What I am Eating: Second Trimester

So, hopefully, you saw by now that I am expecting a little foodie of my own! And, this has caused a serious lag in the postings lately. The first trimester was, well, rough, when it came to eating. Appetite was low. I was lucky to get enough calories in a day to make a difference. But, we are now a few weeks into my second trimester, and honestly, I could eat my handbag some days, that is how well my appetite has bounced back.

But, as you probably know about me, I am not going to use this whole pregnant thing as an excuse to eat whatever I want. Because, A) I want my baby to get all the good stuff they need to grow and be healthy, and B) I have worked so hard to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle, that I don't want to throw that all out the window. So, I have been working hard to eat nutrient packed meals as often as possible (and of course, veer off course every once in awhile) and thought I would share what my general menu looks like these days. Hope it isn't too boring. If anything, you can take away how to pack as much good stuff into a day as possible, I hope.

Breakfast
I have been eating an Eggland's Best egg every morning. Just one, so I don't overdo it on the cholesterol. Gotta get those Omega-3s. But, it is not the same menu every morning. Here are the most common ones:
-One egg pan fried on a whole wheat English muffin with a slice of Sargento cheese
-One egg pan fried omelet style, with a slice of cheese, and multigrain toaster waffles
-A bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and walnuts and a hard boiled egg
I also have a glass of calcium fortified orange juice with my breakfast and prenatal vitamin every morning.
The weekends often go a bit off course, but I still try to make them healthy.

Lunch
During the week, I really luck out and get to eat in our campus cafeteria every day. You might be laughing now, but I am serious. I am lucky. We have a fantastic cafeteria with lots of healthy options, and most importantly, a great salad bar! So, here is what I have most days for lunch:
- A heaping mound of raw spinach with as many of the following salad fixins as possible:
Broccoli
Edamame
Kidney or Garbanzo beans
Carrot matchsticks
Tomato wedges
Shredded cheddar or feta cheese
Fat Free Italian or French Dressing
- I also usually try to find a healthily prepared piece of meat if I can. They have been serving a lot of pork tenderloin lately, which usually has a pretty tasty crust.
- I also check the cooked veggie selection and will often go for some steamed cauliflower or zucchini
- We also have a great vegan/vegetarian section that I check daily for a good rice or bean dish.
NOTE: I do not have all three of those last things on the same day. But, I check all three areas and usually have something from one or two.
- To finish the meal, I have been going for one of three routes, because I am usually still feeling hungry, have a bit of a sweet tooth, and need something else to get through the day. These options are:
Edy's low fat ice cream (110 calories per 4 oz) on a sugar cone
Two pieces of cinnamon raisin toast with butter
A bowl of cereal with skim milk

Dinner
Paul and I have been spending time on Sundays planning our meals for the coming week. This has helped us cut down on food waste (leftovers we don't eat or ingredients that don't get used) and grocery shopping trips but also helps us ensure we are getting a good balanced menu for the week.
Some recent dinner menus:
- Veggie packed tomato sauce (Paul adds spinach, carrots, celery, onions... YUM) with Smart Taste (enriched) pasta with homemade meatballs (Paul makes these but only uses turkey and pork and they are AWESOME!)
- Taco Night with avocado slices OR homemade guacamole (we usually have ground turkey or chicken for the filling and try to load them with as many veggies as possible)
- In the crock pot right now for at least two nights this week: Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala. Oh man... it smells so GOOD!
- Chicken fried (brown) rice with lots of veggies
- Herbed Quinoa with this delicious chicken!
- Omelets with roasted red peppers and feta and these yummy muffins.
- Turkey burgers with baked sweet potato fries

So, yeah, we are doing our best. I would love to hear your suggestions on other nutrient packed meals that will help us grow a strong, healthy baby!

Snacks
Ok... here we are in the snack section. Some of these are WAY better for me than others, I get it. But, here is what I have been snacking on lately:
- Dried apricots
- Fresh pineapple
- String cheese (obsessing a bit right now, actually)
- Honey Nut Cheerios or Cinnamon Toast Crunch with skim milk
- Chobani Greek Lemon Yogurt
- Cinnamon Teddy Grahams
- Dried Cherries
- Laughing Cow cheese wedges on wheat thins
- Almonds with sea salt
- Navel oranges

That's the majority of it. Sometimes, out of necessity, I grab a less good snack from work, something left over from an event or something, but I am trying to have healthy snacks on hand and stick to those!



Well, hope this gave you something to chew on until the next post. I wanted to share with you what this foodie has been focusing on for the last few weeks!

Stay tuned for a post or two from our Babymoon next weekend! Headed to Frankfort, MI for a little getaway while we still can!

P.S. Our baby is the size of a sweet potato this week! I love sweet potatoes, clearly. I think it is SO FUNNY that they compare your growing baby to things from the produce section. We love it, actually. We usually can get a very clear picture of what they are talking about! :)