Third Trimester and Food

Month 7: For the most part this month is o.k. I can eat some fruit like Cranberries and Grapefruit. The only issues really have been heartburn/acid indigestion and not being able to pack as much away. Super craving chocolate this month.

Month 8: Time to give up the gluten. My Dr. says I've gained more than she would have liked for my whole pregnancy and the baby is bigger than average. So lay off the simple sugar/carbohydrates.

So, I went gluten free and my weight did not stabilize. And noticing by my own weekly weigh-ins, it has nothing to do with what or how much I eat, but with how frequently. On days when I have established meal times, and nights when I sleep well, I gain less weight. And lets not forget about hormones. Dairy definitely plays a role in weight gain. The weeks I eat a lot of dairy, I gain a lot of weight, not to mention constipation.

I've read from a variety of sources that your baby's weight gain has nothing to do with how much weight you gain. But in the interest of being healthy for my baby I'm still trying my best to eat a variety of whole foods. It sucks that very little is in season right now.

Month 9: Discovered heartburn culprit: Beef. It seems to be the only food that gives me acid indigestion. Still avoiding dairy-for the most part. Oranges, bananas, pineapple, grapefruit all on my can be eaten fruit list. My desire for cranberries has waned, but chocolate is still strong on my to-eat list. I've lost my verve to cook again and it's hard for me with the Carpal Tunnel. Plus, I'm starting to run out of room which means I need to eat less food more frequently.

It's been hard these last couple of weeks. I don't have an appetite for any particular food, except sugar. My husband does not really cook for me like he said he would. To be fair I guess it's hard to cook for someone who doesn't know what they would like to eat. I told him "just think about the things you know I don't want, and don't cook those." It's hard on him to work extra full time, and then do all the house work too, and be my soul source of company, and take me to my doctors appointments, and do the shopping. But, I'll need someone to cook for me for the next 2 months. I'll be so tired and busy with baby that I won't be able cook or grocery shop. I wish I could afford to hire a cook. Or, since we are dreaming, I would clone myself and she would be my live in help for the next 3 months.

At worst I have more than a month, at best, less than a week before the baby arrives. I guess it really is more like 10 months than 9. Ugh! Weight gain 47 lbs!

Minestrone (Vegan, and can be Gluten Free)

3 Tbs. Organic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large onion, diced
5 large carrots, diced
6 large ribs celery, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 tsp. dried, crushed Basil
1/4 tsp. dried, crushed Oregano
2 cups cooked white Beans in liquid
3 cups of water
1 quart jar of diced tomatoes with the juice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 cup dried D'Italini shape pasta, cooked according to directions and set aside. This keeps the soup Gluten Free.

In a large stock pot, saute the vegetables in the olive oil one at a time for a few minutes with each addition. Add the herbs, water, tomatoes, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add the beans and liquid, salt, and pepper, bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Serve with cooked pasta, but be forewarned, if you put pasta in soup it will absorb all the extra liquid. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if you like. Makes a lot.

Chicken Salad-Salad Wraps

I love wraps! But having been gluten free for 5 years I could not use flour tortillas and hadn't come up with a good alternative. Until last year. Rice paper wraps from the asian market are great with a cold wrap.

I also love chicken salad, but since I can't eat it on bread, in a pita pocket, or in a wheat tortilla wrap, I decided to just use it like salad dressing and eat it on a bed of greens. Not a very easy lunch to-go, so here's where the rice papers come in handy, literally.

Start by making my delicious chicken salad recipe:

White meat from a whole roasted 5 lb chicken, cut and shredded
1/2 red onion, finely diced
5 ribs of celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups of red grapes, quartered or 1/2-1 cup of raisins soaked in boiling water
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste
add enough yogurt or sour cream to desired creaminess
1/2 cup roasted, salted almonds coarsely chopped (reserve for later)

Lettuce
Rice Paper Wrappers

Mix all ingredients together, except the walnuts. Let sit in the refrigerator for 4 hours before using. Wash and spin your lettuce leaves. Follow directions on rice paper package to saturate in water for a few seconds then shake off excess. Place on smooth surface. At the top (about 1 inch in) put about 1/2 cup chicken salad, top with a sprinkle of nuts, and lettuce leaves (as many as will fit). Roll over once, fold in sides and roll to the end of the paper. If you like it spicy, squirt some hot sauce (I like sriracha) on the chicken salad before you add the lettuce.

Quiche

I love eggs! You may have heard my joke about the reason I started dating Tom was that he had chickens. There is nothing better to an egg lover than never having to pay for good eggs again. Quiche is a great way to make eggs. It's a good meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. My only regret is that for what you get it uses relatively few eggs. But like pizza in the summer, Quiche is a great way to use what you have on hand seasonally.

Start by making the crust, see "Easy as Pie-Crust" recipe. For Quiche you will be using one crust, the recipe makes two. Either save the other crust, make two Quiche or use the second crust to make something else (see future post Mixed Berry Pie).

Filling:
4 eggs beaten
2 cups milk
or
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk, if you have a small pie plate
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

Add to this any combination of sauteed vegetables and 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, see below for a few ideas.

Cheddar and caramelized onions
Leek and Goat Cheese
Spinach, garlic and Feta
Kale, Red onion and Swiss

Make sure the vegetables have cooled from cooking, and you have pulsed till nearly pureed in your food processor before adding the eggs and milk, and stirring in cheese. Pour into pie shell and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes, till top is gold and bubbly. Serves 6, if you have a side dish (like salad and fruit), otherwise, it serves 3.

Easy as Pie-Crust

I have never been good at making pie crust. I just don't have the patience to cut in butter to flour for a really flaky crust. And I just can't use hydrogenated oil, no Crisco for me. Nor do I wish to use lard, unless it were from my own pigs.

But in one of the last issues of Cook's Country I came across a pie crust recipe that makes a delicious crust good for savory and sweet pies.

1/2 cup sour cream, chilled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
12 T. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled

Combine sour cream and egg in bowl. Process flour and salt in food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until only pea size pieces remain, 6-10 pulses. Add half of sour cream mixture and pulse until combined, 6 pulses. Add remaining sour cream mixture and pulse until dough begins to form, 6-10 pulses.
Transfer mixture to a lightly floured counter and knead briefly until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each half into 4-inch disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Remove 1 dough disk from refrigerator and let sit for 10 minutes. Working on lightly floured surface, roll into 12 inch round and transfer to 9 inch pie plate leaving 1/2 inch overhang all around. Repeat with second dough disk and transfer to parchment lined rimmed baking sheet, refrigerate for 30 minutes.

At this point it's ready to fill any way you like. I end up baking most pies at 375 degrees F. for about 45 minutes.

Savory Pineapple Cream Cheese Ball

1 8-oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup crushed pineapple drained and squeezed of excess liquid

2 Tbs. finely minced green pepper

1 Tbs. super finely minced onion

1/2 Tbs. Seasoning Salt, MSG and yeast free

2 cups chopped Walnuts

Combine first 5 ingredients and 1 cup of the Walnuts. Shape into a ball and roll the perimeter with the remaining cup of Walnuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4-5 hours before serving.

For a nut-free version, combine first 5 ingredients and roll in chopped fresh parsley. Or, drain but don't squeeze the pineapple, and serve it as a dip.

Breakfast Casserole (naturally Gluten free)

I made this to take to a holiday brunch recently and it was a huge hit. I thought with all the other food we'd be bringing back a lot of leftovers, but with only 10 people we managed to nearly eat it all. It was that good. I wanted to add peppers to this but was unsure of the crowd.

You could shred the potatoes yourself to avoid all the additives, but you will have to go through the trouble of washing, peeling, shredding (I use a food processor), and then squeezing all the excess liquid out of the potatoes (see my recipe for potato pancakes), and the shreds will turn brown, but this will not be apparent in the finished product. I do buy block cheese and shred it in my processor to avoid additives, plus it melts better.

2 lb bag of frozen, shredded Hash Browns *GF get generic, Ore Ida has gluten
1 lb of MSG free pork sausage, we buy locally raised
1 large onion, diced
5 large eggs, we use our chicken eggs
1/2 cup of milk
12 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

Spread hash browns out on a large cookie sheet and place in the oven on warm while you prep the rest. In a large skillet over medium high heat brown the sausage and onion. If there is fat, drain it. If you use lean sausage you will need to add 2 Tbs. canola oil to brown, and use high heat.

Remove potatoes from oven and set temperature to 350 degrees F. Transfer the thawed potatoes to a greased lasagne baking dish, combine sausage and onion with potatoes. Add in 1/2 the shredded cheese. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, beat in the milk and spices and pour over potato mixture. Layer the remaining cheese on top and bake, covered with foil, for 35 minutes. Remove foil and crank up the heat to 375, bake for another 15 minutes (till cheese begins to bubble and brown slightly). Remove from oven, let stand for 10 minutes, cut and serve.