2 months post pregnancy

2 Months Post Baby

Here I am one month past my hectic 36 hour / emergency c section labor and delivery with a beautiful baby boy and couldn't be happier.  Of course, if you have been following my blog you know that I was working towards being back to a paleo lifestyle by the time my little boy was born.  Did it happen?  Not exactly.  Am I paleo now? Almost....

Leading up to the labor and delivery I had made it back to living a Primal lifestyle but being in the hospital for 5 days made it very hard for me to stick to anything other than making sure I was eating and drinking enough in between trying to figure out how to nurse, sleep, and deal with the pain I was in.

Once I got home however, I did in fact go back to Paleo.  Why? Not only did I want to feel the way I did before I was pregnant again but because I wanted to eliminate some potential bad tummy reactions my new baby might have to dairy and glueten.  If you have never had a newborn in your house you know that if there is a possibility that by cutting certain foods from your diet you might get a little more sleep... Then you just do it....

And so my journey towards paleo has begun again and is pretty gosh darn close to where I was before pregnancy (in the way I eat.  I am not that lucky to have dropped all of the baby weight yet).  Have I had a few sips of my husbands beer since I have been home? Yes I have. Other than that I have been pretty good.  (I say pretty good because I have eaten green pees and a few other vegetables or pieces of dried fruit that are not technically paleo)

The first two weeks home were the hardest for me so far.  Not because of the diet but because of other stressers in my life that made me want to scream.  For me, I normally would be able to get out of the house and go for a walk with the dogs (and before pregancny I would go for a run or hit up a yoga class).  Being home after having a baby and major surgery made getting up and moving around almost impossible.  Luckily, I had started doing something positive for myself which was putting good food in my body.  (in the hospital I ate what they brought me which was far from the paleo lifestyle which is why it was so important for me to get back on the horse as soon as I could)

Now that I am able to do more around the house, get out with the dogs and baby for a walk, and just generally feel more capable I am so happy I made the decision to put good clean food in to my body.  Not stressing about what I am eating and just making sure I am drinking plenty of water and eating when I am hungry makes me feel positive and happy which is the kind of mom I want my little boy to have.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

PALEO APPLE CINNAMON MUFFINS

These are so good you will want to eat all of them as soon as they come out of the oven.  Did I mention the amazing way your house will smell when they are in the oven!!? OMG finger lickin' good!

3 cups blanched almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon (a slightly heavy hand can't and won't hurt)
½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt ( I like to use Grey Celtic Sea Salt)
2 large eggs
½ cup Honey
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or perhaps a heavy measuring... so a little extra)
1 heaping cup pureed green apple (think applesauce consistency.  No they do not need to be peeled.  Just chop two medium green apples, de seed them and throw them in the Cuisinart food processor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In the bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, Honey, vanilla extract and green apple puree. Stir the apple puree mixture into the almond flour mixture and blend well.  The batter will be thick so don't worry if you need to use a spoon to divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes.

You will probably want to eat them all right away.  I probably gobbled three down when I first tried this recipe. 

Food Should Taste Good

Food should taste good.

On my journey back to Paleo I am remembering that there is no reason why I should ever feel like I am missing out.  In case you have forgotten.... I am not exactly a Betty Crocker type or a Martha in the kitchen.  I like need meals to be easy in order for me to enjoy cooking.  My husband and I both cook and honestly I enjoy just being a sous chef making sure to get the small stuff ready while he works on the main course which is usually some sort of meat.

It has taken me almost 4 years to get to where I am in the kitchen.  I still have moments where I get frustrated and just want to walk out of the kitchen and leave whatever is happening for my husband to figure out and potentially fix.  For those instances we are lucky to have a few restaurants really close by so we can always head out and eat something else if it is a total disaster in the kitchen.  Or another tried and true answer is to just make breakfast for dinner (eggs etc).

The other side of that coin is that without moments of utter frustration and what may seem like a complete failure in the kitchen, I never would have learned how to do any cooking what so ever.  I would probably still be eating cereal for dinner and a lot of cheese rolled up with turkey slices.

Seeing as I am super pregnant (16 days left until my due date) I want to make sure I am not only putting good food into my body and into my families bodies but also allowing myself to try new things (yes for this blogs purpose those things are in the kitchen).  Pretty soon there will be a new little life in this house where literally everything will be a new experience.  He is going to experience frustration with not being able to do some things right the first time around but with the right support and role models to look up to he won't have any problem giving it another try.  Crazy emotional thinking occurs when you are pregnant and in the kitchen attempting to back something super sweet yet healthy because you are doing your best to stay away from cinnabuns.

In the end the moral of the story is the same...  If you try and fail the first time...  Get your A** back out there and try again.  In my case I get my A** back in to the kitchen and try again!!!

The Road Back is Bumpy

Heading back to the Paleo lifestyle has been a rough road if not non-existent. At least until recently.  I have had good intentions and would love to be able to blame my lack of will on pregnancy cravings (of which I will if asked in person) but unfortunately, I have to admit I have been enjoying eating a lot of the non paleo foods.  I have not however, been enjoying the way I have been feeling.  And so, the time has come for me to do something about it.

Since getting pregnant I have dealt with the normal nausea and fatigue symptoms as well as aches and pains that go along with being pregnant.  Most of which have been related to my pelvis popping out of place due to the little person I am making but a lot of that was aggravated by the way I was eating.  It is not like I was eating horribly by any means.  I wasn't eating fast food every day and tons of corn syrup filled cookies.  No, I just wasn't eating as cleanly as I could have been and in a way I know makes me feel at my best.

So, you may be asking...  What have you started doing differently and how in the world has that made you feel any better?

I have gone Gluten Free.  What? Yes, Gluten Free.  Baby steps remember!?  By doing something as simple as going Gluten Free I have reduced the amount of swelling and puffiness that I have been experiencing as well as taken my pain level (which was through the roof most days and all over my body) down to being a problem only when I overdo it in a single day.  Not everyone who is Gluten Free has Celiac disease.  A lot of people are intolerant to Gluten and because they are not at the extreme end of the spectrum with Celiac disease they don't know that a lot of their tummy woes could be due to Gluten.  I found out that a lot of mine were most likely due to Gluten.

In so far as how my tummy feels?  Well, I am less gassy (which for pregnant women can be a big problem) and I haven't been having problems pooping.  Yes I said it.... Pooping..  When you are pregnant, you learn new and interesting things about what your body can and cannot do as easily as it did before there was a little human jumping around on your bladder and general insides.

All in all, my goal is to be as close to paleo if not paleo by the time I give birth.  I only have two months left so not as much time as I would like but by giving myself a deadline I feel I have an end date and a great goal that I know will make me a stronger and healthier Mommy.

My absence explained

Some of you may be wondering where I have been for the past couple of months.  Turns out.... I am expecting my first baby boy in February.  This might not answer the question for all of you so I will explain.

The moment I found out I was pregnant, which was a little over a month after going strict paleo, I was super excited and ready to take on this new task of pregnant mama while staying paleo. I started doing research on Paleo Mama's and was getting geared up for the next nine months. Unfortunately, I was super sick the first three months and had an incredibly strong protein aversion of which I am still in the process of getting over.  I know... I know... it seems totally strange for those who have never been pregnant or for those who were able to stay completely paleo during their pregnancy.  For me however, I didn't feel like I had a choice.

I felt like a failure and was not only feeling sick from being pregnant but also feeling sad about the junk I was putting into my body; not to mention guilty because it actually made my nausea go away.  It wasn't like I just gave up on paleo.  I really did try to stay as close as I could for as long as I could by eating gluten free crackers and re-introduced dairy into my diet (via cream cheese) as slowly as I could.  Unfortunately, it felt like a gateway drug that just opened the floodgates and I found myself just looking for a way to stop the nausea and feed my growing baby.

So here I am 21.5 weeks pregnant and starting to finally think about getting back on the paleo track.  It is proving to be a slow process and one in which I am minding with care so as to not totally shock my system.  Especially now that I am feeling better about being in the kitchen again and can finally cook a full meal without getting sick from my raw meat aversions as well as aversions to many other foods in the kitchen, I know I can get to where I want to be (totally paleo) before the baby is born.  I will keep you updated on this step of the journey and hopefully this will be a reminder to us all that we are human and sometimes stuff happens in life that throws us off the horse but if you are anything like me, you will throw yourself back on as soon as possible.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

One thing I know I have been dying for are cookies.  I found an awesome recipe for Gluten Free Paleo friendly chocolate chip cookies that are really yummy.  Growing up, making cookies was a lot of fun and when you put this recipe together it may feel a little strange considering there are fewer steps.  Don't worry though, they are delicious and you will want to make them all the time...

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raw honey (I used a little less then 1/2 a cup and they were still YUMMY)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips  (the darker the better and feel free to add more if you are an oober chocolate lover)

Preheat oven to 375℉.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer, or wire whisk.

Pour wet ingredients slowly into dry ingredients and beat with mixer or fork until combined.

Add the melted coconut oil and continue to blend until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop Tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes.

Day 48

Day 48!

And so my paleo journey continues and I am still enjoying every minute of it.  I don't have any regrets nor do I feel like I am missing out on anything when it comes to food.  I feel as though my relationship with food is finally starting to become healthy and clean.  I don't feel bad about what I eat and I never have any feelings of regret after I finish a meal.  There are no more tummy aches that last for hours and no more eating until I am about to burst (my full receptors are firing really well).

The body really is an amazing machine and when given the chance to work properly with the kind of nutrients it was designed to ingest, I feel as though there is no stopping me!

That's all for today.. Hopefully short and sweet is enough for now.