Let's talk about food, and what a pregnant lady with a food blog craves in the first 3 months of pregnancy. I found out that I was pregnant the first week of January, 2 weeks before I had planned ski trip with my family. There was no way to cancel though, considering my sister was flying across the country to visit, and we had already booked a chalet for the week. If it were any other circumstance, I would have happily declined because a) skiing seems dangerous for a pregnant lady b) the whole point of ski trips is to drink wine and go in the hot tub, which are both no-no's while pregnant. Up until that point though, I felt fine, which was a relief. Nothing out of the ordinary, no weird symptoms, cravings etc. I thought that I was in clear, I was so naive.
On the 6 hour drive to Big White, however, this was when the morning sickness began. At the time, I thought I had a bad case of car sickness, which was also so naive. That week at the ski resort, I typically felt nauseous until late afternoon. My niece and nephew woke me up at 6:30 am every morning, and I tried not to puke on them. I couldn't relax in the hot tub, I couldn't take my mind off how I was feeling by skiing. ps. ski trips are the worst for a pregnant lady. So, I sought comfort in food.
My sister had purchased a lot of groceries before we drove up - mostly kid friendly foods for my niece and nephew. Because I was feeling not my best, I couldn't really think of food, so of course, we came unprepared. At the resort, we went out to eat at a few restaurants, but the food was something to be desired. I'm not sure if it was on this trip, or a few weeks later, but all I wanted to eat/crave was convenience foods from my childhood and red meat. Generally my diet includes a lot of fibre - fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. During the first 3 months of pregnancy though, all of those healthy foods made me sick. (hip hip for prenatal vitamins). Things that made me feel good - steak, hot dogs, Chef Boyardee, Honey Nut Cheerios, Pop Tarts, Chicken Noodle Soup from a can, crackers, and ice cream. I ate those eight things, and only those eight things, for 3 months straight.
The thought of eating red meat, and any one of those things now, literally makes me feel nauseous (thank goodness). At around 14 weeks, I gradually started to feel better. The morning sickness went first. Then a few weeks later, I started to feel less tired. I noticed myself slowly wanting more fruits and vegetables, things that I would normally eat, and then one day, I woke up and overnight I was back to myself. I was back to my normal routines - avocado toast with fresh fruit for breakfast, healthy seedy grainy salads. It was such a relief. I literally thought I was going to want nothing but pop tarts for the rest of my life. I can't even believe that I was eating so much red meat, because it had been probably 15 years since my last steak. I'm chalking it up to what my body needed, and at the time I felt like I had no control over what I was doing or eating.
I am happy to say that now my diet is colorful and varied, and I am craving really interesting (healthyish) foods. Pad Thai, red curry, and tart frozen yogurt are three things that I crave most. But now, pretty much, all food tastes good. I am really loving experimenting with new flavors and cuisines - trying to stimulate my baby's taste buds if that's a thing. Cuisines that I am really loving are Ethiopian and Indian. There are not a whole lot of good options here in Seattle for Indian food, not like back home, so I decided to start making it at home. My first attempt was this cauliflower, potato, and green pea daal. I'm pretty fortunate that we have a lot of great grocery stores where you are able to purchase a variety of staples, although, I tried to make this dish with ingredients that are readily available even in the most rural parts.
It's not a spicy dish, but what it lacks in spice, it makes up for in flavor. It's packed full of healthy ingredients, seasoned with fragrant flavors like garam masala and turmeric. It's perfect with some rice, naan bread to dip, or just eaten on its own. I felt as though the flavors intensified overnight, so if there's that option, I would suggest making it the night before. But don't get me wrong, it's still pretty fantastic the day of.
CAULIFLOWER, POTATO, AND GREEN PEA DAAL
serves 6 - 8
notes: toor daal is an Indian split pea, they are yellow in color. If you don't have access, substitute for yellow, green or red split peas.
5 cups water
1 cup dry toor daal, rinsed
1 bay leaf
4 tbsp ghee or butter
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 1/2 cups (5 small) potatoes, chopped
2 cups cauliflower, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup frozen peas
chopped cilantro
lemon
6 servings of rice and/or naan bread
Bring 5 cups of water to boil in a large pot. Once boiling, add the lentils and bay leaf. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the lentils are soft, mushy, and falling apart approximately - 45 minutes.
While the lentils are simmering, in a large frying pan, heat the ghee or butter, on medium. Add the onions and fry until translucent - 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, potatoes, and cauliflower and fry until soft - 30 minutes.
Add the turmeric, chili powder, garam masala, and salt to the cooked lentils (you should also still have a few cups of water left from lentils in the pot). Add the cauliflower, potatoes, and frozen peas. Add additional water if necessary (you should have around 1 1/2 cups left from the lentils), but if you were left with less water, add enough so that the sauce is creamy and pourable. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Season with extra salt or chili powder as needed. Garnish with chopped cilantro, lemon wedges, and serve with rice and/or naan bread.
