Corn Silk Molasses Tea 玉米须黑糖茶

We often discard corn silk, and it's treated as waste. When I was a kid, I collected corn silk whenever I saw someone peeling fresh corn and played masak-masak with it. It's like playing with hair! Absolutely fun and environmentally friendly. LOL!

I saw this recipe years ago, it reminded me that I've seen corn silk sold at Cameron Highlands, and the store owner told me it's good for the kidneys. I've also read about it saying it's diuretic and good for people with water retention. According to Baike.com, it's good for edema, hypertension, diabetes, jaundice, gallstones and it's also good for lactation purposes. Benefits of corn silk can also be found on WebMD. And it could also help with fat reduction, as said in this research paper.

Peanut Chicken Feet Soup - Chicken Soup # 2

Woah...did I have you disgusted?

It's a pretty common soup for the Chinese. And pretty tasty too!
During confinement, we consume a lot a lot of chickens. And we end up with lots and lots of chicken feet or claws. Lots.

My Confinement Menu

If you are curious about what I ate throughout my confinement, this is my weekly menu. I've received emails way before I even started posting about confinement,  asking about the food I eat or the food I recommend.
So, here is my menu for your reference. It may not be acceptable to some. So, do refer to the menu at your own discretion.

During my 2nd confinement (Lyanne's time), I prepared a menu too. My Confinement lady then took my menu back with my permission. She tried asking her other clients whether they want to follow my menu. They all shook their heads and said my menu is too modern for them, and stuck to Ginger Fried Rice and Ginger Wine Chicken. Much to the dismay of my confinement lady because she will be stuck to eat the same boring food as well. My confinement lady always enjoys her employment with me as she gets to enjoy variety and good food during these 4 weeks, and she always get to learn something new and brings new recipes back with her. My hubby says, I pay her to learn from me, haha. Well, depends on how you look at it. I'm pretty much ok.

Miyeok Guk, Korean Seaweed Soup - Confinement Month # 9

My brother went to Korea lately and bought a large pack of Korean seaweed for his wife and I.  My SIL just had a baby, Arianna 5 weeks before Reuben came by. Yes, he is Reuben for life now. It's black and white in his birth certificate. My dear brother then bought the beef stock powder from Jaya Grocer, googled up a recipe, passed to my mom and taught my mom how to prepare it for my SIL who was in confinement at that time.

Fennel and Onion Chicken - Confinement Month # 6

Looks like a Chinese stir fry? Haha, no this is a recipe from a Westerner.

I've bookmarked this recipe way before I knew I was going to have a baby. It was at the same time when I did the double fennel roasted chicken. Back then I was searching for ways and methods to use up the first fennel I bought and this recipe was KIVed. And now, it's into good use.

Fennel is a galactagogue and onions are good for expelling wind, as it causes you to release gas. Fresh fennel when cooked until tender is far more delicious then when roasted. I'll definately cook this again even if I'm not in confinement.

Fennel Thyme Honey Roasted Chicken - Confinement Month # 5

Sick of chicken soups?  Sick of braised chickens? Try roasted during confinement or not.

Fennel is a galactagogue, meaning, it helps you by giving you more milk. Whereas thyme is one of the ingredients in DOM. And thyme has oxytoxin-effects meaning, it helps with contractions. After delivery, the uterus needs to contract back to it original state. I read in wikipedia, thyme tea is often given to post partum mothers in Jamaica to help with uterine contractions, but then again, no need to worry about what Sheila said about the placenta, it is already removed long before you are eating this at home. Don't worry, anyone can consume this, even men. As the spices are really common, in curries, in garam masalas, in stews, in Murukus, in lots of Indian snacks and so on and so forth. But pregnant women need to be cautious and not consume this too often.

I roasted these chicken parts in a roasting dish, to catch all the juices. The juices are wonderful to be spooned over rice, but do take care to remove the excess oil on the surface of the juice.

Lactating Red Date Tea 发奶红枣茶

Haha, Yeah, I'm all into anything that gives me more milk. Just anything!!!

This time around I changed my red date tea formula. After reading on the internet about galactagogues, I got to know a common Chinese herb is one of it. It's astragalus root , 黃耆 or  北耆. My mom will sometimes put this into her soups. And then I went searching for 发奶茶 (lactating tea), and got to know another herb that is used, which is Rice Paper Pith, 通草.  It is commonly found in herbal teas that promote urination like "Hui Sap Sui 去湿水".

Double Boiled Papaya in Milk 木瓜炖鲜奶 - Confinement Month #2

Confinement should be an enjoyable time.
Bonding with a new baby, and getting pampered by the people around you after delivery.
Gastronomically and emotionally. So why not have some dessert!!

My friend, Wai Wai came to visit me on June 4th and told me about this dessert that she encountered during her stay at a confinement house. The cook prepared this dessert to aid her lactation. And coincidently, I encountered this recipe while surfing that night itself. It was perfect since I had 2 slices of papaya in the fridge, leftover from my self labour induction. I wouldn't want to eat them raw since they were almost 6 days old in the fridge, so I made this delicious dessert with it.

Homemade Fenugreek Capsules, for more milk - Confinement Month # 1

Last time, when I had Lydia, I didn't know much about breastfeeding, and yet the inexperienced me didn't do much to have more milk. Now don't tell me, the more the baby sucks, the more I'll have. Oh yes, but I do believe that comes to a certain limit for different individuals. I've one relative whose baby has never suckled and yet can pump 6 oz of milk on first attempt, and thereafter 2 bottles each time. The baby never suckled for at least 3 months because the baby was the the incubator. She had so much milk that the milk was all thrown away due to super excess. How I wish I had that much.

When I had Lyanne, I was determined to give her more, and knowing of my past mistakes, I certainly did better. But to me, how I wished I still had more. I then searched on the internet on ways to increase my supply, and one of the methods is to consume fenugreek.