I know that it's been quite a while since I devoted time to posting
recipes on my blog, but based on the last post about my homebirth, I
hope my readers can understand that my focus was elsewhere. The journey
of the birth of my second child has been an extremely pivotal time in my
life that has opened up so many doors for me. This week I am
participating in a training that will prepare me to become a
Hypnobirthing instructor so that I can help other women have the
incredibly special and empowering birth that I was fortunate to have.
Also this week, I have officially graduated from IIN, the Institute for
Integrative Nutrition and am now a certified Health Coach. Finally, I
also made the decision to attend a training in October that will certify
me as a Lactation Educator. With all of these credentials, I hope to
help women during the most important time of their lives: assist them
with nutrition counseling as they work to get pregnant, help maintain
sanity and a healthy diet during pregnancy, teach them about
Hypnobirthing and the amazing power they have to birth their babies, and
then help them establish a successful breastfeeding relationship with
their child.
Establishing a successful
breastfeeding relationship is all about partnership between a new mama
and a newborn. It requires the mother to be on her path to healthy
recovery from the birth. In the United States, women are expected to be
up and running the next day after a birth, but these are extremely high
expectations. Even after my birth, I still have muscle soreness weeks
after. In China, on the other hand, women are to be confined to their
homes for 30 days. New mothers are not allowed to eat raw fruit or
vegetables, or drink coffee, cold
drinks or even cold water, which can only be drunk warm or hot. They are
to be dressed warmly and enjoy warming, healing herbal soups. The
Chinese know that the postpartum time is extremely important and
requires that a new mama gather back her strength.
I
researched some of the recipes for the types of healing herbal soups
served to Chinese women in the postpartum period and wanted to share
with you a delicious recipe that I developed. It is full of ingredients that cleanse and tonify the body.The majority of the
ingredients can be found in your local Asian market. Here is a short summary of the herbal uses of the ingredients in the Postpartum Recovery Soup.
Ginger: warms the body and stops bleeding, especially uterine bleeding. It acts as a detoxifier.
Red dates (jujubes): helps to restore energy and balance
Longan: used for postpartum weakness, stablizing the stomach and the nervous
system
Black dates: helps to restore energy and balance (more tonic effect than red dates)
Snow Fungus: strengthens the kidney and lung chi, perfect for aid postpartum women who are physically weak
Wakame: Reduces swelling, stimulates the production of healthy breast milk and replenishes the new mama with vitamins and minerals lost during the birthing
process
Shitake Mushrooms: supports the immune system and reduces inflammation
Goji Berries: Reduces bleeding and tonifies the body
Sweet & Spicy Postpartum Recovery Soup
Stock (to be made ahead of time)
1 lb pasture raised/organic chicken bones with some meat on them
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Celtic or Himalayan salt
6 quarts filtered water
Soup
1/2 cup sliced ginger
1 1/2 cups dried red dates (jujubes)
1 cup dried longan
1 cup dried black dates
2 cups snow fungus
1 cup wakame
1/2 cup dried shitake mushrooms
1 cup goji berries
Process:
1.
Put all ingredients for stock in an enamel or stainless steel soup pot,
bring to boil and then put on low and cook over night or at least 6
hours.
2. Once stock is prepared, removed chicken bones and add back the meat from the bones to the pot
3. Add in all ingredients except for snow fungus and bring to boil and cook for 15 minutes
4. Add snow fungus and then simmer on low of 30 minutes
5. Enjoy!
