Baby Makers

I have a fun story to go along with todays post. When my husband and I decided we were ready to have kids, I have to admit I was nervous we might have trouble. So, being a scientist, I did some research on how to increase fertility. Regular sleep and moderate exercise of course, and also eating a balanced diet. In addition to those things (which were already a part of our lifestyle) I also found that certain foods were supposed to help. So I started adding them in large quantities to our diet. Once we got pregnant, which didn’t take any time at all, I told my husband what I had been up to. He smiled, told me I was crazy, and said he’d wondered why we were eating so many pumpkin seeds lately. Pumpkin seeds are rich in zinc, which is important for regulating your hormones, sperm production, and ovulation.  Maca root, which you will normally find dried and ground into powder, is thought to balance hormones and promote sexually function such as increased libido and decreased stress.  It is also delicious and tastes reminiscent of peanut butter. Now I don’t really think we got pregnant so quickly because of some pumpkin seeds, but it made me feel more at ease that I was being proactive, and one the greatest factors in fertility is stress management! So if babies are on your horizon then make some of these for you and your significant other for V-day. If babies aren’t on your horizon then make them anyway, but better call them maca cups!

Baby Makers

Gluten free, Vegan

Makes 6 plus extra filling

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds soaked in salt water overnight

3 medjool dates, pitted

2 tbl coconut oil, softened

3 tbl maca powder

1 tbl maple syrup

1/3 rounded cup dark chocolate chips

1 rounded tbl palm shortening

Soak the pumpkin seeds overnight in salted water and then drain and rinse. Put the seeds into a small food processor and blend until the seeds are finely broken up, scrape down the sides as needed. Add the dates , maple syrup, and coconut oil and blend until the dates are incorporated and the mixture is mostly smooth. You will have to stop and scrape down the sides several times. I didn’t worry about getting mine completely smooth but it did take about 10 minutes total to get the texture I liked.  To make the cups, melt the chocolate and palm shortening together. I put mine in the oven for a few minutes then mixed. Line a cupcake pan with 6 liners and add about 1.5 teaspoon of melted chocolate to each. Gently turn the pan to coat the sides about ¼ inch up. Set the pan in the freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. Once hardened scoop about 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin/maca mixture into each cup and press down slightly, but not all the way to the edge. Top each with enough chocolate to cover the filling and tap the pan to smooth. Put them back in the freezer for about 2 hours to firm up. Store in the freezer, the chocolate will be very soft at room temperature.

Notes and Substitutions

• You will have plenty of filling leftover. I made some ‘truffles’ by rolling the filling into balls and then tossing in cocoa powder. You can also make more cups, eat it straight, or smooth it into a small pan and let it set up in the freezer and then slice it.
• For the chocolate sauce, you can use coconut oil instead of palm shortening; it will just melt faster at room temperature.

Do you know other fertility boosting foods?

Be Mine Valentine Cookies

I am pretty excited. I joined a local mom and baby group and we have a Valentines get-together on Tuesday. I’m a natural introvert but I think it is important for our son to play with kids his age and I could use a little mom conversation. After a small freak out of “what should I bring?” I decided a simple cookie would be great. These are free of most common allergens (except nuts) so I figured they would be safe for most other kids, but truthfully they are an adult treat. They have a rich and complex chocolate flavor and a nice crispy crunch, but of course Mercury doesn't let to many things go un-baby-tested!

Be My Valentine Cookies

Gluten Free, Vegan

1 cup almond flour

2 tbl cocoa powder

1 tbl coconut flour

2 tbl ground flax

½ tsp vanilla powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tbl strong coffee

2 tbl coconut oil, softened

3 tbl maple syrup

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl with a spatula, break up any chunks. Add the coffee, softened coconut oil and maple syrup. Mix until thick and well combind. Let it chill in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Once chilled roll out between 2 pieces of wax paper and use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut. Use a spatula to gently transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and baked for 8-10 minutes on 350oF. You can put any scrap dough back together and re-roll it out, but you will have to let it chill again in the freezer for about 10 minutes. When the cookies are done let them cool and then ice.

Strawberry White Chocolate Icing 

4 strawberries

3 tbl cocoa butter, melted

1 tbl coconut oil, melted

1 tsp maple syrup

Melt your oils, I just put them in a small ramekin on top of the stove while my cookies cooked and the ambient heat from the stove melted them. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or small food processor until smooth. Put the icing into a plastic bag and cut the tip off. If the icing is to runny to pipe you can let it chill for a little while until it firms up some. Decorate your cookies anyway you like.

Notes and Substitutions

• You can use any liquid sweetener that you like.
• You can use water instead of the coffee, however the coffee brings out nice flavors in the chocolate.
• If the dough is to warm it will be hard to make cutouts, if it is coming apart you probably need to chill it longer.
• I got about 9 cookies with my cookie cutter

What is your favorite Valentine treat?

31 Days of Green Recap

It was a fun 31 Days of Green. I definitely learned a few things that I would like to share. You can also find a link to each day below.

What I Learned...

1) We don’t normally eat such a variety of food.

The top ‘greens’ in our house are spinach, avocado, and kale. I had to go out of my way to include 31 different varieties, but it was a fun challenge.

2) Roasting is the tastiest way to prepare greens.

Though I normally sauté, we actually decided that all of the greens we roasted tasted much better that way. It is our new favorite way to eat greens.

3) Blogging everyday is hard!

I have a new respect for all of the bloggers out there. Taking pictures, coming up with recipes, and typing this up is a lot more time consuming than I realized. Next time I commit to a time challenge I think I will definitely have some posts prepared in advance for those busy nights.

4) How to cook an artichoke.

I had never actually prepared artichoke before this so I had to look up how to cook it.

5) Getting ‘green’ in everyday isn’t hard.

I was happy to see that it was easy for us to eat some type of green everyday, it wasn’t always different, but spinach and eggs were pretty much always on the menu.


Day 1: Collard Greens (Sautéed Collard Greens)
Day 2: Fennel (Raw Fennel Salad)
Day 3: Wakame (Wakame Miso Kettle Soup)
Day 4: Kale (Kale and Creamy 'Noodles')
Day 5: Spinach (Green Eggs and Yam)
Day 6: Green Tea
Day 7 & 8: Spirulina and Chlorella
Day 9: Broccoli (Garlic Roasted Broccoli) 
Day 10: Swiss Chard (Braised Turnip and Chard)
Day 11: Arugula (Arugula Salad)
Day 12: Cabbage (Marinated Cabbage Salad)
Day 13: Lettuce (Lettuce Wraps)
Day 14: Hemp Seeds (Hemp Milk/Creamy Apricot Hemp Milk)
Day 15: Green Peas (Curry Pea Dip/Green Curry Quiche)
Day 16: Bok Choy (Baby Bok Choy Fried Rice)
Day 17: Cilantro (Cilantro Freezer Sauce)
Day 18: Avocado 
Day 19: Kiwi (Iron Woman Smoothie)
Day 20: Celery (Chicken on a Log)
Day 21: Zucchini (Zucchini Lasagna) 
Day 22: Tomatillo (Tomatillo Salsa Verde)
Day 23: Cucumber (Spicy Marinated Cucumbers with Minty Beef)
Day 24: Green Apple (Almond Apple Pie)
Day 25: Asparagus (Coconut Battered Asparagus Spears)
Day 26: Brussel Sprouts (Lemon Pepper Brussel Sprouts)
Day 27: Leeks (Early Spring Harvest Soup)
Day 28 & 29: Artichoke (Blooming Artichoke Dip)
Day 30: Limes
Day 31: Beet Greens

31 Days of Green: Day 31 Beet Greens

It only seems right to end this endeavor with a true green. So todays green is what I like to call a “bonus green” Whenever I buy beets at the farmers market, I get bonus greens. I have to admit, beet greens aren’t my favorite but hey, they come free with the beets. There are lots of bonus greens out there, turnip, carrot, and dandelion; all of which I buy for the underground part. Now there are some green parts that you don’t want to eat, like tomato and potato greens. Generally you won’t find these attached to plant still, but if your ever unsure if they are okay to eat just ask someone! The best way to eat bonus greens is mixed into a sauté. It is one of the easiest ways to get more greens into your diet, while saving some greens!

Here’s a few way to enjoy…

carrot greens 

beet greens 

turnip greens

 

What is your favorite “bonus green?”