Did I mention already how big an appetite you get while feeding an
infant? You get hungry! Plus I already loved to eat so I am now a snack
machine! Protein people, it is all about protein. Protein and accessibility. In
the first few weeks you sometimes can only eat what you can grab and get into
your mouth with one hand. I had a fruit smoothie in the fridge that I would
slurp out of the bottle and some scroggin next to the chair where I would feed Ada.
Here are 5 ready-to-eat new Mum lunch ideas that you can make in advance
and have for a few days in a row.
1. Moroccan Chickpea and Carrot Salad.
10 minutes
This recipe makes about 5-6 serves and is adapted from Ripe Cafés
cookbook. Thanks.
You will need:
2 tins of chickpeas, drained
1 large grated carrot
1 cup green beans
Small handful sultanas
A few dates chopped small
½ c flat leaf parsley (could substitute half of this for coriander)
Dressing:
1T lemon juice
1T sweet thai chili sauce
1T mayo or aioli
1t cumin
1t tumeric
salt and pepper to taste
half a clove of garlic grated/chopped very finely (optional, raw garlic
and Ada did not mix. Owie.)
Combine salad ingredients, mix dressing ingredients, combine it all!
2. Anything Rice Bowl
5 minutes
Make too much brown rice (or white, if you must). Add cooked frozen
corn, chopped red pepper, green onions, a boiled egg, julienned carrot… you get
the idea, anything. Add hoisin, soy or hot sauce. This tastes best if the rice
is heated first, everything else can be thrown in cold, the brown rice just
needs a bit of salt and your taste buds will come around. This fast snack can
keep you going for ages. It is worth noting a few boiled eggs ready to eat in
the fridge can go a long way… Mayonegg anyone?
3. Vietnamese Chicken Salad
20 minutes
I came home from Canada with this recipe in my bag, ripped out of a copy
of Madison magazine, it is a bit like a summer roll without the prawns and rice
paper shell and mucking about making them. I think this will keep for about 3
days in the fridge and this recipe makes 4 servings approximately. This recipe
is a little bit longer so you may want to have it for dinner and leftovers for
lunch. It really only takes as long to make as the chicken takes to cook.
You will need:
1 large chicken breast
1 carrot
1/3 cucumber
handful mint leaves
handful basil leaves
fish sauce
brown sugar
lemon
vinegar
chili
First poach a chicken breast with coriander and basil stalks or some
grated ginger. You bring a small pan of water to the boil, add the chicken,
boil for 30 seconds, take it off the heat and leave it for 12-15 to finish
cooking.
While that is happening shred about 2 cups of cabbage (say a ¼ of a
medium cabbage), grate a carrot, julienne 1/3 of a cucumber (however it is more
authentic to substitute 1/2c mung beans), chop ¼ cup of mint and basil leaves.
I also prepare a third of a packet of vermicelli because carbs are awesome and
the noodles hold the dressing. To prepare those you pour boiling water over the
noodles and leave to sit, then drain before adding to the salad.
When the chicken is cooked it will be moist but able to be pulled apart
into shreds with two forks. Practice makes perfect here, don’t be too fussy for
tiny shreds if you haven’t used this technique before. Or maybe shredding is only new to me!
The Nuoc tham dressing then makes this taste awesome!
Mix: 1T fish sauce, 1T brown sugar, 1T lime/lemon juice, 2t cider
vinegar and a chopped chili if you like it hot.
Lastly you can throw on some toasted peanuts or pumpkin seeds for
crunch.
4. Tuna Salad on Vogels
5 minutes
Not too difficult a recipe! Mix a drained tin of tuna chunks with some
lite mayo, chopped gherkins or capers, salt and pepper, maybe some hot sauce.
Pile high on some seedy nutty whole grain toast. In North America this would be
then topped with cheese and placed under the broiler. Ha, that is their word
for grill. A grill to them is only ever a BBQ. You say tomato, I say tomaytoe
etc..
5. Bircher Muesli
5 minutes
Basic plus - food photography is on my 'to learn' list, hmm
Did you know oats are a mood regulator? In the first few weeks after Ada
was born I was keen for some of that. Fish oil and oats. Seperately. This is
obviously not a lunch but who is fussy when they are working around the clock
for a little task master. This recipe makes two serves and can be varied a lot.
If you like muesli but not porridge you should still try this as it is not
gluey or stodgy as porridge can be. Rolled oats work best but you could try die
cut oats, quick oats were not good.
Basic – mix half a cup of water, 1 cup of oats and half an apple grated
and leave overnight.
Basic plus – as above but with 4 chopped prunes or dates, serve with
yogurt and almonds or walnuts.
Fancy – same as basic but soak in orange juice or (soy) milk or yogurt
and add frozen berries
The variety is near endless.
