Amanda Miller
Columnist
Lettuce Eat Local

I wouldn’t exactly call this trio my life-blood, but I also wouldn’t say they’re not. The coffee category needs to be interchangeable with or include hot tea, but other than that, it’s fair to say that Amanda Joy Miller runs on these things. 

Except for when she doesn’t. I recently went through a very strange phase where I could not stand those three; in fact, even thinking about a salad or smelling coffee was enough to make me feel so sick. This counterintuitive phenomenon persisted for around three months. It was clear something was very wrong…or very, very right. 

You guessed it, we look forward to welcoming a baby into our family in early November! Actually, Brian, Benson, and I already welcome this baby into our family, as it’s clear that while it’s tucked away for a while yet, it’s a sweet tiny human worthy of all the love we can give. Although it will have to get a few things right about our diet in this house — we eat chocolate, coffee, and vegetables, and that’s a fact. 

Fortunately, shortly after I hit the second trimester, I could handle most foods again. The first 13ish weeks, though, phew, those were rough. I know time glosses over memories, but I definitely don’t remember Benson being this finicky in utero. Most of the time my food aversions were funny, at least if we didn’t take into account the overwhelming nausea, because they were so incredibly uncharacteristic. 

I went for weeks without a taste of chocolate; usually I’m doing good if I can go a couple hours. Coffee was horrifying for months, so bad that Brian had to move his coffee paraphernalia to the barn and leave his mug outside when he came in for breakfast. We planted our garden in good faith, but it was a struggle for me to pretend like I cared whether the beets, spinach, or tomatoes even survived, because ew. Who eats those. (I’m still very noncommittal about some, particularly carrots and peppers, but that’s fine because they’re either missing or sad, respectively.)

Couple those strong aversions with my random cravings, and my goodness we have to wonder who this baby is and what it’s doing to me. I can’t say I’ve had any real cravings, mostly the opposite, but the one thing I actually wanted to eat in those super rough weeks was meat. Now, I am not a vegetarian, but I get asked that sometimes because I naturally gravitate towards veg-centric foods. This baby, though, is a carnivore: I could barely swallow water it was so gross, but plain meat sounded quite nice. Especially sausage; just give me some sausage. I have never said that in my life. 

I have moved past that stage, although I still like meat more than normal. The other odd mannerism I’ve hung onto is eating my son’s leftover cereal. Typically I’m very picky, and I have to eat cereal in increments, pouring just enough into my bowl of milk so that I can eat it while it’s still crunchy and crisp. But now I relish the idea of Benson not finishing his mini wheats (and in fact I might accidentally pour a little too much) so that I have an excuse to put it in the fridge and eat it a couple hours later. This cereal does not hint of sogginess; it yells it from the rooftops, and it’s truly delicious. 

We are not finding out if the baby is a boy or girl until it’s born — although Benson thought it looked like a dinosaur from the sonogram last week — but we’re pretty certain it’s precious, in spite of/because of its strange, strange effects on me. Little Mini Wheat, we love you. 

Mocha Morning Oats

Consider this my glorious return to the better things of life, bringing my trio of favorites all together into one perfect breakfast. (That is unequivocally not how Brian described it when he found carrots in his oatmeal, but we all know his opinion doesn’t always count. I’m the pregnant one; I’m right.) It is healthy and filling but tastes decadent, and is arguably a better way to start the day than a bowl of soggy mini wheats. Leftovers firm up in the fridge, but warm up easily with a little extra milk the next day. 

Prep tips: I used decaf coffee, but if you need a boost in the mornings, consider this your shot (haha) at a bit of bonus caffeine. Maybe don’t feed it to your 2-year-old then, unless they have a calmer temperament than mine does. 

2 cups old-fashioned oats

5 cups water

a good dash of salt

1 medium carrot, shredded

¼ – ⅓ cup cocoa powder

2 – 3 tablespoons instant coffee

1 cup milk, plus more

sugar, local honey, or maple syrup to taste

Bring oats, water, salt, and carrot to a boil in a medium saucepan, and simmer until soft and creamy, stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa, coffee, and milk, and sweeten to taste. Serve with more milk.