It’s hard to believe I’m HALF way through this pregnancy! The nausea is still hanging around, but thankfully not 24/7. I haven’t thrown up in over a week! Almost everything that I was eating at the beginning of the pregnancy, I’m just over now. I don’t know if it’s because I overdid it or it just reminds me of how awful I was feeling. Another weird side effect of pregnancy. I don’t even want smoothies. The snack bars and yogurt I was eating just don’t appeal to me anymore. I’m so over the canned lentil soup. I have been able to make/cook food again which is huge! I’m craving greens again! I can drink water again and don’t have to eat the second I wake up in the morning anymore (which I’ve never really liked doing)! My kids are eating better too! I’m not as tired although I still opt to nap during my little’s nap most days instead of working. I just weaned my 15 month old this past week, she was kind of over it (so was I) because I was barely producing any milk. TBH I am really really happy to have a break from breastfeeding until the new baby arrives. I haven’t started officially working out yet, I know I keep saying I’m going to start soon! Still walking and biking though. I have been having sciatic pain the day following sex and I know I need to strengthen my glutes again to help things stay in place near my lower spine. Working out will help this! I have eczema on my face which just won’t go away! With my other pregnancies it went away as soon as I was able to swallow my fish oil supplement again but I’ve been taking it for a couple weeks and I still can’t get rid of it. Hopefully as I continue to eat more greens and nourishing vegetables my body will find some balance! Hormones do crazy (and often unpleasant) things to your body! My baby bump is starting to look more like a baby instead of just bloat, especially by the end of the day! I’m feeling baby move all the time now which is probably one of the most amazing things about pregnancy. I’ve gained maybe 11 pounds, my midwives have me keep track so I know I’m not gaining too much. Now that I’m feeling mostly better and my food aversions have lessoned, my main focus is to pack in as many nutrient dense foods as I can! Here’s a snapshot of what I’ve been eating lately.
BREAKFAST – I’ve been enjoying warm lemon water first thing in the morning lately. I just squeeze half or a whole lemon into a mug, fill it half way with cold filtered water and then top it off with warm water. If you’ve been following along my Instastories you know I’ve also been drinking 100% celery juice for about a week. I started doing this because I saw Melissa Wood gushing about how much it has made her feel amazing during pregnancy. I’ve never had a juicer, so vegetable *juicing isn’t something I’ve ever gotten into. As I mentioned before, I have eczema on my face which I just can’t kick so I thought I’d give the celery juice a try to see if the added hydration and micronutrients would help the inflammation calm down a little. So far I haven’t noticed any improvement in the eczema but the celery juice can’t be bad for me so I’ll keep it up for awhile to see if I notice any changes. Next I have a breakfast cookie, which my husband usually makes and we always have a batch in the refrigerator.
LUNCH – I’ve been trying to eat big salads for lunch, although it doesn’t always happen. Arugula is my favorite! I just squeeze some fresh lemon juice and drizzle a little olive oil and it’s so good! I like to add shaved fennel and an avocado to the top too! Once in awhile I’ll add some wild salmon if I feel like it. I also have been in the mood for avocado toast, so sometimes I’ll have two pieces of sprouted or sourdough spelt bread with an avocado smashed on top, some lemon, olive oil, salt & pepper and giant handfuls of arugula! I haven’t wanted this the entire first half of my pregnancy but now I’m loving it!
SNACKS – Lately I’ve mostly been snacking on fresh fruit, especially apples with peanut butter. I’m kind of over smoothies and the yogurt I was eating when I had terrible all day nausea. I like these Jones bars for when I’m on the go and need a quick energy boost. Loving these lupini beans too which I get from Thrive Market. I also basically ate two loafs of zucchini bread by myself when I was recipe testing for the last post!
DINNER – Since I can actually cook now, and the weather is starting to cool, I will usually make something warm for dinner with sweet potato or winter squash. This past week we had lentil and vegetable curry with rice or quinoa a couple nights, spaghetti squash, black bean bowls and sweet potato tacos. I haven’t craved meat at all since the couple burgers at the beginning of my pregnancy so dinner has been totally plant based and packed with nutrients.
*Juicing is not a meal replacement! It can be used to supplement a healthy diet but I don’t recommend juicing much fruit, really no more than one apple. Fruit without the fiber is mostly sugar and will spike your blood sugar causing an insulin (fat storage hormone) spike as well. Constant overworking of the pancreas to produce insulin eventually leads to diabetes.
