Comfort Food

It hasn't all been coconut water-and-kale smoothies.

This pregnancy has been all about carbs. I sneak in all of the good stuff, too -- berries, bananas, water, walnuts, sardines, salmon, spinach, beans, grassfed beef, dried apricots, daily prenatal vitamins, etc. -- but at every turn, I crave the least necessary section of the food pyramid. Well, it's not a pyramid these days, but I digress.

Here are just a few examples of my carb consumption these last few weeks. I've highlighted the health benefits of each to prove that, despite the indulgences, I remain a conscientious expectant mother:

Surprisingly, my pizza intake has been moderate, despite a weekly craving for the stuff. One of the few I've had during the past 9 months is featured here with pepperoni and mushrooms. (Mushrooms = vegetable, tomato sauce = fruit. And cheese. Good for baby. Calcium, etc.)


Then there's Mike's amazing, 10-minute pressure-cooker risotto, shown here with oven-roasted asparagus and generous amounts of parm. (Veggie and cheese.)


Dark chocolate is also good for you, so I took this cast iron skillet brownies recipe and used dark chips instead of milk chocolate chips. And then there's 3% milk, DHA eggs, and natural sugars.) I highly recommend this recipe, but ignore the suggested cook time and check your brownies early. Mine were done (a little dryer than I would have liked) in about 22 minutes, even though the recipe called for 35 minutes.)


You can't neglect the classics. Especially in your third trimester. A PG&J at 36+ weeks pregnant tastes like a Monte Cristo. Besides, check out all the good stuff here. Bread: organic. PB: organic and chockful of protein. J: fruit. (Not shown: glass of cold 2% milk.)


And finally ... whole grain toast. So good for you. Even when you dip it into homemade beer cheese soup, I suspect. Our soup was laden with celery, onions and 2% milk instead of half-and-half. Practically Weight-Watchers friendly.