TF Pregnancy Club - Welcome to November! - Page 5

[RootBeerFloat]

I'd love the liver rice recipie, if anyone wants to share.

[suzukiaustin]

ok, how do i make the liver more palatable??? i was so excited to get some this weekend and sauteed a tiny bit for myself and my son (just to try it - never had it before). we joyfully popped a piece in our mouths and immediately gagged!! is the pate' really that good at concealing the flavor? what about the liver and rice? i also put some in my chicken broth and now the whole batch tastes like liver!!!

please help me to love this stuff!!

hope everyone is feeling well!

[thomlynn]

My mom just called and she bought an ok turkey. It's not the best of the best but it's not your run of the mill butterball. No horomones and free range. I am thrilled, I wanted something better so bad but I didn't want to ask her b/c I know they can be really pricey. Now if only I could get dh's family to spend the extra money.

[CholoMama]

Originally Posted by suzukiaustin

ok, how do i make the liver more palatable??? i was so excited to get some this weekend and sauteed a tiny bit for myself and my son (just to try it - never had it before). we joyfully popped a piece in our mouths and immediately gagged!! is the pate' really that good at concealing the flavor? what about the liver and rice? i also put some in my chicken broth and now the whole batch tastes like liver!!!

please help me to love this stuff!!

hope everyone is feeling well!

Just to share that I too tried liver for the first time recently since I was gung ho to get into it and had never had it before. It smelled great while cooking but in the end I couldn't even get it past my lips. That was the NT liver pate. I'm resorting to supplements now cos I just can't do it. Actually even my DH refused to eat it and he usually loves liver. So either the recipe is not great, or, more likely, I'm rubbish in the kitchen!

[Leilalu]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Hello ladies,

Anyone know the reason my eyesight would be going down the tubes? I had this happen with my first pregnancy (non TF diet), and my OB said I was probably just getting older. When DD was born, it immediately got much worse, and then gradually got better over her first few months of life.

So here I am again, with my eyesight getting funky. I take plenty of Vit A - I take high-vit CLO, high-vit butter oil, raw liver daily, eggs, and ghee.

I'd love some ideas on this one! Thanks!

I've heard it is just something pregnant women go through. it supposedly lets up after nursing is over. I can testify to this. However, nutritionally speaking, I have no idea or help.

[steph117]

Hi all!

Not sure if you've seen another thread I started called "Are you a TF evangelist?" This isn't quite the same question. We may have even discussed this way back in the beginning, but with pregnancy brain I don't remember. I'm wondering how open you are with others about how exactly you're eating during this pregnancy. How many people know you're drinking raw milk, eating raw cheese, raw eggs, rare meat, etc? And do you get flack for it?

Part of why I loved my midwife IMMEDIATELY when I met her was that she told me she knows quite a few raw-milk families. And I thought, "Oh, thank GOODNESS, she won't be hassling me. Sold!"

Some members of my family know, & some friends. But I don't tell 95% of people because I don't want to hear the "GASP - what??? Well, my OB told me that she had a patient who lost her baby to salmonella/listeria/(insert choice of pathogen here)" stories, or get the tsk,tsk. Sort of why I don't tell everyone about our choice to home birth...

Anyway, just curious!

suzukiaustin & cholomama - I think I have somewhat given up on trying liver. Maybe by the end of the 3rd tri I'll manage to choke it down once or twice, but I'm assuming not!

thomlynn - yay about the turkey! I'm going to my cousins' house for T-day & I KNOW they're buying a crappy hormone-laden turkey, she even joked about it. I'm not sure what I'll do...

& pampered_mom - I drink that eggnog stuff almost every morning! This is a perfect example of what we don't necessarily tell people - a pregnant friend of ours was telling my husband how, at a French restaurant, she sent back her food to be cooked more bc she was worried about the egg & cheese. I said to my husband, "I'm guessing you didn't mention to her the idea of drinking a glass of raw milk with raw egg yolks in it?"

[elleystar]

My midwife knows, and is o.k. with it. Turns out she drinks raw goat milk herself! I was so worried before we discussed it, and I shouldn't have been! She didn't bat an eye at raw eggs either. Other than that, I don't talk about it much. I can just imagine what most people would say. My coworkers have heard me talk about raw milk before so they're not surprised. I did get some *tsktsking* when I decided not to take prenatals and that's about it.

[Leilalu]

I have gotten some flack from certain family members about consuming sushi, kombucha, etc.

Is it true that a pathogen that can be in raw sushi is similar to the cat litter box thing and can stay in your body?Which is why it is so dangerous? I have faith that my body can handle pathogens, TYVM. I don't know how anything survives through a cup of strong kefir.

My dentist was happy earlier this year and last to find out how we ate. He was very much in favor of it. He actually had started telling me about the foods he promoted, then I told him I already knew They knew I was expecting during my last visit. I think he was happiest of all to get to remove my mercury fillings last year.

I do get a bit of flak about prenatals, which I don't take. I take loads of other stuff when I remember.

[newcastlemama]

I don't really tell my midwife what I eat, though she knows I am into whole foods. She seems to strive for no animal products. The other day when I went to my appointment they were making tofurky hot dogs. I did not think I should start sharing about my CLO, liver pate, and pot roast!

About the evalgelist thing though. I had PPD with number one and my mdwife knows all that I went through and that I am off all meds and doing great. She asked if there was one book a midwife should read. I told her for general information everyone should know about nutrition is WAPs book. I really hope she will read it! I suggested Gale Force's book if she wanted to know more about PPD specifically.

I honestly think most people are confused about how we eat because they know I do a lot of research about health and that I had a major health turnaround eating this way. I don't think people expect to see someone who is concerned with their health eating butter, meat, and feeding their family whole unpasturized milk.

Liver--You all might still want to try grinding some into hamburgers or meatloaf. If not, I would just take the liver tablets and stop torturing yourself. Liver pate has been an aquired taste for me but now I really like it. I love kombucha now too and it took me a year!

Jen

[pampered_mom]

I don't really discuss my dietary choices with my midwife. She did ask on the first set of forms about your style of eating (probably looking to see if you're veg or whatever) and I wrote in "traditional foods". We briefly discussed that and went on. Of course, we went over her folder of info which included the march of dimes information on food borne pathogens, but I let her know that I would be drinking raw milk, etc, and while I appreciated her concern I did not believe that to be an issue for me. Talked a little bit about how it was important to know your source and then we just went on from there.

About my only concern is the fact that I've been eating more fat/protein, especially when it comes to breakfast, which seems to result in ketones when she does the urine dip. I feel best when I eat that way, but it does make me wonder...

[elleystar]

Originally Posted by pampered_mom

About my only concern is the fact that I've been eating more fat/protein, especially when it comes to breakfast, which seems to result in ketones when she does the urine dip. I feel best when I eat that way, but it does make me wonder...

Whoa, hold the phone!
At my MW appointment 2 weeks ago, she lectured me several times that needed to be drinking more water. My labs had come back and the specific gravity of my urine (concentration basically) was the highest acceptable number...and I mean to the hundredth. Well, then, she did the urine dip and ketones showed up. She said it was because I was dehydrated. She says I need to be drinking a gallon of water a day!!! That's 128 ounces. I am managing about 100 ounces most days but can't seem to do more than that.
Plus she said I needed to quit drinking so much raw milk (usually I do a quart a day). She said milk is for babies, not grownups, and I only need a few glasses a week. I told her straight off that THAT wasn't going to happen. So she conceded that she'd only ask me to cut back milk if I was having trouble drinking enough water.
I do think I needed more water, but now I am questioning if that was the reason for the ketones.

[Leilalu]

See, I seriously question the norms for typical checkup results. tsk tsk. If you feel perfectly healthy, what is the problem?

I mean, is there actual proof that all those things are really bad?It reminds me of the whole cholesterol and clogged arteries debate.

[newcastlemama]

Originally Posted by Leilalu

See, I seriously question the norms for typical checkup results. tsk tsk. If you feel perfectly healthy, what is the problem?

I mean, is there actual proof that all those things are really bad?It reminds me of the whole cholesterol and clogged arteries debate.

I agree. I am blessed to have a midwife that puts more weight into if you feel great than the numbers/tests. She also thinks just because you can test something it doesn not mean you should or need to.

With my urine tests, mine always come out more alkaline (than it is supposed to be--or whatever). My midwife thinks that is good though.

About the ketones--I read on the active low carber forum about some mom's who did very low carb due to diabetes or food issues and their research/experience led them to beleive it was not unsafe to be in ketosis during pregnancy.

Jen

[wagamama]

Originally Posted by suzukiaustin

wagamama - interesting situation about going from nigeria to japan. are you originally from the usa? i'm in australia for a year and a half due to my husband's current job assignment and i'm finding that people do not eat really healthy, at least in the part of the country i'm in. i have found a couple all organic grocery stores which i really like. (i'm going to miss them when i go back to the usa since whole foods is monopolizing all things organic...smelling a little like wal-mart, you guys.) i have also found the local farmer's market and it's just ok. i can't get wild alaskan salmon here and i'm dying for some!!!! it's interesting to see how different food is around the world, isn't it? i'm so envious of your commonplace foods in japan!!!

I grew up in Canada, but dh is Japanese and works in international aid, hence the weird locations! It's interesting to live somewhere new and observe how people eat, try new foods ... also frustrating when you can't get "staples" like your favorite alaskan salmon or whatever! Japan has some good traditional foods, but you really have to be careful about what you're buying. For instance, sadly, a lot of the salmon and salmon roe in my local supermarket come from "farmed" sources. I always check the label -- but then get paranoid about whether I can even trust the label.

I heard that most Australian beef is grass-fed -- is it true?

[suzukiaustin]

Originally Posted by wagamama

I heard that most Australian beef is grass-fed -- is it true?

No, this is not true. And nobody really cares where their meat/fish/etc. come from. I get the strangest looks at the market when I ask, "Is this fish farm raised?" I buy most of my meat at a local butcher who has a nice photo of the farm where the meat comes from. When I went into their shop for the first time, I asked "What do your cows eat?" The butcher repled, "What cows were meant to eat" and pointed to the photo on the wall. No one else had the same response, so I thought he was the safest bet for our time here in Australia. We also get 'biodynamically raised' meat at the organic market...I'm still confused about it all, but I know it's the least tainted of what's out there.

I've got a question for you...how often do preggo women in Japan eat fish? Do the majority of them ignore the mercury/farm raised fish/pcb warnings and eat to their heart's content? Curious.

Off to bed.

[HollyWhittemore]

Frozen liver pills

Hi All...

I am 32.5 weeks along with dd#4 and wanted to say that downing my liver in frozen pill form has really been working for me. We bought 1/4 cow from a grass-fed beef ranch out here in Texas and I immediately cut the liver up into 1/2 ounce pieces and froze them (for over 2 weeks of course). I try to swallow 1/2 ounce 4-6 times a week cut into little pills. It really seems to boost my energy. Just thought I'd share!

Holly

[elleystar]

Originally Posted by HollyWhittemore

Hi All...

I am 32.5 weeks along with dd#4 and wanted to say that downing my liver in frozen pill form has really been working for me. We bought 1/4 cow from a grass-fed beef ranch out here in Texas and I immediately cut the liver up into 1/2 ounce pieces and froze them (for over 2 weeks of course). I try to swallow 1/2 ounce 4-6 times a week cut into little pills. It really seems to boost my energy. Just thought I'd share!

Holly

Thank you! I still can't seem to stomach even thinking about cooking it, and I've been procrastinating on cutting it into pills. Well I've got a day off today and I resolve to do it!

[pampered_mom]

Originally Posted by elleystar

I do think I needed more water, but now I am questioning if that was the reason for the ketones.

I actually asked about ketones over on the birth professional subforum and that was one of the options given.

Originally Posted by Leilalu

See, I seriously question the norms for typical checkup results. tsk tsk. If you feel perfectly healthy, what is the problem?

I mean, is there actual proof that all those things are really bad?It reminds me of the whole cholesterol and clogged arteries debate.

I've often wondered this myself. I personally do not agree that routine urine testing is helpful, especially with a high rate of false positives/negatives. It's one of those compromises I've made. Luckily for me my mw has not made a big deal of things. It usually just sends me off to research some more on my own!

Originally Posted by newcastlemama

About the ketones--I read on the active low carber forum about some mom's who did very low carb due to diabetes or food issues and their research/experience led them to beleive it was not unsafe to be in ketosis during pregnancy.

I've actually wondered about this myself, especially since most of the hullabaloo about ketones comes from the diabetic condition ketoacidosis. Two very different things from my understanding. I've had a hard time coming up with research that shows that ketones cause harm in non-diabetic pregnant women. Again...the whole assumption that just because things are bad for a small percentage of people it means that it's bad for the population at large.

I've decided against worrying about it at this point, but it is very frustrating that clear answers are hard to come by.

[Thystle]

Must not read this thread.

Must not read this thread.

Must not read this thread.

Must not read this thread.

Must not read this thread.

Must not read this thread.

Must not read this thread.

Must not read this thread.

[Thystle]

Psst... I am on several of those lc boards... and I have two lc pg's/babies and was in ketosis at least half the time.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...