plus size and pregnant

i'm due for another prenatal check-up this saturday. i hope everything will be fine. i've been doing my best to eat healthy and to exercise regularly. hey, i'm still doing the same exercise i did when i was trying to lose weight, ok? 1 hour of brisk-walking 5 times a week. sometimes i even remember to lift weights. (sometimes!)

it worries me that i've been gaining a lot of weight. i should be gaining less, but i think my genes might have something to do with it as well. i'm just not one of the lucky ones, no matter what i do. there are times when i wish i could go on a diet again, but on the days when i try to go back to phase 2 of the south beach, i feel really nauseous and i can't function for the entire day. maybe it's the lack of carbs. there's nothing like carbs to comfort a queasy tummy.

today i had a really healthy sandwich for breakfast. wholegrain bun, with leg ham, a handful of lettuce leaves, slices of tomato, a slice of cheese, some mayo and wholegrain mustard. yum! but then i started feeling nauseous afterwards. i don't get it. surely it doesn't mean i'm doomed to eat oatmeal forever and ever?

the weekend chef

i forgot to keep track of what i ate over the weekend. i'm sure it was more of the same things. except that sundays are pancake days. so i had a couple of small pancakes for breakfast yesterday. yum!

manuel cooked. he loves to cook. he wishes he could work as a chef instead of crunching numbers all day. so every weekend the kitchen is his.

you should taste his baked chicken. it's the best in the world! if anyone of you manages to apparate over here, i will ask him to cook his baked chicken for you.

the food trip

i'm starting to feel hungry, and that's a good sign. =) it means the nausea is easing out. i was just telling my dear husband that my cravings are in full force, unfortunately they're for hard to find filipino food:

1. guso and sinugbang pork belly (this is chelo's fault for posting it)
2. larsian barbecue
3. itlog na maalat with tomatoes and cucumber
4. suman and manggo
5. puto bumbong
6. lechon! with puso! and achara!
7. spanish sardines
8. puto maya and sikwati
9. the ginger sauce in ding qua qua/harbor city
10. really cold buko pandan
11. leche flan
12. gourmet daing from bacolod, best eaten with number 3 and a plateful of bahaw =)

ahh, i can't wait for our trip!

time to move on

i'm sure y'all have better things to do than read my food diary entries. so i won't post them anymore. it's become difficult to keep track of what i actually eat anyway, because most of the time i just spew it back out. i'm afraid to eat now. i never know what will trigger another round of barfing. sometimes starch helps, sometimes it doesn't. sometimes fruits help, sometimes they don't. i just know that i'm always really really hungry but the moment i try to eat something it comes back out again.

sigh.

i can't wait for the next trimester to start. please. please. i can't stand this anymore.

a great bargain

Anyone who has even flirted with the idea of starting a low-carbohydrate diet knows that most dieters eventually abandon such lifestyles due to the boredom that results from the elimination of certain core foods. (Under the South Beach plan, bread, pasta and rice are prohibited in the initial stage and then reintroduced in limited portions in stages two and three). In The South Beach Diet Cookbook, Dr. Agatston tackles the problem by presenting a wide range of recipes that are not only within the Plan’s guidelines but are delicious, satisfying, and simple to prepare.

What makes this recipe book (and probably the South Beach diet itself) so appealing is that it uses ingredients that are readily available and can be easily incorporated in a dieter’s daily routine. In addition, while some diet cookbooks provide extensive information relating to which foods should be avoided and why, this cookbook centers around permissible food choices. This directs the focus of South Beach dieters away from what is not allowed and towards the wide range of satisfying ingredients that are consistent with the plan. This tactic minimizes the feelings of boredom and deprivation often associated with Dr. Agatston’s diet.

Would you believe I got this book for less than S$5? I can never resist a sale sign, much less one found right outside a bookstore! I am so happy to have found this at that price, because you know how expensive hard bound books are, especially good cookbooks! The photographs are fantastic, and the instructions are really easy.

After a brief introductory material, the book delves into traditional categories of recipes such as breakfast, appetizers, soups, salads, side dishes, fish and poultry, meats, vegetarian entrees and desserts. Each recipe is labeled as being appropriate for Phase One, Two or Three of the South Beach plan. The recipes offer a host of flavors and food choices, and the instructions are clear and concise even as they span difficulty levels. Recipes top chefs prepare in some of the finest restaurants are also scattered throughout the book, reinforcing the non-restrictive nature of the diet.

snacking

i love to snack. i love munching on crunchy things all the time. actually, i love snacks even more than regular meals. =)

lately i've been addicted to this --- apple slices, baked walnuts, and sharp cheddar. yum! i love the combination of tastes, textures, and flavors. and because you have to exert a bit of effort to prepare it, you won't find yourself eating more than what's on your plate.

it sure beats eating a bag of chips. =D

salads

if someone had told me last year that i'd soon be craving for salads, i would have laughed so hard. i used to hate salads! given a choice between pizza or a salad, i'd have chosen the pizza any time. no hesitation.

now? now i crave salad every day! i've come to love the crunch of the vegetables, the freshness of the flavors, and how clean the feeling is inside my tummy. i love how i never feel bloated afterwards, and i love the mix of textures and tastes. every few days i try a new combination, and so far they've all been great.

the one in the picture is my chicken fajita salad. instead of wrapping them in tortillas, i shredded the roasted chicken, mixed it with the roasted veggies, added cherry tomatoes and romaine lettuce, and mixed them all with a special dressing (sour cream, parmesan cheese, garlic, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, olive oil). it's so good!

no-fail

i love food courts in singapore. they're clean, spacious, and you're spoilt for choice. sometimes the sheer number of food choices leaves me paralyzed. now that i'm on this diet and more than half of the food offered is forbidden to me, i have formed some favorites so i don't get overwhelmed anymore.

yong tau fu -- it sounds exotic, doesn't it? this is a no-fail order. you choose the vegetables, tofu, meat, and other things you want to include in it (crabmeat, mushrooms, chicken, fishballs....), then you hand over your bowl to the attendants to be cooked the way you prefer -clear soup, with noodles, with curry, with laksa. the clear soup is glorious! it's full of flavor (but no msg). and they never overcook the veggies. plus, they have like 10 different varieties of tofu you can choose from.

i never get tired of this dish because actually you can have a different combination each time you order it. so it's always new. and always satisfying.

and so not fattening.

whoever invented this dish must have had a psychic link to dr. agatston.

ode to the eggplant

seriously, how can you not love this vegetable? it's full of flavor, full of nutrients, and so easy to cook! these baked eggplant bites are the best snack food i've ever tasted. it's like eating pizza without the crust. and the smell! the smell of it when it's almost cooked -- the aroma wafting from the oven --- mouth-watering!