As soon as you get pregnant all your girlfriends suddenly feel the need to chime in with their two cents. "Are you taking folic acid yet?"…… "Stop drinking alcohol…." It all sounds like a bit of a downer and you’re just coming to terms with the fact that your boobs hurt like hell and you aren’t sure what you are supposed to be feeling. But folic acid also called folate is actually one of…

Filed under: Nutrition | No Comments »

This recipe I found on a Singaporean motherhood site. Like most of Asia, they believe it is very important to build up a woman’s blood after childbirth. Chicken soup has long been hailed as the solution to tiredness and physical lethargy. If you boil the chicken with its skin on, allow it to cool and lift off the layer of fat that congeals upon cooling, you have a true chicken stock (with a lot less fat!).

This recipe serves 2 people…..

1 young chicken
2 small sweet potatoes (the yellow/orange variety,…

Filed under: Nutrition | No Comments »

Yes, I am pregnant, and it’s one of those fairly cold, blustery grey days in Brooklyn and I happened to shop at the coop yesterday and was inspired by my friend to make a fruit crisp. This one uses apples and frozen organic blackberries - tons of Vitamin C, antioxidants and bioflavenoids which has to be good for baby and mama….. OK here goes….

Cut and peel 4 baking apples (I used Mutsu but anything tart and good for baking will work)

2 bags of Cascadian or any other organic frozen blackberries

2…

Filed under: Nutrition | No Comments »

By now you may have heard about Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) AKA THE GOOD FATS that are necessary for health and cannot be manufactured by the body. I first heard about them after 9/11 when I was feeling, there is no better word for it, toxic, and was looking for a boost. I met with a kinesiologist in New York called Michael Konig, who uses applied kinesiology for nutritional analysis. In his own words, he explains the principles behind Kinesiology:

"Think of the body as a complex electrical system. Nutritional deficit…

Filed under: Nutrition | No Comments »

Spirulina is a blue-green algae with three and one-half billion years of life on this planet encoded in its nucleic acids. Many people refer to it as a miracle food. It is a primitive organism and among the first life forms and as organic food sources become increasingly jeopardized, people are turning increasingly to these original life form for nutritional support. 

I first heard about Spirulina several years ago from a friend of mine who lives in Australia. She said she loved taking it when she wanted to watch what…

Filed under: Nutrition | No Comments »

I am not a vegetarian so nobody ever talked to me about iron deficiencies, especially after pregnancy. During  pregnancy, blood volumes (the quantity of blood circulating the body) increase by approximately 40%. This is largely due to an increase in plasma (the liquid part of blood) which grow faster than red (or white) blood cell volume. A decrease in red blood cells also amounts to a decrease of hemoglobin, resulting usually in anemia.

Signs of anemia usually cause fatigue, a rapid heartbeat, and paleness of the skin, gums and around…

Filed under: Nutrition | No Comments »

It’s OK. I know you go to bed at 10pm these days. But you can still get really creative with your tea-brewing prowess. Different herbal teas, which sometimes contain thousands of beneficial active compounds, have their own distinctive healing uses.

Camomile is one of the most widely used herb teas, highly regarded for its digestive and calming properties. An excellent remedy for menstrual cramps is an infusion of camomile flowers (you can use either bags or loose flowers if you have a strainer) with a few slices of ginger. This…

Filed under: Nutrition | No Comments »