Keeping up with the "Feeding Jones's"

[DesertIsis]

One of my favorite things to do when choosing what to buy from the grocery store, to feed my darling Isis, is to try and match it up with what I, or my fiancé, are going to eat. This has become quite the challenge recently. Even though I follow the Beautiful Dragons website religiously, I seem to be quite off the mark. Do they often update their information as new things are learned?

(It's not uncommon to see us bent over a phone double checking the website in the grocery store)

I could have sworn that Kale was a good staple! It's one that she eats well, WE love to eat it in salads, it keeps pretty well. But, I popped online today and I guess Kale is NOT a good staple!

Thankfully, she has recently been getting mostly a variety of squashes. Which I'm quite positive is good for her. (Checks Beautiful Dragons quick because... low confidence) Yes, it's still good for her.
All this leads to me feeling like I'm trailing behind in "keeping up with the feeding Jones's"
(We had a spinach scare a while ago too -_- She doesn't get that anymore either.)

Guess we're sticking with squashes for a while. Thankfully, those taste good in my stews!

 

[Taterbug]

If you are feeding enough variety and balance you can dispense with the notion of a "staple" easier. It sound like you are flexible and creative with the meals, so that's way ahead of a two or three green mix from a "staples" list. I like to think of it more like "if you can't feed anything else, or only willing buy one or two things it should be from this list". Personally I just buy a different high calcium green or two each week since we aren't so good about eating our veggies.

I don't think that site is updated frequently and there are a few point in particular I disagree with. In part the format encourages limiting the diet, when with enough thought you can feed a great variety of items. It's a good starting point though and a good quick reference.

As to your specific items -
Kale is a great green but should be offered in moderation or mixed up due to the potentially high levels of goitrogens in it. Those can suppress thyroid function in high concentrations. Contrary to popular belief it's low in calcium inhibiting oxalates. Almost all of the "staple" greens are closely related and will have hugely variable levels of antinutrients in them so I hedge my bets and mix it up, getting what looks freshest at the store.

Spinach has high levels of oxalates and isn't "unsafe" to feed properly but can lead to calcium deficiency if fed in excess or out of balance. Infact it contains iodine, a necessary element but relative rarity in the produce on that list.

 

[DesertIsis]

Thanks for the info! I'm just trying to do right by my girl.
The past few months have been difficult because of a drawn-out move. I had to give my fiancé specific items to buy to feed her, rather than the usually shopping I do, as I was not there yet. Thus, she got a bit of a monoculture of food for a while.

I used to buy specific greens for Isis from my local "mom n' pop" before I moved. They made them, you bought them and didn't have to worry about what greens to buy. Those salads were filled with a lot of awesome, great smelling, things. Collard greens, some sweet potato, mustard and turnip greens, sometimes carrots, sometimes peppers. It was an awesome convenience!

I like the idea of buying the mixed greens packages, a lot.
The mixed greens might make our human salads taste better too!

 

[Taterbug]

Sounds like you had a good local store.

Sometimes I will get the spring mix salads (it's also easier for my husband to pick up when he does the shopping or I'm out of town), and sometimes mixes of "southern greens" show up too. I'll mix in some calcium rich greens or dust the salad if it's not got a lot of the heavy hitters.