Your Pregnancy: Week 7

NATURAL SOOTHERS                                                                

Baby Nog

This is a great drink to have at the beginning of your day. It’s packed with protein for energy, and B vitamins to calm and sustain you. Both and yeast and the molasses are good sources of iron. Adapt the drink to your particular tastes and food persuasions. It’s good throughout pregnancy and during the breastfeeding years as well.

• 1-cup cow, soy, or rice milk
• 1 raw pastured egg (optional)
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
• 1 tablespoon honey

Blend until frothy and serve in a chilled glass.

HIGHER GROUND

Self-Demand Feeding

Pregnancy may be the first time in your life that you allow yourself to eat as you please. If you have turned to food to meet emotional needs in the past, or if you simply want to view your pregnancy as an opportunity to have a better relationship with food, try “self-demand feeding.”

Self-demand feeding is simple: Eat when you’re hungry; eat foods that you choose yourself; stop when you’re full. You decide what, when, and how much to eat. Here are some guidelines:

• Have a wide range of foods available in your home.
• Focus on physical hunger rather than the time of day as the reason for eating.
• Be prepared to deal with your own biases about how, what and when you should eat.
• Do not impose any eating or any rules about eating on yourself.
• Allow yourself to develop new personal tastes and eating styles.

Self-demand feeding is based on the principle that all people, if left to their own devices, will eat a balanced diet over time.

About Peggy O’Mara. I am an independent journalist who edits and publishes peggyomara.com. I was the editor and publisher of Mothering Magazine for over 30 years and founded Mothering.com in 1995. My books include  Having a Baby Naturally, Natural Family Living, The Way Back Homeand A Quiet Place. I have conducted workshops at Omega Institute, Esalen, La Leche League, and Bioneers. I am the mother of four and grandmother of three. Please check out my email newsletter with free tips on parenting, activism, and healthy living.