Nutrition

A few weeks ago we went out to eat and Maddie made her own salad.  

There was a piece of lettuce meant for garnishment on the appetizer plate.  

Maddie took it and began tearing it up putting it on her plate!  Before we knew it, she had a pretty 

appetizing-looking salad!

Throughout the course of the meal, she added olives, bread, and tortilla chips.  

We are so fortunate that Maddie has always been a good eater.  

We've been making green smoothies for a little over a year now.

Maddie has at least one every day and usually two.  

I remember when Maddie was first born and we went to some Down Syndrome Association meetings.  We met other families who shared what it had been like having a child with Down Syndrome.  They warned us to get ready for lots of trips to the Dr.'s office.  Unfortunately, a weakened immune system is one of the characteristics of Down Syndrome.

Maddie has been sick TWICE in her 3 years of life.  Once when she was 6 months old she caught an awful bug that she was kind enough to share with her Daddy and me! 

The other time was when she was two and we were traveling to Kansas City for Thanksgiving.  

Neither sickness required much more than tylenol and TLC.  

The only thing I can contribute to her amazing immune system is nutrition.  

loot from our garden last summer!

 

 

When Maddie was just two weeks old, we found out she had hypothyroidism and would require medication the rest of her life.  Her Dr. let us know that once children with this condition gain too much weight, it's next to impossible to lose.  We knew we had to establish healthy eating habits early!

We have always been very careful not to let Maddie have too many processed foods. Most of her snacks are fruits like bananas, grapes, or oranges.  She loves avocados, blueberries, carrots (without ranch!), bell peppers, peanuts, apples, and even broccoli!

Sometimes, I'm even amazed at what she'll eat. 

The added benefit for all this good nutrition is she doesn't get sick.  Right now she's struggling with some allergies but as far as getting really sick, it's been amazing! Not even one, single ear infection!!

(Knock on wood!)

I can't wait to get our garden started in the spring!  There's nothing better than eating good, nutritious food that you've grown yourself.