A bran muffin made with honey is cheating????

Being an avid reader and a well practiced researcher it's not surprising that the first thing I did when we found out that a little one was on the way was drive to BN and try and find the best baby book I could find. We ended up purchasing one about for fathers and the Mayo Clinic week by week book. That one has been extremely helpful, although a little medical but it helps with the hypochondriac part of me! But for the most part the research on babies and pregnancy is downright ridiculous. And the stuff for fathers is downright dismal. Either its completely corny or it plays on the classic, "your life is over now that your wife weighs 30 pounds more and breastfeeds".

Most of it centers on anecdote, very little of it is referenced, and even the new editions of the classics are well-dated. The only book I have really enjoyed is Birth, The Surprising History of How We Are Born. This doesn't surprise me as research on childhood (which is part of my dissertation) and the expectant mother is a fairly new aspect of the scientific, pychological, and humanistic diciplines.

So for this post, I'd like to share a piece of the classic, "what to expect when you're expecting" which made me want to vomit....which is entirely too easy to make me do these days but still: Read ON:

"Best-Odds Cheating: Unless you have a food allergy or sensitivity, no food need by completely off limits, even during pregnancy. The Best-Odds Diest recognizes that all of us slip up -really need to slip up -every once in a while. To eliminate guilt, the diet allows for cheating. So once a week give in to something that is not quite perfect but not totally terrible: a bagel, some bread, or pancakes made with refined flour; frozen yogurt or ice mild made with sugar; french fries or fried chicken; a fast food burger; a bran or whole-grain muffin made with sugar or honey. Once a month, treat yourself to something terribly wicked; a slice of cake or pie; an ice-cream sundae; a candy bar. Always try to cheat selectively -choose carrot cake or cheesecake over buter -cream-frosted yellow cake; cookies made with oats, raisins, or nuts rather than chocolate chips."

Seriously, I mean, look, I eat healthy. Daniel and I were full blown vegetarians for a good year and now we are brown rice flexitarians. I love me a good mango for dessert but to say that ONCE A MONTH is when I can eat a CHOCOLATE-CHIP COOKIE and a BAGEL is considered cheating is downright ludicrous!

So, the search is on! The first person to find and introduce me to the pregnant woman that followed this crazy advice earns me making YOU the biggest, baddest, bunch of chocolate chip cookies EVER (which you can eat in front of her, as she clutches, WTEXWYE, to her chest moaning!)