Eggs
Eggs are a good source of choline that supports brain development in the young embryo and in the young child. Remember that the brain starts development in the few days and weeks of life and in Australia it is estimated that most women do not have enough choline in their diets.
All of these foods are available as organic produce. Help yourself to them, feel better, help improve your fertility and most important, best of luck.
Mindful Eating
So, why is organic food healthy? It’s not so much the argument about nutritional content, it’s the clear fact that it doesn’t contain pesticides and other chemicals particularly harmful to the development of babies and young children. If you’d like to know more about Bellamy’s Organic and the certified organic baby foods we make, click on this link.
a young attractive clearly spoken host. Luckily Liana, our Bellamy’s Organic Communications Officer, is all of these things! Liana is a regular Bellamy’s blogger and is most likely the person you talk to if you have a customer enquiry via our Website, our Facebook and Twitter pages or over the phone, so it made perfect sense for Liana to feature in these web clips. After watching, I’m sure you will agree she has done a great job!
