First Foods: A Primer

Believe it or not, but from the moment you put a spoon into your baby's mouth for the first time, you're not only introducing solids, but you're also introducing expectations that may shape the way your child views food for the rest of his life.  He watches you to learn what food is all about:  Whether you are opening a package of prepared baby food from the grocery store shelf, or are preparing it lovingly by hand from fresh produce; whether you rush him through his meals or allow him to explore each bite's flavor and texture; whether you demand he eat as much as possible or let his appetite lead the way; whether you focus primarily on sweet foods first or on a variety of flavors from strong and bitter to mellow and savory; whether you eat disconnected from one another in front of the television or together at the table as a family.  Your baby might be an adorable, pudgy little package of rolls, drools and smiles, but he's also a little sponge soaking up everything - the good, and the bad - that you put before him.

This milestone is such an exciting and important one for your child.  Up until this point, his experience with his sense of taste has been limited to breastmilk or formula, his own hands and feet, and toys of various flavorless materials.  A brand new world is opening its gate before him, so guide him right.

Timing Is Everything.

When your baby is ready for solids is subjective.  Generally, your baby should be ready between four to six months, when the iron he's been storing since he lived in your womb is depleting and his digestive system is strengthening.  Typically, he should be able to hold his head up and steady, and sit comfortably with the assistance of a chair.  He may also show interest in your food and watching you eat, and may even try to grab food off your plate if you've left it within reach.

Introducing solid foods before this time frame can cause digestive problems as well as put your child at a higher risk for allergies and obesity.  Conversely, waiting too long to introduce foods can make your child too comfortable with his liquid diet and he may be more likely to refuse this unfamiliar texture and flavor.  However, your doctor may suggest waiting a bit longer if you have a family history of food allergies.  Always consult your pediatrician with any concerns you may have before starting your child on solids.

To maximize your likelihood of success, introduce solids for the first time when your baby is neither hungry nor full.  If your baby is hungry, he may not tolerate your attempts and want his familiar meal; if he is full, he may not open his mouth for the spoon at all.  Remember no matter what that this is an unfamiliar experience, so don't stress and just have fun with it - feeding solids right now is much less about nutrition than it is about practice.

Once a food has been introduced, it should be given exclusively (or coupled with foods that have already passed this "test") for at least two days so that if your child has a reaction, you have a better chance of pinpointing which food is the culprit.  If you have a family history of food allergies, you may want to stretch the introductory period further.

Most important when it comes to timing:  Slow and steady.  If your baby is too fussy and is outright rejecting your attempts that day, it is not a big deal.  There is always tomorrow.  Don't force your child to eat by continuing to spoon food into his crying maw, and don't act disappointed that he won't eat.  Simply say something encouraging, give him a big kiss on the cheek and clean up.

What's On the Menu?

Infant rice cereal is often suggested as a perfect first food.  It's cheap, it's essentially flavorless, it's easy to prepare and it poses almost no risk of an allergic reaction.  However, it can also back up delicate digestive systems and, well, it's boring.  I think it's great to use for a few days just to transition your baby from one texture to another, but after a few days, you can move on to better things, like vegetables.

It is said that babies naturally prefer sweet things.  I can't say for sure, as I don't remember being a baby and my personal preferences to this day are for the salty and savory.  To be on the safe side, though, I personally prefer starting my kids with a variety of vegetables.  It seems to me that going from a banana to a pea would be a much more disappointing experience than going from a pea to a banana.

Try to avoid the baby food aisle, at least for now.  Commercially-prepared baby foods may seem nice as they are convenient and contain simple ingredients.  Was the produce free of bruises, pits or marks?  Was it fresh?  Are they pureeing the seeds, skins and other less-appetizing parts of the vegetables?  How did they prepare it?  How many nutrients were lost in the process of turning an apple into a product that sits in a plastic tub or glass jar and lasts literally for years?  What about meat!?  What parts of the animal are in there, exactly?

Walk through the produce aisle.  Feel your vegetables, smell them.  See if they were organically or locally produced.  Seed it yourself, peel it yourself, prepare it yourself, and feed it fresh or freeze it for the future - a future a month from now instead of a year.  Buy yourself a bundle of fresh asparagus and prepare it yourself, and then compare it to asparagus from a can - you wouldn't want to eat the latter, but that's the equivalent of what you're feeding your baby when you give them commercially-prepared foods:  Over-cooked, awkwardly-flavored and generally unappetizing produce with no nutrition left from who knows where and when.

In the blogs to follow that are labelled "First Foods," I will walk you through my son August's journey into solids so that you can get ideas on food selection, preparation, and other helpful hints as you and your child journey through solids on your own path.  I would suggest that you also keep a small journal documenting which foods your child has eaten and whether or not he has had any reaction to them.  If you wish, you can also mark down his particular reaction.  For example, my daughter's first solid beyond rice cereal was peas, and her reaction was one of horror, to say the least.  But her next food, summer squash, was greeted with delight!

What food you start with is up to you.  In Africa, babies tend to be introduced to meat before anything else.  In America, it is cereal.  In India, they don't think twice about spicing it up for little taste buds.  There are no real rules, but some guidelines I personally follow for infants are:

• No added fats, spices, sweeteners or salt when preparing baby food.  This gives your child an opportunity to taste and learn to appreciate the flavor of fresh, simple foods.
• Prepare your baby's meals at home, preferably with techniques that discourage nutrient loss.  Use any water that may have been used in cooking to thin out a puree that is too thick.  
• For the first few months, peel fruits and vegetables, and remove seeds if they are present.
• Avoid the more highly allergenic foods until a little later, between 10 and 12 months. 

Above all else... HAVE FUN.

Don't fret!  Make meal times enjoyable, stop when baby lets you know he's done, don't act like any food you offer is disgusting, and enjoy these little mealtimes before your baby turns into a toddler and demands a slice of bread and crackers for dinner instead of that wonderful chicken you've been roasting...

One Rotisserie Chicken

August was in his stroller, looking around with disinterest as we passed rows of boxes and cans.  When his wandering eyes fell on me, I began to dance to the disco music playing over the speakers.  Upon seeing my animated face and my flailing arms, his eyes softened and his lips curled into a grin.  Behind us, Jon-Michael was pushing our cart with one hand.  Evelyn's sleeping form was slung over his shoulder, and his other arm was cradling her as she napped.

Cases of beer were stacked into lofty pyramids that dotted the layout like an Egyptian horizon, a beacon of excess serving as a not-so-subtle reminder that Labor Day was a mere 24 hours away.  Shining carts pushed by scowling customers were full of the things of national secular holidays:  Immodest amounts of meat and alcohol, brightly-colored condiments.  The swarm of people hummed like an angry hive as they buzzed noisily past each other.  I wanted nothing more than to escape - but instead, I danced and I sang as I waited for my husband to pick out a taco kit.

"What are we doing for dinner tonight?" he asked.  We gave each other a look of understanding and headed toward the prepared foods department.  It was already late in the day, and the thought of cooking had hardly even passed my mind.

What can I get that I can share with Evie? I thought to myself as I passed by a salad bar, steaming soups, fried chicken pieces, sushi.  Rotisserie chicken.  Duh.  

That night, I made a simple meal in five minutes.  In the time it took me to steam a potato in the microwave, I had a cucumber peeled and seeded, cut into bite-size pieces and sprinkled with kosher salt and a generous shake of dill and mixed together with a dab of mayonnaise.  A buttery potato, cucumber salad and a rotisserie chicken thigh went over really well and took minimal work.  That's my idea of a Sunday dinner.

For dinner that Monday, I was inspired by the bok choy I had purchased the day before and I made a simple chicken fried rice.  I sauteed the bok choy with salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic powder, olive oil (admittedly not a very "fried rice" flavor) and soy sauce, then I added small pieces of the leftover chicken breast and some brown rice I had prepared earlier that day.  Making a small pit in the middle of the rice mixture, I cracked an egg and whisked it.  When it was nearly set, I stirred it all together so the egg coated some of the rice and vegetable.

Evelyn devoured it.  She didn't wait for small spoonfuls; she grabbed giant handfuls and shoved it into her mouth as quickly as she could manage.  In toddler etiquette, that is a compliment to the chef and it certainly makes me feel good.  Another (nearly) five-minute meal.

When you're in a bind and it's almost dinner time, a $5.00 rotisserie chicken can be worth its weight in gold.  And minutes.

Some other ideas:  Shred it for tacos, burritos or enchiladas; cut it up and add it to chicken broth, vegetables and rice or noodles for a quick, easy chicken soup; cut into strips to add to a green salad.

Multiple Motherhood and Quick Eats

If anyone had told me three years ago that by Easter 2012, I'd give birth to my second child in 13 months, I'd have spit my whiskey across the bathroom laughing.  "Doubtful," I'd say from my hot bath, clinking my glass against the ceramic tub.  Then I'd bury my smokey eyes back into my beat-up copy of The Satanic Bible and, with black-lacquered nails slowly turning each page, continue to ignore such a preposterous idea.

Yet here I am, spitting apple juice across the living room laughing at the person I used to be.  "I was such a moron," I'd say from the couch, kissing the hair of the sleeping toddler pressed against me while balancing the weight of a twitchy infant on my other shoulder.  Then I'd turn my sleepy eyes to "The History of the Papacy" sprawled across my lap and, with one free hand, attempt to turn the page without shaking anyone awake.

I was selfish, thoughtless, vain and egotistical, quite the far cry from the person I've become - the one who forgets to eat while she cooks delicious healthy meals for her daughter, the one who sacrifices taking showers on a regular basis so she can be readily available should her kids need her, the one who gets up by 8:00 a.m. every morning instead of finally getting to bed at 8:00 a.m.  A lot has changed, spiritually, physically, emotionally, and all for the best.

Yes, on Easter 2012 I became a mother of two.  Each of the 24 hours in a day are stretched even more thin as new responsibilities have been tossed into my already-full hands.  I don't mind; this is my life now, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Okay, I wouldn't mind being able to nap during the day like I did when I only had one kid, but that's the only thing I'd change.  Oh, and I'd get to take that daily shower I so desperately miss.  But that's it.  

As you can imagine, this has left me with very little time to cook, nonetheless blog.  All my free moments are spent catching up on social networking sites where I hope to have that one adult conversation I'd get of the day - discussing politics instead of bugs, for instance, or debating religion instead of trying to talk a toddler into not chewing on the couch.

My son, August, has his crabby moments where he must be held or we all suffer the consequence of his very healthy cry.  Being the kind of person who appreciates a little silence when she can get it, preparing an extensive meal like I used to for Evelyn is not in the realm of possibility anymore as it would require putting Gus down for longer a time than he can handle.  (Also, having my children "cry it out" is absolutely not an option as far as I'm concerned.)  I've had to start getting creative, and it helps that Evelyn can handle a lot more as far as texture goes.

When I need to prepare a meal quickly, this is the sort of list that goes through my head.  It's the short list of what I can prepare quickly that my daughter will enjoy.  Because we've apparently done so well getting Evie hooked on real food, she is extremely picky when it comes to the overcooked, flavorless prepackaged junk marketed to toddlers.  This is a blessing for obvious reasons, but a curse as well since it makes those crabby days hard - I can't simply pop something in the microwave, shovel it in her mouth and move on.  Not that I want to do something so horrid anyway.  Really, who does?

So, here are some ideas for moms with extremely limited time:

Omelets.  Eggs are so great.  Not only are they nutritious and cheap, but they cook up pretty quick, too.  When it seems I don't have time to cook anything for Evelyn, I always have time to cook eggs.  While I could easily just scramble them, I prefer to make omelets because they offer more as far as texture goes.  If you time everything right, making a spinach and cheese omelet can take as little as five minutes.

Prepare More.  Don't ever prepare "just enough."  Prepare enough for a few days.  When you have time to cook brown rice, noodles, bake a chicken, boil eggs, etc., make enough so you'll have it in the fridge for the next few days for when you don't have time.  Buying a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store is a great way to have chicken on hand without ever having to actually cook it yourself.

Soup.  When in doubt, make soup.  Keep your pantry full of various noodles and frozen homemade chicken stock or cans of chicken stock (keep an eye on the ingredients and avoid any with preservatives or additives like monosodium glutamate) and your freezer full of vegetables.  Boil the stock, throw in some prepared chicken, various veggies and noodles and let it cook.  In the seven minutes it might take to cook noodles, you can have a flavorful chicken and vegetable soup without watching over it all day.  For some extra nutrition, and to cool it off to an edible temp, stir some milk in before serving.  

Soup is so versatile.  Today, I made Evelyn a chicken, vegetable and noodle soup.  To chicken stock, I added a handful of small bow tie pasta, a mix of frozen vegetables - zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, green beans and lima beans, some kale I diced into small pieces, some cooked chicken cut from a rotisserie chicken I had in the fridge from yesterday, and a little salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Before serving it, I splashed in some whole milk.  Evie loved it so much that she was slurping the broth off the spoon once all the delicious chunks were gone.

Finger Foods.  This saves you the time of having to sit down and feed your toddler if you have other things to do.  I keep the high chair in the kitchen, so I can clean bottles and still keep an eye on and interact with my daughter while my son hangs out in the mobile bassinet.  There is never just one of us in the kitchen.  Cooked and cooled pasta shapes, steamed soft vegetables, hard-boiled egg, small chunks of cheese, pieces of banana or orange, and a grilled cheese sandwich cut into small squares are all great mix-and-match ideas.  Make a plate based on what your kid likes that features at least a whole grain, a protein source and a vegetable, and let them do it themselves while you use that time to get something else done.

Watermelon Hands

When I was having difficulty getting my daughter to sleep, I did what nearly every other modern mom does:  I took to the internet.  Everything I read suggested all different kinds of techniques, but one theme rang true, and that was the ritual.  It seemed that if you followed a set ritual, something that was designed to calm your child down and prepare her for bed, nighttime would move a lot smoother and your child would be more susceptible to sleep.

Some of the rituals that families had were long-winded productions that ran night after night like a perfectly-scripted play that closed the curtain at exactly the same time every evening.  They consisted of several acts that dragged on for hours, and most of these families included a warm bath (with some kind of highly-advertised lavender soap marketed as a miracle sleep aid), songs, stories - an entire repertoire of calming activities that were to run immediately after dinner.

There's no way I could pull something like that off.  The planning and the execution must be exact, and I'm too carefree with my time to even joke about considering something so demanding.  

We never really had a ritual so much as we had bedtime techniques instead.  Evelyn and I would rock in the glider in the corner of her nursery, window open if the weather allowed it, listening to the sounds of the night as I sang softly to her until she fell asleep.  Then our rocking chair broke. 

It seemed that every time we got into some kind of ritual, the figurative rocking chair would break and we would be forced to improvise.  I won't bore you with all the details of every single ritual that has come and gone, but needless to say, we finally found one that we all as a family can live with.

Family Fruit Time

At 7:30 p.m., Dada changes Evelyn's diaper and puts her in her pajamas as I prepare her warm milk (an essential part of our ritual, of course).  Then, as her milk is sitting in a mug of hot water to slowly take the chill of the fridge off, we stand around the kitchen or sit at the bar and eat fruit together.

We giggle.  We feed each other.  We dribble juice down our chins.  It runs contrary to almost everything I've read about infant and toddler sleep:  Not only are we giving her sugar before bed, but we're also engaging her in a stimulating activity.  And yet she still drinks her milk a half hour later and is asleep by 8:30 p.m. every night.

The past two nights, we have been indulging in watermelon.  Sitting in her Dada's lap at the bar, she would slap her little hands on the granite in anticipation of each juicy bite as I stabbed into the pink fruit with a fork and presented it to her.  Sometimes, she would lean forward with her little mouth open like a baby bird and snatch the bite directly off the fork; other times, she would carefully pull it off the fork with gentle little fingers, sucking as much juice out as she could before finally popping the whole piece in her mouth.  

Tonight as we lay in bed together, she rolled toward me and pressed her little face up against mine, forehead to forehead, nose to nose.  Just before she fell asleep, she brought a little hand up to my face and cupped my chin.  It smelled like watermelon.

This too shall pass...

This ritual started one night when I dropped an apple and decided it had to be eaten before it sat around on the counter bruising up.  Jon-Michael was holding Evie and I was busy trying to eat as much of the crunchy skin off the apple as I could so she could tear at the white flesh with her little teeth.  We all ended up eating the apple together, standing there in the kitchen and laughing and just enjoying a moment of sweet simplicity together.

I know it will end, like all other rituals, to be replaced by something new.  Our son will be born soon, and the job of tackling a toddler ritual with a newborn ritual will begin, and togetherness in the kitchen around a piece of fruit probably won't be a possibility anymore.  I'm going to soak it up as much as I can, though.  Juicy, sticky chins and all.

Enchiladas Unwrapped

Motivation, Where Did You Go?

I admit that lately, I've been losing my motivation when it comes to preparing meals for my daughter.  The closer I get to giving birth to my son, the more uncomfortable I become.  The more uncomfortable I become, the less likely I am to want to stand in front of a hot stove for any length of time.  Knowing that I don't want to stand in front of a stove, I think to myself, "What is the quickest, easiest dish I can prepare?"  It doesn't leave a lot of room for imagination.

I've fallen into a rut of simplicity.  I try to create meals that are extremely easy for me but that are still healthy for her.  These tend to be boring, as one might figure.  For example, last night Evelyn had chicken, mixed vegetables (yellow squash, zucchini, peas, carrots and Brussels sprouts) all folded into a creamy mashed potato with Parmesan cheese.  It's not that it tasted bad, but it certainly wasn't exciting in the least bit.  Meals like this have become pretty standard in the past week - protein and vegetables served with a whole grain or a potato, some fruit and milk on the side.

I was looking in the pantry today for something, anything, to inspire me again to make something a little different for my daughter than the boring stuff we've been eating.  I found an unopened container of yellow corn meal, and thought to myself, "Hey, it's not a potato or noodles."

Mexican Monday

Enchiladas are a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a soft corn tortilla wrapped around a variety of fillings and covered in a tomato-based chili sauce.  Enchiladas have always been one of my favorite menu items when I have the rare opportunity of going out to an authentic Mexican restaurant.

Seeing as how I obviously love to take layered or wrapped adult foods and make them baby friendly, why not turn some simple corn meal into a fun Mexican-inspired dish for my daughter?  Well, it turned out so good that I called my husband at work and asked him to pick up some things for us to have tacos tonight.  I wanted my Mexican Monday, too.

Enchiladas Unwrapped


Ingredients

Corn meal, prepared as "polenta" or "corn meal mush" according to package directions
Ground beef
Small bit of chopped onion (get frozen - it's already ready for you!)
Small bit of chopped green pepper (ditto!)
A little bit of spinach (I like to sneak it into everything - it's healthy)
Tomato sauce
Cheddar cheese
Homemade spice blend - Equal pinches of cumin, cayenne and chili powders

Technique

1)  Prepare your corn meal according to package directions.  I had Quaker Yellow Corn Meal - Mix one cup dry corn meal with one cup of water; meanwhile, boil three cups of water.  When the water is boiling, add the corn meal/water mix and stir really well until thick.  Cover it, put it on low and cook for another five minutes.  When it's all done, you'll have a ton.  You only need a couple of spoonfuls; the rest you can put away in the fridge and use for something else.

2)  Cook your ground beef.  Add just a couple tiny pinches of your spice blend.  Don't use a commercial taco blend, as they often contain a lot of unsavory ingredients and a ton of unnecessary salt.  These spices are hot and a little goes a long way.  You obviously don't want to make your child uncomfortable; you just want to introduce flavor with a tiny bit of spice, so keep it light.  Just a couple of little pinches.  Chop your cooked beef nice and small.

3)  Steam your onion, green peppers and spinach together (alternatively, you can boil them - it won't take as long, but you will sacrifice some nutrition).  When these are warm and the spinach is nice and wilted, chop these finely.

4)  To prepare the sauce, simply add a couple of small pinches to about four ounces of prepared tomato sauce and warm it up in a pan.  Add a few cubes or shreds of cheddar to taste (we like to use a lot!) and let it melt down.  Use as much of it as you feel you need on your baby's dish - you'll have leftover.

5)  You can either layer your ingredients for babies who can handle things with a less-than-smooth texture (corn meal on bottom, beef, vegetables, then sauce) and give it a gentle fold, or you can mix it all together (which is what we do).

6)  Serve with some whole milk and some juicy watermelon.  Enjoy!  I know we did!

The Baby Pantry: Eggs

"That's a potential allergen."

That's how I explained my fear to my very confused mother when I told her I wasn't sure if I was comfortable with my daughter, Evelyn, trying a scrambled egg.  Neither I nor my husband suffer any food allergies, nor do our parents; other risk factors that increase the likelihood of food allergies, such as asthma, aren't an issue, either.  It would seem that my daughter would be in a low-risk category of developing a food allergy.  

However, there is still a risk involved when introducing your child to a potential allergen.  There are eight major allergens responsible for 90 percent of all the food allergies suffered in the United States, and a certain level of care must be taken when introducing them to your child:

• Wheat
• Cow's Milk
• Eggs
• Fish
• Shellfish (shrimp, prawns, lobster, crab, etc.)
• Tree nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, etc.)
• Peanuts
• Soy

I was especially nervous about Evie being given egg.  She had a flu shot (I didn't want her to get it, but it's an enraging story that I refuse to recount again), and reacted terribly to it.  We ended up in the ER with our baby clearly in pain, bawling her eyes out and terrified after projectile vomiting food she had taken in nearly six hours prior.  Because doctors seem to refuse to believe that the flu shot could possibly make someone ill, they always look for that "coincidental" thing that made your child sick:  A virus, a reaction to something they ate, etc.  In this case, our pediatrician thought it might have been an allergic reaction to the egg upon which the virus in the vaccine is grown.

It was, of course, a ridiculous suggestion.  I knew that it wasn't the case, that my daughter was one of the many kids I know personally who had terrible reactions to the flu shot.  But it sunk in.  Allergic to eggs?  Could she really be?

Then my mom adamantly declared that the whole idea of her being allergic to eggs was silly, and I knew better about that damn flu shot.  So I relented, and let her feed my daughter a scrambled egg.  My breath caught in my throat as I kept asking questions, like "Is she turning red?  She's not wheezing, right?  She isn't getting a rash?"

Looking back, it's pretty hilarious how overly concerned and terrified I was.  The only reaction my daughter had was "Wow, this is awesome.  I want to eat eggs everyday.  They are the best thing you ever put before me."  Big smile, giggles.  Sheer enjoyment.

And who can blame her?  Eggs are amazing.

Cheap, nutritious, versatile.

Eggs are one of the best values you can have in your kitchen.  For a small price, in that thin shell, they pack quite a nutritious punch, featuring the highest-quality protein available and some pretty impressive health benefits:

• The lutein in eggs is great for eye health, and it is more readily available to us from eggs than from nearly any other source.  Studies show a lower risk of cataracts and macular degeneration among those who eat eggs as a normal part of their diet.
• Contrary to popular belief, regular consumption of eggs doesn't negatively impact cholesterol levels in most people, and in fact eggs can actually help prevent cardiac events such as blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.
• Eggs are one of the few foods with naturally-occurring Vitamin D, which is essential for bone health and proper calcium absorption.  
• Women who consume high amounts of choline are 24% less likely to develop breast cancer than their choline-deficient counterparts.  One large egg provides 30% of your daily choline needs.

Eggs last a long time when stored properly:  Raw and stored in the refrigerator in their original carton, not in the door where they are subject to heat and light every time the fridge is opened, they can last nearly a month (hard-boiled eggs last about a week).  You can even freeze them for up to a year by beating the whites and yolks together, and portioning them out in freezer-safe containers.

Think about everything you can do with a humble egg, from the simple to the complex and the savory to the sweet.  Boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs; omelet, frittata, stratta; deviled eggs, pickled eggs, Scotch eggs; mayonnaise, Caesar dressing; custard, meringue, all sorts of baked goods.  If you can name it, you can put eggs in it.

Stick to the Basics

Evelyn and I stick to the basics:  Scrambled eggs and toast.  She gets her eggs in a simplistic Florentine style - cooked with spinach, Parmesan cheese and milk, served with whole wheat toast squares and a fresh fruit.  I always "accidentally" make too much so I'm guaranteed to get some leftovers for myself.  

Vitamin Loss in Cooking

When you want to feed your children the most nutritious food you can, it's just as important to select a proper cooking method as it is to select the foods themselves.  While most minerals hold up extremely well to all temperatures and cooking methods, vitamins are easily lost depending on how the food is prepared.  It's helpful to know how some vitamins are destroyed, and what you can do to preserve as many as you can.

Fat Solubility

Vitamins that dissolve in fat, and therefore leach out of food when cooked in fats like butter and oil, include Vitamins A, D, E and K.  Because excess amounts of these vitamins are stored in the body, and not eliminated like water-soluble vitamins, it isn't imperative that you receive high doses everyday.

However, to retain these vitamins when cooking, it is advised that you refrain from frying the food or otherwise cooking it in fat.  Broiling or baking would be the superior option for retaining these vitamins in food.

Foods rich in the fat-soluble vitamins include:

• Vitamin A:  Liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens such as kale and collard greens, butternut squash, dried apricots and cantaloupe.  
• Vitamin D:  Fish (particularly raw or oil-packed) such as herring and salmon, fortified products (including soy, dairy and cereal products), and eggs.
• Vitamin E:  Nut and seed products such as sunflower seeds and almonds, wheat germ and olive oils, green olives and cooked spinach.
• Vitamin K:  Dark leafy greens (here they are again, and also a great plant source of calcium), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus and cabbage.

Water Solubility

Water-soluble vitamins are those that dissolve in water, and are lost primarily when food is boiled or otherwise prepared in water.  These vitamins need to be in the diet daily, as they are eliminated from the body throughout the day, primarily through urine.

The water-soluble vitamins are Vitamin C and the B complex vitamins:  Thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6, folic acid, Vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, and biotin.  All of these vitamins are easily lost in the storage and preparation of foods.

Some information on the vitamins follows:

• Vitamin C:  Vitamin C is very unstable, and is lost when exposed to water or heat, and also when a food is dried.  Therefore, one of the best sources for Vitamin C is from fresh, raw food:  Fruits like oranges, grapefruits, strawberries, tomatoes and dark green leafy vegetables.  When you are cooking, use as little water as possible and cook for as short a time as possible.
• B Complex Vitamins:  In general, you will find an abundance of the B Complex Vitamins in animal foods, especially liver, and whole grain products.  Eggs, fish, leafy vegetables, legumes and milk also provide many of the B Vitamins in good, healthy amounts.  All of them leach out of food into cooking water and many are destroyed by alkalinity and sulfites (which are added to many dried foods to retain color); some are destroyed by too much exposure to light (riboflavin) and long exposure to heat (thiamin).  Despite the loss of vitamins, it is important you always cook meat thoroughly!

Tips on Vitamin Preservation

Save cooking water.  Whatever water you use to boil vegetables, use it to prepare rice, make gravy, add to soup, or make a sauce.

Avoid peeling and cutting.  Vegetables that remain in one piece will retain more nutrients than those that are chopped or peeled prior to cooking.  Only peel when absolutely necessary, as a wealth of vitamin nutrition is in or just beneath the skin.

Prepare food fresh.  Foods that are cooked, then stored and reheated later, lose a lot of nutrition.  Vegetables prepared in advance lose roughly a quarter of their Vitamin C, for example, after 24 hours.

Steam, or use very little water when boiling.  Steaming retains a lot more of the water-soluble vitamins than does boiling, as the water doesn't come into contact with the food.  When you do boil, however, use a minimum of water.  Remember that leafy greens cook down and while four cups of cabbage doesn't seem like it can cook in one cup of water, give it a chance.

Baking and toasting.  When you're baking, the addition of baking soda raises the alkalinity of the product and destroys thiamin.  While you can't avoid the "baking" part of baking, you can avoid over-toasting any bread you might make (or purchase) to keep from further destroying thiamin:  Toast it just so it's golden around the edges, and no more.

Roast and grill.  Your best bets for meat are to prepare them with dry heat:  Roasting and grilling.  Don't overcook your meat, as this leads to unnecessary further nutrient loss (not to mention that it's incredibly disrespectful to the cow who gave his life to put that amazing steak on your table when you cook it anything past medium for an adult).  Don't be afraid to use fully-cooked drippings to prepare gravies.

Stir-fry, don't fry-fry.  Deep frying is horrible, and destroys nearly all of the fat-soluble vitamins in your food as well as adding on too many additional fat calories.  Stir-frying, however, which uses a minimum of oil and a minimum cooking time, isn't too bad.  Slice your foods very thin to limit how much time is needed to cook in this high-heat method.  

Most Importantly...

Eat at home.  See how your food is selected, stored and prepared!