Pregnant Food

On Sunday, my mom reminded me of the question that went around Facebook a few weeks ago.  It said:

If you had to name your baby after your biggest pregnancy craving, what would his/her name be? 

With this pregnancy, my baby girl would be named Chipotle Burrito because that has been my most intense single craving.  The steak, the cheese, the veggies...  it's a wonder I've indulged less than a handful of times over the course of the past 25 weeks! 

On a practical, everyday scale, though, what I crave is protein and vegetables.  I even crave foods that I don't love in my regular, non-pregnant life.  Take tomato soup, for example.  Not a fan.  

But I am pregnant and this recipe for creamy tomato soup looked divine.  I cooked an  even-less processed version by making my own tomato sauce with a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, but it still took less than ten minutes from start to finish.  I made a small batch, enough for 2 lunches.  This was Day 1: 

 

The second day, I made  a grilled cheese sandwich on homemade sourdough bread to dip into my soup.   Be still, my heart!!

Since vegetables aren't exclusively for meals, I made a big pan of roasted veggies to keep in the refrigerator for snacks.   I used turnips, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, sweet peppers, and celery, seasoned with garlic, thyme, and rosemary. 

The kids and I went on a picnic the next day. While they looked forward to eating fun food like cheese sticks and PB and J,  I was more than-a-little excited to open up my little container when it was time to eat! (That wasn't all I ate, but it was the most delicious.)

I crave a wholesome breakfast now, too. A quick grab-and-go breakfast can't handle my appetite. On Saturday, I made slow-cooker apple cinnamon steel-cut oatmeal, then put it in the refrigerator for the rest of the week.  In the morning, I can reheat a portion with a handful of raisins, a few splashes of milk and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.  It keeps me full all morning.  In fact, I ate a bowl before church on Sunday morning and it staved off my hunger through the entire service! 

In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that even though I am not craving sugar, I haven't stayed avoided it altogether.  I picked up 5-Minute Mug Cakes: Nearly 100 Yummy Microwave Cakes{affiliate link} at the library and we've sampled three recipes in the same number of weeks. The kids tried funfetti cake, we made hot cocoa cakes together as a family, and Brian and I sampled flourless chocolate cakes on an at-home date night.

 
Sometimes family memories and bonding...and cake...come before nutrition.