19 Weeks

Wow! I can't believe it's been 4 weeks since my last update. I am almost halfway and I am so excited about that. I know there are women out there that love being pregnant. But I am not one of them. It seems like everything is so much harder when I'm pregnant. Everything from eating, to working out, and even sleeping is harder for me when I'm pregnant. I know it will be worth it in the end though.

There has been so much happening this last month, so I guess that is why I haven't done an update for a while. I will try to do better with it though. I am trying really hard to eat better. The doctor recommended it, but I know it's important for both me and the baby to be healthier. I've also started working out more often. I have four different videos that I rotate with walking on nice days. I'm also wearing my FitBit again and I'm trying to make sure that I get plenty of steps in every day. Although some days, this is easier than others.

How far along: 19 weeks

Percentage Complete: 47.5%

Baby is as Big as: A mango or an heirloom tomato

Maternity Clothes: Absolutely!

Sleep: Still not sleeping very well. I’m so thirsty in the evenings and nighttime, so I’m drinking a ton of water and that makes me get up a few times during the night.

Best Moment This/Last Month: TC getting to feel the baby kicking.

Movement: Yes...a lot. Actually felt some kicks from the outside this past week, too.

Food Cravings: None out of the ordinary.

Gender: Still not known.

Wedding ring on/off: On

What I am looking forward to: My Dr’s appt next week.

Days until my next appointment: 10

So long for today...

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf Muffins

I hope you're all having a great weekend! It's a little cool here, but so far, the weather is beautiful. It's a three day weekend for me this weekend and I certainly enjoyed my extra day! It's nice just to relax and get back to our regular routine after the holidays. I'm trying to be more active and eat better, too. So far, so good. I'm really hoping to continue, too. We have gotten all of the holiday treats out of the house, so I don't have them around tempting me. Sometimes I have pretty good willpower, but not so much around the holidays.

Since I'm trying to eat better, I have been trying to find some new recipes to try. My go-to website for WW-friendly recipes is Emily Bites. Since she just had her best of 2012 post up the other day, I decided to try one of the winners. Last night, we had the Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf Muffins. Yes, another "muffin" recipe. I've said before that I love how everything is portion controlled when you do the muffins. These actually came together pretty quickly and easily and were baking in no time. While they were in the oven, I went ahead and cooked up some spaghetti and extra sauce. I hope you enjoy them! Here's the recipe...

CHICKEN PARMESAN MEATLOAF MUFFINS
adapted from Emily Bites
Servings: 6
Points+: 7

1 ½ lbs raw ground chicken breast
1 large egg
1 egg whites
6 T dried breadcrumbs
¾ t dried basil
¾ t dried thyme
¾ t oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ a small onion, chopped small or grated
¾ t salt
1/3 t black pepper
¾ cup Parmesan cheese
¾ cup pasta sauce
¾ cup 2% reduced fat shredded Mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, egg, egg whites, breadcrumbs, basil, thyme, oregano, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese and lightly mix together. Do not overmix the meat.

Form the meat mixture evenly into the 12 cups of your prepared muffin tin. Spread the pasta sauce evenly over the tops of each muffin. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from the oven. Top each muffin with about a tablespoon of shredded cheese and then return to the oven for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted.

I served ours with some spaghetti on the side. A complete meal in no time!

EXERCISE:
I have actually worked out two nights in a row now. Since I'm pregnant, it's definitely not the intensity that I was doing before, but it's still burning some calories. Every little bit helps, right? Last night, I did Biggest Loser's Last Chance workout. I had to modify it a good bit, and also pause it a couple of times to let my heartrate come down to where it needed to be, but it was a really good workout. Definitely had a pretty good calorie burn!! I hope to go for a walk today to enjoy the day, too.

So long for today...

WIAW # 13

Look at this blogger! Posting two days in a row! Ok, if you look at the dates, it was the same day, but the time difference in my mind makes it 2 days. It's two different e-mails at least.

I am so proud that I actually remembered to take a picture of (almost) everything that I ate today. After the last few days, I really needed a day where my eating was under control. I did pretty good up until dinner. Hopefully, since I didn't eat all of my dinner, I didn't do too, too much damage...I don't have any regrets about my eating over the holidays, but it's definitely time to buckle down and keep the gain slow over the next few months. So without furter ado, here is another What I Ate Wednesday:

Breakfast:

1 egg plus one egg white, two pieces of Whitewheat toast with spray butter and lower sugar jelly.

Snack:

I had some FF yogurt with blueberries and cinnamon. So yummy!

Snack:

Later in the morning, I also had some light string cheese with a clementine.

Lunch:

Lunch was a tossed salad with light dressing, some light Chicken Noodle soup and some Quaker Popped Chips. These were a new discovery and something I will definitely be buying more of to keep on hand. So good!

After lunch, I needed something sweet, so I had some partially thawed cherries

and half of a Luna Bar

Snack:

My afternoon snack was a light Greek yogurt with an apple.

Dinner:
We have some cousins visiting from Virginia. Since this is their last night here, we all decided to go to dinner. We all met up at Olive Garden and I had the Tour di Mari. We ended up being hurried when we got there and so hungry by the time the food finally came out, so I forgot to take a picture. So much for my perfect streak!

So there it is, my first WIAW of the new year. Tell me, what did your eating look like today?

So long for today...

Baked Eggnog Doughnuts

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. Once again, I'm so sorry that I've been MIA for a while. But I have a few ideas churning in my head about how to fix that. I promise to try to be a better blogger for you. Maybe not a daily poster like I used to be, but hopefully a few times a week to give you some new recipes and keep you updated on what is going on.

My holidays were great. I hope yours were, too. Mine were full of family, friends and way too much food. But it's the new year, so of course that means a resolution to eat better and exercise more, right? I even hid my scale last night and don't plan to take it out until my official weigh-in day on Tuesday. I'm hoping I can counteract any damage that I did by then.

This is a recipe that I made for the first time last year and loved. When I had some eggnog that needed used up, I knew exactly what to make. I love doughnuts and don't make them enough. It's so fun to be able to use my doughnut pans! You obviously don't have to use red and green sprinkles/sugar. Use whatever you have on hand. Here's the recipe:

Baked Eggnog Doughnuts
adapted from Prevention RD
Servings: 16
Points+: 3

Donuts:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 large egg, at room temperature
3/4 cup low-fat eggnog, at room temperature
1/4 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 Tbsp low-fat eggnog
sprinkles to garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the egg, eggnog and yogurt and stir until well combined.

Fill each donut well about 1/2 full. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the donuts spring back when lightly pressed. Transfer donuts to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before glazing.

To make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and eggnog in a wide, shallow bowl until smooth. Dip the donuts into the glaze then garnish with sprinkles (if using) while it’s wet. Allow the glaze to set before serving. Store the donuts in an airtight container. Yield: 1 1/2 dozen donuts.

EXERCISE:
So last night, I did get in a workout. I have a Prenatal workout DVD called Long & Lean. It has 3 parts. The first is a standing pilates workout. The second is a mat pilates workout and the final segment is some stretching. I usually do either the first or second part along with the stretching segment. Last night was the standing floor work with the stretching. I think it definitely helped me to get to sleep after a busy few days!

So long for today...

Blogging Day of Silence

Source: http://fitview.blogspot.com

15 Weeks

My first pregnancy update...I'm 15 weeks into my pregnancy! Sometimes, it seems like time is flying, but other times, it seems like it's crawling. But I know we will get there. Slowly but surely, we will make it to 40 weeks. I'm feeling pretty good these days. Sometimes, I still have moments that I don't feel great, but I'm usually able to get through them without a big deal. I will be so glad when I feel great 100% of the time! Oh wait, will that ever happen?!

I actually got a couple of workouts in last week. I did two different pre-natal workouts. One was a toning workout and the other wast a pilates video. It felt so great to be moving again. I wanted to get out for a run on Sunday, too. But ended up making 4 batches of fudge instead! Ha! I did exercise my resistence muscle by not eating all of the fudge though! That's still an accomplishment, right?

So I thought it might be fun to do an update on a few different things for the rest of the pregnancy. I've seen a few different ones of these and thought I would put one together, too. Here's what I came up with:

How far along: 15 weeks

Percentage Complete: 37.5%

Baby is as Big as: An avocado or a large apple

Maternity Clothes: Yes, for about a week now…so much more comfortable!

Sleep: Not sleeping very well. I’m so thirsty in the evenings and nighttime, so I’m drinking a ton of water and that makes me get up a few times during the night.

Best Moment This/Last Month: Had our 12 week ultrasound and got some pictures of the little bean.

Movement: Yes, for a couple of weeks now, just here and there though. No kicks yet.

Food Cravings: None really…But clementines are making a daily appearance in my diet.

Gender: Unknown until sometime in January

Wedding ring on/off: On

What I am looking forward to: My Dr’s appt next week.

Days until my next appointment: 11

So long for today...

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Happy Tuesday everyone!! I'm so happy to be getting some energy back, but still not back to my old self. I haven't been posting recipes lately because I honestly haven't been cooking anything that is blogworthy. We have been having very simple meals that don't require a lot of prep or time to cook. Hamburger Helper has become a weekly staple in our house. Over the weekend, we did have grilled ribeyes to celebrate TC's birthday and we had grilled hamburgers last night, but nothing exciting that you all don't already know how to make. We've been having ALOT of red meat lately since I have been having an aversion to most chicken, although that is starting to subside, too. But tonight will be another red meat night as we had tacos for dinner.

I made the taco seasoning for on it though and I wanted to share it with you. I've told you before that I hate to make a lot of processed foods, (Let's not discuss the last few months, ok?) And this is one place where I can make my own seasoning. Not only is it non-processed, but it's also so much cheaper to make your own. What I usually do is make a big batch of it and keep it in an airtight container. Then when I need some, I just measure out 3 T. and sprinkle it over my meat. Pretty simple, right? Here's the recipe:

HOMEMADE TACO SEASONING
Source: Gimme Some Oven
Servings: 4
Points+: 0

1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes - I didn't use
1 tsp. flour - optional

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Makes 3 tablespoons of seasoning mix, which is equal in strength to a 1/4 ounce package of commercial seasoning mix.

EXERCISE:
What's that?! Ha! No seriously, my exercise has been completely non-existent the last couple of months, but I really hope to change that very soon. Since it's been so long, I know I need to ease back into it. I have some Walk Away the Pounds videos that I plan to do as well as a couple of pre-natal videos that I will be doing. As soon as I have something to report, you will be the first to know!

So long for today...