High Raw, All Vegan Food Intake - Pregnancy Food Journal - Wednesday

I'm 21 weeks along now in my pregnancy, and I'm so crazy super happy. Every day I wake up filled with so much joy at the thought of sharing my whole day with the growing life inside me... waiting for those fun kicks and jabs I get from him or her, and smiling all day long.

Nutrition is something I get really excited about; I've always had a passion for it and as such I've been researching it for about 15 years. Now that I'm pregnant, I take it even more seriously and I get really excited about all the foods I'm feeding both myself and my baby. It's a pretty proud feeling to know that I'm consuming the healthiest foods in the world. To tell you the truth, I'm grateful that my body is craving these foods and has since day one of being pregnant except for about 10-14 days when I didn't want anything unless it was bland. But, even during my weeks of intense all-day-morning sickness, I still craved fresh salads and juicy fruits most of the time. Don't get me wrong... I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there are times a donut sounds REALLY friggin' tasty (not the norm for sure, but it has happened a couple times), but I'm not about to give in to something like that. Every bite of food is a chance to make my body and baby stronger and healthier... or not. I choose stronger and healthier.

Here is today's High Raw, All Vegan food intake:

3 cups Organic Brown Juice

It was brown, instead of green, so let's call it that. And, it was soooo yummy. I was actually surprised that it tasted as lovely as it did. I made it with my Hurom juicer and strained out any little bits of pulp using a nut milk bag to make it extra smooth. My brown juice was made from delicious, locally grown organic beets, beet greens, and oranges (the oranges were from my mom's tree), plus organic cucumbers I bought at Whole Foods.

1/2 cup Organic Green Pudding

I made this a few days ago and have been having it for breakfast every morning since. It had chia seeds, shredded coconut, greens, and fruit. It was fun, vibrant, filling, and yummy.

Huge Organic Salad

I used organic, locally grown (from our awesome certified organic CSA) red leaf lettuce and carrots along with an organic cucumber and apple from Whole Foods. I added organic olives to my husband's plate. The dressing is watered down Cayenne Tahini Dressing from my Salads and Dressings book.

3 cups Chocolate Spiced Hemp Shake

Exercise is important while pregnant to help build endurance for labor and to help maintain a healthy weight. The kind of exercise can vary depending on the woman and her prior routine. I'm opting for lots of walking during my pregnancy (about 2 miles 5-6 days a week). In fact, my midwife says walking is the best exercise for pregnancy and labor preparation. Today, I went on a fast paced, 2 mile walk with my dog which pumped me up a bit - fresh air, blood circulating, and good tunes on my iPod. When I came home, I was famished and made a satisfying protein shake to feed my hungry cells. It was scrumptious!

Chocolate Spiced Hemp Shake

Yield 3 cups

By Kristen Suzanne of KristensRaw.com

1 cup water

1 cup ice

3 small bananas

1/4 cup hemp protein powder

2 tablespoons hemp seeds

2 tablespoons raw chocolate powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Blend it up and enjoy this delectable shake. :)


2 cups Young Thai Coconut Water

I looooove fresh coconut water - it's beautifully refreshing and delightfully tasty. Unfortunately, the coconut water I had tonight was not organic. In fact, there is controversy over whether young Thai coconuts are very healthy based on the processing they undergo to help them stay fresh during their transport. As a result, I will do one of two things. I either don't consume them very often (I buy them at Whole Foods Market when I do), or I'll buy a case of them online, where they're both organic and minimally processed because they're shipped quickly after harvesting. I haven't done the latter of the two yet, but I plan on placing an order soon and separating the meat and water and then freezing them. My desire is to have it available during my homebirth to replenish electrolytes and keep me hydrated. (Read about my I'm having a homebirth here.) 

Organic Sunshine Burger, Guacamole, Salad

My husband had a meeting tonight so I was on my own for dinner. I decided to have a date with one of my favorite documentaries, Food Matters, and enjoy a healthy dinner. Food Matters should be in everyone's home library so it can be viewed on a regular basis - we like to watch it every month or two. Dinner consisted of 2 Sunshine Burger patties (available in the freezer section of Whole Foods Market). These burgers are wonderful. Even thought they're cooked, I think they're one of the healthiest veg burgers on the market: all organic, non-soy, non-dairy, non-gluten, minimal ingredients, and packed with nice flavor (more details on their website here). One of my favorite ways to have their burgers is with my Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce on it, but I didn't have any of that, so I whipped up a little batch of mini-guacamole (avocado, lime juice, Himalayan crystal salt) and topped the burgers with that. Next to it, I enjoyed another organic, locally grown salad with red bell pepper, carrots, and cucumber dressed with lemon juice, raw olive oil, Himalayan crystal salt, and black pepper.


1 cup organic Peaceful Mama Tea from Earth Mama * Angel Baby 

Yay! I have been given the green light from my midwife to have organic tea blends including red raspberry leaf (I loved drinking organic red raspberry leaf tea from Traditional Medicinals and Mountain Rose Herbs while I was trying to conceive to help strengthen my uterus, so I couldn't wait until my midwife said it was safe to drink it again). I was sent a sample box of Earth Mama * Angel Baby Organics tea. The Peaceful Mama flavor is pretty good, although a little light in flavor. I really enjoyed their Morning Wellness Tea because I'm a big fan of spearmint. It smelled so good that I would spend about 5 minutes smelling the tea bag before I put it into the hot waterl.

There is a good chance that I'll want to snack on something else later in the evening and if I do, I think the organic mango and pineapple in my refrigerator are going to call my name. Tropical salad - yeehaw! I think I'll wear my shell necklace that I brought home from our wedding in Bora Bora to complete the experience. ;)