Yummy Mummy's Super Snacks

"Get used to eating your meals cold" they all said when I was pregnant. But after Antonio was born I wondered, what meals? Who has time to make food for themselves? I was doing well to grab an apple most days. But of course we must eat properly, because mum's health is baby's health, and mum's food becomes baby's food. Not only that, but a well nourished mamma makes more milk, copes better with the inevitable sleep deprivation, feels less overwhelmed and more in control of herself. This was not me in the early baby days! So I have spent much time devising a system to ensure I have quick, easy health food on hand. In the process I've learned that being healthy has much in common with being a mum. Both require prioritisation, mindfulness, fore planning, flexibility and a lot of self love.

My answer to the issue has been to prepare large batches of snacks in advance, snacks which are very nutrient dense; high in fats, protein, vitamins and minerals. Here are my favourite superfood snacks.

Dip - not the supermarket sludge, but home-whizzed super dip! You can use avocado or home made cream cheese extracted from yoghurt. To this I add a huge handfull of fresh herbs, anything you like, they're all packed with their own respective goodies, half a clove of garlic, pine nuts and some sprouts. You can add any other flavours you like after that. I like a bit of home made roasted capsicum and some olive oil. You could put in some olives, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, roasted pumpkin...go crazy! And don't forget a good pinch of ground sea or rock salt.

Veggie sticks - with which to eat your dip. Chop them the night before and stick them in an airtight in the fridge. You can also use them for a quick half an avo.

Bliss balls - these sweet treat superfoods really fill you up! You can pack them full of awesomeness. Coconut oil, nut butters, activated nuts, tahini, raw honey, spices like cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, raw carob or cacao, orange zest, ginger root... Just blitz it all up in the processor. Dates make a great base but you can use any preservative free dried fruit. Mmmm....

Smoothies - they take a few seconds to whizz up and you can use them to really improve your health. You can use nut milks, raw milk, bananas, apricots, egg yolks, coconut oil, flax oil, fresh or frozen berries, yoghurt or kefir. You can also do green smoothies, with a fruit base and some green veg, for the most awesome energy kick you'll ever get in a glass.

Banana - for times that you're out of the house and need to pick up a power snack, have bananas. Yes, plural. You won't get the richness of good fats, but 'nanas are power packs of energy and electrolytes, while being low in fructose. And very filling! Also, bub can share it with you, and it's amazing how sweet their disposition becomes when they've had a healthy snack!

Chicken soup - this isn't a trick I do myself, but a girlfriend swears by a thermos flask full of chicken broth! She sips it whenever she feels her blood sugars slipping. See the post 'eating warm' for the recipe.

For me, the lack of time to do anything for myself puts a downer on my mummyhood. I found that keeping my tummy full of healthy food makes all the difference. So if you are feeling deprived as a Mamma, I highly recommend you try these ideas. A quick and easy superfood snack can transform your life! They'll keep you full and happy, and it's so very true that a contented Mamma means a contented baby. And its so empowering to know you can turn your own mood around so easily!

Happy power snacking!

Crunchy Nuts! How to make your own yummy nut milk and activated nut meal

I've been experimenting of late with nut milk. You may have seen nut milk in the supermarket, it comes in a tetra pack (ikch) and hangs out with the other milk substitues. But did you know you can make your own? Making your own comes with all the usual advantages of home made over prepackaged. The tetra pack is the obvious difference, this is something to avoid at all costs. Environmental plastics are bad enough without unwittingly imbibing them too. Home made nut milk is really high in vitamins, and also contains no hydrogenated (or any other) oils which might be added to a packaged version to give shelf life. In short, it's a whole food.

I was surprised by how quick it was to make too. The only special equipment required is a piece of muslin, so I cut up one I'd used to swaddle Antonio when he was a newborn. (I promise it was washed in the interim.) All I do is put about a cup of almonds or hazelnuts into a stainless steel milkshake cup and cover them with water. I do this in the evening, leave them overnight, then drain them, add more water, blitz with a stick blender and strain through the muslin. Done! I have used this milk in Antonio's smoothies, which he loves, but the mornings are chilly as winter approaches, so smoothies containing frozen blueberries aren't quite so appropriate for him. I will use the nut milk to make porridge for him, but the last couple of mornings I've added 2 egg yolks and half a banana to a cup of nut milk, whizzed it with the stick blender and cooked this over low heat, stirring with a whisk. Then I added a teaspoon of raw honey and about a tablespoon of flaked quinoa. This makes a delicious kind of custard porridge, which Bubby gobbles!

My personal favourite use for nut milk is hazelnut hot chocolate! When added to a cup of cocoa, hazelnut milk makes you wonder why you'd bother with disgustingly sweet, artificially flavoured syrup. Chocolate and hazelnuts really are a match made in heaven!

The secret of great nut milk is not to use too much water. The less water you use, the creamier the milk will be. You only need enough to be able to easily blend it. I find this is about 1:1.5, but I don't really measure. The wog in me likes to measure by eye!

The leftover nut meal is wonderfully nutritious too, high in bioavailable protein, vitamins, minerals...mmmm. What you do with this gorgeous stuff is spread it out on a biscuit tray and pop it into the oven at 50 degrees, leaving the door slightly open. When the meal is dry, let it cool and store it in an airtight container. I stick mine in the fridge, to err on the side of caution, but I've read there's no need to refrigerate. I use it in baking, just like pre-milled almond or hazelnut meal, only it's much more nutritious, and the protien is more easily absorbed. I'm currently working on a recipe for home made crunchy 'activated' nut cereal! And also activated nut protein bars, both of which I'll post as soon as I'm happy with them.

If you have any more great nut milk or nut meal recipes or ideas, please share them!