Abby is flummoxed by food.

Everyone has advice for pregnant women.  Some of it makes sense, some of it is just silly, and people love to share it all.  I've learned the polite thing to do is nod, say thank you, and then do what you find is best.  

I'm reading pregnancy books, looking at pregnancy websites, and have (of course) consulted by doctor about all sorts of things.  One thing that has me perplexed is the Pregnancy Diet (cue appropriate lightning and thunder crashing of doom).  

Two things you need to know about my situation before I go further.

1.  I greatly dislike cooking.  I consider it a waste of time which could be spent doing more productive things.  It's an especially good argument considering all the prepared food options out there.  Why take time to cook when I could just grab food and go?  

2.  My husband loves to cook.  He is not home until the end of July.

So, here I am trying to figure out what I can eat that is both quick and healthy.  I don't like looking for recipes or taking the time out to count my calories.  Much like cooking itself, those things are time wasters.

My doctor said 2000 calories a day, half from protein, the rest from veggies and complex carbs.  Stay away from empty calories.  No lunchmeat (listeria), no sushi (food poisoning), no alcohol, no smoking, no unpasteurized cheese (don't remember why), no bean sprouts (listeria again), no certain kinds of fish (mercury), and limit caffeine.  Don't forget my prenatal vitamins.

What to Expect When You're Expecting is a bit more specific about the food part.  That book recommends the following daily intake:

Four servings protein

Two servings vitamin C

Four servings calcium

Three servings green leafy and yellow veggies and fruits

Two servings other fruits and veggies

Six to eleven servings whole grains and legumes

Some iron rich foods

Four servings high fat foods

Moderation with the salt

Eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids

Prenatal vitamins

I thought that it'd be easy to make up a menu plan for one day and then just repeat it over and over, but apparently variety is essential to awesomeness. 

There are also a million websites about what to eat while expecting.  

So, anyone have any simple healthy recipes that I can try?  If it takes more than 30 minutes to make I won't.

I think I'm going grocery shopping on Friday.

P.S.  The garden is a bust this year.  With the pregnancy and my husband's treatment, we just didn't get the tilling and planting done.  This Fall we'll prepare the soil for next spring.