Carbohydrate Cravings

Things I look forward to eating and drinking again with less restriction (in no particular order):

Pho/Ramen/Noodles
Fruits
Donuts/Cupcakes/Cookies/Cake
Cereal
Milk
Ice Cream
Juice
Breads/Croissants
Pancakes/Waffles/French Toast
Pizza

If you know me, I love to eat fresh fruits and it’s been so tough to just eat small pieces of fruit. I just want to eat a big fruit salad!

I love baking and it’s so hard to restrict myself to half a cookie or half a cupcake plus I’ve been really craving a donut especially after watching a show about Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon where they have a huge donuts and a delicious looking apple fritter.

Surprisingly I’m not craving candy or chocolates…

But these are just a few of the things I’ve been missing out on the last few months. I’m getting tired of carbohydrate counting but I have learned a lot about eating better so after I get it out of my system and eat my fill, I may go back to the low carbohydrate diet. It’s probably overall better for our health and will help to prevent me from developing type 2 diabetes later on.

Buttermilk Pie with a Graham Cracker Crust

I am trying to use up a carton of buttermilk so came across this Food Network recipe for Buttermilk Pie. The recipe didn’t have a crust so I decided to try making it with a graham cracker crust.


Graham Cracker Pie Crust
INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
* 1/3 cup white sugar (reduced to 1/4 cup)
* 6 tbsp butter, melted
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional so I did not use)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix all ingredients together then press into 9 inch pie tin (I used a 9 inch springform pan). Bake for 7-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Buttermilk Pie INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups sugar (used 3/4 cup sugar)
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1/2 cup biscuit mix (recommended: Bisquick) (used 3/4 cup Bisquick)
* 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) butter, melted
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 3 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend all ingredients together with electric mixer or hand mix with a wire whisk. May be poured into a greased 9 inch pie pan or on top of some sort of crust. Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. May be served after cooling for 5 minutes or after refrigeration.

It smells and looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it. I hope I didn’t overcook it and that it still has its custard-like texture. I plan to top it with some fresh fruit, maybe some strawberries and bananas.

Had a slice this afternoon and it ended up more like a piece of cake rather than a custard. Next time I would probably reduce the amount of biscuit mix and increase by 1 egg instead. The graham cracker crust was a bit too sweet so I would reduce it to maybe 1/8 cup of sugar. I topped it with a sliced banana and strawberry which gave it a fresher taste.

Week 39 Update

Less than one week until his due date. I had an appointment with my NP this morning and she said she wanted to put me on the induction schedule. Her supervising MD said to be safe, she rather not let me go too far past my due date because of the gestational diabetes. Partially afraid that the baby may grow too big and make delivery difficult for me.

The only available times they had were either tomorrow (!) or next Thursday March 4th. We chose March 4th, I was a bit caught off guard and definitely not ready for it to be tomorrow. But I hope he’ll want to come out by himself and won’t have to go through the induction process.

So otherwise, all is going fine. I’m still having non stress tests twice a week. Yesterday I finally got the chance to see him exercising his diaphragm to get ready for breathing outside the womb, aka fetal breathing. I’m looking forward to having him take his first real breath.

Homemade Nursing Cover

Since I finally have some free time, I decided to work on my project of a homemade nursing cover. One of my co-workers had one of these and said they were very useful for breastfeeding your baby in public.

You can purchase a commercial one made by Bebe au Lait and it is known as a nursing cover or Hooter Hider, which sells for about $35.

I found instructions here for a homemade one which can be as inexpensive as $8. If you buy the fabric on sale, it can be even cheaper.

For full instructions, click here but the basic supplies you need are:

1 yard fabric, cut into the following:
26 x 38 inches (1 pc)
3 x 31 inches (1 pc for long strap)
3 x 10 inches (1 pc for short strap)
8 x 8 inches (2 pcs for pockets, optional)

2 D-Rings (I bought 2 inch but 1-1/2 inches should be enough)
1/2 yard (18 inches) corset boning (1/4 inch wide)
Matching colored thread

I wasn’t as talented as the person who put together the instructions so I ironed all my hems before sewing (per the instructions, she didn’t pin them, just held them as she sewed).

My completed one:

The neckline so you can see your baby while breastfeeding:

I added pockets to both inside corners to tuck in a tissue or washcloths as suggested.

Now I’m having fun making them so I have a few more fabrics so will try to finish them up before the baby comes. These may become gifts someday soon as I don’t think I’ll use more than one.

Let’s see if I can get some more baby projects done that I’ve been wanting to do…