Preparing for Pregnancy: Nutrition (Part 1)

NaturalGuy and I have been focusing on "family planning" in its broadest meaning lately. We've combined our finances and set up a plan to save for our new family's future expenses. We've reconnected with old friends and expanded our social network. And, after eating and eating and eating for the pre-wedding, wedding, and honeymoon, we're finally getting back to normal eating.

I've also had more time to read and cook since the wedding (not working helps!). Before the wedding planning got crazy I'd been working through some of NaturalGuy's family recipes.  We come from very different ethnic backgrounds, so the recipes include a lot of unfamiliar ingredients. NaturalGuy is the expert on how the dishes should taste and a great cook, but he hasn't learned to cook all the dishes either, so we've both been figuring the recipes out - often with some help from my mother-in-law :)

Food is very sentimental. Cooking and eating meals together is one of NaturalGuy and my favorite ways to spend time together. Both of our families are very into eating together, although both sides also have some issues with food. Between overeating, compulsive dieting, and disordered eating behaviors, we've been exposed to some downright unhealthy messages about food. We've been working on re-jiggering the way we cook and eat to embrace the healthy practices of our families, while leaving some of the less healthy ones behind.

One of the real challenges of changing our food habits has been balance. On one hand, we all want to eat a healthy diet. On the other hand, part of "healthy" is "well-balanced", and part of "well-balanced" is sometimes eating dessert and french fries without guilt. It's a tricky act to keep all the balls in the air, and be calm, relaxed, and happy while doing so. It's worth it because our eating habits will have a huge impact on our children, starting from their conception, and extending into their adulthood when they call us, like we are currently calling our parents, for the recipes to their favorite childhood foods.