I'm into the last 4 weeks of this pregnancy (till due date anyway!) and I'm finding this third time around to be the hardest. I'm well into my 30's now and it makes a difference in how I physically feel carrying this baby. Having two active little boys keeps me going which is good because I fear my natural tendency would be to lay down and rest continually.
The biggest change this time is my eating. While the choices I'm making are very similar to Sawyer's pregnancy, this time I'm 100% gluten free and about 75% dairy free. ( I've found butter and small amounts of cheese seem to settle just fine in my tummy so I have them occasionally). A few weeks ago I realized my normal eating habits were slipping because of tiredness and cravings. I settled for things I wouldn't normally and even ate a bite of gluten (regular bread!) here and there. I realized that my energy was severely waning, my digestion was poor, my skin was breaking out, and I was miserable.
So I brought back the green smoothies. Something I've been doing for a good 2 years now and the thing that I crave almost daily. I was shocked at the difference I had been feeling without them for a couple of weeks. The one thing about eating a clean diet is that trying to go back and enjoy something processed not only disappoints me greatly because it's never as good as what I remember, but it also sends my stomach and digestion into fits.
Our green smoothies vary from day to day and what I have on hand. I find I have to go grocery shopping twice a week to keep up with the veggies and fruit but again, worth it. I usually start them the same way:
-hemp milk or homemade almond milk as the base
-a banana or two
-lately I've added a spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter for extra protein
-frozen fruit like strawberries, blueberries, mango etc.
-a super food like chia seeds or goji berries
-and lots and lots of spinach, I just stuff the rest of the blender full of it.
The boys love the smoothies although they enjoy the fresh juiced veggies a little more if you can believe it. Either way, I try to keep it a part of our daily diet. I've found this works for me as a way to always get lots of raw greens in.
The rest of our diet consists of beans and legumes, gluten-free grains like quinoa and rice, all vegetables, cooked and raw, nuts and seeds, fruit, and many variations of these foods. We only eat meat about once a week at home so most everything I make is either vegetarian or vegan.
I have varied from this but again I notice a big difference in my energy level and moods. So to keep me happy I have to put the effort in, even at 36 + weeks pregnant. But my favorite, above everything else, is my green smoothie. I love it and it loves me back.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Eating for two
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5 comments:
I LOVE green smoothies! :D Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I can't believe you are almost there.
I haven't been able to get the consistency down...always seems too chunky with the spinach. Will keep trying though!
Shelly.. yay for green smoothies!
Tasha... I know that it was a lot easier once I got the vitamix blender which has an insane motor so I can puree pretty much anything. I did make them before in a kitchenaid blender and it worked okay but I had to add the stuff really slowly and make sure I had enough liquid to keep the blade spinning. Hope you can figure it out how to make it work!
Yum!!!! We love our smoothies here, too. I just have a regular blender so I add a bunch of water to make sure it stays smooth. 14 weeks pregnant here and this is my favorite way to make sure I am getting all those veggies in.
Love them here, too. And love your blog! :)
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