Now that Tavius is 1, the question is: what will his beverage be?
For moms that are still nursing there aren’t as many concerns over what their child should be drinking because the baby is still benefiting from nutrient dense mother’s milk. Many moms have to go back to work at this point and must reduce or stop breastfeeding altogether….so what will their beverage be?
The struggle is that many small children are extremely picky eaters and don’t consume enough nutrient dense food to fulfill their needs. Tavius, for example, lives on sprouted toast, organic full-fat plain yogurt, and apples. The question becomes, how do we get more nutrition into these little ones?
Your pediatrician will recommend whole cow’s milk to provide calcium, protein, and fat. Some parents have concerns about whether or not cow’s milk is good for their children….so for these parents there are alternatives. Alternatives that are high in fat, protein, calcium, and other important nutrients.
Which seed is known to be sky-high in calcium? The sesame seed. Which nut contains lots of good fat? The cashew. Why not make cashew sesame milk for your little one or why not have it for yourself? Almond hemp milk is another nutrient rich option.
For harder nuts like almonds, soak them overnight before making your milk. For soft nuts like cashews there’s no need to soak.
Cashew Sesame Milk
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
3 medjool dates, pitted
2 cups filtered water
Place all ingredients in a blender, magic bullet, or vitamix. Blend until most of the chunks are pureed and it’s a smooth consistency. Place a sieve over a glass jar and pour the mixture into the sieve. Press the mixture with a spoon to encourage straining. Once the seed-nut mixture is dry you’re all done and should have a nice amount of homemade milk ready to serve up. The same steps apply to the almond hemp milk, however you’d soak the 3/4 cup of almonds overnight. If the sieve option seems too finnicky for you why not get a nut sack from Meghan Telpner? Here’s what my finnicky contraption looks like:
Now, if I’m being honest, Tavius didn’t love this milk as I’m sure he wouldn’t love cow’s milk…like I said he loves his toast, yogurt, and apples…BUT when I blended this milk up with banana, blueberry, and spinach he sipped away happily. Mommas have to be creative!
