my favourite post partum snack for one-handed eating
Houmous toast
This can barely be called a recipe, more a suggestion, although I do often make it using homemade houmous. If you want to try that yourself a little blender or a Nutri-Bullet is the perfect tool, and you can whizz up a tin of chickpeas, a clove of garlic, a dollop of tahini and some lemon juice to taste. I do not expect you to be doing this post partum, so I suggest buying a good quality organic houmous - I like quite a chunky one and the texture works well here - you could even use a flavoured kind, this is all about creating something full of the flavours you love that you can pop on a plate and eat one handed whilst breastfeeding. The ingredients list is a love story to the post partum period, packed with healthy fats from the tahini and olive oil, rich in fibre and protein from the chickpeas, anti-inflammatory properties from the za’atar and tomatoes and vitamins from the cucumber and lemon. It’s a gorgeous thing to prepare for a breastfeeding friend or family member, it makes a change from sandwiches and soup for lunch and it’s perfect for refuelling without too much prep.
Ingredients
Good sourdough bread, a small loaf is fine - in fact, the smaller the slices the easier they are to manoeuvre into your mouth one handed
Houmous, your favourite kind
One clove of garlic
About 1/3 a medium cucumber
Two vine tomatoes
Za’atar (supermarkets stock this nowadays but if you struggle to find it try a local Asian supermarket or buy online from a Palestinian supplier)
Lemon, for squeezing
Extra virgin olive oil, the best you have, for drizzling
Pinch of flaky salt
A crack of black pepper
Method
Cut two or three thick slices of your bread, depending on the size of the loaf and how hungry you are. I’d always go for three. Toast lightly.
Peel the garlic, cut in half and rub the cut part over the toasted bread (trust me).
Spread a generous layer of houmous over each slice of toast.
Slice the cucumber about half a centimetre into discs, and slice up the tomato as thick as you like it.
Top the houmous with the cucumber and tomato, you don’t have to make it all pretty like me, in fact you could dice the veggies and mix them together if you prefer, I just like my bites to vary.
Drizzle olive oil over each slice, just enough to taste but not enough to drip off and splash your baby’s head.
Sprinkle the za’atar cautiously on top, it’s a strong and unique flavour so this is very much to your own taste.
Finish with a squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper to taste. Scoff whilst nourishing new life.