Spaghetti Squash

Craving spaghetti, but not the carbs? Solution... spaghetti squash tastes similar to pasta and you can sauce it however you want. Cut your squash in half, remove the seeds, baste with olive oil, and S&P.
I roast mine on a sheet tray at 450 degrees for around 30-40 minutes. Scrape the inside of the squash with a fork into a bowl and voila!

I added a little more pepper, olive oil, and some parmesan cheese! YUMMO!

2 Bedroom House

When we bought our first home we were not thinking long term. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE our house, but its only two bedrooms. We bought it before we got married and kids were not even on the radar yet. Well...the time has come. Little did we know this was going to be our babies room : )

I guess this would be considered the Before Before picture. I don't want to lose a guest bedroom because when family and friends come to stay it will be an air matress or Motel 6 ha! I know they don't mind though. We do have a loft area, but I don't think its logical to use it as a nursery since there are no doors. Someday we'll be in a house with more than two bedrooms for kids and guests.

Here is the bedroom as it looks now....
I'm really looking forward to putting the nursery together. My parents are coming down next month to stay for a weekend. I think after that visit, we'll start working on it. The paint is a powder blue and we don't plan to repaint. Regardless of the sex it will be gender nuetral, but I do plan to incorporate girl/boy accent colors. Stay tuned!!!

Consignment Store Finds

Well its official. None of my pre-pregnancy pants fit anymore and the majority of my shirts don't fit either. I don't want to spend a ton of money on maternity clothes because I feel like my body is changing constantly and I'm not sure what is going to fit from one month to the next. Recently I started checking consignment stores and look at these finds!!!

These Gap jeggings were $8.50

This shirt was $8.00

I found both of these at Once Upon a Child. They have racks and racks of baby clothes too- so I'll be checking everything out once we know the gender. Why spend tons of money on clothes they will wear for like 5 minutes right!?

I found this necklace at another consignment store near our house. How cute is this??? For real it was $3.99. I think its really old, but I like that. I feel like a lot of the older jewelry is coming back.

Anyway...the next time you drive by a resale or consignment store, stop in. You never know what you will find!

I'll be stopping by a few times a month to check for maternity clothes : )

Pregnancy Smoothie

My goal is to eat healthy in general, but since I've been pregnant, I've been really focused on eating foods that pack a nutritional punch. I want our baby to get the best of the best. Of course every now and then he or she is going to get some Chick-Fil-A. No one is perfect ;)
Tonight I made what I'm calling a pregnancy smoothie. You can use whatever fruits/veggies you would like, but here is what I used.

Vanilla Almond Milk
Raw Agave
Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt
Blueberries
Strawberries
Banana (not pictured-whoops)
Spinach
A Few Ice Cubes
My Trusty Magic Bullet

I didn't measure anything out....I literally crammed as much of the ingredients as I could into the blender cup. I know spinach seems strange, but trust me you can't even taste it. Try and squeeze a cup or so into your smoothie. Spinach is loaded with vitamin A, C, and E, iron, calcium, folic acid, and protein.

I'm going to try and drink one everyday. If you don't have a Magic Bullet...get one! I use it all the time for smoothies, homemade salad dressings, salsa, etc...

Please don't be turned off by its strange color. I know it looks not so good. Ignore the appearance because it is delicious and you body will love you for it.

Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto

Another night of Oh She Glows! Tonight I made the Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto and paired it with whole wheat pasta.

Ok for starters...look at these beauties!!! Use fresh from the garden if you have the option. Grocery store tomatoes are not up to par. They are the main ingredient in this dish, so they need to shine.

Roast at 400 for one hour. Totally worth the wait. Trust me.

Ingredients:

9 large roma tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup almonds, toasted
2 garlic cloves
1 cup tightly packed basil + more for garnish
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + more for drizzling on tomatoes
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional) – I did not use this lol
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Your desired amount of cooked Pasta

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Place sliced tomatoes on the sheet and drizzle with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 1 hour and 10 mins at 400F. Watch closely during the last 15 minutes of roasting.
2. Reduce oven heat to 325F and toast almonds for 8-10 minutes. Or you can just toast them on the stove. I did, and it save time. Add 1/3 cup into food processor and process until finely chopped. I left mine a bit chunky for texture. Remove and set aside.
3. With processor turned on, add 2 garlic cloves and let it whirl around until finely chopped. Now add in the basil and process until finely chopped.
4. Add in the oil, optional nutritional yeast, and 1.5 cups of roasted tomatoes (you will have tomatoes left over). I however, processed all of them because I’m weird about certain textures and I didn’t want soggy tomatoes in my pasta! Process until smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Back Bean and Butternut Squash Burritos

This is a vegetarian and vegan recipe. I'm not either of these things, but my friend Stacy introduced me to Oh She Glows http://ohsheglows.com/ I love to eat healthy and this site has some great ways to incorporate some of my favorite healthy foods.We have road tested many of the recipes and they are delicious!!! Tonight I tried the black bean and butternut squash burritos. I LOVE butternut squash, but I always roast it and eat it as a side. It can get pretty boring. This recipe makes the squash part of the main course and who knew it fit the Mexican flavor profile so well.

Here's the recipe- courtesy of Angela Liddon.
If you have a second, click on this link http://ohsheglows.com/about/ and read Angela's story. It is pretty inspiring.

Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cubed, & roasted
1/2 cup uncooked short grain brown rice (yields: 1.5 cups cooked)
1 cup chopped sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
One 15-oz can black beans (about 1.5-2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
3/4 cup Daiya cheese
4 tortilla wraps (large or x-large)- I used whole wheat
Toppings of choice: (avocado, salsa, vegan sour cream, spinach/lettuce, cilantro, etc)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a large glass dish or roasting pan with tinfoil. Drizzle olive oil on squash and give a shake of salt and pepper. Coat with hands. Roast chopped butternut squash for 45 mins or until tender.
2. Cook brown rice according to package directions
3. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add oil, onion, and minced garlic. Sautee for about 5 mins, stirring frequently. Now add salt and seasonings and stir well.
4. Add chopped red pepper, black beans, and cooked rice and sauté for another 10 mins on low.
5. When squash is tender remove from oven and cool slightly. Add 1.5 cups (I added all of it) of the cooked butternut squash to the skillet and stir well. You can mash the squash with a fork if some pieces are too large. Add Daiya cheese and heat another couple minutes.
6. Add bean filling to tortilla along with desired toppings. Wrap and serve.

Notes:

I did not use Daiya cheese. I ended up using a Mexican blend.
I filled my burrito with avocado, tomato, and added a dollop of Daisy and salsa.

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Crib!

The mattress for the crib arrived in the mail today! We ended up choosing the Colgate Classica Foam

http://www.amazon.com/Colgate-Classica-Foam-Mattress-White/dp/B000BV9Q80/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341530346&sr=8-1&keywords=colgate+classica+1+foam+crib+mattress

I spent countless hours researching mattresses. There are a ton of options, hundreds of reviews, and annoying websites that make you feel like a bad mom if you don't spend $400 for a crib mattress. I was not about to spend that much for a mattress. Luckily I found this great website that gives you the top rated mattresses by category. Our price range was more mid-range so I was thrillled to find this top rated mattress for $150. The Colgate Classica is top rated among all crib mattresses tested by the Nation's best consumer product magazines, and its made in America! Here is the website if anyone is interested http://www.bestcovery.com/best-crib-mattress
This website is great because it gives you information about the product, pricing, and Amazon reviews. I don't know about you, but I read product reviews ALL the time on Amazon, even if I'm not purchasing the item from their site.

The crib and the rest of the furniture is on its way and we are really excited to start working on the nursery.

Here are some pictures of the furniture we chose. The dresser is DaVinci- Piedmont Changer and the Crib is Billy by Nurseryworks. Its the Twinkle 3 in 1. It will eventually convert to a toddler bed.
I realize they don't match perfectly, but I wanted to stay away from being too matchy matchy. Plus the changer option they reccomended with the crib was just plain ugly! We also have a glider and plan to choose some cube shelving for against the wall.

Coconut Chicken & Warm Honey Vinaigrette Salad

I'm trying to introduce more protein into my diet. I'm not sure why, but since I've been pregnant...I just don't want meat. Unless its deli of course because I CAN NOT have it, lol. Chicken is usually my go to choice, but it gets boring really fast!

I found this recipe on Eat Yourself Skinny, which I believe she got from Gina's Skinny Recipes. I made it for dinner tonight and it was really good! Feel free to add a little extra panko and coconut if you want to bread more than 5 tenderloins. I always like to have leftovers for lunch the next day.

I totally forgot to take a photo because I was so hungry and excited...I inhaled it. Whoops.

Ingredients:
6 (about 12 oz.) chicken tenderloins
6 Tbsp. shredded coconut
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. crushed Cornflake crumbs- I omitted this
1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites
Pinch of salt
Olive oil spray
6 cups mixed baby greens
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1 small cucumber, sliced
I added: Tomatoes and a few slices of red onion

Dressing
1 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. white vinegar (or balsamic)
2 tsp. dijon mustard

Directions:
Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine coconut flakes, panko bread crumbs, Cornflake crumbs and salt in a bowl. Put egg whites or egg beaters in another bowl.

Lightly season chicken with salt. Dip the chicken in the egg, then in the coconut crumb mixture. Place chicken on a cookie sheet lined with foil for easy cleanup. Lightly spray with olive oil spray and bake for 30 minutes turning halfway (15 minutes each side) or until chicken is cooked through.

Place 2 cups baby greens on each plate. Divide carrots and cucumber evenly between each plate. When chicken is ready, slide on the diagonal and place on top of greens. Heat dressing in the microwave a few seconds and divide equally between each salad; a little over a tbsp each.

Strawberry Honey Oatmeal Bars

Strawberry Honey Oatmeal Bars-

Courtesy of Pastry Affair
Yields 1 8x8-inch pan

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup strawberry jam
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8-inch pan.
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg and honey, mixing until blended. Stir in the oats, flours, baking soda, and salt. Batter will be slightly sticky. Using floured hands, press 3/4 of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread strawberry jam evenly over the top. Crumble the remaining 1/4 of the batter on top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly in pan before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

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