Food

Today I am officially in my second trimester! Lately I have been much less tired, less nauseous, and I am finally getting my appetite back a little. From this point on, I am supposed to try to gain a pound a week. So far I haven't gained any weight, though my big Budha belly begs to differ, so I am a little nervous about how I am going to accomplish that. Hopefully it won't take too much effort.

If you didn't know already, I am a vegetarian, so it's been very important for me to find lots of alternate sources of protein. I used to really like fake (soy) meats, but since I've been pregnant they haven't been very appetizing. I also thought I would be having lots and lots of eggs, but unfortunately I have no appetite for those either. Hopefully my appetite for that stuff comes back. Here is a couple of things that I do enjoy however:

 

Cottage Cheese with Fruit

Cottage cheese usually has about 15 grams of protein in half a cup. I usually have about 3/4 a cup so that's a good 22 grams of protein in one delicious meal. Usually I have it with pears, peaches, grapes and strawberries. Mmmm. This is my new pregnancy favorite.

 

Curry

Curry is not one of my particular favorites, but Robbie loves it so I made some the other night. I make a sauce with coconut milk, garam marsala, curry powder, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. I then fry some fake chicken in organic sunflower oil, mix in the sauce, then add a couple cooked/chopped potatoes, and other veggies (this time we had carrots and snap peas). Usually I also add broccoli, but we were out of it at the time. We put the curry over delicious germinated brown rice.

 

Beans and Greens

Beans are packed with protein, so I have been trying to eat more of them lately. Our friend Lyndsay gave us us this great recipe: organic kidney beans and chick peas mixed with asparagus, green beans, and a little balsamic vinaigrette. It's very light and refreshing and full of nutrients.

Homemade Applesauce over Rice

Homemade Applesauce over French Toast

Homemade Applesauce is so easy to make and wonderfully delicious. I made it with granny smith apples because I really like a tangy applesauce. All you do is chop up some apples, boil them in a tiny bit of water or apple juice with a little lemon juice and optional raisins and/or dried cranberries until they are soft. Then mash them up a bit with a masher, and top with some crushed organic walnuts. It is refreshing and hearty, and goes great over germinated brown rice, homemade french toast, or just as is. I've never been a big fan of maple syrup so I love having apple sauce on my french toast.

Green Soup with Asiago Cheese Bread

Soup is so yummy, especially when its cold out! Today it was -18 degrees Fahrenheit with windchill! I have made green soup in different ways, depending on what I have available. This time I made it with with organic celery, bok choy, farm fresh zucchini, organic spinach, organic vegetable broth, organic split peas, basil and parsley. Did you know spinach is full of iron and protein? It's a great superfood!

Stir Fry

Finally, one of our favorite dishes is stir fry. We have numerous stir fry variations. Usually though we eat it with tofu marinated in either sweet and sour sauce or teriyake sauce. Then we mix in veggies like snap peas, carrots, broccoli, and boc choy and pile it onto some germinated brown rice.

There are so many nutritious vegetarian dishes that are full of protein and other essential vitamins. It really isn't difficult to have variety in our diet. Hopefully the baby is growing big and strong off of meals like these!