Candy, candy, candy, candy!!!

Here's a weight control tip I picked up recently:

To avoid spontaneous overindulgence, put a few pieces of candy you like or crave in your purse or jacket pocket.

I find that when I'm out and about, I often get hit with a craving for something sweet. If I set foot in the mall, I want a cinnamon-sugar pretzel. If I'm within a thousand yards of an ice cream shop, I want a triple dip waffle cone...you know the feeling.

Rather than spending the cash and consuming the hundreds of calories to indulge my every whim, I treat myself to a piece of candy from my stash. I don't feel like I'm denying myself and it's helped keep me from packing on the pounds (there's ice cream everywhere!)

To compare:
1 bite sized Snickers or Dove Chocolate Promise contains 42 calories.
A cinnamon sugar pretzel from Auntie Anne's packs a whopping 470.
A single Jolly Rancher (which helped me get through several months of over-salivation...just another one of those quirks of pregnancy no one tells you about) is 23 calories, a Starburst fruit chew, 15.
A half cup serving (hah) of Haagen-Dazs contains roughly 270 calories, depending on the flavor, and without a cone or toppings.

As preggos, our doctors recommend consuming only 300 more calories daily than we usually would. I'm trying my best to make sure that I'm eating those calories as wholesome, nutritious foods for me and my little peanut. I've found a piece of candy or two won't set me back too far, and goes a long way to keeping my junk food cravings in line.

The breakfast blues

I recently, out of nowhere, discovered that I hate eggs. I didn't hate eggs last week. I might not hate eggs in a month. But right now the look, the smell...just the thought of eggs sends me into full-on nose-scrunching queasiness. This is unfortunate, as eggs are protein dense and nutrient rich in addition to being a pretty darn easy breakfast. If you're pregnant and you don't have an aversion, they're pretty much a miracle food.

But back to me...I hate eggs. So what can I eat for breakfast that's wholesome, hearty, easy to prepare, and won't offend my delicate stomach?
Oatmeal.
Not the creepy pre-chewed kind with all kinds of additives that comes in the brown paper packets...real, whole grain Oatmeal. Depending on what you're craving, and what you can stomach, there are tons of great add-ins to make your whole grain breakfast, already chock-a-block with fiber, protein, and iron even better.

The basic recipe is per serving:
1/2 cup oats
1 cup water or milk
pinch of salt

Bring the water or milk to a boil (stirring and watching carefully if you're using milk, so as not to boil over or scorch the bottom.)
Throw in a pinch of salt (this may not seem important, and may even seem strange to you, but trust me...it makes a difference, and it's better this way.)
Stir in the oats and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until it's as thick as you like it.
Garnish and serve hot.

I like mine with milk, a little brown sugar and blueberries--which are fantastically rich in antioxidants. When I need something crunchy, (I'm sure I'm not the only one with a texture fetish) I throw in a handful of chopped toasted walnuts--high in Omega 3s. You can't go wrong adding any kind of fresh or dried fruit--bananas, strawberries, chopped apple, raisins, dried cranberries... you could even go nuts (pun intended) and sprinkle on some slivered toasted almonds or pecans.

There's a reason why Wilford Brimley was always talking about oatmeal and Diabetes. Since oatmeal is full of soluble fiber, it slows the absorption of glucose in the stomach, thereby reducing one's risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes--and more importantly for us Preggos, Gestational Diabetes. By the by, this benefit is not apparent in the instant variety, so go on and take ten minutes to make yourself a powerhouse breakfast.

One of these days, I'll be able to embrace the egg again, but until I'm ready to chance a whiff of the scrambled stuff, I'll be breakfasting ala Brimley.

Oh, baby.

After several weeks of basically freaking out, I've come to the conclusion that I can't be the only one.

That is: the only neurotic, obsessive, control-freak of a mother-to-be who has been writing down every morsel of food ingested since peeing a plus sign; compiling lists of the recommended intake for every nutrient and scouring the Internet for the best sources of calcium and riboflavin (yogurt and liver, respectively--though yogurt is high on the riboflavin list, as well.) I can't be the only one feeling perilously queasy and staring down a bowl of spinach at 10 pm because I have to fulfill my Folate, Iron and Vitamin E quota--not to mention one of four of my daily recommended servings of vegetables (several sources suggest a staggering 9 servings of whole grain...who can possibly eat this much?)

Quite the demanding little peanut...

So, being that there have to be other Preggos out there who are almost as insane as I am, I figured I might as well write about it. I'll include recipes (which at this point, for me, will be all about avoiding nausea,) tips on obtaining proper nutrition (and maybe not obsessing over it so much) and of course anecdotes of all the hilarious, horrifying, and inappropriate happenings of pregnancy, as recorded by me: first time Preggo, long time food enthusiast who is optimistic that she will one day like food again, and yearns nostalgically for a nice Belgian ale. 


Tip #1: Watermelon

High in Potassium and Vitamin C, this refreshing treat also contains more cancer-preventing lycopene per serving than tomatoes!

I've been eating a ton of it. Really, a ton. It's hot in Durham in July. As in, 100 degrees hot. When I don't want to eat anything hot or even warm, or anything at all, Watermelon does the trick. It's got plenty of water too, to keep your body hydrated while you produce all that extra blood (30-50% more by the end of pregnancy.) If you can't even be bothered to chew, and really, sometimes I can't, you can throw hunks of seedless watermelon in the blender and make yourself a tasty beverage--if you find it's too sweet for your taste, add a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice...perfection!

Though I like to buy organic fruits and veggies, Watermelon is rated as one of the 'cleanest' non-organic fruits if you just can't spring for that $8 melon at the natural food store.