The baby-making fertility menu

Eat-to-conceive menu

Want to help boost your chances of conception? We've got the ultimate meal for two which is designed to help you make that baby!

Two of the most important food groups that we struggle to get enough of in our modern diets that are important for optimum fertility are:

Essential fats
Anti oxidants

Just as important for a pre-conceptual romantic dinner are the enjoyment and simplicity of the dishes. It could very easily interfere with the romance and ultimate lovemaking ( a pre-requisite of successful conception) if one of you is frantically stressing in the kitchen with a complicated recipe.

Prepare what you can in advance and whatever can't be prepared in advance needs to be simple and quick.

Perky pecker Pâté

This is one of the tastiest ways of sneaking more omega-3 into your diet. It is also protein rich for longer-lasting energy and has seaweed for topping up zinc levels.

Ingredients                                  

125g smoked tofu
Juice of 2 Limes, save 2 slices for garnish
2 tablespoon freshly pressed flax oil
1 teaspoon horseradish (from a jar or powder)
2 teaspoons capers
2 teaspoons nori seaweed flakes (from a Chinese supermarket)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Whiz all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Place pate in crispy lettuce little gem leaves and garnish with lime slice and herbs.

Serve with wholegrain crackers or oatcakes

 

Stamina stir-fry

The bright coloured vegetables in this dish are great sources of antioxidants. The shrimps, pine nuts and pumpkin seeds are a good source of male-fertility boosting zinc.

This dish has a good helping of protein, which along with the fibre from the wholegrain noodles helps to slow the release of energy into the body giving you longer-lasting energy for the night ahead

Ingredients                                                      

160g shrimps/ king prawns or Tofu, rinse if fresh, defrost if frozen
Small red onion, peel and slice
2 cloves garlic, peel and crush or finely slice
Handful of broccoli, cut into small florets
5 Shitake mushrooms, slice
Small handful of mange tout, sugar snap peas or asparagus
Half a red pepper, de-seed and slice
6 baby corns, slice in half lengthways
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Handful of bean sprouts or sunflower seed sprouts
1 medium carrot, peel and cut into long thin
1 tables-poon cold pressed rapeseed oil for frying
Wholegrain noodles, enough to serve 2
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish
Pumpkin seeds to garnish

For the sauce

1 dessert spoon Tamari soya sauce
2 dessert spoons vegetable stock
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1⁄2 inch fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon molasses
Black pepper
Dash of brandy - optional
1-2    teaspoons corn flour

Stamina stir-fry method

Mix the stir-fry sauce ingredients together

Warm the oil in a large frying pan or wok

Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms and broccoli and cook till onions are translucent

Add the shrimps/prawns, nuts and the rest of the vegetables, (apart form  the carrot and bean sprouts) and cook until the shrimps turn pink (about 5 minutes) but the vegetables still have crunch

Add the sauce, reserving a little to mix with the corn flour, and heat through

Mix the corn flour with the remaining sauce, add to the stir-fry and heat through, stirring well, until sauce thickens

Add the bean sprouts and carrot shavings and heat through

Meanwhile cook the noodles according to pack instructions, drain and drizzle with oil to help prevent them sticking

Serve with the noodles, garnishing with coriander leaves and pumpkin seeds.

Orgasmic chocolate mousse

There have been a number of studies recently about the antioxidant properties of dark chocolate. The benefits via our emotional attachment to chocolate and pure unadulterated indulgent enjoyment probably outweigh any detrimental effects from the caffeine like stimulants in chocolate.

Ingredients                                   

100g dark chocolate - broken into small piece
25ml agave or maple syrup
50ml cold pressed omega 3 rich virgin rapeseed oil
125ml soya cream
50g dried ready to eat apricots -chopped
1 tablespoon Cointreau or orange juice
Gingerbread biscuits
Forest Berries

Method

Melt chocolate pieces in a ceramic bowl sitting in a saucepan of boiling water.

Blend together with other ingredients in a food processor or with a hand blender in a tall jug.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours

Serve in ramekins, hollowed out oranges or glasses with gingerbread biscuits and berries for dipping.

Fertility food infomation

Our conception-boosting menu was created for Babyexpert.com by Tony Weston and Yvonne Bishop.

For more information on natural fertility visit www.optimumnutritionists.com

Visit www.firstresponsefertility.com/eatright.php for Yvonne Bishop-Weston's fertility plate, which lets you know what you should be eating to conceive and why.

Copyright Foods for Life Feb 2009 www.foodsforlife.org

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