confinement red dates tea

my red dates tea throughout confinement.

comprises of black dates, red dates, dang shen, and the herb (dont know the name) and a little ginger.

sometimes she'll add in some longan. longan is very heaty so i did not drink it everyday. mom reasoned that the baby is still jaundiced - heaty- so i shouldn't be too warm inside.

preparation of this water or tea is superbly easy. just chuck the entire plate above into a big pot of water and boil it.

some recipes i checked online uses more red dates but when i double checked with mom, she actually uses more black dates.

for the entire 30 days, i drank warmed red dates water.

my mom has a thermos flask shaped like a teapot, instead of the common bottle shaped thermos.

this teapot thermos can hold quite a lot of water, (forgot to check the size) but those who knows me, water is my life. i drink lots of water so this teapot thermos is really handy.

my mom does not need to refill that often. at most twice a day.

the only exception of me drinking plain warm water was when i was traveling, as we flew back to the West and the entire journey took approximately 8 hours. and that was on day 14 of confinement. 

being a scaredy cat, i felt insecure having no red dates water. lols. so i only took sips of plain water to wet my mouth and satiate my thirst :( 

some people also drink Rice tea during this period. i have not tried this rice tea before.

i think it is more cumbersome preparing the Rice Tea before u need to fry the rice with ginger.

anyway, i have no idea why red dates tea is more popular amongst my family and friends.

 Bentong Ginger

they are spicier and more fragrant than our usual ginger.

since SIL is from bentong, mom called up and asked them to help us to buy 3 kg:)

double boiled chicken essence

i did not take the bottled chicken brand at all.

neither during my pregnancy nor now.

best would be home made double boiled chicken essence.

MIL prepared for me everyday when i was back in her place when i was 6 months pregnant. 

and now mom cooks this essence with kampung chicken every other day.

was told that i should drink at night before i go to bed.

my usual confinement meal

sawi with minced pork

turmeric grilled fish

pig's trotter in black vinegar

this is a close-up view of the pigs trotter

i LOVE this dish.

mom dont usually cook this during normal times.

so during confinement, i always have appetite and we (both mom and i) will usually put on weight.

hubs always teased me that I put on more weight than when i was pregnant.

hah!