Food for Thought

In pregnancy I never really ate for two. Well I never really had the option with my all day, nine month "morning sickness". Anyhow, I feel I am making up for it now. As a nursing mom I don't think I've ever been this hungry, except for back in high school after a two hour soccer practice. I am not exaggerating when I say that as soon as I eat I am thinking about the next time I can eat.

They say your burn so many calories when you're nursing...500 average. And they also say it's a great weight loss plan for baby weight. Well I think it doesn't apply to me. I am definitely eating for two now.

Here are some of my random thoughts that are food related: (there were so many of them I thought I should do a blog post)

-I am considering wearing a camelback at all times. That way I can stay hydrated. I seriously drink about 8-10 big cups of water a day and usually feel parched most of the day.

-I have never considered myself a chocoholic. I liked it, didn't LOVE it. I preferred ice cream to chocolate. Barclay came out and now I have such strong cravings that I nearly scream for it sometimes. I am now a chocoholic.

-I have recently become enamored with shallots. They are this tiny miracle that sat near the garlic and the onions. I've never purchased them before because I didn't know what to do with them. I recently was feeling inspired in my cooking and thought I'd buy them.

They are delicious! I sauteed some with a little white wine and butter and oil and they were Soooooooooo good over ravioli and sauteed red pepper. Just a little smokey, almost a little bit sweet, they are DIVINE. I will be making these a staple in my kitchen for sure.

-Watermelon is absolutely wonderful. The perfect nursing mother's snack. It's full of water, so you're getting hydrated without having to drink yet another glass of water. It's also cold and sweet. I've eaten a half watermelon since yesterday.

-I'm trying to decided if not eating out really saves us money. Since it's only the two of us, I find our favorite eating places (aka Papa's and Beer) really don't put us out much cash. But when I know we are trying to "save" money by eating in, I usually spend so much more on groceries. Food is something Noah and I don't like to mess around with. We like it fresh, we like it exciting, we like it bursting with flavor. Anyhow, this was one of those weeks where I was trying to not eat out and my grocery bill is out of control. We have eaten some pretty delicious meals though.

-My cousin Julia reminded me of the delight that is NUTELA. It's chocolate tasting to help with my chocolate cravings but it also reminds me a little of peanut butter which fills me up and keeps me satisfied.

-OK, I am sooooooooooooooooooo obsessed with Spaghetti Squash last night. I ate another whole spaghetti squash for dinner last night (it was small though). I cannot wait to cook another one tonight. It's buttery, without butter, it's got excellent texture (huge in my book), and it's sooo easy to make.

-Gnocchi. Oh my goodness I love this stuff. I eat it all the time. I'm not a big fan of meat, my husband isn't a big fan of pasta. This stuff is perfect! My favorite thing about it is that it holds the flavor of whatever you put it in so well, and it's amazing the next day after soaking all the flavor up. It's so easy, you just boil water, throw them in and wait five minutes till they rise to the top of the pan. They are a big expensive, but I cook it instead of meat a lot of times, so it evens out.

-I'm still averaging around 3 avocados per week. That's down from my 10 in two days...I've found my replacement...spaghetti squash.

Well I'm officially hungry again so I better go, but all these yummies were floating around in my head and I had to get them out:-)