How far along are you: 32 Weeks

How big is the baby: By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You’re gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she’ll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth. (source)

Baby’s Gender: We both think it’s a boy err or a girl err boy?

Baby’s Name: We have a name for a boy or a girl

Weight Gained: 21.5 lbs

Clothes: They are getting shorter and snugger. Thank goodness for maxi dresses!

How are you feeling: As I type this I am exhausted but otherwise feeling well.

What do you miss: I still miss running and I miss my pre-pregnancy clothes and being able to lounge around on my back.

Symptoms: Heart burn. Frequent urination.

Cravings: Beans. Veggies. Water. Tempeh Sandwiches.

How are you sleeping:  It changes daily- some days I sleep really well and others just awful.

Workouts: This week I have done walks, yoga and Summer Sanders Pre-natal Workout.

Things I’m looking forward to: Meeting our baby! Finishing the nursery.  Shopping for baby post-baby shower.

In other news:

We bought a glider!

Our family blog is launching in 3 weeks! Until then follow us on twitter and like us on facebook.

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• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 cups lightly packed baby arugula
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 heaping tablespoons vegenaise (or you could use more olive oil if you would like)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Place the garlic, walnut and nutritional yeast in the base of a food processor and process until crumbly, about 20-30 seconds.  Add the arugula and process for 30 seconds and then slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube and process until smooth. Add the chickpeas, vegenaise, salt and pepper to the processor and process just until combined.  If you would like it smoother feel free to process longer, I preferred to make mine a little chunky. 

Serve: spread onto your favorite veggie sandwich (I made ours with roasted mushrooms, zucchini, fresh arugula and slices of tomato), stuff this spread into tomatoes <– amazing, enjoy with veggies, on top of a salad or in a wrap.

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Friday night was a pretty low key- we enjoyed dinner, a nice 2 mile walk and then settled on the couch to with popsicles. We also did a little light cleaning since we had our second birthing class Saturday morning.

Saturday started out with bagels, coffee and birthing class. After our four hour birthing class Neil and I decided to get out of the house and have a late lunch at Magnolia Bistro and then we took a short stroll through the farmers market before I headed off to a work concert (for work not play). After I finished working the afternoon concert Neil picked me up and presented me with a beautiful bouquet of local flower.

We then headed home where I proceeded to relax on the couch and get some work done and Neil went on a nice long bike ride with a friend. After his ride we enjoyed a quick dinner before heading out the door to work concert #2 (this time I dragged Neil along with me). It was crazy busy downtown on Saturday night so we had to park a bit of away from the concert site which allowed us to get a nice walk in to and from our car. After the evening concert we decided to enjoy the nice weather and go out for a cone of sorbet before heading home.

Sunday: Happy Mother’s (Be-lated) Day to all you mom’s, mom’s-to-be and fur mama’s! Neil headed out Sunday morning for a 9 mile training run and I worked on making a picnic lunch for us and my parents.  Once he arrived home we both rushed to get ready and headed out the door to Shelburne Museum for Mother’s Day.  We met up with my parents and spent the day touring around the museum.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch:

After lunch we completed our tour and then we said our good-byes and headed home.

After too busy days and lots of walking both Neil and I were exhausted so we made some dinner, put our feet up and relaxed with the cat for the remainder of the evening.

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Mother’s Day Menu: Picnic at Shelburne Museum-> Chickpea Pesto Salad Sandwiches with lots of veggies, Hail Merry Tarts (Lime and Chocolate Mint), BBQ Chips and Homemade Iced Green Tea- what are you doing/making/eating for Mother’s Day?

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Happy Friday Everyone! What are you doing to stay fit this week? I went to prenatal yoga and have been out for a few walks.  Today I am planning on doing my first third trimester workout from Summer Sanders’ Prenatal Workout DVD.

I am finally getting around to write the review of the second trimester workouts from Summer Sanders’ Prenatal Workout DVD, I unfortunately didn’t start using her workout DVD until I was already in my second trimester so I am not going to do a first trimester workout review (since I didn’t do any).

I purchased this DVD along with two other prenatal dvd’s when I was around 10 weeks pregnant.  I knew that since we had canceled our gym membership, got rid of our faulty elliptical and my running had become non-existent that I was going to need  some workout videos to help me stay active during my pregnancy. Out of the three videos this has been my favorite and the most used, although since the weather has been nicer out I have been using it less and trying to get outside for walks with my husband more but I am still loving the workouts.

Summer Sanders, an Olympic gold medalist, and her personal trainer, Keri Crockett (also her sister-in-law) lead you through the workouts. I love the Summer is actually pregnant in the videos, it gives me more motivation to keep pushing through the workout because if she can do it so can I! The DVD features both a full length and express workout and to be honest I have only done the full length workout once, I usually do the express workout which is about 35 minutes in length.  I find that it is the perfect amount of time for me and I usually end up going for a walk with the husband as well so I get two workouts in.

The workouts feature a lot of strength training and toning for the whole body including a nice balance of legs, arms and pregnancy friendly ab workouts. I always finish my workouts feeling energized and so glad I did it.  Summer and Keri really are great to watch and listen to as well, they are informative, motivating and entertaining.

I will say that the one downfall of this video is that it is mostly a strength workout, there is very little cardio.  Since I don’t do any other strength specific workouts and I find time to get light cardio in on other days it has been fine for me but I know that for others that has been one con regarding the workouts.  I loved  the second trimester workouts and I am looking forward to trying out the third trimester workouts and seeing how they different from the second trimester.

Have you done this workout DVD? What do you think? What are your favorite workouts (prenatal or not)? 

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How far along are you: 31 Weeks

How big is the baby: This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He’s probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby’s kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy. (source)

Baby’s Gender: We both think it’s a boy.

Baby’s Name: We have a name for a boy or a girl

Weight Gained: 21 lbs

Clothes:  I am down to 4 dresses, 1 tunic, maternity capri leggings, 1 pair of maternity jeans, and a few tops.  I decided to order a new pair of Lucy workout capris since most of my workout bottoms don’t fit comfortably around the waist.

How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good. I am tired out more easily but otherwise I am feeling happy and healthy.

What do you miss: Running- I am still dreaming about it. I also miss sleeping on my stomach and not having to pee every 2 hours or less.

Symptoms: I have had some really bad heartburn though (had it at yoga Tuesday night and was awful), frequent urination, Braxton Hicks contractions and dry, brittle nails

Cravings: Lots of veggies. Mashed Potatoes.

How are you sleeping:  I am actually sleeping fairly well considering I am up every 2-2.5 hours to pee.

Workouts: This week I have been on a number of walks and I went to prenatal yoga which honestly wasn’t my favorite class. Why? Well we had a sub because our teacher is also a doula and she was at a birth and I really didn’t love the teaching style of the sub.  I had mega heartburn and any time I did any forward bending it became even worse.

Things I’m looking forward to: Our baby shower and the arrival of our baby!

In other news:

We finally have a header for our family blog and it should hopefully be launching in the next 3-4 weeks!

We decided to hire a doula! I plan to blog about this more indepth on the family blog so stay tuned!

Yesterday we had our midwife appointment and I found out my glucose tolerance test came back great, that I’m not anemic and that the baby is breech <– midwife says that there is still time for them to turn but if they haven’t by 35 weeks we will have to look into various ways of trying to get them to turn. I can’t wait for them to turn and stop stomping on my bladder!

Neil and I are now off to enjoy another pre-baby date night! We are off to the theater to watch This American Life LIVE!

Over the past few years I have been working to find natural body products that I really love and that work well for my husband and I.  We easily settled on a few body washes that we really love but it has taken years and many bottles of shampoo and conditioner before we finally found a few that work for both of us.  Now that we have found our favorites we have eliminated non-natural products from our shower and rather than having a ton of different brands of products (for testing purposes) we now have just a few which makes the showering experience so much more pleasant- less clutter = more peaceful.

Current Conditioner: Avalon Organics Clarifying Lemon- I actually picked this up because it was on sale for $5 off at our local co-op a few weeks ago and I fell in love instantly.  It smells amazing and it works really well to condition my hair without leaving a residue.  It is also great for summer if you are looking to put some natural highlights in your hair, the lemon helps, like when I was as kid and sprayed a mixture of lemon and water in my hair to create natural highlights in the sun. Other conditioners I like: BWC Daily Benefits, Kiss My Face Whenever and Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Conditioner

Current Shampoo: Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint- I haven’t always been a fan of Dr. Bronner’s but about 6 months ago we gave it a second chance and I really am liking it and Neil is loving it.  I do find that I need to occasionally use  a different shampoo (which I’m currently out of) because it can leave a bit of residue in my hair but overall I like it.  I also love that Dr. Bronner’s can be used for so many other things such as body wash and the peppermint is great for clearing out your sinuses. Other shampoos I like: BWC Daily Benefits, JASON Smoothing Sea Kelp and Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo

Current Body Washes: JASON Purifying Tea Tree, Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint and Kiss My Face Anti-Stress - I know it looks like a lot but I use them all depending on my mood.  JASON is my everyday go to, Dr. Bronner’s I actually don’t really use as a body wash but Neil does most days and then the Kiss My Face is really perfect when I want to relax. Other Body Washes I like: Dr. Bronner’s Rose and Kiss My Face Active Athletic

Other Products:  Eco-Armour Shaving Foam, Bulldog Natural Skincare Face Wash (for Neil not me) and Kelapo Coconut Oil. The shaving foam is for my legs and I love it. The face wash is Neil’s and he loves it (I don’t keep mine in the shower).  Lastly, the coconut oil is used by both Neil and I for different reasons; I use it on my pregnant belly and Neil uses it on his scalp to moisturize it.

What’s in your shower? What are you favorite natural body care products?

In honor of Cinco de Mayo we made a Mexican inspired pizza that was topped with Galaxy Foods new vegan Mexican Shreds (disclosure: I received the shreds free from the company to try out). I have to say I loved the shreds and the melted so well on the pizza. I am really weird about vegan cheeses and although Daiya, Cheezly and Sheese are all okay I’m still not much of a fan and often just make my own cheese sauces via nutritional yeast and nuts. Galaxy Foods has been the only vegan cheese that I actually like and so I was excited to try their new shreds, which were tasty, melty and perfect for pizza (and a baked pasta dish I’ll blog about later).

Vegan Mexican Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza dough
• 1/2-3/4 cup salsa
• 1 portobello mushroom cap, thinly sliced and sauteed
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced and sauteed
• 1/2 bell pepper, thinly sliced and sauteed
• 1/2 cup defrosted frozen corn or fresh
• 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons pickled jalapenos
• 1 cup vegan cheese shreds

Directions:

Preheat your pizza stone in a 550F oven for 30 minutes.  Roll out your dough and top with salsa, veggies, beans, corn, jalapenos and cheese shreds.  Place on the pizza stone and bake for 8-10 minutes until browned and bubbly.

To serve top with a sprinkle of baby arugula or shredded lettuce, fresh chopped tomatoes, more pickled jalapenos and vegan sour cream.

This weekend Neil and I were fairly busy and it seems that things aren’t going to be slowing down anytime soon!  We started the weekend off with a homemade Mexican pizza (recipe to come tomorrow) which was absolutely delicious.

Here it is all fixed up with a sprinkle of baby arugula, fresh tomatoes and sour supreme.  We enjoyed our slices, went for a walk and settled on the couch to watch a few shows.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early to bake up a batch of Babycakes gluten free Pumpkin Spice Muffins for our early morning birthing class.  Around 8:30 our birthing class teacher arrived (we are taking private classes) and we served up coffee, muffins and fruit before starting our four hours of class. In other news our birthing class teacher is also a doula and last week after doing a bunch of reading Neil and I made a last minute decision to hire a doula for the birth.  I checked with Sarah (our birth coach) to see if she had any July openings and she did so after our class we decided to hire her to be our doula (she is really wonderful and so comfortable to be around).  I’ll discuss more of this doula talk in Thursday’s update post.

After our four plus hours of birthing class Neil and I were so hungry we decided to use up the remaining homemade dough and make another small pizza for lunch and then I passed out for a few hours.  When I finally woke up Neil was going a little stir crazy and was ready to get out of the house so we decided to have a date night downtown including window shopping, drinks (beer for him and water for me) and dinner out at A Single Pebble <–Neil had a gift card from work so free (almost) dinner for us! After dinner we headed home and cuddled on the couch while watching the remainder of the Yankees game, we should have just gone to bed though such a bad game.

Sunday we enjoyed a lazy morning before heading out for brunch with friends that we hadn’t seen since last July.  We spent over two hours enjoying food, conversation and having tons of belly laughs at Duino Duende.  It was so nice not to have a rushed meal and really enjoy the company.  After brunch we rean a few errands, took a nap, Neil did a training run and I watched House Hunters International.

While Neil finished up his run I made dinner of arugula walnut pesto with peas and white beans, a side of kale and leftover tofu from dinner at A Single Pebble.  After dinner we went for a stroll and then relaxed on the couch. What did you do this weekend?

Now that you’ve read my weekend recap keep scrolling and you’ll find a great giveaway! 

Review and Giveaway: Doug’s Nuts

A few weeks ago Doug’s Nuts sent me a few complimentary bags of their nuts to try out and ever since then I have been in love.  When I first open the nuts I am expecting them to be sugary based on their shiny coating but they were super mild and really delicious.  They are coated with a flavorful glaze consisting of organic evaporated sugarcane juice, honey, oatmeal stout beer <– my husband saw beer and had to try them immediately, sea salt, organic vanilla extract, and other natural flavors. In the mix are roasted almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, and pumpkin seeds (the hazelnuts and pecans are my favorites).

I unfortunately finished off my two pouches pretty quickly (time to get some more I guess!)  but boy where they good.  I enjoyed them over soy yogurt, by the palm-full and my favorite way as a topping for apple “nachos”.  What are apple nachos? Simply thinly sliced apples (I use my mandolin) drizzled with almond butter and topped with a sprinkling of Doug’s Nuts and a few mini chocolate chips for good measure.

Giveaway Details- Open Until Friday May 11th at 8pm EST: CLOSED

• Doug’s Nuts will provide and ship one 6-pack of Doug’s Nuts to the winner ($30 + shipping costs value) – OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY

To enter:

• Visit the Doug’s Nuts and come back and leave a comment letting me know something that you have learned. (Mandatory)

Since my last Fitness Friday post on April 20th (I know, I know I am slacking) my workouts have been pretty consistent but getting shorter and less intense.  I have found that I am starting to waddle a little bit when we walk and I have the third trimester sleepies so my energy to do more intense workouts isn’t great.  I am however committed to staying active through the remainder of this pregnancy so that I can hopefully get back to more intense workouts shortly after the baby arrives.

This week I skipped prenatal yoga and I haven’t gotten in as many walks as I had hoped due to the rainy weather that we have been experiencing lately.  I hope to get out for a short walk tonight if the weather holds off otherwise I will do my  Summer Sanders Prenatal Workout Video <–I will be reviewing this in two parts, second trimester and third (I didn’t do the first trimester workout).

How are you staying fit?

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How far along are you:

How big is the baby: our baby’s about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it’s not very keen; even after she’s born, she’ll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she’ll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.) (source)

Baby’s Gender: We both think it’s a boy.

Baby’s Name: We have a name for a boy or a girl

Weight Gained: 19 lbs

Clothes:  They still fit but I did pick up one more dress.

How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good and I’ve actually been sleeping alright lately.  I wake up often to pee and switch sides I sleep on but overall feeling rested. I also have been napping most days.

What do you miss: Running- I have been dreaming about it.

Symptoms: I have to pee all the time. Braxton Hicks Contractions.

Cravings: Veggie burgers. Berries. Oatmeal. Vegan Mac & Cheese. Popsicles.

How are you sleeping: See how are you feeling above.

Workouts: I did lots of walking and cleaning this week.  I did not go to pre-natal yoga but am looking forward to it next week.

Things I’m looking forward to: Starting our birth classes this week. Our baby shower in June.

Sacred Pregnancy by Anni Daulter

This Week–> Sacred Pregnancy Week 30: Nesting

This Week’s focus:

This week’s focus is all about nesting both emotional and physical nesting. “Emotional nesting: “Mama-nesting” means that you are taking the  time to clean out the mental junk that may be hanging out in your  emotional basement. Do some emotional housecleaning, releasing fears about becoming a mother and replacing them with trusting your instincts.”

I would say that I have already started nesting both emotionally and physically and I look forward to working on this more this week.

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Meals we’ve eaten:

• Monday: Dinner out- Veggie Burgers
• Tuesday: Baked polenta with marinara and a side of cheezy broccoli and white beans

Meal Plan:

• Wednesday: Veggie Burgers on top of sauteed kale with baked sweet potato fries (we had this last Friday for dinner and I am craving it again)
• Thursday: Veggie Curry Noodles
• Friday: Homemade Mexican Pizza
• Saturday: Breakfast- fruit and Babycakes GF Pumpkin Spice Muffins; Lunch- Vegetable Chickpea Soup with Homemade Bread; Dinner: Coconut Quinoa Dahl
• Sunday: Brunch at Duino Duende; Dinner- Quinoa Mac & Cheese with Kale

What’s on your menu this week?

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This past weekend was so busy for us that I decided to keep things simple and yet tasty in the kitchen. I had picked up a few portobello mushroom caps at the market on Friday with the intention of making portobello “burgers” but we ended up not having the other fixings (buns, lettuce, large tomatoes, ect) to really make a good burger so I decided to stuff them.  The stuffing is a mish-mash of a bunch of things we had in the fridge and in the end this turned out to be a really tasty dish.  I made these as entree sized portions but the stuffing would also be great in small button mushrooms as an appetizer.

Serves 2-4 (depending on how much stuffing you want in each)

• 2-4 large portobello caps, stems removed
• 1 avocado
• 1/3 cup hummus of your choice (I used a roasted red pepper and jalapeno)
• 1/2 cup of dry quinoa, cooked according to package directions
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Cherry Tomato Sauce:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375F. Cook the quinoa. While the quinoa is cooking mash together the avocado and the hummus in a medium sized bowl and place the portobellos on a lined baking sheet cap side down. Add the quinoa to the avocado hummus and season with salt and pepper to taste. Fill the portobello mushrooms with the quinoa filling. Drizzle the stuffed mushrooms with a little olive oil and place in the oven to cook for 15-20 minutes, until the mushroom is tender and the filling has set. While the mushrooms bake,  heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes release their juices.  Add the nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.  Once the mushrooms are done top with a big spoonful of the tomato sauce. ENJOY!

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Saturday I was up early to get a little cleaning done and then off to my girlfriend Cate who was in town for the weekend so we could chat and go over plans for the baby shower she is hosting with help from my mom in June. We also indulged in some sticky buns that Neil was ever so nice to get up and bake us Saturday morning (unfortunately no photo).

After my visit with Cate, Neil and I headed out to run a few errands around town.  We also stopped into the new sandwich shop to pick up an Indian Chickpea grinder to share for lunch. It was a really great sandwich on delicious bread but both Neil and I didn’t totally get the Indian part of it, but either way we enjoyed it.

The remainder of our Saturday was spent organizing, relaxing on the couch, reading and eventually I made a delicious dinner which will be tomorrow’s recipe of the week.

Sunday: There was no rest at our house this Sunday, it was our most productive and busiest day of the week! Neil and I got up early to pick up the floors (in our carpeted rooms) and move everything out of the nursery so we could shampoo the carpets.

While we waited for my parents to arrive with their machine Neil prepared some homemade bagels and coffee and I worked on the bagel toppings and a nice fruit bowl.

Everyone (except me) got their coffee on and then it was off to the cleaning and shampooing!

After shampooing all of our carpets we decided to head out for a few hours to run some errands and have a picnic lunch while the carpets dried.  After stopping at a few shops, Buttered Noodles and Home Depot, we decided to find a spot for lunch.  We enjoyed a nice spread of homemade ginger peach iced tea, hummus, crackers, berries, and pasta salad.

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad: 1 packaged of cooked whole wheat shells; 1 15-oz can of black beans and 1 15-oz can of chickpeas, a bunch of cherry tomatoes cut in half, one small red onion diced, a handful or two of baby carrots cut into circles, lots of black pepper and enough of Briannas French Vinaigrette to coat everything.

After our outing we headed back to our house to move things back into place and my mom and I worked on decorating the nursery while the guys watched the remainder of the Yankees game.

Once my parents headed home I made some dinner and we settled in on the couch and caught up on a few shows before heading to bed to read. After a busy day my snoogle never looked so good.

How did you spend your weekend?

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The favorite item was the homemade vegan brownies which the Hubz and I spent the weekend enjoying.

Thanks so much Jeannette for a great box! I really loved everything!

This recipe is quick, easy and it’s cheap! This dish is reminiscent of an (Americanized) Chinese lo mein dish, but much healthier.  It is also the perfect recipe to make when you need a quick and easy lunch or dinner and it is wonderful hot or cold.

Serves 2-3
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 block extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2” cubes
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
6-8 button mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or 1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 servings of cooked noodles (capellini, rice noodles, soba noodles, or udon noodles)

Heat the oil in the saute pan over medium-high heat for one minute.
Add the tofu, bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms to the pan and immediately toss with the oil to coat.  Cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, tamari, sesame oil and black pepper.  Cook for 5-7 minutes or until veggies are tender.
Add the noodles and chili garlic sauce. Stir to combine. Serve.

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How far along are you:

How big is the baby: Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you’ll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby’s hardening skeleton each day. (source)

Baby’s Gender: We both think it’s a boy and find ourselves referring to them has he….

Baby’s Name: We have a name for a boy or a girl

Weight Gained: 18.5 lbs

Clothes:  I picked up two new dresses this weekend- wahoo!

How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good but I am definitely feeling tired out. Today I had to go to an out of town meeting which involved 2 hours driving each way (luckily I didn’t have to drive) and then sitting on an uncomfortable chair for 3 hours.  This trip left me exhausted and ready for a nap as soon as I got home.

What do you miss: Sleeping. Energy. Running. Sprouts.

Symptoms: Lots of aches and pains, especially my hips at night.  Lots of heartburn.  Some mild headaches from not enough sleep.

Cravings: Veggie burgers. Berries. Oatmeal.

How are you sleeping: Hips are sore when I sleep, waking up all the time to pee and so thirsty. Tossing and turning.

Workouts: I lots of walking last weekend and I went to yoga.

Things I’m looking forward to: Starting our birth classes next week. Our baby shower in June.

Sacred Pregnancy by Anni Daulter

This Week–> Sacred Pregnancy Week 29: Water Energy

This Week’s focus:

Have you considered laboring and birthing in the water? What are your thoughts on this and are there any feelings relating to this process that you feel you need to cleanse at this time?

Source

When we arrived we checked in and chose our foot soaks from a pretty extensive selection.  I was told due to pregnancy I could not do any that had rosemary and there was one specific detox one that was not suitable for pregnant woman; I loved how informative and knowledgeable the staff was! Neil decided to go with a rosemary, seaweed and tea tree soak that was described as being good for runners and bikers and I went with the chai and fig soak which sounds as luscious as it was.

While we waited to head downstairs to the soaking room we looked over the tea and treats menu.  We both decided to go with iced tea, ginger peach for me and ginger mint for him.  We were also a little hungry so we ordered the Mediterranean Plate which had hummus, olives, pita and veggies; it was fantastic!

Unfortunately I couldn’t take any shots of us actually getting our feet soaked or of the downstairs soaking room but I can tell you it was just as amazing as I remember.  We were seated in these big comfy chairs that are elevated off the floor and we were given these wonderful warm scented shoulder/neck pads as we slipped our feet into giant bowls of soaking water that had little smooth stones in the bottom to run your feet across.  We sat back, relaxed and enjoyed our soak, tea and snack.  Honestly, when we first went here we were a little skeptical about just getting the foot soak (you can also get food scrubs, massages, and upper body massages as well) but we were both pleasantly surprised at just how relaxing it was to sit back with your feet in a nice bowl of soaking liquid.  Appointments are about an hour long and during that time they come through and offer you more hot water to reheat your soaking liquid.  This is one of my “must do in Portland” activities and I hope we are able to do it again soon.

After our relaxing foot soak we decided to head out to Portland Head Lighthouse and Two Lights (two other lighthouses), both of which I hadn’t been to in many years and Neil had never been to.  Although the temperature started to get a little cool it was a beautiful night and we took full advantage of it.

After taking over 300 photos and enjoying some time by the water we headed to Silly’s Restaurant for dinner. We had never been to Silly’s, but since it was known for being vegan friendly and for having veggie burgers (what we both were in the mood for) we decided to give it a try.

The menu is huge at Silly’s and although we had gone there on a mission for veggie burgers we ended up having a hard time deciding on what to order.  We finally settled on two items to share:

The Zombie burger A veggie burger, vegan mozz, spinach, onion, tomato, spicy sauce, pineapple & jalapenos on griddled garlic bread with fries Buffalo Fries. We decided to swap out the regular fries for buffalo fries (fries tossed with hot sauce) and served with a creamy spicy vegan sauce.  The burger was homemade and delicious! We were both also pleasantly surprised that the pineapple was not overpowering (our only concern).

We also shared the ZoomaZoom (vegan) Falafel with spicy vegan spread, spinach, lettuce, tomato, onion and black olives.  This was really tasty as well and the perfect companion to the Zombie Burger.  While the Zombie Burger and fries was a little heavier the ZoomaZoom was much lighter; the perfect combination for sharing.

After dinner we headed to Whole Foods (again) and I picked up a kiddie sized chocolate sorbet for dessert and Neil got himself a local beer to bring back to the hotel to try.  We spent the remainder of the night looking at the photos from our day and relaxing.

Sunday was all about picking up groceries and our favorite goodies from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s before heading home.  We stopped in North Conway to do a little more outlet shopping, where I found another maxi dress from Banana Republic on sale from $100 for only $30! Then we had lunch at Moat Mountain before finally heading straight home where we settled in on the couch to relax.

We had the perfect last getaway before the baby’s arrival and I couldn’t be happier.

To go with our parfaits we picked up americanos, decaf for me and regular for him, which were okay.

We also picked up lunch while we were there to eat later on in the day.

After breakfast we headed just north of Portland to Freeport to do a little outlet shopping.  We arrived a little early so we headed to the L.L. Bean Flagship Store where we had a little photo session.

We spent the morning wondering around Freeport getting our shop on. Unfortunately I wasn’t that successful, seems it is just going to get harder from here on out to find pregnancy friendly clothes. However, I did find a dress that I really like, which you will see in my next post. Neil lucked out and he found a bunch of items at the J.Crew Outlet to update his summer wardrobe. We stopped for a lunch break between stores and enjoyed our goodies from Whole Foods.

After shopping we headed back to the hotel for a nap before going for an amazing foot soak, sightseeing and to dinner.

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Chipotle Bean Tostadas

Inspired by Raw & Beyond

Serves 4

• 2-15 oz cans Eden Organic Kidney Beans* with bean liquid reserved
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 brown rice tortillas, or any tortilla you like
• 1 avocado, diced
• Salsa
• 1 romaine heart, thinly sliced

Cover the bottom of a small sauce pan with some of the reserved bean liquid. Heat over medium-high for a minute and then add the onion; cook for 5-6 minutes until soft.  Stir in the garlic, salt, cayenne, cumin, and chipotle chiles; cook for 30 seconds.  Add the beans, remaining liquid and tomato paste.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.  Place 2/3 of the bean mixture into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to the pan and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low.

Heat the tortillas in the oven at 250F until crispy, about 15 minutes. Top each tortilla with 1/4 of the bean mixture, 1/4 of the avocado, 1/4 of the romaine and a big dollop of salsa.

Other great additions are cilantro, vegan sour cream and/or hot sauce.

*I use Eden Organic Kidney Beans because they are preserved in water with kombu.  If you are not planning to use Eden Organic beans make sure to rinse and drain your beans.  You will also have to use water in replace of the bean liquid.

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We got on the road and made it to Concord New Hampshire just around lunch time so we decided to stop into Cafe Indigo a vegan bakery and cafe. Neil and I decided to share two different items and a cookie- it is a bakery after all. We shared the Veggie Cakes Cafe Indigo‘s version of crab cakes with tartar sauce, cornbread and slaw (my choice) and a Falafel Burger on a whole wheat bun with a lemon tahini sauce, slaw and blue corn chips (Neil’s choice). I thought the Veggie Cakes were really tasty and the tartar sauce was delicious, I have to say though the tempeh crab cakes from Vegan Brunch are closer to what I imagine Crab Cakes to taste like. Neil really liked the falafel burger but I wasn’t a huge fan of it, I thought it would have been better in a wrap than on a roll and it was a little dry. We both enjoyed the cornbread and the slaw but we didn’t really touch the blue corn chips. The best part of the meal was the ginger cookie- AMAZING.

Next stop on our journey was to Whole Foods to pick up an iced coffee for Neil and an Arnold Palmer for me before  making it to the 3pm brewery tour at Allagash.  There is really nothing more depressing than watching a group of people sample a (four) wonderful brews and having to stand there and watch it all happen.  Neil enjoyed the samples and then we took a walking tour of the brewery.  Since I couldn’t partake we picked up a bottle of Allagash Old HLT, a sour cherry beer, to share later this summer. Although I couldn’t enjoy the samples it was one of the best tours that we have been on and would recommend it to everyone. Tip: you can call ahead to be put on the list for the tour as I imagine they fill up fast!

After the tour we checked into our hotel and then I decided that it was time to take a nap before dinner. We walked downtown from our hotel (rather up a giant hill) to Green Elephant, a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Portland. I have been a number of times and Neil has been once before and we have always enjoyed it. We lucked out and arrived just moments before the dinner rush, although it is worth the wait.

We started off with the Fresh Rolls-Lettuce, carrots, avocado, rice vermicelli, and mint wrapped in rice paper, served with peanut sauce, they were wonderful.  For our entrees Neil ordered the Crispy Breaded Soy Filet stir-fried Chinese broccoli, Chinese broccoli carrots and thai bird chili in a brown sauce.  I stole a few bites (of course) and I have to say that this is now one of my favorite dishes I have had at Green Elephant.

For my entree I couldn’t decided on what I wanted (too many choices) so I decided to get a soup and an appetizer.  I ordered the Fragrant Coconut Soup with tofu & baby bella Mushroom, cherry tomatoes, onion, scallion, and cilantro and Roti Canai an Indian style pancake. with vegetable curry dip.  This was my first time having the soup and it was so tasty, I didn’t love the tomatoes in it but otherwise it was great.  The roti is an old favorite of mine and it was just as food as I remembered.

After dinner we decided to stop into Local 188 for an after dinner mock-cocktail and brew. Neil ordered a local microbrew (I can’t remember the name) and I had a virgin Basil Lemonade, which was amazing and I have to replicate it at home!

After drinks we headed back to the hotel to rest up for a busy Saturday. Stay tuned!

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Monday: Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry with Brown Rice

Tuesday: Very Veggie Taco Salad*

Wednesday: Midwife Appointment = dinner at American Flatbread- TRADITION!

Thursday: Restaurant Week Dinner at Pauline’s Cafe*

Friday: Dinner with friends (I know we’ll be bringing something I am just not sure what yet)

Saturday: Veggie Sausages with roasted potatoes and veggies

Sunday: TBD

Since we will be out to eat a bunch this week I need to pick up sandwich fixings for lunches.

Also hopefully on the menu this week will be cinnamon buns made by the husband!

*I wrote this before we went away for the weekend and the ingredients I came home with don’t really fit what I had initially intended so Tuesday and Thursday are up in the air and possibly Saturday as well.

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Theme of the Month: Living Healthy On A Budget:

Well as many of you may have read in my most recent newsletter this month is all about living healthy on a budget.  This month you will see a variety of posts featuring ways to live a healthy, happy life without breaking the bank.  Post will include topics such as grocery shopping, finding inexpensive ways to stay active, homemade natural cleaners and so much more! continue reading…

Tips to Live Healthy on a Budget: Exercise:

Exercise. (Free to low cost) Include exercise as part of your daily life. Regular exercising prevents you from visiting the doctor frequently and relying on several prescription drugs; this amounts to savings over your lifetime. continue reading…

Tips to Live Healthy on a Budget: Sleep & Relaxation:

Sleep. (Free) Sleep helps to improve memory, prevent weight gain, improve your mood, strengthen your immune system, and cardiovascular system. continue reading…

Tips to Live Healthy on a Budget: Avoid Toxic Chemicals:

Avoid Toxic Chemicals. (Low cost) One goal in a health-supportive lifestyle is to decrease or eliminate our exposure to all unnecessary chemicals whenever possible. An easy place to start is under the kitchen sink, with your home cleaning products. Many conventional home cleaning products contain extremely harsh chemicals, which can be toxic to us and to our environment. There are great natural cleaning products out there however they can be costly. continue reading…

Living Healthy On A Budget: Dining Out

1. Portions - Most of the times, your portions are way too much for one person.  Many times, Neil and I will share an entree and a salad or appetizer.  But, whether you just arenʼt feeling like eating the same thing as your partner, or you just feel like youʼre hungrier than you probably are, sometimes you just want your own meal. You could always ask the wait staff to box half up of your meal before they bring it out, but, honestly, how often does that actually happen? continue reading…

Living Healthy On A Budget: Eating In

You have control - You have all  of the control.  You can  control: the portion sizes, the quality of ingredients and the  costs.  When we eat at home we  are able to buy high quality  ingredients to make dishes that  are tasty, healthy and better fit  our budget.  You can control the  salt and the fat, which helps you  take control of your diet. continue reading…

I just made updates to my Services offered page including reduced prices! Please check them out:http://gethealthywithlindsay.com/get-started/
Also please note the last day to sign up for 5 week programs in May 13, 2012 and for 2 session programs May 20, 2012. I will only be offering my 5 Week Podcast program through the summer due to taking some time for maternity leave. Starting in mid-August I will be offering an e-mail based program and I will be resuming full coaching on September 1, 2012

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Lets take a look at my workouts for the last 19 days shall we:

Four 1-mile walks and 60 minutes of prenatal yoga

35 minutes of prenatal dvd and 10 miles of walking

so far this week 3 miles of walking and 60 minutes of prenatal yoga; we are headed to Maine for the weekend and I anticipate lots of walking while we are there.

As you can see I may have been slacking on my posts but I have been doing a a great job at getting in at least 5 workouts per week even if they are just short ones.  Longer walks (3+ miles) are getting to be more of a exhausting but it feels good to go out and get them done when I have time. I plan on keeping up with my workouts until the very end of my pregnancy doing a minimum of 5 miles of walking per week and either one prenatal class or my prenatal dvd.

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How far along are you:

How big is the baby: TBy this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She’s also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. (source)

Baby’s Gender: I’m back on the I think it’s a boy train.

Baby’s Name: We have our boy and we pretty much have our girl.

Weight Gained: 17.5 lbs

Clothes:  Time to get some new ones this weekend! I have non-maternity that still fit, some early maternity that also fit but it is time to get a few last items for the remainder of the pregnancy.

How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good but I am definitely feeling tired out.

What do you miss: Running. Sprouts.

Symptoms: Aches and pains.

Cravings: Curry. Grinders. Lemonade.

How are you sleeping: Hips are sore when I sleep, waking up all the time to pee and so thirsty.

Workouts: This week I did lots of walking and went to yoga.

Things I’m looking forward to: Getting away with Neil this weekend! We are headed to Maine for our last pre-baby getaway and I can’t wait! My baby shower in June. Starting birthing classes in two weeks.

Things I’m not looking forward to: My glucose test next Wednesday.

What I’ve Been Wearing:

Maternity Fashion: First and Second Trimester
1. Cropped Denim Jacket |2. Jeggings | 3. Faux Wrap Dress | 4. Toms | 5. Scarf | 6. Wrap Jacket

Sacred Pregnancy by Anni Daulter

Last Week–>Week 27: Air Energy: This week was intended to focus on breath meditation something I made time for every day this week.  It also was a time to reflect on my thoughts and fears about giving birth and becoming a mother. What are the thoughts that have you up at night in regard to becoming a mother and giving birth? My fears include not making it to the birthing center (it’s 60 minutes away), having a giant baby and being in active labor for many hours.  Currently one of my fears that isn’t about becoming a mother or giving birth is not passing my glucose test which is next week-eek!

This Week–> Sacred Pregnancy Week 28: Fire Energy

This Week’s focus: Are you confident that you know what you want for this pregnancy and birth? If you are not, take the time to get clear and journal  about your confusion. When you are ready to really direct your will and intention, the universe will be ready to hear it!

Peanutty Noodles With Tempeh

Bean & Sweet Potato Stew

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Risotto

Chipotle Bean Tostada

Maple Lemonade

Get Recipe Here!

The inspiration behind this lemonade is a little spot that Neil and I used to go to when we lived in Montpelier called Langdon Street (unfortunately it is closed now) where we would get Maple Lemonade.  Since I have never found it out anywhere else I decided that I would just have to make our own.

Maple Lemonade

• 1 1/3 cups fresh squeezed Lemon Juice, strained
• 1/2 cup Grade B Maple Syrup
• 4 cups Water
• Ice for serving

Combine the lemon juice and maple syrup in a pitcher and whisk to combine. Add the water and stir again.  Fill a class with ice and pour the lemonade over.  Enjoy!

This week I decided to change things up a bit, instead of working on new recipes I decided to let someone else do the work for me and I am trying out a number of recipes from Raw & Beyond and trying out a new recipe from one of my old favorite cookbooks Therapeutic Chef. I love working on new recipes but this week is busy and we are heading away for the weekend so I decided to keep things easy.

Sunday: Lunch- Field Roast Sausage and Broccoli Pesto Pizza (on homemade crust by my baker husband) and for Dinner we had Fancy Pants Tempeh Salad with lots of veggies, chipotle-balsamic tempeh and potato wedges.  Dessert- Dates stuffed with a little almond butter and mini-chocolate chips

Monday: Lunch- Brown Rice Wraps with lettuce, tomato and leftover chipotle-balsamic tempeh with a side of kiwi and sweet potato chips.  Dinner- Chipotle Tostadas from Raw & Beyond

Tuesday: Lunch- Leftovers with fruit and Ranch Kale chips from Raw & Beyond.  Dinner- Steamed veggies from Raw & Beyond  with beans and rice.

Wednesday:  Lunch- Leftovers with fruit and kale chips.  Dinner- Lentil Dahl Wraps from  Therapeutic Chef

Thursday: Lunch- Leftovers with fruit and kale chips or granola bar.  Dinner- Fire-Roasted Tomato-Lentil Chile from Raw & Beyond with brown rice

Friday: Lunch- Leftovers in burrito form with fruit and granola bar.  Dinner- OUT! We head to Maine Friday afternoon for the weekend Wahoo!

Saturday: OUT!

Sunday: OUT! …Dinner- TBD

What is on your plan this week?

Catching up? I just posted our Weekend Wrap check it out! Also if you are looking for a new recipe check cout my Cucumber & Tomato Salad recipe over on my coaching blog. 

Since it was a beautiful evening I changed into a skirt (YAY finally skirt weather again) and we headed downtown to do a little shopping, walking and wondering around. We picked up a few new shirts for Neil and then decided that it was time for dinner. We debated going out but in the end decided to pick up the fixings for veggie burgers to make at home.

So we picked up the goods and headed home to make delicious veggie burgers and caught up on a few shows.

Saturday: We had minor morning plans to pick up a vegan cupcake from Nibble or Nosh at the market, stop into Plato’s closet to sell some of Neil’s old clothes and pick up fixings for our pizza party later that night. What was going to be a quick trip out to do these things turned into shopping for a new bike for Neil when we saw that North Star was having a bike sale and then I was hungry so we stopped into Healthy Living for a snack and picked up the fixings for our pizza party. Then we were off to Plato’s Closet to sell clothes, which ended up being over an hour wait so we decided to do a little more shopping.

We ended up finding ourselves at Buttered Noodles, a kids shop in Williston. We had always debated stopping in but for some reason the name just really but us off and I think we both imagined there would just be a bunch of random junk there, however we were delightfully surprised. We ended up walking into this huge store that is filled with everything from books and toys to clothes, strollers, and cribs. There was even a small maternity clothes section and a cloth diaper section. Most of the items there were all at a discount, almost like a TJMaxx or Marhsalls. I ended up finding some maternity leggings, a few really cute organic baby clothes and a few books. We will definitely be back another time to pick up more items for the baby, such as the cloth diapers!

Finally an hour passes and we are able to see what Plato’s took and after be coming $29 richer we decided to take ourselves to Thai lunch since we both were super hungry at this point.

After lunch I was just about dead. Apparently the Third Trimester has hit me and I am getting run down real fast. We headed home to clean before our guests came aka Neil did most of the cleaning and I took a nap. Then we pizza partied the night away.

Sunday: This day for me was all about relaxing, catching up on a bit of work and then heading out for a long 5k walk. It was beautiful out and it was a perfect day to walk but boy am I starting to slow down. A few weeks ago I could easily go at an 18-19 minute pace and now I’m closer to averaging 22 minutes per mile, hello third trimester I see you are starting 4 days early.

What did you do this weekend? Where you able to get out and enjoy the weather?

Also Weekend Wrap Ups- yay? or nay?

How far along are you:

How big is the baby: This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She’s sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby’s brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don’t bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle. (source)

Baby’s Gender: 50/50 chance it’s a boy. 50/50 chance it’s a girl.

Baby’s Name: We have our boy and we pretty much have our girl.

Weight Gained: 17lbs

Clothes:  Me in stripes+pregnant=not a good fashion choice. No new clothes, but we are headed to Maine next weekend and I plan on picking up a few new pieces for the spring/summer.  My belly is getting in the way of my non-panel maternity pants so those are getting less comfy to wear not because they are too small but rather because they don’t stay up so well.

How are you feeling: I am feeling  pretty good this week. Lots of hip pain after a night of sleeping though.

What do you miss: Still missing running and I’m really missing sleeping anyway I please.

Symptoms: Aches and pains.

Cravings: Beans. Pesto. Bagels.

How are you sleeping: see above.

Baby Items Gifted: Bummis diapers- 2 covers and 4 inserts which will be featured in an upcoming post on cloth diapering and review once baby comes (on our family blog that will be up in running by the end of May). We were also gifted (from our Amazon registry) a book Zen Ties and a Dwell Studios Bib and Burb set from my friend and old co-worker Nicole (Thanks Nicole!).

Workouts: This week I walked and I did my Summer Sanders Video. I skipped yoga this week- first time in 10 weeks I haven’t either gone or done yoga at home and now I know why I go every week!

Photos from our walk tonight:

Sacred Pregnancy by Anni Daulter

Last Week–>Week 26: Earth Energy: The focus of this week was to spend some time with Mother Nature and although I didn’t get outside as much as I would have liked I did take time to go for a few walks and enjoy the improving weather.

This Week–> Sacred Pregnancy Week 27: Air Energy

This Week’s focus: Focus on breath meditation to help with stress and emotional ups and downs of pregnancy. Take time to create a positive space and reflect on the thoughts and fears around giving birth and becoming a mother.

- What are the thoughts that have you up at night in regard to becoming a mother and giving birth? Lay them out here in all honesty so that they can be worked through. Even if they are irrational … write them, claim them, and release them

What are/were your biggest fears about becoming a mother or giving birth? How do you work through them?

Snacks: Apple and pistachios (not pictured)

Dinner: For dinner last night I worked on another recipe, Sweet Potato Bean Stew, topped with tomato, avocado and sour supreme with a few whole grain crackers.

Dessert: Swiss Almond Coconut Milk Ice Cream (not pictured)

What did you eat Wednesday?

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Our current bread love is French Meadow Bakery which makes bagels, wraps and bread both gluten free and not. We seem to always have something in our freezer nowadays and I love it. My favorite products are the bagels especially the hemp bagels with tofu cream cheese, thinly sliced onions and tomatoes, capers and a little salt and pepper- YUM! Also did I mention that one hemp bagel has 19 grams of protein and 13 grams of dietary fiber! This is a huge plus especially since being pregnant I need to make sure I am getting a good amount of both.

When my sweet tooth hits I turn to the sprouted cinnamon raisin bagels which honestly don’t require any topping but are wonderful with almond butter and banana. These t0o are filled with protein and dietary fiber- Win!

Now I would eat most everything on a bagel but sometimes you just want toast or a sandwich and that’s when I turn to the 16 Grain & Seed Bread.  This bread makes a fabulous sandwich or toast, I especially like to use it for open faced sandwiches.  Recently I made up a bowl of my favorite sandwich filling, chickpea salad, and topped a few slices of 16 Grain & Seed Bread along with tomato, red onion and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.  I stuck the slices under the broiler for 4-5 minutes and voila I had the best open faced sandwich- double yum!

My Favorite Open Faced Chickpea Salad Sandwich

• 1 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 carrots, minced
• 2 celery stalks, minced
• 2T onion, minced
• 1/2T Triple Blend Flakes (or kelp flakes) (optional)
• 1/4 Cup vegenaise or your other favorite vegan mayo
• Tomato and Onion, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• Nutritional yeast

Place your chickpeas in a bowl and smash them with a potato masher.  Add the carrots, celery, onion, kelp flakes and vegenaise and mix to combine.  Top slices of bread with the mixture and then layer with onion and tomato.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and nutritional yeast.  Place on a sheet pan and broil on high for 4-5 minutes.

Unfortunately Open Faced Sandwiches Aren't Very Photogenic

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Breakfasts:

• Oatmeal
• Soygurt with raw oats and fruit

Snacks:

• Fruit
• Granola Bars

Meals:

• Peanutty Noodles with Tempeh
• Creamy Carrot-Ginger Soup with whole grain crackers and salad
• Sweet Potato Bean Stew
• Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto and salad
• Saturday Flatbread Potluck

Dessert:

• Coconut Ice Cream
• Cupcakes

Monday Night Dinner: Peanutty Noodles with Tempeh

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Quick Fitness Update: I worked out 6 out of 7 days last week which included walking 6.5 miles and 60 minutes of yoga. My plan for next week is to do about the same.

This morning I woke up feeling better and we headed out to my aunts for an Easter gathering where we enjoyed salad, Field Roast sausages, roasted potatoes, cauliflower, asparagus and a slice of wonderful raspberry pie.

Following our meal we watched the one little one run around looking for Easter eggs.

Easter Peek-A-Boo With G-Ma

Easter Photo Shoot

Easter Puppies

AHHH! It’s Easter! Have a Happy One!

Now I’m off to spend the remainder of the weekend with kitty and Neil! Blog you Monday!

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How far along are you: 26 Weeks

How big is the baby: The network of nerves in your baby’s ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner’s as you chat with each other. He’s inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he’s born and takes that first gulp of air. And he’s continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you’re having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days. (source)

Baby’s Gender: Still don’t know but this week things have taken a twist…I think it could be a girl! I have been dreaming more about our baby and it is always a girl.  So now I’m more confused than ever.

Baby’s Name: We have decided on a boys name and I think we have decided on a girls name, or at least we are almost there.

Weight Gained: 16lbs

Did you know? I weighed 8lbs 3oz at birth and Neil was 9lbs 6oz *update* I was as little freaked out by Neil’s baby weight but he was 1.5 weeks late = more time to gain weight.

Clothes:  No new clothes. Actually going back to my winter maternity clothes for the most part.

How are you feeling: I am feeling really tired this week.

What do you miss: I am missing running, going out for drinks with Hubz and energy.

Symptoms: Tired.

Cravings: Chips and guacamole. Pesto. Salad.

How are you sleeping: This week I have been sleeping okay but have been waking up in the middle of the night which is no fun.

Workouts: This week I got in a number of walks and pre-natal yoga.

Sacred Pregnancy by Anni Daulter

*Catching up? You can read my post on Sacred Pregnancy over on NAB Communities WELLNESS.

Last Week–>Week 25- Love Reflection:Last week’s focus was to show my body love by doing something such as get a massage, put your feet up and relax, practice your kegel exercises and to write a love letter to yourself this week! Encourage yourself to work through any places where you feel stuck this week! I actually didn’t write myself a love letter but I did practice my kegel exercises (I’m doing some right now), I put my feet up and relaxed and I scheduled a pregnancy massage for tomorrow.

This Week–> Sacred Pregnancy Week 26: Earth Energy

This week’s focus: – Spend time with Mother Earth, in nature, touching the trees, collecting fallen leaves, and letting your feet be bare upon her back.

- Draw a picture of a nature spot that reminds you of being grounded, a place that you can draw from when you need a quiet place in your mind to visit, perhaps during your labor.

We looked over the menu and quickly asked about the vegan options and were directed to the taco special minus the crema and the vegan taco which was on the menu. We also ordered chips with salsa and guacamole, something I have been craving for weeks. The salsa was nice and fresh and the guacamole was the perfect balance of creamy and chunky.

To go along with our meal Neil ordered a beer and I lusted over the margaritas but ultimately ordered a Rookies Ginger Beer.

We munched on chips and chatted for awhile about work, the baby and our day before finally diving into the tacos, which of course we ate based on the instructions on the menu.

We both ordered one of the specials which had kale and quinoa on it and the vegan Camote taco which was filled with
organic sweet potatoes, braised kale, guajillo salsa, pepitas.  The Camote was our favorite-so good!

Following our dinner we headed over to Baby Gap to take advantage of the sale and picked up a few things for Bebe.  Then we headed home to relax before bed.

The End.

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups loosely packed flat leaf Italian Parsley
• 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• Juice 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
• 1-15oz can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 whole wheat pitas
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 5-6 button mushrooms, sliced and sauteed until soft

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place parsley, pumpkin seeds, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse to coarsely chopped.  With the food processor running slowly drizzle the olive oil through feed tube of the food processor until fully incorporated and smooth. Divide the pesto into five parts; use to top the four pitas and toss the remaining pesto with the white beans.  Divide the white beans amount the four pitas, spreading into an even layer and then top each pita with 1/4 of the cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. Bake for 6 minutes. Broil on high for 2-3 minutes until edges of pita are lightly browned.

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 For lunch I enjoyed marinated tofu with sesame noodles, tomatoes, cucumbers and red bell peppers.

and then I snacked on one of these delicious new granola bars from Nature’s Path. I picked up the Macaroon Crunch and Apple Pie flavors and both are amazing. I love that they are low in sugar and have 3g of protein and 3g of fiber.

I also snacked on a banana with almond butter and raisins before I headed to yoga class.

 Dinner was the star of the show- we had pita pizzas with parsley-pumpkin seed pesto, white beans, mushrooms and tomatoes.  I had to restrain myself from eating the second one I made for our lunches today.  I served these up with a green salad with Briannas French Vinaigrette. Recipe to come for Pita Pizza.

I topped our pizzas with this sample I received of Parmela- Parmesan cheese replacer. TheHubz and I both enjoyed the Parmela my only complaints were that the holes were way to small on the sprinkle side of the cap and compared to other vegan parms it was a little dry, but still very tasty.

What did you eat this Wednesday?

Also I will leave you with a photo of this cutie…

I know that the recipe above is hard to read and there is a typo so here is a better version below.

Chickpea-Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup organic quinoa, rinsed +2 cups water
• 1/4 cup organic scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, diced small
• 1/2 bunch organic fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 cups cooked or canned organic chickpeas
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

This month over on my health coaching blog  we will be discussing how to live healthy on a budget.  Above is one of my favorite healthy, inexpensive spring/summer dinner recipes for you to enjoy.  For more recipes and to learn different tips on how to live healthy without breaking the bank keep checking back on the coaching blog.

Speaking of health coaching…I have a brand AFFORDABLE new program that just started this week! Check out the details here. 

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This week is all about the sandwiches, from bagel to wrap and everything in between. Why might you ask are we going sandwich crazy? Well honestly it’s been one of my cravings lately and secondly I am working some new fun, quick and easy spring/summer recipes for the blog.

What’s on the menu this week:

Breakfast:

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels with Sliced Banana, Almond Butter and a honey

Oatmeal with fruit and nuts

Lunch:

T: Falafel Pita Sandwich with Yogurt-Herb Spread

W: Marinated Tempeh, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich with Mashed Avocado Spread

Th: Pan Fried Tofu and veggie slaw wrap with tahini sauce

F: Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Dinner:

M: Falafel Pita Sandwich with Yogurt-Herb Spread

T: Pita Pizzas with cherry tomatoes, walnut-parsley pesto and white beans

W: Pan Fried Tofu and veggie slaw wrap with tahini sauce

Th: Open Faced Chickpea Salad Sandwiches with tomato and red onion

F: Burrito Bowls with beans, rice and veggies

What’s on your menu this week?

When I got pregnant I was in the middle of training for my first half marathon and I had a 4-mile race 4 weeks after finding out we were expecting.  I was all about being a pregnant runner but then the morning sickness or rather all day sickness came on full force.  I went for one final run shortly around 4.5 weeks and it was the worst run of my life and that’s when I hung up my running shoes.

During my first trimester I had such awful morning sickness working out was almost non-existent with the exception of a few walks with Neil and a ton of walking when we went to NYC. Honestly, when I actually got out for walks I felt so much better and it helped the morning sickness but the challenge was actually getting out for the walk.

Now at 25 weeks I go on lots of walks with Neil; we try to go at least 3 days per week. Sometimes walks are really boring, especially doing the same route and it certainly isn’t running which I am really missing, but walking has been great for staying fit during pregnancy.  When I go for walks by myself I turn on a podcast and do a 2.25 mile loop along the bike path.  My favorite walks however is to go with my husband because it gives us a chance to step out of the house, away from the computers, phones and television, and gives us a chance to connect and talk while we do our 2-3 mile loop.

Tonight Neil ran late at work and by the time he arrived home I had made dinner and was ready to settle in for the night but instead of eating dinner and turning on a show we went out for a walk.  It wasn’t a long walk only 1 mile but we got out, we chatted and we got a little workout in.  It felt great and it was nice to know that I at least got some sort of activity in (Neil had already gone for a run so this was just extra for him).

Do you enjoy going for walks? What do you like the most?

Goals for Last Week :

• Th: Off
• F: Off
• S: 2.5 mile walk
• Su: 2-3 mile walk
• M: 2 mile walk and/or workout DVD
• T: Pre-natal Yoga
• W: 2 mile walk and/or workout DVD

Actual for Last Week :

• Th: Off
• F: Off
• S: NADA
• Su: 2.25 mile walk
• M: Summer Sanders workout DVD
• T: Pre-natal Yoga
• W: 2.25 mile walk

Goals for this Week :

• Th: Off
• F: 1 mile walk
• S: 2.5 mile walk
• Su: 2-3 mile walk
• M: 2 mile walk and/or workout DVD
• T: Pre-natal Yoga
• W: 2 mile walk and/or workout DVD

How far along are you:

How big is the baby: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn’t much more than an average rutabaga, but she’s beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she’ll start to look more and more like a newborn. She’s also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you’d now be able to discern its color and texture. (source)

Baby’s Gender: We don’t know but I think it’s a boy but I had my second baby dream and in it we had a girl (first one was a girl too) – for those of you who have babies did you dream about the babies sex? Did it end up being the same as in your dream?

Baby’s Name: We have decided on a boys name and have narrowed the girls names down to two and have decided on a middle name if it is a girl.

Weight Gained: 17 lbs and feeling huge. Correction I went to my midwife appointment Thursday and I’ve only gained 15lbs! However I am consistently measuring large (about a week ahead) which is why I probably feel huge.  We have a big one on the way. Did you know? I weighed 8lbs 3oz at birth and Neil was 9lbs 6oz

Clothes:  No new clothes. Our weather went from 80′s last week to 30′s this week so I am back in my winter maternity. I know that I am going to have to get a few more pieces before this pregnancy is over though.

How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good, my energy levels are a little all over the place but otherwise good.

What do you miss: I still miss running.  I also am really missing wearing non-maternity clothes.

Symptoms: Heartburn!

Cravings: No strong cravings this week but I am still on a spicy food kick.

How are you sleeping: This week I actually have been sleeping pretty well, there has been a little tossing and turning and bathroom breaks but otherwise good.

Workouts: This week I didn’t get as many workouts in as I had hopped but I did get a few walks in, an at home prenatal fitness sesh and I went to prenatal yoga.

Baby Grooves & Moves: I have been feeling the baby move for weeks now but I am really anxious to have Neil really feel the baby.  Sometimes he does but it’s still hard for him to totally tell and lately whenever I call him over to feel the movements the baby stops- such a tease! Yesterday morning however Neil finally got to SEE the baby move.  Yes you read that correctly he saw my belly jump as the baby kicked and moved- such a wonderful experience. Sometimes I just sit and watch my belly waiting to see little movements and lately these little movements are getting bigger and bigger.

Sacred Pregnancy by Anni Daulter

*Catching up? You can read my re-cap of weeks 1-14 over here.

This week I was going to write about weeks 15-24 however my post on Sacred Pregnancy just went live over on NAB Communities WELLNESS and I would love to have you head over there and read my thoughts on the book as well as some pregnancy reflections of mine.  Next week I will reflect on weeks 15-25 and we’ll take a look at what’s in store for week 26.

Sacred Pregnancy Week 25: Love

This week’s focus:

- Showing your body love- get a massage, put your feet up and relax, practice your kegel exercises

- Write a love letter to yourself this week! Encourage yourself to work
through any places where you feel stuck this week!

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato and Spinach Pesto

Serves 6 (or 4 really hungry people)

Ingredients:

• 6 servings of your favorite pasta cooked & reserve some pasta water
• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 3-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water until soft & roughly chopped
• 3 cups loosely packed baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/3-1/2 cup olive oil

Place the walnuts, garlic, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and process for 30 seconds. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and process for 30 more seconds. Add the baby spinach and nutritional yeast, process for 30 seconds.  Slowly add the olive oil through feed tube and process until fully combined. Pour the pesto into a large bowl and top with the hot pasta. Toss the pastas with the pesto adding one tablespoon of pasta water at a time to loosen up the sauce as needed.

Lunch: Since I ate my lunch for breakfast I ended up having apple slices topped with a drizzle of almond butter and a sprinkling of Doug’s Nuts <–these things are so good. I also had a some Terra Chips which are not featured.

Dinner: Both Neil and I were super hungry come dinner time after a busy day and workouts so I made us each a big bowl of sun-dried tomato and spinach pesto with walnuts.  It was AMAZING, we were both tempted to stuff ourselves silly and eat our lunch portions but we resisted.  (recipe coming tomorrow)

Dessert: Instead of over indulging in pasta I had a decaf English Breakfast Tea Latte with unsweetened almond milk and a few Dr. Lucy’s Gingersnap Cookies.

What did you eat Wednesday? 

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Sesame-Ginger Tempeh

The marinade in this recipe works well for seitan, portobello mushrooms, and tofu as well.  Also take a look at step four of the directions, you will find three different ways to cook up your tempeh. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 16oz tempeh, cut into 4 wedges
• ¾ cup water
• Marinade:
• ¼ cup tamari
• ¼ cup sesame oil
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons grated ginger
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 teaspoons sriracha or ¼-1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional, add if you like a little spice)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 scallions, whites and greens, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Place tempeh and water in a saute pan medium heat and cover and cook for 7-10minutes.
2. While the tempeh is cooking mix together the marinade in a large shallow bowl.
3. Remove the tempeh and place in the marinade, making sure to coat all sides. Let marinade for 30 minutes.
4. Pan Fry: Coat the bottom of a skillet with a thin layer of oil over medium heat.  Place the tempeh in the hot oil and saute on each side for 3-5 minutes. Bake: Preheat your oven to 375F. Place the tempeh and any remaining marinade in an oven proof dish and bake for 15-20 minutes. Grill: Heat your grill and make sure to lightly oil the grates. Place the tempeh on the grill and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side.
5. Garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and scallions.

This week I have decided to shift things around a bit and introduce to you the Monday Meal Plan. Don’t worry though, Recipe of The Week hasn’t gone anywhere,  you can find it now on it’s new day every Tuesday!

• Monday: Ginger-Sesame Veggie Stir Fry with Tofu and brown rice
  
• Tuesday: Black Bean Burgers with Avocado, Lime and Chili Ketchup and Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
  
• Wednesday: OUT- Post Midwife Appointment Date Night at American Flatbread (our tradition)
  
• Thursday: Spiced Lentil and Veggie Soup with homemade bread
  
• Friday: Spinach and Walnut Pesto Pasta
  
• Saturday: Butternut Squash and Tofu Ricotta on Homemade Pizza Dough
  
• Sunday: Leftovers

*My shopping list only includes the ingredients that I do not have at home already to make the recipes above and snacks for the week.

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Promptly following his successful race we headed to Magnolia Bistro where we sipped super spicy delicious vegan bloody mary’s (virgin for me)…

And brunched- I ordered a bunch of my favorite sides- SO GOOD!

Following brunch we headed to Michael’s to pick up a few necessary art supplies to complete our nursery art work.

Then it was over to Healthy Living Market where I spotted their electric car charging station and we picked up a few ingredients for meals this weekend.

The remainder of the weekend was spent doing laundry and lounging on the couch with this guy:

We did however manage to peel ourselves off the couch on Sunday and got out for a 2.25 mile walk.

What did you do this weekend?

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