TF Pregnancy Club - Welcome to November! - Page 2

[suzukiaustin]

EENS - no whipping cream, although i would drink a bucket of it if i could. i'm soooooo jealous of the egg nog drinkers out there! i will probably dream of it tonight!!

as a snack, i ate duck cracklings (from NT) with a 1/2 glass of kombucha and i was in heaven. i then took the duck fat and fried some potatoes in it, with a little rosemary and salt. they were sooooooo good!! i just love fat and feel so sorry for people on low fat diets!!!!

i'm thinking that this has probably been brought up, but who is taking a prenatal vitamin? i have the liquid source of life prenatal and it taste like candy. i hate taking it, and forget to take it on purpose. we on this board eat really, really well, but it is known that our soils are depleted of nutrients, and my diet isn't a 100% everyday. do you all think the prenatals do more harm than good, do nothing or can help a little bit? i know WAP is anti-prenatals, but what do you think?

thanks!

[steph117]

Hi all,

Wow, inspiring menus!

Dang, I gotta get on the ball & do even more TF stuff. I'd say I'm 75% TF on the average day - because though I soak all grains at home, I'll still eat unsoaked grains sometimes at others' homes or when out to eat, if that's all that's available. & I make exceptions for the bread at the farmer's market sometimes - we usually get the awesome whole-grain sourdough, but sometimes get the milder sourdough which has some white flour mixed in (sourdough all the time is just SO STRONG for me - this stuff is SOUR!). And until I get my KitchenAid food grinder attachment, most of the nut butter I have is unsoaked, but I've decided not to worry too much about it, even though I know soaked is way way better. I tried Wilderness Family Naturals' soaked nut butters - awesome, but oh - my - gosh were they expensive. I thought I was buying jars twice the size I got, and even thinking they were twice the size, they were expensive. So I won't be buying more of that. I just need to make my own!

Suzukiaustin, we had a lot of vitamin talk in the beginning of our first thread, I think! I took folic acid from about 8 months preconception through my first trimester at which point I decided I didn't want it anymore. & I took a multi (New Chapter) preconception also, until a few weeks beforehand, when I decided they were yucky. Then I stopped, mostly. Now I take a multi whenever I think I've had a really off day food-wise, or if I'm not feeling well for some reason & feel like I need to load up. But mostly I avoid them - a decision that plagued me initially (goes against the grain after all) but now I feel ok about it. My gut feeling said not to, so I didn't. But whenever I get a gut feeling that I need a little extra, I take one, & concentrate on its being for our highest good.

My thought was that prenatals could do harm if I was getting large amounts of synthetic A&D, especially in addition to high-vitamin CLO. Yes, soil depletion etc...I just felt that since I'm eating mostly local organic produce & farm-raised meats & mostly TF-prepared grains etc that I was so far ahead of the curve already that hopefully everything would be ok. The fact that the midwives I interviewed were all anti-prenatals (except for folic acid) made me feel better too.

You know, people will now start discussing pre-natals & I won't be able to read it! I don't want to second-guess myself.

So to add something totally non-TF-related, but prenancy-related, here's something I just posted to my due date club - me at 23 weeks! Not trying to turn our TF thread into a big picture swap, but I love putting faces to names if anyone does feel like sharing.

[newcastlemama]

I take the NOW prenatal. It does not have synthetic A like most of the prenatals I looked at did, even the "natural" ones. I am still deficient in iron and D and just feel I need supplements at this time in my life.

Jen

[thomlynn]

Originally Posted by Taedareth

Wow, all you people are such TF gourmet chefs. I think I'm doing good if I have reheated homemade chicken soup (with stock, of course!) Kindly ignore the donut holes and Kettle Brand potato chips I ate today. Do I get bonus points for a kefir smoothie?

Glad I'm not the only slacker. I'm not going to be honest and fess up though.

[suzukiaustin]

oh, i don't want to beat a dead horse about the prenatals. i'll read through the old TF pregnancy threads. thanks for letting me know that it has been discussed before!

whenever i eat non-TF i just think about how much better i am doing this pregnancy that i did with my first. my first pregnancy diet consisted of a gallon of gatorade, chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches and waffle fries and strawberry shakes - every day. oh and little debbie's oatmeal cream pies. OH MY GOODNESS! i think an organic oatmeal cookie every now and then won't kill me!

have a nice day.

[thomlynn]

OK I seem to be more sensitive to milk sugars these days (I guess that's what it is). I used to be able to drink a large glass of milk in a pinch if I couldn't eat right at that moment. I would still be hungry but it would hold me over until I had a second kwim? Anyhow, now all of a sudden I drink my big glass of milk and I feel more hungry. So I snag a piece of cheese and another glass of milk and I feel more more hungry. I feel like I'm eating candy on an empty stomach (you sugar addicts will know what I mean )

I need to stock up on snacks that hold me over. Today I was grabbing handfuls of berries to go along with my milk and again I feel like I'm not eating anything at all. : More protein I guess but nothing with protein sounds good except milk. See the vicious cycle. Dh got me some peanut butter at the store today so maybe that'll help.

[steph117]

Ooh, Thomlynn, that's rough! I'm experiencing that when I eat anything that's not high in protein or fat...my stomach seems to incinerate any other foods as if they're paper! "What? That's not food! GIVE ME MORE!"

[celestialdreamer]

I am really frustrated right now. I seriously dream about dairy products all day, but I am very allergic to dairy. I can't even handle a tiny bit in something : I am also craving rare steaks like but obviously I can't afford a whole lot of those. We have a limited supply of grassfed organic beef in our freezer that needs to last until spring. I can only eat so many eggs before I get sick of them and other meats really don't sound good. Fish sounds disgusting. I'm taking my CLO and trying to get enough food in, but I am really lacking in the protein department right now. I'm seriously considering buying a family pack of grocery store steaks right now because that is all I want to eat, but yet I would feel so guilty if I did.

I also don't do well with grains and I have celiac, so those are ruled out. So really the only things that agree with me right now on a daily basis are veggies, fruit and almonds and a couple of eggs. Obviously that is not enough for a pregnant and nursing mama! I really am hungry! When you add in trying to be frugal, it makes me : I do have a freezer with some grassfed roasts (beef and pork), ground beef and a few chickens but like I said they need to be rationed due to cost. They don't sound good right now anyway. I need some ideas please, I have no idea what I should be eating!

I'm a hungry grumpy mama tonight, sorry for the venting!

[thomlynn]

Originally Posted by celestialdreamer

Obviously that is not enough for a pregnant and nursing mama! I really am hungry! When you add in trying to be frugal, it makes me : I do have a freezer with some grassfed roasts (beef and pork), ground beef and a few chickens but like I said they need to be rationed due to cost. They don't sound good right now anyway. I need some ideas please, I have no idea what I should be eating!

I know how to you feel. I open the fridge and the pantry over and over again throughout the day looking for something to eat. The scene never changes.

Can you get just organic meat?? It isn't as good as grassfed but if might be cheaper and for sure not as bad as the regular stuff. What about different kinds of nuts just to shake things up a bit?? Or nut butters spread on something?? Not sure what since you can't do grains.

Anyhow my dd is two months younger than your ds and still nursing tons so I get you. It's hard being hungry. Glad I don't live somewhere where I don't have the choice. :

[celestialdreamer]

Originally Posted by thomlynn

I know how to you feel. I open the fridge and the pantry over and over again throughout the day looking for something to eat. The scene never changes.

Can you get just organic meat?? It isn't as good as grassfed but if might be cheaper and for sure not as bad as the regular stuff. What about different kinds of nuts just to shake things up a bit?? Or nut butters spread on something?? Not sure what since you can't do grains.

Anyhow my dd is two months younger than your ds and still nursing tons so I get you. It's hard being hungry. Glad I don't live somewhere where I don't have the choice. :

I was in a majorly pissy mood last night because I wanted a steak RIGHT NOW DH came home and cooked one for me. He laughed at me for wanting it so rare it was practically raw. Seriously next time I just might eat it that way so I don't have to wait for him to cook it : I ate *only* my steak for dinner as nothing else sounded remotely good. I almost threw up from looking at the leftover paella rice that the kids were eating.

I talked to DH last night and told him I need to make a run to the local organic butcher. Their meat is mostly grainfed, with a little bit of grazing, but it is organic and local. The other meat we have that is in the freezer is from this amazing place about 2 hours away and the beef is exclusively grassfed, non-vaccinated animals, and a bunch of other good things. The ranch owners are amazing people and really inspiring. We bought a large amount from them recently, but it was expensive of course (a little more than the local butcher) and its pretty much the end of their season now. We have to wait until spring again for more. We have plenty its just mostly in the form of ground beef which doesn't sound good right now.

I can't do much in the way of nuts because dd is very allergic. I can eat almonds in the kitchen and then wash my hands really well, but that is about it. I eat lots of seeds (pumpkin, hemp, sesame) and dd is fine with those. I think it boils down to buying a little steak for myself right now to eat on a daily basis until this craving is gone and sneaking more eggs in my diet. I'm trying raw whole eggs (there is a thread about it right now) in my smoothie today. I have access to organic pastured eggs on a weekly basis through our CSA, but I can only really stand to eat a couple of them. I think I will get a couple flank steaks or something that can be portioned out so I can eat a little each day right now.

I'm just so sick of either the few random things I want to be either too expensive, non-TF or something I am allergic to. I'm sure I'll figure something out!

[steph117]

Good luck CelestialDreamer...I hope you will find a good solution for yourself!

Getting local organic beef sounds like a good idea. Even if it's not from your grassfed farm, it's still about a billion times better than factory beef! And will make you happy. Maybe do some of those raw beef appetizer thingies from NT!

[elleystar]

Oh. My. Goodness.
You have just reminded me of the steak tartare I made back in June. I'm going to crave it all day now!
I need to research what other cuts of meat I can use for it, because the tenderloin is crazy expensive.
Good quality raw beef...chopped up fine with my sushi knife...blended with spices and herbs, and with a pastured raw egg yolk on top...I think I'm going to cry, it's so beautiful!

[steph117]

omigosh, Elleystar! Is that from NT? or is that yours? what herbs & spices? I must try this!

[pampered_mom]

Being that I'm 32 wks now, I'm feeling a little bit guilty about not eating better even though I had all of these wonderful intentions that went out the window when I was so sick in the first trimester and have never been able to get back on track. I'm still struggling with some food aversions (eggs and milk are the biggest ones now - though not in the form of a smoothie) and not feeling all that "hungry" per se.

So....I was looking at the WAPF diet for pregnant/nursing women again because it really is the Brewer Diet in disguise. Here's what I was thinking - any thoughts/suggestions?

Cod Liver Oil to supply 20,000 IU vitamin A and 2000 IU vitamin D per day
They actually talked about this on Oprah yesterday. I really did have to laugh b/c she definitely didn't appreciate it. I have access to Garden of Life locally and can get it at a discount today so I was going to get some of that. I just need to figure out the dosage in order to meet above, right? I'm a little nervous about this one b/c last time I tried taking it was when I wasn't pregnant and I had a hard time with it. Any ideas to make it more palatable?

1 quart (or 32 ounces) whole milk daily, preferably raw and from pasture-fed cows

Do you think this could be a combination of things like yogurt, kefir, etc in addition to the milk? I don't think I can swing this quantity, though since it's a bit pricey and we have to travel a fair distance to get it (freezing is not an option...I can't get anyone to drink it once it's been defrosted).

2 or more eggs daily, preferably from pastured chickens
Additional egg yolks daily, added to smoothies, salad dressings, scrambled eggs, etc.

Do you think just the yolk would count for the first guideline? I can do an egg yolk in smoothies, but can't really stomach the idea of a whole egg that way. Eggs cooked any other way just don't seem to appeal to me and it becomes "how quickly can I eat this and get this over with".

3-4 ounces fresh liver, once or twice per week
Fresh seafood, 2-4 times per week, particularly wild salmon, shellfish and fish eggs
Fresh beef or lamb daily, always consumed with the fat

So frozen doesn't count?

Oily fish or lard daily, for vitamin D

How necessary does this one seem the CLO?

[Taedareth]

Raw milk in any form should be fine - homemade kefir, yogurt, or whatever. The key is raw, I think.

If you can't handle the idea of cooked eggs, just eat your couple of raw egg yolks. That's more nutritious than cooked yolks anyway.

Most of us don't live right next to the ocean where fresh-caught seafood is available. I think WAPF was just trying to say that fresh would be ideal. Frozen should be fine, IMO.

Hmm it does seem like CLO would take care of your daily vit D intake as long as you're taking the pregnant/nursing mother dosage. But I don't know - maybe someone else will reply.

[pampered_mom]

Ugh...I just realized that in order to get the WAPF recomendations of vit D in Garden of Life I'd have to take almost 10 teaspoons to get enough and then I'd be way over on vit. A. now the high vitamin ones don't look quite so expensive!

So...Dr. Ron's has 5750 IU vitamin A and 575 IU vit D in 1/2 teaspoon meaning you'd have to take 1.75 teaspoons? That sounds SOOO much easier! Which one tastes better?

[Taedareth]

Are you talking about the Blue Ice brand? We like the cinnamon flavor. And you can get it MUCH cheaper than on Dr. Ron's website. This is where I buy it

[pampered_mom]

Ooo!! Thank you! (Yes...I was referring to Blue Ice)

[wagamama]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who's only halfway-there with TF. I tend to pair TF and non-TF foods, thinking that some TF is better than none. For example, chocolate washed down with raw milk; salmon roe and nori on white rice; liver pate and raw eggs on supermarket bread. I'm not proud and strive to eat better, but do console myself that I am doing much better than my first pregnancy.

Did anyone else think that the WAPF guidelines for pregnant women were a little over-the-top? A quart of milk, plus two eggs, plus extra yolks, plus fatty beef or lamb daily. I tried this for a while, but it felt overly-rich.

I'm 34 weeks today, and feeling great. During my third trimester, I've been walking about 2 hours a day, to take DS to his morning playschool and pick him up. This is very different from my last, lazy pregnancy, and I am looking forward to the actual birth, because I'm curious to see if it will be easier.

Steph, thanks for sharing your photo -- it is fun to see faces! I don't have anything online right now tho'.

[suzukiaustin]

celestialdreamer - i'm sorry you had such a rough day yesterday! please put yourself first; you are pregnant and nursing, so eat whatever you want when you want it with no guilt, ok? and, unless you are a millionaire, don't beat yourself up for buying organic beef. it's a lot better than the other stuff out there! what happens when you eat soaked rice or millet? do you have the same reaction that you do to wheat or oats? what about butter or fermented dairy? the only thing i can think of that would help diversify your diet are avocados. do you eat those?

we all have to remember that we are doing so well with the diets we have right now. i try to follow the 90/10 rule with TF, and with everything else in life. you have to leave room for growth, not necessarily mistakes. today, as i was staring at the double cream in the dairy isle, i was considering changing my eating rule to 80/20...oh, that cream looked so delicious! just remember that by even being semi-aware of what we are putting in our bodies we are leaps and bounds ahead of where we would be on the SADiet. and we have to remember to listen to our bodies as much as possible, too. i think that awareness is a huge part of TF as well, not just raw milk or soaked grains. we all should be really proud of ourselves!!

pampered_mom - i would puke my guts out if i ate as much fat and animal products as what is recommended on WAPF. i try to eat eggs, yogurt and some sort of meat every day (fish, chicken, beef), butter and coconut oil, and i take fish oil, but that's the extent of my following of the guidelines. i think i would be so sick if i ate that much fat and meat...and i love fat! listen to what your body wants and go with that.

k, off to bed for me. have a great day everyone.