New York Magazine has a feature this week on the growing number of new mothers who choose to eat their placentas after childbirth. Yum?
Boosters say the practice ("placentophagia") helps ward off post-partum depression, makes for easier breastfeeding, and generally replenishes lost nutrients after childbirth--skeptics call it a New Agey fad. Whatever it is, it definitely seems like a versatile ingredient!
The main focus of the article is on dehydrated placenta, which is then either ground up and put into a pill ("placenta encapsulation,") or eaten as a "dry, gamy, bland jerky," but the article is peppered with other ways placenta-hungry moms have prepped their afterbirth (blenders seem to play a big role):
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"in smoothie form" - Ayshah Kassamali-Fox, Long Island mother of two "in a 'top-shelf Bloody Mary.'" - Loretta Jordan, a Bronx-based doula who organized a placenta picnic
"I threw a chunk of placenta in the Vitamix with coconut water and a banana, It gave me the wildest rush. You know the feeling of drinking green juice on an empty stomach? It's like that, but much more intense." - Alexa Beckham, founder of Ruby Tree Birth
"Wrapped in its membrane and steamed in a pot with a knob of ginger, a whole lemon, and a jalapeno pepper; then chopped up, dehydrated, and ground into a powder. She plans to dehydrate the other half raw." - Jennifer Mayer, massage therapist, doula, and founder of Brooklyn Placenta Services
Leave recipe suggestions in the comments!
[via New York Magazine]