Friday, January 7, 2011

The Gross is Gone

I was a vegan for close to a year and a pretty darn healthy one at that. My skin had cleared up, my energy level was high, and for the first time in my life I went months on end without getting sick. (My choice to become vegan was very personal, as I think all dietary choices should be. But veganism is not on the docket right now, a post for another day for sure.) I was consistently eating well and feeling hot to trot! 'So this is what healthy feels like' I could've happily proclaimed, if I was the proclaiming type. It was wonderful. I felt great...and then I got pregnant.
Duh Duh duhhh.
Yes, there I was, knocked up and giddy as all get out, but nothing...tasted...good. After months of figuring out what recipes we loved and perfecting grocery shopping one day I woke up and everything in our kitchen was nauseating. 'Where are the Totino's pizzas, cherry mashes, jalapeño poppers?' my body was asking. My body had become a jerk with a cruel, adolescent boy appetite. I mean, what could I be thinking? Had pregnancy already caused me to lose my mind? Why did the thought of kale chips make me nauseated, but factory farmed chicken nuggets made my mouth water? I had officially become the grossest person in the world, or at least in my house.
So I gave in. I ate the pizza rolls, Snickers bars and general junkitude of the seriously yucky kind. Needless to say, my first trimester was r.o.u.g.h. When my belly wasn't filled to it's bursting point, the nausea set in. I ate and it went away. So I ate. It's hard to eat a meticulously planned meal, when every two hours you feel as if you will lose your mind and your guts will come out of your body if you don't chow down. This is in no way an excuse for the crud I put in my body. I should have stock-piled yummy, easy, appetizing, foods so that when my cravings arose I had something to put in my mouth. My dietary fall from grace is my bad. It could've been avoided or handled in another way, but I went for the easy route. And my poor, poor husband who had to switch his diet as well, as I would not allow wholesome goodness to be consumed or enjoyed in my presence. Ah, who was that crazy lady? Oh well, hindsights twenty-twenty and I'm not going to beat myself up about it.
It happened. It was gross. I've put the whole thing behind me.
I am happy to report that I am back in my right mind (whew) and putting the right stuff in my belly and my baby once more. Just as quickly as the crazy had come on it left and I was back to normal. My husband and I, along with our midwife, have decided to switch to a high protein vegetarian diet during my pregnancy and it is going very well so far. I once again feel wonderfully satisfied eating in a way that I can feel good about and that I know is doing the wee one wonders.
To solidify my return to good eating habits, I signed up for Fresh Connect KC. Yummy, organic, and (mostly) local food is shipped to your door with no shipping cost. I have wanted to do this for ages, but like many things put it off for one reason or another along the way. We received our first delivery on Tuesday and wowzers did we get a hearty amount of food for the price. Based on this order (in the middle of winter no less) I highly recommend using these guys if you are in the Kansas City area. I am once again excited about produce and it feels amazing! Carrots, orange cauliflower, grapefruit oh my! Finding exciting recipes and planning out meals with the hubby just feels like home and I couldn't be more excited to be back.



"Your body grows from the food you eat,
Your mind - from the sensory-planted seeds.
What sensory seeds are you planting now?"
~ Yogi Mir


Namaste.
Tara

3 comments:

GoodnessMeGoddess said...

Yay, Fresh Connect KC is so awesome!!! Glad you guys are diggin it!! I keep trying to get my parents hooked up on this bandwagon...think I'm actually going to buy them a box (in secret) and have it sent to their house, just so they can experience the wonderfulness and hopefully continue the trend on their own! We'll see...I'm a gal on a mission! lol Btw, you might dig this:

http://www.dianastobo.com/articles-advice/food-cravings/comment-page-1/#comment-200

It's a list of food cravings and what your body might really be craving when asking for microwave pizza and nuggets...although I'm not sure how the pregnancy hormones effect this whole balance, but its a good chart to bookmark just for personal cravings in general!

Tara said...

It is awesome indeed! You should definitely encourage your parents in that direction. They might just need a little push and purchasing them a box might show them just how simple it is. I am still in awe of how inexpensive it is and the quality and quantity of the food we're receiving.
I love that chart! I think that it's so right on. I definitely think my cravings were coming from deficiencies that I didn't have prior to pregnancy, but my needs changed thus changing my cravings. My body was craving a lot more fatty acids than I had been giving it in a long time. I am so happy to be back in balance and feeling good.

Lucinda said...

THanks for that post. Reminded me of my pregnancy. Happy vegan one day, vomity burgers-and-milk consumer the next. It stayed that way until the baby arrived.

The whole experience made me realise that we do what is right for us at the time, and I don't follow one strict doctrine anymore.

I just discovered this blog. Now to read some more posts!