July 27, 2009

One more month to go. That's REALLY hard to believe! The baby is quickly gaining weight and wiggling around to get comfortable and find more room. I'm still happy to report that I've had no swelling of the feet or hands, no incredible weight gains, elimination is still regular, blood pressure is fantastic (last checked was 105 over 58), and I'm sleeping pretty well other than more wake-ups to pee during the night due to baby getting bigger and putting more pressure on my bladder.

The waddle is definitely happening. Lucian and I went on a short hike to gobble wild raspberries and I felt a lot of pressure in my lower abdominal area. It definitely makes me slow down. We came home, I sat down and had some Braxton Hicks. The kundalini yoga I've been doing kept me focused and I smoothly breathed through them and stayed centered.

Backtracking...the weekend was spent at an Ayurvedic workshop at Ananda Ashram with Dr. Vasant Lad of the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico. My last weekend to myself before this little sprout comes out. It was really nice just to be out in nature with good energy peeps and learn some really ancient cool stuff. Ayurveda is the system of traditional medicine in India and literally translated as "the science of life". Dr. Lad could tell what ailments a person had just by taking their pulse on both wrists, looking into their eyes (a kind of iridology) and looking at the coating on their tongue. He checked me out, said I was very healthy and balanced and told me the sex of the baby (hehe). We'll see if he's right! I'm a novice at Ayurveda and am hooked on learning more about the three doshas, pranayama (breathing techniques to cure ailments), and all that Ayurveda has to offer which includes foods to eat to balance one out, working through and clearing past emotional and physical traumas to bring about physical and psychological balance. It may sound very "alternative" to a western medicine-minded person, but its an ancient science that has been proven, for thousands of years, to be beneficial.

So, onto diet. Still enjoying and benefitting from the green juices every morning (juice 1 cucumber, 5 stalks celery, 1/2 bunch kale, 1 apple, and sometimes an inch of ginger). Also having the superfood smoothies most mornings. I'll feature that tomorrow and take a pic to post. I'm also being sure to consume plenty of protein, calcium, B vitamins and iron. I do this through greens, grains, nuts, seeds and legumes.

Today's food:

WATERMELON: I can't get enough cooling foods right now - especially since it just about hit 90 degrees fahrenheit today. Lucian Lovesprout and I shared 1/2 an organic watermelon first thing this morning.

While Lucian was munching on soaked almonds with the skins removed (he calls them "naked almonds"), I made a green juice.

Superfood smoothie - recipe to come tomorrow.

I had all this between 7:30am and 10am. I have found personally and in my research that consuming lots of food with high water (i.e. melon and fruit) content and blended food is highly beneficial in the third trimester. Digestion can be compromised as baby is taking up most room in the belly and putting pressure on the stomach, intestines and colon making it difficult for things to pass. Pre-digesting one's food (by blending and juicing) helps things move easily, allowing the body to assimilate as much of the nutrients as possible and passing the rest through.

Lunch was a big salad and a piece of quinoa pie (high in protein, iron and B vitamins).

Snacked in the afternoon on grapes, soaked almonds and popsicles. We make our own popsicles out of smoothies we blend. Its so super easy. Ooooooo, I'll do a popsicle post later this week!

Dinner was raw sugar snap peas, baked tofu, basmati rice and lightly steamed broccoli. Simple and delicious. I'm not a huge tofu fan, but have really been surprised that I've liked it the past few months. Its been digesting really well too. I take that as a sign that my body is wanting it. Although any other soy product has been revolting and indigestible for me. Go figure.

We got our birth kit delivered today. That is the kit that the midwife puts together (surgical gloves, gauze, syringe, etc.) for the birth. oooo, also a big bag of herbs for the sitz bath. If you're unfamiliar with a sitz bath, research it if you're pregnant. Its so fantastic for soothing your poor little bottom after birth when the vaginal tissues can be sore, swollen, torn and hemorrhoids have developed. To help reduce these symptoms, massaging the perineum during labor and birth has been shown to be quite beneficial.

Sleep has been coming earlier and earlier these days, so its time to dim the lights, bless the day and sleep away.

xoxo

quick update

The chocolate love is crazy during this pregnancy! I can't get enough of it right now. I'm sorry, Marshmallow (that's what my son named the baby in my belly). I don't blame you if you grow up revolted by chocolate. And I just ache for the taste of the darkest, most luscious stuff I can get my hands on. I've been making it myself. A simple raw fudge of dates, vanilla, almond butter, coconut oil and cacao powder (that's the pure form of chocolate for the novices). Frozen fudge. Only 1 or 2 pieces and I'm satisfied to blissful ecstacy. My son has been sneaking some too - caught him in the act this afternoon swiping a fingerfull.

Frozen Fudge

1 1/2 cups dates, soaked in fresh water for 1 hour
1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp vanilla powder, or 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 1/2 cups raw almond butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
1 1/2 cups cacao powder (or you can use 3/4 cup carob powder, 3/4 cup cacao powder)

Blend soaked dates with vanilla and coconut oil until it reaches a smooth paste consistency. Transfer to a large bowl and add almond butter. Mix together until well-combined. Slowly add in the cacao powder until well mixed and integrated. Mixture will be quite thick. Pour mixture into a 9x13 in. brownie tray (like a glass Pyrex one) and set in freezer for 2-3 hours until hard. Cut into small squares, keep stored in a container and in the freezer. Keeps for up to 1 week in an airtight container (must remain cold or will start to melt into gooey lusciousness all over your hands which can be sort of sexy).

*************************************

Had a visit with Martha the midwife on Saturday and all is well. Baby is growing beautifully, great heartbeat at 142 bpm, head is down and is engaged finally! My uterus is measuring small lengthwise, but I know that its deep, so there's no concern. Baby is measuring perfect, so all is well! Next visit with her is the homevisit. She comes to me to see the house and get familiar with my space since this is where I'll be giving birth.

I'm still continuing with the morning ritual of green juice and superfood smoothies. We've been feasting on wild berries lately, so I'm feeling extra energy from nature's bounty as well as a big immunity boost. Summer pregnancy is great! I live in the Northeast and its been a really mild summer so far. Thanks Mother Nature! You're oh so kind!

Daily exercise of hiking is being incorporated whenever possible. Also prenatal kundalini yoga with Siri Chand Kaur of Many Moons Yoga has been awsome. Before pregnancy, I was a bit weirded out by Kundalini (mostly because I never studied it and didn't understand it). But I've embraced it, I take her weekly class and then practice the exercises throughout the week. Daily squats, kegels and strengthening exercises have really helped not only my body get stronger, but rid my brain of fears. I feel prepared and strong as a woman and mother. I've learned to focus on my breath to get through the hard parts (i.e. agonizing pain!) and its really working. Thanks to Yogi Bhajan!

My pelvis is beginning to widen and separate a bit. I've been waking up the past few nights with pain and pressure even though I'm sleeping with a body pillow. So I've been using Arnica Oil by Weleda when my muscles get super tight in my lower back and around my ribs. It works like a dream! The hubby just gently rubs it in and its almost instant relief. Speaking of Weleda, I also highly recommend their Pregnancy Oil. I had the start of stretch marks last week around my belly button, rubbed the oil all over and went to bed. Woke up the next morning and the marks were gone - I mean GONE! Now, I rub it on every night in the fashion of making my wishes to the magic genie. I guess its like paying homage to the buddha belly. It feels great, smells great and is deeply relaxing before bed.

Okay, must try to get some zzzzz's.

Take one more look at that fudge...you know you can't resist! Scrumptious, huh? ;)

xoxo

kale chips

My son Lucian is insanely addicted to kale chips. You ask, "How do you get a child to eat kale?". Well, tear up a lacinato (or "dinosaur") kale into pieces, sprinkle with olive oil, either celtic sea salt or himalayan rock salt and we like to add some nutritional yeast. Mix it all together with your hands and spread them out on your dehydrator racks overnight. He can't keep his hands off of them in the morning. Follow below for the official recipe. He made the last batch all by himself (yes, the food prodigy is 3 1/2!) and ate them all up in 1 day. My photog friend Caroline Sorgen Kaye took a beautiful artistic shot of his creation which will be included in my book!

LoveSprout's Kale Chips

1 bunch Lacinata or "Dinosaur" kale
1/4 cup cold pressed olive oil
1 Tbsp. celtic sea salt or himalayan rock salt
2 or 3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

Tear the kale up into pieces. Drizzle the olive oil, salt and yeast onto the kale and mix well with your hands. Get down and dirty. If you have a dehydrator, spread kale on trays and dehydrate overnight (or 8-10 hours) at 115 degrees fahrenheit. If you don't have a dehydrator, spread kale onto cookie sheets and place in oven at lowest setting (150 to 200 degrees?) with the oven door slightly ajar. Heat until kale gets crisp like chips and voila!

The chips come out very light and very crisp. I've even gotten the most finicky of eaters to down handfuls of them! One can easily chomp an entire bunch of kale in one day!


I'll update my pregnancy tomorrow. Let's just say that baby is still flipping around and I need a chiropractic adjustment from all the movement! Yikes! I did make it to the lake to swim today though and that was pure heaven.

xoxo

34 weeks and still flippin' out

34 weeks now. As the baby grows, I'm slowing down. For the past 3 weeks, baby (or "Marshmallow" as we affectionately have been calling it) has been flipping usually 180 degrees just about every day from one transverse position to the other. Its been head down since Saturday morning and I thought, "whew, its finally settled into position." But OH NO! Yesterday, I was completely off balance, my belly feeling like it was going to burst due to baby turning again and feeling like it was wound up like a ball in my belly. I woke up this morning to the realization that its head was right by my ribs on my right side. Ugh.

I've been doing inversions all day today trying to get this baby head down. My first pregnancy was exactly the same timeline. I therefore know that it will happen soon, but its soooo uncomfortable to deal with - especially when trying to keep up with my 3 1/2 year old active son.

Other than that, I feel great! No swollen feet this go round like last pregnancy, no charlie horses, no tendonitis like last time in my hands, and no super energy losses. Not even sore feet! I truly think staying active daily, taking walks/hikes, and practicing kundalini prenatal yoga (which I'll write about soon) has truly assisted me with this pregnancy.

As for food, my food intake has been phenomenal and I give a lot of credit to that. I missed my green juices for 2 mornings in a row and really noticed a difference this week (I felt lethargic and digestion/elimination was very sluggish). I finally made 1 liter of green juice this morning of cucumber, celery, kale, granny smith apple and ginger and felt phenomenal all day. Its amazing what that does! So here's my daily food log:

Daily Food Today - Thursday July 9, 2009

Upon rising: 1.5 liters water

8:30am 1 liter green juice of 1 cucumber, 5 ribs celery, 8 kale leaves, 1 green apple and 1 inch nub
of ginger

9:00am glass of super raw almond-hemp mylk made with almonds, hemp seeds, cacao
(chocolate), maca, vanilla powder, and raw honey; then 2 or 3 (can't remember!) soft
boiled eggs about 20 minutes later (I really felt like I needed major protein this
morning and the eggs satiated that)

11:30am Raw macadamia nut dip (macadamia nuts, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper) with
carrots, cucumber and celery crudite.

2:00pm Super-large salad of local organic field greens, 1 avocado, 1/2 cucumber, 1 large carrot
and dressing of raw apple cider vinegar, raw honey and olive oil. I would've added
hemp seeds to that if I thought of it at the time.

4:30pm A couple of raw chocolate truffles (cashews, cacao powder, cacao butter, vanilla powder,
goji berries, cinnamon). I keep these in my freezer and have a couple every few days.
Super yum. I also had a liter of green drink made with water and Vitamineral Green.

7:00pm Quinoa pie (2 big servings!) with fresh raw english peas- my secret recipe dinner pie of
quinoa and season vegetables and herbs. Recipe for this is being held for the
cookbook! My son even gobbles this one up (and its got a plethora of veggies in it!)

9:30pm red grapes - a bowl of 'em!

Having fruit for late snack before bed feels really good. If I have crackers or something cooked, I always wake up at night thirsty. By having a water-rich fruit, I feel satiated in both hunger and thirst.

I average 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night, getting up usually only once to urinate.

Tomorrow morning I'll make a big green juice and superfood smoothie for a day of hiking around the local farm and picking blubs (blueberries).

Next post I will write about superfoods, the nutrients they contain and what good they do for the body, especially while pregnant. If you have any specific questions, feel free to leave a comment and I'll answer them.

xoxo

Pregnancy, Diet and Holistic Living

I'm 34 weeks pregnant, in case you didn't know. This is my second pregnancy and I've been blessed both times with an easy go at it. No nausea, no crazy mood swings, no cravings (besides the best food on Earth: CHOCOLATE, but I always crave that!). But I did a few things differently this go-round. Although I had a very good diet for my first pregnancy, it was not optimal and I ended up gaining 45 pounds (I'm 5'2" and started at 105 pounds, ended up around 150!). I ended up having terrible joint pains in my knees and hips due to putting on so much weight so quickly. AND it took almost 3 years to get it off! This pregnancy, I've gained about 25 pounds thus far.

I'm going to keep a daily journal here of my last few weeks of pregnancy, my birth and 4th trimester (the 3 months after birth). I've done many searches on the internet for holistic pregnancy, raw pregnancy, home births and am surprised at the small amount of information there is. Most of the people I know are quite apprehensive of home births, vegan/raw eating while pregnant and a basic holistic way of approaching pregnancy.

Let this be inspiration for you to feel empowered and confident in your womanhood, trust your body and trust nature. Our bodies have been giving birth for millions of years - why have we lost the confidence in them?

I'm having a home birth with a magnificent midwife (which is covered 100% by insurance, by the way, so even the insurance company feels confident that its safe). I had a checkup this past weekend. Here's how it went:

On the drive there, I guzzled a huge bottle of water or green drink. By the time I got to her office, I had to pee, of course. She gave me a stick and a cup. I peed in the cup and put the stick in the urine for 2 minutes. This stick gauges my protein, glucose, leukocyte levels which all came up normal.

She then checked my blood pressure which was 98 over 50. That's normal for me.

I then lay back and she checked the baby. No electronics or fancy equipment - just hands. She pokes around, pushing her hands into my belly searching for the position of the baby. The baby is finally head down (after 2 solid weeks of turning around in circles every day). She takes her stethoscope and checks the baby's heartbeat. Its 142 bpm (a normal fetal heartbeat at this stage is anywhere between 125 and 160 bpm). We called my husband and son in from playing to listen to the heartbeat.

I then weigh myself and my weight hasn't fluctuated in over a month. The baby is growing beautifully though, so there are no worries.

This entire process took about 15 minutes.

There is nor has been any kind of ultrasound or sonogram. I just haven't felt the need or want for one. I told myself that if the feeling of wanting an ultrasound came up, I would do it.

My midwife, Martha asked if I wanted to reserve a birthing pool. I decided yes, in case I want to birth this child outside (we have a beautiful large clawfoot tub if I decide to do it inside). I also will have a mattress protector if I want to give birth on the bed or on the floor. I'm basically ready to give birth wherever I feel most comfortable. I wouldn't have that option in a hospital.

That's it! I go back in two weeks for another checkup.

As for today...

So, today I am 34 weeks. My belly is quite large (pictures are to come this weekend) due to my small frame. Don't know if its a boy or a girl. I have had only dreams of girls this pregnancy. Last pregnancy, I had dreams of only boys. I've also had dreams recently that the baby just slips out, so only time will tell.

Good energy today. I didn't get tired midday like I have been lately. That could also be because we didn't do anything this afternoon except sit around, so my body got to rest. Baby is really active right now (its about 9pm). This usually goes on until 11pm. I'm pretty hungry though, so I'm going to put some sort of snack together which is something I don't usually do this late.

I'll always write a log of my daily food as well:

Daily Food

Upon waking I always drink a copious amount of water. It ends up being about 2-3 liters.

I didn't make green juice this morning like I usually do, but had a green drink made with Vitamineral Green by Healthforce Nutritionals and water. Lucian had a glass too as he does every morning.

We then made some "vanilla milk" which is raw almond-hemp milk with ground vanilla and raw honey blended all up. Its full of protein and omegas. (recipe and photo will come at a later date)

Lucian ate some cherries while I made some toast for us. We had Ezekiel bread, which is sprouted grain bread and spread raw almond butter on it. I usually have fresh fruit for breakfast, but felt like having something heavier this morning.

Morning snack was at a playgroup, so I had some kiwi and cherries that we brought to share.

Lunch was kelp noodles (which are these raw awesome seaweed thingies that are like noodles and marinated in sauce of choice). We had kelp noodles with chopped tomatoes, avocado, sprouted garbanzo beans and a sauce of shoyu soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar and water. I topped mine off with 2 huge handfuls of raw sesame seeds (calcium slam!).

Snack was banana ice cream! Simply put: frozen peeled bananas processed through a homogenizing juicer (or you can process them in a food processor). It comes out just like soft serve ice cream. I even make a chocolate sauce to put on them made from cocoa powder, maple syrup or dates and a little olive oil. A guiltless dessert!

Dinner tonight was strange. My son suddenly felt ill, got a fever, headache and became exhausted, so I had a huge salad with no dressing and some bread. I'll have a snack now as I'm pretty hungry.

This pregnancy is quite healthful: no processed foods, no dairy, an abundance of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, minimal grain products like bread and pasta (although quinoa has been great!) and sometimes I'll have an egg or some salmon if it strikes my fancy. So, I guess I would consider myself eating predominantly raw foods throughout this pregnancy. There's not much info on raw food pregnancies, so I'm happy to be doing this and documenting how great I feel and how ACTIVE baby is!

as for supplements, I couldn't swallow the prenatals in my first trimester, so I haven't been taking them. I eat so well and make sure I get all the balanced nutrients I need, that I don't think I need them. I certainly feel great. I've taken a little bit of fish oil here and there, but other than that, I'm keeping all natural from foods - the most assimilable nutrients on Earth.

I'll include some videos as we go along as well.

I'd love to hear your feedback and comments. If there's anything you'd like me to include, please comment below.

I'll continue to update with recipes and photos as that's a passion I cannot live without.

xoxo

Stuffed Peppers & A Chat About Spices

This one is easy easy easy, really tasty and filling!

It takes a little bit of thinking ahead due to soaking the walnuts for a couple of hours. Here's a little tip: before going to bed, choose one or two nuts/seeds to soak overnight in fresh water. Last night, I chose almonds and sunflower seeds (1 cup of each) and I'll make a sunny-almond pate to reflect the beautiful sun outside today.

So, for the recipe:

Walnut-Sundried Tomato Pate
serves 2-4

2 c walnuts, soaked for at least 2 hours and up to overnight (to release enzyme inhibitors and make for a smoother pate)
3/4 c sundried tomatoes, soaked 30 minutes (or tomatoes packed in olive oil from store)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (first cold pressed is mighty tasty)
1 tsp. celtic sea salt or himalayan rock salt
1 or 2 celery ribs, chopped finely
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf (Italian) parsley

Optional: pinch cayenne

In a food processor, blend walnuts, sundried tomatoes, olive oil and salt until as smooth as possible. If you have a homogenizing juicer (like Champion), process walnuts and sundried tomatoes through with the blank screen. Put blended concoction in a bowl and hand mix the chopped celery, onion and parsley in. If making for just yourself, 1/2 this recipe.

This is full of those amazing Omegas from the walnuts!

Fill a hollowed red or yellow pepper with the pate and surround with field greens. Add a simple dressing of olive oil and salt on the greens as the pate is full of flavor!

A little note about spices

I know many people who think these recipes are too simple and feel like they need to compensate by adding more spices. I like to let the food speak for itself instead of covering the delicate flavors up with so many spices and herbs. You should be able to taste the walnuts, sundried tomatoes and delicate celery. Try the simple approach before adding all the spices. You'll be pleasantly surprised!

Anyway, if you want your children to try the foods that you're eating - I have found that the chef needs to simplify the recipes. Even get your children involved in making it and they are much more likely to eat it (or at least try it instead of automatically saying no). Allow them to taste the individual ingredients, give them some of their own ingredients and allow them to experiment with their own concoction. Yes, its a bit messy, but that's how they learn (and its a lot of fun to watch)!

NEXT POST: Digestive health and attaining optimal digestion (without all those colon cleanses!)