Mama Bird’s Belly Butter

When I found out the winner of our first contest was pregnant, I couldn’t resist making her some of my favorite homemade belly butter in addition to her prize of a wedge of homemade Humbolt Fog-inspired cheese. I made up this recipe for stretch mark preventing belly butter when I was pregnant. I used it daily and credit it for sailing through pregnancy without a single stretch mark. Like my Iced Red Raspberry Leaf Tea Recipe (another natural pregnancy remedy) I have been wanting to share it for some time and figured this was a great excuse for sharing it without fear of triggering pregnancy rumors in my extended family.

Photo credit: Kari Pfeiffer

Researching stretch marks, I learned that the biggest risk factor is genetics. Since my mother did not escape her pregnancies unmarked, I was extra motivated to try to prevent them. The second biggest factor is simply dry skin. This formula uses all natural ingredients, many of them food grade, to nourish, feed and hydrate the skin. I believe this allowed my skin to expand as needed and bounce back better afterwards. I am sensitive to artificial perfumes, and was all the more so during pregnancy, and I had an aversion to the smell of all the stretch mark creams that were commercially made. Like all mothers, I wanted my growing babe to have the best start, so turning to natural ingredients, instead of rubbing chemicals into my bump, was a no-brainer. You could easily add a drop or two of essential oils to add a scent, but I preferred the butter as is, smelling like chocolate and coconut–yum.

Mama Bird’s Belly Butter Recipe

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan on very low heat. Heat just until melted. Whisk and remove from heat. Pour into a jar or covered bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until solid.

Instructions:

The butter will most likely stay a solid at room temperature (unless the room temperature is very hot, i.e. over 80-85° F). Melt a small amount by rubbing it between your hands and massage into the belly (and anywhere growing). The butter is most easily absorbed by damp skin, so after a shower is ideal. Use at least once a day and more often as needed when skin is starting to feel tight or itchy. Although the vitamin E can help preserve the shelf life, I prefer to make small batches frequently. (This amount usually lasted me two weeks.)

Variations:

If you do not have one of the ingredients, other options to substitute in include Olive Oil or Argan Oil. You may notice that your finished product is more solid or less solid depending on the products you use and the brands you use. One tip is to keep in mind the relative hardness of the oils/butters. Here’s what I have found, listed from firmest to runniest: Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Vitamin E, Avocado Oil. Don’t ever add water to your mix to make it runnier as this can speed up molding, but add a little more Avocado Oil or Olive Oil if you would like it softer. Conversely, if you want it harder, use a little more Cocoa or Shea Butter. Feel free to experiment!

About the Ingredients:

Coconut Oil has fatty chain acids that work to regenerate and rebuild the connective tissues that cause stretch marks. Massaged daily into the skin, it can help keep the skin on a growing belly supple and flexible. Purchase unrefined coconut oil as it has more of the healthful properties (it also smells more “coconuty”).

Cocoa Butter contains natural antioxidants and is one of the most stable fats. Although a recent double blind study did not find it better than placebo in preventing stretch marks, it was found to be moisturizing and soothing and daily use prevents dry, itchy skin. Depending on the brand, it can smell quite like chocolate.

Shea Butter originates in Africa and has been used for ages for all kinds of skin care concerns, including dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, burns and stretch marks. Shea butter enhances the skin’s natural barrier function, increases the moisture levels, and helps with cell regeneration. It also helps with capillary circulation, helps sooth irritated skin, helps protect against UV rays and helps with restructuring effects on the epidermis. Try to purchase it unrefined.

Avocado Oil is my new favorite cooking oil. It can be used up to 500° F, as opposed to olive oil, which really shouldn’t be heated above 325° F, or it scorches and coverts to trans fats. Avocado has a mild, neutral taste, making it a great replacement for vegetable oil. Used topically on the body, avocado oil is wonderful for moisturizing and is rich in vitamins, fatty acids and antioxidants, including vitamin E.

Vitamin E is a very powerful antioxidant that prevents the formation of free-radical particles. Free radicals break down skin cells and create aging and depletion of nutrients. Vitamin E is known as a natural scar remedy when massaged into the skin. It stimulates the collagen in the skin, which can provide a noticeable difference when it comes to texture and strength. The antioxidant also promotes cell growth and is also a natural anti-inflammatory. Although not a preservative, vitamin E, as an antioxidant, can also help prolong the shelf-life of the belly butter.

Disclaimer:

When you purchase a qualifying item from Amazon through a link or ad on our page we receive a small percentage. Your price is never increased, in fact, you automatically get the lowest price available at the time. If you like the Baby Birds Farm and Cocina blog, then purchasing through our “Store” page or through a link is a great way to support us! We have strict control over which products we feature, typically use them ourselves and hope you will enjoy them. We are also happy to add items upon request. Thank you!


Spanish Tuna Stuffed Peppers

Papa Bird picked a peck of peppers this weekend. Ok, maybe not a peck… To be perfectly honest, we can’t remember what kind of peppers he planted. Perhaps Anaheim or Poblano. But the long peppers were begging to be stuffed and I had a can of sustainably fished, wild pole-caught tuna packed in olive oil. This recipe is my best recollection of a tapa I once enjoyed in a Spanish restaurant. ¡Buen Provecho!

Tuna Stuffed Peppers Recipe (Pimientos Rellenos de Atun)

  • Poblano, Anaheim or similar peppers
  • one can of olive oil packed tuna, drained
  • 1/4 cup of walnuts, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup of olives, pitted and finely chopped
  • green onion, sliced thinly
  • balsamic vinegar
  • pepper
  • paprika

Preheat the boiler to its highest setting. On a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat, broil the peppers until the skin starts to char. Remove from the oven and place the peppers in a bowl, cover with a lid and let sit, covered, until cool enough to handle. The steam and condensation should make the skin easier to peel. Peel and discard the skin.

In a bowl mix the remaining ingredients. Carefully slice an opening in the side of the peppers. Spoon the mixture into the peppers. I garnished the peppers with a balsamic reduction, pomegranate seeds and green onion from the garden. It is traditionally served with crusty bread.

Contest Winner Announcement

Congratulations to the winner of our first contest: Liz from San Diego! I understand that Sandy may have sidelined the intentions of some of our East Coast friends of entering, so I promise to have more contests in the future.

And her prize?????? A wedge of homemade cheese!

This one is inspired by one of my favorites, Humbolt Fog, and is a mold-ripened cheese with a line of ash. I will be sharing the recipe soon, but in the meantime, please consider this picture a sneak preview.

Pumpkin French Toast Bread Pudding

Happy Halloween! Yesterday was fun, but full, after taking baby to two different costume parties. We were lazy this morning and the house was chilly, so I offered to make my version of french toast, which is actually baked and sort of a cross between french toast and bread pudding. I like it because you let the oven do the work without needing to stand at the stove to flip. As I beat the fresh eggs, I got out the spices. We were out of cinnamon so I pulled out a bottle of Pumpkin Pie Spices. That got me craving the seasonal favorite, so I added a cup of pumpkin to the custard.

This pumpkin bread pudding is not to be confused with a bread pudding made with pumpkin bread, similar to this Zucchini Bread Pudding, although that would be yum if you happened to have extra pumpkin bread lying around. In this case the pumpkin is added to the batter making it like the custard filling for a Pumpkin Pie.

Pumpkin French Toast Bread Pudding Recipe

  • 6 thick slices of challah or similar bread, at least one day old
  • 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup milk (any kind of milk: cow, coconut, goat, soy, rice, etc)
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice blend
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place the butter or coconut oil in an oven safe baking dish and put it in the oven while it is heating up, just until the butter/oil has melted. Take it out and swish the pan to completely to cover the bottom with grease.

Slice the day old bread. If it isn’t dry enough, toast it briefly. Line the pan with the bread slices and poke them several times with a fork.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Pour over the bread in the dish. Bake until the custard is set, approximately 30 minutes. I find it is usually done when the kitchen starts smelling delicious.

Serve warm with maple or cajeta syrup.

Notes:

Our baby loves this and seemed to like it even more with the pumpkin.

For a truly decadent french toast and morning, soak the bread in the batter the night before.

Whenever I have extra bread, whether challah or baguette, I pre-slice it and freeze it, wrapped twice in plastic. I very briefly microwave it to defrost, covered in a damp paper towel.

Our First Giveaway! Enter the Opportunity Drawing!

We are excited by the growing community on the Baby Birds Farm and Cocina Facebook Page. I love hearing about (and sometimes seeing) the dishes you make inspired by posts. In honor of recently growing to 100 members, we are having an opportunity drawing!!

Enter by Sunday, November 4th, to win a tasty surprise from the Baby Birds Cocina!

There are three ways to enter, pick one or all. The more times and ways you enter, the better your odds.

1. Subscribe to BabyBirdsFarm.com by entering your email and confirming the subscription.

2. Invite your friends to “Like” the BabyBirdsFarm page by sharing the page on your wall, in a relevant group or by messaging friends you think might be interested. Unfortunately, I can’t see your walls to confirm this, so once your friends “like” the page, if they say you referred them (by post or message) you will receive one entry for each new friend that likes the page.

3. Make a recipe inspired by a post from the BabyBirdsFarm.com blog and post a picture of it to the page! (One picture/entry for recipe, but you can enter as many recipes as you like!)

Contest ends Sunday, November 4th at 12:00pm noon PST. The winner will be selected randomly from Random.org and announced on the Facebook page. So head over to www.facebook.com/BabyBirdsFarm to enter!

For any questions, contact me here using the contact form, or post them to the page. Good luck!!!!!!!!