Spring break starts Saturday… officially. But I’ve technically been on mental spring break since about 5pm on Monday.  So I’ve studied, read, relaxed, entertained lots of Eastern European people and dreaming of my true spring break – next week.

And how, even if only in my head, I will transform my home into a spring cleaned palace with no more dust bunnies, and nice neat finished home interior projects and long mornings sipping tea or coffee while watching the kiddos play in their toy kitchen

I’ve recently been following this blog and am head over heels in love with some of the home interiors that she spies out.  I’m convinced that my house will look like this one day: clean, cozy, sleek, antiqued… pretty much the most perfect house ever. Take a look and see what you think of the cosy norwegian winter home… ahhhh.  But for next week at least, I’ll clean my house and maybe save these pictures on my desk top and have a quite cozy moment to myself.

RUN… don’t walk, but RUN to your local grocery and buy a huge bunch of dark leafy kale then make the following recipe.  Trust me, you won’t be sorry!

Step 1:

Take a bunch of beautiful kale, wash and spin it in your salad spinner (or pat dry with towels) and then break into bite size pieces, or leave big and leafy… however you like.

Step 2:

Load up a baking sheet with the fresh kale and then spray olive oil both sides, giving each leaf a light coat of OLIVE OIL.  Then bake for about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Step 3:

When it is done baking, it should be crispy and dry… like a chip.  Then you can add your favorite flavors (all natural of course):

-just salt (we use coarse sea salt) but don’t add before you bake cause it messes with the drying out process.

-cummin, curry, and red cayenne pepper (for a real kick add additional red pepper flakes!)

-garlic powder or crushed fresh garlic

I’d imagine that you could think up a salt and vinegar variety or ‘italian spices’ or ‘barbeque spices’ from a barbeque rub or seomthing too!

Step 4:

DEVOUR! Everyone in my family, even my 2 year old and 4 year old were loving these kale chips and eating them by the fistful!

Step 5:

Revel in the fact that you’ve done something good for your body. Kale has loads of vitamins: A, C, K, and magnesium.  It’s a power food!

Check out what www.whfoods.com has to say for Kale:

Hey all,

I’ve been browsing livestrong.com and have come across a few articles on birth and the effects of medication used during labor on the birthing process and the newborn.

Check them out:

Health Effects to Your Baby When Using Medication During Delivery

The Effects of Anesthesia on Newborns

Epidural Side Effects for a Baby

There are lots of great articles on this website pertaining to health.  I suggest that you, as a pregnant mom/expecting family do ample research before labor about birth and alternative pain relief methods.

Alternative pain relief methods include: hypnobirthing, concentrated relaxation techniques, visualizations, massage, continual labor support (in form of friend, sister, mother, or professional doula, aromatherapy, WATER in the form of baths or showers. ATTEND a BirthisFun! Chidlbirth course!

If you know me at all, you know that I absolutely do not believe in fear tactics that are used to manipulate pregnant women to make a “right” decision.  I believe in research and open conversation with your health care provider and family.  I don’t want to scare you away from your preferred pain coping technique by bad stories or “what if’s” and I don’t want your health care provider to scare you into making rash decisions that can be avoided by ample education and open conversations.

Your labor day will be a day that you will ALWAYS remember.  If you have a chance now to prepare yourselves for an awesome day, why waste it? The number one variable in your labor day is your health care provider.  You can read and decide whatever you want but if you have not discussed your wishes with your health care provider and aren’t on the “same page”  your labor day plans are up for grabs.  If you need a suggestion for awesome OB or midwife, email me and I’ll give you some suggestions!

So… happy researching.  As always, let me know if you have questions.

I’m studying for upcoming test on labor and delivery! Yay! And I have to say that the more that I read in our book and the more that I listen to our wonderful midwife turned instructor the more I realize that there is a discrepency in evidenced-based research and how mothers are typically treated in hospitals during labor.

So, I’m typing verbatim some great info from my textbook: Maternity Nursing by Lowdermilk and Perry

“Traditionally the laboring woman has been offered only clear liquids or ice chips or given nothing by mouth during the active phase of labor to minimize the risk of anesthesia complications and their sequelae should general anesthesia be required in an emergency.  These sequelae include the aspiration of gastric contents and resultant compromise in oxygen perfusion, which may endanger the lives of the mother and fetus.  This practice is being challenged today because regional anesthesia is used more often than general anesthesia, even for emergency cesarean births.  Women are awke during regional anesthesia and are able to participate in their own care and protect their airway.

“An adequate intake of fluids and calories is required to meet the energy demands and the fluid losses associated with childbirth. The progress of labor slows, and ketosis developes if these demands are not met and fat is metabolized.  Reduced energy for bearing-down efforts (pushing) increases the risk for a forceps or vacuum-assisted birth. This is most likely to occur in women who begin to labor early in the mroning after a night without caloric intake.  When woman are permitted to consume fluids and food freely, they typically regulate their own oral intake, eating light foods (e.g., eggs, yogurt, ice cream, dry toast and jelly, fruit) and drinking fluids during early labor and tapering off to the intake of clear fluids and sips of water or ice chips as labor intensifies and the second stage approaches.  Common practice is to allow clear liquids (e.g., water, tea, apple juice, clear sodas, gelatin, broth) during early labor, tapering off to ice chips and sips of water as labor progresses and becomes more acive.  Food and fluid consumed orally during labor can meet a laboring woman’s hydration and energy demands more effectively and safely than fluid administered intravenously.  In addition, the woman’s sense of control and level of comfort are enhanced (Scheepers et al., 2001).  The CNM Data Group (1999) found that a woman’s culture may influence what she will eat and drink during labor.  In addition, women who used nonpharmacologic pain relief measures and labored in nonhospital settings were more liekly to eat and drink during labor.

“Withholding food and fluids in labor is a form of care unlikely to be beneficial, and offering oral fluids is demonstrably useful and should be encouraged (Enkin et al., 2000; Hofmeyr, 2005).  Nurses should follow the orders of the woman’s primary health care provider [A BIG REASON TO DISCUSS YOUR DESIRE TO EAT WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER] when offering the woman food or fluids during labor.  As advocates, however, nurses can facilitate change by informing others of the current research findings that support the safety and effectiveness of the oral intake of food and fluid during labor and by initiating such research themselves [Don't worry, us doula turned-nurses will!].”

There you have it folks, the secret is out.  Take this knowledge to your Ob. and request to receive treatment that IS beneficial for your labor.  If you have a health care provider that will not be your advocate EVEN WHEN Evidence based research supports your desire to eat and drink in labor… get a second opinion.

I was so thankful for my amazing midwife who called the shots when I delivered baby #2.  My dad brought gatorade to the hospital at my request during my active stage of labor.  I needed to hydrate to continue in my labor.  The nurses at the admissions desked stopped him and told him that he couldn’t take it to me.  But my midwife was calling the shots on my labor and was I hydrated and had energy for my long and unmedicated birth.  Please email me if you would love a suggestion on a Ob or midwife that will listen to your requests!!!!!

I realize that it’s been several days since I officially finished my week in the raw and there was no update! Life got chaotic last week but alas, I’m back to update you.

The final day of my week was easy, I had smoothies and nuts and fruit and salads and for dinner I decided to eat with the family to initiate my new lifestyle: incorporating raw into my life without extremes.

I made pad thai  (I had be lusting after pad thai since one night during my week of raw when my friends made it and I had to pass it up!)

Basically a salad with a side of pad thai!

This wasn’t the best start to my moderately raw new lifestyle but it was tasty.  My belly wasn’t delighted at the heaviness of the pad thai.

During the week of raw I discovered several things:

1. I CRAVED boiled eggs, black beans and hard cheeses.  I didn’t crave hot food, I didn’t crave junk food.  I wanted protein!  For the first time in a long time, after I ridded my body of it’s built up toxins I could trust that my body was telling me what it needed.  I read up a bit on raw diet and how people usually have to supplement their diet with vitamins and minerals.  Raw dieters usually lack iron, B12, protein.  These are essential to health and your energy level.  So, as long as I am a woman of childbearing years, I will either need to modify the raw diet to include these missing components or add supplements.  And since I love to eat food instead of pills… food it will be!

2. The key to success on any new diet is motivation and desire + loads of fresh foods.  In the past, our kitchen was always stocked with crackers and cheeses.  So if I was hungry I could grab a few chunks of cheese and crackers and be done.  But, when you do this several times a day, you are tipping your pyramid of nutrition in the wrong direction.  You fill up on fats and carbs and deprive your body of life-giving-nutrients.  When I looked at my old way of eating, although decidely ‘organic’ it was full of fillers and not whole foods!  This diet was a wake up call for me to rebalance my diet and my life!

3. Raw diet rocks because it means minimal dishes and cooking time.  Remember that cake that I posted?  It was 15 minutes from beginning to end… no baking and waiting. It was done! As long as you have a great blender you can blend a smoothie, pour into a glass, wash that blender and you’re done and ready for the next meal.  I also learned that I need a new food processor, for real!  My cheap little 2-4 cupper isn’t gonna cut it anymore… HA!  (No pun intended) We’re on the search for a new one.

4. After I ‘finished’ my week of raw, I began adding more cooked and processed foods (since this past Tuesday evening) and I have had times where I have felt bloated and very full but never very sick.  However, I have been craving smoothies and salads and raw food.  After a few days I’m back to searching this awesome blog for new raw recipes.  It’s almost like I have ’seen the light’ and cannot go back to the old way of living.  Seriously… once you go raw and really start down a more balanced food trail, your body will fight you if you try to quit!!!! I’m thankful for my wise body!

So… in conclusion: Raw week was stellar.  I wasn’t hungry, I had great energy, I lost about 5 lbs and now I’m finding new ways to keep raw foods as a BIG part of my life.  Cheers to you this morning with my Green Smoothie:

To make enough for 2 hungry people:

1 mango

2 bananas

4-5 Tablespoons of Coconut “meat” and milk ( I used from a can)

1/4 cup of water and about 6 big ice cubes

1 Tablespoon of Agave Nectar

2 BIG handfuls of baby spinach leaves (through them in whole and blend blend blend!)

DELICIOUS and very FILLING!

After a long day of 2 tests, hospital paperwork and term papers I’m ready for this:

Pizza for the fam, salad and organic wine for me!!!

Sunday was a GREAT RAW day!

Breakfast was a banana/blueberry chocolate shake

Snacks consisted of nuts and fruit

Lunch was a salad… but not a special one and then dinner was…. FABULOUS!

Dinner: I made this awesome Mexican tomato soup. It’s somewhere between a gaspacho and salsa but it’s goo-ood!  But follow the recipe exactly so it tastes as good as mine did:

recipe from choosingraw.com

Dinner was followed up by a great Raw Chocolate cake that will knock your socks off even if you’re not interested in healthy cake.  The dough is a salty/sweet hazlenut and pecan with dates mixture… and it is very rich.  Perfect for after dinner treat!

Yummy cake from choosingraw.com

Saturday started out with a bang.  My kids woke up around 6.45 and after about 45 minutes of Sesame Street I decided it was time to get up and get some breakfast.  Our family has a little tradition of going out for breakfast when we’re having a lazy Saturday or Sunday.  We take the kids and we usually go to McGee’s bakery or to Sunrise.  Sometimes to Whole Foods or Good Foods Co-op where we finish up with grocery shopping.

Usually breakfast out means stuffing our faces with pastries, chocolate desserts and grabbing a fresh baked loaf of bread to take home.  No, I am NOT opposed to such a ritual usually… but this week I had to come up with something else.  I decided that while Papa was still sleeping, we’d sneak out and have a little girl time (me and the kiddos) so off we went to the Co-op.  I knew that I could get a raw/vegan smoothie there and it’d be delicious and that there was also breakfast for the kids.

I was so delighted to sit there sipping my smoothie and having my kids eat smoothies as well (with a side of ham and cheese croissant).  They were adorable and loved their fresh smoothies!

After said adventure where I picked up a few more raw ingredients I went home, spirits lifted and ready for Raw Day 4.  Then I ‘cooked’ an italian kalamata and pesto salad that was delicious, my favorite Banana Chocolate smoothie and the real recipe for the artificial Chicken Salad.  I ate as much as I wanted knowing that I was eating good food.  Then I  moved to studying for my 2 tests looming over my Monday schedule… and it hit… the LOW POINT.

There are times in my life that I have had very low iron and to be frank, I get really really really grouchy when I am hungry.  I get weak and tired and become a different person.  It’s so true (as my my poor husband!).  Usually I pop in something quick to eat and I’m 100% better but with this diet, there isn’t always something quick to eat.  It requires time and I didn’t have time today.

So, insert, my first failure on the diet: the PB sandwich… dum dum dum!  I, at least, picked the most natural PB that there is, because that is what we buy.  Ingredients: peanuts.  And two pieces of Country Whole wheat bread from Great Harvest.

It wasn’t delicious and it wasn’t overly satisfying… it was medicine.  It was protein and sugar and fat.

I’m glad that I had this low point because I was certain that if a diet was this easy that something was wrong! But alas, I am human… this diet is challenging and I’m so excited to get back to the rawness today!  So, I woke up after a good nights sleep and began researching today’s menu and I’m so very excited to make this… since it is Soup Sunday and all!!!!!!

Image and recipe from: www.choosingraw.com

Today was quite easy to eat well thanks to my busy day in the hosptial… catheters, cesareans, breastfeeding, oh my!

So, I packed my lunch for the day, grabbed a banana for breakfast and was out the door.

Breakfast: Coffee… it WAS 5.30 a.m. and banana

Lunch: Delicious romaine lettuce salad with seeds and broccoli and my favorite dressing (garlic and lemony from day 2 post) and blueberries with pineapple! Then an apple and some water to wash it all down.

When I got home, I snacked on some kalamata olives! YUMMY!

For dinner I whipped up a spicy, sweet asian salad and it ROCKED!  Here’s my ‘recipe’.  Sorry that I didn’t measure, that’s just how I cook:

Spicy Sweet Asian Salad:

1. Finely chopped into ’sticks’ broccoli stalk, carrots, red cabbage, yellow cabbage

2. Chopped green onion

3. Dressing of: 1 lime, 1-2 teaspoons (?) tamari soy sauce, red pepper flakes, LOTS of shredded fresh ginger with olive oil and TBS of agave nectar (or honey, if you’re not going ‘raw’)

4. Mix together until veggies are coated with sauce.

5. Get big romaine lettuce leaves and pile up a spoonful of chinese salad on top, top with a generous handful of either sesame  or raw sunflower seeds (I had the latter) to give it more crunch!

6. Roll the lettuce wraps and and devour! The key is in the kick so make sure that the sauce is to your liking before adding it to the veggies.  I liked mine FULL of ginger and enough red pepper flakes to make me go… “ooooooooh doggie!”

For dessert: I whipped up another one of those chocolate banana shakes, only this time I did: 3 bananas (the whole fam wanted some) a bunch of ice, agave nectar, vanilla, blueberries and raw cacao powder and it was the BEST of all the attempts!

Morning feelings: This morning I woke up at 5.30 feeling rested and awake… for the first time since I began waking up on Fridays at 5.30 for clinicals back in August!

My stomach issues: seem to have almost vanished! My stomach isn’t cramping or hurting at all… even though I’ve continued moderate coffee drinking.  Really makes me think that foods that I chose before were to blame.

Cravings: I overcame my Friday clinical craving of coke for lunch! I’m pumped that I bypassed that poison and stuck with water!!! Whoooohooo! go me!