My food intentions...

Have I really got just one more proper week at work left?! Since Golddigger Trust began in 2005 I have lived and breathed it and never not been there... 9 months off is looming and is such a strange concept that I'm both nervous about and looking forward to. 

I know this time I'm really having to gear myself up for a big life change. I could balance work with a 2nd baby because the second baby just slots into the familiar flow when he arrives 2 years after the first baby. You know what you are doing with the baby... the 2 year old is the challenge. This time I've a 9 and 7 year old with totally different needs and demands. I do HAVE to get them to school on time and ferry them to their after school clubs. I don't get to spend time with my newborn and Pjs in equal measures. So its keeping me calm to know that as life is about to get interesting I also don't have to juggle my job in that mixture, at least for a little while. 

Food is the focus of my obsession this week. Being at home a little more means I can gain control of the fridge and cupboards and 'Operation Superfood' begins. I've been meeting with an amazing well of nutritional information and advice (http://rosiesnutrition.blogspot.co.uk/ is her blog and well worth reading and making a shopping list off the back of) Rosie has been talking me through foods that will be great support for me and baby through breast feeding and filling my food planner with snacks I can eat as much as I need to to get me through sleepless nights. This week on Secret Eaters the experiment found that we eat more and make worse food choices when we've had uninterrupted sleep - so all crap is being eradicated from the house well before we get to that. Rosie has just delivered me a 2 week meal plan to follow and s ready made shopping list to go with it. Since that is all planned out for me I may need to start on Christmas early... my list addiction has one less job to do! 

I am SO passionate about eating well. I am much stricter with the children than I am with myself. I always make sure they have a great packed lunch and are filled with good stuff so that they don't ever complain that we don't have crisps, chocolate, sweets (and they've never been anywhere near a Mcdonalds) and we always sit down to a veg filled main family meal but I'm far more prone to grabbing a cuppa soup for lunch at work or cooking far too basic food for myself if I'm not cooking for the family. I'm very guilty of trying to restrict calories in the day and then turning to Haribo in the evenings to power through the tiredness. No more. I am going to be a good mum of 3... and being well, full of energy and displaying good eating habits has just got to help with that. Plus right now, at 38 weeks pregnant, and for however long I manage to breast feed for, my baby is fed by what I eat... so powder with a bit of water in is just not a real food. 

The cost involved in eating uber well has always been a bit of an issue. I flit between eating well and eating cheap. The two are not mutually exclusive but I probably wont manage to shop at Sainsburys for a week for £25 on this plan. I love it though that the foods our body actually needs are fairly simple. The supermarket is full of aisles of packaging, processed, created foods that we can completely bypass and simply keep a stock of a few grains, a selection of fresh fruits and veg and some nuts, oils and seeds. I will not be surprised if our grocery bills are still pretty low - and with the satisfaction of knowing we are all healthier and happier because if it. 

Today's happiness comes as a mixed bean salad - Adouki beans, haricot beans, chickpeas, red pepper, chilli, tomato, sundried tomato, olives, corriander, mint (fresh from the garden) olive oil, lemon juice and white ine vinegar, bulgar wheat and quinoa... 100 more happy points than a cheese sandwich. :-)