I gave birth six weeks ago. Since then, I've lost a lot of the baby weight. Partly because the baby that I was carrying was so huge that his expulsion from the womb represented a massive weight loss, and partly because I've hardly been able to eat anything since he was born, what with his unremitting need to be held ALL THE TIME HOLY HELL. Hardly anything but cookies, that is, and maybe the odd bagel or two. Which, you know, is not the best post-partum diet.
So I want to eat more healthily, and I want to lose the muffin top, and so it's pretty convenient that this month's BlogHer's Act Canada Eco-Challenge is eating locally. Because eating locally is always a healthy enterprise - they don't grow PopTarts at your local farm, I guarantee you that. Nor Cheezies, nor candy bars.
What they do grow, near me, right now: asparagus (thick green stalks of it, yum) and strawberries. Free-range chickens that lay free-range eggs. Free-range cows that provide free-range meat and dairy (ice cream and milk and cheese, mmm good). Honey. Grains for locally milled flour, which gets transformed into delicious baked goods that are sold at my local bakery. Like cinnamon buns (where does the cinnamon come from, though? Hmm) which, good gosh, I could live on. Also, cookies.
All right then, so eating locally this month might not trim the waistline, but it will help the environment, which is the whole point of this exercise. Join in! Make an effort this month to eat locally as much as possible. Blog it - what awesome foodstuffs come from your community? What recipes are you pulling together using foods from your area? If you blog it, send your links my way, or leave them in comments at BHA-Canada, and we'll compile them.
And? if you have any healthy, diet-friendly recipes that use foods from the Southern Ontario region, pass them along. I need to break my cookie habit.
Comments
love the local
Hello!
That's funny -- my son wanted to be held all the time, too! And he refused to sleep alone. Now he's a very independent, though still cuddly, four-year-old. It gets easier.
I love eating locally and post recipes on my blog, What I Made for Dinner (ack link function isn't working on my laptop, so http://whatimadefordinner.blogspot.com). I just went to a strawberry luncheon featuring grilled lamb with a strawberry sauce! Kind of a complex dish for a family with a newborn, though.
If I were you, I'd start out simple: snack on the local strawberries, which you can probably wash one-handed ;) Have one of those free-range eggs poached for breakfast with whole-grain bread from your local bakery.
If you have a little more time to cook, or if you can get someone else to cook for you, asparagus buckwheat crepes are pretty good.
Sautee mushrooms and chopped asparagus with garlic in olive oil, thyme, salt, and a leetle red wine. Set aside.
Combine 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup buckwheat flour, 1/3 whole wheat flour, 1/4 t salt, 1 1/2 T melted butter. Let batter sit at least 1/2 hour.
Ladle batter into hot, buttered pan, making sure it spreads to all sides. Cook, then flip. Add some of the asparagus mixture to the center, top with grated local cheese, fold over crepe, and enjoy!
Crepes take a little practice, so make sure everyone is in a good mood, first.
adapting to a baby
The drastic change in life with an infant is trying. In many cultures extended family share the baby attachment so mom gets a few minutes to herself.
One of my favorites growing up in Alberta was to live out of the garden, meaning I ate most vegtables raw and dipped them in whatever sauce was in the fridge- usually mayo. If you can tolerate raw vegs between the cookies at least you get some of those needed vitamines and minerals.
Life gets easier in a few more weeks. Hang in.
dolly
Relax
There is sure a lot of adjustment when a baby comes along. So my tip, as cliche as it sounds, is to ask you to consider relaxing. Get some help so that you can de-stress. You munching on cookies may just be a symptom of feeling pressurized.
Evelyn
Break Free from Limiting Beliefs