Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Review: Well Rounded – An Ebook About Raw Food Pregnancy

by Kristen in morning sickness, raw food pregnancy, well rounded ebook

I just finished reading the ebook, Well Rounded – The Ultimate Guide to a Healthy Raw Food Pregnancy (by Joanna Beujekian-Steven, who co-owns Sirova.com – a great online store for raw goods). It’s a great read and I recommend it to the ladies out there wanting to have a healthy pregnancy full of nutrient dense raw foods.

Joanna does a great job of taking you by the hand and gently showing you the best foods to eat to ensure you’re filling your body with nutrients that a growing mom-n-babe team need. She addresses the deficiencies in which to be on the look-out… which supplements to take and which to avoid. She covers pregnancy vitamins… minerals… proteins, fats and other nutrients… fertility and pregnancy herbs… preparing for birth… and common pregnancy pitfalls including energy and morning sickness (from my own personal experience, when I had terrible morning-all day sickness, I embraced it. It was tough physically, but mentally I loved it as many physicians say it’s a sign of a strong pregnancy – music to my ears! Some believe, from an evolutionary standpoint, there is a correlation with it protecting the baby because it prevents mom from eating toxic foods. Another side suggests that doesn’t ring true and it’s just a part of pregnancy for many women as the baby competes for resources. For me, whether it was one or the other didn’t matter. Every day I work up with it during the vulnerable first trimester, it was a sign I was still pregnant. After losing my first pregnancy – sans morning sickness – I was more than happy to feel nauseous all day long. Plus, there is a possible tie with morning sickness and a higher child IQ. I remember saying to Greg, “Bring on the morning sickness!”).

There aren’t many books on this topic so I’m excited that Joanna, a woman I greatly respect, wrote this. Even though I’ve only just had Kamea 7 1/2 months ago, and I’m still adjusting to how hectic and crazy life as a mom can be (to even just one baby), reading this book made me want to get pregnant! LOL! Okay, not yet, but being pregnant is such a magical time that I look forward to doing it again. Thank you, Joanna, for sending this to me to read!

Back To Raw In My First Trimester

by Kristen in boxed greens, cheezy hemp nacho sauce, csa, morning sickness, organic, pregnancy, raw food, vegan

Whew! This week marks my 9th week being pregnant!!!! I’m in the final stretch of the first trimester and my body is visibly changing with this little life growing inside me. I’ve been sick as a dog (all-day-morning-sickness) but happy as hell about it. However, there were many days over the past 2 weeks that I didn’t want any food… not Raw, not even cooked vegan… not bread… nothing! And, this coming from a woman who used to eat even with an upset tummy. However, even though I didn’t want to eat the past couple of weeks, I forced myself to eat. I had to. I was able to manage some fresh fruit, as well as a green smoothie here and there, but most of it was cooked vegan.

But, something has changed. Even though I’m still feeling nauseous (Monday and Tuesday were particularly bad), I have been wanting Raw food! I’ll still have some lentils sometimes (quinoa, beans, etc) for extra protein and such, but my body wants lots of fresh, organic Raw foods. I’m not in the mood for Raw pastas or things like that (although a piece of my Raw lasagna does sound yummy! I just don’t feel like making it. If only I could wiggle my nose and blink my eyes and magically my husband could make it!). I am craving big salads, fresh fruit, fresh veggies and dip, green juices, green smoothies… things like that. In fact, the other day, I made my famous Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce recipe and loved it up with organic Romaine hearts, carrots, and celery for three days in a row. YUM! (I also had it as a sauce on my organic cooked veggie burger —>>> DOUBLE YUM!)