Life with my 16 months old toddler & a lovely Lentil Stew

A few days ago, our little sunshine turned 16 months. 16 incredible months full of surprises, laughs, first times, clueless moments, love bursts, – sometimes exhausted and tired but always happy and grateful ❤

By now our mouse call us Mama, Papa, says Brumm Brumm, toddles around the living room (still holding on cupboards, sofas and chairs, she’s a careful one!), leaves a trail of mess where ever she goes, gives kisses, loves her softies with a passion and loves reading one of her many books on her blue sofa. She’s super chilled, sometimes a bit clingy, but always smiley and happy and she sleeps like a pro (there’s no day where I’m not grateful that I went through that sleep training with Daniela Sleep Coach last September).

Desiderata has been hanging in our bathroom door for many years.. it’s still my inspiration, especially when I feel things are getting too much..

Life has changed tremendously by becoming a mum and so have I…  I’ve never been so content and grateful but sometimes also exhausted and overwhelmed. Being a mum put my life upside down and living in another country away from our families doesn’t make it easier.  But I love it and wouldn’t change it for a thing, even if it sometimes means putting my own plans, ambitions and goals on a lower priority. Simply because I am not able to do everything at the same time anymore. My multi tasking skills seem to have disappeared when I gave birth and I slowly surrender to the fact that they might not come back anymore 😉 My first priority is Zoe and our family, then comes nothing for a while and only then comes my course to become a Holistic Health Coach which I still enjoy doing very much (just finished my second exam last weekend – whoowhoo!). It’s a fine line though sometimes to juggle everything and I often wonder how working mums are coping, or, even more challenging, single mums handle their daily life with a 16 month old toddler who becomes more lively and demanding every day! I honestly have no clue but my deepest respect goes out to all these women as well as the stay at home mums (and dads) like me, cause being with a child all day is often more exhausting than a work day might ever be LOL.

One of my 2017 resolutions: Time for more self care & self love this year. Carve out some time in the morning for some yoga home practice.

However, priorities shift and so finally do my expectations towards myself. I try to find peace and to let go more often… More surrender and self love, less pressure and comparison are my big resolutions this year. How often did I feel under pressure the last few months when I felt I’m running out of time, I could never keep up, when I didn’t manage to do everything I wanted, didn’t cook all the lovely meals which I’d love to cook, write all the blog posts which I have in my head and start with all the new projects which I have in my head.. but at the end of the day, we only have 24hours a day and when I spend time Zoe I want to be present and enjoy the moment. So, this is the time in my life for her. And there will be a time for other things again, probably sooner than I can now imagine she’ll be in school and I’ll remember these days with nostalgia ❤ So please accept my apologies for not blogging that regularly anymore! But I promise I will still share the occasional recipe and keep you posted with (hopefully) inspiring healthy meals and articles on wellness and health via my Facebook and Instagram 🙂 In the end this, my passion for healthy food, is what inspired me to start my Health Coaching course!

But enough for now, here comes another, of course toddler approved favorite recipe for a Lentil Stew. Zoe has been eating it since she was about 9 months and love it just as much as her daddy and I do. Lentils are a great source of plant protein, great for digestion and especially in winter a real comfort food. I usually cook the same dish for all of us and only add salt for us adults in the end. As usually this is a very versatile recipe, instead of red lentils you can also use brown lentils or a nice mix of beans and lentils. Just note that you should soak all other lentils (brown, green) and beans over night as they might cause bloating and gas otherwise. The longer you soak them, the better. It’s also beneficial to add some bay leaf for the same reasons. Also, please note that cooking time is the shortest with red lentils so if you are tight on time, just go for red lentils. You can add all different kinds of veg, but I usually like the potatoes to add some carbs and substance to the stew. Leafy greens like spinach, kale or chard can be added towards the end of the cooking time and if you want to give it even more substance serve it with a batch of nicely roasted potatoes as a topping like I did on the photo.

Lentil Stew with Roast Potatoes & fresh lime

Lentil Stew is a real crowd pleaser and great for batch cooking

What you need
(serves 4)

• 3 cups of red lentils (washed) or other lentils and beans (soaked over night)
• 1 onion
• Some garlic
• 1 TBS of Coconut Oil
• 2 potatoes
• 2 carrots
• Ground cumin & coriander (about 1 tsp each)
• Vegetable stock (invest in a good, low sodium one, without preservatives and other nasties)
• Water (roughly the double amount of legumes and maybe later some more depending on how thick you want your stew)
• 1 lemon or lime
• Optional: 1-2 handfuls of leafy greens (spinach, chard, kale)
• Highest quality salt (if you cook for children add it separately later)

Optional toppings: roast potatoes, fresh cilantro

What to do…

Peel and chop the onions, garlic, potatoes and carrots (or other veg you use). Fry onions and garlic on medium heat in coconut oil and add the chopped vegetables when they get nicely golden. Stir for a bit and then add the lentils (or other pre-soaked legumes) and spices. Pour in the water and some vegetable stock and let it simmer until the lentils get nice and soft. Red lentils take about 30min, other lentils and legumes more. Just let it simmer until it’s all nice and soft, you never want to eat legumes when they are not fully cooked. If you add leafy greens, add them for about 5-10min in the end.

Serve with a slice of lime/ lemon and enjoy your meal together:)

With lots of love, peace & good health for 2017 ❤
Nadine xxx

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Cannellini Bean & Basil Dip, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and life with our 13 month old toddler

Do you know that feeling of losing touch with time and space? Days and weeks keep flying by, mornings playing, afternoons at playgrounds, weekends with friends and suddenly you realise, oh my god – it’s end of October already! Since Zoe is born this happens even more to me and funnily, despite life passing by in super pursuit mode, it feels so full and filled with fun and adventures all the time, that a few weeks can seem very long at the same time, too!

Every day brings something new, faster crawling techniques, climbing up new objects (yay, mummy – look, I can sit on the living room table!), the start of new funny conversations while we walk up and down the hill everyday, new ways of making faces (her latest is leaning her head to the side and giving me the cheekiest grin from down there), moments of laughing our heads off together and moments of desperation cause someone just does not want to eat dinner for some reason. No, – there is never a dull moment with a toddler 😀

Life of a toddler is endless adventure ❤

There is something about that feeling of being wiped out and tired, but also satisfied in the evening , when your baby is finally in bed and you can lie down on the sofa for 15min before making dinner for yourself and hubby who usually comes home from work too late for Zoe’s bedtime. Yes, being a mum is hard work, but I love it. And I more and more admire all women in the world who juggle two or more children, who work or who don’t have families around, like us, to help. In contrary to the past, when I didn’t have a child but of course made up views on maternity leave, working and stay at home mums,  – now this has all changed.

In my opinion, whatever works is right. I understand mums who can’t wait to go back to work because they feel they get crazy at home, I feel for mums who have but don’t want to go back to work because of financial reasons, I totally understand mums who give their child to their grandparents a lot because they are close and I admire those who decide to put their career on hold to focus on their child, cause it’s all they ever wanted. I got rid of all my pre-assumptions and I wish everybody could be open and respect whatever way. Being a mother is often very stigmatised in today’s modern world. Whatever you do, there will always be someone who thinks the opposite way would be better and believe me, there’s nothing more annoying than having to defend yourself why you chose this or that route for yourself. No matter if it’s towards men (rarely), women (more often) and especially towards other mothers (most) – there is no right or wrong. There is no competition. Nobody is perfect and we all love our children and try to do the best we can, all in our different and beautiful ways ❤

But of course we all know these moments of self doubt. When we ask ourself if it would be better another way, if we try hard enough, if we work hard enough, when we think all mums we know do so much better, look so much cooler and are so much more successful than ourselves. I always try to remind myself, looks can be deceiving. Especially with social media these days, when everything looks oh so perfect and great, everyone so stylish and pretty. But I can only tell from myself and also my close mum friends around me: we all have dark moments, doubts, fall backs and disappointments. We need to cry, to rant and to talk things through before we get crazy. What would we do if we weren’t there for each other? And who could understand better than all the other fellow mums who walk in very similar shoes?? I for myself promised myself these days to be more gentle with myself and try to be aware of it when I feel under pressure. To embrace all insecurities and losses. To be open and honest about them and trust in fate and the universe, that all things happen for a reason and are important for us to grow..

As some of you know, I’m currently studying with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN) to become a Holistic Health Coach. Their core concept is so simple and it so resonates with me. You can have the perfectly healthy food on your plate (they call it Secondary Food), if your main areas of life like relationships, physical exercise, career, spirituality (called Primary Foods) are not in balance you still won’t feel happy and healthy in your body. As Joshua, the founder of IIN often says in his lectures (he’s a really nice, calm and funny guy): “You can eat all the kale in the world, but if you hate your job and/or spouse (for example), guess what? The kale won’t do anything for ya.” It’s really fun to go deeper and learn more about all different kinds of diets, but above all to learn so many interesting things about health coaching, how to improve your life and dig deeper into your own self and take care of your own happiness. I guess it’s a never ending journey and I really enjoy the course so far! At the moment we are practising the first part of a Health Coaching Programme, called Health Histories. So if anyone of you is interested in being my guinea pig, please drop me a note on nadisunshine@me.com or PM me on my Nadisunshine Facebook page – of course it would be totally free of charge 🙂

So, enough talking for today. Let’s get to the yummy and healthy recipe for this month.

Cannellini Bean & Basil dip & Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Today I wanna share with you how to make a super easy Cannellini Bean & Basil dip & Roasted Cherry Tomatoes. Both are the perfect addition to a Sunday brunch, a hearty bfast or an ideal snack or light dinner. I paired them with my favourite kind of breakfast eggs and some home baked bread, the Life Changing Loaf of Bread from the wonderful blog My New Roots. (It’s a beautiful seed bread which is so incredible nice and easy, please do yourself a favour and check it out if you’ve never heard from it.) This bean dip is a wonderful healthy staple in our fridge and a great source of protein for toddlers and adults alike. And much better for you than the store bought cream cheese! Give it a try 🙂

What you need…
(for a nice bowl for 4)

• 2 cans of cannellini beans (rinsed)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 hands full of fresh basil (washed & dried, stems removed)
• Good quality salt (e.g. Himalayan, sea salt etc.)
• Cumin
• Olive Oil
• A couple of cloves of garlic (peeled & sliced)
• 1 box of  cherry tomatoes (washed)

(As always preferable go for organic & local ingredients whenever you can)

What to do…

Preheat your oven around 180 degrees Celsius for the cherry tomatoes (I roasted  at the same time as I baked the bread  – energy saving, aye :). Put  tomatoes and garlic in an oven proof dish, drizzle with olive oil,  salt and pepper. Roast them until the look nice and wrinkly (I had them in there for around 30min).

For the dip, put all ingredients in your food processor. I like to put lighter ingredients on the bottom (herbs) and heavier ones (beans) on top as they mix easier and blend until you reach a nice smooth consistency. Use a bit more olive oil or add a splash of water if it seems to thick. Season to your liking.

Serve with nice home-baked bread or some organic rye bread (there are a lot of nice flavours on the market. I like the brand Biona). Both, the dip and the roasted tomatoes keep for a few days in the fridge.

Of course you can always play with the ingredients and I encourage you to do so! The nicest combinations come out of experimenting – so don’t be shy to swap beans (black beans, butterbeans, chickpeas), use different herbs (cilantro, parsley, fennel green) or spices (harrissa, dukkha, ..) – there are endless varieties!

Until next time I wish you all a wonderful month ahead, that you’re gentle, open and forgiving to yourself and others and maybe also find a little moment for self reflection about your own Primary Foods in your life ❤

If you feel like a little nadisunshine spark every now and then, come and visit me or drop me a note on my FB page or Instagram. I always love hearing from you!

Big love, lots of sunshine & yummy food,

N xxx

 

1 year – we made it <3 Plus: Okra & Bean Chili recipe

Wow, I’m writing theses lines and my little baby girl (now toddler, to be precise) is 1 year old. I must say, it feels like quite a big thing to me as her mummy and brings up a lot of sweet memories.. of my first pregnancy which I really enjoyed, giving birth naturally, starting our breastfeeding journey, the first sweet weeks after we came home from hospital and suddenly were a family of 3. One whole year full of firsts, cuddles, joy, fears, happy moments, astonishment, – the list won’t stop. It is indeed a wonderful, enriching, heart and soul touching experience to be a mum, yet the most demanding and exhausting at the same time.

I’ll always be a travel lover but I might organise things a bit differently next time

Our month of traveling in August showed me that once more.. things are different now. I can’t just make my plans as I used to – or I’ll pay for it 😉 As much as I enjoyed being in different places every few days (oh Lake Garda, Austria, Munich – I miss you and your green and your people already!!!), it completely messed up Zoe’s sleep and eating structure. The nights got worse and worse, eating messier and messier. At some stage I was so exhausted that I started nursing her again at night just to get back to sleep which also didn’t help anymore at some stage. My hubby introduced then taking her out of her crib, cuddling and rocking her  back to sleep instead which was just as bad.. If I learned one thing, it’s planning our next holiday differently. When we came back to Malta beginning of September I was happy and filled up with green, lovely vibes from family and friends but a sleep deprived, emotional wreck at the same time. It was time to get some consistency and structure back to our life! Thank god I immediately started getting help. First, I got some supporting homeopathic remedies for myself (I’ll never stop recommending the lovely Ashley from Tigne Holistic Centre). Second, I found a sleep trainer  for Zoe (look up Daniela Sleep Coach if you’re in Malta and in need of getting your nights back) and I must say her tips, being more consistent and spending more time at home really made a big difference. Plus I finally gave in and go to bed now earlier which makes getting up at 6.30-7am not that bad anymore. So mind you, I don’t wanna jinx it, but touching wood, Zoe is back to better nights, longer naps and better eating and I feel more calm and centred again, too. Gosh! The joys of motherhood, it’s a rollercoaster sometime, isn’t it?

Little outings between naptimes are key – for both of us

But I must say, now that I’m feeling like my usual self things look a bit brighter again and getting little time outs make me enjoy Zoe even more. She now climbs up the sofa, walks long the bed and loves to dance and clap to her favorite songs. To be with her and seeing her doing these little things is happiness and joy at its highest level and I’m super grateful things improved just in time for her 1st bday which we celebrated at a little picnic at Buskett Gardens surrounded by her small and big friends ❤ Not the lush and green kind of forests we’re used to, but better than nothing!

Of course she had to get a bday cake, but it wouldn’t be me if it wasn’t a healthy one! So I made her a little “raw” cake of just fruit and she and the other little ones loved it 😉 You should have seen her eyes when she saw the candle!!

Happy 1st bday to our little sunshine

So, this has been it from me for today – you can see it was a rather exciting time again and of course I won’t let you go without a yummy recipe, too. This time a wanna share a lovely Okra & Bean Chili recipe with you, loaded with lots of great organic veggies from the lovely Incampagna and Back to Basics. Thanks ladies for working so hard to make our life healthier!

Boasting with vitamins & flavor

Okra & Bean Chili

What you need…

• 1 small bag of kidney beans (soaked over night and then cooked until soft)
• 1 small box of okra
• a few peppers
• a few spring onions
• garlic
• 1 can of organic tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes)
• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Paprika powder
• Some olive oil
• High quality salt e.g. Himalayan, Rock or Sea Salt

Optional: more vegetables, I used:

• 1 small bunch of kale
• a slice of pumpkin
• 1-2 sweet potatoes

For the topping

• 1 large avocado
• juice of 1 lime or lemon
• salt and pepper

Serve with a side of your choice e.g. we had brown rice

What to do…

Saute slice okra in a large pan until it begins to brown. Add chopped spring onions and garlic, until they soften. Then add the other chopped vegetables, then the spices (amounts to your liking – I would recommend start with a teaspoon and add more if you like stronger flavours). Lately add the can of tomatoes (if using fresh, add them chopped and a bit of water plus tomato paste). Simmer until all veggies are nice and soft, but not mushy. Have a final taste and season with salt to your liking.

For the avocado topping mash the avocado, add some chopped spring onions, lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper.

Serve with brown rice or another side of your liking and a dollop of guacamole.

Until next time enjoy and never forget what Charly Chaplin said “Nothing is permanent is this wicked world, not even our troubles”.

Sending love & good vibes to all of you who need it!

N xx

10 months almost done, and so am I.. (plus: Green Smoothie Bowl recipe)

Whoever knows me would say I’m one of these people who are (almost) always positive, happy and believe in the good in people. Well.. not lately I must confess.

I don’t know if it’s a summer heat overdose (yes, constant heat and humidity can really get too much), island fever, the (very normal I was told by other mums) feeling of being overwhelmed or still hormones (yes, nice to still think of that reason lol) – but honestly, lately even I sometimes loose my belief in human mankind and today’s society…

Ice, ice baby!

I’m not only talking about the regularity of horrible news and terror attacks, absurde politicians who seem to take over all over the world and the constant rise of destroying the planet through greed (I can see about 26 cranes from my living room and that’s only because my eye sight gives up at some stage). No – I’m also talking about the totally mundane and daily small things around me. Super aggressive people on the roads, grumpy guys yelling at you, sometimes almost ridiculous rudeness from service providers when you simply ask them to do their job (which you btw pay them for), drivers who won’t stop for you and your baby, careless garbage bags on the pavements which make walking with a pram more difficult than a relay and just day-to-day unfriendliness which makes it really hard sometimes, even for a let’s-always-try-to-be-positive-person like me. Ok, rant over.

But seriously, all these things make me thoughtful …and sad. I wonder how a person, who wants to live a happy, healthy, balanced and hassle free life deals with these things, which surely happen to all of you in some kind or the other all over the world, right? What are your methods? Do you have some tricks which help you deal better with that stuff which life just sometimes throws at you? I don’t want to be become and will never be one of these people who just don’t care, who give a shit and just yell back. I don’t want to and even less I want all that negative energy in me! What is your secret? I’d really and genuinely like to know… Maybe I learn some new things on that topic in my course to become a Holistic Health Coach with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. If I do i’ll definitely share it with you 🙂

Until then I’ll keep on trying to focus on the good in my life, life a healthy lifestyle and practice gratitude for all my blessings, and thank you universe, there are still many! But I would lie if I said above written stuff doesn’t make me sad and concerned. Maybe a little change of scene will help, too.

First steps out into this wonderful yet scary world…

How has mum-life been with a 10-month old baby? Our little mouse has definitely developed again like crazy. She’s crawling all over the place, pulling herself up on objects, she got her first two little teeth, suffered a few days from teething like crazy, we had a few interrupted nights again since then, she became more clingy and afraid of things (hoover, smoothie maker etc.), but her smiles and hugs make my heart melt more like ever ❤ . Breastfeeding as well as introducing her to solid foods are going strong (she’s super open to all the homemade food she got so far – touching wood!) and she’s definitely growing into a little toddler girl. She’s all over the place at baby yoga, so I’m afraid today it was our last time as I will be traveling  with her the next few weeks and I’m super sad and nostalgic about it. It’s the end of an era, after going to prenatal for 7 months and postnatal for another 7. Hopefully toddler yoga will very soon pop up on our little rock – I’ll be the first to sign up! A big thank you and hint-hint to Pre- and Postnatal Yoga Malta 😉

Besides that our first Mindful Mum workshop went by very successfully! It was wonderful to see how the group of mums and partners dove deep into all the things Sarah and I learned during our pregnancies and it was a great experience to share it with them. I’m sure they’ll all be wonderful mums and dads! We’ll definitely organise another workshop in fall, so if you’re interested keep updated via our Mindful Mum Facebook page.

Green Breakfast Smoothie Bowls

Well, last but not least it’s time for a recipe I suppose! This time I want to share our super yummy Green Breakfast Smoothie Bowls with you. They were packed with healthy ingredients, are very easy and quick to make and liked by husband and baby girl just as much 🙂 Of course you can swap ingredients and experiment with different fruits, greens, nuts and nut milks. The coconut milk from the tin made it extra creamy and decadent, but it’s not a must. I’d definitely recommend to keep the banana, oats and nuts of some kind to keep the consistency nice and thick.

What you need…
(serves 4)

• 1 banana
• 1 apple
• 1 pear
• 3 hands full of chard (or other greens)
• 1 1/2 cups of oats
• 1 cup of cashew nuts (or other nuts)
• 1/2 a tin of coconut milk, fill up  the other 1/2 with water
• 2 teaspoons of acai powder for an extra antioxidant kick
• For toppings: berries (frozen works like a charm and is quite refreshing in summer!), banana, coconut or any other toppings you fancy  – there’s endless ideas 🙂

What to do..

Wash/ peel/ chop up the fruits and greens, throw them in the blender (layer the heavier stuff at the bottom of the blender, works easier), add oats, nuts, acai, coconut milk and water. Blend until nice and creamy. If it’s too thick you can add some more liquids. Usually I add a few drops of high quality oil to bring out the best vitamins of the fruit and veg but in this case the thick coconut milk is already fat enough.

Enjoy and let’s hope for a wonderful, happy and peaceful August ahead!

Love & sunshine (and chin up to all of you who feel like me at the moment <3)

N xxx

 

9 1/2 months, lots of special moments & a scrumptious Bircher Muesli recipe

Gosh! What is going on this month?

For the last 2 weeks I’ve been wanting to sit down and write this blog, postponed it again, postponed it again – I must say, life with a baby is a busy one, much more than I ever thought!

To be fair we had a lot of exciting stuff going on.. we went on a lovely trip to our home country Austria, crossed the country from the West to the East twice by train, went to a funeral, a wedding, enjoyed lots of precious moments with family and friends and soaked up the lush and green beauty of Austria ❤ Yes, it’s always great to be home.. no matter how much we love our life here on the little rock, Malta.

 

Our little traveller enjoying the different views in Austria

Mummy life was pretty exciting too! Zoe spent her first nights without mum and dad and did really well with her granny, she once again proofed to be a super traveller, no matter if it’s in a plane, bus, car or hours on the train, she suddenly began to love all different kinds of fingerfood (yay, little foodie baby!), started to push herself around (not crawling yet, but won’t take much longer I’m afraid!), we celebrated our first Father’s Day and today, exactly 1 year ago my big love P and I got married in Gozo, with little Zoe still in my belly, dancing and rocking for three days in a row! Oh well, I guess she has a little party gene in her – lol!

A very pregnant me – exactly 1 year ago at our wedding pre-party on a boat in Gozo

 

With all this stuff going on, my psychological sanity has been pretty well, with many helping hands when we were at home, which was sooo lovely for a change! And amazing summer weather once we returned to Malta, which makes life so much sweeter, especially if we hang out together in the shade next to the sea and start our first little attempts in the baby pool ❤

It was a good month, I must say. And I must say, I’m also quite excited and nervous when I think about what I’m gonna write in my next blog post, as another big thing is coming up these days: on Sunday, 26 June 2016, my first workshop in cooperation with my dear yoga teacher and friend Sarah, from Pre- and Postnatal Yoga Malta on Mindful birth centred around yoga and healthy eating for all pregnant mummies-to-be. For more info, check out all details on our FB page here.

Our first workshop centred around yoga & healthy eating takes place on 26 June 2016

But enough stories of my life for now, let me share the recipe of one of our favorite breakfasts this month:

A scrumptious Bircher Muesli

This muesli is so simple, quick and so lovely. It’s refreshing, healthy and can be prepared in bulk which I love doing since I’m a mum as it simply saves so much time and trouble in the morning. Recently Zoe even tried some of it when we had it in bed in the morning and she absolutely loved it! (If you try that be careful to pick the nuts out for your little one to avoid choking). Another time I made some more and offered some to a friend, since then she’s pushing me to post the recipe – so here we go, lovely 😉

A scrumptious Bircher Muesli

What you need….
(Serves 2)

• 2 cups of oats
• A few nuts, seeds & dried fruit of your liking (I simply used my good old muesli mix which usually contains oats, sunflower/ pumpkin/ flax & chai seeds, as well as some raisins, goji berries, almonds and hazelnuts)
• 1 apple, washed & grated
• 4 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt (full fat, as I never go for low fat products – good fats are good for you! There’s a ton of information on this topic around, e.g. in this article)
  Vegan version: coconut or soy yoghurt
• Cinnamon

What to do….

Soak the mix of oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit in your favorite bowls with hot water (just cover them with boiled water and add a bit more). Give it a good stir and let it stand for 10min or while you make yourself a nice cup of tea, lemon water or have a shower. Grate the apple, add half of it to each bowl, add the Greek yoghurt, mix it all nicely and sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon. Dig in 😀

If you want to make a big batch just multiply the amounts written above and store it in an airtight container or a big jar. Very handy indeed!

Hope you enjoy it & spend lots of relaxed & happy mornings while you eat it.

Wish us luck for the workshop & have a great month until next time..
Sunshine, love & lots of good food ❤
N xxx

 

 

 

8 months, a first separation & a rollercoaster. Plus: “Hemp pasta with chard & sun-dried tomatoes”

Recently I read in a very sweet book about a new mum, who is a writer, that once you get a baby, the desire for your own parents increases and that our world is in constant arrival and departure mode. In the book the writer’s best friend’s dad just died when she herself was still pregnant and about to pop. Her friend described how she said goodbye to her dad and in the same conversation they talked what else they need to prepare for the arrival of the writer’s baby. These two stories amongst many others touched me a lot. This book made me cry and laugh and once more reflect about the incredible impact of having a baby. Life/ death, future/ past, yourself as a mummy/ yourself as a child – I would have never expected all these new philosophical thoughts and questions coming up through the birth of my baby girl. It’s a very beautiful and spiritual side effect. The protagonist of the book also wrote that she lit a candle for her friend’s dad and put it in the windowsill, just like her mum used to tell her as a child, because the souls are on their way to leave and the lights which people lovingly lit for them guide them the way… Isn’t this beautiful? I always wondered where the tradition of lighting a candle for a person who passed away came from… now I finally now 😉

First time alone in so many months!!! Enjoying a book & a beer on the plane

Anyways, the moment I was writing these lines I was actually somewhere in the skies on a plane to a friend’s bachelorette weekend in Germany (actually just over the alps close to my home town Innsbruck as the captain told us just in that moment!!). It was the very first time that I left Zoe for more than a couple of hours and sitting there in peace all by myself also made me realise that it was the first time in 17 months that we’ve been separated for so long (counting 9 months of pregnancy plus incredible 8 months already!). It felt very weird, and my morning of departure was a crazy mix of being stressed, sad, nervous but excited. Now, looking back, it thankfully all went very well, Zoe was in the best of hands with her daddy and after my first wave of emotions and a refreshing shandy in the sun at the airport I actually had a blast and even managed to skip the tearful moments everybody warned me of. I was very proud of myself, my competent husband and my little girl and will definitely do it again soon and I can only recommend it to all the new mums out there!

However, after this great first weekend away my first emotional rollercoaster week started. Out of the blue Zoe started to wake up a lot during the nights and needing feeds everytime. I must say, it hit me by surprise. I’ve heard about and seen it many times from mummy friends, I read about it often but so far I was very lucky that I’ve never been sleep deprived for several days in a row and my hormones seemed fine and normal. Well… it had to come at some stage I guess. And it hit me hard. Just for time in mother’s day – har, har! Only that I didn’t find it funny at all in that moment.
For all the mums out there who suffer from constant sleep deprivation: I have NO idea how you handle it, really. You deserve my biggest, biggest respect. I don’t know how you function? If I feel that crap after only a few days, how do you feel if you have this on a permanent basis? So yes, even me, the always (nadi)sunshine (hence my nickname) was suddenly not so sunshiney anymore at all. More like a mix of constant thunderstorms and rain. It took about 3-4 days filled with full-on grumpyness, anger, feeling helpless and overwhelmed until my lovely husband prescribed me to stop with everything. Cancel all plans, forget the errands, forget the house, the laundry, the cooking, the overdue blog post, you name it – just stop it. Oh how difficult it was for me. I was really resisting it, like I needed it (but I HAVE to do this, and this and that!) – but NO! Who says that actually? It’s only in my head and when you think about it it’s often just ourselves, who create the most stress and pressure in our life. Oh man. As if I could only relax if all the to do’s are done. This will never be the case! Yes, I needed time out. I followed his advice, my wonderful hubby took Zoe for 2 nights and I slept peacefully with my earplugs in and soon felt like my normal self is slowly coming out again of the cave.
But it made me thoughtful.. am I and people like me often doing too much? Are we too active? Too social? Wanting it all at the same time? So long until we’re totally stressed out? And why is it that way? I don’t have an answer yet but I learned from last week and try to keep my days a little leaner now. Only one activity and then rest and play time at home with Zoe. And in return she presents me with a nice, long 2 hour nap in the early afternoon (like now). Also not that bad! A little me time – wow!!! And I must say, it also made me think about work and time outs. Yes, I love it so much being a fulltime mum at the moment, but yes – it’s still nice having a bit of time without your little one. Even if it’s at the office (where noone is crying, you can sit and work and focus without being constantly distracted, get a coffee and drink it as long as it’s hot.. you get what I’m saying? ;). I suddenly began to understand some of my mummy-friends and why they want to go back to work for a bit and to have something else around you than just your gorgeous little baby. So yes, again – lots of thoughts and reflections, and no clear answers but still very interesting times and experiences these days… and definitely one big learning: get your breaks and little time outs. Also if you think you don’t need them, but believe me – we all do and deserve them ❤

If you are a bit like me, you should sometimes slow down a bit 😉

Which brings me to the end of my blog post today, a very quick and easy recipe for a super yummy pasta dish – cause sometimes it just has to go quick at night and all you want is carbs and comfort food. This pasta dish is not unhealthy at all though and if you get a good quality pasta like wholegrain or hemp, the one I used, you need much less pasta as it’s not only much healthier than white pasta but actually more filling, has a nice bite and is very comforting. I pair it with lots of sauce made with fresh organic veggies (cause there’s nothing worse than dry pasta!) made out of tons of fresh chard (Hello iron! Hello energy levels!) combined with some fresh spring onions, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and just a bit of goat cheese and pine nuts. It’s a really healthy, simple and delicious meal and a real crowd pleaser (even my friend’s little daughter of 1,5 years totally loved it).

Lots of greens & good carbs – yes please!!!

Hemp pasta with chard, pine nuts &
sun-dried tomatoes

What you need…
(2 portions) 
All produce ideally organic if you can

• 250g Hemp pasta (alternatively whole grain if you can’t get that)
• A nice bunch of chard (green, red, yellow – all types work fine)
• Spring onions (alternatively a normal onion)
• Fresh garlic (alternatively dried, but it’s just in season here)
• A handful of sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water for about 10min
• Half a handful of pine nuts
• Some goat cheese (optional if your want a vegan meal)
• Olive oil, salt, pepper or chili

What do do…

Cook pasta according to the instructions. Wash and chop all vegetables, chard can be rougher (also the stems), sun-dried tomatoes, onions and garlic smaller. Gently fry onions and garlic, add the chopped chard and fry them gently (if you have put a lid on the pan then it’ll go faster). When the chard starts to wilt, add the tomatoes, pine nuts, salt, pepper or chili according to taste. Serve with some sprinkled goat cheese on top and dig in 🙂

Thanks for reading & stay tuned on my FB page for an upcoming workshop on yoga & healthy food in June!

Lots of sunshine & love,
N xx

 

 

7 months of gratefulness & a lovely Strawberry Chia Jam which tastes like spring

Enjoying a spring day in San Anton Gardens in Attard

When I started writing this blog post last week, I was sitting on a bench next to a pond in San Anton Gardens, breathing in the lovely smells of flowers, feeling a mild spring breeze in my hair and watching the birds fly in the sunshine. Now I finish it sitting it in the same spring sun next to the sea with my darling Zoe playing happily away in her pram next to me. Have I ever imagined mummy life like this a few months ago?? Nope, I definitely haven’t. Sometimes I even think it’s too good to be true… And while I know from my fellow mummy friends that in a few weeks things might change drastically when our babies start to crawl and walk I’m even more devouring these quiet, peaceful moments in the now 🙂 .

Chilling in Gozo with my parents. Zoe loves the sea just as much as we do.

A few days ago our little sunshine turned 7 months. Yes, of course she still wakes up at night and interrupted sleeps are part of my life, and yes, even though Zoe is a very happy and content baby, she also cries at times but all in all I must officially say I’m a freaking happy and grateful new mum and I fall in love with being a mummy even more every day. Who would have ever imagined the love I would feel? The worry when Zoe sleeps so deeply that I have to check her belly breathing (yes, paranoid. I know)? The joy when she cracks a huge smile as soon as I open the door to her nursery in the morning? But also the peace and tranquility when she’s nursing or napping and allows me to have a bit of time to myself, to sit next to the sea like now and to give me a chance to breathe, think, reflect and to feel happy, free, inspired and open. Have I ever sat on a bench in a past just enjoying the moment and being grateful so much?

A baby definitely changed my perspective on many things. I take each day by each day. Each night by each night. I try to go inside myself more often and listen deeply to myself: Am I happy? Am I doing the right things? Am I taking the right decisions? I’m a strong believer in the sayings “Happy mummy – happy baby” and “You have to be happy to make others happy” so I try to live accordingly to them.

What I’m definitely learning at the moment is to put ourselves first. Not to always please others, always doing others a favor, learning to say no – it’s a hard lesson for me but I’m getting better. I also think much more about my own childhood than ever.  How our parents raised us and what a great influence it makes later in life. Recently my parents came to visit us in Malta and for the first time I was consciously aware of how incredible it must be to see you own child have their own baby. The gift of life is something so incredible and I catch myself more and more reflecting on it. What will our future be like? What will our children’s future be like? Every topic on sustainability, be it protection of nature, saving the planet from too much rubbish, overfishing of the sea, politics, wars, terrorism, diseases like cancer on the rise.. The list goes on and on. Every time my head starts spinning by all these thoughts I gently remind myself that all we can do is be aware of the now, be grateful for every moment and every day and trying to be happy, sharing the happiness and enjoying the little joys of life to the max ❤ . Yoga has helped me learn this over the last years and little Zoe teaches me to do it even more! I remember my dear friend saying at our wedding ceremony “Shine brightly, together” and I think it’s important passing this on to our children.

So I try not to be nostalgic that our little baby girl is growing by the day, that all our favorite outfits are getting too small (yes, I know – I have to sort them out!), that she’s slowly getting too heavy for long walks in the baby carrier, that I can’t see, cuddle and kiss her non stop when she’s in her big new stroller.. – stop! No! I try to do exactly what she does – enjoying to see and learn new things everyday and enjoying the moment of life you’re right at NOW 😊

Which finally brings me, of course, also to eating and enjoying to cook lots of wonderful spring foods Malta has to offer right NOW! Be it citrus, artichokes or strawberries.. The fruit and veggies in the spring are just as fresh as inspiring and just as delicious as easy to prepare! As most of you know I’m a big fan of easy cooking and all these ingredients can be transformed into lovely meals without spending hours in the kitchen. Be it a nice fennel citrus salad, steamed artichokes with a parsley egg and lemon dip or the recipe for yummy and healthy strawberry chia jam which I’m sharing with you today! It’s not only good for breakfast on homemade bread or as a topping on porridge, but also lovely for tea time or a little healthy dessert (e.g. on yoghurt) in the evening ❤

Tastes like spring! Strawberry Chia Jam

Strawberry Chia Jam

Probably all of you know the benefits of the super food chia seeds by now, but to sum it up briefly, chia seeds are a great source of plant protein, contain Omega 3 and 6, have a positive effect on cholesterol levels and help digestion. They can help you you lose weight (even more if you use this jam instead of normal one! 😉 ) because they have a low carbohydrate, are rich in natural magnesium, contain many essential nutrients and can therefore strengthen the immune system. As always I try to get organic whenever I can, for my superfoods I love the products of my Austrian friends of Green Panda but of course any chia seeds will do the job. You can take black chia, white chia, the whole seeds, ground seeds – they all work the same. Chia seeds have binding properties which makes them perfect for puddings (recipe here), jams or in baking.<<<<
u don’t have strawberries at hand you can also try other berries like raspberries, blackberries, blueberries etc. You can add different notes of flavors likes orange blossom water, rose water, vanilla, cinnamon – play with it!

What you need (for a small jar)

As a rule of thumb 2 cups of washed and chopped fruit plus 2 table spoons of chia seeds work very well. For a thicker texture add a bit more chia. 2 cups of washed and chopped strawberries (or other fruit)

• 2 table spoons of chia seeds

• 2 table spoons of orange juice (alternatives: lemon or lime, rose or orange water)
• Agave or maple sirup according to your sweet tooth (honey for the raw version is nice too)

What to do

Mash or roughly chop washed strawberries depending if you like your chia jam rather fine or chunky. Heat them up in a small pot on medium heat, I added some blueberries which I had to use up but only strawberries are fine, too. Add a bit of fresh orange or lemon juice, the sweetener of your choice and let it simmer for a few minutes until it reduces and gets nice and thick. Turn of the heat. For a raw version simply blend it all in a processor instead.

Now add the chia seeds and let it stand for a while. The longer it stands the thicker it gets but I’d wait at least 15-20min.

If you’re hungry and want to eat your fresh jam right now – go for it and enjoy it some home baked bread or simply brown toast with a lovely cup of tea! Alternatively store it in a jar in the fridge and use it as a yummy topping on your bfast or on your greek yoghurt as a snack. It even goes well with a  nice goat cheese and with these temperatures it would also be a lovely topping on some banana or chocolate ice cream (recipe here).

Hope you enjoy it and have a lovely new month ahead! For regular food inspiration don’t forget to follow my Facebook fan pay  or Instagram.

Big love & thanks for reading, lovely people!
Don’t forget to shine brightly ❤

N xx

P.S. I’m also taking new clients for private cooking classes, and an exciting workshop on yoga and healthy food for mummies is in the works so watch this space or get in touch with me for more info.

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6 months nostalgia & some cosy Curried Cauliflower Soup

Thumbs up for our first 6 months with our little sunshine

Oups, this month I’m a little late for my monthly new mummy recap… sorry! But hey – it’s only a week since our little sunshine has turned 6 months, and now that I’m sitting down reflecting I can only say: what an exciting first half year it has been. With quite a lot of changes lately… Our nights which were usually quite chilled out (Zoe only woke up once for a quick feed, if even) turned into very interrupted sleep, Zoe was sick for the first time, we therefore called off our holiday, I got sick myself and looked after a sick baby for the first time (all natural with homeopathic remedies and lots of TLC) and just recently she’s sitting in highchair and – I can’t believe that I’m writing this: we finally started her with solids! Ohhhh how hilarious her face expressions were to look at!!!

The day has come! Our little mouse is starting with home made baby food ❤

Isn’t it crazy that something simple like eating can turn into such a big deal? For the last few weeks I kept postponing and postponing it.. I read the later you start (with 6 months at the latest though), the less prone they are to allergies later on and of course this turned out to be my favorite excuse. The truth: even though I’m really into food I also didn’t WANT to start with it earlier! My little baby girl, eating? No more breastfeeding wherever and whenever we need to? How impractical! I must confess, I got very very VERY attached to nursing my sweet little mouse. The idea of introducing her to solids made me somehow realise that it’s only one of the many first steps into her independence. Was I ready for it? Was I ready to put her out of her little cosy babybay into her big cot? Was I ready to introduce her to our now stroller and not only carry her around in our beloved babycarrier? Am I ready to move her into her own room? The list goes on and on and I want to shout out a big loud NO, but the reality is that our sweet little babies, as much as we love them as they are, grow. Every month, every week, sometimes every day something changes and there is nothing which will stop them. It’s the beauty of watching a new life grow and as soon as we get to used to one phase, you can only be sure that the next new phase is just around the corner. Well, life is constant change, and it only makes us grow. Never a dull moment with a baby!! 😀

Lately, as winter has finally arrived in Malta, too, I’m really into soups again for dinner. My friend J and I try to keep up our healthy mummy cooking Mondays and soups turned out to be the big star. You can eat them all week and if you’re lucky enough to have some leftovers they are great to freeze and use them when you don’t feel like cooking on another night. Together with some freshly toasted brown bread (I love home baked  bread e.g. rye bread which we’ll make soon on another Monday or this gluten-free bread from one of my favorite blogs My New Roots ) and a nice bowl of greens it makes the perfect comforting weekday dinner. Even better with a glass of red wine and a bit of yummy chocolate on the sofa later on of course! (Did anyone say staying home every night is dull?? Well I can’t agree so far LOL!)

So easy, yummy and healthy!

Curried Cauliflower Soup

As you know I mostly post about my healthy cooking adventures on my nadisunshine FB page and Instagram several times a week (check it out for inspiration if you aren’t following me yet 🙂 ). The soup star of the month was definitely my curried cauliflower soup and I promised to post the recipe here on the blog, so here you go!

It’s super easy, very tasty and the ingredients are sooo good for you. Cauliflower, just like its siblings broccoli, turnip greens, cabbage and kale, is a cruciferous veggie with tons of health benefits. It’s boasting with vitamin C (amongst many other vitamins and minerals) and is known for it’s anti-inflammatory, cancer fighting, heart boosting benefits and is great for digestion. It’s available locally and on top of that very inexpensive. Paired with curry, turmeric and ginger which are all well known for being great for the immune system (more info here and here as well as my recipe for a Flu Fighter Turmeric Drink which I posted in the past) this soup is not only yummy but an absolute boost for your body and health.

What you need

• 1 cauliflower, washed and chopped 
• 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves,peeled and chopped
• 1/2-1 thumb sized of ginger, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
• ca. 1l of vegetable stock
• 1 cup of dairy free milk or alternatively 1 potato to make it creamy
• High quality salt (I use Himalayan or local sea salt) and fresh pepper (if you want it a bit spicy take a fresh chili alternatively)

To garnish

• Make a tray of oven roasted cauliflower by simply roasting another head of chopped cauliflower with coconut oil, curry, turmeric and salt for about 30-40min on 180°C. (This is also a great topping for a salad or a filling for a wrap or sandwich.)
• Alternatively keep it easy and simply use some fresh coriander

What to do

Heat up the oil in a pot and fry chopped onion, garlic and ginger on medium heat. Add the chopped cauliflower and dust with the spices. Now cover with stock and let it cook gently until it’s soft (20-30min). If you decided to make the soup creamier with a potato also add it with the cauliflower. If you decide for the dairy free milk add it rather towards the end of the cooking time.
Purée the soup  with your hand blender. You can either make it very smooth or keep it a bit chunky which is nice, too. Careful when you blend the soup, the yellow of the curry/tumeric makes bad stains ;). Finish with salt and pepper to your taste. If you opted for chili, add it with the other spices in the very beginning.

Serve with some roasted cauliflower or simply freshly chopped coriander on top, some nice brown bread and a big bowl of greens! Bon appetite 🙂

Until next time have a good month and don’t forget to follow me on my FB and Instagram lovely readers! I’m curious myself what new baby adventures I’ll have to blog about 😉

Big love ❤
N xx

 

A 5 month recap & a simple, wholesome veggie soup

Seems like at least every 6th of the month, when Zoe turns another month older, I finally kick my a** and sit down to blog. It’s a nice opportunity for myself to reflect and recap, to rethink what inspired my, when I was struggling or what particularly went well…

The highlight of the last month was definitely my birthday. Yep, I’m 36 now and I must say it doesn’t feel bad at all. Actually I must even say that I even think this was my loveliest bday ever! I’ver never felt so happy and content within myself.. I got married to the love of my life, we’re blessed with our cutest baby girl, we’re all healthy, live in a safe place, have a wonderful family and circle of friends and don’t have any financial problems. Not only marriage and motherhood but also the current events around us like wars, refugees and young people around us who get cancer, – they all remind me everyday how lucky we are and how grateful we can be. It makes me reflect even more often and reminds me to be aware of all these little things which we often take for granted – until something happens. Let’s not wait too long, let’s practice this gratitude every day and enjoy the wonderful moments of our life as often as we can!! Life is full of them 🙂 Be it a ferry ride in the lovely winter sunshine to Valletta, when you get your ID card without any hassle, when my hubby Paul sends me an unexpected love message, when baby Zoe manages to turn from her belly to her back (maybe 1 out of 10 times atm 😉 – how I admire her for her persistency!) or when people I meet somewhere tell me that they read my blog and really like it, like this morning at our parentcraft reunion at hospital.

New ID card – check – whoowhoo!

One of the many moments I’m always super happy is our weekly post-natal yoga class at freemyme in Sliema. I’ve been mentioning yoga on my blog many times and I won’t get tired of recommending it to anyone, wherever you are as it’s just creating such a wonderful, positive energy – not only for me, but also for Zoe, I can truly feel it when we do our asanas (poses), the way our day goes after, how well she sleeps etc. I can only recommend it to any mummy of a baby! Once they start crawling it’s too late so better use the chance to do it now 🙂

Little Yogi

What I also appreciate and experience a lot these days is the wonderful bond of mummy friends. I remember when I was pregnant I was a bit worried as most of my friends, although some of them have small children, are working full-time and I was scared to be alone all the time once the baby is born. As usual, there was no reason to worry. There is something true about the saying Cross that bridge when you get there. The universe will always offer plenty of opportunities to grab, be it new friends you make in one of the many baby classes, former parentcraft participants but also acquaintances you knew before but became closer, now you share the adventure of being a mummy. It’s beautiful to observe how these relationships can grow and it can never do any harm to either share your worries, provide an ear to listen to someone or simply do something fun together with the little ones. So thank you to all of you out there ❤

This week I visited a new-mummy friend who just gave birth to a little gorgeous baby girl. With loving memories and almost a bit nostalgic I was thinking back of these first special weeks and how loved and pampered I felt when friends came to visit me and brought me food, sweets or anything else around. As a dear friend and yoga teacher of mine always says Love is a circle – it was time to give back! So, I decided to make a big pot of hearty and vitamin packed veggie soup with my freshly delivered organic veg from Organic House (thanks to Ruth, who comes for home delivery every Wednesday!), some replenishing wheatgrass (thank you to my GreenPanda friends for your latest parcel!), a taster of my Earl Grey Orange porridge in a jar and of course some sweets and tea. The soup was rather simple, still my friend really liked it and asked me for the recipe so I tried to sit down and write it down. So there we go…

New-mummy-goodie bag

Wholesome, hearty veggie soup

This recipe doesn’t contain any specific amounts as you can just take equal amounts of different saisonal vegetables, so just play with it. I’d always recommend to include potatoes to make it more filling but if you don’t have any at hand you can always add some small wholemeal pasta, cooked brown rice, or any other grains like quinoa buckwheat or millet later. Talking of these grains, it’s always handy to have some prepared in the fridge so you can use them for soups, warm breakfasts or salads during the week. Even different kinds of beans will work and give you a nice portion of protein like canellini, chickpeas, you name it!

So this time I took equal amounts of potatoes, fennel, leek, carrots and chard but like any other leafy greens only add them for the last couple of minutes when the rest of the veg is already cooked. We don’t want to lose these lovely vitamins! Experiment and get what’s seasonal and local. Anything else will just work as fine (think pumpkin, broccoli, kale, peas, beans etc.)

What you need..

Equal amounts of veg (as described above)
1 filling ingredient carb or protein (as described above)
Water
Olive Oil
Bayleaf
Rock or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Herb & flower mix (I took one of my favorite Austrian organic mixes from Sonnentor called guardian angel – check it out if you speak German, unfortunately their English language version doesn’t seem to work at the moment) but you can also add some of the spices separately like coriander, ginger, mint, garlic, orange peel, cumin, curcuma, sage, paprika, rosemary and sage amongst others.

What to do..

Start with prepping all veg, wash, chop and trim them all in nice bite sized pieces. I personally like to scrub organic veg thoroughly instead of peeling as the skin contain many precious minerals and vitamins. Heat up a generous splash of olive oil on medium heat and start frying the hardest veg, add herbs, add the rest of the veggies (apart from the leafy greens) and fill it up with water so the veg is covered. Cook gently for about 30min, stir occasionally. Taste a bit and season. Last but not least add your pre-cooked grains or beans if you chose to add them.

To make it a bit more decadent add nice shavings of parmesan or a poached egg.

Bon appetite & feel the good energy flow in your veins and dummy 🙂

I guess that’s it for today! Wishing you all a lovely new month ahead & happy 5 month to our little sunshine Zoe – we love you to the moon an back!

Nadine xx

4 months, a new life & the rediscovery of Thai food

Today a year ago I found out I was pregnant.
Today 4 months ago our sweet little mouse Zoe was born.
4 months in which she hasn’t stopped bringing joy, giggles and love into our house and hearts.
4 months full of new situations, questions, occasional worries, unexpected grins and sudden attacks of love that you’re not sure if your heart is about to break of it.

Words can’t describe how happy I am to have her in our life.

Yes, it’s definitely true that your life is changing dramatically as a mum. Maybe not for everyone.. especially not if, like many women here in Malta, have to go back to work after 4 months (that would be now for me!), often full-time and have to leave their baby in a nursery or, if they’re lucky with nanna (Maltese for granny). But even then, your life will never be the same again as it used to be before. The nights are sometimes interrupted with night feeds and if not you can’t believe it that your baby is so quiet so you just have to go there and check if she is still breathing. Sounds crazy? I know! But suddenly there is this big love and sense for responsibility in you which I’ve never known before. This little human is totally dependent on you, and the way how it trust you is just heartbreakingly beautiful. Today was Zoe’s first baby swimming lesson. Imagine her, floating in a pool, so huge for her in comparison to an adult, but totally relaxed on her back with only my hands supporting gently her head and spine. This is real trust. Do you trust someone that much?

Suddenly you get lots of flashbacks to your own childhood. You start to understand the unconditional love of your parents and how much they care for you. A baby not only shakes up the parents’ life but it has a huge ripple effect. On grandparents, siblings who become proud aunties and uncles, friends – be it girls or guys – who suddenly show you completely new sides of their personality, be it insecurity, softness, affection.. Why? Because they are overwhelmed with the same feeling. The magic of a baby.

Of course a baby is not everybody’s cup of tea. And some people might fade out of your life because you can’t continue your life as it used to be. No more boozy dinners or dancing at festivals on a regular basis, several yoga classes a week and time to hang out after. Your priorities change, but change is good and makes you grow as they say.

Unfortunately also cooking lost some priority for me in my life these days. I’m mainly thinking quick and easy now, and if things can be cooked in bulk, stored for several days or be frozen so I don’t have to cook from scratch everyday. I only realize now, how much time I dedicated to cooking! Thinking that I was into simple food already, I only start realizing now how many trips to different shops for different ingredients it took and how many hours of inspirational reading and the cooking as such I had in hands (next to a bottle of wine of course!). Anyways, this is a new chapter and it’s time to adapt.

One of my recent (re)discoveries is Thai food. I’ve been into Thai food for ages but somehow lost touch with it over the last few years. Now, by coincidence (concretely leftovers from our New Year party inspired me), I came back to it and fell in love all over again!

So let me share our favorite dish these days:

Thai fried rice 

What you need…
(Serves 4)

• 1 onion
• 1 thumb sized ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 ts of soy paste & 1 ts of chili paste (thanks to my friend Hardy for the recommendation!)
• sesame oil
• soy sauce
• fish sauce (skip for a vegetarian version)
• 2 limes
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of cooked rice (I prefer brown)
• Approx. 500g of chopped veggies (I took peppers and spring onions with the chicken and zucchini with the beef but you can experiment with all kinds of veg)
• Approx. 500g meat (I took chili and maple sirup marinated chicken strips one day, some beef filet strips the other day and even minced beef another time – worked great with all of them. For a vegetarian version skip the meat or fry some tofu cubes)
• Fresh cilantro

Heat up the sesame oil in a big pan and start frying the chopped onions, garlic and ginger. Add the pastes and mix it.

Add the meat and stir fry it, add the vegetables and sauces and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes. Crack the two eggs on top and mix it all up.

Add the cooked rice and stir. Add some more of the sauces to taste (careful with the fish sauce as it’s quite intense) and another bit of sesame oil.

Serve with lime slices and fresh cilantro on top.

Dinner is ready! (And of course I still have a glass of red wine with it 🙂

With these basics you can make any a huge variety of fried rice versions. You can even replace the rice with rice noodles if you want to. Swap the veggies, change or skip the meat as long as you have the rest of the other ingredients.  

So for now, let me go back focus on my little princess who by now woke up and is patiently sitting on my lap and I hope it won’t take too long to blog to you again. So long, keep on following my FB page which is updated more regularly as it’s simply easier and quicker these days than sitting down to write a whole blog post.  Still love it though I must say 😉

Wishing you all a very happy new year, filled with good food, giggles and love!

N xxx

PS Photos of my pregnant self by the talented Angela from H is for happiness.