Peppy the Parasite and his Paleo Papa

For those who don't already know, my husband Michael  has started blogging:
http://southernfriedpaleo.blogspot.com/
The focus of his blog is his latest obsession: the Paleo Diet, together with his obsession with Crossfit which has been going on for quite some time now.  As far as obsessions go, it is a good one.  I don't want to seem whiny here.  Once I was complaining to my friend and former colleague Jason about how much Michael worked.  He does work ALL THE TIME.  At that point I believe we were engaged already and I think I told Jason something to the effect that that was really what we fought about, how he spends his time.  Jason gave me that look people give you when you are insane and don't know it.  "Hold on" he said. "You guys have been together for almost 4 years now and all you fight about is he works too much? You are lucky and need to check yourself." Before I wreck myself- he meant.  He was right.  I am lucky.  Michael and I occasionally have "healthy discussions" over politics, and we used to fight about how much he worked.  Now that we are married and live together we fight about food.

I know that I am lucky.  He is lucky too.  I mean, I have an addiction to buying books.  I have more books than I know.  I have a full bookcase of 4 shelves full of books I have not read or not finished. I have more in boxes scattered around the house.  I am afraid that if I put all the unread books I own together Michael will divorce me.  Especially because I keep buying them and refuse to part with any of them.  But as far as addictions go- it's a good one.  Same thing goes for Michael's obsession with working out and diet.  It's not crack, it's not even porn.  It is a good healthy obsession, and I know this at a rational level.

But, I am pregnant.  And I will like to point out that I have always been willful when it comes to food.  My mother lost her battle with getting me to eat sometime in grade school.  She fought hard, but I fought harder.  My brother used to make fun of me and my mom because she would make rice with veggies in it- which I really didn't like- and she would always ask the question: "Do you want rice? Or do you want mashed potatoes?"  I'd always say mashed potatoes and she would proceed to make me some just for me.  I know.  She was an enabler ( I love you Mami) and I am terribly spoiled.  This is just a little background so you can understand where I'm coming from.

So now I'm pregnant and not feeling food too much.  I frequently think I want to eat something, and then I have to stop eating it halfway through because I no longer want it.  I can handle raw meat and cook it, but once it's cooked I rarely feel like eating more than a bite or two.  It is a problem.  Smells are very intense.  Michael says I'm turning into Wolverine.  The idea of raw fish is more than I can handle right now.  Of course, my paleo husband feels like this is the time to increase our fish consumption.  Luckily, he does not complain about having to cook it himself.  I just sit on the couch and cross stitch, and try hard not to smell it.  I ate some of the fish he made yesterday, but I had to hold my breath while I did. It was good, and I know it was good for me, but a whiff of it and I'm done.

If you read Michael's blog you will see he has his reasons for all this.  He really does believe that grains are a problem and that if I cut out the gluten my allergies and my asthma will be better.  Of course, every pregnancy book/web site/ article I read says I should eat more grains so you see how this a  problem.  Also, I am Puerto Rican.  In my country, there is a bakery on every corner and fresh bread should be purchased daily. My mom will occasionally send me some in the mail, because it is just that good- even three days old! Here is a snippet from a pregnancy article I was reading today that made me giggle:
     Welcome Back, Carbs
Though pregnancy is a great time to watch what you eat, Lisa Andrews, a clinical dietitian at the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, says that this is not the time to be on a diet. Instead, store your Atkins book up on a shelf and reacquaint yourself with bread.http://www.pregnancytoday.com/articles/pregnancy-nutrition-and-recipes/eating-for-energy-during-pregnancy-5644/
I cannot make this stuff up!

Here's a list of some of my favorite foods that Michael does not approve of:

  • bakery fresh bread
  • saltines
  • ginger ale
  • ice cream
  • anything chocolate
  • cheese and more cheese
  • brown rice
  • beans
  • baked potatoes
  • French fries
Making French fries is too much work for me, but we were out for dinner with the family and our nephew for his birthday and Michael had something to say about my French fries, my fried shrimp, and even the high fructose corn syrup called salad dressing on my salad.  My father in law offered me some duct tape for Michael's mouth, and my sister in law stood up for me telling him French fries were a pregnant woman's best friend.

I put cheese in the eggs at breakfast the other morning and he yelled out: "Are you trying to kill me?!"

In his defense, we go to the grocery store together and although he may occasionally roll his eyes when I place something else in the cart that is on his "no-no" list he has at least stopped trying to convince me to not buy them.  He even drove me to the pizza place the other night because I just had to have some pizza.  I am amazed at his will power though, I believe he only ate one bite of one slice.  Unbelievable, right?

Basically, I am grateful for his latest obsession because he usually makes me an egg in the morning without asking me.  When we are preparing dinner he has made me more than my fair share of salads, ensuring that peppy is getting what he needs. I know he wishes I would give up the ice cream, but come on folks, I already gave up wine! I mean, this isn't Guantanamo!

Comments

  1. It's not just the Paleo diet that recommends eliminating some of these foods. What Lisa doesn't tell all you avid readers is that one of her own books (The Allergy and Asthma Cure by Fred Pescatore, M.D.) says a lot of the same things. In Lisa's defense, this is one of the many books that she hasn't read.

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  2. You guys crack me up! You really need this baby to find something else to have avid arguments about... Enjoy the ride!!

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