For Real Food Blends co-founders Julie and Tony Bombacino, using a Vitamix blender for family meal preparation was not a lifestyle choice; it was a life-saving measure.
After being a somewhat typical breast-fed baby, at six months old, their son, AJ, suffered a 45-minute seizure. After a series of tests, doctors informed the Bombacinos that AJ had brain malformations of his cortical development, he may never walk or talk, and his life would certainly never be normal. The Bombacinos faced this difficult reality as AJ’s seizures continued. To make things worse, soon after this seizure, he struggled with what was thought to be severe, worsening reflux. A swallow study brought more difficult news: AJ needed a feeding tube for 100 percent of his nutrition; immediately.
For three months, the Bombacinos fed AJ traditional commercial formulas through his feeding tube, and for three months, AJ threw up five to 10 times per day, sustained regular seizures, was barely sleeping and experienced formula intolerance side effects like diarrhea, constipation, irritability and failure to thrive. The Bombacinos worked with registered dietitians and gastroenterologists to implement a variety of possible solutions, including a low-protein formula, a high-protein formula, low-fat formulas and even 24-hour feeding … but nothing seemed to work.
Loin d'être prête à baisser les bras, la famille se tourna vers l'internet pour trouver sa propre solution. En se basant sur leurs recherches, les Bombacino prirent une décision simple, mais majeure : ils allaient cesser de donner des préparations commerciales à AJ et lui offriraient une variété de vrais aliments.
« Grâce à la puissance et à la facilité d'utilisation de notre mélangeur Vitamix, nous avons été en mesure d'expérimenter rapidement différents mélanges d'aliments et reprendre un certain contrôle. »
AJ’s dietitian advised against this idea, scared that it would clog his feeding tube or that he wouldn’t get proper nutrition. The Bombacinos did more research to find a blender capable of making smooth food purees that would pass easily through their son’s feeding tube. In the end, they felt confident that a Vitamix was the only blender for the job.
« Notre Vitamix était comme une petite île dans la tempête, explique Julie Bombacino, la mère d'AJ et la cofondatrice et PDG de Real Food Blends. Grâce à la puissance et à la facilité d'utilisation de notre mélangeur Vitamix, nous avons été en mesure d'expérimenter rapidement différents mélanges d'aliments et reprendre un certain contrôle. »
To start, the Bombacinos fed AJ just 10 ml of real, fresh food via his feeding tube — apples blended in a Vitamix machine — and nothing happened (in a good way). Over the next few months, the Bombacinos’ kitchen turned into a test kitchen, as they thought of what foods AJ should be eating at every stage, and how to best prepare those items. As a result of consuming real, whole foods, blended in a Vitamix blender, AJ started vomiting less, his hair growth and complexion improved, he was sleeping more, his digestion improved, he started progressing on his timeline, and he was, simply, happier.
« AJ redevenait un enfant, et cela eut un effet incroyable sur nous, remarque Tony Bombacino, le père d'AJ et le cofondateur et président de Real Food Blends. C'était une petite dose de normalité; nous avions l'impression d'avoir franchi un tournant. »
Encouragés par leur succès et ayant besoin de prendre une pause, les Bombacino décidèrent de prendre des vacances en famille avec AJ et sa grande sœur, Luca. Ne souhaitant pas avoir à acheter, mélanger et planifier les repas d'AJ durant leurs vacances, ils se mirent à la recherche d'options de repas prémélangées de longue conservation qu'ils pourraient lui servir pendant une semaine en remplacement de ses mélanges Vitamix… pour constater qu'il n'en existait aucune.
“ Our mission is to ensure that all people with a feeding tube have easy access to 100 percent real-food meals and real nutritional variety — and to hopefully make life for people with a feeding tube (and their families) just a little easier. ”
Determined to help other families like their own, the Bombacinos spent the next two-and-a-half years creating what would become Real Food Blends: their company that offers a line of pre-packaged, shelf-stable, 100 percent real food meals for people with feeding tubes. With the help of some angel investors and a good amount of their own personal savings, the Bombacinos’ dream became a reality. Real Food Blends is now nearly seven years old, has sold millions of meals nationwide to tens of thousands of customers, offers six different real food meal options, and continues to be inspired by its online community of over 100,000 individuals that learn, share and advocate for people with feeding tubes and their loved ones every day.
« Consommer des repas composés d'une grande variété d'aliments complets réduits en purée, que ce soit des mélanges fait maison à l'aide de notre Vitamix ou des repas de Real Food Blends — n'est pas seulement une question de nutrition : c'est tout l'aspect émotionnel de la nourriture, de pouvoir partager un repas en famille et de se sentir heureux de ce que l'on sert à notre proche, qui est touché, explique Tony. Les gens nous disent qu'ils se sentent à nouveau humains, qu'ils peuvent sentir les différentes odeurs des plats et que ces derniers les rassasient davantage comme un vrai repas. »
According to Julie, there are nearly 1 million people (kids and adults) in the U.S. that rely on a feeding tube for some or all of their nutrition, and over 400 different reasons and conditions why an individual may need a feeding tube. “Our mission is to ensure that all people with a feeding tube have easy access to 100 percent real-food meals and real nutritional variety — and to hopefully make life for people with a feeding tube (and their families) just a little easier,” said Julie.
AJ, now a healthy, thriving nine-year-old, is consuming 10 - 18 ounces of blended food per meal, three times per day. He enjoys a combination of Real Food Blends meals and customized home blends made with the Bombacinos’ Vitamix blender. “He knows what the blender sounds like, and he giggles when he hears it and often scoots into the kitchen to see what’s going on,” said Julie. “We can include him in meal time again, be adventurous with his nutrition and feed him more like us — and that means a lot.”
For more information about Real Food Blends, visit www.RealFoodBlends.com, or join their community on Facebook. Share your own inspirational blending stories using #MyVitamix.