Fertility & Maternity Recipes

Chestnut puree / Mount Blanc Dessert

Chestnut puree truffle

Chestnuts are packed with protein, fat, calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and vitamins that are essential during pregnancy. These nutrients help to regulate blood flow as well as promoting better bones and reduce fatigue during pregnancy.

Chestnut puree is very easy to make from fresh chestnuts. They can be frozen after being picked in Autumn for use over winter.

Ingredient

• 500g chestnuts (peeled)
• 50-80ml full-fat milk
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Boil peeled chestnuts in hot water in a saucepan.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook till soft.
3. Drain chestnuts and let them cool.
4. Mash chestnuts with milk (quantity according to the texture you prefer, the more the lighter the puree).
5. Pipe over the tart/biscuit base for Mount Blanc dessert, to make chestnut puree truffle, or fresh cream sponge cake.

A cake I made with fresh cream and chestnut puree.

Raising Children

Sweet Chestnuts foraging

Sweet chestnuts with prickly cases and tails

October is the perfect time to forage for sweet chestnut in your local woods. They are tasty for savory or sweet dishes and highly nutritious for growing children. 

Collecting Sweet Chestnuts

Conkers are mildly poisonous, therefore the last thing we want is to get horse chestnuts and sweet chestnuts mixed up. You tend to find fallen horse chestnuts starting in August through September, whilst chestnuts usually start falling towards the end of September. The key to identifying their difference is to look at their cases. Sweet chestnuts look green sea urchin while on the tree and usually turn brown by the time they fall. They are prickly and sharp to touch and always have a tail at the end of each nut.

Horse chestnuts with thorny cases and no tails.

Conkers have only short thorny cases, they are usually quite large and with no tails. It's not difficult to differentiate between the two when you know what to look for.

It really is a fun day out in autumn and the kids get to understand where food comes from. I normally grab a load of them and freeze them for use throughout winter. I will be sharing some recipes using my own foraged chestnuts too.

Everything Pregnant

 Acupuncture for Fertility

Speaking from personal experience, acupuncture worked wonders for me. In my early thirties when we were trying to get pregnant for our first child, it just didn't happen for the first year. According to the clinical definition: Infertility is "a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse"...(WHO-ICMART glossary1).

As having a few children has basically been my life-long dream since I was a child, I went to an acupuncturist specializes in treating infertility in Hong Kong, as I was living there at that time. Before making an appointment to see her, I had already heard numerous success stories from my friends and family. I went with my then-husband and we received a 7-day acupuncture treatment as well as taking herbal medicines every day during that week. By the end of the treatments, the acupuncturist worked out my fertile dates and told us to "work hard" during those three days. We did exactly what we were told and I fell pregnant for my first child that month.

I was very lucky the treatment worked for me after just one attempt. My cousin and her husband who were in their early forties after trying for over a decade went to see her, she too fell pregnant after receiving treatments for just over three months. I was particularly inspired by her case as her husband is a family doctor and her father-in-law was a gynecologist before he retired. A family with such strong western medical background opted for a natural less invasive fertility treatment was truly inspiring for many eager parents to be.

How does acupuncture for fertility work? 

According to The Guardian's news pages in 2008, "Acupuncture can increase the chances of getting pregnant for women undergoing fertility treatment by 65%." Its history dating back 5,000 years in Chinese medicine. By applying needles to fertility pressure points, acupuncture regulates the flow of energy in the body and brings it back into balance.

Acupuncture treatments help to increase blood flow to the uterus, regulate reproductive hormones, and reduce inflammation to increase the chances of conceiving. After conceiving, further treatments will be required to stabilize the pregnancy. 

Acupuncture involves placing thin needles into the fertility pressure points of the body. You can hardly feel the needles when applying correctly and it's a completely relaxing process.

Fertility & Maternity Recipes

Ginger 

Ginger originated from the southern part of ancient China, it gradually spread to India and the rest of Asia. Ginger was discovered in Europe around the first century when the Romans traded with India.

Health Benefits of Ginger

The main bioactive compound in ginger is called Gingerol, it is a powerful anti-inflammation agent in the body. Conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis which greatly affect fertility, are related to inflammation and can be helped by consuming ginger. Consuming ginger regularly can help reduce inflammation and increase the chances of conception. It is also effective in reducing nausea during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. 

How to include Ginger in our diet?

1. Fresh Ginger

You can include fresh ginger in tea with honey; grated in soup; cooked with fish to neutralize any unpleasant fish, or add a few slices in stir-fried vegetables to bring out the aroma of your dish.

2. Dried Ginger Powder

If the taste of hot spice in ginger isn't your cup of tea, try including couple tablespoons of ginger powder in a fruit smoothie. The heat will hardly be noticeable in smoothies but all the benefits remain. You can buy ginger powder online or from any health food shop. 

3. Ginger tablets

If eating fresh ginger nor dried ginger powder isn't for you, then you can always take it in tablets form which is widely available from health shops too.

Everything Pregnant

 Vitamins for Good Sexual Health

Vitamin C

Most of us take vitamin C supplements for preventing the common cold, flu, or Covid-19 if we are lucky. The good thing is, vitamin C can also boost our sexual health as it helps improve blood flow and promote erectile function. Since vitamin C can't be stored in the body, we should eat enough vitamin c rich food on a daily basis.

Vitamin C rich foods include:

1. Guavas

Vitamin C per 100g 

(228mg (254% DV))

2. Bell Pepper

Vitamin C per 100g

(128mg (142% DV))

3. Kiwifruit 

Vitamin C per 100g

(93mg (103% DV))

4. Strawberries

Vitamin C per 100g

(59mg (65% DV))

5. Oranges 

Vitamin C per 100G

(53mg (59% DV))

6. Papayas

 

Vitamin C per 100g

(61mg (68% DV))

7. Broccoli

 

Vitamin C per 100g

(89mg (99% DV))

8. Tomatoes

 

Vitamin C per 100 g

(23mg (25% DV))

9. Snow/Mangetout peas

Vitamin C per 100g

(60mg (67% DV))

10. Kale 

Vitamin C per 100g

(18mg (20% DV))

Raising Children with Fun and Love

Seafood foraging

Playing with iphones and ipads just aren't the way I want to raise my children. Going to the seaside during summer to forage for food is a great way to get your children out of the comfort zone of their home.

Southend-on-sea

Great opportunity for children to learn where food come from.

We visit Southend-on-sea whenever the weather is nice enough. Remember to check the tidal times beforehand,. https://www.tidetimes.org.uk/southend-on-sea-tide-times. Plan your trip so you can visit the beach during low tides and collect oysters, mussels, winkles, cockles, even crabs if you look under the rocks.

This end of the coastlines has gigantic oysters.

Oyster bigger than my palm.

Oyster as big as my palm.

I like eating oysters raw and fresh from the sea, medium size oysters are actually tastier if eaten raw. The big ones are also delicious if cooked over a good old barbecue.

Just opened.

Creamy inside during summer.

If you are not a big fan in raw seafood or shucking oysters, cooking them will allow them to pop open on their own.

Cooking on my DIY barbecue.

cooked meat over barbecue

You can also collect crabs, mussels and winkles at the other end of the coastline of Southend-on-sea closer to Chalkwell Beach.

mussels, cockles and clams

crabs if you look under the rocks

Fertility & Maternity Recipes

Blackberry Muffin 

You can find blackberries throughout England from June to October, blackberries have been
foraged and eaten by British since the beginning of time. Blackberries are filled with vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium, folic acid and antioxidants, all are vital for baby's healthy skin cells and immune system.

Ingredients

• 400g fresh blackberries (washed and drained)

  

  Blackberries collected from backyard.

• 100g caster sugar
• 100g melted butter
• 300g self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 150ml milk
• brown sugar (for sprinkling)
• nutmeg (for sprinkling)

Instructions

Add mixture with blackberries

1. Pre-heat oven to 160C or 325F.
2. Pour milk and butter in a measuring cup and place in microwave for 30 second or heat gently to melt butter. 
3. Whisk gently till butter liquidized, then add the eggs and whisk gently again to mix up the eggs. Then, set aside.
4. Mix all the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. (make sure all ingredients are sifted)
5. Pour No.3 in the mixing bowl while whisking.
6. Whisk through the batter mixture till it is smooth.
7. Half filled each baking cups and add 3-4 blackberries before filling the cups again.
8. Place a few more blackberries on top.
9. Sprinkle brown sugar and nutmeg on top before baking.
10. Bake for 10-15 minutes or till golden.