 Mommas, you know that ‘terrible, horrible, no good, very bad’ glucose screening test you have to take during pregnancy? Ok, so if you are familiar with the yucky sugar tests you have to take with your ob/gyn for pregnancy, you know how awful those are. My recent sugar test was different, because I am not seeing a MD. My sugar test was super yummy! I had it about two weeks ago almost. Plus all I had to do was get a finger prick blood test. I love going the more natural, less invasive route for my current pregnancy. The recipe called for: OJ, yogurt, honey, strawberries, and banana The amount was quite a bit, so by the end of it I was like, I need to be done drinking this. However the first bit was easy to get down, and super yummy. Now I am not a fan of dairy for health reasons, and we haven't had yogurt in our house for a long time. I love yogurt, but we switched to Almond milk years ago, and we don’t eat much dairy unless we have the once in a while organic pizza or a little topping of Mexican cheese on our buffalo tacos. So we aren’t totally dairy free, but it’s limited. With that said, yogurt has recently found its way back into our fridge, and we have a new recipe for smoothies, thanks to modifying the natural sugar test I took. This will not work for those of you that don’t like mixing certain foods together based on principles of acidic/alkaline, following 5 ingredients or less rules, use of dairy, or are following an enzyme diet. This is simply just based on something new and yummy we have been doing a couple times the past couple of weeks, and I like that I can get more greens down my guys. Plus it satisfies sweet cravings I get so often since I became pregnant without making me feel guilty or sick afterwards. I don’t think baby girl likes ice cream too much anyways, it’s better than scarfing down a chocolate donut, or eating half a loaf of freshly baked banana bread, and exercising willpower around dark chocolate is not easy since I got pregnant, so this is a far better option in my mind right now… not that dark chocolate is unhealthy, when you have self- control . We modified the sugar test recipe a bit. Here is how we make our Sweet Greens shake that we have 2x a week for the last couple of weeks. As always my suggestion is to look for Non-GMO, organic, clean foods as much as you can:  1 cup of frozen or fresh strawberries 4oz. OJ 1 cup fresh spinach 1 scoop of 7.2 Greens powder (optional) 1 small to medium size banana 1 tbsp raw honey (local or Manuka) 6- 8 oz Greek yogurt, plain Sprinkle a tsp or 2 of Flax meal on top  I have to admit, personally I am not a fan of the spinach in my drink, well, just not a fan of spinach during my whole pregnancy, so that is why. It’s worth a try, especially if you need to get a sweet fix, or find a way to sneak more greens into your husband and kid’s diet. … possibly even your own. ;) Now let’s compare this to the ingredients in the nasty orange drink used my MD’s for glucose screening in pregnancy (you can look these up online, just as I did):
BVO BVO is used to keep flavoring from floating to the top of drink. It keeps the flavoring dispersed throughout the drink. It’s in many soft drinks, and also in this glucose drink given to thousands of pregnant women. It is banned in Japan and Europe, and the FDA removed it from its GRAS list in 1970. So what is the big deal about BVO? It’s a patented flame retardant, and when consumed Is a known thyroid disrupter. BVO builds up in the body and in breast milk. There are many health related problems that arise from the consumption flame retardant, excuse me brominated vegetable oil, such as heart lesions, impaired growth, and fertility problems to name a few. I urge you to do your homework on the rest of these ingredients if you are choosing to follow dr’s orders and consume the orange drink. This blog isn’t to list all the negatives and why you shouldn’t drink it ingredient by ingredient but to bring awareness about glucose screening drinks in pregnancy, and inform you there are other paths, healthier paths to take for you and baby. In the end you have to do what you feel is best. For me, strawberries and bananas seemed like a far better option than wood resin and flame retardant coated in artificial syrup and preservatives. Did you know you can opt out from the orange drink, and use an alternative for your sugar test, even if you are working with an MD? If you aren’t working with a midwife/birth center/going the natural pregnancy route that is okay, you still have the right to ask your doctor about alternatives, and if they tell you that you have none, well my views on that are pretty strong, and in my opinion you need a second opinion or different doctor at that point, because you have the right to choose what you put in your body, should be informed about what is going into your body, and almost always there is an alternative. In pregnancy it is important to make yourself aware of your options and to also be supported in your decisions and empowered by your choices. More info about BVO: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/11/brominated-vegetable-oil-in-us-soda.aspx Thanks for reading, feel free to comment and/or share.
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 Glorious Greens Green vegetables are the foods most commonly missing in modern diets. Learning to incorporate dark, leafy greens into the diet is essential to establishing good, strong health. When you nourish yourself with greens, you may naturally crowd out the foods that make you sick. Greens help build your internal rainforest and strengthen the blood and respiratory system. Leafy green vegetables are also high-alkaline foods which may be beneficial to people exposed to higher amounts of pollution in urban areas. The alkaline minerals in our bodies are used to neutralize acidic conditions caused by the environment. Green vegetables will help to replenish our alkaline mineral stores and continue to filter out pollutants (1). Green is associated with spring, the time of renewal, refreshment and vital energy. In Traditional Chinese medicine, green is related to the liver, emotional stability and creativity. Nutritionally, greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and vitamins A, C, E and K. They are loaded with fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Although choosing organic is recommended, eating non-organic greens is still preferable to not eating any greens at all! Some of the proven and possible benefits of consuming dark leafy greens are:
There are a wide variety of greens to choose from, so try to find options that you will enjoy and eat often. If you get bored with your favorites, be adventurous and explore new greens that you’ve never tried before. Broccoli is one option which is very popular among adults and children. Also try to include bok choy, napa cabbage, kale, collards, watercress, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, dandelion and other dark, leafy greens. Green cabbage is great cooked or raw, or in the form of sauerkraut. Arugula, endive, chicory, lettuce, mesclun and wild greens are generally eaten raw, but can be consumed in any creative way you enjoy. Spinach, Swiss chard and beet greens are best eaten in moderation because they are high in oxalic acid, which inhibits the absorption of the calcium these foods contain (2). However, rotating between a variety of green vegetables shouldn’t cause any nutritional consequences in regards to calcium (3). Cooking Greens Try a variety of methods like steaming, boiling, sautéing in oil, water sautéing, waterless cooking or lightly pickling (as in a pressed salad). Boiling helps greens plump and relax. Boil for under a minute so that nutrients do not get lost in the water. You can also drink the cooking water as a health-giving broth or tea if you’re using organic greens. Steaming makes greens more fibrous and tight, which helps you feel fuller, longer. This is a great method to help curb your appetite for those trying to lose weight (4). Raw salad is also a wonderful preparation for greens. It’s refreshing, cooling and supplies live enzymes. Thanks for reading. _See more greens related topics.
Information by Integrative Nutrition.1 Kelsay JL. Effects of fiber, phytic acid, and oxalic acid in the diet on mineral bioavailability. Amer J Gastroenterol. 1987. 82(10):983-6 2 Avoid vegetables with oxalic acid? www.drweil.com. 2011 3 Committee to Review Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin D and Calcium, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2010. 4 Mayo Clinic Staff. (2011). Energy density and weight loss: Feel full on fewer calories. Mayo Clinic: Weight loss, Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/NU00195 |
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