Motherfood cooking course: session two
In this session we will look at the first six months of your life together, though the dishes selected here are wonderfully nutritious for all stages beyond this time frame.
The first 6 months is the time when your baby is most dependent on your for sustenance, if you are going to breastfeed, and this is also the time when your body is likely to do most of the healing and recovery after pregnancy and labour. I would love to emphasise the importance of good fats in this period, both for your own body’s wellbeing as well as for the production of milk. So dishes selected here are very rich in good fats, as well as in protein, which is another essential element for you and your baby. I would also like to highlight the importance of eating regularly and i hope that with the recipes offered on this course, this task will become easy and effortless but I am also offering some ‘grazing’ ideas here, which require no cooking as such. Please do tune into your body and respond to its hunger and thirst queues.
Remember you’ve created a new life and this little person continues to depend on you just as much as when they were still part of your body, so by caring for yourself you are also supporting a healthy development of your child.
recipe one: SALMON & GREENS ASIan style
Ingredients
For the salmon
500g salmon fillet
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp of mirin (optional)
1 tbsp of runny honey
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1/2 lemon zested and juiced
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
2 pinches of flakey sea salt
For the stir fry
1 onion, peeled and cut lengthways
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 courgette, cut into semi-rings
1 large broccoli, stalk and florets cut into bite sized chunks
1/2 pointy cabbage, cut into strips
2-3 stems of kale
2 tbsp of soy sauce
black and white sesame seeds
*but literally ANY vegetables will do! Peppers, mushrooms, cabbage, Chinese leaf etc
Method
To make the marinade mix all the ingredients in a bowl or a container, until well incorporated. Place the fish in a container with a lid and pour over the marinade, coat well. Put in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 mins or overnight for best results.
Pre-heat the oven to 180C and roast the salmon in the marinade for 30-35 minutes depending on your preference.
In the meantime make the stir fry.
Preheat the pan with enough sesame oil to generously cover the surface.
Add all the vegetables up to kale and give them a good stir for a few moments. Add the soy sauce. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.
Then add the kale, a pinch of salt, a dash of soy sauce and sesame seeds give it a good stir and cook under the lid for 3 minutes.
To serve plate up the vegetables, place the salmon fillet on top, drizzle some of the cooking juices and sprinkle with sesame seeds, chilli flakes and a drizzle of sesame oil.
serving suggestions
You can serve this dish with some rice (short grain brown is my favourite) or buckwheat noodles. The dish tastes great the next day and works really well in an egg fried rice too. Just flake the salmon and stir through all together with the rice and a raw egg. top with some nori sheets or rehydrated seaweed noodles to boost the much needed iodine which supports breast health and ads tons of umami!
variation recipe: salmon & roast veg Middle Eastern style
For the marinade
125ml olive oil
1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses
1 tsp of date syrup
2 tsp of sumac
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
a large pinch of flaky sea salt
Make the salmon following the method above.
For the roast vegetables
1 tsp of each: smoked paprika (sweet or spicy), cumin seeds, coriander powder, sumac
200ml of olive oil
a generous pinch of salt (to your liking and family’s needs)
1 large sweet potato
2-4 carrots
1-2 parsnips
10-12 new potatoes
2-4 small beetroots
*any root vegetables would do here in any amount, you will just need to adjust to oil and the spices if you are making a bigger batch. You can also cook some greens like sprouts, broccoli or kale using this method
Method
mix all the spices in a large bowl together with the salt and olive oil.
Wash and scrub the vegetables and cut into even batons or cubes. Make sure, if you are using beets, to use them last so they don’t colour the other vegetables.
Pre-heat your oven to 200C. Line the roasting trays with some tin foil.
Toss each batch of vegetables in the spiced oil and place on the roasting tray, leaving enough room. The secret here is not to overcrowd the tray and leave some gaps between the veggies. Otherwise they will steam up against one another, and we need them to roast nicely!
Place the beetroots in a separate tray, if using, to avoid any colouring.
Roast at 200C for 30-40mins with potatoes and parsnips at the top, carrots and sweet potatoes in the middle and beetroot at the bottom.
Add the salmon after 15-20 mins to roast for 25 mins on the lowest shelf with the beetroot.
To serve sprinkle some fresh herbs on top and zest 1/4 of a lemon.
serving variations
Any left overs of this dish work so well in a frittata (that we learn to make in lesson 3). You can also substitute or add any other vegetables you’d like to your roast. Make a big batch of veg and serve the next day with some hummus, or make a warm tabouleh salad by adding cooked couscous, some chopped up fresh herbs, and some lemon juice.
recipe two: Tahini mayo salad
For the mayo (makes more than you’ll need for one salad, yay!)
100ml good quality extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp runny honey
1tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 lemon zested, 1/2 juiced
2 pinches of flakey sea salt
1 small garlic clove minced (optional)
For the salad
4 stalks of kale
1 pink lady apple (or any firm & juicy apple of your choice)
1/2 english cucumber
1 chicken breast
1 tbsp of dukkah mix
salt to taste
Method
Rip the kale off the stalk into a bowl and shred more with your hands.
Drizzle with some olive oil, a bit of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
Massage for 1 minute till the leaves wilt a little. Set aside.
Meanwhile make the tahini ‘mayo’.
Add 100ml of olive oil into a bowl together with 4 tbsp of tahini, 1 tbsp of runny honey, 1 tbsp of cider vinegar, zest and juice of lemon, and some salt. Give it a good mix to incorporate well but be careful not to over-mix as tahini will split. If the mixture is getting too thick or you see it starts to split add a splash of very cold water and give it another gentle stir until well-combined again.
Taste and adjust acidity, sweetness and saltiness to your liking.
Now finish the salad.
Lay out the kale on a platter.
Slice the apple and cucumbers and place on top of the kale.
Then add a layer of chicken breast slices.
Top of 4-5 table spoons of tahini mayo, sprinkle with some seeds (Mama’s dukkah would work so well here), and some fresh parsley leaves.
Voila!
variations suggestions
This salad is so versatile, that pretty much anything would work here, as it’s all about the rich creamy dressing! Swap chicken for roast salmon (the Middle Eastern roast salmon from above would work super well here), use any other greens instead of or together with kale (spinach, lettuce, mixed greens), add croutons, chickpeas, and use any fresh herbs available - basil, coriander, dill.
The dressing works really well in so many other dishes. Add it to the roast salmon & veg, use it in sandwiches, or as a dip for crudités.
Recipe three: lactation cookies
Ingredients
2 eggs
4-6 tbsp of honey or maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of flakey salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
150g tahini
150 porridge oats
100g of unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp of plain flour
2-3 large handful of walnuts, chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 160C.
Using a whisk or a fork beat the eggs with honey, vanilla, salt, baking powder and cinnamon.
Add the tahini and mix well. Make sure not to overmix as tahini will split, especially if using an electric whisk or a mixer.
Add the porridge oats, the butter and the flour and mix again.
Finally add the chopped walnuts and stir through till evenly distributed.
Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Using a table spoon of the cookie dough form a ball with your hands, flatten a little and place on the tray a good distance apart. You should be able to get 9 balls per tray.
Bake in the fan oven for 20 minutes or until browned to your liking (admittedly the cookies I made in the video are a tad too brown).
Transfer on a cooling wrack till fully cooled down.
Enjoy with a cup of tea, some nut butter and/or yogurt.
These cookies are not very sweet, so you can also add 50g-100g of brown sugar to the butter as you melt it.
grazing plates ideas
A grazing plate can be a life saviour if you can’t cook yourself a meal. They are also perfect for eating with one hand, and you don’t even need to be sat at a table to enjoy them. These may seem abundantly obvious but sometimes the simplest of ideas might escape us while we are in that magically foggy state of early parenthood.
Some ‘must haves’ for the fridge and the pantry:
hard cheese, soft cheese, smoked salmon, hot smoked trout, hummus, falafel, sauerkraut, crudités, olives, dried fruit, fresh fruit, croutons, oat cakes, sourdough crisps, pitta bread, nuts, nut butters, pesto, honey.
This list is in no way exhaustive but is there to give you a place to start. Here are some possible options:
A middle eastern mezze with olives and toasted pitta || a Nordic style board with salmon, cream cheese, cucumbers, sauerkraut and rye bread || a cheese plate with oat cakes, dried fruits and nuts
Breastfeeding basket
A breastfeeding basket is very similar to a grazing platter, only even simpler. The idea is to have a few ‘feeding stations’ set up in your house where you’d always have food and drinks available. Ask someone from your household to keep an eye on the supplies in the baskets to make sure you always have what you need available to you.
The contents of the basket will vary according to your own needs but here is a general idea:
water or an infusion (fennel and honey tea are particularly great for breastfeeding and you can also use the infusions from session 1)
raw or toasted nuts (preferably unsalted and uncoated)
dried fruit
oat cakes
granola bars
bananas