My schedule's been crazy lately, and in the middle of it I remind myself to take deep breaths and keep up my 15 minutes a day of meditation and get enough sleep--I try, because our health has to come first!
WHAT CEREAL CAN I EAT?
I thought this week I would answer one or two questions we've gotten, in case it might be useful to others.
QUESTION: I am trying to find a cereal to go with my rice milk that has no wheat, no processed sugar, no artificial ingredients and is all organic, and I can't find any! Do you have any suggestions?
ANSWER: I feel for you! It is very difficult to find an American breakfast cereal that satisfies all the requirements for a fertility-friendly diet. Even if it screams "Organic" on the package, you still have to check labels, because organic processed sugar is still processed sugar. Plus, added sugar goes by many names: high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, brown sugar, dextrose and a few others. You want to check for this. You also want to make sure there’s no trans fat (it would say hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil), or any other chemical, artificial additive or preservative. (If it’s organic, it should not have chemicals or unnatural preservatives.)
I have only found one cereal that fits the diet. It’s called Organic Swiss Muesli and the version of it that I get comes from the bulk foods section of Whole Foods Market and contains no added sugar (some versions add cane sugar or brown sugar, so read the label!). The sweetness it has comes from the raisins and dried dates that are in it. It contains many grains, including barley (so doesn't work if you're going gluten-free), but it has no wheat. If you can’t find something like this in a store near you, try the Internet! Here’s one I found online: http://www.wildtime.com/?page=products&product_id=103. They appear to have some additional options that look healthy!
Other options for breakfast include oatmeal with raisins and honey (pure, all-natural sugar in moderation is just fine to consume!); egg dishes (cooked in olive oil); non-wheat, whole grain pancakes such as Kamut pancakes. Asian dishes such as rice noodles with chicken and vegetables are also great for breakfast.
I know it can be difficult to go without our cereals, but we do have many healthy alternatives! Next week I'll answer the question about how low-fat diets do NOT mix with TTC.
photo by: http://blogs.glam.com/glamspirit/2010/03/04/crank-up-your-cereal/
