In our recent tele-class, expert, acupuncturist and author Aimee Raupp discussed what to eat to nourish you and baby, how to effectively lose your post-baby weight, why you taking time to exercise is good for the whole family, and easy ways to find balance during day-to-day chaos.
Don’t worry if you missed this incredible tele-class, we have the playback link right here.
Here some healthy eating tips, links with useful information that was covered during the call as well as two amazing and easy recipes!
Dieting Tips
- Be kind to yourself.
- Nourish YOU and baby (and partner!) will benefit.
- Eat! 1500-1800 calories per day minimum.
- Mommy deserves a break.
- Set a goal.
- Sleep!
- Be present.
Helpful Links:
1. On soy: http://chilloutandgethealthy.blogspot.com/2011/10/why-is-dr-oz-still-recommending-soy.html (this is a blog post Aimee wrote two months ago that basically sums it all up)
2. On which foods should be organic: http://www.mypregnancybaby.com/dirty-dozen-2011/ (this is a very concise article covering EWG’s dirty dozen list and why pesticides are so bad for us)
Two easy nourishing (body and soul) recipes:
Chicken soup (adapted from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook)
Ingredients:
- 1 whole free-range chicken
- gizzards from one chicken (optional)
- 2-4 chicken feet (optional)
- 4 quarts cold filtered water
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 4 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 6 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
- 1 carton of organic chicken stock 3 cups of organic wild rice
- 4 sprigs of parsley (optional)
The KEY to this soup is to use a whole chicken, cut off the wings and remove the neck, fat glands and the gizzards from the cavity. Cut chicken parts into several pieces. Place chicken or chicken pieces in a large stainless steel pot with water, vinegar and all vegetables except parsley and 2 carrots and 3 celery stalks (you will use these all after you cook the chicken for a while). Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour. Bring to a boil, and remove scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 12 hours. The longer you cook the stock, the richer and more flavorful it will be (I always cook mine for 12 hours and it is divine!). About 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley. This will impart additional mineral ions to the broth.
After it’s cooked for the 6-12 hours. Turn the heat off and let the soup cool down a bit. Next you will get out a slotted spoon and remove the bones. This takes a while (probably about 15 minutes). I usually put a plate next to the soup container and drop the bones onto the plate. There will be a lot of smaller bones, so when you think you’ve got all the bones out, go back again and look some more. I always find one or two more when I think I’m done.
Once you feel like you have all the bones removed. Chop up the other 2 carrots and 3 celery stalks and add to the soup. As well, if you want to add rice, add it now. Then heat the soup up again for about another hour and, voila, you have prepared the best chicken soup of your life!
Keep some for this week and freeze the rest in smaller containers and defrost one per week.
Hummus (this recipe was in my first book, Chill Out and Get Healthy)
- 3 cups drained cooked organic chickpeas (you can use canned organic chickpeas)
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
- ½ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons water
- 4 tablespoons organic lemon juice, to taste
- 4 tablespoons organic extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
In your food processor, puree the chickpeas, garlic cloves, red pepper, tahini, water, half the lemon juice and half the olive oil until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding salt and additional lemon juice, if necessary, to your liking. Transfer to a wide shallow bowl for serving and use the back of a serving spoon to form a well in the center of the hummus. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle the top with the parsley and paprika. Voilà!
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