BRANDON'S BLENDED G-TUBE DIET

BRANDON'S BLENDED G-TUBE DIET
Red Chard, Beets, Kholrabi & Peas From My Garden!

Over the past couple years, various people have asked me for sample menus of Brandon's blended diet and how I blend his food. Brandon has been tube fed since birth. Going from a diet of manufactured canned formula to blended foods did not happen overnight. It was a process that took three years. When Brandon was 5 years old, his gastroenterologist recommended that we start blending carrots into his canned formula. At first the idea was so odd to me! I had been conditioned to pop open a can of Nestle Nutren canned formula and pour it into his g-tube. As I began to research nutrition, it became horrifying to me that I had actually thought giving him a diet of manufactured canned formula was NORMAL! So, it began with carrots. I slowly added additional vegetables and fruits and decreased his Nestle Nutren by the total calories of the food I was adding. I never added more than one new food at a time. I wanted to see if Brandon would tolerate the new food or have an allergic reaction. If he tolerated it with no adverse side affects then it became a food I could use in the rotation. After two years, I was blending mostly whole foods, but I was still holding out with one can of Nestle Nutren which I added to the blended diet. I just couldn't break away from at least one can a day, and I did this routine for an entire year. That year, Brandon's unexplained fevers, upper respiratory infections, numerous antibiotics, new medications to try and decrease his secretions, coughing, missed days of school, missed days of therapy, my sleepless nights sitting by his bed suctioning him and another bout of pneumonia was what gave me the courage I needed to completely eliminate the canned formula. I have not given him a single can of manufactured canned formula or dairy products since May 1, 2010 when he was 8 years old. Formula and dairy proved to be incredibly mucus forming for him. Just three months after eliminating formula and dairy, he was off three medications! Two were prescribed to dry out secretions and improve breathing, and one was to aid digestion. His overall health and energy were noticeably improved and family members are still in awe, to this day, by the dramatic improvement in his health in just those few months following the diet change. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT BRANDON'S JOURNEY TO HEALTH

Brandon's calorie needs have slowly increased over the past few years as he has grown, so I have slowly increased the quantity of food to reflect his nutritional needs. As of right now, Brandon is 12 years old. His nutritional needs are between 1,800 - 2,200 calories.  He recently started eating by mouth due to progress made at feeding therapy twice a week. He is not consistent in his oral caloric intake, so I pay attention to what he eats every day and adjust the following day's blended food accordingly. Some days he will eat nothing while other days he eats between 200 - 400 calories. As you can see from the picture above, Brandon consumes incredibly healthy food! After four years on this diet, he has become the healthiest person in our family in terms of how many colds and illnesses he gets! When he does get a cold, he recovers much more quickly than the rest of the family members.

Below are a few recent sample days of Brandon's G-tube blended diet. His menus have been reviewed over the past few years by nutritionists and specialists. Originally, when I started this, I created a food analysis spreadsheet where I kept nutritional data for each new food I added. Every day I would cut and paste the food and nutritional data into a table to calculate the calories, carbs, fat, protein and fiber. I did that for three years. About a year ago, I discovered myfitnespal, and now I just plug the foods into the daily food log, and it calculates everything for me! That saves me so much time!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

FOOD & LIQUID:	CALORIES	CARBS	FAT	PROTEIN	FIBER
Water, 3 cups (24oz)	0	0	0	0	0
Almond Milk, Original, 1 cup	60	8	3	1	1
*Wheat Berries, ¼ cup	150	32	1	6	6
*Amaranth, Organic ¼ cup	195	36	3	7	6
*Brown Rice, Long Grain, ¼ cup	160	34	1	3	2
Raw Almonds, ¼ cup	167	6	14	6	0
Walnuts, ¼ cup	190	4	18	4	2
Super Food, Dr. Shulze’s, 2 TBLS	50	6	1	6	4
Chia Seeds, 1 TBLS	80	6	5	3	5
Flax Seeds, 1 TBLS	45	4	4	2	3
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, 1 TBLS	130	0	14	0	0
Kale, 3 cups or 1 bunch	101	20	1	7	4
Olives, Pitted, Ripe, 18	150	6	12	0	0
Papaya, 1 cup	55	14	0	1	2.6
Strawberries, 1 cup	49	11.7	0.5	1	3.0
Kiwi, 2	100	24	2	2	4
Cucumber, ½ cup	8	1.9	0	0.3	0.3
Beets, 1 cup	58	13	0	2.2	3.8
Sweet Potato, Baked, Skin 4oz	100	24	0	4	1
Celery, 1 cup	14	3	0.2	0.7	1.6
Beans, variety mix, ¼ dry cooked in crockpot	180	32	0.5	12	9
Ginger Root, Raw 2 TBLS	10	2.1	0	0	0
TOTAL Vitamin A 813% Vitamin C 1059% Calcium 114%	1,972	281g	75g	65g	54g

*See thermos method below.


Friday, May 16, 2014

FOOD & LIQUID:	CALORIES	CARBS	FAT	PROTEIN	FIBER
Water, 3 cups (24oz)	0	0	0	0	0
Almond Milk, Original, 1.5 cups	90	12	4	2	2
*Wheat Berries, ¼ cup	150	32	1	6	6
*Whole Oat Groats, ¼ cup	110	27	3	7	4
*Hulled Millet, ¼ cup	180	36	2	6	8
Raw Almonds, ¼ cup	167	6	14	6	0
Walnuts, ¼ cup	190	4	18	4	2
Super Food, Dr. Shulze’s, 2 TBLS	50	6	1	6	4
Chia Seeds, 1 TBLS	80	6	5	3	5
Flax Seeds, 1 TBLS	45	4	4	2	3
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 TBLS	120	0	14	0	0
Red Swiss Chard, 3 cups or 1 bunch	21	3	0	3	3
Avocado, 1	227	12	21	3	9
Raspberries, 1 cup	64	15	1	1	8
Blueberries, 1 cup	83	21	0	1	3
Banana, 1	90	23	0	1	3
Kholrabi, ½ cup	18	4	0	1	3
Beets, 1 cup	58	13	0	2	4
Sugar Snap Peas, 1 cup	35	6	0	2	2
Salmon, Wild Alaskan 6oz	180	0	3	39	0
TOTAL Vitamin A 311% Vitamin C 377% Calcium 119%	1,938	230g	91g	95g	69g

*See thermos method below.


Saturday, May 17, 2014

FOOD & LIQUID:	CALORIES	CARBS	FAT	PROTEIN	FIBER
Water, 3 cups (24oz)	0	0	0	0	0
Almond Milk, Original, 1 cup	60	8	3	1	1
*Wheat Berries, ¼ cup	150	32	1	6	6
*Quinoa, ¼ cup	170	30	3	7	3
*Brown Rice, Long Grain, ¼ cup	160	34	1	3	2
Raw Almonds, ¼ cup	167	6	14	6	0
Walnuts, ¼ cup	190	4	18	4	2
Super Food, Dr. Shulze’s, 2 TBLS	50	6	1	6	4
Chia Seeds, 1 TBLS	80	6	5	3	5
Flax Seeds, 1 TBLS	45	4	4	2	3
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 TBLS	120	0	14	0	0
Kale, 3 cups or 1 bunch	101	20	1	7	4
Avocado, 1	227	12	21	3	9
Mango, 1 cup	107	28	0	1	3
Blueberries, 1 cup	83	21	0	1	3
Banana, 1	90	23	0	1	3
Carrots, ½ cup	26	6	0	1	2
Beets, ½ cup	29	7	0	1	2
Snap Beans, ½ cup	17	4	0	1	2
TOTAL Vitamin A 962% Vitamin C 668% Calcium 100%	1,872	251g	86g	54g	54g

* I prepare the grains every night using the thermos method. I have two stainless steel thermoses. I put 1/4 cup dry wheat berries in one thermos. In the other thermos I add 1/4 cup each of the other two grains. I boil water on the stove using a teapot. I fill each thermos with boiling water, replace the lids and leave them on the counter overnight. In the morning they are ready for me to scoop into the blender.

HOW I BLEND BRANDON'S FOOD

I start with 3 cups of water in the blender. I add, in this order, almond milk, puffed grains, greens, nuts, chia and flax seeds, super food and olive or coconut oil. I blend until smooth. This fills my VitaMix nearly to the top. I pour half the liquid into a container before adding the remaining ingredients. Then I blend until smooth and creamy and pour into a container I leave in the fridge. I usually end up adding 1/2 cup to 1 1/2  cups of additional water to the second batch of blending. It just depends what I'm blending. Avocados, bananas and sweet potatoes make the mixture thick, so I tend to need more water.

There are food items that I consistently use each day. I always use almond milk or coconut milk. I always use 1/4 cup wheat, but the other two grains vary. I like to rotate between millet, buckwheat, quinoa, brown rice, white rice, oat groats and amaranth. I always make his grains using the thermos method. I always use almonds, walnuts, super food greens, chia seeds, flax seeds and oil. I alternate between coconut oil and olive oil. I always use 3 cups or 1 bunch of greens such as kale, spinach, chard, collards or mustard greens. Kale has more calories and protein than the others, so I tend to gravitate to it more often. I like to use avocados or olives every day. I try to always have a minimum of three fruits and three additional vegetables. Fruits and vegetables I try to vary as much as possible. I alternate between beans, chicken and fish for additional protein.


HOW I GIVE BRANDON HIS FOOD

Brandon is very fortunate to NOT HAVE A NISSEN FUNDOPLICATION. Nissen's are very common in children with g-tubes. While Brandon was in the NICU at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, I felt very strongly that he should not have this procedure done in conjunction with his g-tube placement when he was two months old. Shortly after being discharged from the hospital at 4 months old, Brandon developed severe reflux with projectile vomiting up to 30 times a day. I was convinced I had somehow made a mistake in my insistence to not have a Nissen, and when I discussed this with the surgeon, he said that if I had come in just three months earlier, he would definitely be scheduling Brandon for one. However, he had just returned from a conference about this very topic where convincing studies showed too many of these procedures were being done for prophylactic reasons. He recommended we change Brandon's G-tube to a G-J tube and see if Brandon could grow out of his reflux. Brandon had a G-J tube for about 18 months, and he did out grow his reflux. This has been a blessing because Brandon does not have the side effects of living with a Nissen!

I do not gravity feed Brandon. I draw up the syringe with food and plunge. My sister's son has a g-tube and Nissen, and her gastroenterologist in Utah told her it was fine for her to plunge his food as well. They plunge sometimes, but mostly they make their food a little thinner and use a feeding pump. There is more and more information out there now on blending REAL food for our children as more and more parents journey down that path.

When feeding Brandon his blended food:
1. I attach the feeding extension tube to the MIC-KEY button port.
2. Using a 60ml (2oz) syringe, I draw up the blended food and rinse or wipe the tip.
3. I insert the syringe into the open end of the feeding extension tube and slowly inject the blended food.
4. I give him 8-9oz blended food and flush with 10ml water.
5. I wait 30 minutes and repeat.

Brandon can verbalize what he is feeling in terms of bloating, gas, feeling full or hungry. This also makes a difference in how much I give him at each feeding.


BRANDON'S DAILY FEEDING SCHEDULE

Brandon's Food & Medicine Schedule
TIME	FOOD/MEDS
7:00am	2.2mL MESTINON 12 ounces  WATER
8:00am	9 ounces FOOD (4 ½ - 60ML Syringes) Flush w/ Water
8:30am	9 ounces FOOD (4 ½ - 60ML Syringes) Flush w/ Water
10:00am	2.2mL MESTINON 12 ounces  WATER
12:00am	2.2mL MESTINON 9 ounces FOOD (4 ½ - 60ML Syringes) Flush w/ Water
12:30pm	9 ounces FOOD (4 ½ - 60ML Syringes) Flush w/ Water
2:00pm	2.2mL MESTINON 12 ounces  WATER
3:30pm	9 ounces FOOD (4 ½ - 60ML Syringes) Flush w/ Water
4:00pm	2.2mL MESTINON 9 ounces FOOD (4 ½ - 60ML Syringes) Flush w/ Water
5:00pm	12 ounces  WATER
6:00pm	2.2mL MESTINON 9 ounces FOOD (4 ½ - 60ML Syringes) Flush w/ Water
6:30pm	9 ounces FOOD (4 ½ - 60ML Syringes) Flush w/ Water
7:30-8pm	9 ounces FOOD (4 ½ - 60ML Syringes) Flush w/ Water