Pregnancy Diet Changes

A lot of people ask me how pregnancy has impacted what I eat - Do I have crazy cravings? Is my appetite insatiable? Do I eat things that I did not pre-pregnancy? 

Overall, I have not made any significant changes to my eating habits. Yes, sometimes I do tend to indulge a bit more than I did pre-pregnancy - i.e. chocolate, dessert, fancy brunches, etc. However, I think that has more to do with a change in mindset from pre-pregnancy trying to loose fat/build muscle to trying to maintain a healthy weight throughout my pregnancy. The following are some of the changes that I have made to keep myself healthy during pregnancy and ensure that my little one receives the best nutrition possible: 

• Eat when I am hungry - usually 5-7 small meals per day consisting of protein, fruits & veggies, complex carbs and healthy fats
• Add more complex carbs to my diet - 4-5 servings per day during pregnancy, compared to 2-3 servings pre-pregnancy
• Enjoy more organic produce and meats rather than conventional options
• Eat a wider variety of produce and meats
• Add more plant-based fats to my diet, including coconut oil and butter
• Eat at home more frequently while making very healthy choices when away from home

One thing that I have been craving recently is crudites with Cayenne Tahini Dressing from Kristen's Raw. This yummy, creamy, and spicy dressing is perfect when paired with cucumbers, red pepper and baby carrots.

Q&A - Fat Loss

Recently I was asked the following question by a fellow forum member and thought that the question and my response may be helpful to some of you. If you ever have any questions or want something that I say clarified DO NOT hesitate to just ask! I am here to help you out in any way that I can!!!

Question:
Hi! I didn't know how to find your posts so I thought I would send my question here. I love your blog and the before/after pics. I am well over 200 lbs and basically just getting started on losing - we've been doing weights for about 3 weeks now 3x a week. My question is what all did you do to get your boobs to be smaller? I'm quite large due to childbirth and so far I'm losing in my butt and my legs but not my boobs and very little in my arms (another large area).

Answer:
Thanks for the kind words. I am very happy with where I have come in such a short amount of time. It's really nice to hear that my story inspires other women because that is the reason that I started my blog in the first place!

To answer your question, my breasts slowly but surely reduced in size and there did not seem to be anything specific that really helped to get them to be smaller - it was simply a reduction in body fat percentage by eating clean, lifting weights and interval running.

My arms and breasts were the places that really held on to the fat the longest, whereas my back, butt/hips, and midsection shed fat the fastest. Everyone's body is different and it is almost impossible to "spot reduce" fat on your body. I have read that the place(s) that you gain fat the first are the last to loose the fat and that was definitely the case with my weight loss.

Try to be patient and remember that it takes just as long (or longer) to loose fat as it did to put it on. Try to keep your weight loss slow and steady (1-2 lbs per week) and you will have the most success with keeping it off long term because you will be building good habits to last you a lifetime.

When weight lifting I used the book New Rules of Lifting for Women and really loved it. I know that there are several other women on the forum that have used the same book with great success. You might consider checking it out because it was a great resource not only for weight lifting routines, but also on the science of fat loss. Be aware that not all of their menus are completely clean and you will want to follow clean eating instead of their meal plans, but other than that, the book is very informative.

Good luck on your weight loss journey and let me know if there is anything else that I can do to help you out!

Your sister in iron,
Maria

Chicken Sausages

Question:

What brand of chicken sausage do you eat?

Answer:

I use Applegate Farms Frozen Natural Chicken Sausages.

These are wonderful breakfast sausages that are easy to make, natural, uncured, do not contain added nitrates and nitrites, and are naturally sweetened with honey. Check out the nutrition info and ingredients for 3 sausages.

Note: I only eat one sausage every morning.

MyWayCereal Review

This week's product review is MyWayCereal. At MyWayCereal, you can create your own custom organic cereal mix. They have a very easy to use website that walks you through the process effortlessly. You can choose from 5 different cereal bases, several different kinds of dried fruits, nuts and seeds, and sweet treats to really customize your cereal to your specific tastes.

The cereal comes in these large tubes that store well in the pantry and do not take up much floor space. They hold a whopping 21oz of custom organic cereal, which is 11 servings at 54g a piece.

Here is the cereal mix that I made for myself:

I really like my cereal combination. There are a lot of dried fruit pieces, especially mango. The mango is a little tough to chew, but if you let the cereal soak in the milk or yogurt for a minute, the dried fruit softens and plumps - which is oh so yummy! Both Allan's and my mixes contain coconut and chia seeds, which tend to fall to the bottom of the canister. So, before each use, make sure that you lightly shake the canister to distribute the ingredients, that way you get a bite of yummy deliciousness in each bite.

Here is the Nutrition Info for my cereal mix:

Here are the ingredients in my cereal mix:

Here is the cereal mix that I made for Allan:

Allan really likes his cereal mix a lot. He enjoys the flavor and crunch of the honey corn flakes. He also likes all of the fruit and nuts that were in the mix. For once, Allan is actually excited when he opens the cupboards and sees this mix sitting there waiting for him - a reaction he hasn't had to cereal since I eliminated HFCS and Trans Fats from our cupboards. YAY for MyWayCereal!

Here is the Nutrition Info for Allan's cereal mix:

Here are the ingredients in Allan's cereal mix:

This is how I have been enjoying my cereal all week:

1/2 cup cereal, 3/4 cup strained plain low-fat yogurt, 1 serving unthawed frozen mango chunks

Fridge Organization

Several of you have asked that I post pictures of the inside of my fridge and explain how it is organized. Here you go!

The Fridge

Opening the Doors

Left Door

• Cage-Free Egg Whites
• Water Dispenser
• Frank's Red Hot
• Misc Milks (Unsweetened Vanilla Almond, Unsweetened Vanilla Soy, Chai Tea Mix)

Right Door

Butter (for making spreadable Olive Oil butter in the VitaMix for Allan)

Frequently Used Condiments (organic tamari, steak sauce, organic salsa, organic BBQ, organic ketchup)

Oils

Bee Pollen

Unsweetened Organic Jelly

Organic Unsweetened Apple Juice (for cooking)

Local Maple Sugar

Freeze Dried Spices

Left Inside

Top Shelf: 

• Leftover items to use for meals this week (black beans, organic sauerkraut, etc.)
  
• The contents of my cooler for the next day are moved to this shelf every night

Second Shelf:

• Quick "Grab and Go" Items 
• Pictured Items: chocolate protein bars, chocolate banana muffins, donut holes, leftover stir fry portioned into lunch sizes, pumpkin pudding

Deli Drawer

• Hummus
• Ground Flax
• Oat Bran
• Wheat Germ
• Tortillas
• Wraps
• Yeast

Bottom Left Shelf and Fruit Drawer

• Bottom Shelf: currently holding overflow from the fruit drawer and unthawing sun dried tomato chicken sausages for supper
• Some infrequently used condiments like Miso and horseradish sit behind these items in the back of the fridge
• Fruit Drawer: oranges, cut-up pineapple, grated coconut, young coconut flesh

Top Right Shelf

• Applesauce
• Unsweetened Apple Butter
• Unopened Organic Low-Fat Plain Yogurt 
• Coconut water (in container also)
• Wheat Grass to be blended into juice using the VitaMix and then frozen

Second Right Shelf

• Organic Eggs in can holder
• Iced Tea
• Allan's beer
• Individually Packaged Yogurt Cheese
• Whipped Butter
• POM

Bottom Right Shelf

• Cottage Cheese
• Nut Butters
• Vegan "Butter"
• Organic Pickles
• Marinades

Veggie Drawer

• Romaine, Spinach, Minced Organic Garlic, Zucchini, Celery

Freezer Drawer

• Top: Meat, Cheese, Frozen Whey (strained from yogurt and frozen in ice cube trays then placed in a freezer bag
• Bottom: Fruit, Veggies, Flours, Nuts

Freezer, Pull-Out Shelf

• Breads, Chicken Sausages, Wraps and Buns

More Fruit on the Counter

• Bananas
• Avocados
• Kiwi

Q&A

Sorry that I didn't take pics last night. I will try to do it after work and before my workout tonight. We were up late in the garage adding some final parts and accessories to Allan's bike before its inaugural commute this morning. :)

I have been meaning to answer some questions for a couple days, don't worry I haven't forgotten about you!

#1 Q:
"what is organic zero? Is it a sweetener of some sort?"

Answer:
Organic Zero is a product of Wholesome Sweeteners, and is a USDA certified organic zero calorie sweetener that is made using organic cane sugar and an organically approved fermenting agent. The result is a sugar alcohol called Erythritol. It is 70% as sweet as sugar and can be used 1:1.  In general, erythritol is considered a “good” sugar alcohol, because it is absorbed into the blood stream in the small intestine rather than the large intestine, so it does not usually cause the gastrointestinal problems of most sugar alcohols. It is also shown to have little to no effect on blood glucose levels, making it low on the glycemic index. To read more about erythritol, click here.

#2 C:
"I love my Excalubur dehydrator. I have the 9 tray one. Although it's bulky I get a lot of use out of it and I'm happy that I got the 9 tray. When I have it on I try to dehydrate as much as possible. So if I'm making cereal then I'll make some cookies too. I usually have about 7 trays going at one time.

Most of Ani's recipes don't call for a dehydrator. There are many resources online (blogs, websites, etc). You should check out Brendan Brazier's site."

All the best.

Comment:
Thanks so much for the info! I actually did change my mind and I think that I will be ordering the 9 tray model with timer. I will definitely check out Brenda Brazier's site.

#3 Q:
"this looks nice. what kind of cooler do you use? do you have ice packs to go inside it? do you eat your food cold then (such as spaghetti squash, bison) or heat it up?"

Answer:
Unfortunately, I do not know the type of cooler that I have. My mom and aunt, who is a dietician, picked up two coolers for me while at an ADA Conference in Chicago this last Fall. I have a larger black soft sided cooler and a smaller pink/orange/yellow smaller soft-sided cooler that I use depending on how much I am carrying with me that day. 

I do use ice packs and have a few different sizes of those that I always keep in my freezer so that they are ready to go. 

Fortunately, I work at an office where I have access to a full kitchen (including a stove), so I usually eat my food heated. Although, if I am going to be away from the office or in a meeting, I bring food that I enjoy eating cold (e.g. whole wheat pita with chicken meatballs, chocolate banana protein bars, chocolate protein bars, chicken black bean quesadillas, yogurt + fruit, almonds, etc.)

#4 C:
"This would be at least $11.71 where I come from..(our neighbour country Sweden is HALF the price! Can you imagine..!)

Better stick my lousy box of tuna - haha ;)"

Answer:
Kristin (aka ninni), I cannot believe how much things cost! You always astound me with your stories!!!

#5 C:
"They sell the pull up bar at Bed, Bath, & Beyond and you can use your 20% off coupon on it.... ;)"

Answer:
I was eying it on Sunday when I was there. I did not have enough 20% off coupons for it this trip - maybe next time.

#6 Q:
"How about the new one that biggest loser/kim lyons are promoting protein freeze?"

Answer:
Here are the ingredients for the protein freeze powder:

Whey protein concentrate, Cocoa, Modified food starch, Natural and artificial flavors, Maltodextrin, Tetrasodium pyrophosphate, Disodium phosphate, Salt, Xanthan gum, Sucralose, Acesulfame potassium

Definitely NOT clean...

#7 C:
"The weather in Norway and MN are much the same climate!

Did you know we don't have cupons in Norway..? Along with everything else we dont have!? Applesauce, pumpkin..you name it!"

Answer:
Kristin, you're killing me here!!! No coupons???

#8 Q:
"tosca takes salba (chia seeds). Have you looked into the stats of the chia seeds you bought, the ones abbey uses and the ones tosca (sourcesalba.com) uses to see if there is any difference? Since you plan on posting pics today of your new "toys" could you please take and post pics of inside your frig so we can VISUALLY see how you keep it organized as discussed in a previous post. Have a great day."

Answer:
I did look up the difference between the Salba seeds and the RenewLife Ultimate Chialife Seeds that I purchased. Here are the two labels. Both are for the same serving size of 12g (even though one says that 12g = 2 tbsp and the other says that 12g = 1 tbsp). As you can see both products are very similar. I did not order the Salba because I was able to find the Ultimate Chialife at my local Whole Foods which is much more environmentally friendly and cost-effective than having the Salba shipped to me.

Also, yes I do plan on taking pictures of the inside of my fridge so that you can visually see my organization. Unfortunately, I have not had time to do so.

#9 Q:
"Check out hacres.com Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle is an 80% raw and 100% clean eating combined w/Christianity. They actually discuss the Excalibur and the vitamix along w/a lot of other topics you've mentioned in past blogs. Their weekly ehealth tip is always informative. Would also like to ask if you could please post pictures of each shelf in your refrig so I can get a visual of how you and your dh keep it organized. Have a great day"

Answer:
Thanks for letting me know about this resource. Also, see #8 about the fridge pics.

#10 Q

"Can you explain the equivalents to cane sugar for baking? I'd like to start substituting but not sure if it is a 1:1. Thank you!"

Answer:

Please keep in mind that if you replace table sugar with a liquid sweetener, then you will need to increase the dry ingredients or decrease the liquid ingredients in order to compensate for the extra moisture. So, I usually use sucanat or organic zero 1:1 to replace regular table sugar.

100% Pure Maple Sugar - replace 1:1 and read this article about compensating for extra liquid
Maple Sugar Flakes - 100% sweeter than sugar (use 50% less than sugar)
Sucanat - substitute 1:1 (I usually process it in my Magic Bullet first to create a more refined powder for baking)
Agave Nectar - 25% sweeter than sugar (use 25% less than sugar)
Honey - 25% to 50% sweeter than sugar (use 25% to 50% less than sugar), depending on the sweetness of the batch that you have
Dates (taste like brown sugar) - I wouldn't suggest baking with dates as they do not mix well into liquid ingredients, I add them to VitaMix smoothies and raw desserts
Molasses - 65% as sweet as sugar (use 35% more than sugar)
Organic Zero by Wholesome Sweeteners -  70% as sweet as sugar and can be used 1:1

Happy Easter Monday!

Hello Ladies and Gents!

I hope that you are having a clean day today and detoxing from any unclean foods or overeating that happened yesterday. :)

Todays eats have been/will be the following:

M1 - 1/2 c egg whites + 1 chicken sausage + 1/3 c dry oatmeal cooked with 1/8 c blueberries + 1 tbsp flax + 1 tbsp wheat germ + 2/3 c water

      Supplements: 1 tsp bee pollen, CLA, Cal/Mag/D, Omega, Digestive Enzymes, Multi-Vitamin, L-Carnitine

M2 - Vita-Mix: spinach + straw/mango + protein powder

    My new protein powder that I made at Protein Factory is very frothy, I'm not sure what I think of it...

M3 - 4 oz roast + 1/2 pita + dijon mustard + pear

M4 - 1 c low-fat plain yogurt + pineapple

M5 - 4 oz grilled salmon marinated in balsamic+tamari+honey+pepper + asparagus

M6 - 1 slice cinnamon raisin ezekiel bread + 2 tbsp peanut butter

Instead of responding to your questions in the comments section of each post, I decided that I will start posting the answers to your questions in my blog posts so that everyone can see the answers. So, here we go!

Question:

When was the last time you replaced your running shoes? It might be time for a new pair :)

Answer:

Yes, it is definitely time to replace my running shoes. I especially need to ensure that I have good support because I have high-arches (under-pronate). I need to make time to visit my local Running Room store and purchase a new pair.

Question:
Maria: I love reading your blog. I need to ask. How do you find the time to do all this? It is amazing. I thought I had it together and I ready your blog and my jaw drops.

I need to know your secret!
Tracey

Answer:

Tracey, I always schedule my workouts and meal prep time into my day, as I would any other appointment or meeting. 

I use weekend afternoons to prep meals; make protein bars; wash & clean vegetables/fruits; make marinades; and portion out planned leftovers, yogurt & prepped veggies/fruits into individual servings. Each of these items has a special location in my fridge to ensure quick and accurate cooler assembly during the week. 

After supper, I always portion out leftovers into individual servings. I also gather all of my cooler items for the next day in one location in the fridge. This is done while Allan washes the dishes from supper.

Every Thursday evening, I plan out every meal that I am going to eat for the next week. Then, on Fridays, I go to the Co-Op with a defined list of items that I need to purchase based on my food plan for the week. I always make sure to check out the items that I already have in the fridge, freezer and pantry to ensure that I use up what I have on hand.

Comment:
(To Supplement Post) I do £2,4,6..

Response:

Kristin, you may want to look into adding L-Carnitine to your daily supplements. It aids in the digestion of CLA (and other Fatty Acids) and will improve their effectiveness.