When I was pregnant with our son, I had a feeling that motherhood was going to be a ginormous cascade of ongoing revelations — but I didn’t expect the quiet stream of sacred nuance that would also underscore the task.
Being his mother has shown me, for example, the difference between the act of feeding and the joy of nourishment, the fine line between simply serving him food and being in service to his optimality. Because what began as a logistical journey of simply mapping his calorie intake gradually revealed itself to me as a way of giving him my culinary all.
Each phase of his development would ask for its own version of nutrient-density, but once he began eating solids — and certainly in utero, through me — the one common denominator that seemed to always prevail was wild-caught Alaskan seafood. Rich in nutrients essential to his growth and well-being, it turns out that the harvests that have sustained his father, his grandfather, and had once sustained his great-grandfather, are now what help to sustain him as he expands into the world.
As a mother and the parent who is mostly responsible for his nourishment, I revel in being able to provide him with food that connects him so deeply to his lineage, and perhaps helps to illuminate his path as he steps into each new day. I hope not only to support his development by preparing this seafood for him as he grows, but to also expand his world through the flavors, textures and culinary traditions that continue to shape me.
Though it’s hard for me to imagine him being any older than the little man he is today, one day he will be a young man — and even then, providing him with wild-caught seafood at mealtime can help him thrive. We often associate omega-3s with the early stages of childhood and motherhood, but these fatty acids are also vital for children long after they’re capable of cooking for themselves. You can read more about the important role that wild caught seafood plays for mothers, and perhaps for nurturers more broadly, in a post that’s up on our blog now.
As someone in the earlier stages of motherhood, I am already certain that I’ll be cooking for my son forever, even as my role as a nurturer shifts over time, a shoreline reshaped by the tides of the ages. To my fellow nurturers, mothers and mamas-to-be, I wish you a happy Mother’s Day weekend, for all the years to come.
Live Wild,
Monica
Pictured above: A perfectly-seared fillet of sockeye on a fiber-full bowl of quinoa, jazzed up with folate-rich greens, avocado and almonds for an extra dose of healthy fats, and a small helping of goat cheese for an easily-digestible indulgence.
