Love Of Oats

A blog dedicated to balancing a healthy and fun life… with oats!

Category Archives: 2nd trimester

Crunchy & Yummy

One of my favorite things so far during pregnancy has been cereal… I was primarily eating cold cereal for breakfast up until the last month where I finally felt like eating oatmeal again (yes, weird I know!)… I was stuck for a while on Puffins, then Quaker Oatmeal Squares, then I moved onto Kashi Go Lean Crunch…

Now I seem to have found a new fixation, courtesy of Nature’s Path… they were nice enough to provide me with three boxes of their newest breakfast cereals last week, so I have been enjoying some hearty and yummy crunches in the morning and throughout the day!

The varieties that I sampled included the following:  Flax Plus Red Berry Crunch, Multigrain Oatbran Flakes, and PomegranPlus Granola with Cherries…

Nature’s Path is a brand that I feel good about purchasing because they promote and exercise sustainability and they solely produce USDA certified organic products!

One thing I thought was cool was their website talks about the importance of “Doing Good”:  “It’s something we believe very strongly at Nature’s Path. Treat the earth well, treat the people well, and in return they will treat the business well. We try to do good in every aspect of our business, and we see good happening around us everywhere we look. Have you done good today?”  What a great message, right?

The first cereal I tried was the Multigrain Oatbran Flakes… this seemed like a simple concept and I expected it to be like an amped up corn flakes texture… I have to say I think this cereal, as simple as it is, is my favorite of the bunch… it is simple but definitely full of grains that you can taste… although they are flakes, they dont get soggy… I love my textures so I loved how this cereal soaked up the milk but still was crunchy – if that makes any sense…. just try it and you’ll understand what I mean… I have not only been eating this for breakfast, but I have been having little cup fulls as a snack on the weekends or as a pre or post workout snack in between meals (I told you I was obsessed with cereal!)…

Next up to try was the Flax Plus Red Berry Crunch… now this was more like the consistency of corn flakes except with a whole grain twist… again they did not get soggy but they weren’t as crisp as the above cereal… I loved the very subtle sweetness and flavor from the dried strawberries… oh and did I mention that this combination is texture heaven?  There are little bits of granola also incorporated in, aka the Crunch!  I used this as a topping for oats one day and thought it was amazing w/ the warm oats… My only wish was that there was slightly more granola present but then again, I can solve that problem by adding in some of the other cereal below…

Finally, the cereal that I was most excited for because Granola is in the name, but also most anxious about because I don’t like cherries… the PomegranPlus Granola with Cherries… I have to say I was pleasantly surprised…. Now I do LOVE Nature’s Path granola… there hasn’t been one that I haven’t loved… I like the texture because it’s super crispy unlike traditional granolas that I am used to… However, I honestly have to say I never would have bought this one on my own because it contained cherries, I normally steer clear… in my opinion, they were delicious and tasted like mini berries, not a really strong tart cherry flavor… I used this as a topping for my oats but since initially trying it, I have been using it as a mix-in for my daily mid morning Chobani!  I personally think it works great with fruit flavored greek yogurt especially strawberry and peach…

Hope you found these reviews helpful and a big thanks to Nature’s Path for providing me the opportunity to try them… Happy chewing… Now you know what my choices are for breakfast tomorrow… the tough decision, is which one to choose ;)

Food Changes

Over the last 3 and a half months, I have cut out some foods and also added some foods to my diet… I read a lot of books (which I will share in a later post) and read a ton of articles on the internet with regards to what foods are good to eat and what foods should be avoided during pregnancy…

Please note, however, there are no clear cut rules on what foods should or shouldn’t be avoided so it’s best to use your discretion and this post is not meant to be listed as a things you MUST do, but merely it documents my experiences and choices thus far…

Foods To Avoid

  • Deli Meats & Hot Dogs
    • This one was not difficult for me to give up considering that typically I never really eat deli meat or hot dogs with the exception of the occasional roasted turkey breast sandwich here and there… The reason to avoid these is because of the risk of listeria,  which can cause a miscarriage.  Now, you can enjoy as long as you make sure they are cooked until steaming, but I decided to just avoid them all together… I have had a craving for hot dogs (weird!) so I was able to satisfy that by grilling up chicken sausages instead…
  • Caffeine (yes that means coffee!)
    • From the moment that I found out I was pregnant, I gave up my morning coffee… This was tough for me, but not as tough as I would have imagined because hey, it is worth it in the long run :)   I suffered some headaches and extra tiredness (coupled with normal 1st trimester tiredness) but after a week or so I was ok.  The jury is out on whether caffeine in moderate amounts is ok for pregnancy (there are numerous mixed studies), but since I was a little paranoid, I decided to be extra cautious… On occasion, I have had decaf coffee but now it doesn’t appeal to me… Instead, I started to sub my morning coffee with calcium fortified orange juice instead, so it’s a double punch of vitamin c and calcium… I am not sure if I will return back to coffee post-baby (maybe I will need it for the sleepless nights!) but I really look forward to my morning glass of OJ!
    • One thing I really missed was unsweetened iced tea but I’ve subbed that for water out at restaurants… and at home, I brew decaf or herbal iced tea to enjoy, which tastes just as wonderful!
  • Raw Or Smoked Seafood
    • This wasn’t huge for me because I was never a big sushi person… I do like smoked salmon but have only had it a few times in my lifetime so restraining was not a big deal… again, the reason for this is the risk of listeria…
  • Unpasteurized Cheeses
    • I read at first that you should avoid all soft cheeses and I went into a state of panic because I have developed a major love of cheese over the last few months!!!  However, as long as the package clearly states that it is pasteurized (most that I’ve encountered in a grocery store are, although if you are buying from a farmers market just check with the seller), you can enjoy… If you haven’t guessed it by now, the reason for this is the risk of listeria…

Other Changes I’ve Made

I already mentioned orange juice  as something new I’ve added to my diet, but I’ve also added a few more which should come as no surprise… fruits and veggies (washed very well)…I have had cravings for veggies especially roasted veggies like onions and peppers haha…

I should mention that I had previously been taking over the counter prenatal vitamin but my doctor did give me a prescription for a prenatal vitamin + a DHA pill…

The thought of some meats (especially chicken) has really made my stomach turn… I have not been eating as much meat, but I’m still eating it a few times a week and I’ve been trying to ensure that I consume enough protein by enjoying yogurt, peanut butter, cheese, beans, and of course eggs like the amazing veggie filled omelet I had yesterday…

In addition, during the first three months, I felt like all I was eating was carbs because it made me feel better (I didn’t suffer from morning sickness, just a little nausea, but I was exhausted and carbs made me feel better!)… I ate a lot of wheat toast & pb, wheat saltines, dry cereal, and pretzels… For some reason (I think it was due to the extreme heat we were having, I could not stomach the thought of making oatmeal… However I am out of that phase now and have been able to eat more well rounded meals, including a yummy bowl of peachy peanut butter oats!

So basically, after reading this post, you’ll see that for the most part what I’ve been eating is fairly similar to what most healthy food bloggers eat on a daily basis!