The Bump

≡ Category: Semi-daily thoughts | ≅ Comments Off

I added more belly/bump shots. I tried empathizing. Let’s just say, I will be ever grateful that I am not carrying the Bonklets.

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High calorie cooking!

≡ Category: Bonklets, Semi-daily thoughts, eats | ≅ 4 Comments

In a troublesome turn of events, The Monkey has lost some weight. The Bonklets are on target on the growth chart which means they are drawing on Joannie’s reserves. As the Bonklets grow, they pounce more forcefully on digestive and other organs.

To my alarm, the last couple of weeks have been quite painful for The Monkey. Not only has she had a hard time sleeping, the post-meal pain has made her fearful of eating, one of her most favorite activities. Consuming anything near a full meal induces an excruciating feeling of bloat and pressure. (Note, although the act of putting food in mouth may be tough, the funnies and good company of a communal meal remain wonderful and have been strong motivating forces.)

So today, we tried a new experiment of eating a tiny bit every hour. Things seem to be a little better. Which brings me to this week’s cooking strategery of Packing As Many Calories Into a Snack as Possible. Since Dr. Paka gave Joannie what is most likely a once in a lifetime medical advisory to “go, eat a steak”, I bought a grass fed rib-eye and went to town. Steak needs some taters and since we’re talking hi-cal, I figured roasted garlic, heavy cream and butter were in order. I topped that with some kale, stir-fried in…bacon.

I’m not trying to induce gestational diabetes. The portions are pitiful. We’re talking maybe 3 ounces of steak, a half cup of mashed taters and a smidge of kale–split over two servings. The whole load doesn’t fill a saucer. But the idea is to eat a calorie dense snack at hourly intervals.

I also made a broccoli cream soup for work time snacks. Eddie’s cream-less, yet creamy recipe is my favorite, but since maximum caloric intake is the goal, I opted for cream. A touch of truffle oil would make this perfect. Here’s what I tried:

Broccoli Soup

3 heads of steamed broccoli flourets–about out 7-8 cups.
1 diced onion
3 stalks of diced celery
1 head of garlic
5 tablespoons of butter
2 cups of heavy cream
1 cup of whole milk
4 cups of chicken or veggie broth
3 tbp of butter
Swirl of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Steam the broccoli.
2. Heat the olive oil, 2tbp of butter. When warm, sautee onions, garlic and celery. Salt a bit.
3. When above are translucent, add steamed broccoli and broth. Salt to taste.
4. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. In a separate sauce pan, melt remaining butter. Then add flour. Stir till thick and beware of burning. Stir in cream and milk.
6. Puree the broccoli and broth madness in a mixer. Pour into pot.
7. Add roux into pureed soup pot.
8. Stir and salt if needed.

Slurp on!

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Belly pics

≡ Category: Bonklets, Semi-daily thoughts | ≅ Comments Off

In response to requests for photo updates of the Monkey’s ever expanding belly,here are some pictures. Hamachi seems to think this was her photo shoot…

The Bonklets are demanding more space and spend their days and nights tap dancing, kick boxing and perfecting their cartwheels. It may be all fun and games for them, but the Monkey is perpetually uncomfortable and unable to sleep. A body pillow isn’t really helping, but catching up on season 1 of Flash Forward has been a helpful distraction.

According to the pregger guide that compares fetuses to vegetables, the Bonklets are the size of an English hot house cucumber. I just realized I do not know what that is. How is that different from a regular cucumber? Last week they were an ear of corn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cucumber larger than an ear of corn. Does this mean English cucumbers are mutant cucumbers? If so, that doesn’t seem like a helpful comparison. I’m just saying.

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