South Dakota WIC Fun Facts: March 2024

Wellness Wisdom: Eating Greens

Greens, or leafy vegetables, include lettuce varieties, spinach, kale, collard greens, bok choy, arugula and others! 

Benefits of eating these green vegetables:

• High fiber to improve digestion
• Contain iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium -- all essential nutrients!
• Contain folate which can prevent certain birth defects during pregnancy

How can I make greens more fun?

1. Make a mixed salad: Add a variety of colors, textures and fun toppings! Do a build your own salad night, letting your kids pick what they put on their salad.
2. Wrap it up: Make a wrap with tuna, chicken, or turkey and add romaine lettuce, spinach or arugula with other veggies for some extra flavor.
3. Add to soup: Add greens with larger, tougher leaves (like collard greens, kale, or mustard greens) into your favorite soup.
4. Steamed: Steaming collard greens, mustard greens, kale, or spinach until they are slightly soft and add a dash of salt.
5. Smoothies: Add kale or spinach to a fruit smoothie and call it 'Hulk's Drink'! 

Breastfeeding: Liquid Gold

The first stage in breast milk production creates a milk called colostrum. Colostrum is literally a yellowish milk that could easily be mistaken for gold because of all its benefits to baby! Colostrum is very nutrient-dense, so for your newborn baby only a few drops (or less than 2 ounces) per feeding is totally normal and enough for your baby. 

The purpose of colostrum:

• Highly concentrated with nutrients and antibodies to fight infections and protect your baby
• Helps strengthen your baby's immune system
• Has a laxative effect that helps your baby clear meconium in those first couple of days
• Easy to digest

Colostrum will slowly become 'transitional milk' by days 3-5 after birth and becomes 'mature milk' after about 2 weeks. 

Keep up the great work mama! Your body is making exactly what your baby needs.

Recipe: Apple, Kiwi, & Spinach Puree

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Fiji or Gala apples, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• 1 kiwi, peeled and chopped

Instructions:

1.  In a medium saucepan, place the apples with just enough water to cover them, bring it to a boil
2. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the apples are tender.
3. Add spinach in the last 30 seconds of cooking time.
4. Drain well. 
5. Transfer apple and spinach mixture along with the kiwi to a food processor or blender. 
6. Puree in batches until smooth.

Serve like applesauce to your toddler or as baby food to your infant.