Food and Refreshments for a Mother Blessing
Food is not part of the traditional blessingway ceremony, so serving food is completely optional at your Mother Blessing celebration. Even if you don't serve food, it is a nice courtesy to have water or herbal tea on hand for your guests.
If you choose to serve food at your Mother Blessing, it should be simple and nourishing to reflect the soulful tone of a Mother Blessing. There is no need to carve watermelons into baby carriages for a Mother Blessing! However, if you would like to eat a watermelon or include it in a nice fruit salad at your Mother Blessing, go right on ahead.
Depending on the time of day you hold the Mother Blessing, food should be served either before or after the Mother Blessing rituals. Food should not be eaten during any part of the ceremony as it will detract from the energy being built by the celebration. As such, I would almost suggest saving food for after the Mother Blessing rituals so that guests aren't tempted to nibble when they should be chanting!
Food Suggestions:
Remember that your guest of honor is pregnant and is probably battling acid reflux and hemmoroids, even if she doesn't want to admit it. My first suggestion is to check with her and see what foods she is currently enjoying and what she would like to have at her Mother Blessing. Other than that, I'd suggest keeping it simple with a spread of finger foods like hummus with pita and freshly cut vegetables, hard cheeses, crackers, natural corn tortilla chips and salsa, fruit salad and so forth. I would encourage you to use fresh made food and not any prepared trays as pregnant women are supposed to avoid salad bars, cold cuts and soft cheeses in order to reduce the risk of bacteria harming the fetus. You can also include dessert pieces, especially if momma's sweet tooth is aching! If you want to get more elaborate, it's up to you, but I really encourage you to keep the food simple and focus your time and energy on the rituals which will help prepare the expecting mom for giving birth.
Drink Suggestions:
If the weather is hot, have enough water available for everyone. A nice iced batch of Organic Pregnancy Tea would go well with the Mother Blessing tradition. If you're hosting during colder weather, you can keep a pot of pregnancy tea brewing for everyone to drink warm (don't worry, pregnancy tea can be drunk by anyone -- it won't make you pregnant and it will be nice to share it with the expecting mom). Other herbal teas, juices and mineral waters would also make healthful refreshments for a Mother Blessing.
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