Saturday Set-Up - March 8, 2014

This week's Set-Up has a brand new purpose to it.  That's because I just walked into my 6th week of pregnancy and the morning sickness has begun!

I'm only getting it in waves right now, so it's already better than my past pregnancies. This morning, though, I felt awful for a time and I knew I had to get some foods prepped to get me through the coming week.

Seeing how quickly I can go from fine to Vomit Ready, I know my appetite is going to drop off a lot this week.  My focus right now is to get in enough foods to meet the folate requirements this baby needs to grow and develop safely.  Using this chart, I found that's not hard to do in any way when I'm eating normally with the 6 week plan as my base.  But, when my stomach is starting to turn at just the smell of fresh greens, I know I need a plan for getting the basic necessities down.

Survive the Green Plan

Folate Goal:  600 mcg

Green Smoothie  = 115 to 150 mcg folate
1 cup of lentils   =  358  mcg folate
1 PB ball  =  100 mcg folate

If I only get these three items in each day, I am very close to my goal of 600 mcg of folate daily.  If you consider that the lentils I eat are prepared with onion, mushrooms, and cooked greens, I'm even closer if not fully over the daily need.

And, Lord willing, I'll be able to add in another bowl of beans, steamed broccoli, or even a roasted beet which will put me well over my daily goal. 

So, today, after my ginger tea got me feeling better, I packed up some freezer bags filled with fruits and veggies for green smoothies. I was inspired by the tutorial at this link.

 

I used 1 cup of cantaloupe, 1 cup of strawberries, and 1/2 cup of blueberries for the fruit...

 

I had a mix of beet greens, kale, and bok choy for the greens. I firmly packed a heaping two cups into the bags.  I added a palm of walnuts and a palm of a mixture of sliced almonds and raw pumpkin seeds.

 

These pretty little bags are all tucked in my freezer now. I'll add a TBS of chia seeds and water to the blender to mix these up for my daily smoothie.  I may end up decreasing the fruit as I move along this pregnancy so as to keep my sugars low, but for now, I want to make sure I like this taste while I'm dealing with the nausea.

 

I also made some protein rich power bits for the freezer. One of these each day will give me 100 mcg of folate and enough protein to help my stomach stay busy and, hopefully, more settled during the day.

 

 

Another quick treat my daughter made for me today was a pan of roasted chickpeas.  These are a little too good to resist, though.  The first pan was gone before the day was out and I didn't even have one! We made a second pan for our dinner salad tonight. It's a good thing these are easy to make, so I can still rely on them for a high folate food that is easy to get down.

 

 

1 large can of garbanzo beans, rinsed, sprinkled with Mrs. Dash seasoning and roasted at 400 degrees until crispy. 1 cup = 282 mcg folate. 

 

I'm feeling confident about this plan.  Even at my worst, I'm pretty sure I can keep this minimum food down. It will be in texture that soothes my stomach and is easy to digest. 

 

Now, I can sit back, welcome the green, and enjoy this gift of a first trimester knowing that this little one is being fed the best I know how.