Beef Liver Pate Omelette

I am continuing to add beef liver about twice a week to my diet, by hook or by crook!  At times, I'm tempted to roll it in brown sugar and see if that will help.  Ok, that sounded like a better idea in my head...

Today, with some leftover beef liver pate that my husband made using this recipe, I made my breakfast.  By itself, it's tasty and, with some grainy mustard, I can almost forget I'm eating liver.  But it's meant to be served cold, and I need something warm for breakfast.  Hence, the beef liver pate omelette.  

I made my omelette like normal, using three cage-free eggs (still trying to source local pastured eggs for a reasonable price) and a good amount of butter from grassfed cows.  Then I put a big heap of the pate in the middle and let it warm up a bit between the eggs.  I give it four out of five stars.  

I also want to try this version soon, maybe next week.

Stevia: can be healthy, can be confusing!

My mom recently came to visit and, as we were sharing a can of Zevia, alerted me to the "pregnancy risks" of stevia, a sweetener I love.  I had never heard that the herb is used as a birth control, so my interest was piqued.

Trying to find information on the web was a bit ridiculous, as are most subject matters when it comes to health, food, and pregnancy.  Finally, I emailed the makers of Zevia, since their soda is probably my biggest source of stevia.  In the quotes below are some of the salient points from their email.  I really appreciate their attention to this matter and hope it helps if you are searching for some clarification on these possible risks.

Spoiler spoiler: Zevia is safe to drink when pregnant!

"First and foremost, Zevia is safe. However, we would suggest you consult with your physician if there are any specific concerns about an ingredient or daily serving quantities. Always better to be safe! 

The stevia used in Zevia has not changed for over 2 years, since the FDA granted “Generally Recognized as Safe” status (aka GRAS) to a high-purity form of stevia extract called Rebaudioside A (aka “Reb A” or “rebiana”) – extracted from the stevia leaf – after extensive studies. Any food or beverage manufacturer who wishes to legally sell a product that is not classified as a ‘supplement’ must use a GRAS-approved form of high-purity stevia extract. 

We recently changed the words describing our stevia ingredient on our cans to clarify this ingredient to our consumers, and to better align with FDA regulations.  

The supplier of our stevia is an expert in natural processing methods to generate high-purity, great-tasting Reb A, and we are happy to pass the benefit of the deep expertise on to our consumers!

We would definitely recommend Zevia Ginger Ale and Ginger Root Beer, made with real Ginger Extract, to calm and soothe any upset tummies. ... In fact, 10 of our 15 flavors are caffeine free, giving you a little something for every craving.

A few of the distinguishing factors that make Zevia a smarter choice for expectant mothers include:

• Zevia is all natural, zero calories, and sweetened with stevia. 

• Zevia contains no artificial sweeteners.

• Stevia was FDA Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) certified in February 2008 and consumption is growing rapidly. 

• Stevia and Erythritol have no caloric value or effect on blood glucose levels. Very important for anyone trying to watch their sugar intake. Erythritol’s high digestive tolerance distinguishes it from other polyols.

• Zevia soda contains no phosphoric acid, a typical preservative used in mainstream carbonated soft drinks and has been known to deplete calcium from bones and teeth. Instead, Zevia use’s only natural acids - tartaric acid found in grapes and fumaric acid found in mushrooms. In addition to providing a natural preservative, both have additional positive properties such as containing a variety of antioxidants.

For more information pregnancy and the use of sweeteners please click on the following link: http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/artificialsweetener.html "

Why?

You may ask why I am going through great lengths to be as "natural" as possible with my diet and lifestyle during pre-pregnancy and, hopefully, eventual pregnancy and breastfeeding.  Obviously, children are born with much less care and become normal adults.  Besides my overarching philosophies on the food industry, as well as using my diet to keep myself healthy, strong, and not obese, I have a few risk factors that could cause some minor health problems in my future babies.  Therefore, I would like to have a healthy system to combat these risks as effectively as possible.

Risk #1: Zoloft
I take 100 mg of the generic Zoloft every day, much like ten percent of Americans.  I have tried to go off of anti-depressants throughout my adult life, but to no avail.  I blame this partially on seven years of taking a fairly high dose of Effexor XR, started in college without much oversight by any medical personnel, making my brain dependent on an artificial seratonin uptake.  But I'm no doctor.  My doctors just say that it is much safer to stay on a medicine rather than risk another major depressive episode.

But adding a baby into the equation doesn't make it so black and white.  Researchers have found some evidence that SSRIs may cause very serious birth defects, however rarely.  But research has also found that mothers who are depressed during pregnancy run the risk of babies with premature births, low birth weight, and developmental problems.  In the end, my doctors and I have agreed that it is better for me to stay on the drug.  However, I switched from Prozac to Zoloft after my doctor explained that less of the drug is expressed in breastmilk than Prozac, but the effectiveness of the two drugs are very similar.

Also, in order to help avoid any depressive relapses, I have been a patient of the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania, so that I have the tools to avoid negative thinking and other triggers for my depression.  I highly recommend this course of treatment to anyone struggling with emotional or psychological issues and I feel that it has helped me immensely.

Risk #2: Migraines and intolerance of wheat and refined carbohydrates
Ever since I contracted Lyme disease about ten years ago, on a camping trip in college near Limerick, PA, I have had migraines.  They decreased after the Lyme disease was treated, during the second phase of the illness, but continued to plague me.  I had an MRI with no troubling shadows or markers, so my doctors felt they were just run-of-the-mill migraines.  I tried a number of abortives, even a few daily medications, without much relief.

About three years ago, I went through a period where they happened almost daily and I finally qualified to make an appointment at the Headache Center at Jefferson.  They tried another round of abortives, some of which had nasty side effects and made me uneasy about taking them, no matter how bad the pain was.  Since hormones were ruled out as a possible trigger, environmental factors such as light or odor did not seem to have any effect, and my previous MRI was inconclusive, he told me to monitor my diet very closely.  Of course, I thought I had already done this with other neurologists, but I did as told.  At the same time, my husband and I started to eat a low-carb diet, trying to cut wheat and refined grains and sugars out of our diet. My husband could tell that carbs had a profound effect on his weight and mood.  We both adhered to the teachings of Nourishing Traditions, Real Food, and Wheat Belly, so flours and sugars had to go for the most part.  Low and behold, my migraines dissipated!

After experimenting with "cheat days" and how my migraines acted, the doctor and I were convinced that my blood sugar levels had a direct effect on my headaches.  I could predict when I would get them.  When I got one unexpectedly, there was always a pastry or sugary drink that I had underestimated about 12 hours earlier.  Christmas and all its cookies would be a problem, but at least there was a controllable solution.

Therefore, with my apparent intolerance of refined carbohydrates, as well as my husband's problems with them, I have decided that the best course for our children would be to avoid them in utero and throughout their lives.  The occasional birthday cake or grilled cheese sandwich is not going to cause irreparable harm, but why risk it for something that can be so easily avoided?

Interview with a Midwife

I am going to see a midwife tomorrow for a annual checkup and a pre-conception interview.  I don't know if there is a term for that, but that's what I want it to be.  I feel that, by going to a midwife, I may already be on the path to a more natural, intervention-free pregnancy and labor, but obviously every practice and person is different.  So I want to know some things up front, specifically about the individual midwife, before I'm on the 9 month countdown clock!

There are, of course, many questions to which she will probably offer answers, without me asking.  I tried not to include these questions, since I'm already listing a lot of stuff.

1: Expectant management vs. active management?

This is a very broad way of asking if the midwife and her practice takes a "hands off" approach and only intervenes if gravely necessary, or if they are more likely to use technology and modern practices to "help" the pregnancy along.  After the things I've read about pitosin, epidurals, and c-sections, I would prefer an expectant management style while I'm expecting.

2: Does she require me to go to the birthing center affiliated with her practice?

I am open to a homebirth, so is it even a possibility?  Am I a candidate for it at all?

3: Back up practioners?  Referring doctors?  

This particular midwife is a member of a large, university hospital network, so I would like to know if she works closely with just a few doctors and other midwives, or if I might end up in the care of anyone in the practice if she's not available or needs to transfer me.

4: Who is allowed to be at checkups and the labor?  Does she recommend any doulas in the area?

I am pretty sure I want to hire a doula.  I've done some research into some local doulas, but I want to know if this midwife encourages their involvement, has some favorites, or will allow more than just my spouse in the room while I'm laboring.

5: When does she intervene or induce?  Also, when is she less likely to intervene or induce than, say, the common OB-GYN?

Obviously, there is no way for a midwife to say "never" or "always" but it would be nice to know what is likely or unlikely.  For instance, maybe she is open to letting a sunnyside up baby turn on its own.

6: Stats? 

These included the number of babies born under her supervision, C-section rate of the practice, percentage of non-intervention births in the last five years

7: What do you do with pre-term or overdue pregnancies?

Knowing my luck, I will probably be overdue by conventional standards (I was always a late bloomer).  So I want to make sure she won't pressure me into anything if my body and my baby get their dates mixed up.

Pre Pregnancy Prep: Grassfed Cow Liver

I am training myself to eat liver, specifically the liver from a cow that was only fed grass and kept in a pasture.  How do I know?  My husband and I bought a portion of the cow, frozen, from a farm near Kutztown, PA (Pasture's Pride Natural Meats).

Why?  Well, I have been reading The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care to get a handle on what to start doing.  My husband and I have been using the original Nourishing Tradition Cookbook for at least five years, although having the occasional "no-no" foods here and there when necessary, tempting, or easy.  But now that we're planning on bringing a new human into this world, we want to do things "right", and in our book, that means following a traditional and natural diet.

Just about the first words in the Nourishing Traditions Baby book are about cod liver oil, and I am still in the process of ordering it.  So in the meantime, I am starting with something on hand: cow liver.

Now, since liver has a lot of vitamin A, it is important to cook it in or eat it with a good source of vitamin D.  I didn't know this, but you need to have a balance of these two vitamins.  Fermented cod liver oil has basically the perfect ratio of A and D, according to the Nourishing Traditions literature.

Eventually I want to break out of the old standby, liver and onions, and get fancy with some pate.  This recipe looks pretty good!