Guest Blogger: Cutiful - "Hungry Mommy"

Hi there!

Let me introduce myself: I'm Vanessa from the blog Cutiful. I'm a young mom to an adorable baby girl who inspires me to create lovely handmade toys & accessories! I met Alyssa a few months ago through Etsy where we both have our shops (you can visit us here & here!) As you must all know, Alyssa is having a new baby so I'm pleased to take over for a little guest blog post! :) A new mommy's gotta rest, right!

I personally LOOOOOVE to cook (I'm most probably one of Jamie Oliver's biggest fan! Haha!) but we all know that when you get back from the hospital with a new baby, you don't always have time (or you simply don't want) to cook...especially if this is not your 1st child! I can imagine how busy a house can be with older kids to take care of! But we all know that it is quite important to eat as healthy as possible, especially if you are nursing!

So, for my 1st ever guest blog post (Thanks again Alyssa!), I decided to share some quick & easy recipes & some little tips to try to make mealtime as easy as possible...Some of these ideas can be prepared in advance (a.k.a put in the freezer for further use)...and other ideas are in my opinion great gifts to bring to a new mom. So here we go, let's get cooking! :)

 #1.Muffins!
These are perfect for breakfast on the go! What I usually do is A) double or triple a muffin recipe, then freeze the mixture in separate bowls (approximately a dozen muffins per bowl)...You simply put the frozen mixture in the fridge before going to sleep and then in the morning, it's ready to go! Simply fill your muffins cups and swing that in the oven for fresh muffins! Yummy!!! B) you can also cook all your muffins ahead of time and freeze them individually. If you prefer eating them hot, you can simply pop them a few minutes in the oven before eating them!

I'm a huge fan of zucchini & chocolate muffins...and I think carrots comes second!

Zucchini & Chocolate muffins

Carrots, Bananas & Raisins muffins

Planning to go visit some friends of yours to meet their new & precious little one? Why don't you cook them a dozen! ;)


#2. Smoothie & Shakes!
These are so quick to do, and you can find some pretty tasteful, healthy & satisfying recipes out there (Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for EVERYTHING, including recipes!!! I admit, I'm a real Pinterest addict!) For example, this yummy recipe: 

Creamy Chocolate Avocado Smoothie

I only wish I had that recipe a year ago when I was nursing my daughter and was sometime skipping a meal (I confess!) You can also find a lot of "Green Smoothie" such as these...

Spinach Green Smoothie

Kale Green Smoothie

I know what you are thinking... "Spinach or Kale in a smoothie, really?!?!" Yes really!!! Have you ever tried it? You should! :) I think these kind of recipes can easily become a must for busy nursing moms!


 #3. Dumplings!
I absolutely love dumplings! Yes they take time to prepare, but once you have a batch ready, you can easily froze them. After that, it's a real no brainer, you simply have to steam them or boil them! About 2-3 weeks before giving birth, I did a bunch and let me tell you, I was really glad I did! I also did a "dumpling party" with one of my pregnant friend before she gave birth. I think this is a great, thoughtful gift to make for expecting parents! Yummy with some peanut sauce (you can make yours or simply buy some ready made to speed the process!) Here is a recipe to inspire you...this one uses pork & tofu but you can change the meat if you'd like, or even use sea food! I usually do mine with pork & shrimp, a classic. I like this recipe because all the steps all clearly illustrated, perfect for 1st timers!

Korean dumplings

Homemade peanut sauce recipe

What was your favorite thing to eat/cook after giving birth? I'm sure you all have plenty of ideas & recipes in mind...Feel free to share, I guess Alyssa will be pretty happy to have some more suggestions! :)


Happy cooking everyone!