Got Morning Sickness? Stick with Low Glycemic Index Foods

We all remember (or are experiencing all too well currently) the icky feeling of “morning sickness” (note the cynical quotation marks).  It’s when our bodies are fluxing with hormone levels and low blood sugar plunges.  Ah… the thrill of it all.  (Don’t worry, ladies, if this is your first go-round with pregnancy, it gets MUCH better).

During this time – which for some is about 6 weeks, others the entire pregnancy (God Bless you!) – it’s a constant battle to ride the wave of nausea.  The key is to keep your blood sugar from plunging which can contribute to the sick feeling and desire to stay in bed most of the day or visit the porcelain thrown.

After trying several options including bread and butter, crackers, and disgusting “prego lollipops” I found out the hard way that foods with a lower glycemic index are the KEY to staying less ill.

Now, some readers are familiar with the phrase “low glycemic index“, others (like me until last year) are not.  According to Wikipedia, “foods with carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, tend to have a low GI (glycemic index).”  These foods help  you reach the goal of  a steady blood sugar level.

By nature, this means that simple carbs like most grains and sugars should be avoided.  They help for a moment then plunge you right back into sickyville. However, if you can only stomach more bland food like breads and cracker – add some fat to it.  Nut butters work great.  Avocados or guacamole work well, too. (Even pure butter in a pinch).  Just make sure it’s a real food fat, found in nature.  Your body does best with those when digesting.

And, if bread or grains are a “must” try to do whole grains or seed-based breads so your body has something to work with as it digests and breaks foods down.  Overall, try to avoid bread straight up.  Especially sweet breads like pasties, doughnuts, cookies made with sugar, etc.  They really aren’t the cure all you may think they are.  They are more of a patch.

Now, if you tend to be more of a “no food, thank you” kind of gal, create an herbal tea with agave or honey and sip on it throughout the day.  It will help your body regulate better than sugar-based drinks like soda or most energy drinks.  And it helps keep you hydrated.  Another “trigger” to nausea you’ll want to avoid.

All-in-all, I wish you well.  It’s not the highlight of pregnancy for certain.  But, I promise, this too shall pass.  Then you can get on to the anticipation and excitement phase of pregnancy!

Get Up or Stay Up

I’ve been working a full work week this week away from home – hustling the boys here and there, packing bags, loading supplies for my gig and getting to my job.  This is not my norm.  I usually have work in 1-2 daytime increments or I work from home (although I work many nights in a row when doing a play).   Anywho, the 9-5 schedule has reminded me that, as a working mom, you either need to get up or stay up to get a workout in.  Which can be daunting, but, let me tell you, it helps manage your fatigue and stress.

Get up before everyone else, go for a jog or a bike ride (outside or on the trainer).  Or venture to your gym.  Plug in your ipod and go.  Or, once your kids are down, neglect a chore or two until you get your workout in. Find a video you want to watch and download it, save your favorite podcast just for your workout, or rock out to some energizing music. Whatever you look forward to in your “free time”, save it for your workout as a motivation to DO it.  I promise, your work-stress/working-mama-craziness will melt away.  (Even if only for an hour).  You will NOT regret it.  Ever.

Pralus Chauo 75% Dark Chocolate

I think the elequent nature of this review far surpasses ANYTHING I could write.  So, I will not spoil it by trying… THIS, ladies, is why shipping internationally exists!

Pralus Chauo 75% Dark Chocolate Bar

(You can find them on the web in the US here and here).

Is there a Purpose to the Mundane?

Some days are just uneventful.  Backyardigans for the boy.  Nap for the toddler.  And chores for mom. No brilliant ideas coming to life.  No fantastic jobs coming down the pipeline.  Just simple days of simple activities.  “Real life” stuff. This was the part of motherhood that used to bore me. It was the part I had to endure… struggling to enjoy the little moments but failing miserably.

You see I have this sneaky feeling that these are the days I will miss.  Simple, non-descriptive days.  I might look back and regret being “too busy” or always having that feeling that there’s more or better things to be doing.

Maybe it’s our society, but life seems to be moving past us as we sit on the island of Motherhood and wonder what else is around the corner or happening out there beyond our world.  And, honestly, I think I’m growing less restless with the unknown or the “I should be doings”.  I want to enjoy the here and now.  The present moments.  And, it’s hard.  But, the desire is there like never before.  Because I’m already realizing that the end is nearer than I think.

No chubby hands to squeeze.  No cute boy-ness (or girl-ness) awakening every morning so happy to see you.  No more jelly on the table or toys under the couch.  No more surprises around every corner (for good and bad). No more “mundane life”.  And in that absence a bit of our purpose will be absent too.  And we will miss it then as much as we sometimes wish it away today.  So… embrace it.  Revel in it.  You’ll be to the next phase before you know it.

Sweet and Tart Rhubarb and Berry Dessert Sauce

I found this recipe on “Mark’s Daily Apple”.  Delicious – great on the chocolate coconut milk custard.

Sweet/Tart Rhubarb and Berry Sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 3 stalks of rhubarb, peeled if needed and sliced thinly
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 cup fresh blackberries

Instructions:

If the peel on the rhubarb is thick and/or stringy, you can peel it off before cutting the stalks up.

Fasting Is Good For You

People seem to think that going without certain foods (or having no food at all) will do serious damage to your body. But, it simply isn’t the case.  Short-term fasting from all food – drinking water or even 100% juice being just fine of course – is a great detox.  Or taking out known toxic foods and fasting from them is a proven energy booster, body cleanser, weight loss tool and even de-stresser.  So… don’t listen to the fearful or those who haven’t tried it.  It really can kick you in the pants in all the right ways.

Small Progress is Still Progress – Celebrate Every Step

I’ve thought a lot lately about American culture and it’s “Go Big or Go Home” mentality.  Consumerism crutches on it and our society’s health suffers from it.  It seems you have to be the “best” or you aren’t really worth much to most people.  Unless they’re your relatives… and, even then…

But in this game of taking control of your own health and learning the “hard” way (aka: no gimmicks) how to eat real food and how to find time to exercise and how to make it a lifestyle where the results are here to stay even the smallest successes are worthy of celebrating.  In a society where so many of us beat ourselves up on a regular basis, create a sub-culture of cheering yourself on instead.

When you lose a pound, celebrate by putting your “former life” triple chocolate mocha celebration in a jar and save up for a pair of sassy shoes.  When you run longer than ever before – say 3 miles straight for the first time – tell your hubby you’re treating yourself to a pedicure to show off those running feet!  When you go a week without giving into your old, unhealthy food habits, buy some new music online to listen to the next time you’re at the gym.

Small success is STILL success.  Don’t psyche yourself out because the progression it’s not “big enough” or you aren’t yet where you’d hope to be.  Keep going and rejoice, dear ladies.  Life is too short to demean your achievements.  Let your achievements speak for themselves and you keep on rockin’ that healthy body!

The Arrogance of Man (Oh… What ARE We Thinking?)

So, I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about “mankind” and food.

We like eating food.  We need it to survive. And yet, so much of the “food” out there on the American storefront isn’t even food.  Not from the earth anyway.  It’s made in labs.  By mankind.

Who do we think we are anyway?  Better than God at making food?  Seriously.  Are we trying to compete with Him on this?  Think about it… how many steps did it take to eat the first discovered blueberries.  1)Pluck them 2) Put them in your mouth 3) Hope they aren’t poisonous.

One ingredient… 2 basic steps (and one after thought).  Now… how about “newly discovered” Nacho-flavored corn chips.

1) Harvest corn 2) Process corn (this alone is about 4 steps or so) 3) Bake corn into chips 4) Gather a bunch of chemicals to make “cheese” 5)Figure out combination of chemicals and non-food ingredients that taste like cheese 6) Shake “cheese” on the corn chips 7) Figure out a way to get the “cheese” to stick to chips Add preservatives that won’t ruin the “flavor” of chips 9) Package the chips 10) Ship the chips 11) Market the chips to consumers 12) Buy chips and eat 13) Tell yourself the “cheese” on the chips, albeit much saltier, tastes almost as good as actual cheese 14) Lick “cheese” off your fingers

See where I’m going with this.  Mankind is pretty cocky to think we can out due nature on this one.  And, yet… we do it everyday.  And we can’t figure out why we are getting sicker and sicker.

If we back up our habits a bit and look for foods that were only one or two steps from how they are found in nature (actual fruit or jelly that is only fruit and juice) we’ll be a lot better off.  Our bodies would get actual nutrition and we would discover what real food actually tastes like. AND you’ll probably find that “nature’s candy” isn’t all that bad. (Seems God might have had it right all along).

(Challenge: go crazy, and get some organic fruit that’s ripe… seriously amazing. Way better than gooey “fruit” snacks… which don’t really have fruit in them, by the way – I was really annoyed when I discovered that one).

Why Do We Not Want the Truth?

Last week I posted a link on Facebook to a national news story about a study which linked obesity in the mother to autism in the child.  Now, before you throw a tomato at your computer screen, I never, EVER said I agreed with it or was hoping women would join forces against this sort of thing. I simply was reporting it as news in health that I found intriguing.  My intent was to hear people’s thoughts, concerns, cheers and disputes.  That didn’t happen.  Something else, did, however.

Within hours (less than one, actually) I was “un-friended” by two people.  And, considering about 70% of people don’t see my feed given the time of day, etc., that leaves me to think that, had everyone seen it, about 1 in 20 women un-friended me based on my posting that link.  Wow.  It surprised me… then got me thinking.

To my new un-friends… 1) Why did you un-friend me instead of writing your opinions down and letting me have a conversation with you? 2) What about the link being posted made you so angry? 3) And, purely for argument’s sake, what if the story is true? Are simply annoyed that it has been reveled? (Personally I do not feel there is enough clear evidence to make obesity alone a factor, but, again, for argument’s sake).

Basically, the incident – never mind the link and the research study – made me realize that people are still not open to discuss the effects being extremely overweight and obese can have on yourself much less you kids – even if you feel you’ve had a growing “relationship” with them.  It’s touchy.  I realize that.  But, why do we continue to ignore the fact that our health* does affect the baby’s we carry and the kids we raise?

Why aren’t we mad at the doctors who don’t tell us more honestly what we are doing to ourselves and our kids?  And how to solve it without taking bottles and bottles of pills? Or the advertisements that push total chem-lab created crap and tell us it’s food and it “satisfies”?  Who else is going to advocate for us as mothers and our children except ourselves?  We should be taking note and gaining momentum to overcome our health challenges.

Bottom line: Do we really want to hear the truth, even if it hurts and flat out pisses us off?  Are we ready to get mad enough at the circumstances we’ve created that put us here and fight back?  Are we ready to have hard conversations and ask hard questions AND hear the answers?  Do we want to die young or watch our kids struggle with the same fight we’ve fought for so long?  When is enough enough and we say “fine… I’m ready to hear the hard stuff”? Or… do we just click a button and turn away?

Maybe I just need other women to get as frustrated and angry as I have watching family members become the walking dead in their 30′s or grandparents suffer with strokes, heart disease, diabetes… mostly 100% self-inflicted.  Our country is heading down a slippery slope of pills and pain and now we (as a nation) are leading our kids down the same path.

But… moms are powerful.  Especially when we are willing to talk, argue, unite, fight and learn together. We just have to be open to the conversation.  Even if we don’t agree.

So… anyone out there ready to start a conversation?

* To be clear I personally feel that large amounts of extra weight is often a sign of poor eating habits which, in turn, affect your health in many ways and do also affect a child in your womb.  I also feel that being “obese” (as the article labeled it) is not merely carrying some “extra weight” (say 10-40 pounds) – which, I feel is not always unhealthy… my body does NOT like being super thin and fights it, even though I eat all real food and exercise regularly (up to 5 days a week most weeks).  And I know many healthy women who eat right and exercise that have some extra “padding ” and look fabulous rockin’ that body! I also think soft is womanly and can be very healthy, but the article I posted specified obesity as a link… which, is not easily attainable (in my experience with people) eating whole foods and exercising regularly. (Although there are exceptions to every rule). So… health is the factor here for me, not size.  Whew… I hope that was clear.  (If I have more “un-friendings” I’ll know it wasn’t).

Nirvana Spicy Aztec Bar

This 70% dark organic chocolate bar took my by surprise.

I was in a small co-op (not my usual place to shop per se) and had been looking at another bar to purchase (also priced at $5.49).  But I hesitated.  My budget for food not being that of the Kardashians I can’t wrap my head around spending close to $6 on one chocolate bar without some serious investment of thought – even if it is organic and/fair trade (my preference).

Then I spied this little beauty.  It was on sale; $2 off it’s usual price. At that price point I reasoned it was less than most people spend on their daily latte fix. So, I thought it over, looked around some more, then snatched it up – determined to keep an open mind.  (After all “spicy” and chocolate aren’t my pallet’s favorite combination of words).

The first time I tried it, I almost missed the hot-spicy part.  I was savoring the flavorful chocolate – is that a hint of cinnamon?  Then… wait for it… a buzz of chili.  Normally this might turn me away from another piece, but neither the spice nor the chocolate were over-powering.  In fact, I would say the “flavor wave” was perfectly timed.  (How do they DO that??).  So, here I am for the third serving in three days, resisting yet another piece, happy to know it’s all organic, full of flavor and similar to a great meal flavored just so – with enough kick to keep you happy, not so much it turns you away or makes you search for the nearest faucet for relief.

Bottom line: surprising, refreshing, unique.

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