I’ve written before about our struggle to stay pregnant and I thought I would share with you the latest chapter in our fertility journey.
Above photo: Dinner: beef, salad, farro, potatoes by Sarah Gilbert
I’m seeing an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility. I think she’s rather brilliant and knowledgeable and — I mean this in the best possible way — very, very Sonoma County (for example, the clinic bathroom has a composting toilet — our daughter was enthralled!).
On our first meeting we discussed my health history and she threw me a curve ball: she really wants me to eat red meat. Not chicken or turkey, but RED MEAT! I haven’t eaten red meat in at least twenty five years. In fact I have no memory of ever having eaten red meat, although perhaps my parents will remember better and post about it in the comments. (Mom, I remember you cooking meatballs; did I ever eat one?!)
Even though I may not remember what red meat tastes like, I know that I really don’t want to eat it.
For the majority of my life I’ve been a pescatarian (a vegetarian who also eats fish) who only started eating seafood to get more protein into my diet. If I could live without dairy, I would be a vegan. With the exception of a bowl of chicken soup at sleep-away camp and a bite of roast beef in college, I haven’t eaten meat since elementary school.
That being said, I’ll do just about anything to stay pregnant. After all, transitioning from a vegetarian to omnivore diet and seeing an acupuncturist helped one of my closest friends become pregnant. It might really help!
Plus, doesn’t Sarah Gilbert’s photo, above, make meat-eating look delicious and healthy?!
And so I’m trying to acclimate myself to the idea of cooking with beef broth…
Never mind that the rest of the family are pescatarians and are, therefore, going to be eating something different.
Stay tuned!
Beef broth is one of the best things for you. In terms of eating meat, it is also very eco-conscious because it wastes nothing. My Italian grandfather taught us to eat the marrow out of animal bones. It was considered a real treat! I get down right excited about making and eating broth because it is nutritious for my family and I feel like I am being as appreciative of the animal because I am using its whole body for sustenance.
My path to getting pregnant meant I would try ANYTHING, which lead me to an acupuncturist and eating meat. I was shocked to think that my diet was preventing me from getting pregnant. But it was. I now have a beautiful 4 year old. And my first bite of steak after 18 years of vegetarian/pescatarian/veganism was heartbreakingly sad, yet my heart would have broken bitter and angry if I didn’t have my daughter. The price, well, PRICELESS. Hang in there Carrie. Your heart will tell you what’s right for you.
haha, well for me i ALREADY think eating meat is delicious and healthy, so welcome to the delicious meaty fun times ;-) out there i bet you can get some really fantastic free-range, grass fed, independently grown/slaughtered meat too, which makes a GIANT difference in the taste. (for the better, obviously.) my mom has also gotten meat before that was humanely raised & slaughtered, AND blessed by an indian shaman (or… something). these days it is definitely possible to eat meat and still be conscious of your environmental footprint.
“Good broth will resurrect the dead,” says a South American proverb.
Broth is Beautiful, although the individual parts and pieces may repulse a pescatarian. Red meat bone broth is VERY mineralizing and easy to digest. And this is a good place for you to start, since your body may need to build up digestive enzymes to handle the reintroduction of red meat to your body. Homemade bone broth is easy to make. Here is a recipe for you. (May want to try it in a crockpot outside as it can be pretty stinky).
Beef Stock
about 4 pounds beef marrow and knuckle bones
1 calves foot, cut into pieces (optional)
3 pounds meaty rib or neck bones
4 or more quarts cold filtered water
1/2 cup vinegar
3 onions, coarsely chopped
3 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
several sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together
1 teaspoon dried green peppercorns, crushed
l bunch parsley
Place the knuckle and marrow bones and optional calves foot in a very large pot with vinegar and cover with water. Let stand for one hour. Meanwhile, place the meaty bones in a roasting pan and brown at 350 degrees in the oven. When well browned, add to the pot along with the vegetables. Pour the fat out of the roasting pan, add cold water to the pan, set over a high flame and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen up coagulated juices. Add this liquid to the pot. Add additional water, if necessary, to cover the bones; but the liquid should come no higher than within one inch of the rim of the pot, as the volume expands slightly during cooking. Bring to a boil. A large amount of scum will come to the top, and it is important to remove this with a spoon. After you have skimmed, reduce heat and add the thyme and crushed peppercorns.
Simmer stock for at least 12 and as long as 72 hours. Just before finishing, add the parsley and simmer another 10 minutes. You will now have a pot of rather repulsive-looking brown liquid containing globs of gelatinous and fatty material. It doesn’t even smell particularly good. But don’t despair. After straining you will have a delicious and nourishing clear broth that forms the basis for many soup recipes.
Remove bones with tongs or a slotted spoon. Strain the stock into a large bowl. Let cool in the refrigerator and remove the congealed fat that rises to the top. Transfer to smaller containers and to the freezer for long-term storage.
Good luck, Carrie. Love to you and your family.
I don’t remember you ever eating meat ~ as a young child you always loved fruit, dairy and grains.. last thing was a chicken mcnugget at age 3 and you said ‘that’s it!’ And it was…! ; )
I had no idea that eating red meat would help you stay pregnant very interesting. With that being said, I love red meat. Sometimes I’m embarrassed about saying that in Sonoma County, but I truly do. I couldn’t live without red meat, so I hope you are able to find some sort of enjoyment out of eating red meat. Be careful though, eat only the good red meat, the stuff from Oliver’s or Whole Foods, they don’t add anything in the meat. Good luck. I’ve been thinking about you.
Carrie — The recipe that Amber posted about is from “Nourishing Traditions”, and it is the exact recipe I’ll be using to make you bone broth this week. I will infuse it with extra love!
I’m glad my photo could help :) good luck on your quest to stay pregnant, and exploring beef! I do think broth is a good place to start, as you can use it as a base for lots of food you probably already enjoy as a pescatarian. I love French onion soup — see Julia Child’s recipe in “Julia and Jacques Cook at Home” (let me know if you can’t find it online) — made with beef broth.
And I have a favorite broth recipe too, adapted from Vitaly Paley’s great cookbook (he’s a local chef). it features a charred red onion and is very simple if you skip the Frenchy part where you clarify it with egg shells and whites :). beef broth is a huge part of my wellness portfolio; every time I’m feeling terrible, I turn to the jars of frozen stock for comfort. broth, garlic, ginger, carrots and chile sauce are my pharmacy!
Wow- tough choices! When I saw the pic, I was like,”I thought Carrie was veg?” (um, clearly thinking that I know everything about you since I haven’t seen you in umpteen years!) but as a fellow lacto-ovo veg, it’s challenging to think ‘good’ choices are adversely affecting your health in other ways.
personal feelings aside, my professional training has taught me that meat has a narrow therapeutic window, if you will, and should be consumed once weekly at best. Mediterranean diet is the one i suggest to patients. Indeed, there are a few situations when clinicians actually recommend meat if a patient already consumes it (postop & straight up iron def anemia mainly). Not being trained in acupuncture, I can’t say i know anything about meat curing infertility but…its worth a shot! So much we can learn from complimentary medicine & since its been around for thousands of years versus allopathy (only a couple hundred), I’d say learn from the best and chow down girl!
This is really interesting Carrie! I hope you find that it helps you. I found that breastfeeding tipped me over the edge and got me eating red meat again (for the first time since I was 12 years-old). I just craved and needed it!
You are such a committed and devoted person to both your family and your dreams. I agree entirely with what those above have said: for both health and taste, go for excellent quality (or home-made) beef broth and buy only Whole Foods (or similar) grass-fed beef that is 90% lean. Please let us know what styles of dishes you feel you could approach and we’d be happy to try and help with recipes. My great-grandmother’s beef barley ‘n’ veg soup is an old-world, from-scratch favorite of ours. We wish you the best and know this must not be easy for you, but we’re here for you and hoping for you.
Carrie – as a former vegetarian (my parents still are, and raised me and my brother thusly), I did want to give you a warning that those first meals with red meat can cause stomach upset. I think your body stops making the enzymes needed to process it, and it has to kind of build up again – it’s the best way I can describe it anyway. So – ease in, and have mint tea ready, I guess :)
My brother and I joke that we cancel each other out – he went vegan, I went omni…
Sending you and your family love! – Erika
Thank you all for your support today! I am armed with my digestive enzymes and feel very thankful for my dear friend Tina who’s making me bone broth! I intend to start slow, using the stock to make a flavorful soup full of beans and nourishing vegetables. David has decided to eat meat too to support me in this journey, so preparing meals at home has suddenly become easier! And two of my closest friends here in California were longtime vegetarians who have started eating meat, so when I sit down to my first meat meal I will have friends who have been there holding my hands. Plus, I have the support of all of you! THANK YOU!
i’m so glad you have such a wonderful family and friends who are supportive through what must be a difficult choice for you! Dave and I are sending good thoughts your way and many hugs! I hope you find the right balance for you.
love,
celina
Hey there friend! I will make you beef broth if you want. It was the one thing I couldn’t stand the smell of when I was prego… The only time I craved red meat was during pregnancy, eating it actually got rid of the nasuea! I think acupucture is great! It has help many people I know in your situation. What a huge change! Keep it up, you are awesome!
Jenn
Wow Carrie. If you see who I think you are seeing, follow her advice, she IS good! If it helps: we buy our meat from the farmer’s market: we like Black Sheep farm, although they usually don’t drive to Sonoma County in the winter and we also like Salmon Creek ranch’s ground beef. Let me know how it went!
Your husband is so wonderful ~ so glad you have his support and help. He is an amazing man ~ Love to you both! xo
You are amazing and you can totally do this (it’s so worth it to try)!
Carrie, I’ve been a vegetarian for fifteen years but I cook meat for my fam ever day. If eating meat helps you stay pregnant, I say go for it. For great recipes I recommend Jamie Oliver. All his recipes are delish!
Sending good thoughts your way. Big hugs, Marilyn
Oh and this blog… http://figjamandlimecordial.com/
(Just cause Celia is a friend of mine and an inspiring cook. <3 )
Hi Carrie! To be clear, I’ve never been a successful vegetarian, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve shunned red meat. It never felt good to my body. That is, until I wanted to conceive and during pregnancy. Adding red meat and animal fat (!) to my diet seemed to be the answer to bringing about Hazel. Since then I’ve eaten it occasionally (maybe once a month?), but since conceiving a second time, my body’s desire for it has increased so much. Walking by the meat counter in Whole Foods has enticed me to drool more than once lately, a very strange phenomenon for a person who still considers herself not a friend of red meat! At any rate, I found Sally Fallon’s book ‘Nourishing Traditions’ immensely helpful. I hope that you find what you need! Good luck!