In Need of Nutritional Help!

This past week and the week ahead do not bode well for my family, nutritionally speaking. I was on such a roll, planning meals & having warm food on the table at 5:30 every night. Until this past week. Due to no more breastfeeding, my appetite has hit rock bottom. I did not say I was not hungry, I just don't know what I want to eat. Nothing sounds good, therefor I do not want to cook anything.

I officially nursed Amelia for the last time on Tuesday. As sad as it was to officially breastfeed a baby for perhaps the last time, I am trying to stay positive. We had 10 good months and it is kind of nice to not be scarfing down 4,000+ calories a day and drinking 70-80 ounces of water. While I looovvve to eat, it was almost stressful.

Luckily this lull hit at the exact week that Christian makes his 1 meal for the year, GUMBO! I must admit he does it quite well. (Even if he is so hard-headed that when I entered the kitchen due to a smoky smell and turned down the heat because the roux was scorching, hepromptly reached up and put it back on high and suggested I leave the kitchen....Minutes later a stinky smoke filled the house and the smell lingered for 3 days!) Anyway....the gumbo lasted us most of the week. Eaten by Christian & Gabe mainly. Ansley can survive on crumbs if necessary and I am surviving on a steady diet of brownies & slim-fast.

Okay, don't start with me....I do not drink slimfast as a meal-replacement, rather as a supplement or chocolately snack if you will. About once a year I will pick up a 6 pack of the "rich chocolate royale" flavor at target. So, for the record, I am not on a diet! Plus, as I mentioned, I have officially polished off a pan of Triple Decadence Brownies single-handed! I didn't even tell the children I had made brownies...Until, Ansley smelled chocolate on my breath when I sat down beside her to read! (Can't sneak chocolate past that girl!)
Proof:

Yes, every last bite was decadent!


Chocolate seems to be hitting the spot! This madness must not continue! So I am soliciting any help...recipes, advice, etc.. Occasionally I will check Erin's friend Amy's blog and I love how she has "What's Cooking at the Shertzers This Week" section. Wow! How wonderful that she feeds her family so well! I have scoured magazines, recipe books, http://www.myrecipes.com/ and countless other sources. I am not in the mood to cook anything!

At least the baby does not suffer. I can keep her happy with lots of healthy variety. My latest quick & healthy feeds for her include individual snack size packs of frozen organic edamame. Just toss them in the diaper bag and they thaw in no time for an on-the-go snack! She loves these, even if I do see some of them whole the next day (you know where I'm talking about!) Also, I can slice open a ripe avocado and spoon it out to her, or better yet, just chop it up & put it on her tray. Yummy! Other favorites: baked sweet potatoes, green beans, cheese-filled raviolis (without sauce), bananas, and of course, Cheerios. For the record, she loved the gumbo too! There's not much she doesn't like. However, she is no longer crazy about the Gerber meat sticks. Probably for the best. They make sparks in the microwave. I was terribly concerned about this at first, wondering if my baby was ingesting trace metals, but thanks to Google, I learned that foods with high mineral content (i.e., green beans) and apparently meat sticks will spark! Go figure.



Okay, I just decided....Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes with Green Beans tonight. Not bad....

So whoever's reading, COMMENT! Let's hear what's cookin' at your house this week!