The Upper Breast Side is really a place

Downtowners and residents of other neighborhoods of New York city often facetiously refer to the Upper West Side as the "Upper Breast  Side." And appropriately so since the streets between Lincoln Center and Columbia University are packed with Bugaboos and shrieking toddlers from dawn till dusk. What some may not know is that a little gem of resources for pregnant women and lactating new mothers can be found behind an unmarked awning ensconced between doormen buildings on 70th Street between Broadway and Columbus. The Upper Breast Side is New York City's only Medela Certified Nursing Center, with free breast pump consultations at their MILK BAR. These cramped headquarters for all things related to breastfeeding also offers the gamut of breast pump supplies, maternity and breastfeeding clothes, baby books and plenty of other related gear.

It goes without saying that breastfeeding is the given next step for eco-friendly pregnant gals, who will be giving their infants the immune system boosting nutrients and antibodies they need, not to mention avoiding the use of manufactured formula packaged in aluminum containers.

Gettin' some love from Sara Snow/Fitness magazine

Many of us green-friendly moms know of Sara Snow; she's the inspirational green advocate who lives by her word: she is running an eco-friendly home, giving tips to other parents about how to do it too, and writing/blogging about it to boot. Nice, then, to know that she puts in a good word about The Green Pregnancy Diet in her blog published on the Fitness magazine web site.

In celebration of lentils

Let's take a moment to celebrate lentils. The consummate legume, lentils meet the checklist for all the nutrients that can be found in poulrty, minus the saturated fat. Let's begin with protein. One cup of cooked lentils contains 18 grams of protein. That's more than half of the entire amount of protein that an adult woman needs to get in a day (46 grams). Of course, pregnant women need a little bit more (71 grams) but loading up on lentils still puts a big dent in a preggy gal's protein load for a given day.

But what truly astounds me is the rich vitmain and mineral content of this nutty, tender legume. A single cup is packed with approximately 360 mcg of folate, half the amount a pregnant gal needs during the waking hours of a given day. It also contains lots of fiber, thamin, B6, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper,  and manganese, which I've never even heard of until now. Who knew I was getting my manganese without knowing it. There is even some omega 3 and 6 fat, yet not a trace of cholesterol.

Now, finding convenient ways to eat lentils regularly is another matter. Cooking lentils and flavoring them with the right spices may be out of your league - I know it is mine. Let me direct you to a brilliant, albiet costly - solution: dosa. This spongy Indian pancake made of ground dal (lentils) and rice is an everyday food in large parts of the Indian continent. While I'm not up to the ask of making it from scratch, the Upper West Side mommy hangout Hampton Chutney Co. makes a tasty rendition with lots of toppings to choose from. The best part is that both my one- and four-year-olds, who dismiss my home made lentils with high noses, gobble up the grill-cooked dish with abandon. Ambitious Ones on a budget can venture to the Indian shopping district of your town or city (if there is one) and buy dosa batter at a more affordable price than eating it a restaurant.



  

DHA supplements for pregnancy and beyond

In my book, I talk about the fact that women should be getting 300 mg of DHA during pregnancy and 220 mg otherwise. The only food source of this essential fat that supports brain funtion and development is fish, which is well known to contain mercury. The quickest and safest way to get your daily amount of DHA is to take a supplement. I took the Deva brand algae-based DHA supplement for more than 2 years, during pregnancy and for the first year of breastfeeding, which contains 200 mg in a capsule. Now that I'm getting lots of ALA in my diet, which coverts to DHA, and my one-year-old isn't breastfeeding as much, I recently switched to the Blue Bonnet brand of algae-based DHA, which has less of the healthy fat - 100 mg in a cap. I also switched because I could find Blue Bonnet at my local healthfood store, and save on shipping costs.

Now that I have children, the obviously translation of this habit I have formed since pregnancy of taking a daily DHA supplement is to make sure that my boys are getting their DHA too. I 'm psyched about discovering this liquid form of DHA manufactured by Deva. My 4-year-old has rejected every other type of nutrient supplement, including the fool-proof gummy multivitamins for kids. Now, I put seven drops of the liquid DHA into PB&J sandwich every day, which gives him the 100 mg he needs to be getting. It's a life-saver!

Piece of fabulocity at Peacefood Cafe

When searching far and wide for nutritious, low glycemix index cookies, cakes and other treats during pregnancy and otherwise, one needs to look no further than Peacefood Cafe, a little piece of fabulocity on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Their menu consists of strictly dairy- and animal- free dishes, including some decadent alternatives to burgers and fries such as their fried seitan (high protein meat replacement made of wheat) sandwich and chick pea fries spiced with an Indian flair. But I am drawn back relentlessly for one thing and one thing only: the chocolate chip cookie sandwich. What may sound like a savory dish with a sweet component thrown in is actually a 3-layer desert: two cookies made with spelt flour and agave, and dairy-free chocolate chips, with a generous helping of divine pudding-like frosting in the center. And it never fails: every time I buy this irristible treat in the afternoon on the way to picking up my preschooler, I promise myself that I will take just one or two bites, then share the rest with my husband after dinner. And it never fails: the cookie is gone, baby, gone, within minutes. I am left standing on the corner of Amsterdam and 82nd feeling guilty and gluttonous (but not too much so keeping in mind I consumed no butter, cane sugar or refined wheat flour) but satiated beyond belief and grinning quietly to myself. To make matters more complicated, the pastry chef sometimes throws a curve ball by offering a gluten-free version of the "sandwich" made with chick pea and coconut flour and a pearl-colored frosting tinted with mint oil. And I thought I was innovative with my use of soy flour in baking. The gluten-free version is divine in its own right and highly nutritious to boot - chick peas contain B vitamins, iron and protein, and coconut flour contains vitamin C, iron, and calcium, and contains more fiber than wheat flour.

in a sec vegan chocolate chip cookies

I'm ashamed to admit that it's far too long since I posted. Per my blog name, I published The Green Pregnancy Diet in 2009. I have since had my second boy, and life seems to consume itself endlessly with few reprieves for blog postings. But I could not resist sharing my excitement in getting back into a past time from my single days: baking cookies. Not just any ol' cookies - that is, high glycemic index treats composed of refined flours, butter and sugar. The cookies du jour are pregnancy and child friendly, containing essential fatty acids and low glycemic index ingredients and that can be made in a sec. I just whipped together these vegan cholocate chip cookies for a playdate this afternoon. Use organic ingredients when you can:

1 cup white flour
1 cup soy flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup sugar - use organic fair trade or unrefined turbino if you can
1 cup vegan chocolate chips - Sunspire sells grain-sweetened chips made without cane sugar

Mix wet and dry ingredients seperately, then add wet to dry, then add the chocolate chips at the end. Scoop tsp sized cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Super delish!

Just as a refersher for those of you who have not read my book, canola oil is high in ALA, the only plant source of omega 3 fat, and is a great alternative to butter in baking. Maple syrup has a lower glycemic index than sugar, and soy flour has a rock bottom glycemic index, plus has the added benefit of more protein than wheat flour.