{Pregnancy Update} 22 Weeks

3 Comments

How far along are you: 22 Weeks

How big is the baby: At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he’s even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. (source)

 

Baby’s Gender: Still a secret.  We had our anatomical ultrasound last week and we didn’t find out and honestly for the past few days Neil and I have been kicking ourselves for not finding out.  Oh well! I did have my first gender specific dream and we had a girl!

Any guesses?

Baby’s Name: Status is still the same- 5 boy names and 5 girls.

Weight Gained: No scale so I haven’t weighed myself this week.

Clothes:  I finally bought myself new and much bigger bras, my chest has never thanked me so much. I also picked up a new tank top and two new dresses.  I have maternity pants that I like but if I don’t wash them after every wear they don’t stay up.

How are you feeling: I’m feeling good, no complaints!

What do you miss: Running. Sprouts. Wearing normal clothes.

Symptoms: Occasional heart burn. Minor swelling in my hands…I think I will be taking my wedding rings off in the next few weeks.

Cravings: Fresh Veggies and Fruit. Lots of berries.

How are you sleeping: This week I have been sleeping pretty well.  I think it’s the bigger bed and not having to get up for work.

Workouts: I have been on top of my workouts this week! Lots of walks and I did an at home mini-yoga session as well.  I will blog about the details in tomorrows Fitness Friday post.

Next Midwife Appointment:  March 28th.

Babymoon: We are currently on our pre-baby getaway.  It’s not exactly a babymoon as we are staying with my parents but we have been having a great time and have been able to have a few days to ourself- last Saturday in Boston and yesterday we went to Charleston.

WIAW: Vacation Eats

3 Comments

I’ve decided to try something new on the blog this week and if I and you are digging it will (try) to keep up with it. 

This week we are on vacation but luckily this doesn’t mean we have been eating out all week because we are staying at a condo in North Myrtle Beach with my parents.  This has made our lives so much easier and I love having a place to cook all or at least most of our meals.

Breakfast: Berries, English Muffin, Hash Browns, Veggie-Pesto Tofu Scramble

Beverage: Decaf Coffee

Lunch Part 1: Salad with cranberries, almonds and apple

Lunch Part 2: Veggie and Polenta Lasagna

Snack: a million Salt and Pepper Pistachios

Beverage: Ginger Lemon Peel Herbal Water

Dinner: Guacamole, Tomato Bruschetta, Pesto Spinach-Artichoke Dip, Baked Garlic Fries and crackers, bread and tortillas.

Not Pictured: 2 oreos, 8 sour patch kids and a decaf vanilla black tea and lots of glasses of water.

ACD Friendly Recipe Guest Post by Ricki Heller

1 Comment

Ricki Heller, the creator of Diet, Dessert and Dogs, is an educator, writer, cookbook author, natural nutritionist and lover of all things canine. She studied natural nutrition at The Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and is currently a college teacher who works as a part-time cooking class instructor/chef and a part-time freelance writer.

I have asked Ricki to contribute a guest post on Candida Related Complex aka Candida, a condition that arises when someone has an overgrowth of yeast (usually candida albicans) in the body. Ricki has been sharing her personal struggle on her blog since March 2009 and today on my health coaching blog she is giving you the opportunity to learn more about candida, the effects it has on the body and what you can do about it.  She also has included a anti-candida (ACD) friendly recipe, which I have included below, for you to try and trust me her recipes are a must try, she is an amazing chef (source).

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Recipe: Cinnamon-Walnut Loaf

Here’s an ACD-friendly bread recipe that’s perfect for breakfast or brunch.  For a savory loaf (from which you can make sandwiches), omit the nuts and use only 4-10 drops of liquid stevia. 

1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp (25 ml) whole psyllium husks

1 tsp (5 ml) apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp (15 ml) pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsp (30 ml) smooth natural almond butter or tahini (sesame paste)

enough unsweetened plain or vanilla soy or almond milk to make 1-1/2 cups/360 ml (see instructions)

1/3 cup (55 g) teff flour

1/2 cup (55 g) amaranth or quinoa flour

1/4 cup (60 ml) potato starch

1-1/2 tsp (7.5 ml) baking powder

1/4 tsp (1 ml) baking soda

1/4 tsp (1 ml) fine sea salt

1 Tbsp (15 ml) cinnamon

1/4 tsp (1 ml) pure stevia powder or liquid, to your taste

1/3 cup (40 g) lightly toasted walnut pieces or chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease a regular loaf pan, or line with parchment paper.

Place the psyllium husks, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and almond butter in a glass measuring cup.  Add enough milk to reach the 1-1/2 cup (360 ml) mark.  Using a small whisk or fork, whisk everything together until the almond butter is well dissolved in the liquid and no lumps remain.  Set aside while you measure the dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, sift together all remaining ingredients except for the walnuts.  Whisk well to distribute all the ingredients evenly.  Add the walnuts.

Whisk the liquid again to ensure that it’s smooth and everything is incorporated, then pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and stir just to combine (do not overmix!).  Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 65-75 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through, until the bread is well browned on the bottom and sides, and the top springs back when touched lightly (there will be a fairly thick crust by this time, but it should still spring back).  A knife inserted in the center should come out moist but clean.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan allow to cool completely before slicing.  The bread is very moist on the first day and dries a bit by the second.  Store, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator up to 3 days, or freeze for later.  Makes one medium loaf, or 8-10 slices.

Thank you Ricki for this wonderful recipe and her informative guest post over on my health coaching blog! If you would like to learn more about Ricki head over to her blog Diet, Dessert and Dogs and check out her amazing recipes.  I was a tester for her Desserts Without Compromise book and it includes so many amazing recipes perfect for those looking for ACD friendly recipes and for those who just love desserts. 

Up, Up and Away!

3 Comments

Hello from Logan Airport! Hubz and I are currently awaiting our flight to Raleigh to meet my parents and head to Myrtle Beach (where I hear it is currently pouring). Until our flight we are hanging out, enjoying the free wi-fi and “enjoying” an airport breakfast of Starbucks oatmeal, OJ (for me), coffee (for him) and a fruit cup (to share).

REWIND!

Lets rewind a bit to Friday….

Friday afternoon started our Babymoon journey to Myrtle Beach by way of Boston, but first we had to stop into our midwife office for our mid-pregnancy ultrasound and appointment. We have a very active baby growing inside me and it took forever for the tech to get all the shots she needed but she finally got all the necessary shots and even caught a side profile for us. We did not catch a glimpse of the goods so we still have no idea what we are having. Well I mean we know it’s either a boy or a girl …we hope anyways. After our appointment we headed to Boston where we first stopped to have flatbread (our post appointment tradition) at Flatbread Company in Somerville. We ordered the vegan flatbread and it was good but we both agreed American Flatbread in Vermont is so much better. After dinner we checked into the Westin Copley Place where we passed out pretty quickly.

Saturday morning started off as it always does when we travel to Boston with bagels and lattes at our favorite spot- Espresso Royale on Newbury Street. We both ordered our favorite whole wheat everything bagels with veggie tofu spread and tomatoes (and sprouts for husband <--I miss sprouts so much!) and a decaf latte for me and an americano for him. We were so hungry that the bagels were gone before I could take a photo but I did shoot a quick pic of my beautiful and amazing latte.

After breakfast we took a walk around Newbury Street and the Prudential Center (actually that’s what we spent most of the day doing) and eventually we ended up at OMBE Boston for our massages. It felt wonderful to get a massage and just relax.

After our massage we strolled down Newbury Street and then stopped into my favorite college spot The Otherside Cafe where we shared a pot of tea and a big bowl of fruit with raw chocolate mousse.

After a little more shopping and strolling we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Estragon Tapas Bar where I actually purchased a Living Social deal for a few weeks back. I started with a virgin pineapple mojito which was amazing and for my second drink I asked the waiter if he could have the bartender make another virgin cocktail and he came back with this amazing ginger brew concoction that had caradmom, cinnamon, salt and one other thing I can’t remember.

The restaurant was dimly lit so I didn’t take any photos of the food but everything was so delicious! They have the vegetarian and vegan options labeled right on the menu which makes things so much easier. They have an amazing waitstaff, our water glasses were always full and our waiter attentive, friendly and knowledgeable.

We were tempted to go with the vegetarian paella but decided to try a variety of tapas, we had:

  • Garbanzos Fritos (VG) crispy paprika chickpeas
  • Puerros Con Romesco (VG) grilled leeks, romesco
  • Patatas Bravas (VG) feisty fried potatoes
  • Espinacas A La Catalana (VG) sauteed spinach, pine nuts, golden raisins
  • Pimientos Shishito (VG) blistered shishito peppers, sea salt
  • Esparragos Verdes (VG) Grilled Green Asparagus, Lemon Oil, Sea Salt

We really enjoyed all of the dishes but our favorites were the spinach and the leeks. I actually wasn’t really interested in the spinach but Neil insisted that we order it and I am so glad we did because it was AMAZING. I would really recommend trying this restaurant if you visit Boston.

RWT Has Been Nominated!

1 Comment

What a nice surprise to see my blog nominated for “Best Healthy Cooking Blog” on apartment therapy’s 2012 ‘the homies’ awards! The list is long and filled with tons of wonderful blogs, I feel so lucky to be e included among them. You can vote for my blog here until March 2nd at 11:59PM EST , if you’d like. I would love your support. And thank you to whoever nominated me!

{Fitness Friday} Recommitting To My Workouts

1 Comment

It has been months since I last wrote a Fitness Friday (FF) post and I think that it is time to recommit. Part of the reason I stopped writing these post as based on the survey I gave a few months back, where many people didn’t want to hear about my pregnancy.  Since then I realized that this blog is for me and I can write what I want, anyways to make a long story short I stopped writing FF posts because frankly for the next 19 or so weeks fitness and pregnancy will be going hand-in-hand.

I have honestly have been lacking motivation and although I am setting goals for myself I haven’t been either a) achieving them or b) I’ve been doing them half-assed. I think getting back to weekly posts will help to hold me accountable for my goals and I have some big ones (aka Disney Wine and Dine Half which I already have a deferred registration to- more on this another day).

Okay so lets jump back in!

Workouts Last Week 2/23-3/1 (my workout weeks start on Thursday):

  • 1.5 hour pre-natal yoga class
  • 2.25 mile walk

My goal was to do at least 2 walks, 1 yoga class and 1 workout DVD, so last week was overall not a success.

Goals for this week 3/2-8:

  • Th: Pre-natal yoga
  • F: OFF
  • S: 2.5+ walk
  • Su: 2 mile walk
  • M: 2 mile walk and/or workout DVD
  • T: 2 mile walk and/or workout DVD
  • W: 2 mile walk and/or workout DVD

This week I bumped up the walks since we will be on vacation and in a warmer (snow free) climate.  I am hoping that the weather holds out for us though because right now there is a lot of rain predicted.  Just incase this happens I am brining my two pre-natal workout dvd’s with me.

What are you doing to stay fit this week? How do you keep yourself motivated?

Have you ever had to recommit yourself to your workouts? If yes, any tips?

{Pregnancy Update} 21 Weeks

5 Comments

How far along are you: 21 Weeks

How big is the baby: Baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot (source)

Baby’s Gender: Still a secret.  We actually go for our anatomical ultrasound tomorrow and I had a moment of weakness and told the husband I wanted to know but he convinced me it will be more fun to wait, so wait we will.

 

Baby’s Name: Status is still the same- 5 boy names and 5 girls. I actually haven’t even thought about names in weeks.

Weight Gained: Not sure. 11-14lbs, maybe?

Clothes:  Clothes are doing fine.  I actually just went through my closet (again) because we are headed south on vacation and I needed some non-winter clothes to wear.  I have a few non-maternity items that still fit so I only ended up picking up a two new tops.

How are you feeling: I’m feeling good. My hips are still sore after a nights sleep and I hear stretching before bed really helps so that is on my “to incorporate” list and we’ll see how it goes.

What do you miss: Running. Staying up later. Sleeping in past 4 or 5am.

Symptoms: Heart Burn. Pregnancy Acne <–this is annoying as well as this –> Pregnancy “glow” aka blotchy skin (not as glamourous as it sounds)

Cravings: Fresh Veggies and Fruit.

How are you sleeping: This week has been pretty bad.  Neil has been working crazy hours and so he is so over tired that when he finally comes to bed he a) wakes me up because pregnancy has made me a light sleeper and b) he is a mouth breather and it is at it’s worst when he is over tired.  I have ended up getting up and sleeping on the couch at times because his mouth breathing was driving me crazy.  Last night he was able to go to bed at a decent hour and I think we both slept better even though I still woke up at 4am.

Workouts: I really slacked this week.  I had one nice long walk with Neil and I went to pre-natal yoga (which I will do a separate post on soon), but otherwise that is it.  I have no excuses.  I was lazy this week and spent more time on the couch than I should have.  My workout week starts on Thursday so today I will be heading to pre-natal yoga and then next week I am planning on doing a lot of long walks, it will be so nice to not have to dodge ice on my walks! My goal is to do at least 2 long walks, 1 pre-natal yoga class or at home session and 1 of my pregnancy workout DVD’s (more on these another day) each week.

Next Midwife Appointment:  Tomorrow! We have our ultrasound and then midwife appointment and then we are off on vacation!

Babymoon: We are headed on our babymoon(ish) trip starting tomorrow.  We are off to Boston first where we are treating ourselves to Saturday afternoon massages.  Sunday we fly out to NC where my parents will pick us up and we will be heading to their condo in Myrtle Beach for the week.  It will be so nice to get away! I have been checking the weather everyday (anxious much?) and it looks like what was looking like a nice sunny vacation at the beginning of this week has turned into rain, booo! Oh well, at least we are getting away!