How to Boost Your Child's Immune System

Dr Bill Sears shared great tips on how we can boost our children's immune system.

Remember the 5 S.
Salmon
Salads
Smoothies
Spices e.g. cinnamon, turmeric
Supplements

Put more colour on the child's plate. Colour = pigments in vegetables/ fruits = antioxidants

Reduce the child's waist size. More abdominal fats will weaken the immune system.

Get the child moving. Movement mobilises the immune system.

Healthy Kids Snack Recipe: Black Bean Dip

2 cans (15-ounces each) black beans
1 cup sour cream, or ½ cup sour cream + ½ cup whole milk yogurt
1 cup chopped tomatoes (seeds and juices removed), or ready-made salsa
1 tablespoon jalapeno peppers or ¼ cup canned fire roasted green chiles (about 4 ounces), diced
½ cup scallions, roughly chopped
1 cup guacamole or about 2-3 firm avocados, diced
1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
4 lime wedges or 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Directions

Drain the beans of all liquids using a colander or sieve.  Pour the drained beans into the bottom of a square cake pan and spread the beans evenly across the bottom.
Next, layer the sour cream or the yogurt-sour cream mixture on top of the beans. Do the same with the chopped tomatoes or salsa.
Add the jalapenos and/or green chiles on top of the salsa then add the scallions.
Top with an even layer of guacamole or diced avocados then add a layer of cheddar cheese on top.  Place lime wedges on the side for those who would like to squeeze on top of the dip before eating, or squeeze fresh lime juice over the entire top layer of the dip just before serving.
Scoop up with freshly baked homemade tortilla chips and a side of hot sauce, if desired.

This healthy snack recipe is obtained from My Halal Kitchen.
http://myhalalkitchen.com/five-layer-bean-dip-and-homemade-tortilla-chips/

Seeking Foods to Make Kids Smart

I was a little worried with Soffyah's development. She was born with an abnormal condition called ventriculomegaly. And she was also a little behind in her physical development but she soon caught up.

What I've observed recently is the effort she needs to put in to memorise. So I went on a search to find out how I can support her in this. But instead of finding out just that, I found a whole lot more. I will elaborate in a later post.

Basically, the foods are all mentioned in the Hadeeth, and by great Muslim scholars who had wonderful memory and intellectual capacity mashaAllah. They could memorise the Quran and Hadeeth and also mastered so many different languages within a short time.

Many other moms have recognised the benefits of these foods, and started giving them to their children early in pureed form.

Here is the list of Sunnah foods to help power the brain:

Almonds

Dates

Honey

Raisins

Figs

How do we introduce these to the kids?

As soon as our babies are on solids, you can puree dates and then mix a little of your breastmilk to the dates puree.

You can mix the dates with bananas in a food processor.

For older kids, sprinkle raisins and almonds on their breakfast cereal or oats.

Prepare milk with a dash of honey as a quick and nutritious breakfast drink.

For teens, prepare the dates, raisins and almonds as snacks they can eat while they are studying.