Primal…and Pregnant! Oh, and Pizza.

Now that we’ve told all of our family and friends and have made it over that crucial first trimester hump, I decided it was time to reveal what’s been stealing so much of my energy and attention since November.  You might have noticed around then that I stopped posting so regularly.  Not that being pregnant in some way precluded me from writing.  And it’s not that I fell off the Primal bandwagon either – though I’m sorry to say, the combination of chilly weather, holiday treats galore, and an increased appetite have made the occasional slip-up inevitable.  My meals have stayed clean, but I’ll admit to indulging in the occasional cookie…or pastry…or whatever.  I think I’ll live.

Classic example of the "What the...?!!" face.

It’s more that this has been a huge distraction in my life for the past few months – constantly occupying my mind with such profound thoughts as “What the…?!!”, “Hey, I get to buy new clothes! And furniture! And redecorate!” and “Wait, I’m not old enough to be somebody’s mom! OK well, yeah, I’m old enough, but… What the…?!!?”  Just kidding.  A little bit.

Being the over-thinker that I am, this has definitely taken some time to wrap my head around.  But I’ve come to realize that whether I was aware of it or not, this is something that I have been priming my body for since overhauling my diet and lifestyle a year ago.  I’m 36 years old, I had been on the pill for…let’s just say a really long time, and I’d never even had a “scare” before – so I didn’t even know if I was capable of getting pregnant.  I went off the pill because it was giving me awful headaches and making me feel like crap – the idea of “huh, I guess now’s as good a time as any for a baby” was secondary.  And here we are, less than a year later.

Who knows – maybe I still would’ve ended up pregnant just as quickly, easily, and without really trying even if I hadn’t been taking excellent care of myself the seven or eight months prior.  But I do know that I didn’t experience even a moment of the much-dreaded morning sickness that plagues most women through their first trimester.  I have no unusual or overly strong food cravings.  The rare times that I venture onto a pregnancy message board I’m overwhelmed by comments – from women at the same point in their pregnancies as I am – complaining of aches and pains and ailments and worries that I’m just not experiencing.  Really the only thing I’ve dealt with so far was lower energy than normal for the first few months.  But even that’s over now.  And my lovely doctor – who I adore, by the way – tells me every time I see her that my weight, general health, and the little guy’s development are all perfect, and that she has none of the concerns she normally has for an “over 35” pregnancy.  When people ask how I’m doing and that’s the response they get, I very often hear “you’re lucky”, “good genes”, “what a blessing”, etc.  But I’d like to take at least a little of the credit, if I may.  Because if all of this isn’t an honest reflection of diet, exercise, and lifestyle, I really don’t know what is.  Oh, and I’m reading more and more about how a high-fat diet prevents stretch marks.  Which is a total bonus in my book.  I’ll let you know how that one turns out.

So, there you have it – my secret’s out!  I know I’ve vowed repeatedly over the past few months to post more often, and now that I don’t have to tiptoe around this monumentally huge thing going on in my life, I’m sure I will.  Besides, writing here helps keep me on track, and we all need a little system of accountability from time to time.  Just for good measure, I’ll toss in a really quick and easy recipe that Brad came up with last week when I wanted pizza.  I’m sure if we’d bothered to do a Google search we’d find that this is already a “thing”, but we were pretty impressed with ourselves nonetheless for thinking of it on the spot.

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM MINI PIZZAS

2 large Portobello Mushroom caps

Organic Marinara Sauce (make sure it’s sugar-free and has as few ingredients as possible – or make your own!)

Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

Pepperoni,  (we found a brand with all natural ingredients and no preservatives – be sure to read your labels!)  Or other cooked meat of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wipe off mushrooms, remove stems, and scrape out the gills with a knife or spoon. (This helps prevent them from becoming watery.)  Bake the mushrooms on a baking sheet gill-side down for five minutes, then remove from the oven and drain on paper towels.

Place the mushroom caps back on the baking sheet gill-side up and cover with the toppings of your choice.  We used pepperoni, mozzarella, and parmesan and it was fantastic.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.  I like my cheese just a little bit burnt, so I turn on the broiler for the last couple of minutes.