What you’ll need:
2 coliflower
2 redbeet
4 carrots
3 broccoli
2 zucchini
olive oil
3/4 full spoon of tahini sauce
Click on the video to see the recipe!
TAHINI COMFORT BOWL
What you’ll need:
2 coliflower
2 redbeet
4 carrots
3 broccoli
2 zucchini
olive oil
3/4 full spoon of tahini sauce
I hope you enjoy the video and please feel free to exchange the vegetables if you have other favorites. This one is good for the whole family 🙂 I hope you like it
Love JM
HEATBUSTERS
Videos by thebigmama.it
Thanks to centrobotanico.org
BABY FOOD
I am happy to share with you here the first episode of Mother’s Spell Recipes for making easy, healthy food for babies. Food is so important and I would like to encourage each mother out there to go online and read about the importance of fresh, healthy food for our children. Using as little processed food as possible and making it yourself also costs less. Here are some basic recipes for baby food! I have many more to come also for the adults and during pregnancy, so stay tuned ☺
I hope you like it
With love JM
Videos by thebigmama.it
Thanks to centrobotanico.org
MOTHER
When I held you for the first time was the first time in my life that I realized I could kill someone.The desire to keep you forever safe was so strong in me, I just knew in that moment that I would do ANYTHING to make it so.
When I smelt you for the first time I discovered a softness and warmth inside me that I had not even given to your father, let alone myself. This kind of warmth and softness is only meant for you.
When I gave you your first kiss on your little head and face, a tear ran down my cheek: finally, I understood what love is. I love you. Now I have learned to love your father more than I have ever loved before because he gave me you.
When you moved your lips for the first time, that movement was just part of you trying to stretch your little body, but I could not wait to hear you speak. Listen to your stories and thoughts. Even though I must say there are times now in which I wish you spoke a little less 😉
When we looked in each other’s eyes for the first time , I could not wait to discover and investigate the world by your side. Show you what life has to offer. Show you our beautiful nature in its blossom. Make funny faces so you can laugh.
When you drank from my breast for the first time, you gave me a powerful feeling. I felt like a real woman for the first time. You had given me my best and most difficult job ever, and despite that, it all came so naturally to me. You and I are meant to be.
When we walked together side by side, hand in hand, for the first time, I felt so proud of you. I will strive for you to be able to walk the street safe and alone. But whenever you will need, even though you may not notice, I will always be there right behind you, ready to catch you. You will always have me by your side.
But most of all, I feel so blessed that I was given a life where I can be by your side. Give you a home. Dress you. Feed you. Protect you. A life in which I can laugh with you without fear. One in which you can go to school and play, and just be a kid.
I would like to honor the mothers in our world who have to fight every single day for these things. Sadly, some never achieve any of it, and struggle so hard every day, all day, for things that we lucky enough to take for granted. I pray and hope this will end one day. In the meantime I will do my part and support in the way I can to help. I hope you will too.
Happy Mother’s day to all the moms out there.
You are magical.
love JM
DO WE NEED TO WASH NEWBORNS WITH SOAP? NO AND HERE IS WHY
When I receive a few emails with the same question I love to answer with a blog post, as I understand there are a few of you who are curious about the same topic. So I write down all your questions and try to get back to you about them as soon as I can.
I am speaking for me personally and from what I have come to know by reading books or learned from great doulas, baby nurses and most importantly other mothers and grandmothers.
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED TO WASH THEM WITH SOAP!
When babies are born, most of them come out of their mother’s womb with something like a white, greasy cover all over their skin and some parents, especially first-timers, think that this might be a disgusting thing to see or to touch: well, many things may seem scary or strange if we don’t really know what they are.
I myself, along with many women I have spoken to, did not find it gross at all, and was actually surprised by this. The soft, waxy, odourless texture is called vernix, and it has many benefits such as protecting your baby’s skin from being in amniotic fluid month after month, or from harmful bacteria they might encounter inside and outside of the mother’s body. It is also a skin cleanser, antioxidant and offers a protective covering while going through the birth canal. So instead of washing it off, you should actually rub it into your newborn’s skin with a gentle massage, to get the most good out of it.
The feeling when you hold your newborn baby for the very first time is so beyond magnificent that there is no space for thinking that something is gross.
This is all natural and this is they way we are supposed to be: every single one of us has been there, just after birth, with white, thick texture on our skin that has a very good reason to be there, nature has its ways and we should do more of listening to the way things are made to be.
Free your mind from the way we are made to think it should be, just go with the flow and enjoy the moment you are living. Hug your little baby and give it a gentle rub on the back and legs while it cuddles up to your skin for the very first time.
The majority of the vernix will absorb into the skin within 24 hours from birth, but it may take up to 5 -6 days to fully absorb: the world’s best moisturizer for your little baby. That is why it is advisable to wait to give the baby its first bath until after its first week of life.
Many hospital baby nurses or doctors like to wash off the vernix so the baby ‘’looks better’’ for the new parents, but really, don’t let them do that. I told my doctors to leave it on before my sons where even born just to make sure they would not start to rub it off, or soap wash them.
A newborn baby should go straight into its mother’s arms if possible: sometimes it can be an emergency situation so the baby may have to go under further or intense control, but in most cases all is fine and the baby should go straight to resting with its mother, covered in white lovely greasy natural fat, listening to its mother’s heartbeat, skin to skin. So, cuddle and get to know one another. In that very moment, there is nothing to hurry about.
Regarding what to do for your baby’s first bath, it depends. Just a soft, warm cloth stroke around the areas where you feel it is needed may be enough (that is what I did). They are so pure and wrapped all day in clean clothes or blankets, so they don’t really NEED a bath. But it could be lovely and relaxing for them. Most of them will love it : make sure the room is warm, with soft light and maybe even peaceful music – for example, I used to play the same music I had in the delivery room just to create a lovely, romantic and cozy atmosphere.
They are going through so many new things each day. New sounds, new light, new touch – new everything. I would recommend waiting 5 days or up to a week for the first bath and when you do, no soap needed. To this day, I still do not use soap on my sons, and they are 2 and 4. I use coconut oil in their baths and massage it into their skin afterwards. Again, our bodies are so perfectly made, we do not need soap – especially in the first years of life. Normally the little ones don’t really even get that dirty except for the face, hands and bottoms, and those are washed often throughout the day.
Just by letting your baby relax and play moving around in the water will definitely do the job of cleaning your baby, and if you feel more comfortable you can stroke him or her with a soft cloth in the water. Babies also do not need a bath every single day: every 2-3 days is more than enough. I give my sons a bath 2-3 times per week in the winter and a bit more often in the summer as they are boys and love to play outside with sand, mud and water.
Sparing the soap will also protect their skin from rashes or dry spots and keep their skin looking better for longer with its natural oil, as baby skin is very delicate and sensitive.
Babies also do not smell or stink, especially if their diet is good.
In some countries or cities water is often a bit “heavy”, so most of the time I massage coconut oil on my boys’ skin even before they enter the bathtub: that way it will maintain its healthy glow and get hydrated in the bath.
Their hair is also very thick and healthy from not using soap: it even smells better in some way, because it just smells like them. During their baths I wash their hair well with water and a comb, and so far it has been more than enough to keep it healthy looking. I often leave some coconut oil in their hair overnight and rinse it out in the morning, especially in the summer.
Bathtime is fun and relaxing, so many parents think it is good to take a bath each night. But do keep an eye on your child’s skin and remember there are many other lovely relaxing things to do before bed time, such as reading a book, giving them a massage or singing. Lower the lights at home and put up some candlelight.
I hope this has been helpful and I would love to read how you like to give your child a bath in your comments. As always, if you have any more questions I will happily answer.
much love as always
JM
WE ARE ALSO RAISING FATHERS
I have been posting Instagram videos and photos of my sons playing at home doing many different games over the past three years. I find myself both sharing my motherhood and watching other mothers’ daily life with children through their videos or words, and I somehow find it comforting, it makes me feel less alone in my motherhood journey.
I love getting ideas for activities to do with my sons from other mothers, just as when I find something that my family loves to do together I like sharing it, so that someone might also take it as inspiration and enjoy it. We are all in the same boat here and I find that the phrase sharing is caring fits really well in the motherhood community.
One of my sons’ favorite things to do is to take a walk with their strollers and care for their dolls . Before leaving the house they put on their clothes and cover them up with a blanket so they wont get cold. Then they tell me stories about how they care for their little babies and how I did the same with them when they where small (as if they remember their infancy) 🙂 Seeing them taking care of their stuffed animals and dolls with so much love just melts my heart, and I feel it is such a lovely game for any child, boy or girl. It is just a game about love.
I have gotten so many responses to the videos I have posted of my sons playing fathers, and I have to say they were both positive and negative. I felt it would be a good idea to share the reason why, to me, it is completely fine for boys to play with dolls and strollers just as it is fine for girls.
First of all, they are not at all only toys for girls. Yes ,it is true that girls will become mothers one day and they will take care of a baby and walk around with a stroller, but guess what: boys will also become FATHERS, and it is completely, 100% ok that boys walk around with a stroller and take care of little doll babies just like their fathers are doing with them and their siblings. Our children are only imitating what they see us do.
In my personal opinion I find it really beautiful that my sons play a game that consists in taking care of someone else. As I take them for a walk in the park they put a blanket on their dolls so that they will not be cold, and all I can think of is how beautiful it is that they have the instinct to be kind, even to a doll. During our walk in the park I notice that many people look at them and their strollers and smile. I can see they are moved by seeing two boys walking around the park acting like two fathers.
On the other hand, so very sadly, I also see many people looking at me as if I have committed a crime by letting my sons play this game. This is completely beyond my understanding. Many mothers have written to me saying that their husbands would never, ever, allow them to let their sons play with a stroller. It is very hard for me to understand this. Children are children, and I am so happy when I see them exploring new games or developing an interest in something. Thinking that there are boy games and girl games is such an old preconception. I grew up with 4 younger brothers, so I very often played with ninja turtles, cars or played soccer and I also have to say that it generally seems like it is more accepted for girls to be playing boy games rather than boys playing girl games. It feels like some men are scared about it, in some way. My sons also have a little kitchen in their room and they love preparing ‘’soups or pasta’’ for me that I pretend to eat from their little wood pots and pans, or other times they will offer me a cup of tea 🙂 They are so very proud to be making food for me.
It is 2018 and it is so completely ok for children to have the desire to explore and create games copying their parents. Being a good example to our children is everything. It is the future. Let boys carry stuffed animals and dolls in a stroller and play with them, so what! I gave Sebastian his stroller about the time when Gabriel was born so he could walk his own baby with me, and I felt that it really helped him deal with jealousy. When Gabriel grew they started fighting over the stroller so their grandmother bought Gabriel his own, and they are so happy and proud when they take their babies out for a walk. To me, parenthood is all about that: seeing our little angels happily smiling, satisfied and proud of who they are.
We guide them along the way and are there for everything they may need. We stimulate them in the way they are. See their incredible personality and help bring out the best in them.
Most of all, we are there to LOVE them for who they are.
love JM
JUCING, AND WHY
There is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to our health, body and mind. These are lifestyle choices that need to come from ourselves and no one else. These are every day decisions, big and small. It is a way of living every day from morning to evening, making decisions for ourselves about health and wellness. About who we want to be and what we wish for our children. We all have a choice. I often think about it and wish more people were aware of their possibilities. I am not by far saying I am perfect or an expert, I am still learning and finding my balance: I am a wild woman at heart, so often it can be challenging to follow rules …this is why I call it a balance. Find yours and know how and when to listen to your body when it is out of tune.
Taking care of what we put in our body, how we eat, when and what, is a top priority. The ingredients are so much more important than people often like to think or admit. I wish this was more taught in schools, even in kindergartens. Sadly, food in our children’s daycare or school systems is rarely of the best kind and most of the time it is more in the junk food family than the nutritious healthy family. Why it has come to be this way makes no sense to me whatsoever, and I don’t understand why school food is not more healthy and nutritious. Why are our children being fed so much pasta, pizza, cookies, processed foods, meat, dairy and chocolate puddings?
I want the best for my kids and I want to teach them how to make good choices for themselves, and why. Children are so smart and they are so excited to learn, we just don’t have to give up. They can, and should, learn this just like they learn everything else.
I would love to talk a bit about juicing and why we should do that. I recently posted on my Instagram how I make my green juice and why, and I was so happy to see so many reactions from you! So many people were interested in knowing more, so I am happy to share it with you 🙂
Some people ask “why juicing? Why not just eat the raw vegetables?”
The answer is simple: you will never be able to eat as many raw vegetables in one day as you get in one or two glasses of its juice. The benefits of just one glass of green juice are endless, as juicing helps you to absorb all the vegetables’ vitamin, minerals and goodness, quickly and sufficiently. You will start to see your skin glow and your stomach less bloated in just couple of days. Energy levels rising, and better food cravings. Last but not least, you will naturally loose any extra weight.
I am always careful when juicing fruit and sugary vegetables like carrots, beets, apple, pear and pineapple. I know it may be more tasty to many, but it will make your blood sugar levels rise and fall quickly, and you may feel your energy crash after 40 minutes or so. This is why when juicing sugary vegetables and fruit it is good to juice it with something wonderfully green to slow and ease down the sugar in your blood . Having something like 10% of your juice being sugary and 90% green could be a good balance. In case you are dealing with candida overgrowth in your gut, drinking green juice is super powerful to help you heal it and clean it out.
Green juice is just my favorite because of its benefits. I gave it to my sons from the very beginning: at 8 months they would have some juiced organic fennel, just a little bit almost every day, then I slowly put more vegetables as they grew and got used to it, such as celery, cucumber, spinach and kale. That way they adjusted to the taste from early on and it will be easier to make them eat vegetables later on in their childhood. And hopefully, as they grow, their food cravings will most likely be on the healthy side.
Since I started juicing and drinking green juice on a regular basis I can feel the change in my body so much. I feel more flexible and open. I have more energy in my days and my workouts are more powerful. I feel I breathe deeper and better, and my digestion and stomach feel healthier. I feel like I also see and hear better, seriously! My body returned into a healthy Alkaline state, as having a very acidic body can have very harmful effects. So drinking GREEN juices can only be a positive thing, and I highly recommend you to start NOW. I know you might say “oh but it is so boring to clean up after it!”. Well, that is only a state of mind. If you are well aware of the benefits, believe me: it will be very much worth your time 🙂
green love JM
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
Valentine’s day has become a day that people all over the world seem to be celebrating. Couples go out on a special date and exchange gifts which include chocolate, jewelry, love letters, champagne or sexy underwear. 🙂
A romantic dinner with candles, holding hands and looking deep into each other’s eyes.
Personally I am not really sure what to do on this day to be honest… somehow I would feel uncomfortable holding a man’s hand in a romantic restaurant just because it is an expected thing and I am surrounded by couples doing just that. I don’t want to criticize people who do that, I am all for expressing love and I LOVE the idea of a couple in love 🙂 But the idea to me sounds quite uncomfortable. I would prefer a home made romantic dinner. My lovely boyfriend has coincidentally always been away for work on this particular day for all the 7 years we’ve been together. Lucky him, he has a wonderful excuse to be far away from the pressure. And lucky me, I get to spend the night with my friends or by myself in a bubble bath! We like to be different and celebrate our love on the day before or the day after, just to be on our own.
It could be just me, but I prefer a night out with my girlfriends on a day like Valentines day ahahaha..
Maybe I just got used to it in New York, where me and my friends would always do something super fun for Valentine’s Day: the single- New York-gang watching Sex and the City, drinking champagne in pajamas, eating ice cream and laughing until our stomach hurts. Or go dancing and just celebrate friendship. Love is something that should always live in us anyway.
I feel that it is important to just enjoy love in general, every day, by loving others and being loved by the ones I love. Valentine’s day is a beautiful celebration, but commercials are brilliant in making it become one of the tackiest of the year.
Love comes from your own heart. I learned that the hard way. It is not something you can only receive, you have to keep it burning in your own heart ALWAYS.
You don’t need love from someone else to feel special. Just care and love yourself and BE love in the deepest part of your soul: that is what you will spread and you will receive. Who cares if it from a handsome man or a beautiful woman? Love is just love, it just needs to be pure. Find true value in the love that surrounds you and that is the moment of your real celebration on a day like Valentine’s day.
If you are reading this and you are in love with someone special, I hope you will have a wonderful day enjoying holding hands and opening your heart, sharing something beautiful and meaningful with your partner. Make a home made gift, a gift with a meaning.
If you are reading this and you are not in love with someone special, I hope you take this day to spoil and pamper yourself doing something that you love to do. Then spread the love with the people you really care about.
Honest love that comes straight from the heart can only do good. Take a bubble bath and light candles. Eat chocolate and watch a romantic move.
After reading all of the above, I challenge you to bring a little bit of Valentine’s day into every day of the rest of the year.
love always JM
#WEARTHECHANGE
Every day we make many different decisions: what to wear, what to eat, which paths to take or even decisions related to work or family. We all enjoy felling and looking good.
I am happy to tell you about how committed C&A have been over the past years to improving their products in order to make them environmentally and socially responsible. More than half of their items are now being produced more sustainably and made from 100% organic cotton.
In the photo above with my little Minions I am wearing a 100% recyclable t shirt: how awesome is that!
If you’d like to be a part of this change and wear the change you can go on their website www.c-and-a.com. Take a look at their products and get these t shirts … or by following them on Instagram you might even get lucky and win one.
In the photo above with my little Minions I am wearing a 100% recyclable t shirt: how awesome is that!
If you’d like to be a part of this change and wear the change you can go on their website www.c-and-a.com. Take a look at their products and get these t shirts … or by following them on Instagram you might even get lucky and win one.
Love JM
