My nutritional life for the past year has been all about protein - trying to get enough of it. Being pregnant, having a tendon injury*, breastfeeding, having a pelvic injury*, and trying to shed the baby weight - all these events have called for copious amounts of protein and it's taken some dedication and creativity to get my recommended fill.

It's no secret that pregnant women need loads of protein to cook up a baby. Likewise for nursing them afterward. Something you may not realize is that if you have sustained any sort of soft tissue, muscular, or bone-related injury, your body needs lots of protein to make the repairs - so boosting your intake will support your body's healing mechanisms. Finally, while any diet, including a weight-loss diet, requires ALL of the macronutrients (protein, carbs, AND fat) - putting a focus on lean protein at every meal will help your body regulate blood sugar and burn fat more efficiently. So the universe sent me a big, neon, flashing sign... it says "Eat More Protein!"

Even being a nutrition counselor, I had a hard time adjusting my diet to meet the 60-100 grams of protein daily intake without becoming a raging carnivore. That said, I did increase the amount of meat I ate - I try to eat some every day (whereas before, it was more of a 2-3 times/week habit). Below are some of my favorite protein-rich foods and habits that I've developed in the past year.

• Edamame (soy beans, which have a high protein profile): for a snack - buy them frozen (in the shell), boil them up, salt them down, and gobble them up.... Buy the shelled version frozen as well, and add to salads, soups, and other veggie dishes.

• Quinoa: the only complete protein grain - cook it as a side dish, make a big quinoa salad to eat from for the week, or use the leftover basic quinoa as an oatmeal-type-dish for breakfast by adding rice milk, cinnamon, and nuts and raisins and heating it up.

• The Breakfast Protein Shake: 1/2 banana, a few glugs of vanilla rice milk, a handful of frozen berries, milled flax seed, and a big scoop of gary null's rice protein powder (it isnt' gritty and it tastes good!)

• Eggs for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or anytime in between: keep them hard-boiled and grab one for a snack, or get creative with poaching, scrambling, fritattas, omelettes, quiche (keep frozen crusts on hand), or plain old frying

• Siggis Icelandic Yogurt: the best kept foodie secret! This stuff has zero - count it - zero! - grams of fat, and 16 grams of protein all the while being utterly de-lish!

• Black Bean Salad: I often whip this up and keep it in the fridge as a side dish all week: rinse 2 cans of organic black beans, chop up a mango, red onion, red, yellow + green pepper, and your favorite herb (parsley or cilantro work well) - and mix with balsamic vinaigrette. (tho all beans are a good choice, black beans have one of the highest protein profiles) For more protein goodness, add a cooked grain to this salad, such as barley or rice...

* As some of you may recall, I spent my first trimester on crutches with a broken foot and torn tendon. As luck would have it, days after I gave birth to my daughter Lulu, I suffered what is essentially a dislocated pelvic joint (pubic symphysis separation), which kept me grounded for a few more weeks...

Posted by Michelle at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Since the birth of my daughter, Lulu, I've been astutely aware of how much we all say "Time flies..." or "isn't it all going by so fast..." or "seems like just yesterday..." Other parents in particular comment on this, often. They remark that their child is now, say, 9 years old, but it seems like just yesterday that she was a baby as small as Lulu. Where does the time go?

That is a good question as far as I'm concerned. One I've been pondering often lately. It seems to be on everyone's [subconscious] mind. Do you think that in generations past, people talked so much of how quickly the time went? For some reason, I don't think so. I'm sure the sensation has been ever-present, but I think we're all, on some level, convinced that it's going faster and faster. And I think it is...

One of the reasons I started TheMindfulEater is because I recognized that we are less mindfully engaged in the things we do. We are such good multi-taskers that we often eat while driving and on the phone. Or we work while chatting and listening to the radio (yours truly - guilty as charged!). The complexity of our world and the luxuries it has provided us has accelerated our productivity - but I believe it also robs us of true engagement with our lives. That is, simply being fully present, in the moment. Being mindful.

My most heartfelt realization of this occurred in the days before Lulu arrived. I was, like most near-delivery pregnant women, quite anxious to go into labor. I just wanted the baby here already. As I folded laundry, trying to calm myself, I had deja-vu - I flashed back to a time, about 9 months earlier and newly pregnant, when I imagined the future springtime when I'd have my child. Immediately I thought "that day seems like just yesterday!" Then I realized that in no time, I'd have my kid and before I knew it, I'd be celebrating her fifth birthday and again be thinking that this moment I'm in right now - would seem like it was "just yesterday". It was a huge A-HA! moment... and something in me squeaked "carpe diem!" I realized that the way to combat this sad regretful feeling was to stop thinking about the past and future and focus on the beautiful simplicity of the NOW.

There's something ever so lovely about resigning to the present moment. The most simple, mundane thing can become absolutely delicious if we actively engage our senses.

I have declared war on flying time. It is not easy - it takes practice; I try every day. I decide not to turn on the TV or the radio while feeding my child (which takes an hour, 7 times a day). Instead, I turn to my senses and be present with her; I study her, gaze into her eyes, sing and talk to her. We breathe together. We go to the park and I talk with her about what we can hear, and explore all the beautiful things we can see. I engage my sixth senses with her, trying to relish in our unspoken communication with each other just by being present. And then she usually spits up all over me. Nevertheless, It's amazing how fulfilling all this can be.

I implore you to practice this mindfulness. For further inspiration, read Eckhart Tolle's book "The Power of Now" (genius).

Next time you hear yourself think or say "time flies!" try being actively present. It is the only way to combat this feeling of the world going by at warp speed...

Posted by Michelle at 09:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)