Sibling Revelry: healthy

Soap box first: Most people think I'm nuts (including my doctor) when I say I don't take pre-natal vitamins. And it's not like I forget to take them, I won't take them. I think it's way more valuable to get those important nutrients from real, whole foods rather than laboratories. Synthetic vitamins are not only found in capsule form, but also in lots of processed foods (cereal, white bread, enriched pasta etc) that you shouldn't be eating anyway. Our bodies don't absorb those man-made chemical compounds nearly as well (maybe up to 50%) and as I heard one person say, it makes for expensive pee.

So, how do I get the ever-important folate (synthetic: folic acid) in my diet? Well, I eat liver. I take a small amount of frozen, raw, organic calf liver everyday. It makes me feel really good; I can tell my body likes it and wants it. If I start feeling drained or blah during the day I usually realize I haven't taken my liver yet. Since I've been an avid journal keeper I've been able to compare my past pregnancies to this one. And even though I still get tired (I am ready for bed by 9:30 pm) I can tell I have way more energy this pregnancy than compared to the last. I napped all the time with Will. And I can say overall, this has been my easiest and best feeling pregnancy.

So, if you are not ready to take the liver plunge here are some other good sources of folate (chart taken from here). Lentils and beans are high up on the list which leads me to my recipe.

I know my picture isn't the most appetizing (I don't seem to possess food styling skills) but I promise you it's colorful and yummy. I think this warm sunny weather here is making summer salads sound appetizing.
It's Guy Fieri's Black Bean Salad from the Food Network. It's easy to throw together and tastes delicious.

Ingredients

2 cans black beans, drained, about 30 ounces
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup diced pineapple
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch ground cumin

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.

I frequently don't have fresh pineapple around (if I buy fresh, I eat it too quickly), so I use crushed from a can--I know that fresh would be 1000x better. I also cut down on the honey. It's good with all the sweetener, but also good with less. And I didn't have sherry vinegar so I used red wine vinegar. I'm sure balsamic or rice vinegar would be good too.

I've made this into big burritos with cheese and greens for even MORE folate and that's yummy too. Avocado would be a nice addition, but I'm having the worst luck with them lately.

So enjoy the mild winter and have some yummy bean salad!