food for birth class

[runes]

Hi, October mamas!

DH and I just started our Birthing from Within/Hypnobirthing class last Sunday, and we all agreed that one couple would bring a healthy snack to class each week. The instructor suggested that we bring foods that we think might be appealing to eat during labor so that we can give each other ideas. She brought a delicious yogurt/blueberry/almond dish for the first class, and it was so good.

I volunteered to bring a dish for this Sunday's class. The class starts at 10:30am and goes til 1pm, so anything breakfast, lunch or 'brunch'-y would work. I was thinking about baking a whole wheat banana nut bread, but it's so darn hot here I don't think I can bring myself to fire up the oven. I asked if anyone had a preference whether it was a breakfasty item or more lunchy, and no one cared..."as long as it's not a big box of Krispy Kremes" :LOL

At this point I'm sort of stressing about this...I'm thinking a big fruit salad, I love fruit and could see myself eating a lot of it during labor...but I wanted to also bring something that had some protein in it. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

[lovnbnhome]

Hey there! I'm in San Diego too...I understand about the heat and not wanting to fire up the oven :LOL ! What about grilling some chicken and putting it onto a salad? There's always hummus and pita that's good for snackin'... Good luck!

[selazenby]

Hi - I'm popping in from the December Board. I saw "food" and couldn't resist Anyway, I know you said you didn't want to have to bake but this is a great, hearty bread that I discovered when my sister was pregnant and have been making for everyone's pregnancies (including mine) ever since. It has lots of good pregnancy ingredients - and is delicious with some good honey butter or yummy jam/preserves.

Molasses Wheat Bread

Makes 2 loaves
There are many good recipes for healthy whole-wheat breads, but all yeast versions take several hours to make. This quick bread uses baking powder and soda to leaven it instead. It is good for sandwiches, as a snack, or toasted with peanut butter or jam. If you need two loaves, freeze the extra bread for later use.


1/4 cup flax seeds

3/4 cup canola oil, plus more for pans

4 cups whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups buttermilk

3/4 cup blackstrap molasses

2/3 cup toasted wheat germ

1. Grind flax seeds in a spice mill or a clean coffee grinder until fine. Set aside. Heat oven to 375° with rack in center. Lightly grease two 9-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans with canola oil.

2. In a large bowl, sift or whisk together whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add canola oil, buttermilk, and molasses, and stir until well blended. Stir in wheat germ and reserved flax seeds. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Even out tops with a spatula.

3. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a cooling rack. The bread may be frozen, double-wrapped in plastic wrap, up to 3 weeks, or refrigerated up to 1 week.

[RyvreWillow]

i would definately go with the fruit salad, especially if there's lots of strawberries in it! Leave the skin on all the fruit, and it'll be even healthier, hehe. i'm hungry now...

[Rach]

Fruit!
My midwife said fruit, like grapes are really popular during labor. She said the foods that were bite sized were the best and gave a little juice/liquid for a dry mouth were best.
How about a fruit, cheese, and veggie platter? The protein can be a yogurt dip for the fruit, a ranch dip for the veggies, or the cheese.

[Worldshakerz]

Yeah, I'd vote for the fruit salad, or the fruit and veggie and cheese plate with dips. Gosh, its making me hungry. And wow, this has given me a good idea for labor. I love eating grapes frozen . I'm going to have to make sure to keep some in the freezer for when I go into labor.

[runes]

Fruit salad it is!

I bought a whole bunch of gorgeous fruit today: canteloupe, honeydew, pineapple, mango, grapes, kiwi, bananas, blueberries and raspberries. Thanks for the tip re: cutting into smaller bite sized pieces (I tend to make my fruit salads with big chunks).

I will make a yogurt dip (plain yogurt with a tiny bit of maple syrup), and also bring some toasted coconut and raw sprouted almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds to sprinkle on top. Between the yogurt and the nuts, there's some protein for ya! I tend to like my yogurt tangy and not too sweet (I always just buy plain and put a touch of honey/molasses/maple syrup) so I'll bring a little extra on the side if anyone else prefers theirs sweeter.

Thanks so much. Once again, the wise women of MDC to the rescue!

Your replies have also given me tons of ideas for "labor day"...cheese platter with assorted crackers sounds awesome. Hmm...should I start a spinoff thread?