Green & Orange

I can't quite figure out what's going on with me and food since I've been pregnant. Like I said, I've had a loss of appetite, and that's pretty much the extent of my symptoms (except swollen nasal membranes and zit breakouts like a teenager). But loss of appetite?? That's a big deal to me! Give me appetite, or give me death. So, it's been really weird to have the feeling of being hungry but not being able to figure out what to eat because nothing sounds good. This has never happened to me before. The grocery store is a whole new world full of repulsive food, even if I go when I'm completely ready to chow. Now that I'm in my second trimester, and pretty much a pro at pregnancy, I've learned a few things about what I need to do to stay fed:

1. Go with the pizza craving. I think this happened after I talked to Shanna, who said she ate only small frozen pizzas her entire pregnancy. I thoroughly enjoy a hot, greasy, cheesy gooey, crispy, deep dish pepperoni personal pan pizza after a long day at work, or even just after a long morning. The craving doesn't come that often, but when it does, Pizza Hut is in my cell phone directory and it's on the route home! Perfect.

2. Take it easy with the green. At some point in the first few weeks I was taking a lunchtime stroll, really dreading eating the lunch I had brought from home. To The Sandwich Box I went. I stared at their menu for a very long time. Nothing, nothing and nothing. Then this sandwich jumped out at me: fried green tomato with ham and melted provolone. It sounded risky, but it also sounded GOOD. I ate it in the park on a very hot day and couldn't figure out if I had just found the sandwich of my dreams or the sandwich of my death. I have since gathered my wits, and decided death, definitely death. Another green item to avoid: green jello. I thought I was being real smart one day when I came home with all the ingredients for a huge pan of green jello with pears and cream cheese. Sounds good on paper, but when all blended in the blender, as the recipe suggests, you just end up with a whole month's worth of green, gelatinous, sugar squares. I dumped most of it down the drain. Yuck. I'm sticking with pickles, plain and simple dills, which I have loved and craved since the beginning of time.

3. Ixnay on the unkjay. At first I was eating all things processed because that's all that sounded good, including canned chicken noodle soup, which might as well be a can of pure salt. That was a shock to the system since I rarely eat much of anything canned, especially canned soup. Gross. I decided to stuff down the healthy food, and it was a good idea. THEN I started getting grossed out by baked goods (not bread, just dessert and muffins). Was the darndest thing because I ALWAYS love me some baked goods. Life without baked goods. Wow. A good shock to the system.

Well, the ol' appetite is finally evening out a bit. I don't love everything but I'm feeling a little more adventurous. So, I bring you my orange kick: squash, squash and pie (baked goods are slowly making their way back into my good graces). I tried PW's baked acorn squash recipe. I should have known to cut back on, um, EVERYTHING, because it's no secret that the woman might kill over at any moment from butter-induced cardiac arrest. So, it turned out okay, just a little too buttery and sugary and ... yeah, kinda yucky. I think acorn squash itself is just not my favorite. Checking that squash off the list and moving on.

Butternut squash is something I accidentally bought when decorating the house for the pumpkin carving party. I wish I had accidents like this all the time. I turned it into an amazing butternut squash soup, something that I thought was only available in boxes at Trader Joe's. (Also on the orange menu that night: salmon.)

And tonight we have a delicious pumpkin pie (or two). I have decided, since I am not hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year, I will make each Thanksgiving dish throughout the month so we can enjoy it allll month long, with the finale on the 27th. Woowoooo! Kind of like the concept of enjoying Halloween candy all October, with the finale being an entire bowl on the 31st. Didn't do that this year but now that I've conceived the idea, next year for sure.