Monday, March 14, 2011

March Mango Madness

The season came slightly early this year, and I started noticing mangoes in the market in early February. Normally, I'd expect them around this time in March, but I guess the mild winter has been good to the mangoes.

One of the first pieces of advice I got from my mother-in-law was a warning that I shouldn't eat mangoes during pregnancy because they're a hot -- a heat-generating -- food, as opposed to cold-generating foods, like apples and bananas. That is, in eastern medicinal philosophy, conditions are classified as 'hot' or 'cold' and should be balanced with the relative hot or cold food. So with pregnancy being a 'hot' condition, I should be avoiding mangoes because they generate heat and could lead to complications like miscarriage. True? I have no idea.

And, judging from the mound of mangoes in my fruit basket (and the raw fish I ate this weekend), I've not been following the dietary guidelines of pregnancy very well. And, I can already confirm with you now that I WILL be enjoying lots of soft cheeses and Flemish beers on our trip next month.

The other indulgence that I only dream about in my head (because the bakery's in Houston) is the birthday cake I had last year at my niece's 1st birthday party. It is, hands-down, the best cake I've ever put in my mouth, and I savored that moment by eating 4 pieces of it. Last week, Nick did a very mean thing by digging through his jpeg vault and emailing me a picture of the cake. And, I, in turn, did a very mean thing to myself by making it my desktop photo.

The next time I'm in Houston, I'm ordering this cake for myself, and the message will read, "Congratulations to me!"

4 comments:

  1. Hahaha - your'e torturing yourself amiga!! LOL!! I would too!!! It's Lent, and I've given up sweets. This is pure torture for me. Cakes are everywhere, lemon pies, cookies, nada for me!! Haha, somewhat different but kinda the same...torture! LOL!!

    Interesting information re: hot and cold food philosopy. Hadn't heard about it before!!

    Enjoy amiga :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. wouldn't be able to give up sweets for anyone... last week i baked a chocolate sheet cake and ate the whole thing myself. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've heard that about foods being "hot" or "cold", from my suegra, of course. "Cold" foods are supposedly a no-no when breastfeeding, because it will lead to a colicky baby. I ate lots of "cold" foods and never had that problem.

    Now you're torturing me with that cake! It looks like it was delicious. :)

    So...how's pregnancy treating you?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Leslie -- yeah, i've been eating a lot of HOT mangoes, and i don't have any problems.

    This pregnancy has been very easy so far. At 22 weeks, I'm still not showing, so I'm hoping this belly stays small for me. I hear the weight can do a number on your back.

    ReplyDelete