Because the point of this series is to give you information that will set your child up for success in school, with a hearty breakfast, I want to focus my nutritional topics to just this. If you would like more information on general child nutrition, please take a look at my Lunchbox Series.

Today, I want to start the talk of balancing meals. In the next couple of days, I am going to work through Macronutrients. They are all important to the mental and physical health of our children, but knowing how to balance them has become a lost art.

We eat A LOT of eggs! In fact, we now have chickens, 13 to be exact, and we were so afraid we would be overrun with eggs. It is actually just the right amount for our family of 4 and our egg usage. Eggs are one of my foundation breakfast items...I typically eat one every morning. 

Many of you grew up thinking that only the whites were good for you and that you should limit your yolk quantity (based on horribly performed research....long story). Please eat the yolks, that is where the nutrition is, and the egg supplies almost everything you need nutritionally, except for the minerals found in the shell. 

I have a passion for healthy eating, especially when it comes not only my children, but all children. It is us, as the parents, who will determine our children's eating habits. The habits that will teach our children and the foods we offer them should be a balance of foods that expose them to nutritionally dense options, set them up nutritionally to succeed, and offer an element of fun (because eating should be enjoyed)

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! It is the beginning meal that sets the foundation for the rest of the day. If the first meal of the day is nutritionally balances, the rest of the day can be a yo-yo of ups and downs that affect the overall health and performance of our children.

In the following series, I will show you some tips and ideas for healthy, balanced, easy to prepare breakfast ideas that give your children the foundation they need to excel in their physical and mental activities of the day. Each day we will discuss a nutrition topic that pertains to your child's physical and mental wellbeing.

First off, I want to thank you for following along on this series. I have been really excited for this one. I am sure there are parts that I missed, or questions that have arisen. Please feel free to email me, or comment below. I love discussion.

To top of this series, I want to simplify it a bit. I want to list my FAVORITE foods for preparing for labor and delivery. Some of these may seem different from what you've been told during pregnancy. That's okay, we are trying to deliver a baby at this point, and some of the nutritional needs change slightly. If you have a medical condition (such as diabetes) than some of these foods (like bananas) may not be an option. 

​Probiotics are the "good" bacteria in and on our bodies. We have a symbiotic relationship with them. More and more research is pointing to the benefits and necessity of a healthy microcolony.

As it applies to labor and delivery, probiotics are extremely important, influencing not only the health and labor outcome of the mother, but the health of the infant into adulthood.

1. Aid in the digestion of food and the conversion and absorption of certain vitamins
2. Prevent infections that can cause premature rupture of membranes and early labor
3. Balance Group B Strep
4. Set the foundation for infant immunity

It seems to me that there is so much emphasis put on the progression of labor, that we fail to address the many other aspects to the process. ​​

The Amniotic sac and the fluid it contains is as crucial to the initiation of labor as it is a home for the growing infant. 

All of the processes leading up to delivery are important. A hiccup with any one and normal natural labor and delivery is affected.

That being said though, .  If the door cannot open, the baby cannot pass. If the cervix cannot soften and efface, then no amount of contracting will delivery your baby. ​

​In the female reproductive system, there is a delicate play between Estrogen and Progesterone. The yin and the yang in TCM of the reproductive system; Estrogen is the yin cooling aspect, and Progesterone is the yang warming aspect.

Both Progesterone and Estrogen are steroid hormones. Meaning they are made from cholesterol...there it is again. If your body doesn't have enough cholesterol, you cannot make steroid hormones (this includes Vitamin D, which is technically a steroid hormone).