Wright - Blooming Delicious

1. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

I cant tell you how thrilled I am that you are reading this book right now. It means that you are either thinking about trying for a baby and want to get your body in the best shape possible, or that you are already pregnant (if so, I send my huge congratulations).

Blooming Delicious came about through necessity and completely organically. When my husband and I started to think about the future and the idea of trying for a baby, I knew that it was really important to prepare my body in the best way possible, both nutritionally and physically, to give a new baby the best fighting chance to grow healthy and strong during those long nine months inside me.

I didnt want a new diet or regime to take over my life, adding extra pressure and stress to the process of trying for a baby. I wanted to take the most natural route possible and let nature take its course, while ensuring I was doing all the right things in nutritional terms.

I did what most of us do in this day and age when we want something: jumped on to Amazon. I was looking for a pregnancy cookbook that was easy to follow and accessible to a busy working professional foodie like me. I found lots of nutritionally focused cookery books, but, although they were very interesting to read, they didnt exactly inspire the chef in me.

So I made it my mission to write this book. A book that would allow me to cook the way I have always cooked: using lovely fresh, vibrant and colourful ingredients, and interesting cooking methods while providing something different for my whole family to enjoy.

I wanted this book to make it easy for me and my readers to understand what we need to be eating and when, to make sure we are giving our bodies exactly what they need for optimum health both before and during pregnancy.

Healthy eating and eating well is something we should all be thinking about, pregnant or not, and this book will not only help support a healthy pregnancy but also (I hope) encourage you to lead a healthier and more nutritious lifestyle. There is no quick fix for overall good health, but within a few months of eating well-balanced and sensible meals, you will start to notice some fabulous benefits. Your skin and hair will feel better, your energy levels will be up and your digestive health improved. Pregnancy takes its toll on our bodies, so its essential that we keep the machine well oiled and firing on all cylinders.

With that in mind, the recipes in this book are designed to take you through all the stages of your journey. Ideally you should use it from when you first begin trying to conceive right through to when you finally hold your baby and begin the procession of broken nights sleep.

I know that pregnancy can be tough and at times all you will feel like doing is crawling back to bed with the biscuit tin, but I promise that the recipes in this book are so delicious you honestly wont feel like you are missing out and there are plenty of sweet treats and snacks to satisfy any cravings!

All pregnant women will need to combat certain ailments at different stages, and I wanted my book to contain recipes that make it easy to cook with certain ingredients, which will hopefully go some way to helping prevent, cure or at least reduce these side effects. In the section Food as Medicine , we look at common pregnancy ailments, from cramps, constipation and stretch marks, to more serious conditions like anaemia and gestational diabetes. It is packed full of ingredient suggestions and refers to recipes within the book to help assist combat, relieve or, better still, prevent these conditions and the symptoms that most of us assume just come with being pregnant. I am a huge believer that food is natures medicine and, when used and consumed in the right way, certain foods can make us all feel so much better.

Most importantly, I needed to make sure my recipes were nutritionally balanced and packed full of the right ingredients, so I enlisted the help of nutritional therapist Henrietta Norton (who specialises in pregnancy and preconception). I have been lucky enough to work with Henrietta when I was executive chef at Grace Belgravia, a health and wellbeing club for women in London. She broke down the vitamins and minerals that I needed to include in my diet into a very easy-to-follow nutritional chart (see ) and explained where I can find these nutrients and, most importantly, why I needed them. I stuck this chart on to my fridge at home and, with its aid, found menu-planning easy and enjoyable. The recipes that I created using that nutritional chart formed the book you are now reading.

It was so important to me that I should write each recipe and chapter as I experienced it, so the recipes are genuinely what I cooked, ate, blended and juiced while my little one kicked about in my belly.

I truly hope that, wherever you are on your pregnancy journey, this book helps you to feel as well, nourished and inspired by food as you possibly can be. Every woman will have a different pregnancy experience and I have tried my best to take you all into consideration while writing the book. I wish you all well and send all my best for this hugely exciting chapter of your lives. Eat the rainbow, cook with love and enjoy your fabulous journey.

Sophie x

On the following pages, with the help of nutritional therapist Henrietta Norton, Ive put together a handy chart showing all the key nutrients, vitamins and minerals you will need while preparing your body for pregnancy, throughout your pregnancy and when/if you breastfeed. Next to every recipe in the book you will see the nutrients as detailed on the chart, helping you to identify them quickly and easily in each dish. This will allow you to plan your weekly meals to ensure that you are getting a well-balanced diet for your babys optimum growth and development. I found this chart hugely helpful during my pregnancy and I hope you find it as useful and easy to use as I did. The names of the nutrients are written in different-shaped boxes that indicate:

enzymes

minerals, macronutrients and essential fatty acids

key vitamins

Preconception

WHAT IS IT?

WHY DO I NEED IT?

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?

Research suggests that an increased intake of coenzyme Q10 can lead to an increased rate of conception.

Sardines, mackerel, pork, beef, chicken, soya bean foods (especially miso and soya beans), spinach, peanuts and sesame seeds.