Sunday, October 19, 2008

A little bit of raw, a little bit of deception...

So, I don't really know if anyone out there is actually reading this blog, but whatever...it's therapeutic, so here I am, writing!

If anyone knows me well, they know I don't do pregnancy well-especially first trimester. I battle with morning sickness 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And with the first baby, it lasted 6 months. This time around, we are only at 11 weeks, so we don't know if I will get off lucky, or I will be stuck with 6 months again.

One of the things I really have been missing, is cooking...and creating meals. It is a passion for me to prepare a tasty, healthy meal for my family. But with barely being able to smell anything that is cooking, let alone eat it, it's been drastically reduced.

Shortly after Alyssa was born I changed my eating habits. I tried a few things, from the eat-clean diet, to the raw diet. I felt great on any diet I was eating healthier, but especially the raw diet. However, I stopped shortly after a month because it was very difficult to keep up with, let alone try and provide my husband with a decent meal. While I do believe in "co-ercing " my family into eating healthy, I don't believe in forcing them to try diets or lifestyles that they have no interest in.

As I have been so sick, and barely able to eat anything, when I do eat, I usually reach for something not so healthy, as it is all my stomach seems to want. I have really noticed the lack of healthful options in this house, and though I know it is temporary and important for me to eat something rather than nothing at this point, it's really starting to depress me.

Before the morning sickness hit, I had been really getting good at monthly meal plans. After doing some studying of where I want our diet to go I have decided to have a plan for the minute I start feeling like I can get off the couch. I have decided I am going to make mostly home-made, healthy breakfasts consisting of oatmeals, healthy muffins and quick breads, etc. Lunch will mainly be a raw meal, ie: salad, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits., sprouted crackers and breads...etc, and dinner will be a cooked meal, with a side of vegetables, but with also some vegetables sneakily pureed into the food. I just purchased the book, 'Deceptively Delicious" written by Jessica Seinfield, which is a book with many healthy recipes with added pureed vegetables hidden because her kids wouldn't eat the stuff. Now, I know there is controversy on this book, tricking your kids and "teaching" them that vegetables are bad, but I think if you do it right it can help. If the only time you give your children (ahem...or husbands...lol) vegetable is in hidden, pureed form, then yes, I don't think it's a good idea. But if it's added to the menu, along with visible vegetables, (which is actually what Jessica Seinfeld suggests) as well as other meals with vegetables in it, then I think some added nutrition is a great idea for kids who may not get what they need. Although this is all new territory for me, as my daughter is just beginning to become picky, I have watched so many parents try and convince their child to eat their vegetables. You know what I see? I see that if they can get their kids to eat at least a couple bites, than they are satisfied because it can be such a battle. To me, that's when the added nutrition can help.

Anyways, so this is my plan...I hope it works. Not only do I have a daughter who is increasingly becoming picky, but my husband LOVES a good coke, a bowl of popcorn, and chips for dinner on a regular basis. I am anxiously awaiting the day I can get back in the kitchen and make sure my family is getting what they need...and me too, because face it, you just feel better when you eat better.

1 comment:

Erin said...

Hey you -- I didn't know you even had a blog -- glad you sent it my way. There's a really good cook book called The SneakY Chef -- same idea as Seinfelds but better recipes. I love Breakfast cookies. If you want the recipe it's totally a whole grain soft cookie that is super good for you! Chat soon.