Hey chickadees, hello and happy Easter! Easter to me means eating lasagna and sitting in my house/backyard with a bunch of friends celebrating springtime. This year is no different, although I am making baked ziti instead of lasagna.
Anyways, the point is, we’ve reached a new milestone – spring has sprung and we’re solidly into longer nights and warmer days. And I feel like I’m also emerging from a long, dark winter where (in case you haven’t noticed) I haven’t been around. And I’m here to tell you why: because I am four months pregnant!
Guys, I never knew a lot about pregnancy before getting pregnant. Sure, I’d read here and there and was familiar with morning sickness (hint: not in the morning) and being tired (but what does that really even mean? Aren’t we all tired?) and food aversions (I bet those people are just picky, right?) BUT, OH GOD what a shock and kick in the ass when I found myself EXHAUSTED (have you had mono? It’s like that) and NAUSEATED ALL THE TIME (food? No, thanks) and grossed out by ALL FOOD.
What’s a food blogger to do when they can’t eat anything but breaded chicken tenders and french fries from Trader Joe’s? And goes to bed at 8 pm every night after eating said dinner quietly and very slowly, so as to a) not move too much and b) not throw up? Boy was I not ready for the first trimester.
I will say, in case any of you are pregnant or looking to get pregnant, something that saved me was REALLY COLD fruit smoothies. Here are some ideas for you:
Blueberry Cucumber Smoothie – Cucumbers were one of the only veggies I ate for the 8 weeks I was really down and out. They were in the “safe” list along with edamame and sugar snap peas. Things that were absolutely disgusting? Anything leafy – keep lettuce, arugula, spinach, etc. away from me – no thanks!
Secret leafy greens were mostly OK, like in this Avocado Tangelo Smoothie. I was really into SWEET smoothies which is the opposite of what I usually crave, so this carrot and citrus smoothie worked it for me.
Other than smoothies and chicken and fries, I was really only eating cucumbers and sometimes pirate booty and maybe a sandwich with chicken and a lot of mayo. It was a food blogger’s worse nightmare (but my 12 year old self’s dream, I suspect.) Also there was definitely pregnancy chocolate ice cream because the colder, the better.
But, lucky for you and me, here we are, solidly on the other side and sliding into the second trimester. I can say I am back to eating almost everything (I even had Indian food the other night, one of the very first foods to skeeve me out) and I am relearning how to carry my largest cast iron with one arm (guys who knew I had built up those muscles because of cookware?)
I’ve been reposting some winners from year’s past, and I’ll likely do that again while I get a good backlog of recipes up for you. Please be patient with me! In the meantime, I will leave you with tried and true dishes I know you’ll love.
[addtoany] Yum