There is something just magical about those first baby movements. It all becomes really…real. You think it’s real when you hear the heart beat. You think it’s real when you see the ultrasound image squiggling about, but it becomes startlingly real when you feel those first kicks. There is a living thing growing inside me. How very Sci-Fi. Only 155 more days!
Month: August 2010
Green Juice Feast Day
Well I certainly didn’t plan on a juice feasting day, but that is what seems to be what’s happened. It’s time to kick this fight against my sinus infection into high gear anyway. Bring on the greens!
This morning, Yuri made over 2 L of green juice to take to U of T Soccer Training Camp. However, the green juice didn’t make it to training camp. I ended up drinking at least 1 L and it was so good that I just made another Liter! It is just amazing how much nutrition you can pack into your day when you include green juices.
To top off my efforts to kill this sinus infection, I finally bought some apple cider vinegar (organic, unpasteurized, with the Mother). If you’ve got sinus issues, get some apple cider vinegar and add 2 TBSP to a glass of water, several times a day. You will instantly enjoy some nasal draining! I am contemplating adding some ACV to water and throwing the mixture into my Neti pot, but I’m still working up some bravery to run vinegar through my nose! I made the mistake of trying hydrogen peroxide in the neti pot…DON”T DO THAT IT BURNS and apparently can do some damage! Rookie move on my part.
Today alone, I have personally consumed the juice of:
1 bunch of dill
1 bunch of parsley
1 1/2 apples
5 carrots
1 1/2 bunches of swiss chard
2 heads of celery
1 lemon
2 inches of ginger root
1/2 a cucumber
Shocking, isn’t it? I bet I have eaten more vegetables today than most North Americans get in a week or even a month! I am officially back on the green juice train. This baby is going to come out green!
Here is the recipe for my new favourite juice. Let’s call it the…
Dill-Inspired Green Juice
1 bunch dill
3 carrots
1 apple
1 bunch swiss chard
1 head of celery
2 inches of ginger root
Juice all ingredients and enjoy approx. 1L of amazing green goodness!
A Pregnant Woman’s Natural Cold Cure. It’s Your Cure too!
I am sick. Not with morning sickness, but with a cold. The kind that sits in your throat, your nose, your head, and your ears. The mucus is so thick and disgusting that I can barely breathe. And I can’t taste anything at all.
One of the toughest things about being pregnant is being sick. Your immune system is slightly relaxed due to your little angel of a parasite and little things can get you down. In my case, I think I ate one too many toasted tomato sandwiches. I’m sensitive to wheat, but I gave into the cravings anyway and now my body is rebelling. Fear not body, I will be nice to you from here on in. Most of the time, anyway :).
Many people believe that whole grain bread is healthy, and while it’s better than white bread, if you’ve got a wheat sensitivity, it’s all the same. It’s a heavily processed food, so it’s not something you should be eating every day like most North Americans do. Toast or cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and pizza or pasta with garlic bread for dinner ring a bell? And it’s not just wheat that can make you sick. If you eat too many processed foods and not enough fresh foods, you will tip the balance in favour of sickness. Sickness is your body’s way of saying “HEY! Give me some respect please or I’ll MAKE you!”
Now, that being said, what do you do when you get hit with a freight-train-type cold? Here is my personal, natural cold remedy. It is good for pregnant, and non-bun-in-the-ovens alike. This is something that everyone should do when they come down with a cold. You don’t need to run to your pharmacy and load your self up with unnecessary drugs.
The Plan:
1. Drink plenty of water. Water helps flush out your body, and keeping it well hydrated will allow your body to get things done. Add a bit of lemon to help flush your liver.
2. Lay off the wheat and the dairy and other processed foods. Get rid of them completely if you can at least until you feel better. Wheat and dairy are the most common allergens and since you’re body’s immune system is already compromised, consuming these foods only hinder it further. These foods are acidic and therefore not health promoting in the slightest. That being said, lay off the beer too! If you are concerned about calcium, go get yourself some kale, broccoli, and swiss chard. Some of the world’s biggest animals are solely leaf eaters. There’s a reason they don’t drink milk.
3. Increase your anti-oxidants. Eat plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables in their raw state. These foods hold the building blocks that will help you overcome any sickness and build a healthy body.
4. Exercise. I know it’s hard to exercise when you feel awful, and walking from the couch to get the remote knocks the wind out of you, but you’ve got to move. The best exercise tool I know of for this situation is the rebounder. Lightly jog on the spot on a rebounder to get the lymphatic system moving. Put on your favourite music and dance while jogging. 15 minutes a day is a fantastic place to be. Have three 5-minute sessions if it’s what you need.
5. Use a neti-pot. This delightful contraption can be used in conjunction with sea salt (less than 1/4 tsp) and warm water. You tip the water into one nostril, and tilt your head so that the water runs out the other nostril. Daily use of a neti-pot when you are in good health will keep your body’s first line of defense (your nasal passages) free and ready to defend your body!
6. Drink ginger tea. The easiest and best way to make ginger tea is by cutting up an inch cube of ginger into small pieces, and letting it steep in a french-press (traditionally used for steeping coffee). Ginger is not only effective in relieving morning sickness, but it has many positive effects on the digestive system. It is useful in the treatment of colds and flu because it is an anti-inflammatory and a natural pain killer.
For those of you who are NOT pregnant, I will add taking a few drops of oil of oregano each day and eating a clove of chopped up raw garlic each day to your regime. These are potent disease killers, but are not recommended during pregnancy.
Well, it has been 24 hours since I started taking my own advice. I can breathe, my headache is gone, my ears have very minor to no pressure in them, and my throat is clear of mucus and doesn’t hurt anymore. I can taste my food better and by tomorrow or tonight even, I should be tasting 100% of my food. I used the neti-pot twice yesterday and had about a liter of ginger tea. I used the neti-pot again this morning and rebounded for 15 minutes. So far I have eaten a banana, an apple, 2 cups of spinach, 2 large tomatoes, and plenty of water with a bit of lemon today. Things are looking up. As soon as reinforcements arrive, I’ll be making a green smoothie with apples, banana, greens, ginger, lemon, and water. Yummy!
Things to do and NOT to do When You’re Pregnant.
Alright, hopefully this is going to be funny, and not completely sad. Here are a few things I have learned in the last few weeks about being pregnant:
1. You may hike “but not on uneven terrain or at high altitude”…so you may NOT hike? Confusing.
2. Don’t leave the house without eating and/or packing a 5 course meal. You will get sick. Very, very sick.
3. A waffle with ice cream is not an acceptable dinner for baby. Baby will make you throw it up. 5 times.
4. Drink plenty of water…like GALLONS of water…and eat tons of fruit and veg. If you don’t, bad things will happen in the pooping department. Trust me, bad things happen when you drink gallons of water AND eat tons of fruit an veg. So you can imagine…
5. Schedule naps or you’ll be at the will of narcolepsy.
6. Don’t jump up from a seated position. Sudden movements will lay you flat on the floor until your vision comes to and the blood reaches your head.
7. Don’t downhill ski, no matter how much you want to. Only uphill skiing is acceptable behaviour at this point.
8. Don’t jump or dive into pools due to the high risk of this behaviour. Oops…
9. No bicycling on wet pavement. At least it doesn’t say anything about motorcycles.
And last but definitely not least,
10. Don’t try on your skinny jeans. You will cry. For that matter, don’t even try on your fat jeans or you’ll cry harder.
Eggs Florentine with Potato Latkes
Today I think I really outdid myself. I made the best eggs Florentine I have ever produced. There has been a lot of trial and error over the years and this is the best hands down which is why I have to share it!
I love to make gourmet meals, especially homemade gourmet versions of meals that scare me in restaurants, because you never really know what’s in them! Take Hollandaise sauce for example. In the restaurant I work at, ingredients include MSG and some other pretty nasty stuff.
For example, Knorr brand Hollandaise sauce mix that you can buy at your local grocer lists the following as ingredients:
Modified Food Starch (Corn, Potato), Maltodextrin, Wheat Starch, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Whey Protein Concentrate (from Milk), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Lactose (from Milk), Fructose, Salt, Citric Acid, Onion Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Guar Gum, Spices (Including Paprika), Turmeric (for Color), Caramel Color, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder.
I mean, SERIOUSLY? What the hell is that stuff? Is it even “food?” Guess what the ingredients are in a classic Hollandaise sauce? Water, egg yolks, butter, and lemon juice. Four ingredients, none of them artificial. FOUR natural foods – not EIGHTEEN chemicals!
Eggs Florentine with Potato Latkes (serves 2)
Classic Hollandaise Sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Place a mixing bowl on top of pot of barely simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not submersed in water. The idea is to “steam cook” the Hollandaise. Place 2 tbsp of water and 2 egg yolks in the bowl. Mix with whisk until mixture becomes thick. Then slowly add the melted butter while stirring constantly. When mixture is combined and thick, slowly add the lemon juice while stirring. Set aside.
Other Ingredients:
- 2 large handfuls of spinach
- 1 handful of feta (optional)
- Green onion for garnish, diced
You can use a steamer to cook the spinach. Alternatively, put a bit of water in a non-stick frying pan and place a lid over top and steam it that way. Once spinach is cooked, place it on a plate covered with paper towel until ready to use.
Set feta and diced green onion aside until ready to assemble Eggs Florentine.
Potato Latkes
- 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 medium onion
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp gluten free all purpose flour
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup coconut oil for frying
Dice the onion and grate the potatoes, placing them into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients (except oil) and mix well. You may have to add more flour depending on how wet the mixture is.
Separate the mixture into 4 equal portions and heat oil to medium-high. As you get ready to place the potato pancakes in the oil, squeeze out any extra moisture. Make a pancake shape and carefully place them in the pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides, turning as little as possible. Once done, place them on paper towels to drain.
Poached Eggs
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- Pot with roughly 2 inches of barely boiling water
Poaching eggs is an art. It has taken me a long time to learn to poach the perfect egg, so be patient and don’t worry about perfection at first! I break my eggs, one at a time, into a small bowl and slowly pour them into the boiling water. I find this way easier than breaking an egg so close to boiling water because this way I don’t burn myself! And, the fresher your eggs, the better they poach.
Place your pot on the heat source and add the white vinegar. When the water is just boiling, turn the heat down to medium (or whatever your barely boiling temperature is). Add the eggs, one at a time to the water. Once in, take a wooden spoon and carefully move the egg white over the yolk. Hold for about 10 seconds.
By the time I have my 4 eggs in the water, it is usually time to take the first one out because I like my eggs runny. I think they’re in the water for 3-4 minutes at this point. Using 2 wooden spoons, I take each egg out and place them in one small bowl. This way, they stay warm while you are putting together the rest of the ingredients.
Putting It All Together
Place 2 potato latkes on each plate. Cover with spinach and optional feta. Place one egg on each mound and spoon over Hollandaise sauce. Garnish with green onion. Serve!
Final Notes
This recipe takes some time management skills at first. I generally make the Hollandaise first, and set it aside. I then steam the spinach and make the potato latkes. While the Latkes are frying, I start the poached eggs (using the water used in making the Hollandaise sauce) and set the eggs aside while the potatoes are finishing.
“Eggs Benedict” recipes traditionally use English muffins as a base, but my objective is always to use as many whole food ingredients as I can. Enter the potato. Once you have tried these potato pancakes you will be addicted! Obviously, frying them in oil is a nutritional “no-no” but sometimes you’ve got to take one for the team, right?
Amy Coates 