Healthy Pregnancy

[luna moth]

Here I am! (it was a matter of time....) For me, I've actually been trying to slow down a little bit to stay healthy.

I've been swimming 2-3 days a week, which I did before, but now I have slowed it down a little and I just do 20-odd laps of breaststroke. I have read that this is really good for foetal positioning down the track, and apart from anything else, I just love it.
I'm also still cycling to work, it's 6km each way. There's a pretty long uphill on the way home (up to the eastern side of the Green Bridge) and I have finally broken away from the urge to beat everyone else on the bridge! I don't know how long I'll be able to do it though.

Food-wise, I haven't really changed that much. I've upped my milk (soy) intake. I'm eating a bit more because I'm so hungry! I have ben making big pots of thin vegie soup (recipe below) and freezing it in coffee mugs, then having it as afternoon tea to get me through to dinner. It works well and is a great way to get the extra fibre in.

On fibre though, I'm actually a little worried that I'm getting too much and food is going straight through me without having time to digest.

Thin vegie soup
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 cups pumpkin, diced (approximate. I use half a small butternut)
1 cup green (or red) lentils
Vegie stock

Sweat celery and carrot over low heat in a big pot for about 10 minutes. Add pumpkin and lentils, and 1 litre of stock. The stock should cover the vegies. Bring to the boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes, then let stand and blend. Thin to desired consistency with extra stock.

[belfie]

Audax - awesome soup recipe, I can't wait to make it. Your exercise sounds great too!

hj1981 - nice too see you in here. Having a chef sounds a lovely idea teheh.. I wish! Also I'm with you in regard to the PG vits, mine block me up too, and I'm very limited in my diet so I find it tough to increase my fibre enough, so this thread is really helping to inspire me (sometimes I just get lazy too!).

eliselouise - I'm with you on the "grab things in a hurry". I'm trying to put healthier things in my pantry so at least I can't grab crap as easily. What sort of dog do you have? I have the same issue - a very rambunctious dog, and I keep meaning to get to dog training, but it's been 2 months and every weekend something crops up that interferes! I try to make hubby come so he can take her when I get too p'ed off at her! She can be SUCH an annoying dog, and it's really hard to manage her, a stroller and an adventurous 18 m.o.

C1 - awesome cookie recipe, I'm trying to think of what I could replace the raisins with (I can't have dried fruit). I'm thinking I'll maybe just leave them out and include the golden syrup instead. You sound like you're doing brilliantly with your food & exercise, well done!

AFM - well my particular challenges... ok firstly trying to avoid GD again (was injecting insulin last PG). Hoping to keep my weight down, I only gained 5.5kg last time (mainly cos I stopped gaining anything once I got GD). I'd like to keep it similar if I can... but i weighed myself this morning and i've already gained 5.5kg which i'm feeling a bit upset about even tho I know I shouldn't. My m/s this time was much worse (only settled in the last week or so) and I have been eating TOTAL crap - just craved chips... and sugar always settled the nausea . So have been having cordial & all sorts of crap I don't usually eat.

My goal now is to eat as IF i have GD (i.e. healthy, lots of veggies, some fruit, plenty of fibre and low GI)... and hopefuly that'll help me avoid GD in 10-11 weeks time when I get re-tested. And if I still get it (85% likely) then at least i'm being healthy anyway. I try to walk 30 mins every day (with puppydog) but want to start doing a few sessions of 15-20mins on the exercise bike too. I also run around after my toddler which helps hehe. I'm much stronger/fitter than last PG which is good. My other challenge is that I can't eat a lot of fruits (no dried fruits) and quite a few veggies (inc onion), nor wheat, honey & coconut (it's fructose malabsorption), my DH can't do dairy and my DS is allergic to tree nuts, sesame and egg. Trying to find snacks I can take with DS and me that are suitable for both of us is challenging (wheat, egg, fruit, nut-free!), and trying to eat stuff in front of a toddler that he can't eat - also challenging! So I end up not eating nuts because it's just too difficult with DS around even though i know they're good for me. Too often I end up eating rice crackers, plain potato chips or sickly chocolate muesli bars cos we can share them . But, I don't want to whinge, I just want to find good practical solutions. And I really really need to up my fibre! So those cookies & the soup are great ideas! The other ideas I've tried to start today:

• frozen yoghurt icypoles (DS loves to share them too)
• rice crackers and hommus (when DS asleep lol)
• le rice (is quite low GI)
• porridge & blueberries for brekkie OR snack
• making guacamole or using avocado as a spread
• nuts or sesame snaps when i'm at work

Doesn't seem that many but I'm sure i'll think of more! My main meals are mostly not too bad (provided we cook) it's more about healthy snacks and avoiding junk food meals for me.

[hj1981]

belfie - my gosh u do have a few hurdles in your way! but u can do it!!!! arnt those preg vit just terrible!!!!
Im liking some of your ideas! exspecially the rice crackers and hommus! yum!!! i like le rice also - im so going to try that too!
Have you tried a sweet cup of tea to ease ur nausea? that seems to work for me if i have one before i get out of bed - not the best for you i know - but might be a bit better than cordial etc, if u have it on skim milk or something ( i cant have skim milk, has the totall opposite prob to the preg vitamins!)


I am having sesame snaps atm for a snack and they seem to be doing the trick
wish i had some more snacky ideas to help everyone - but atm im not really into eating so when i am and if i think of something i will be sure to let u all know!
Acutally - i had a fruit and nut museli slice today and that was very filling!!!!

Audax - my gosh ur one active mummy! keep up that great work! i think i better get my exercise bike out of the spare bedroom! LOL
That soup sounds okay also - does it taste very vegetably tho? im not a huge fan on vegetables

eliselouise - did u go for a walk down the street to lunch today?

[Cherished]

Wooohoooooo more friends!!!

Welcome my lovely eliselouise, Belife & Audax, what a treat to have you beautiful girls on board! Great idea freezing the soup into mugs ready for heating up Audax

hj1981 you crack me up hon, I wasn't this organised in the 1st tri! I was pretty lazy and ate a fair few frozen vegies cause I just couldn't be bothered preparing fresh ones let alone going shopping for them lol I thought frozen is better than none at all! And if you're going to get any chef over to your house look straight at Audax!!! She is a super chef with so many lovely recipes to share

belfie you sound like you've totally got it under control oats are so great for snacks and filling which is why those cookies were great. I've got some frozen blueberries actually and i might make some muffins with them, healthy ones of course! From the Liver cleanse book yummmmmmy. And frozen yogurt, I hadn't thought of getting them but if iceream is the craving they would be perfect! I think I had also put on about that much at eh 17 week mark. I am 20 weeks on Tuesday and I have gained about 6.6kg's I think.

eliselouise hope you enjoyed your walk and healthy lunch, sounds great.

The weather here has been lovely today and dh rubbed my lower back for a while and then read some of our hypnobirthing book and then we laid in the sun for about 5 mins for a dose of Vit D and he suggested we go for a walk later so I'm looking forward to that. Just going shopping now and can't wait to eat some of the yummo lemon myrtle and macadamia nut yogurt when I get back!

[hj1981]

C1 - eww frozen vegies! LOL - i give them to Miss B all the time when im preparing dinner, maybe i should just suck it up and have a few myself! but than im really bad with my vegies i need a full glass of water with me at the dinner table when we are having vegies so i can just swallow them instead of having to chew them!
Okay so if i cant have u as my chef can i have ur husband as my Masseuse? hehehehe

Audax - will u be my chef? LOL

[luna moth]

HJ - would love to be your chef! You'd have to get into vegies though - we're vegan her, so there's a LOT of them! DH had a whole bunch of vegies he wouldn't eat when we first got together, but he'd just never had them cooked properly. He eats everything except roast pumpkin now. And I think that's fair enough! That soup won't taste too vegetabley if you use butternut pumpkin (nice and sweet) instead of any other kind. You can also chuck a handful of jasmine rice through it at the end, gives it a nice aroma and it might cover the vegie fragrance for you. Also, it's blended, so no chewing. I think you should give it a go!

C1 - I hear you on not being able to prepare food! I've been loving roasted vegies. It's one of my all time favourite easy dinners - roughly chop onion, a few carrots, sweet potato, parsnips, and chuck it in the oven to roast on super high. Then later add red capsicum and zucchini chunks. It smells SO good. We usually add some tempeh chunks for extra protein. I love it because there's no stirring, just rough chop and throw it in the oven, then go back to heaving over a bucket! (Ok, it's not that bad )

I also love having frozen spinach portions in the freezer. I throw them on or through EVERYTHING. Easy vegies, loaded with folate.

belfie - that's quite a challenge for you! FM is SO hard! Even without all those other issues to deal with! I will post some of my dairy free dip recipes for you, so that you can break away from hommus a little bit! I'm not sure how they all go with FM though, so let me know if there's something you can't have. And a nut-free pesto. Do you have the cookbook "Friendly Food" I think it might have been written for you If you want a copy, I will send one. I have copied all the recipes I love out of it already.

Just walked up to the supermarket. I think I was a bit dehydrated, because I came back with over 4L of liquids! Got cranberry juice, blackcurrant syrup (craved Ribena last time!) soda water for my tummy and vanilla soy milk, which I "cut" 50-50 with regular soy milk and drink once or twice a day.

Preggie multis plug me up too, so I just have one every second day, and on the days in between I top up with iron, calcium, folate and B12. Seems to kep me going fairly well.

White bean dip:
1 can cannellini beans (or soak and boil them yourself. Cheaper and lower in salt)
1 sprig rosemary
1 clove garlic
2-3tbsp olive oil

Put it all in a food processor and blend.

Rocket and chickpea pesto:
1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 good handful rocket
1 handful parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
sprinkle of lemon myrtle (optional, but makes it SO good!)
1 clove garlic (optional - I put garlic in a lot of stuff!)

Stick it all in a food processor. Blend.
This is a great pasta sauce, or bruschetta topping, or dip. Or put a dollop on top of a bowl of soup, or serve as a condiment, whatever.

[Dr. Tal]

Cherished - This thread is such a brilliant idea! Thank you SO MUCH for inviting me to join you!! I'll be baking some of your oat banana cookies tomorrow on my day off. They sound yummy, especially with some maple syrup (my mum always brings me some of what either dad makes in the spring thaw or from the farm I use to work at, so I have heaps and heaps)

Entreat - I seem to have dodged the GD bullet as well, thankfully. I was a bit worried because my mum is type 2 diabetic, and I suspect she might have had GD when she was UTD with me.

Belfie - you certainly have a lot of food allergies to dodge! It would defnitely make it more difficult for you. Sounds like you're doing a pretty good job and staying healthy despite them all though

Audax - Looks like I'll be adding quite a few recipes to my book. The ones you've posted so far sound REALLY REALLY good.

HJ - about you having a drink with your veggies so you can swallow without chewing.

Elise - Sounds like your dog is a bit like my DH's.

AFM - I'll try to keep this short, as I tend to like to write short novels
I can't take any of the pregnancy multivitamins, because they all set off my MS (along with just about everything else). So my doctor has worked out a vitamin list for me which means I take about 16 a day, but they cover all the essentials. My blood levels of everything are monitored regularly because I either vomit all the time or it runs straight through me (constipation is the most common 'down there' issue women have when pregnant, but apparently the opposite can also happen).

I've started making salads when I get home from work for both DH and myself. Partly to keep myself healthy and make sure I am getting enough veggies but also partly becaue I think DH eats too much meat. So if I fill him up on veggies before tea he can't fit in a kilo of steak I also try to eat at least 2 pieces of fruit a day. I've also been having the greasy food cravings, but thankfully on most days I can 'stay strong' and not give in to them.

I can't say I do any formal exercise, but I do get out a lot. I only recently stopped walking the dogs of a morning, but that's just because I can't handle my two and DH's on my own. My two aren't too much of an issue because while the love their walks their both getting older and don't pull or anyting. But DH's is another story and she listens to NO ONE but him.

I usualluy walk down to the supermarket for lunch every day and by a piece of fruit and some yoghurt to go with my leftovers from tea the night before. I don't bring them with me to make sure that I get out and do some walking.

Then every night DH and I go out to feed up the horses and other animals so I do quite a bit of walking with that. Plus on the weekends I still mow the lawn, do gardening, clean my fish tanks (which includes toting about 200+litres of water between tank toilet and sink tank) as well and the 'normal' house work.

That having been said I think there's probably lots of room for me to eat healthier!

[[M]umma[M]ia]

WOW hasnt this thread just taken off!!!

Cherished - your welcome hun! Meal planning is a great idea, well done


HJ - I think popcorn being classed as corn mayb? lol Can you find a way to incorporate all the vegies you dont eat into a dish that u do? For instance, i put grated carrot, zuchini (whatevers going really) in my spag bol. If u cook it down in the pan a little before you brown your mince, u dont even notice or taste that its there. Also opting for better choices like spinach and tomato pasta etc. You can still indulge in your "fried" food... just take a better aproach. Make your own chips and oven bake them, steam some dim sims, oven bake your fish etc. As for eating on the run, try them breakfast bars. The weight watchers range has great "snacks on the run" stuff too. Your doing a awesome job already and with your busy lifestyle already, having a healthy pregnancy will help your body cope LMAO about the having to have a glass of water with your veg. Can you have salad instead?


Elise - Welcome!!! First of all, good on you for eating 2-3 serves of fruit a day, thats fantastic. As for the veg, mayb when you have some free time make some vegie stirfries, quiche etc that u can take to work with you.


Belfie - hey stranger wow your pregnancy is going quick!! I remember u having GD last time...... for u that it doesnt happen this time. But i think looking at it as if you do already is a great idea. It is hard with your range of foods you cant have... but i will have a hunt around also and see what i can find. Good on you for walking with your dog

Audax - Welcome! I agree with the spinach portions! i have them handy in the freezer to and chuck them (hide them ) in anything i can!

Entreat - Welcome! Sounds like your doing great!! welldone hun!!!! Where abouts did you get your Preg Dvd's from?


Dr.Tal - No good about the morning sickness!! Looks like your doing well. Pity about having to drop the morning walks, but you dont need the stress right now of a dog that refuses to listen to you. My DF is a big meat eater aswell.. i have to resort to hiding most his vegies in food (yes like a child) and he wont eat salad at all

[entreat]

For eating on the run (or any ladies still stuck in the starving 1st tri!), I found Up & Go's to be a great breakfast (or 2nd breakfast, if the first one didn't stick). They have less calories than most of those 'shake diet' sachets, and people don't scowl at you for having shakes while your pg! I think there's around 800kj a serve, so IMO a bit much for a 'snack', but infinitely better than drinking choc milk due to the added vitamins (it even has folic acid added!!).

MM - both DVDs were given to me, but you can buy them on line. One is even available through BigPond! That one is called 'Great Expectations - fitball pregnancy program', and is my favorite of the two as it's lower impact, so I'm more likely to do it! If you google the title, you'll find a bunch of shops stocking it.

I'm sure it's not the greatest meal in terms of balance, but I'm so looking forward to my baked potatoes tonight. Especially after an AWESOME bodyBalance class this arvo.

[belfie]

Audax - will u be my chef? LOL

Oooh me too!

Audax - great suggestions thanks heaps! And guess what... the soup is bubbling away on my stovetop RIGHT NOW! re the recipe books, I've got a few of Sue Shepherd's "irritable" ones, they're great. I'll have to look at that one I'm not familiar with it, but thank you so much for the offer, it's very kind. And lol I hope you're not heaving over a bucket!

HJ - luckily my nausea has finally gone now. I found lemon cordial was a lifesaver... but I know I don't have an excuse for the bad foods now the m/s has gone I was having a little hormonal dummy spit this morning and felt I couldn't do it, but this thread has really helped and motivated me SO much!

Off for a walk to the park now! Walk the dog, walk me, toddler play and exercise hubby - WOOT!