If someone has a small container of fresh fruit for lunch, is that healthy?

Good.

What if they also have a turkey/swiss wrap (sans condiments). Still healthy?

Good.

But - they might have splurged a little on some organic chips. Could that still be considered healthy?

Great!

Well…What if, at the last minute, they grabbed a giant-ass cinnamon roll? And by “giant-ass” they mean that it is - quite honestly - bigger than their head? And - quite literally - covered in 32 ounces of icing? And what if they opted to eat that instead of any of the above mentioned items? Where is that on the “healthy” scale?

Oh well. It’s the thought that counts. Right?

I participated in a function with the 3aday.org awhile back and since received the very AMAZINGLY COOL AND AWESOME opportunity to write an article for their website. Seriously. Someone asked me to write for them. You have no idea how honored I was. Especially because they wanted me to write about food. Seriously? Like I don’t do that every day anyway.

Here is my article. I am so incredibly proud to have my name on a real article I almost cried when I read it. I hope you’ll stop over and read it and maybe even try out some of the awesome smoothie recipes I discovered.

My kids really liked this assignment as well. Can you tell?

Man. I have got to go grocery shopping today. I didn’t make a big trip like I usually do on the weekend because they were waxing the floors when I got there and something about that smell gave me a sudden headache that caused me to leave the store before even getting a third of our weekly food supplies taken care of.

I’ve been trying to come up with a good list of items so I won’t have to go back again this week. As I’m making out the list I notice that while I’m pregnant, the items I come home with never match the list. Even if I’m carrying it in front of my face the entire time. The pregnant side of my brain takes over and starts throwing random items in that I’ve never purchased in my life. Like stew meat. I made beef stew last week because I saw the stew meat and went, “Yum.” I am not a red meat kind of gal. It never looks appealing to me, but I have to refrain from buying steaks every week. Mainly because I don’t know how to cook them. And don’t even get me started on the pickles. I hate being a cliché, but every week I try a different kind of pickle. I guess I’m okay as long as I don’t start dipping them in ice cream.

Of course - a lot of my pregnancy choices are not healthy. I have never been one to buy Little Debbie’s, but I’ve been working my way through the varieties of them on the shelf the last few weeks. Before I was pregnant, I don’t even think I knew where they were in the store. Now, it’s one of my standard weekly stops. And muffin and cake mixes? I don’t even like to bake, why do I have cupcake and muffin mixes in my pantry? And the marshmallow cereals…I obsessed over those with NikkiZ as well. This pregnancy is doing the same thing to my breakfast cravings.

My husband and son - who can’t resist the treats in the pantry when I bring them home - would really like me to stop this. As they keep reminding me, they are not pregnant and would rather not gain the weight along with me. NikkiZ, however, is not complaining one bit.

I’ve only mentioned NikkiZ’s eating habits here and there - but let me just insist that the term Picky Eater didn’t quite cut it. It wasn’t that she only liked a few foods. It was just she didn’t seem to like food in general. We couldn’t even get her to try anything new. No matter how fun or unhealthy. She’ll eat Vanilla ice cream, but only vanilla. And only sometimes. She would only eat candy on occasion. Potato chips? Nope. Pizza? Not often. The only constant (which I served with every meal) is corn. Rice was almost a constant, but some days she just wasn’t in the mood. Cheese and Oatmeal were other somewhat constants, but not the kind of foods I can easily fit into a dinner menu. But - I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t fed her a plate of cheese or a bowl of oatmeal on nights she wouldn’t eat what we were eating. I did that at least once a week. When she was at daycare, the kitchen staff stressed out over NikkiZ’s unwillingness to eat. One day - after resisting all foods - one of them joked with us that she wanted to go buy her a happy meal just to get her to eat. We told her it wouldn’t do any good. She wouldn’t eat that either.

At meals I always tried to get her to try the new foods, but never insisted. I would put the food in front of her, and if she didn’t want it I’d willingly let her put it on my plate. Every meal I tried.

A few weeks ago, I made a roast. As usual, I put bits of everything on a plate for her to try. Oddly - she took a bite of roast and put it in her mouth. Which it shocked the hell out of me that she even tried, it was even more insane when she dove in for her second bite. She never even tries the food, much less finishes the bite. Which she did. SEVERAL TIMES. She kept asking for more! more! more! Then she went for the potatoes and loved those as well. She avoided the carrots like the plague, but I happily took those off her plate and traded her for my potatoes. It was like a dream come true. My child ate real food.

Ever since that night - it’s like a new kid has entered our house. She tries foods. And likes a lot of them. It’s like she suddenly realized that some of the food was good. Really, really good. And maybe she should at least test it out sometimes. She has eaten (and loved) baked beans, steak, chicken (in various forms), and POTATO CHIPS. She suddenly likes chips. And you know what else she likes to do with them? Dip them in the Swiss Laughing Cow cheese wedges. So - not only is she trying foods, but she’s also inventing her own combinations.

The best was last night. We had some fresh fruit to make parfaits after dinner. She took a bite of blueberry, decided she didn’t like it, and tried a blackberry instead. She ate a few blackberries, with a suspicious look on her face, and then went back and tried another blueberry. And then decided she liked them and just kept eating them. So, she went back to a food after an initial rejection. I think she decided that while the initial tastes were a little strong, both berries were pretty good after awhile. She loved them.

Of course, then she ruined it all by trying her hot dog dipped in whip cream. And I threw up everywhere. The End.

So, I’m pregnant. Right? And I’m hungry - often. Actually, I think about food all the time. Not necessarily because I’m hungry, but because I’m craving food. It’s like, I get these crazy cravings - but for nothing specific. I’ve never dealt with severe cravings with any of my pregnancies, but this time? I dream about food. BUT - it’s like my pregnant self is on the quest for some sort of dream food and all my body wants to do is try new things at the grocery store, searching for the foods that will satisfy my cravings.

The worst is breakfast. I wake up every morning either starving, or just wanting FOOD FOOD FOOD. (Which, I’m learning, is not the same thing.) But - I can not find the breakfast food my pregnant body likes. I’ve made egg sandwiches and oatmeal. I’ve bought poptarts and yogurt. I even bought donuts and….eh…they didn’t do it either. So, I find myself going grocery shopping and just wandering down the aisles (especially the breakfast aisles) looking for cereals or other items that spark my craving interest.

It’s really insane. And also? Bugging the shit out of me. It’s like my mind has taken a turn and I’m in some sort of quest mode…but there’s nothing even remotely noble about it. I mean - I’m obsessing about FOOD. It’s all I think about…ALL THE TIME.

So - you know where this is going, right? Make me drool. Tell me what you eat for breakfast. If it’s something I can simply buy off the shelves and then go home and eat, you get bonus points. If I can eat it in the store while I shop? Even better.