This past weekend was the first time in a couple of years that I skipped Expo West. I had a ticket and everything, but I just didn’t see the point in trying to make it work. I guess this is evidence that my priorities have shifted. I like free samples and keeping on pulse with the latest natural food trends, but I like family bonding time more. Lucky for me, my in-laws were there to scout out the scene in my absence. They reported back and then some…with tons of samples for me to review. Wee!
This weekend was also the first time we dined out as a family of three. It wasn’t a long meal, but it was a meal out of the house nonetheless. Kyle’s parents treated us to breakfast at LPQ.
I got a soft boiled egg with the bread basket. LPQ is known best (in my opinion) for their baked goods and nut butter spreads, so if there’s ever a time to go full on wheat crazy this is it.
I went with the noir spread for one slice and a combo of four red fruit jam and noir spread for the second. Chocolate and berry preserves are heavenly together.
Another first of the weekend was my wine re-initiation. I only had a few sips, but dang, that pinot tasted fantastic.
I also had shrimp this weekend. While that’s not necessarily a first, it’s certainly a first in a very very long while. I’m dabbling in the world of fish again. I’m not sure if it’ll stick (mercury and sourcing are still huge things I have to weigh) but it’s something I’ve been thinking about lately.
This was the San Felipe Shrimp Tostada Bowl from Poquito Mas. I got both pinto and black beans and I swapped out the dairy (cheese/sour cream) for rice. As you can see I hated it…
Other snapshots from the week/weekend.
Gardenburger salad from Blue Plate. I asked for the falafel burger but they messed up my order. :( Oh well, the veggie burger was still good.
Tofurky sandwich with avocado, tomatoes, swiss chard, mustard, and vegenaise.
Home-made pizza. Such fluffy dough!
Chobani blueberry (pre-mixed!) greek yogurt and hippie chow granola.
Raw rainbow chard salad with avocado and honey dijon mustard dressing.
It’s a nice mix of home-made and take-out as we entertain visitors and keep our budget semi in tact.
We also did our first family grocery trip to Whole Foods. Three cheers for future posts with new and exciting recipes. 🙂
That’s so awesome that your in laws went to the expo and brought you back samples! I would LOVE to go to that expo one day, it looks like heaven!
Hey Elise! Glad to see you guys are getting settled at home – and that you’re cooking again! How are the Tofurky slices? I bought them for the first time and they’re still sitting in my fridge…they kinda freak me out for some reason. Are they yummy?
Good for u to try fish again. After a huge moral battle, i added in eggs and fish and wow, I feel so much better. More stable, energetic, less depression/anxiety, muscle pain….. I was def missing out on a ton of nutrients. I still feel bad, but not having them in my diet was not kind to myself. I think those of us with gi issues need the concentrated nutrients in eggs and fish bc we can’t assimilate and absorb then we’ll enough thru plant sources.
Btw, no need to worry about mercury and such. Chris kressers wrote a great blog post on it. Basically, the selenium and other nutrients in fish help counteract the absorption of mercury. Also, stick to sardines, salmon, haddock, cod, sole, flounder, and other wild caught fish, and u are ok. U are lucky to live near the coast where u can get it fresh… I live in the mid USA, so mine ain’t too fresh.
I hope u don’t get any flak from people for adding it in. If ur body craves it, u need it….. Especially now that u have not only ur health to consider, but also ur baby
Hugs.. And congrats
Thats so sweet that they brought back samples for you! The expo sounds so interesting. Your salads and fresh sandwiches look amazing!
Wait. Chobani has pre-mixed yogurts?! That’s the one thing that I don’t like about them – they are all (or I thought they were) fruit on the bottom.
Just a quick thumbs up for the happy-Pinot photo 😉
Hi Patrick!
cheers
Lori
You look happier than ever in that pic. I’ll take some of that pizza…the LPQ spread…the tostada bowl, please and thank you, lol. My mouth is watering on high right now.
Hey Elise…loving the blog so much. can I ask, what kind of granola do you buy? I’ve been looking for one! Thanks
I was going to mention the research that Chris Kresser wrote about, but I see Stacy beat me to it. It sounds pretty solid to me. I’d be interested to hear a fellow nurse’s take on it.
http://chriskresser.com/is-eating-fish-safe-a-lot-safer-than-not-eating-fish
Oh man, pinot. I just got back from four days in the Russian River Valley. Heaven. I love Poquito Mas so much! We go to the one in Burbank pretty frequently.
I have wondered about reintroducing the foods you eliminate during pregnancy when you’re breastfeeding. I understand about how your body metabolizes things like alcohol, but mercury/BPA/bacteria in soft cheeses seem like a different beast.
Recipe for the pizza dough? GF?
Many thanks!
Expo was definitely great this year!! Hopefully we will see you next year at the show!
I try to stick with sustainable fish and avoid those listed on the Monterey Bay’s Avoid list (unsustainable & high mercury). I carry around the pocket guide with me. 🙂
Great! Thanks for sharing!
You look absolutely gorgeous, Elise! I can’t believe how quickly you’ve gotten your pre-baby body back. It’s amazing! It just goes to show how beneficial it is to stay active and healthy throughout the entire pregnancy.
LPQ’s bread is out of this world. I haven’t gone in months but you’ve got me craving it now! And I’ll be interested to hear more about how your body reacts to reintroducing fish into your diet!
I love LPQ! I go to the one in DC as much as I can. I once asked the waiter if he could bring me an extra side of bread and hazelnut spread. He gave me a weird look but I wasn’t ashamed.
Cheers to your first few sips of wine!
bread recipes:
http://www.hungryhungryhippie.com/readers-request-breadmaker-bread/ (wheat)
http://www.hungryhungryhippie.com/gluten-free-breadmaker-bread/ (wheat free)
granola recipes:
http://www.hungryhungryhippie.com/recipage/?search_term=granola&ui=960
(i have both a search bar and a recipe search engine for future reference)
yes! theyre new! theyre so much better too 🙂
interesting. ill have to search for that post – i subscribe to his rss but i must have missed that one.
its not that i crave it really, its that i want to try and see how my body handles it. breast feeding has me really analyzing everything even more (as if that were possible!!) because his reactions to foods are just as important as mine. we will see…
theyre ok. nothing to write home about. my mom bought them for us, so i figured id give them a try. maybe good for a random turkey sandwich craving?
LPQ’s spreads are the best! Glad you got to experience your first threesome outing.
Soooo my doctor has prescribed I try FODMAPS! I got a list of guidelines today, and it seems sooooo overwhelming… because so many things on the “avoid” list are staples of my diet (beans, avocado, etc.). I know you are SUPER busy right now so I won’t even ask for suggestions, but your blog will be a big help!
youre so sweet emily! thanks 🙂
oh man. im sorry. it IS so overwhelming. it kinda sucks too because like you said, its so many of our staples (beans especially!!). to be honest, its been a real learning curve. there are things i seem to tolerate okay and things i dont. the trick is trying to figure out how to still enjoy things like wheat bread and hummus in a way to not overload the gut. i generally pick one fodmaps group per day and eat it in one meal only and try to not have much others over the rest of the day. it works okay for me that way and i dont feel too limited. so if i have wheat bread for breakfast, i wont have hummus for lunch. but if i have oats for breakfast, i have beans at lunch. kinda like that. of course see what works for you, but thats just how i do it now. i did find the elimination phase was really really helpful in re-setting my gut and i return to periods of it when i feel really crappy. and really, i have done lots better now that i know how to manage my ibs….when i choose to do it right 😉
i know youre similar to me in that you dont do much dairy outside of greek yogurt, so i suspect maybe youll be similar in other ways.
as you may recall i did end up adding eggs back into my diet, and now as i mentioned in this post, im thinking of doing fish as well. we will see…
thank you. I tried the search box for granola and nothing came up. Glitch in my computer maybe. I just thought that you bought a granola brand as you are so busy and probably wouldn’t have time to cook!
Sustainability and mercury levels are definite deal makers/breakers for me too, but it’s doable! As I’m sure you know, Seafood Watch and Whole Foods are great resources. I’m so happy to have seafood back in my life!
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Thanks for sharing ! 🙂
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