Pregnancy: Trimester 1, coping with 'morning sickness',

I had so many blogs written before Christmas to do with getting back on track and resolutions, all ready to go, and then just before Christmas found out that my husband and I are expecting our first baby, and all those ideas went out of the window. So now that I'm (quite a bit) past the tricky first trimester I thought I would write a little bit about my experiences with those first 12-13 weeks.

I feel incredibly lucky to have not suffered terribly with 'morning sickness' - although anyone will tell you that the 'sickness' can occur any time of the day and is certainly not confined to the morning. And although I think I am one of the lucky ones (in that I only threw up once, at home, in the evening) I did have terrible nausea from about week 7 up to week 13-ish. It felt pretty much like a constant hangover. I was also very, very fatigued (as in falling asleep as soon as I'd eaten my evening meal). I could only stomach foods like pizza, bread, chips - not the healthiest of meals, but I only ate what I could stomach and even then could only handle small portions at a time. Vegetables were off the menu and still kind of are, and even though the only thing that made me feel better was eating, anything I did eat would go down OK and then would make me feel a bit 'delicate' for the next couple of hours, though I was very pleased to keep it all down, bar the one incident.

This all meant that I had to eat ginger oat biscuits while getting ready for work of a morning to halt the nausea, eat chips and gravy for lunch because I could smell it and the smell didn't make me feel sick, and try and force a smoothie down when I could just to get some vegetables in my system. Luckily I could still eat fruit and would often crave it so I managed to eat a good fruit salad a day for the vitamins. But carbs, they were my main friend and I now have a food full of freezer foods (fish fingers, chicken burgers, potato waffles) that were just about all I could eat and now no longer feel like - pregnancy probs.

But, as I said, I feel really, really lucky, and having heard about other people's experiences, so far, I've come off lightly. I'm not sure how much weight I've put on, I only get weighed when I go to the midwife, and although I couldn't fit in to my usual jeans (damn button just wouldn't fasten) at about week 12 I only started to get a proper bump at week 19-20. Comparing myself to other people just was making me nervous but lots of people I speak to say they didn't show until their 20-something week. I have a rounded, hard-ish feeling bump that starts from my mid torso so I know it's developing, it's just happened rather slowly, and can just look like a little food baby at times - it also looks bigger or smaller depending on the time of day, how I'm sitting/standing and how much I've eaten.

At about 13 weeks I started working out again, I'd done nothing from about week 6 when I found out, other than walking quite a lot so it's been nice to get back in to the gym although not doing anywhere near the amount I was - a 10 minute uphill treadmill walk, a 30 minute mat based workout routine with very light weights (focusing on legs, arms and back) and a good stretch is the new order of the day, and then I follow that with 20 lengths in the pool (taking it nice and easy). And, boy, do I sleep after that! It's amazing how much easier it is to feel out of breath and hot these days, so I make sure to drink plenty of water before and after any workout, even if it means extra trips to the bathroom.

I've managed to keep up with work, a few people have even said that if I hadn't told people they probably still wouldn't have guessed, because nothing has changed. My job is desk based so it's not strenuous but believe me I am tired at the end of the day - pregnancy hasn't affected the way I work or my capacity to work, it just takes a little more out of me mentally at the end of the day.

And in all honesty, that is about all I've experienced. I can't stress just how sick I felt for 6-7 weeks but I really do feel for anyone who has severe morning sickness, I can't even imagine how hard it must be to deal with. And I'm finding it funny how I, and I'm sure countless other women, wish their whole lives for flatter stomachs and at this time I'm wishing for my belly to grow! So for now I'll slather myself in stretch mark oil and try and get vegetables back in to my diet as much as possible!

Last days of summer - Brunching and Lunching in London

 

A few weeks ago now we visited a couple of friends in London, making the most of some of the last days of summer by spending a weekend with people we don't see often enough.

We wanted to stay away from the busy shopping streets, take in a bit of culture and (most importantly) catch up over brunch!

About the Young Idea - Music, food and culture

You may or may not have heard of The Jam - a late 70's/early 80's mod/punk/rock band who's songs include "Going Underground" and "Town Called Malice"? No?

Well, if you haven't they were pretty huge in the UK, and their songs continue to be played in indie bars and clubs today. Their mod style was fiercely popular and their fans are pretty die hard.

Healthy snacking ideas: How to ward off hunger at home or at work

 

Snacking is one of my favourite things to do - I'm not even kidding. But snacking in the wrong way can set any of your health and fitness goals back by miles. I'm not saying don't have a treat every now and again, but if you're trying to cut back there is still a way to snack while sticking to your goals!

Friday nights are one of my most difficult times because after a full week in work, and the gym, my healthy stir fry for dinner just doesn't cut it. And while everyone else is posting pictures of their post-work wine and cocktails, I'm sitting at home watching Netflix and dying to reach for crisps or popcorn and a glass of red wine.

Every now and again this is fine, but not all the time, so I've devised a trick, which is not a trick at all, but makes me feel like I'm indulging without actually doing so.

Trail mix and mocktails! Ok, OK hear me out. This is slightly souped up trail mix and is super easy to do yourself - take a good handful each of unsalted almonds, and unsalted cashews - this should make up the main part. Then mix with a small handful of chocolate or yoghurt raisins or a mixture of both (this is the treat bit), and a small handful of dried cranberries. Mix it all together and serve in a fancy bowl to nibble on while watching non-stop re-runs of The Office or Friends. You can even add all sorts of extras such as plain raisins, a small amount of popcorn, fresh blueberries, or coconut chips. You could even replace the chocolate raisins with some chopped up dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips - yum!

Now to wash it all down, mix the juice of a quarter to a half of a pink grapefruit - depending on the size and how much you want it to taste of grapefruit really, with the juice of half a lime and a tiny squeeze of lemon, add as much ice as you'd like and top with cold sparkling water. These Perrier cans are so handy but I like San Pellegrino as well - and yes different sparkling waters do taste different, to me any way. It's sweet, slightly sour and fizzy which makes it feel more indulgent than it is!

Some other excellent options, which are also work friendly and will usually be found in my lunch bag for when the mood strikes are:

•  homemade bliss balls, try this recipe for a simple version
• vegetable crisps (just make sure you limit the amount as they still tend to be quite salty)
• a couple of squares of dark chocolate (if you're on the go Pret do an amazing salted one, just enough for one person)
• a couple of tablespoons of natural yoghurt mixed with blueberries and a sprinkle of granola for crunch
• an apple dipped in a tablespoon (or two) of almond butter
• a selection of celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks and a couple of small cubes of cheese, with a good tablespoon of hummus - preferably homemade, but if you're buying it don't buy low fat, get the full fat version as you're only having a small amount and it will have less (not, none, but less) additives in it.

Always open to more ideas if anyone has any...

Beach bars and beers - eating and drinking in Spain

 

We spent pretty much every other day in Spain doing the same thing - in the best possible way.

After waking up at around 8:30 (which is a sleep in for us), we would get ready, walk down the huge hill towards the beach and along the front to a café where we could get granola and Greek yoghurt, freshly squeezed orange juice - and, most importantly, a decent coffee.

Spanish Summer Holidays : Beach breaks and bar hopping

Its been a couple of weeks now since we came back from Spain, but time seems to have flown by. I'd been so looking forward to a holiday full of doing nothing, recharging our batteries and enjoying week long sunshine. Although I definitely ate and drank to excess and by the time we got home I could have done with an extra day to just sleep!

We stayed in Mojacar which is in southern Spain, about 45 minutes to an hour from Almeria airport, though you can also fly in to Murcia or Malaga which is a bit further out. The father in law lives out there so we were lucky enough to be able to stay in his apartment, and well, just look at the view from the balcony.

Although as lovely as this walk was going down the hill towards the beach and the bars and restaurants, walking back up in 37 degree heat was HARD!

On the first day we arrived around lunchtime after a 3 am wake up call so we headed straight out for tapas up in the hills at a lovely little traditional tapas restaurant, washed down with a couple of beers (well, we were on holiday).

And a view of the tiny chapel across the road. So small you would only be able to squeeze about 2 people in at a time.

After a dip in the pool and a nap we got ready to go out for the evening, slightly later than planned and ended up in a fairly average restaurant, but it did set us up for the evening which we spent watching a live band and drinking gin before wandering back along the beach and up that very steep hill to the apartment for an early(ish) night.

Even the night times are beautiful when you're near the ocean.

Last minute exploring

Our last day in Berlin was a long day of walking before a late flight home at about 9pm. But before we could even contemplate pounding the pavements we had to start with a hearty breakfast, in by far my favourite breakfast spot!

I almost feel like I shouldn't share this place because I like it so much I want to make sure I'll be able to get a space next time, but Antipodes does by far the best coffee I've had in Berlin (possibly ever), some of the best service I've ever come across, and the cakes? I can't even describe how good. And so, for the third day in a row, we pulled up a seat at a brightly painted table with beautiful fresh flowers, ordered a flat white and my favourite breakfast on the menu.

The place is small, delightfully bright even on the dreariest days and always has an array of incredible home baked cakes on offer.

We'd finished our coffees before our breakfast even arrived, and so ordered a second, while the scent of bacon filled the air. And soon our plates of rather substantial breakfast arrived.

 

Don't be fooled by all that green. Underneath hides beautiful soft wholemeal muffins, with lashings of cream cheese, the crispiest of bacon, heaps of avocado and a pile of leaves all drizzled in olive oil. It's filling, tasty, and yet feels so deliciously healthy that you definitely should allow yourself some cake for what I like to call 'breakfast dessert'.

We tried a few - the banana and raspberry bread is so soft and fluffy (and tasty) it's almost too difficult to share, the carrot cake is some of the best I've ever had and served with yoghurt and fruit is the perfect example of cake for breakfast, and the chocolate and peanut cookies are as crumbly and devilish as they sound. But by far our favourite were the butterscotch blondies - just. too. good.

If you don't feel like cake at breakfast ask for them to take out and have them when you need some sustenance (you can thank me later). Everything is home baked so they will have different options at different times but I doubt there'd be anything that wouldn't be delicious.

Thoroughly fed and watered (and needing to walk off the cake) we headed out for more adventures. We walked a ridiculous distance, heading down towards Tempelhof, and stopping off at one of the weirdest sights of the trip. Known as Schwerbelastungskorper (or Heavy load bearing body to me and you), this was a leftover relic from the days of the Third Reich, and was a test site for what would have been one of the biggest structures in Berlin.

It may just look like a giant concrete cylinder and well, that's exactly what it is, but the history that goes with it is both fascinating and frightening all at once. This was a test for just one of four feet of a gigantic arch that would stand at one end of a huge road which would have ran through the centre of Berlin and framing an even bigger domed hall at the other end - had the Third Reich been successful. I know, crazy. And seeing it in person, it just seems even more crazy.

Berlin is full of strange relics from this time, and so we headed off from here to find another one - the old airport at Tempelhof.

We found the front and were enthusing about how much bigger it was than we thought, but the more we explored, the bigger it was!

Now, the grounds are used as a park and recreational space. It was warm on the day we were there but overcast, and there were still tons of people riding bikes and playing games. On sunny days it gets really busy, and there is even space for BBQ's. If you take my advice hire a bike and explore, reading the information points as you go, it's really interesting to read about the history and demise of the airport (if that's your sort of thing). Otherwise it's just a massive park to use on nice days.

As I've said before, the whole city is so full of history, and every corner seems to have a relic of a moment in time.

There is so much to explore that it is well worth taking time to plan out, and although we walked everywhere the metro is so easy to use (just make sure you validate your tickets in the little machines before use) that you could easily see so much of the city even over the course of a weekend.

We rounded off our trip with some shopping - Mitte has a range of high street brands and independent shops.

Even when shopping it's easy to wander in to odd little courtyards and interesting spaces.

 

And with that, we made our way to the airport to enjoy a last beer before our flight home.

We flew with Easyjet (the flights are ridiculously reasonable), and stayed at the Park Inn by Radisson right on Alexanderplatz (the location is as good as you can get, and the hotel is fine, with a fairly good gym, but we literally only used it for sleeping and showering so I couldn't tell you about anything else, and I'm sure there are loads of great places to stay).  All in all, Berlin is well worth a visit, whether you're intent on a history buff's tour of the city or a shopping and eating type of break.

Street Food Thursdays

One of my favourite things to do in Berlin is visit the street food market. I mean, food is probably my favourite thing in any city but this is extra good.

Beating the 'New Year New Me' Brigade

First of all, welcome to 2016! How is it already almost half way through January though?!

We spent New Year at a lovely little cottage with friends near Sherwood Forest, drinking Champers, making gingerbread houses, playing board games - you know, the usual. One of our friends is half Spanish, so we made sure to honour Spanish and English traditions, and I can honestly say it was the most fun 4 days we could have wanted. Here's a couple of piccies to whet your appetite.

Work friendly lunches: Healthy noodle pots

It's always a struggle to find lunches that can be prepared and packed the night before with minimal effort, maximum flavour and be healthy and filling. This healthy noodle pot recipe is the trifecta of all work lunches and should be able to be prepared in almost any work place as all you need on the day is a kettle.

3 favourite things

 

Its been a lovely week this week spent catching up with friends, starting my Christmas shopping and beginning to make the house feel all cosy and Christmassy. This means that I have so many favourite things right now that its been difficult to narrow them all down.

 

I know some people think November is too early to get in to the Christmas spirit but these next 5 weeks will go so quickly and I like to make the most of it!

Remember, remember the 5th November - Healthy Bonfire night tacos

This time of year is perfect for spending time outdoors wrapped up against the cold and the events of the next few months give us plenty of reasons to get together and enjoy quality time with our friends and family.

Tonight (the 5th November), is Bonfire night in the UK, an old tradition which celebrates the capture of Guy Fawkes preventing him from performing an act of treason on the King at the time – it’s actually quite an interesting story if you aren’t based in the UK where we tend to learn about it in school.