Ana Clara Soares 5/30/19 Ana Clara Soares 5/30/19

Etepet- what?

When we lived in Paris, YY and I had the habit of going to a farmer’s market every Saturday. It was great and we would buy organic produce for fairly cheap (before they decided to ridiculously up the prices overnight). Since moving to Munich, however, we have struggled to find something similar. Although there’s a tiny farmer’s market close to our place, the types of produce they sell is veeery limited and, to be honest, the sellers are just unfortunately not very nice. So we often resorted, albeit hesitantly, to buying expensive organic fruits and veggies at mainstream supermarkets, which most often than not come wrapped in an ungodly amount of plastic that makes my heart sink just at the sight of it.

Which is why I was very, extremely excited when I heard about Etepetete. While the name doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, their premise is pretty great. The idea behind it is to get “ugly”, organic, local produce (which would otherwise have been thrown away) delivered to your door, plastic-free. They offer a few options of boxes (e.g. only fruits, fruits/veggies, “raw”) in different sizes, and I decided to give the fruits/veggies family box a go. This is what the first delivery looked like:

May not look like much, but it included:

4 kiwis
2 oranges
1 grapefruit
3 mini avocados
3 apples
2 limes
2 nectarines
1 mango
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 cucumber
2 paprika
5 mushrooms
Dozen carrots
10 potatoes

Now, 30 EUR isn’t cheap for produce that would’ve otherwise supposedly gone to the trash. But if you were to calculate it piece-by-piece, I find that it still comes off cheaper than buying all of this individually at any given supermarket. And it comes to our door, biweekly. Two bonuses: The fruit/veggie selection is made for you, so we’ve found ourselves with items we wouldn’t normally think of buying and were forced to find recipes for them. It also helps us teach Simon (and eventually Lia) about different kinds of produce other than what we’d ordinarily consume. On the second delivery, instead of carrots we got rhubarb, and a massive sweet potato instead of regular ones. As a huge fan of surprises, this is sometimes the guilt-free highlight of a busy day.

While I am fully aware that the fact that this service delivered to our home makes it not entirely eco-friendly, I still prefer to think of it as a step in the right direction. So if you’re considering getting something similar I’d tell you, from our experience, to go for it. Oh, and here’s a little discount code:

PS: While this post is obviously not sponsored in any way, Etepetete guys if you’re reading this I wouldn’t say no to a discount!

Ana Clara Soares 1/14/19 Ana Clara Soares 1/14/19

Switching gears: Cheers to a new route

Having a baby, or two, makes one question fundamental aspects of life. “How am I spending my time on earth?” or “How am I contributing for a better future?” are two of the many questions that may inflict a reflective personality once someone else’s life comes to matter so much more than one’s own. Since Simon was born, I have found myself in an intensive search for purpose in my daily life. Somehow, priorities shifted and leading my life and my time as I had thus far wasn’t going to suffice anymore. From an undoubtedly privileged stance, I started craving for a sense of fulfillment beyond a paycheck.

I became convinced that it was past time to pursue a more meaningful path and, cliché as it may sound, started looking into what actually makes me want to get up in the morning besides my son. Two fundamental interests of mine since my early notions of “self” are nutrition/food and empowering/empowered women. It may seem like these topics don’t have much to do with each other, but hear me out.

A massive reason for creating expat motherhood in the first place was to share my experience during early motherhood, with all its challenges and delights. Women grow stronger when we learn from and lean on each other, especially when we know that we are not alone. Sharing my thoughts, opinions and struggles has been a way to reach out to mothers in the same situation - and I am so reassured to hear, more often than not, that so many of us worldwide are on the same exact boat. As such, we can be an incredibly powerful source of strength for one another.

Food, and my relationship towards it, has always been a central topic in my life, while motherhood is something I have grown into and out of experience. Motherhood got me feeling more powerful than ever, even while completely depleted of energy and willpower; and I am sure fellow mamas know exactly what I’m talking about. With motherhood I have also learned more about the importance of consuming real food which nourishes my body and soul, as opposed to food that solely excites my tastebuds by whatever means of (usually) artificial flavoring. Which is not to say that I don’t like Oreos - life is, after all, all about balance.

Do you see now how nutrition and empowering women can complement each other?

Having come to this realization shortly after coming across the Oh Baby Academy felt like a sign. And so today (just a few weeks short of my girl’s due date), I will be starting a course to become a certified pregnancy and postpartum nutrition consultant.

Having been there and done it myself, soon twice, I am confident that I can help other mothers feel their best during the most trying and transformative time of their lives. Nutrition during pregnancy and the postpartum period is anything but straightforward, and I know from experience that one could use all the help she can get when it comes to making smart choices for herself and her baby.

I’m telling you this now because not only am I too excited to hold it back any longer, but also because I really want you to hold me accountable. I will be embarking on a new career path and two-under-two motherhood all at once, and I will need all the support I can get. I plan on regularly sharing my progress and learnings, but by all means ask away if you think you’re not hearing from me often enough.

I now cannot imagine a better way to spend my time, even as a mother of two, than supporting other women as they nourish themselves and their babies and in that creating a stronger community of empowered mamas, and who knows, maybe even a better future. If there is ever a moment in life when “you are what you eat” rings true, it is definitely during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and I’ll be honored to be there to help you nourish your very best self.

Thank you in advance for your support!