Make sure it's multigrain or wholegrain

You need to ensure that you have one portion of multigrain or whole gran food every day. For me, this is no challenge - breads and cereals and carby things are my favourite food type. The trick for me is ensuring that the food I am eating is multigrain or multigrain. It is a whole brown bread vs white bread thing.

"Whole grain means that all parts of the grain kernel — the bran, germ and endosperm — are used. In contrast, multigrain means that a food contains more than one type of grain, although none of them may necessarily be whole grains. The same goes for other variations, such as the term "seven grain." - by the Mayo Clinic

Brown bread or multigrain bread instead of white bread. All bran instead of sugar puffs. Brown rice instead of white rice etc etc. I also make sure that my whole or multigrain have that little yellow stamp on them just to make sure they definitely are whole or multigrain.

Those grains are filled with so many great vitamins and minerals - I really do suggest that we all make the change and the sooner the better!

And that's that - a short but sweet post for today :)

The Fruits that will Help you Conceive

So, we need to eat four portions of fruit every day. That is not an easy thing to do for me. Veg - no problem, but fruit is that bit harder.

To make it easier for myself I keep frozen fruit in the refrigerator to put in with yoghurt for breakfast and I buy bananas and frozen berries for smoothies. I will also buy a bunch of other fruit and just force myself to eat it. The best fruits to eat when TTC include: berries, pineapple (with certain restrictions), avocado, prunes and figs and peach, bananas, citrus fruits. If you eat these fruits then know also that you are eating super-fertile foods.

Berries

Blueberries and raspberries in particular will provide antioxidants that prevent aging in your cells - including your eggs and his sperm. Blueberries are hormone-balancers that can regulate ovulation. Berry good, right?

Pineapple

Ahh pineapple - eat it before ovulation and it will create an acidic cervical fluid that could kill off any budding sperm before you have even started. Eat it after ovulation and oh boy, the bromelain that it contains will really help to create a sticky egg! Be sure to eat the core of the pineapple - that is the important bit! I keep a pineapple for after I can see a clear ovulation pattern and I cut off a slice a day, which I place in the blender (core and all) to add to my daily fruit smoothie.

Avocado

Eat an avocado and not only are you getting two of your fruit portions, but you are also getting two of your good fat portions - thereby killing two birds with one stone! Avocados are a super food. Monounsaturates could actually lower inflammation in the body, boosting your fertility - perfick!

Prunes, Figs and Peaches

These fruits contain high levels of iron and zinc, which are useful for someone who need high levels of iron and zinc at a time when you are trying to conceive. Zinc in particular is good for making healthy sperm for the man in your life.

Bananas

Bananas are filled with vitamin B6, which helps you have regular cycles and helps your man with his sperm development. There are also tales of eating enough of them at conception leading to a baby boy!

Citrus Fruits

These are great for your vitamin C consumptions! Why not infuse with your water with lemon or munch on some orange slices. Plus, yummy delicious!

The orange trees that line the streets in Spain (which is where I am right now)

Drink Enough Water

Eight cups a day. We have all heard that number but it isn't entirely accurate! For example - I am 5'2" and weigh 120lb. Should I drink as much water as Nick, who is 6' and weighs 175lb? That's just daft, right?

To determine how much water you need, a general rule of thumb is to multiply your weight in pounds by 2/3 to get the amount of ounces of water that you should be drinking. I should drink roughly 80 ounces of water, that is actually 10 cups of water a day!! Madness right?!

I have to confess that I don't always make that amount. The sheer volume of water is crazy and I struggle with it. However I get pretty close and here's how.

1) Use hairbands

I have a glass that fits precisely a cup into it and I wrap hairbands around the base of the glass. Each time I drink a glass of water, I remove a hairband and that way I can keep track of how much I have drank as well as challenging myself to complete the required amount of water.

2) Use a (BPA free) water bottle

I also have a water bottle for when I am on the go. I find that if I have the water in front of me at all times then I am more likely to drink it. I am never able to stray too far from a toilet though - all of the water pays its toll on me! I use a metal water bottle, I am not very keen on the plastic ones. I worry about the plastic leaching into the water.

3) Use a flavour

When water is just too much for me to stomach, I use some sort of fruit juice to add to it to flavour it. It isn't the healthiest but it keeps me drinking water. I also plan on investing in one of those bottles that you can add fruit to so that fresh fruit can infuse the water - frozen berries would be great for this!

4) Add a little sparkle

If I want a real treat then I will buy a bottle of water. Again, I don't do this very often because I worry about BPAs in bottled water. But it can be a real treat at the dinner table. Yes, it isn't exactly champagne but we TTC ladies have to take what we can get!

5) Buy a filter

Carbon based filters are probably the best type. Tap water is better than bottled waters (have I mentioned BPAs yet?!) but it is even better when properly filtered. You can do this with a water bottle that has a built in filter or you can buy a water filter that attaches to the tap or a water filter jug that you can store in the fridge, to keep your water super cold. Whichever you want!

Get three portions of veg if you can!

Aside from eating enough multigrain, eating vegetables is one of the things I find easiest to fulfil because we eat vegetables every night. Of course, all vegetables are different and the biggest rule when trying to eat enough veg is to ensure that you are getting a range of different colours - a veritable kaleidoscope of vegetable if you will.

Here are some tips to help you to build sustainable healthy eating habits so that you don't need to second guess if you have eaten enough veg every day!

1) Soup!!

Soup is a wonderful way of ensuring you get not just your veg for the day, but also a variety of veg! Try to choose soups that use different veg (for example vegetable soup haha). I also tend to make soup out of whatever is hanging around in the refrigerator, providing it isn't something leafy or too weird. It normally works out really well! We always eat soup once a week.

2) Frozen Veg
Yeah - I know it isn't the best, but I am not above using frozen veg! I will frequently prepare and then freeze veg myself, which is perfect for soup making or some casserole type dishes where the veg is a little more hidden.

3) Pasta Sauce

As well as soup, we eat pasta once a week too. I make a mean chunky vegetable sauce packed with the most delicious and healthy of vegetables. I bulk cook it in the slow cooker and then freeze it to make it a bit easier.

4) Extra Toppings

Frozen veg also comes in handy (as with those leafy greens) for when you are making a pizza and you can just chuck a handful on top, just to make it at least a little healthier!

5) Make One Day A Week Vegetarian

If you take away the meat then you will suddenly realise that the vegetables can actually be the main course! Stuffed mushrooms or pepper, vegetable casseroles - vegetables don't have to be the side dish.

6) Substitute With Veg

Making fries? Why not make them with parsnips? Craving crisps? Why not thinly slice carrots and bake? Need spaghetti? Why not noodle a courgette? There are so many tasty ways to substitute vegetables for less healthy alternatives.

Supplements you should be taking when TTC

Supplements should not replace a healthy diet, they should be in addition to a healthy diet. In an ideal World our diets would be perfectly balanced with one portion of multigrain and four portions of fruit or three portions of veg etc etc. But we are imperfect beings and there will definitely be days when our diets are imperfect. This makes supplements super important.

Supplements ensure that we are as healthy as can be. They can prevent miscarriage and birth defects. They shouldn't be taken as soon as you realise that you are pregnant, but should be taken before that. Our baby's neural tube develops before you will even have missed a period often and by taking supplements you can give yourself a better chance than such things as a neural tube defect will not develop in your baby.

It is also important to note that supplements should always come upon recommendation from a Doctor. There are some that can really change your cycle and whilst that is a good thing in some cases, it isn't in all.

As a minimum you should take 600 to 800 mcg folic acid.

As a little more than minimum you should take a prenatal vitamin. The prenatal vitamins are all much of a muchness. Some of them do have pink/red dye in them though and there are some that say those aren't as good because of that red dye. You may find they make you nauseous. I did but I persevered and that nausea went away. You may wish to take them before bed or with food. We are all different and there isn't a 'one answer fits all' sort of a response!

I live in cold and dark Canada and there are all sorts of studies that show people in these cold and dark places don't have enough vitamin D3 - even in summer, when sun block stops the vitamin D3 entering our system. There are also studies that show that vitamin D3 is a miracle supplement that can prevent miscarriage and all sorts of things. I take 2000iu.

This is all that I take at the moment, I am planning on visiting my Doctor very soon, in order to get his opinion on a few more different supplements, including:

• magnesium
• omega 3
• ubiquinol
• EPO
• vitex
• iron
• B complex

I will let you know what my Doctor says! I think I will be getting a blood test done to test for any deficiencies in any areas that may better inform the my choices of supplements.

photo credit: Take One via photopin (license)

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Eating all the protein

If you are anything like me then you also stock up on stodgy carbohydrates when you should be stocking up on proteins. I am terrible for nomming up a gigantic ploughmans with all of the trimmings instead of thinking to eat my ten soaked almonds or a piece of yummy salmon. I am not even sure why.

You need to ensure that you eat three portions of protein as a minimum. What I do is I ensure that I can tick off all of the food groups that I need to cover before eating up anything else. I am not on a diet, as I have mentioned before, but I really do want to eat properly for my future baby and chances of fertility.

Here are some of the best sources of protein:

1) Eggs

As well as being a great source of protein, egg yolks provide you with 25% of you daily choline quota. It is no wonder that eggs are a super fertile food! I keep a stock hard boiled in the fridge, which I add to my daily salad.

2) Salmon

As mentioned, salmon is a wonderful source of protein. I aim to eat salmon twice a week. I don't even necessarily eat it as an evening meal, I just chuck a piece of salmon, seasoned with sugar and chilli powder and some salt, into the oven and eat it by itself. Anything to fill my weekly quota. I always buy farmed salmon because I have seen first hand the damage that over fishing is having on our World.

3) Dairy Food

Making sure that I eat enough dairy is not a problem for me, I am a milk guzzler. I do try to make sure my milk is full fat now (to get in my good fats) but, generally, consuming milk and yoghurt is easy for me!

4) Chicken

I am actually a pesketarian! If I couldn't get enough protein from other sources then I wouldn't have a problem with eating chicken (organic and from a humane source) though at this time of my life, simply because I want a baby more than anything else in the World.

5) Lentils and Tofu and Nuts and Stuff

These are the type of things that I try to cook with, only to hear complaints from Nick of 'ugh, this is that healthy crap again'. Luckily, I have found a few recipes that he likes but mostly I cook this stuff in bulk and freeze it and eat it myself whilst Nick sorts his own dinner out that night! I do always make sure that I carry almonds around with me and I make sure I eat ten a day!

So there we are - I would love to hear which are your favourite protein sources??

photo credit: A Tray of Tails via photopin (license)

Eating four portions of fruit a day

Before I start, please bear in mind that I don't need to lose much weight and that some fruits, most notably bananas, have a very high sugar content. As such you might want to consult your dietician about the best way to get your fruit without compromising your healthy weight. As I have mentioned before, I am not a dietician! Just a girl trying her hardest to get pregnant!

Anyway - eating fruit can feel tough, fresh fruit moulders so quickly and perhaps, like me, you might even dislike it! Here are a few things that I try.

1) Keep dried fruit in your handbag

I bought a few teeny tiny zip lock containers and decanted a larger bag of raisins into them. I eat perhaps a quarter of a cup a day. Too many are very fattening, but these do count toward your four portions of fruit for the day!

2) Keep frozen fruit in the freezer

I add a handful of frozen berries to my yoghurt in the morning. Or a couple of handfuls into my blender for my daily super fertile smoothie (recipe forthcoming). Preserved or frozen fruits aren't the healthiest way to eat fruit - nothing can replace eating an apple - but they do count nonetheless.

3) Know your portions

Canada's Good Food Guide is really helpful when it comes to knowing your portion sizes. In actual fact, it is good in pretty much every way imaginable! If you are trying to get enough fruit in your diet then you are going to need to know portion sizes.

4) Know which fruit is best

Some fruits are super fertile. It is funny to think of fruit as being super fertile but it is true, it definitely is! I am not lying here, I promise. Some fruits are just super fertile. And those are the fruits that you want to eat. You want to eat blueberries, they are a super food. You want to eat red berries, they are so bloomin' healthy. Most of all you want to eat pineapple - core and all - which is a source of bromelain, but you only want to eat it after you have ovulated as it will help any potential little bean stick. You don't want to eat it before you ovulate though because it will make your cervical mucus too acidic and sperm will not be able to survive within it.

photo credit: Pineapples from the Ham via photopin (license)