This will probably be my last pre-baby #2 post. I thought I would fill you in on the blogosphere silence and share some newfound knowledge.

In addition to awaiting the arrival of our second bundle of joy, we thought it was a good idea to buy a new house and sell ours. That seemed difficult enough until last week, Manatee noticed buckling in our hardwood floors.

Water damage was back.

Have you had water damage?

It stinks.

I won’t go into details, but in addition to not being able to physically be in our house, we have had no working kitchen.

No working kitchen for the two weeks before our second bundle was due. As in the day before bundle is due, we cannot step foot in our house.

It may seem sexy to eat out for every meal, but when you don’t have a choice, it quickly loses it appeal. Add on to that trying to feed a toddler a healthy and varied diet, it’s been a bit of a challenge.

I could go on and on, crying and moaning, but frankly, it’s not the end of the world and it’s temporary. Instead, let’s focus on ways we have managed to eat relatively healthy thus far.

1. Make the most of grocery store salad bars. Many of our lunches come off our local grocery store salad bar. I make myself a Hugh Jass salad, trying to avoid unhealthy salad bar culprits: namely cheese, meats (which can also upset my sensitive preggo tummy), and crunchy toppings. I should also try to focus on vinaigrettes, but I have a major soft spot for Thousand Island dressing. It’s creamy with no dairy and my one concession. I try to add a lot of pickled/strong flavored toppings so I don’t need as much dressing: pickled mushrooms, banana peppers, and a few olives. For crunch, I go for sunflower seeds or sliced almonds. These may have fat, but it’s good fat and I don’t feel bad about it.

As for my toddler, I let her pick out her food. She loves the control and I steer towards what I want her to eat. It means some weird meals: peas, yogurt, fruit, and sesame sticks?? But it usually hits several food groups and toddlers eat weird anyway.

2. Find a good coffee shop that makes smoothies and be really nice to the barristas. I cleared drinking Shakeology with my doctor and found a coffee shop that makes Shakeology shakes.  I am concerned that my daughter has a sensitivity to dairy so I talked with the barrista about creating a non-dairy version of their yogurt smoothie. We came up with a pink smoothie: almond milk, banana, strawberries, and a little honey. She loved it. I knew she was getting calcium and fruit, and she was super happy that it was pink.

3. Supplement your takeout meals with fresh veggies and fruit. When we order subs, I also try to cut up fresh cucumbers, mushrooms, and tomatoes. When we order curries, I make a quick salad (we have had a few days where we can access the fridge) and I seek out sides and salads on the menu. Luckily, we are going to be reimbursed for all of our meals, so I don’t have to worry as much about money.

4. Pack a solid snack bag for the diaper bag. During the first week, we couldn’t even access our kitchen, so I set up a little snack station in the guest room. I stocked up on almonds, granola, organic crackers, oat bran sesame sticks, and Lara Bars. I now keep a gallon sized bag filled with snack bags of these goodies that I keep on me. G and I are nomads most of the time, so I like knowing that I have healthy snacks I can always pull out. I also pack an insulated bag of fresh fruit on the days we have to be gone all day. Because even though we have no kitchen, we are still getting our CSA.

 

So that’s what we have learned so far. We still have a few days left, so I would love to hear from you.

How do you eat healthy when you can’t cook?


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