75 grams of protein!

so pregnant women need at least 75 grams of protein everyday (some doctors even recommend up to 100 grams) which doesn't sound like very much until you look at a nutrition label and realize that beans have 8 g of protein per serving, milk has 8 g per cup and peanut butter only has 7 g of protein per 2 Tbsp....and 190 calories. Then add in the morning sickness factor and the fact that meat has sounded about as appetizing as dog poo, and welcome to my adventures in eating protein.

here's an idea of one of my best days (when i didn't feel like barfing anytime i thought of food) where i made a grand effort to eat as much protein as i possibly could: for breakfast - protein drink (more on that later) and yogurt, for snacks - roasted soy nuts and string cheese, for lunch - fortified mac & cheese and broccoli, and for dinner - egg whites, edamame, and bean dip. total protein count for the day: 70 grams - FAIL.

i've decided that it's not physically possible to follow the "pregnancy diet" - there's no way to eat 75 grams of protein, 3 servings or 1200 mg of calcium, 3 servings of "green leafy & yellow vegetables and fruits", 4 servings of other fruits and vegetables, 4 servings of whole grains and legumes, 27 mg of iron and drink 64 oz of water when all you really want to do is pretend that food doesn't exist so that you don't start gagging again. (oh and did i mention that while you're eating this diet that could feed a small african country, you're only supposed to gain a pound a week...)


so anyway, on my quest to find an easy source of protein, i've embarked on a mission to find the most palatable source of drinkable protein - which has been both expensive and mostly unpalatable...

first attempt - pre-made protein shakes: barfed (ben ate the rest)

second attempt - soy protein smoothie: couldn't even drink it (ben ate the rest)

third attempt - homemade smoothie w/protein powder added: drank 1 sip and spent the rest of the day moaning in bed (ben ate the rest)

fourth attempt - superfood protein drinks: smelled it, started gagging and barfed (ben wouldn't even eat the rest)

fifth attempt - atkins protein shake: no barfing!!!

so we have a clear winner - not to say that this is really a big achievement or anything because it's still pretty nasty, pretty expensive, and only has 15 grams of protein...