An honest effort was made on day one. A hopeful recovery attempted on day two. On day three the trial was completely forsaken.

In “Oh Canada: Part 1″, I looked at the number of food group servings recommended for breastfeeding women (by the Canada Food Guide). I decided to follow the guide for one day, assess its practicality, and report my findings. So what did I find? I found a challenge! As a busy new mom, it was surprisingly difficult to adhere to the guide for even one day.

Day one started out well. Oatmeal with walnuts and apple slices for breakfast. Of course. Grain – check. Meat alternative – check. Fruit -half check. An hour later I rushed out the house tardy for a scheduled appointment. What’s new. I intended to travel with a snack but didn’t get my act together.

The next meal wasn’t until  2pm. I could have scarfed down anything at that point but actually managed to prepare a quick, healthy meal – one baked salmon fillet and a veggie wrap. And so the day ensued. By the end,  I had satisfied the recommended intake of meat, dairy and oils. I fell slightly short on produce and well short on grains.

I thought, to be fair, I should give this another go. I decided to record my meals for two more days.

Day two started like day one but fell apart much sooner. My workout was a priority. Caring for Naomi was of course a priority. I was also preparing for evening guests. Cleaning, feeding, changing and cooking was quite the juggling act. Everything else fell off my radar.

I don’t think I ate a proper meal, never mind measuring and recording the servings.  I snacked on brie and apple appetizers as I made them. That’s gotta count for something. What about the tomato sauce on the pizza we ordered? Or the grapes that made that lovely merlot? How many fruit servings is that?

Day three. Experiment? What experiment?

Despite abandoning the effort, I did figure some stuff out . The biggest success was being more conscious of what I ate overall. Though I didn’t keep up with tallying my daily servings, I definitely gave more thought to my food choices. As a result, I ate more “real” foods and less processed foods for sure. Some other stuff I figured out:

• Wraps are a really easy option for a balanced meal or snack. Just throw a bunch of veggies, cheese and/or meat into a whole wheat tortilla. You can even eat it with one hand and baby in tow.

• Having a well-stocked fridge is key. I’m talking quality not quantity. If all you’ve got is lettuce, avocado and turkey slices, that’s what you’ll eat.

• It’s cool to measure things once in awhile just to be reminded of what a “serving” really is.

And to answer the questions set out in part one:

• No, I certainly didn’t find time to prepare each meal and snack. It was especially hard to do around daily outings and activities.

• If I was hungry it was due to poor eating schedule, rather than the Food Guide serving suggestions.

• I think healthy eating in general is sustainable but only SuperMom could fit in and track all those servings. The Canada Food Guide is exactly that – a guide.

• No noticeable change in milk supply or Naomi’s liking thereof. Mama still gave her some sugar