Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Foodie Info Overload

Ok so far, due to my research on pregnancy, I have read four books on healthy eating, all contradicting each other.


Skinny Bitch - All vegetarian. No way. I don't want to look pale BUT they do make sense on organic stuff and dairy free alternatives. I wont listen to their nonsense only if I can guzzle milk without having an upset stomach, but with their dairy free alternative options, and reasons for foregoing dairy (animal treatment aside), I can be open minded to their suggestions.


Eating Right for You and Your baby - Eat based on your blood type. Hmmmmm interesting. I'm a vigorous red blooded O and to my delight, BEEF is one of the requirements along with chicken. I didn't see pork but that's okay considering beef, lamb, veal and chicken are high up there in their food pyramid. This book will also give me (gave) me a chance to try Essene Bread. Yes, that oh so divine manna bread from heaven. However, my peeve about this book was that it encourages pre prego and prego women to drink tea. Doesn't all tea have caffeine, including decaf herbal ones? Also, it advises to avoid at all cost some of just a looong list of the following healthy foods to achieve your fullest fertile self:  honeydew melons, cantaloupes, cauliflower, cucumber, potatoes, olives, coconut milk, wheat bread, wheat pasta, popcorn, and oranges. Whew! What's there left to eat? Everything else of course! Oh, except Dairy (again).


The Paleo Diet-The author boasts about people who lost weight eating ONLY the basic three food groups: 1) Lean meat 2) Fruits 3) Vegetables. No grains, no dairy. You better live in Mars buddy, cuz that's not possible. I love my Krispy Kremes :D. The author also advised for us to eat like that of our hunter gatherer ancestors, pre Biblical times. Ohhhhkay. Last I recall, I'm not as hairy and my jaws are not that wide.


All books have something different to offer but rather, seem to be a bit extreme for my liking. However, I won't be duped. I'm all for balance and Weight Watchers gave me the best alternative to healthy eating. They don't have a book for pregnant women yet because their objective is for women to lose weight in a healthy, non-depriving way, but their swapping food points style system is a genius.

However, based on my research about pregnancy, all books and legit internet sources provided me with the same list of foods to avoid:

1) Junk food - due to empty calories and its HFC content (duh, not gonna happen... ok maybe a little)
2) Sushi ;( - raw meats can be highly contaminated with harmful bacteria which is bad for the baby
3) Deli meats (must I repeat myself?)
4) Soft cheeses ;( particularly brie, blue, camembert and gorgonzola - just like reason 2,
5) Seafood high in mercury such as:
  • Marlin
  • Orange roughy
  • Tilefish
  • Swordfish
  • Shark
  • Mackerel (king)
  • Tuna ( bigeye, Ahi)
  • Farmed salmon (meaning all salmon ;() may contain chemicals such as PCB with serious long term health effects 
  • Fish sauce
     mercury can cause birth defects or miscarriages.

6) All forms of caffeine, even chocolate (Now wait a minute! I'm not pregnant just yet!)

Its quite hard to remember all these so I just picked and choose the foods I can eat that are most beneficial based on the three books I read combined:

Highly Beneficial:
BEEF! (Also Lamb, Mutton, Veal and Venison)
Chicken

Seeds and Beans
Flaxseed
Almonds
Sesame
Walnut
Black Eyed Peas

Bread
Non Gluten Bread (Manna)

Vegetables:
Artichoke
Broccoli
Horseradish
KALE
Romaine Lettuce
ONION (Yeay)
Sweet Potato
Pumpkin

Fruits:
Banana
Blueberry
Cherry
FIGS
PINEAPPLE JUICE
PRUNES
PLUMS

Spices:
Ginger
Cayenne Pepper
Curry
Parsley
Turmeric

Dairy:
Organic Fat Free Cows Milk with DHA & Vit D.

Non Dairy Alternatives:
Almond Milk
Rice Milk

Fat Free Condiments:
Humus
Veggainese

I will still eat the following foods, though in moderation of course:

Grains:
Oatmeal (every morning)
Wheat bread

Dairy:
Hard Cheese
Mozzarella
Eggs
Mayo

Non Dairy Alternative:
Soy Milk
Coconut Milk

Fruits & Veggies:
Oranges
Tangerines
Honey Dew Melons
Cantaloupes
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Mushrooms

Seafood, stick to the following at least one meal a week:
Oyster (sauce is ok)
Tilapia
Shrimp

Maybe if I read the list I can eat again and again, I may be able to memorize them by heart...

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