Aside from a few minutes of heartburn once a week, I've never had any of the usual discomforts, complications or gained more or less than the recommended weight during either of my pregnancies. I believe owe 90% of this to my diet. Like everyone I have my personal struggles, but one thing that's always been easy for me (high school excepted) is eating a healthy diet complete with variety, tons of fruits, veggies, grains, nuts and water and always 80-90% organic, and free of preservatives, caffeine, and most packaged/processed foods.
I think any woman who is pre-baby, TTC, pregnant or postpartum can feel amazing, achieve an ideal weight and weather any transition beautifully just from eating right and being active. So during the last week I started snapping pictures of what I ate before it disappeared. Below is what I eat in a typical day while pregnant or nursing. When I'm not pregnant/nursing I eat the same, only at dinner I skip the seconds I pile on to make sure I gain enough/make enough milk.
Breakfast Part I [fresh-baked by someone else whole grain toast w/butter or cheese]:
Breakfast Part II [2 boiled eggs & a smoothie w/2-4 different fruits, yogurt & water]:
Mid-Morning Snacks [grapefruit, chopped fruit w/yogurt, nuts & cinnamon]:
Lunch [cooked sprouted lentils w/quinoa, lemon sea salt & olive oil]:
Afternoon Snacks [dried fruit & nuts w/no preservatives, red cabbage with homemade dressing]:
Dinner [pasta with garbanzo beans, zucchini, parmesan and Salmon fillet]:
Dessert [homemade whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies]:
Water: [I drink 80 oz of water during the day & another 8-16 oz in the middle of the night]
Such an incredibly healthy day's food, and the pictures make it all look so yummy!
Posted by: Lumi | Feb 01, 2012 at 06:36 PM
Oh goodness it looks so good! and healthy! Btw...my name is Breezy I am a new follower! I love the blog!
www.breezysimply.blogspot.com
Posted by: Breezy | Feb 01, 2012 at 09:31 PM
Mmmm. It all looks so delicious! I am trying to re-vamp my diet. I was not raised on organic, and also ate lots of processed foods so its hard for me to move into the unknown but having a little one sure does motivate me. He is so young and new to the world of food - I dont want to pollute his little body.
You are such an inspiration to me!
Posted by: Randi | Feb 03, 2012 at 04:35 PM
Randi,
In the beginning (until I was about 8) we had a standard diet too. I got to see my mom transition us into a new way of eating which was really cool. The good thing is that now it's so much easier to find organic and healthy alternatives. It used to be so hard to find. Remember if you ever have any questions let me know!
Posted by: kristin | Feb 04, 2012 at 09:37 AM
love it.
and love the second breakfast.
i always feel the need to remind the men i share an office with that (even though i am not pregnant) i am still eating for two!
Posted by: jamie | Feb 06, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Jamie-- it's so true. When breastfeeding I was eating so much more than during pregnancy and I was still loosing weight and bone mass (which I found out via elevated Alkaline Phosphatase during a physical). You are now not only burning an extra 500 calories a day you are caring for a baby too. It's equivalent to running 5-7 miles a day!
Posted by: kristin | Feb 06, 2012 at 01:09 PM
Hi, new follower. Do you plan to nurse both babies when the new one arrives? Love all your nursing tips!
Posted by: Katie | Feb 08, 2012 at 08:31 AM
can you please share the recipe for your homemade dressing. never thought of having a cabbage-only salad but that looks amazing!
Posted by: emily | Feb 08, 2012 at 09:54 AM
Hi Katie,
I am planning to tandem nurse although I know it can be a huge challenge! I had to wean Max overnight at about 18 months in order to conceive #2 on the quick. We had a strict time limit for TTC because the mister needed an urgent surgery that made him infertile. Still today 9 months later Max asks me everyday if he can nurse/if there's milk yet and it's pretty much heartbreaking, so I will definitely be open to him nursing along with the baby.
Posted by: kristin | Feb 08, 2012 at 10:32 AM
Hi Emily,
I've been winging it with the recipe and have yet to write down the exact measurements, but I can tell you the ingredients. The main part is tahini, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. You kind of balance the olive oil and vinegar to help keep the tahini flavor from taking over. I also add lemon juice, dried parsley flakes and sea salt to taste. Hope that helps! Next time I make a batch I'll measure it out and include it in a post!
Oh and raw cabbage is great for dipping, salads and also as a wrap for veggie wraps. And purple cabbage is nice and sweet!
Posted by: kristin | Feb 08, 2012 at 01:19 PM