Cooking plans for the week

I am now pretty much over all the emotional turmoil associated with the lost pregnancy.  It really sucks that I am technically still carrying a fetus, so I still have to think about it all, and wait for a miscarriage, but I have, for the most part moved on. And the most important part to emotional recovery is: FOOD.  I can't tell you how many times I've lived through the vicious cycle: too depressed to cook, too malnourished to cheer up.  :-)

Thankfully, I found my stride pretty quickly this time. And here are some exciting plans for the week - I'll blog about the flips & flops as they happen:

• Paleo bread - YES! I am going to try this faxseed bread recipe, as soon as my flaxseed meal arrives from amazon.
• Honey-mustard rosemary pork roast. That one is marinading right now, waiting for dinner tonight!

Some tried-and-true favorites:

• Paleo muffins - I make those a lot as not only do they provide variety in breakfast, but they are also a wonderful topper for the kids' lunchboxes.
• Bacon, bacon and more bacon.  (Did you read about how I bake it, so it's quick and easy to make a bunch?) My favorite things to do with it: plain-old breakfast and garnish for soup, particularly the kids' favorite: tomato soup.  

I am seriously hoping, the pork roast turns out.  I tend to get a lot of meals out of roasts!  My best lunchbox solution is a roast/tomatoes salad.  Tomatoes create just the right amount of dressing for the cold meat. I sometimes add bell peppers or other favorites, and the tupperwear seems to come back licked every time.

An update: paleo pregnancy

I have not been able to post or do very much else in the last few weeks. Bad news on the pregnancy, see ParentingIs for the story. Bottom line, there is no heart beat, but I have not given up completely yet. Tomorrow is my appointment with my old and trusted obgyn. The weeks leading up to the bad news were extremely emotionally volatile (I tend to go insane in the first trimester) and I've been struggling.

I also have to admit, I have not done very well in Paleo in recent weeks.  Not badly, either. However, I've noticed time and again that it's not about what you avoid eating, but what you do have on the table.  Too many meals consisting primarily of dairy, or hot dogs, or even just vegetables, will drain you of energy, grains or no grains.  I am pretty sure that I am past the worst of it, though and am ready to face the world again.  Today, I enlisted granny in helping create a meal around a ham, one of my favorite lazy feast recipes.

A few observations on pregnancy and nausea are in order:

• I am pretty sure, that nausea is reduced with proper paleo. It is important not to overeat protein, though, as your body will quickly announce - no more! Stick with high fat meals with a reasonable portion of meat, but with lots of vegetable options. The more you have to choose from, the more likely, something will hit the spot.
• Weight gain is reduced when, unlike my first pregnancy in which I gained sixty lbs, half eating watermellon, what you are eating is directly involved in building the baby: healthy fat, protein, large variety of veggies.
• Variety is a must. You are foregoing a lot of fortification the government puts into wheat products: folic acid, magnesium and more. I have been trying to keep at least a dozen vegetable options in the fridge at any given time.  (See my Pantry page for a long list of vegetable option ideas.)
• Snacking is not a symptom of pregnancy. It is a symptom of your body demanding the right nutrients! Which, in turn, a symptom of pregnancy, of course.  Eat good healthy meals, and snacking is not so much of an issue.
• Prenatal vitamins can make you nauseous. Take them at bed time! But do take them. There is so little known about paleo pregnancy, be on the safe side and stick with your doctor's advice.

Obviously, take this with a grain of salt.  These are the things I have observed, thought about, deduced. I admit to complete ignorance with the possible exception of awareness of my own body. So, compare notes and figure out what feels right!