Now that our herbs and veggie garden is beginning to produce, we decided to prepare one of our favorite recipes with fresh green peppers. It is very simple, yet quite wholesome. We make it quite often, but using fresh peppers from the garden really gave a nice flavor.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1/2 dozen medium sized green bell peppers
• 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup basmati rice
• 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped or crushed in a food processor
• 1 tomato , sliced
• 1 tomato, crushed in a food processor
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, pepper to taste

Method

Saute onion in olive oil. Add crushed tomato, salt an pepper and cook until onions are soft. Add ground beef and cook until beef turns light brown, stirring occasionally. Add rice and mix well. Cook for a little while more. Rice does not need to cook completely.

Wash green peppers. Slice off the cap but keep it aside for covering the peppers later. Remove seeds to create a cavity. Wash well.

Fill the pepper cavity with cooked beef and rice mixture. Don’t overpack but fill to the top. Cover with the cap and arrange in a deep pot. Arrange sliced tomatoes in a layer on top. Add warm water, tomato paste and remaining juice, if available, from the beef mixture around the peppers. Water level should be high enough to cover the peppers a little over half way.  Cook covered on low to medium heat until peppers and tomatoes are cooked to the desired softness.

Peppers are  a good source of fiber, vitamin C, iron, calcium and potassium.

Biber Dolma is the Turkish name for this recipe!

Enjoy!

©2011 Littlestomaks.com

Ask The Expert is a weekly column on Littlestomaks.com. The idea is to have a reader-submitted question answered by a nutrition expert or a pediatrician. Feel free to submit your question in the comments section below.

This week, Registered Dietitian Nour El-Zibdeh offers tips for getting enough iron from a vegetarian diet without relying on supplements.

Question: How can I ensure enough iron if my child is on a strict vegetarian diet?

Answer:

Iron is important for health. It is part of hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells, and its main role is to transfer oxygen to body tissues and cells.

Too little iron causes fatigue, decreased immunity, and may impair psychomotor development in infants.  Iron deficiency occurs due to three general reasons:

1. increased needs of iron (growth),
2. decreased absorption (iron in the diet comes from sources that are not easily absorbed, such as plant foods),
3. decreased iron intake (low total food intake).

The prevalence of iron deficiency in the United States is low. However, toddlers are at a high risk because they don’t drink or eat iron-fortified formula or cereal anymore, and their intake of iron-containing foods may still be low. Toddlers who are on vegetarian diets, drink more than 24 ounces of milk a day, or suffer from decreased availability of food are at an increased risk.

Type of iron in the diet

There are two types of iron in the diet, heme and non-heme. Heme iron comes from animal sources and is the most easily absorbed. Non-heme iron is the most prevalent in food, found in both animal and plant sources, but its absorption is less efficient and can be influenced by many factors.

When discussing plant sources of iron, two points must be distinguished. First, the amount of iron in plant foods, and second, the amount that is actually absorbed. For example, half cup of soybeans has 4.5 mg of iron, but the fiber and protein in soybeans prevent its absorption. Half cup of tomatoes, on the other hand, has 1 to 2 mg of iron but is easier to absorb.  Vitamin C improves the absorption of iron, while phytates (in bran and whole grains), oxalates (in spinach, rhubarb, strawberries, nuts, chocolate, and wheat bran), polyphenols (in coffee and tea), calcium, and fiber prevent its absorption.

Tips for vegetarian toddlers

1. Offer a variety of plant foods, especially those high in vitamin C. These include guava, lemon, orange, papaya, tomatoes, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, pumpkin, and turnips.
2. Choose iron-fortified cereals and grains when possible.
3. If you are interested in numbers, toddlers one to three years old need 7 mg or iron a day, and toddlers over four years old need 10 mg a day. Since iron in plant foods is not absorbed entirely, aim for more than the recommended amount from plant foods, not supplements. Here are some foods rich in iron.
4. Don’t give your toddler more than 24 ounces of milk (cow, goat, or soy) a day. Milk is low in iron and high in calcium (prevents iron absorption), and too much can be filling causing your child to be uninterested in other iron-containing foods. Too much cow’s milk can also irritate the gastrointestinal tract and cause bleeding, which will lead to iron losses.
5. Don’t stress about iron deficiency unless your child shows symptoms, which include fatigue and weakness, pale skin, mucous membranes, rapid heartbeat, irritability, decreased appetite, dizziness, or feeling lightheaded.
6. Consult with your pediatrician if you suspect deficiency, and don’t give your child iron supplements on your own. The human body doesn’t have a way to get rid of excess iron, so too much can be toxic and cause organ damage.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com. All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer – Information provided in Ask The Expert column on Littlestomaks.com is intended to give you general guidance on a question related to toddler nutrition. It is not meant to be treated as medical advice. You are welcome to contact this expert for a detailed consultation on your specific situation to determine what actions, if any, you should take regarding nutrition and health of your toddlers. We do not recommend you to take any action based solely on the information presented in this column. Experts have agreed to provide their professional opinion on toddler nutrition related questions on a voluntary basis and no compensation is offered to them by Littlestomaks.com.

Cranberry juice is a favorite of our daughter who insists on drinking it in her favorite monkey cup! We get the no sugar added, 100% juice from our local Publix supermarket. There are many different types available, although we tend to pick either the pure cranberry juice or cranberry & blueberry blend.

It is commonly believed that cranberry juice prevents urinary tract infections (UTIs), but the science behind this belief has not been that strong. Recently, a team of researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts has shown that drinking cranberry juice can prevent UTI causing bacteria such as E. coli from sticking to the urinary tract and forming a biofilm in it. Bacteria present in a biofilm are responsible for causing and sustaining a UTI. There are certain chemical compounds called proanthocyanidin in cranberry juice which have been shown to prevent these bacteria from sticking to surfaces. This effect of cranberry juice is thought to last between 6 – 24  hours after drinking.

Here is what we like about this product -

1. No sugar added, artificial flavors or colors
2. Added vitamin C

Here is what we don’t like about this product -

1. Even without added sugar, each serving of 1 cup has 36 g sugar! Granted it is coming from fruits, but clearly loading up on cranberry juice is sure to interfere with normal foods including real fruits and veggies. Portion control is a must! Or dilute it with water.
2. It contains a blend of various juices including grape, apple, cranberry and blueberry juice. It is not clear if cranberry juice is the major portion of the mixture.

Overall, we still like this product because it offers more benefits compared to other fruit juices. However we are recommending that you use it in moderation and emphasize real fruits and veggies.

Disclaimer – I have not received any sponsorship or free samples of product from OceanSpray for writing this review. For complete nutritional information and other products, visit OceanSpray’s website.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

We got this new Gerber fruit snack for preschoolers this week. It was a great hit with the twins and they loved the chewy texture.

Here is what we like about this product -

1. Real fruit snacks, no added sugar
2. Only 35 calories per twist
3. No fat, cholesterol, sodium
4. Added vitamin C

Here is what we don’t like about this product -

1. Mostly made from fruit juice concentrate. Do not fall for the “real fruit snack” claim on the front of the box
2. Gerber also claiming that one twist is equivalent to half a serving of fruit for a preschooler. This is misleading because a processed snack like this cannot replace real fruit. Notice, it does not contain any dietary fiber!
3. It is not organic
4. High cost – a pack of 5 twists costs $2.99, which means each twist is about 60 cents.

Overall, I think not a bad alternative if you are on-the-go and need to offer a snack. But I would not rely on it to skip real fruits!

Disclaimer – I have not received any sponsorship or free samples of product from Gerber for writing this review. For complete nutritional information and other products, visit Gerber’s website.

©2009 Littlestomaks.com

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