When it comes to finding ingredients, you should be able to source everything at your local supermarket and health food shop. The recipes in the book are simple, easy to follow and accessible. We have limited the use of expensive ingredients and instead prioritised what is convenient and easy to find at your local market or shop. We want you to feel comfortable asking your not-so-food-savvy uncle, sister or grandad to cook them for you without them feeling intimidated.
We have written a list of any ingredients that may be a little unique to some readers and included our favourite brands and places to find them.
Bone broth is incredibly nutrient dense and nourishing especially for new mamas. Bone broth is similar to stock but with a few key difference. The goal of bone broth is to extract maximum nutrients. It has a longer cooking time than stock and if made properly, once cooled, it becomes very gelatinous. Simple bone broth information from my friend Kelsey over at Families Who Cook. She has an incredible broth academy and wonderful recipes.
There are a range of brilliant bone broths available at most health food shops. Our favourites are Love and Bones Broth and Cherry Tree Kitchen. Then for quick convenient bone broths we love the Nutra Organics Powders, Best of the bone and Grevity. We use chicken and beef bone broths interchangeably.
Dulse is our favourite dietary source of iodine. We absolutely love this wild Atlantic dulse. Just one tablespoon offers 3x the daily recommended intake which is essential for healthy thyroid function and baby’s brain development.
Ghee is our favourite thing to cook with as it is a nutrition goldmine. It is predominantly saturated fats (the good fats), high in omega 3 & 9 essential fatty acids, provides vitamins A, E, D & K, has a high natural source of Conjugated Linoleic Acid and has a much higher smoke point than butter. It is really important to source ghee made from organic butter from grass fed cows. It is available at all health food shops and is also incredibly easy to make. We will share a recipe soon but for now our favourite is the Sacred Cow Ghee. A delicious creamy, nutty, caramel flavour – good enough to eat by the spoonful!
Steel cut oats are the perfect gluten free option. Our favourite are the Now Real Foods Organic Steel Cut oats.
Australian hemp seeds are a fantastic source of protein especially for plant based mamas! They contain all 9 essential amino acids making them a complete protein. They are usually available in most supermarkets now and all health food stores. We absolutely love The Wholefood Pantry ones.
We absolutely love cooking with miso. Not only is it a wonderful source of probiotics but it adds the most delicious depth of flavour to both sweet and savoury food. White miso (shiro) is sweeter and typically used when making sweet food. Red miso (aka) has a much deeper flavour and often used when making savoury dishes. We have been known to use both interchangeably just varying the quantity based on taste. Ideally you want to source your miso from a health food shop to get an organic one. Our favourites are from Rice Culture.
