~primal/paleo pregnancy~ - Page 2

[kindchen]

I'm planning a primal pregnancy. My problem is that I tend to be completely primal for a few weeks, and then just give up and eat total junk for awhile. I'm worried that pregnancy cravings could make that tendency worse. I've heard of women eating primal diets who gained very little weight during pregnancy. Obviously this will vary from person to person, but I am really not wanting to gain any fat this time, and that is what grains and sugar do to me. 

I am still up about twenty pounds from my pre-first-baby weight. That was my "eating for two/tons of ice cream" pregnancy. With my second, I gained very little and lost it right away, but was not eating primal. This will be my third. I'm also hoping that a primal pregnancy will mean I have more energy all the way through, and that gaining less weight will make me somewhat less uncomfortable at the end, especially since I usually go to 41-42 weeks.

[simplified]

I was just googling some information on this type of eating during pregnancy because previously I had followed the Brewer pregnancy diet and whole grains are recommended there so I was wondering if this would really work during pregnancy.  There are a few stories out there, so that is encouraging.  Historically I've gained an unfortunate amount of weight with my pregnancies (eating for 2/ice cream like pp), so I look forward to NOT doing that this time.

We actually started SCD last year for health of a couple of my children and I found that I felt so much better with it.  Then I began hearing of the primal/paleo diets and how similar they all are; to fight disease, heal bodies and/or just be overall more healthy I think it is all a good thing.  The only "problem" I have is my tempting husband.  He has no interest in giving up grains or sugar and that is sometimes hard for me.

Seriously, I feel so encouraged to keep up with this. :)

[moss]

re cravings~ i havent had very many cravings yet. I think that its mostly because my nutritional needs are being met by what im eating (including supplements). When i quit caffeine in july (prepregnancy), i was craving chocolate all the time but when i upped my magnesium intake those cravings went away.

My strategies for cravings are to: 1~eat something healthy, have a protein/fat snack and see if the craving goes away 2~try to figure out if there is an underlying need behind the craving. Ie if i'm craving sweet do i need protein? Chocolate~magnesium, ice cream~calcium, etc. i used to have a chart that told which nutrient was behind which craving. I bet a quick google would find something similar 3~drink water. Often people get cravings when dehydrated. 4~i personally cant give in to junkfood cravings because i have crap willpower. If i give in and eat junk i know it will start a whole cascade of unhealthy eating that will be really hard for me to get out of. There are some decent paleo recipe blogs out there with treats made from coconut etc. Im really staying away from that kind of thing right now but if i was dyyyying for a treat thats where i would go

anyone else have ways to deal with cravings?

im lucky that my husband is really supportive of my eating right now. He eats a lot more starchy foods (rice, potatoes etc) than i can but im okay with that. He eats junk sometimes too but its not allowed in the house and he doesnt have to tell me about it hahah. Mostly he likes eating healthier, he feels better too

[simplified]

Oh thanks, those are some great ideas for craving management.  I completely understand about not being able to give it, seriously it seems as if my willpower is nonexistent.  If I eat one, I eat ten.  I have been making coconut and almond baked goods with honey and it is not going well.  Sweets are sweets and I think I just need to back away, like you are doing.  And I think I seen that chart a couple years ago when I was pregnant last, I'll try to find it again.  Thanks.

[simplified]

Craving chart link.  I'm going to print this out and hang it on the fridge. 

[wendybird]

That is a very helpful chart, I just printed it as well. Thanks!

[simplified]

Originally Posted by wendybird 

That is a very helpful chart, I just printed it as well. Thanks!

Oh!  Are we both on number 8?  How exciting to be due near someone else with a large family. :)

[wendybird]

That is cool! Not many of us out there . ;)  And...my home is for sale because we want badly to move back to MI.

[moss]

i think thats exactly the same chart i used to have on my fridge eons ago

hows everyone doing today? And whats everyone having for dinner tonight? I'm always interested to see other peoples menu plans. Sometimes i get into food ruts and its nice to have a change.

Wild pink salmon are in season and on sale. Im thinking about picking up some more and running another batch thru the smoker tomorrow. think thats exactly the same chart i used to have on my fridge eons ago

hows everyone doing today? And whats everyone having for dinner tonight? I'm always interested to see other peoples menu plans. Sometimes i get into food ruts and its nice to have a change.

Wild pink salmon are in season and on sale. Im thinking about picking up some more and running another batch thru the smoker tomorrow.

[simplified]

I am not feeling well at all today.  I have been on the couch sleeping and semi-nauseous all day.  So thankful for my big kids to make breakfast and play with little kids while I napped on the couch and then DH took them to the park this afternoon so I could sleep some more.  So for dinner...I put a frozen chicken in the crockpot last night with water and we ate that tonight with carrots and asparagus (that my oldest roasted in the oven).  For not feeling hungry today, that chicken was so good and the broth hit the spot.  Then for "dessert"  my oldest (he's 11) roasted some butternut squash so we ate that with butter and cinnamon before bed.  I will never thaw another chicken again in my life.  It was super easy and so good just throwing it on there with some seasonings.

[moss]

simplified~sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Ive been doing really great by keeping my carbs down (when i eat carbs i get morning sickness) and eating every 2hours (no fatigue unless i go longer without eating)

i saw this~ www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139033757/babys-palate-and-food-memories-shaped-before-birth
it talks about how baby's tastes are shaped in the womb. The amniotic fluid carries the taste of foods we're eating to the baby. Amazing. Guess that means that now is the time to eat strong tasting veggies like kale and lots of spicy foods implified~sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Ive been doing really great by keeping my carbs down (when i eat carbs i get morning sickness) and eating every 2hours (no fatigue unless i go longer without eating)

i saw this~ www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139033757/babys-palate-and-food-memories-shaped-before-birth
it talks about how baby's tastes are shaped in the womb. The amniotic fluid carries the taste of foods we're eating to the baby. Amazing. Guess that means that now is the time to eat strong tasting veggies like kale and lots of spicy foods

[justKate]

Hope it's okay to post here--I'm not paleo/primal by any means, but it really appeals to me, and I'm trying to focus really hard on proteins/veggies to feel better this pg.  I'm really enjoying reading all of the ideas here, and I was wondering if anyone saw the article yesterday about diet altering genes--specifically, looking at the genes of "hunger winter" survivors and how it impacted their children and grandchildren's health.  Just curious.

Anyway my struggle right now is finding a balance between eating healthy foods (for me, this means avoiding a lot of carbs) when my body knows that carbs will temporarily calm my stomach.  I've mostly been living on eggs and nuts, with some wheat crackers to pacify my reflux.  Raw veggies, cheese, anything spicy, and oils seem to aggravate my reflux....  Any suggestions for snacks?

[moss]

do you have a link for the winter hunger article?

Snacks~i've started adding in nuts and seeds because ive found that i have no fatigue if i eat every two hours. So, one ounce of nuts or seeds. I keep little bags of them in my purse so i always have something to eat with me. Also small portions of meat/boiled egg plus a veggie work well for snacks for me. When i cook meat i always do big batches so that there are leftovers to freeze for lunches and snacks. I'm concentrating on healthy fats and protein~have no nausea or reflux so i can eat what i like right now and i feel that i am eating very very well.

[beaner&tiegs]

for snacks, I can help brainstorm a list, but that doesn't mean by any means that I'm using all these.  many days, none of them appeal to me at all!!!  But I do find that having protein with my snacks TOTALLY helps:-)

Plain avocado with a spoon, or with a bit of salad dressing or salsa

Avocado on rice cracker with seaweed flakes

Sheets of nori

Peppers cut with goat cheese spread inside

Ants on a log (nut butter on celery with raisins)

Various raw snacks - dehydrated kale or brocoli or cauliflower with nutritional yeast on them

Popcorn with nutritional yeast

Banana boats (with peanut butter and a few choc. chips:-) )

Granola and yoghurt

Cheese and apples

Roasted chickpeas

Brown rice balls (with sesame seeds and cheese to hold them together)

Marinated tofu, fried (I like it with olive oil and tamari with sesame seeds)

Nachos with black beans and red peppers, dipped in quacamole!

Hummus with veggies

Raw red pepper/cashew dip with veggies

Protein balls (there's a million ways of making them, often with nut butters and coconut oil and all sorts of seeds/hemp hearts/spirulina/etc mixed in, then rolled into balls - I'm sure you can google it and come up with many variations!)

And that's about it for now.  Now I should head off and make a few of these, instead of snacking on the zucchini choc. chip muffins my daughter made:-)

[moss]

some more lowcarb/paleo snack ideas:
www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-snacks/
www.marksdailyapple.com/low-carb-substitute/


does anyone make jerky and have a good recipe that they love? Jerky is the ultimate portable snack.

[moss]

hi beaner & tiegs~thats an impressive list of snacks and not to be the paleo police or anything but there are only about 3 things that id actually be able to eat on your list and then i'd still need to add a protein. Paleo=no processed foods, no grains(rice corn), no legumes (chickpeas,soy), no dairy and only lower carbed fruits like berries. There are some paleo people who do an 80/20 version of the diet but ive found that i have to be very strict about what i eat or i run into all kinds of health problems. Your snacks are probably lightyears ahead of the SAD though and my nearly paleo son eats some of those things too.

www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/

[justKate]

Here's the article.  Not really about paleo/primal eating, but I thought the idea that the way we eat can influence our children's genes was interesting.  The first bit is about Audrey Hepburn, sort of the "hook" not really the meat of the article.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2031505/Audrey-Hepburn-Is-key-stopping-obesity-epidemic.html

ETA: thanks for the snack ideas!

[beaner&tiegs]

Originally Posted by moss 

hi beaner & tiegs~thats an impressive list of snacks and not to be the paleo police or anything but there are only about 3 things that id actually be able to eat on your list and then i'd still need to add a protein. Paleo=no processed foods, no grains(rice corn), no legumes (chickpeas,soy), no dairy and only lower carbed fruits like berries. There are some paleo people who do an 80/20 version of the diet but ive found that i have to be very strict about what i eat or i run into all kinds of health problems. Your snacks are probably lightyears ahead of the SAD though and my nearly paleo son eats some of those things too.

www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/
 

Fair enough - I'll have to spend some time reading the links you sent, I really know very little about the diet.  I was just cooking up a bit of edamame for a snack for the kids - is that an okay thing to eat for you?  Just curious as I find that a great snack too:-)

Cheers
 

[moss]

thanks for the link justKate.
This part was interesting "according to findings in the journal Clinical Epigenetics,
chemical components in some foods can actually
switch on genes that suppress tumours while silencing those that promote their growth.
These foods include grapes, tomatoes, tofu, parsley,
garlic, turmeric — and those two almost-ubiquitous
health foods, broccoli and green tea."

as an aside ive read that megadoses of turmeric can cause miscarriage (i used to take it as an antioxidant supplement) but its fine in cooking

I've just started scartching the surface of looking at epigenetics/fetal programming as it relates to a lc paleo diet in pregnancy.

One theory is that as the fetal pancreas is forming if it's not bombarded with high amounts of glucose and fructose that it wont trigger diabetes etc later in life.

Ps edamame is soy~ a legume. Its yummy but its not currently not part of my diet

[simplified]

Moss, thanks for the idea of nuts in a bag in my purse!  Fantastic.  With my last pregnancies I would keep a toasted PB&J sandwich in my purse at. all. times.  Well, I don't eat bread, peanut butter or jelly anymore.   And I just tried sardines yesterday.  I was so apprehensive, but now I don't know why.  They were great, tasted like fish.  Nothing odd or crazy like I was thinking.  Those will definitely be a staple on my snack regimen.

Oh yes and guacamole!  I've been making "tacos" with a leaf of romaine, guac, cheddar and tomato.  So Good!  And (just going down Mark's Primal snack list)  dried cherries and pecans are my new lover.

Has anyone made or tried Pemmican?  I have been so intrigued by it for a few years but have not tried it.  I have a large amount of tallow in my freezer from when we bought half a cow last spring, just need to use it.