Latest on single-motherhood

My husband usually takes care of the bedtime routine: bath, story, good-night! Since he's been away, I do it all. Hmm, bending over a bathtub with a big belly is not so comfortable! I discovered tonight that all that bending is a one-way ticket to heartburn! Fortunately, my heartburn this pregnancy hasn't been that bad, and it's always directly caused by me (ie: 100% preventable), but this was just really annoying! So, not bending over a lot is on the list now, but sometimes it's hard to avoid.

An update on the on-line nutrition information that's available for chain restaurants: Today is my parents' 37th wedding anniversary. So what better way to celebrate than by going to a nasty chain? (my mother gets gift cards at work for good performance reviews, I really wish she'd pick something else) Anyway, I was at least able to go on-line for both menu options and to check the calories. Double-win. I wouldn't say I had the healthiest meal, but it was relatively compared to the rest of the options and it also meant I knew what to order for my toddler (and what to bring to supplement) before we went. Hurray for information!!

The simple pleasure of simple food

Today's lunch was sliced tomatoes and sliced mozzarella, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. It took about five minutes to make and tasted of spring. I've been craving this (with one opportunity to eat it a few weeks ago in a restaurant) all winter. I'm not even a tomato-lover, but there is something about this combination that is so yummy. Spring does this to me. I've been gobbling down the first strawberries (now that there are actually ripe ones in the stores) and could eat asparagus daily (although it's been more like once a week since I like it so much more than my husband does). Eating seasonally makes ripe, fresh fruits and vegetables taste so much better. Part of it is they do taste better when local and picked fresh, but it also makes you appreciate food when you know you can only get it for a limited time. I refuse tomatoes when they're out of season (except for that one restaurant meal, but the tomatoes were at least grown in a greenhouse and ripe-ish). Same with strawberries, asparagus, berries, stone fruits and any other identifiable seasonal food. I try to only eat salmon when it's salmon season because I'd rather buy it fresh off the boat (and yes, I actually know where I can buy it from the boat-hands). I stay away from corn on the cob until high summer. No, I'm not perfect, I've admitted to buying some fruit from Latin American countries to relieve the boredom of apples and pears, but overall, I'm trying (and admittedly some are easier to do, peaches do not taste good if they're not from nearby, but I grew up with a peach tree and am spoiled). My point is more than just buying local and in season: it's also that when you buy what tastes best, you're more likely to eat it. And who can argue with buying the best fruits and vegetables?

Vitamin D recommendations increased for Pregnant Women

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/30/vitamin.d.pregnancy/index.html

Oh, it's been a few days. Sorry about that, I'll do two tonight :)

CNN posted an article a couple of days ago about recent studies showing that pregnant women need more Vitamin D than previously thought. Right now the RDA is 400IU and the study had women take up to 4000IU, yeah, big difference. At my first midwife appointment she recommended that I add a 2000IU supplement. It's recommended that midwives or obs do a blood test to see if their patient is low in Vitamin D, but as my midwife put it, everyone is, it's a $150 test, and $150 will buy a LOT of supplements.

This isn't based on anything I've read, but I'm willing to bet that there are two main contributors to why most of the population is now D deficient (I'm thinking that this is also why the recommendations are suddenly changing): change in food production & change in outdoor time. People spend much, much less time outside now than they ever have before, and scheduled outdoor time frequently (and should ALWAYS) include sunscreen. I have a history of skin cancer in my family, and am pale enough to glow in the dark, I don't leave my bathroom in the morning without sunscreen on my face, at least. The other big reason is that we're getting less D from our food. Animals produce Vitamin D in the sunlight as well, and this can be found in products such as milk and eggs (I'm not sure about the content in actual meat). As most of our animals are now being raised indoors (heck, so chickens never even see the light of day), they're D production has also plummeted. Another excellent reason to only buy products from animals that have lived outdoors!

So, talk to your midwife, ob or dr. and ask about the new recommendations!

Just because it says it's organic . . .

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704464704575208752164666686.html?mod=dist_smartbrief#printMode

doesn't mean you still don't have to pay attention. The big thing is the baby formula. If you end up having to supplement breastfeeding then you should know what you're putting in your baby. I didn't check it out, giving him Similac Organic. Anyway, the way they manufacture DHA is in vats of mold. Yep, mold. I haven't done much research beyond that, but I don't really like the idea of mold being used to synthesize part of my baby's diet. Unfortunately, there aren't many options, but at least you should be an informed consumer.

Fast food and children

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/27/AR2010042703768.html

A scary study done several years ago asked preschoolers what they're favorite restaurant was. Overwhelmingly, McDonald's came in first place, even amongst children who had never been there. This, of course, was accomplished by advertising; children who hadn't eaten at McDonald's were still watching enough television to be indoctrinated into American consumer culture. (okay, so a dig about tv as well as bad food) And what is the number one draw to McDonald's? Why the Happy Meal with a toy, of course. Which makes Santa Clara County in California just plain awesome in their attempts to battle childhood obesity by outlawing giving away toys along with unhealthy children's food. Children's meals must be under a certain number of calories, fat, sodium and sugar in order for a toy to be included. The law hasn't passed yet, but we can keep our fingers crossed. Although some (okay, many) will say that the government is being much too big brother-ish, I say good for the county. Children cannot make healthy decisions on their own, it must be done by parents. And too many parents are laying down on the job. I see it as a matter of child welfare to save them from their parents (and yes, I'm willing to go far enough down the zealot route to say feeding kids unhealthy foods all of the time is a form of child abuse, along with smoking around them, and not buckling them up properly in cars). As goes California, goes the nation (heck, I don't even live there anymore, but I'm proud of the various protections the state has enacted!).

Getting your Omega 3s

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/science/27qna.html?ref=health

One of the essential nutrients to consume while pregnant is Omega 3 fatty acids, usually found in fish, but also in other sources. Pregnant women are encouraged (usually) to take a supplement to make sure that they get enough. But I have issues with the supplement. How the fish oil is obtained is environmentally suspicious, and apparently the method used to make it for baby formula is that it is produced in vats of mold. Yuck. So I asked about other sources. Of course, eating too much fish (my problem) can lead to other issues (mercury poisoning anyone?), so my midwife suggested flaxseed oil. I'll admit, I have yet to open up my bottle (which is really, really bad of me!) because I'm still traumatized by the cod liver oil my parents made me ingest as a child (they didn't catch on to the capsules for a long time). But I must do this! Above is a link to a New York Times article in tomorrow's Health section about the differences between obtaining the fatty acids from flax vs fish. Basically, you need more oil from flax for your body to convert it properly. But especially if you're a vegetarian, this is a great option to have.

Keeping track of food

As part of the new Health Care Bill, chain restaurants will be required to post nutritional information. A lot of cities (and states, I think) have already started requiring this so a lot of national chains are already in compliance. And while in general, I avoid chains like the plague (unless I'm in the middle of nowhere, then at least they're a known quantity), we do have a chain diner (Ruby's Diner) near us that I love. The waitresses are all really good and love my son, the food is fresh and it's relatively cheap (yeah, I'm justifying a bit, but the service really is spectacular). Anyway, I made the mistake, uh, informed decision, of looking up the nutritional information before going there for breakfast this morning. I know that restaurant food in general is going to be much higher in calories, fat and sodium than my cooking, but what an eye-opener! Anyway, point being, even when we know we're eating food that isn't great for us, we don't always realize just how bad it really is. The new law can help change that. There will always be times for a splurge, but it's good to keep an idea of how big that splurge really is (like, if I weren't pregnant, I'd have to forgo food for a few days to make up for it!). This is important to remember when feeding children, when neither breastfeeding nor pregnant, and when trying to not slip into the majority in this country who are overweight or obese (and with the amount of eating out people do, it's not always hard to see how).

More on school lunches

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/20/AR2010042001181.html

Silly me, who doesn't watch television, I forgot that everyone else seems to be tuned into the school lunch issue. Here's an article about Jaime Oliver's show from yesterday's Washington Post's food section (newspapers, I obviously read, if not always right away). I adore Oliver, and not just because he cooks and is cute. He has done a ton of work in Britain to try and fix school lunches there, as well as other charitable causes (like teaching at-risk youths [and I believe recent inmates] for food-industry jobs, etc.). I'm always one to jump late on a celebrity bandwagon. I need them to prove to me that they're worthwhile first (heck, I didn't like Madonna until I read that she didn't let her children watch television). I think Oliver is worthwhile, and it helps that I believe in his causes: cooking for health & family. So if he can get you to care, that's another reason I'll like him.

BTW, PBS showed Food, Inc. last night and now has it on their website. So if you haven't seen it yet, now's your chance to do so for free!

Never to early to be horrified by school lunches

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/20/AR2010042000916.html

Taking a look several years into the future: do you know what your kids will be eating in their school lunch? The above article is about the armed services complaining that school lunches are making young adults to fat to join the military. Regardless of whether or not you see your child taking that route, it's pretty hard not to be concerned. Ironically, after World War II the military was the one who got the federal government to institute nutritional standards for school foods after complaining that they were causing malnourishment in potential recruits.

But looking at a time in the closer future: I already hear horror stories of parents whose children imbibe tons of sweets and other junk food at daycare. It is really, really, really hard to counter that environment when children are being immersed in it from such an early age. One of the reasons we chose the daycare we did (even if #1 was only there for nine weeks) was because I had more control over what he was going to eat. What to do? Model what good nutrition is for your children. This is the #1 thing that you can do. Do NOT eat poorly in front of them and then expect them to gobble down the steamed broccoli. Bonus: you'll be more healthy, too. Also, don't let them watch television. Forgetting about the lack of exercise and brain rot sitting in front of the boob tube causes, it's also the constant bombardment of commercials for BAD food that causes problems. If little Timmy doesn't see 5000 McDonald's commercials a week, he's much less likely to bet you to take him there. I could go on, but I'm tired, and I think you've got the point. Eat healthy and remember, you are the parent, so say no to bad food!

Cankles

The swelling has begun. Not as bad (yet) as last time, but not quite pretty, either. So, back to remembering what helped last time. For early ankle swelling (not third trimester, which is pretty unavoidable) that is not caused by hypertension or other serious problems there is a relatively easy fix (and I guess if the easy fix doesn't work, then it's time to check again for a more serious problem): make sure you're getting enough protein and fluids. The fluids are more intuitive since the less water you're drinking, the more likely your body is going to hold on to what you do drink. (too bad this doesn't work with fat too: your body says, oh, you have enough fat now, so any more that you eat we'll just flush out, and probably reduce your stores too, since this isn't going to be a problem) Drinking more lets your body know that you don't need to hold onto fluids. I'm not sure how the protein works, but last time my Bradley Class instructor told me to try it and it worked almost immediately. The swelling in my ankles went down in a couple of days. I noticed my lovely cankles on Saturday (which doesn't mean that they weren't there before, I'm not always the most observant person). It has been warmer outside, but I also haven't been eating as much protein. For some reason, the warmer it is, the lighter the food I eat and that means cutting out some proteins, too. Which isn't good! My staples from pregnancy #1 were cheese & hummus to snack on every afternoon (not together), which are the two things that I have an aversion to right now. So I really, really need to get my Bradley workbook out (tomorrow maybe?) for some suggestions and to actually track my food intake again. It's always a process.

Eat small meals, frequently (or why I didn't post last night)

There are some random things that become more difficult with a second pregnancy that you'd never think of. Last time, I worked in an office and had no problem snacking throughout the day to keep my blood sugar level and avoid eating too much in one sitting. This time, since I'm home with my son, this is proving to be difficult. I can't really snack in front of him, and make it a point to only eat what he can (my husband is bad about this and it causes tons of fussing at dinner time). So by dinner time, I tend to be really hungry. Last night I made a delicious mushroom risotto, and hadn't really eaten much of a lunch, so I was starved and had a plate of one of my favorite foods in front of me. Big mistake. My full sensors weren't working in real time, so by the time I realized that I had had enough, I had had way too much. I spent the next four hours on the couch, in discomfort until I finally got so tired I just had to go to bed, uncomfortable or not. (wow, I sound like such a glutton!!) At least my son had a good night's sleep and so did I. Usually, however, I just don't end up eating enough because I purposely try to avoid the above scenario at dinner time, and just end up being hungry an hour or two later. At least I'm better about snacking after dinner, once my toddler is in bed. Although not always great about what I'm snacking on (my sweet tooth has come back again. I really like it when it goes away!) Anyway, so here's another do as I say, not as I do post. Learn from my mistakes!!!

Eating Fish

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/fishmercury.htm

Our usual diet consists of a protein (chicken, turkey or fish) with some type of grain: rice, tortilla, pasta. So Passover becomes a bit of a challenge since I can't really do a stir-fry or pasta dish. I end up eating a ton of fish (salmon, gefilte fish, canned tuna, gefilte fish, etc.). After realizing that I'm eating fish up to twice a day, I thought maybe I should remind myself of the forbidden ones due to mercury. Gefilte fish doesn't seem to be on there (what, it's not a separate species? okay, the ingredients are on the low list). I am eating too much canned tuna (I gave up the real stuff, particularly because I prefer it still flopping on the plate) due to insane cravings for anything with mayonnaise (which I don't usually like); mainly tuna fish sandwiches, although I'm looking forward to the post-egg-hunt devilled eggs on Sunday a little too much.

The list above is a good reminder to branch out, a lot. The bigger problem is that my husband likes salmon, and that's pretty much it. I'll eat anything from the sea (except sea urchins, they're pretty gross both cooked and raw), so I need to get a little more creative, which is exactly what any pregnant woman wants to hear: more work! Point is: the more variety in your diet, the better both for getting maximum nutrients and for keeping the bad stuff low. Oh, and make sure to compare the mercury list with the safe fish list (so stay away from things like farmed or Atlantic salmon!). So here's a freebie for you: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_recommendations.aspx

Another reminder to eat local and know your food sources

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/AR2010032903824.html?hpid=topnews

As if we didn't have enough to worry about with the food supply, apparently manufacturers and suppliers sometimes lie about the content of the food such as type of fish or diluting honey or olive oil. Not quite as bad as putting melamine in baby formula, but who wants to pay premium prices for adulterated wine? Of course this goes back to knowing where your food comes from, at least as much as possible. You have a lot more control over what you eat when you know the farmer who grew your strawberries instead of going to the store and buying a bag of frozen fruit. There is only so much you can source locally, but the nation's reliance on packaged convenience foods doesn't help the problem.

Water

Something that I struggle with constantly is getting enough fluids. I'm basically built like a camel (not externally!) and feel fine with a minimum of fluids. I have little doubt that this contributed to my supply issues when breastfeeding #1 besides just not being good for me. It's recommended that during pregnancy a woman should consume 8-10 8 ounce glasses of water a day (64-80 ounces or more than half a gallon). I usually get about 48 ounces of fluid in me. The friends that I have talked to about how much water they drink while pregnant/breastfeeding tend to drink even more (up to a gallon). So I'm working on it. I'm using a liter bottle to gauge how much I'm drinking, and so far have been getting about a liter to a liter and a half a day, besides the pint of milk I drink with breakfast. The goal is to be up to three liters a day by the time I give birth and then keep up with at least that after. If anyone has any suggestions for getting more fluids in, I'm all ears!

Eat Real Food

If you watch TV, you've probably seen the ads from the CORN INDUSTRY saying how High Fructose Corn Syrup is just regular sugar and it's not bad for you any more than sugar is. Until some scientists compare the effects. A study was just released from Princeton showing that oh, yes, HFCS does much worse things to your body than sugar does. (yes, this was done in rats, not humans, but startling just the same) I highly recommend taking a couple of minutes to read the synopsis: http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/index.xml?section=topstories

While it seems as though HFCS is in nearly everything, if you eliminate a lot of the processed foods that Americans seem to love so much, it isn't that hard to do. I have managed to virtually eliminate it (except for the nasty sports drinks I still have to consume) in the last couple of years. Also, enough cities now have laws that require chain restaurants to post nutritional information that you can find a lot of it on-line. Another way to educate yourself about what you're eating (basically, stay away from chains!). Restaurants that have rotating menus and advertise fresh ingredients are better bets, usually. A hilarious rule of thumb is that if your great-grandmother (whom we'll assume was a globe-trotting, adventurous eater) wouldn't recognize it, don't eat it. :)

Eating Local

Continuing from yesterday's post, today's is about actually eating local and giving the finger to big agribusiness. The two best ways to do so are Farmer's Markets (making sure that they're actually local, some allow resale) and Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA). I'm a huge fan of CSAs and there are enough varieties that you should be able to find one that you like. How most CSAs work are that you enter into a contract with a farm at the beginning of the season (like around now). You pay a certain amount up front and then you own a share of what the farm produces; the produce is then usually delivered to your home or a pick-up site weekly. In bumper years this is fantastic but if there is a drought or flooding, you'll be hurt a bit, too. The great thing is that it allows a farm to be supported regardless and if you're a member for several years, it will even out. One drawback with a CSA is that you don't usually get to choose what food you receive, if there are a ton of tomatoes one week then you get a ton of tomatoes. It is a great way to try new veggies and experiment with your cooking. Some farms let you pick and choose a bit, or order additional produce each week.

What I like best is that I'm guaranteed to have fresh produce and I don't have to think about it (mine is also year-round and delivered to my house). This was particularly great right after my first baby was born. At the very least, we had fresh fruit and veggies even if my husband couldn't get out to the store. Now that my son eats the same things we do, he gets new things to try all of the time. A lot of farms also have open houses at some point during the season so you can go to the farm and meet your producers (unfortunately mine was the weekend my son was born, and then his first birthday, so we haven't done it yet).

Enticed to try yet? Here's a link to find a CSA near you: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ . The USDA also has information on it's website.

Food, Inc.

Before you read any more of this post, go watch it! Okay, good. It's been sitting in my Netflix queue I think since it came out and I finally got around to watching it last night. If you've read Omnivore's Dilemma and/or Fast Food Nation then there isn't going to be a lot more in it that you don't already know (both authors are interviewed and Pollan was a contributor). What it will show you that a book can't, is what your meat looks like before you eat it. Interestingly, the filmmakers were not allowed to film cattle feed lots (we get a lot of drive-bys and flyovers), pig farmers, or inside chicken "coops". One woman, who had a more humane chicken coop, allowed the camera crew in, and promptly had her contract with Perdue pulled.

What you come away from the film understanding is that industrial agriculture is all-powerful, has people in the highest places (USDA, FDA, Supreme Court [Clarence Thomas, surprised?]) and you, the consumer, are basically without rights. Either the right to know what is actually in your food, or the right for recompensense when things go horribly wrong and you end up with salmonella poisoning from your peanut butter (really, a poultry/reptile disease in legumes??). Scary stuff. Even the organic companies aren't blameless since most of the big ones are now owned by the huge food conglomerates (Dannon owns Stonyfield Farm yogurt, for example, Colgate owns Tom's of Maine). Better than conventional, but still not great.

What is the solution? Of course, the best solution is for us all to have sane jobs that allow for lots of home cooking (including yogurt, bread, etc.) and sourcing the majority of your foods from within reasonable driving distance (100 miles, for example). Eating within the season helps a lot too, even if you're getting your winter oranges from Florida and you live in, say, the Pacific Northwest. (confession, I bought an organic mango from Peru today to share with my son. We've been doing so well on local apples and pears for most of the winter, I needed a taste of summer.) This isn't always possible, but the more people who do it, the better it gets as local farmers suddenly have local clients. More on this tomorrow!

Food allergies & babies

Okay, so not exactly pregnancy related, but since pregnancy ends with baby, I thought it would be worth blogging about. I was thinking about this because I know several women who have had to deal with baby food intolerance and breastfeeding and I also know several people (including my brother) with extensive allergies and food issues. This was something I was very concerned about with #1 and will continue to be with #2.

I'm pretty sure that #1 had silent reflux (no spitting up, but didn't like to lie down flat and general fussiness and lots of gas problems) and I know that he had a soy intolerance. The only times my baby threw up were the two times that he was given soy formula (thanks to his ex-pediatrician). Unfortunately, soy is also in regular dairy formula, although in much lower concentrations. My baby also had very mild eczema, which I'm going to attribute it to the soy since it went away with the formula (I didn't know there was soy in it until he was nearly a year old, a BIG lesson in ALWAYS reading labels!!). Because of this and my brother's allergies and celiac disease, I waited until after he was around a year old for a lot of potential allergens to be introduced. A couple of weeks before #1's first birthday I introduced wheat. I didn't want the birthday cake to be the first try. He was about fourteen months before I tried soy again (he was fine at this point). Eggs were tried about eleven months. Citrus at fourteen or fifteen months. He accidentally received his first peanut exposure the other night when he took a bite of my Asian noodles in a sauce that had ground peanuts (oops!!), and did fine. I'll be talking to his pediatrician at the eighteen month appointment next Friday about nuts in general.

Throughout the anxious testing, I was given a very hard time by my family elders. They have little understanding of my brother's issues and thought I was being ridiculous for waiting so long to introduce problem foods to my baby (of course, they also don't understand what the big deal is with organics or why I won't give my toddler sweets). I anticipate the same problems with #2. But, so what? It was my decision and it made me feel a lot better. There wasn't any harm in waiting, and some harm could have occured if I didn't. These are MY children and I have to do what I feel is right. My point being, that you have to listen to your self and follow your own conscience when it comes to feeding your baby.

Food, etc.

Okay, part of the reason of this blog is to also expound upon this nation's food culture (besides knocking the medical profession). First of all, have you read Michael Pollen's books? An Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food? If you haven't go get them from the library or bookstore. I'll wait.

Good, now we're all on the same page. Basically, Big Agriculture is trying to stuff as many calories in each American as possible. The Government (in general, I like the government, except for the USDA and the FDA half the time. Kind of like I like doctors, except obs) subsidizes Big Agriculture. This keeps processed food costs artificially low. Have you seen the KFC commercial telling you that it's cheaper to buy their bucket of chicken instead of making it yourself? Yeah, that's why. This is particularly a problem in low income areas, particularly inner city ones. Imagine you've just gotten off from your second job of the day and have to go home and feed your hungry kids. What are you going to do, stop at Micky D's which is a block away, or take the bus out to the suburbs to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables and maybe a chicken or some beans (for protein) that will end up costing more and take you an hour to make. I don't even like McDonald's, but that sounds like the saner (if not healthier) option just after running after a toddler all day. I'll stop the sociology lesson and get back to the agricultural one.

Even if you're not buying processed foods, the conventionally raised and grown ones can be just as much of a problem. Petroleum-based fertilizers may grow bigger tomatoes, but they're not as healthy and the tomatoes end up taking up more energy in their production (BEFORE BEING PICKED!) than they produce. And the fertilizers destroy the soil. Hopefully, I'm preaching to the choir, but it's a nice reminder that it's not enough to eat low on the food/processing chain, but also be mindful of where your food is coming from. Hence, organics.

I do understand that they're more expensive, particularly milk (whew! it is so expensive, and my son and I go through three gallons a week). But it is possible to stay within budget and buy organic. First of all, skip the processed food. Even organic mac & cheese in a box is still bad for you, even without all of the chemicals of the Blue Box. Stick to the basics: fruits & veggies, dairy, whole grains and moderate amounts of meat. Try to buy from local sources and in season. Much easier said than done, depending on where you live (I'm still trying to convince my parents that they do not NEED tomatoes in the winter!). If you cook vegetarian at least once a week, this can help a lot with the high price of meat. Look for less expensive meats: such as a whole chicken instead of boneless, skinless breasts (you don't really need to eat beef, either. Really!). I know that time can be a premium, particularly when you're coming home to hungry spouse/child(ren) and you seem to be the only one who can cook. Slow cooker!! Put up soup or chili in the morning, come home to a ready dinner. Okay, I don't end up doing a lot of that, but it's nice to dream. My go-to meals are pasta (organic, whole grain) with a ground turkey meat sauce or stir fry (lots of veggies!). Both are really fast and easy, particularly if you chop the veggies ahead of time for the stir fry (or cheat and buy the pre-chopped organic veggies).

Okay, I know this was a really basic post, but I had to get the ball rolling somewhere. As for me, I seem to be off of all protein except for eggs. So today I ate two eggs for breakfast. An orange for lunch and potato-leek and parsnip soup for dinner. With a root beer (real brewed root beer, not some artificially flavored crap with HFCS). No wonder I don't have any energy.