Pregnancy: Weight + Food


Due to the nausea that kicked in exactly at the beginning of week 6 of my pregnancy, as well as treatment prior to getting pregnant, by the end of the first trimester, I’d lost almost 10lbs. I saw this as a buffer for that 25-30/35lb weight gain that was considered healthy for my size. My eating was sketchy up until week 14/15 of pregnancy.

Smoothies were the one thing that would stay down, was easy and quick to make but I HAD to have greek yogurt in it. Greek yogurt was my source of protein and if I had anything to eat in the first trimester without protein, I’d instantly get dizzy, lightheaded or even more nauseas than I was before. I’d also gone off vegetables from day 1. Most of my meals consisted of a palmful of a carb and an equal or more portion of meat. I needed lots of protein to feel good. I’m 2 days shy of 31 weeks and I still require protein shortly after eating a carb but I don’t need it immediately with a carb.

MmmmMmm Fruit!
This morning’s fruit. I stole the watermelon from my husband that’s why there’s so little and I hate bananas chopped. Random Fact: I don’t like my food touching. I will separate it if it is.

Since I transferred to my OB around week 11, I’ve only put on 23lbs. At first weight gain was very slow or wasn’t present but I managed to put on 9lbs between Thanksgiving and the first week of January. While home, my breakfast is either a smoothie, or some kind of egg meal. My favorite has become one hardboiled egg, bathed in salt with a slice of buttered toast. I was eating two eggs and two slices of bread before but I realized that I felt sick if I ate all within 15 minutes so I decided to cut back to one each. I usually take my prenatal vitamins right after. Now that I’m getting further along, and wanting more to eat, I try to have my juice, fruit and breakfast but spaced out with at least half hour in between each.

From our stay in London in December, I’ve been trying to have a glass of orange juice (mixed with water to reduce acidity) every morning before I start my meals. I didn’t want to be taking extra vitamins all the time on top of my prenatal vitamins, and people over there do not cover their faces when they cough or sneeze, so I was not looking to have a cold on vacation. It’s amazing that throughout this pregnancy, I’ve only had pregnancy rhinitis and not a cold. Even though, with a cold, at least I’d know when it would be over. I actually crave fruit sometimes but I can’t have too much fruit because it sends the little one into overdrive, not fun for me, so I follow up by drinking water to ease it the sugar rush.

I was always a snacker, however, not know what you want to snack on could decrease that tendency. My cupboard would become full of one-off cravings and some of those cravings even left me feeling sick after. Frosted Flakes gave me a terrible headache and Lucky Charms made me feel a bit nauseas. But you better believe I’d sent my husband to the supermarket for them at least once to fulfill that craving. Speaking of cravings, I don’t think I’ve had a consistent one. Most of the time when I crave something, I eat it once or twice and move on. I hope this doesn’t have much to say for the little one.

Oh btw, did I say we’re having a boy!? Yes, he’s quite the little rebel already so I can’t wait to see his personality outside of the womb. You can check my other blog here to see my other two pregnancy related posts as I haven’t been posting that often.

My doctor expects me to gain another 10lbs which would put me just under the 35lb healthy weight gain max, but I think I’ll make the 35lbs now that I’m on modified bed rest. I also thought I’d be eating a lot more not running around doing stuff but I’m drinking more water than anything. A word to all you mothers: drinking water, as annoying as the bathroom stops make it, actually helps decrease any cramping you may be feeling. I had one day where I felt awful and I realized it was the one day I didn’t have a water bottle at my side. Even at home I fill one to make sure I’m drinking constantly and staying hydrated. You don’t have to be drinking water but staying hydrated is definitely very important. I wanted to purchase Depends at one point and figure out how to get stylish maternity diapers on the market, but I kind of like having to force myself from one spot all the time to keep circulation going.

I’m also not supposed to be cooking but let’s face it, you don’t tell a pregnant woman in her third trimester, she can’t cook especially if she’s not used to eating a lot of takeout. My husband works and I can’t expect him to drop everything and bring me meals when I want and I won’t always want a sandwich or fruit to snack on. Yesterday morning, I made a pot of Squash soup and put the majority of it in the freezer and later in the evening I made a pork roast with potatoes. Both meals required less than half an hour prep so I wasn’t on my feet for very long and I also managed to have two sets of food that last past one day.

I’m really hoping any extra weight slides off quickly after I’ve given birth. I’m very determined to not let it linger, and my trainer won’t have any of that either. I want to feel energized and ready for a little boy full of energy. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such motivation. My husband is a playful teaser as well so I know he will also be a push to get back in shape. I’ve basically got 9 weeks left, I’m still getting ready for the little one and I’m trying to stay healthy while on bed rest. Here’s a to a safe delivery and not losing my way in the fridge closer to the end :).

x

Quinoa Salad


I’m determined to get my midsection looking the way I want it to look by my birthday next month. This is going to be a pretty hard task but I also want to try to maintain it. I saw my dietician on Monday and I was looking for snacking options and sides to eat with whatever meat or poultry I was having for dinner. From her suggestions, I bought quinoa, wheatberry and amaranth. Of the three, I’ve only cooked quinoa before, so I started with it as I need to research how to cook the others. I was on a phone with my friend rummaging through the fridge, trying to figure out what to cook with it when I saw the following: cabbage, carrots, apple and cucumber. I decided a quinoa salad was what I’ll make.

My husband wasn’t so keen on quinoa before so I was praying he’d eat this and not fuss. I didn’t add any apple to his as he doesn’t like apple in salads which is beyond me because it’s the shit!. So here’s what I did:

  • Boil 1/2 cup quinoa in 1 cup of low sodium chicken stock – use the cooking instructions on the packaging. You can use more if you want but this was a test run for me so I didn’t use a lot.
  • Take half of a regular cucumber and chop into quarters.
  • 1 cup of shredded carrots
  • 1 cup of chopped cabbage
  • Once quinoa has cooled, mixed together and sprinkle with no more than a 1/2 tsp of salt to taste. Salt is optional.
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A small portion I was testing

And that is your salad! David said it tasted good and he took it to work (that means he *really* liked it). I’ll definitely make this again and add more quinoa as it had looked a little sparse in the bowl.

I’ll also experiment with the wheatberry and amaranth and if anything works I’ll share here :).

Chicken Burgers


I’m back with a recipe! I decided to semi-document this one because my husband asked for them again within one month. I may have mentioned before that I cook dinner Sunday – Thursday, breakfast is almost every day depending on the schedule and lunch is normally leftovers. With Thursday being my “end of the week” for cooking, we turned it into something fun and called it “Fast Food Thursdays” – I cook something that is considered a fast food or not our normal dinner, something fun. We started it by buying fresh burgers from the supermarket but I decided to try my hand at it. Burgers and meatballs are basically the same ingredients so I tried Turkey burgers the first time, then meatballs with ground beef and my latest hit was chicken burgers. I even gave two to my trainer and she loved them. So I’m going to share this simple recipe with you. It’s something that you can make before going to work and let marinate so that they’ll be rich and flavorful when you’re ready to cook them in the evening.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1-2 tbs onion

1 clove garlic (optional)

Parmesan cheese (shaved//optional)

Spices & herbs (I added about 1/4-1/2 tsp of all seen below, but it’s really you’re preference and the flavor you’re looking to achieve)

Spices & herbs
Spices & herbs

Method:

Combine all ingredients together, and mix well. I used an ice cream scoop to portion it out, and then pressed them with a fork to half inch thick and let set.  

All ingredients mixed together
All ingredients mixed together
Prepped for storage
Prepped for storage

I was able to get about 6 burgers from this batch as I wanted a little more thickness to it. I put 4 aside to freeze as we’ll only have two tonight. I cook my burgers in the pan, not in the oven, and I don’t like to press them too much, I like them to stay thick and juicy. I added the parmesan cheese last time into the mix but I wanted to try it without this time and I’ll add it after. I used shaved parmesan not the one everyone sprinkles on hot dogs. I also left out the fresh garlic because I was being lazy but the last time it did taste good. Again, everything is optional. I like sharing recipes that give you the option to experiment as well or you can follow mine.

Please let me know if you try it and how it comes out. I’ll post a picture on Instagram later with mine cooked.

Happy Fast Food Thursday!

xx