Fertility – The Creative Salad

What’s Really Going On

You may be wondering the REAL reason I’ve been blogging lightly over the past three months. Well, our daughter has some news to share with you:

Instead of blogging, I’ve been napping.

Yes, we’re having a baby!

After such a long journey, we’ve finally made it to the second trimester. The baby’s heartbeat is strong. I’ve been feeling him or her move around for several weeks now, having one big dance party after another.

Let’s all take a big sigh of relief.

We expect the latest Spritzer Leyba to arrive this February.

I’m hoping to head back to our regular blogging schedule just as soon as the second trimester burst of energy kicks in. I’ve got so much to share with you! Stay tuned…

How I Inadvertently Started Eating the Paleo Diet and Began to Feel Better

Here we are, trying to lose weight and attempting another fad diet… Wait, that’s not what’s really going on! Let me back up and tell you about my food sensitivities and how we stumbled on to this one.

I’m gluten intolerant, so I can’t eat your typical breads, pastas, and cereals. I’m also sensitive to corn, and rarely eat processed sugar, caffeine, or alcohol (just cause it makes me feel crappy!). I’m trying to lose weight (spraining your ankle and miscarrying repeatedly seem to be weight-gaining activities for me, imagine that!), so I’m cutting down on my intake of rice pasta, potatoes, gluten-free breads, and cheese.

For the past few years I’ve been thinking that I was completely worn out from being a mom — after all, being on call 24-7 IS exhausting! It turns out that it wasn’t just parenthood wearing me down. Evidently I wasn’t eating what my body needs.

I just started eating meat after two decades of vegetarianism and found it energized me. I stopped feeling worn out and tired all of the time. I started laughing and smiling more because I finally have the energy to really keep up with my four year old.

Over the past month I’ve realized that I feel best eating vegetables, fruit, nuts, and meat every day. Cut out the other processed crap and that’s what I crave. I wake up every morning and eat a meatball. Or a hamburger. With a big bowl of greens and some toasted nuts. And I feel great.

Oh my. Why, that’s the Paleo diet. I just can’t seem to help myself.

That being said, I still eat brown rice occasionally, put milk in my morning cup of tea, and love eating cheese, so I’m not 100% Paleo, but I’m curious to see how I’d feel if I cut those things out.

We’ll see how this goes. I’m typically as skeptical as you are right now… except that I’m feeling so darn good!

Oh, the Energy! Yeah, I’m Eating Meat Now.

If you had told me a year ago that I would be eating meat, I would have laughed in your face. I’ve been a vegetarian for almost all of my life. My husband and I met because we were vegetarians (thrust together at one end of the table at Thanksgiving dinner nine years ago).

Yet here we are, hoping to stay pregnant (when we start trying again in the future!), and so after decades of vegetarianism, I’m eating meat. Not just any meat, but red meat.

Frequently.

Lamb kabobs,
lentil soup with bone broth,
french onion soup,
lamb patties,
turkey sausage…

The list goes on.

I don’t particularly like its taste yet, but my body evidently adores when I consume it: within hours of eating meat, I feel incredible! (Dammit!)

I have energy! Stamina!
I become oh-so productive!

Who needs caffeine?! I’m eating meat!

I find it truly astonishing, and makes me think I will probably be an omnivore for the rest of my life.

My sister just texted me, “I want to officially welcome you to the dark side!” Oh, geez. I’m no longer a vegetarian… but I feel great!

I have to eat WHAT to stay pregnant?!

I’ve written before about our struggle to stay pregnant and I thought I would share with you the latest chapter in our fertility journey.

Above photo: Dinner: beef, salad, farro, potatoes by Sarah Gilbert

I’m seeing an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility. I think she’s rather brilliant and knowledgeable and — I mean this in the best possible way — very, very Sonoma County (for example, the clinic bathroom has a composting toilet — our daughter was enthralled!).

On our first meeting we discussed my health history and she threw me a curve ball: she really wants me to eat red meat. Not chicken or turkey, but RED MEAT! I haven’t eaten red meat in at least twenty five years. In fact I have no memory of ever having eaten red meat, although perhaps my parents will remember better and post about it in the comments. (Mom, I remember you cooking meatballs; did I ever eat one?!)

Even though I may not remember what red meat tastes like, I know that I really don’t want to eat it.

For the majority of my life I’ve been a pescatarian (a vegetarian who also eats fish) who only started eating seafood to get more protein into my diet. If I could live without dairy, I would be a vegan. With the exception of a bowl of chicken soup at sleep-away camp and a bite of roast beef in college, I haven’t eaten meat since elementary school.

That being said, I’ll do just about anything to stay pregnant. After all, transitioning from a vegetarian to omnivore diet and seeing an acupuncturist helped one of my closest friends become pregnant. It might really help!

Plus, doesn’t Sarah Gilbert’s photo, above, make meat-eating look delicious and healthy?!

And so I’m trying to acclimate myself to the idea of cooking with beef broth…

Never mind that the rest of the family are pescatarians and are, therefore, going to be eating something different.

Stay tuned!

Looking back on 2011

2011 had it’s ups and downs, though perhaps not in ways that one might expect.

In all honesty, spraining my ankle and not having been able to run for the past six months has been much more devastating to me than my inability to stay pregnant.

Those daily runs have been my solace over the past few years. A moment of quiet time to focus my mind and have time to myself. In the meantime I’ve tried to make do with frequent walks listening to books on tape, but it’s not the same. I miss those runs.

David too has been plagued with injuries this year. His back sprain over the past few months have kept him from progressing in his yoga practice as he tries to strengthen and heal his back. (That being said, his yoga practice is phenomenal and he was recently called “a pillar of the [local ashtanga yoga] community.”)

Our health issues aside, I do believe that 2011 has been one of my very favorite years ever. We have a wonderful group of friends here and truly love where we live. After toying with the idea of pursuing a life elseware, both David and I arrived at the same conclusion: We’re not going anywhere. Sonoma County is home and neither of us can imagine living anywhere else.

While every year with David has truly been wonderful, this year I feel like we’ve really hit our stride. We’ve watched our respect and love for each other continue to grow, and after nine years together I awed by our love for each other. I could never have imagined loving anyone so fully. I feel very, very blessed.

Our daughter is such a joy. The craziness of three and a half definitely threw us for a loop (I could pull my hair out just thinking about it!), but we’ve hit our stride and love every day together. She forces us to grow on a seemingly daily basis and for that I am truly grateful.

David and I both thrive in this ever changing, constantly challenging yet incredibly rewarding environment. Thankfully life is never boring around here.

People ask what we’re busy doing and I always have to pause before I explain: life! Between the cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, lessons and playdates, we don’t have a free moment. My to-do list is pages long. The sink is full of dishes. Laundry is overflowing everywhere. Our life is full. A beautiful, crazy mess, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

May 2012 be as wonderful.