goat cheese and walnut wrapped grapes

My friend, Lela, had her baby boy and I am in love with him. Isn't he the sweetest thing you ever did see? I went over to her house on Sunday to snuggle the little peanut and never wanted to give him back. It made me so excited to have another baby around here soon! 8 more weeks!!!

It's pretty customary to bring a new mother some sort of gift but I knew she would be taken care of with meals (especially since she has her mom, grandma and aunt there at the moment) and, I assume, plenty of sweets since people love to bring cookies and such. I know when I was pregnant and nursing a newborn, I was hungry all the time! I constantly wanted something to snack on but didn't want to "make" anything and, of course, it's super important to eat healthy all the time, but especially while nursing.

A couple of days ago I saw on Pinterest some red grapes wrapped in goat cheese and chopped walnuts. I knew Lela has a great love affair with goat cheese so I immediately knew I had to make these for her. They are the perfect post-partum snack! I am blown away by these facts:

Grapes: High in Vitamins A, C and K and antioxidants.
Goat Cheese: Fewer calories and lower in fat than cow's milk cheese. High in protein and calcium. It's also easier to digest than cow's milk cheese, which may help while nursing a baby that has a lactose intolerance. Contains probiotics which also helps get rid of that post-partum belly fat!
Walnuts: There is a link between omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies and post-partum depression. Walnuts are one of the tastiest and safest ways to get your omega-3s without consuming high mercury (especially if you're a vegetarian).

Anyway, I am just fascinated about food (obviously) and thought this was so amazing. Isn't food wonderful? These were so tasty and really easy to make. All you need is a bunch of red grapes (washed well), a log of goat cheese (chèvre) and about 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts.

You simply take a piece of goat cheese about the size of a silver dollar and press it flat with your fingers. Place a grape in the center and fold the cheese around the grape until it's completely covered. Roll the cheese ball in between your hands until it's a nice, solid ball. Then roll in the chopped walnuts (you may need to press them in lightly with your fingers) and repeat! So easy!