Weekend Food For Thought

After a blogging break due to much excitement and fun I have come back to share what's all been happening.

I GOT ENGAGED! ON MY BIRTHDAY! AND ON EVA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Just to keep it easy on ourselves for remembering lots of dates ;) haha. That's why we would also like to get married on December 23rd 2014 as its the anniversary of the day we met. Aww. Plus I love Christmas, and Winter.

Today I have the day tom myself while Martin and Eva have a daddy daughter day out. I have accomplished so much so far its crazy. I'm a bit at a loss as to what to do with myself but I have a plan of what I'd like to get done for the rest of the day.

I'm making some River Cottage no bake fruity fridge flapjacks.

 

This unbaked dairy-free flapjack recipe is from Alice Meller, wife of Gill, head chef at River Cottage. It’s so easy, so fruity and so good that it just had to go in the book. You can vary the recipe as you choose, substituting different dried fruit and using 100g of any mix of seeds. Taken from the Channel 4 series, River Cottage to the Core. Photo: Simon Wheeler.

Prep time

• 15 minutes

Cook Time

• 2-3 hours

Servings

• 18 to 20

Ingredients

• 100g pitted dates
• 100g prunes , stoned removed if necessary
• 2 ripe or slightly over-ripe medium bananas, peeled
• 150g honey
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 325g medium porridge oats, or jumbo oats
• 100g raisins
• 100g unsulphured ready-to-eat dried apricots, finely chopped
• 25g shelled hemp seeds
• 25g linseeds
• 25g sesame seeds
• 25g sunflower seeds

Prunes, honey, oats, flapjack, raisins, fridge

Directions

Line a shallow baking tray, about 20 x 30cm, with baking parchment.

Put the dates, prunes, bananas, honey, coconut oil and 2 tablespoons water in a food processor and blitz to a thick, fruit-flecked purée.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, raisins, chopped apricots and seeds.

Stir in the puréed fruit and honey and mix well (your hands may be the best tool for this job).

Tip the fruity oat mixture into the prepared tin and gently press it out, getting it as even and level as you can.

Put the tray in the fridge for 2–3 hours to allow the flapjack to set, then turn out on to a board and slice into bars.

Keep in a plastic container in the fridge and eat within a week.

Eva Update - 16 teeth! She has had 6 teeth come in over the last 3 weeks. Phew. Poor baby (and mum and dad) hasn't had it easy but hopefully this is it until she's two. 

 For some time I have been feeling a bit lost, in motherhood, in life. Probably as motherhood is such a transition its hard to imagine until you're in it, but... I know that the one thing I am passionate about has been breastfeeding. I don't think there is anything more important to me. 

I am so glad I managed to breastfeed at all it, it was so hard in those first six weeks. I had so much help from midwives and other health professionals and I feel its only right to give something back. 

Those times in October when Eva had a throat infection, she couldn't eat and she only breastfed round the clock or she would cry. I was so proud of my body for making more milk to support my little girl. I know what I am giving her is the best thing for her. It's a miracle life food and I find it so sad that some women struggle and I hope to at least help one woman with what I have learned. 

I contacted the La Leche League and have been invited along to some of their meetings. I hope to be able to provide support there and build on those sessions from there. 

Brigid

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