Milk It!

We're at this great stage where Zach is beginning to eat just about everything we do (although sometimes I have to mash it up a bit because he only has 5 teeth).  A couple of nights ago he devoured copious amounts of homemade garlicky baba ganoush, followed by mahi mahi with shitake mushrooms and grapefruit reduction!  He's also finally figured out how to drink out of a glass (more about that in another post), but he's not crazy about the concept of plain water.  I've successfully transitioned him from the soup to solids, but this meant a decrease in his liquid consumption.  Enter the most glorious of foods... Sesame seed milk!



Seeds are Mother Nature's powerhouse of nutrition...
Seeds are the "eggs" that contain the nutrients needed to nourish the growth of a new plant. So their high nutrient content shouldn't come as a surprise. What's surprising is that we generally relegate these nutritional wonders to the occasional snack rather than making them staples of our diet...

With their gold mine of healthy minerals and their niacin and folic-acid contents, seeds are an excellent nutrition package. They are among the better plant sources of iron and zinc. In fact, one ounce of pumpkin seeds contains almost twice as much iron as three ounces of skinless chicken breast. And they provide more fiber per ounce than nuts. They are also good sources of protein.

Sesame seeds are a surprising source of the bone-building mineral calcium, great news for folks who have trouble tolerating dairy products. And seeds are a rich source of vitamin E. The only drawback: Some seeds are quite high in fat. Sunflower and sesame seeds provide about 80 percent of their calories as fat, although the fat is mostly of the heart-smart unsaturated variety. (Source: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/fresh-ideas/healthy-dinners/health-benefits-of-seeds-ga.htm)
Here's how I make Zach's milk:

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup unhulled sesame seeds
  • 2.5 cups of water
  • 3 pitted prunes or dates
Procedure:
  1. Put everything in a blender.
  2. Blend on highest setting for at least 1 minute but preferably more, until you don't see any chunks of prune whirling around.
  3. Use a spoon to push the liquid through a colander or strain through a thick cheese cloth, making sure you get all the liquid out (very little pulp should remain).
  4. Refrigerate and use within 48 hours.
Note: You might have to score the nipple in your baby's bottle because this milk is pretty thick and hearty!  Yum!

Zach drinks two or three 6-oz. bottles of sesame milk each day.  The nutritional value is mind-blowing and he loves the taste!

10 comments

Eln
 

Hello, I am interested in making this for my daughter (16 months tomorrow), but I have a few questions about why you chose this (are you avoiding dairy altogether, is this in supplement of breastmilk or formula). It would be quite long in a comment is there any way to email you? I just found you website a few days ago and I'm still working my way through it as I want to introduce some montessori in our home. I really like it and can relate easily as it seems our little one is just about 2/3 months ahead of yours. thanks in advance
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Eris de Suzerain
 

They don't need teeth to eat well - we used the baby led weaning method and my daughter only ate what she could grab and stick in her mouth from month six onward.... broccoli was her first food, but she ate many apples (peeled, but big fat chunks) by gnawing them down with her hard little gums.. Got the method from reading about "baby led weaning", it was great and made life easier for her and I both. She never had to learn how to eat, chew and swallow solids because we only introduced "real" food to her from the start. Recommend it, particularly for the montessori-centric folk.
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Jen
 

Cough you do something similar with Chia seeds? I'm thinking of this for myself. I am on long term prednisone and have had a heck of a winter (in the southern hemisphere) with all these cold and flu bugs. I can hardly eat anything when my steroid is raised so I've been consuming chia seeds raw. However, I'm not getting the true benefit of them as I'm not digesting them well. This appeals to me greatly, well, maybe not the prune bit. Thanks!
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Jen
 

That should have been Could you... Sorry!
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the full monte(ssori)
 

Jen, I think chia seeds would be great, especially combined with another softer seed to provide a creamy texture (pumpkin or sesame might work well with the chia seeds). I would suggest soaking the chia seeds overnight to make them easier to disintegrate. I hope you begin to feel better soon, it's no fun at all to be sick! Best wishes...
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the full monte(ssori)
 

Drea, there's nothing wrong with fat as long as it's the healthy kind. Children need lots of good fats (from breast milk, seeds, fish, etc.), but adults should be careful to not over-consume if they lead a sedentary lifestyle. I included the information on fats directly from the source, simply as a reminder that seeds do have lots of fat, which some people seem to be unaware of. Fat is where toxins are stored, so milk fat from unhealthy cows might not be the best choice... We don't drink cow's milk for many reasons, but if I had to drink milk I would rather drink full-fat than fat-free. Seeds are AWESOME, I try to eat some every day. Enjoy!
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the full monte(ssori)
 

Hi Ely, you can reach me at pilar dot bewley at gmail dot com, but I will also shoot you an email! :)
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drea
 

What's wrong with fat?! do you know how much heart 'unhealthy' fat is in a healthy woman's breast milk as compared to whole cows milk? whole cows milk = 3 - 4% mother's hind milk = 4.5%. Fat is nourishing and absolutely necessary, not risky. of course, this is assuming the fat is coming from good, non-genetically modified, healthy sources. this has piqued my interest in researching fat content of seeds, though. might have to increase my uptake!
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Olga Clement
 

Hi there! I am thinking about giving my baby sesame seed milk. Iit is encouraging to know that there are other parents using this milk as well. I have some questions for you: I read that the calcium in sesame seed is in the hull and since you strain it you lose all the calcium. Do you have any knowledge about this? Please help! Thank you in advance. Olga.
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the full monte(ssori)
 

Hi Olga, I recently bought a Vitamix, which is so powerful that I no longer have to strain the seed milk! It's a worthwhile investment if you're going to be making seed milk... Also, if you soak the seeds, the hull softens and more of it gets incorporated into the milk even if you do strain it. I hope that helps!
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