In the best-selling pregnancy guide 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' there is a paragraph that says something like: "Every time you lift a fork to lips, ask yourself: 'Is this the best forkful that I can be feeding my baby?' If not, PUT THE FORK DOWN!". I must confess that I nearly picked the weighty tome off my pregnant belly and hurled it across the room upon reading this, finding its condescending tone pretty forking annoying.
Having spent my life as an 'eat, drink and be merry' kind of gal - a woman who started the day with strong coffee, finished it with red wine and always ordered dessert - I have found post-diagnosis eating quite a challenge. I am currently struggling with 'Fork Paranoia', feeling terrified that the tiniest indulgence in 'naughty' foods will lead to disaster. I guess it doesn't say very good things about me that I PUT THE FORK DOWN far more often for my own sake than I ever did for the sake of my unborn children, but there you go. I suspect (and hope) that I'll relax as time goes by, but I do want to make sure that most of my forks from this point on are good ones (ahem!). At least until my 70th birthday, after which all bets are off. I'm goin' down in a blaze of chocolate glory.
After initially feeling more than a little miserable about the dreary prospect of years of dietary virtue, I am attempting to shift to my attitude by hunting out the absolute yummiest in healthy foodie treats. So - using a book entitled 'Food that Fights Cancer' as my inspiration - I thought that I'd make a little project of finding cancer-busting goodies around the city that is my new home.
First up, Parap Markets. These are held every Saturday morning. The 'Yum' smoothie and juice stall has a new offshoot (at least, new to me), 'Yum2', which makes fresh drinks out of berries.
This morning I tried boysenberries, cherries and raspberries blended with cranberry juice. Cop a load of this. Icy cold, utterly delicious, and you can virtually feel the antioxidants blasting through the computer screen.
And here's a gratuitous shot of my plastic cup o'goodness amongst some of the locally grown fruit on sale...because the fruit at Darwin markets makes me happy.
I promise to leave no promising food source unexplored! I'm good that way.
[This is a post from my blog about breast cancer, family life and getting to know Darwin - I'd love it if you came and said hi at www.paw-paw-salad.com !]
