Making good food decisions for my family is overwhelming. I want them to learn to like a variety of foods. I want them to be exposed to many different flavors and be adventurous in their eating. I want them to eat fiber, eat vegetables, fruits and lots of whole grains. But sometimes I just want to get a hamburger at Wendy's without feeling guilty.

But pregnancy has added a completely new dynamic to my eating decisions.

Eat more calories each day.

Don't eat too much sugar.

Up your iron intake to raise your hemoglobin levels.

Eat something with Vitamin C to help you absorb the iron like an orange or orange juice.

Red Meat is a good source or iron.

Don't eat too much red meat to avoid contributing to your family history of heart disease.

Eat lots of fiber. But make sure (again) you don't also increase your sugar.

Eat a variety of foods and colors to get more vitamins.

Don't eat too much at one sitting to help with heartburn.

Avoid food and drinks with high aciditiy, like oranges and orange juice.

Drink hot lemonade with honey to deal with your sore throat.

But don't consume too much sugar.

Don't eat too late at night.

Eat something right before bed to prevent you from feeling light headed in the morning.

Drink lots of water to help quell any contractions too early.

Don't drink too much water before bed or you will be up all night using the bathroom.

Sometimes I just open the fridge and stare. Cheese? Crackers? Pretzels? An apple? Granola bar? Green peppers with Hummus? Cookie dough? Popcorn? I feel paralyzed by trying to meet all the criteria in the list of "appropriate" foods.

I think I should just stop reading and eat whatever I want. Actually a cheeseburger from Wendy's sounds pretty good right about now...