It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Without the jelly, that is...

One of the many "joys of pregnancy" for me has been gestational diabetes. This is a form of diabetes that is caused by overly-protective pregnancy hormones which block my body's natural ability to use glucose. Once I have the baby, the diabetes should go away; in the meantime, I have to treat it using diet and insulin.

Part of my new diet includes adding protein to every portion of carbs I eat, which is a challenge for me. I've been averse to meat throughout my pregnancy (Chris' birthday dinner at Morton's Steakhouse almost ended badly several times as I gagged when steaks were carted by our table) and I'm lactose intolerant (so cheese is out). That leaves me with peanut butter. On everything. I go through a 16oz jar of natural peanut butter every 2 weeks now, and I'm putting it on everything from crackers to rice cakes to toast to bananas, celery and apples. Sometimes I'll just eat a spoonful if I don't think it will taste good with my carb (nectarines or grapes, for example).

Once this pregnancy is over, I plan to gorge myself on sushi and noodles. Lovely lovely carb-laden noodles. Pho, beef noodle soup, pad thai, crispy noodles, udon...my favorite comfort foods.

How cruel to finally be allowed to eat as much as you want...and then find out that you can't eat anything you like.