20 Weeks

20 weeks along! Halfway there! Sometimes it seems like time is flying, but then others, not so much! Me being me, I like to think that I am actually over halfway. Addison came just over 38 weeks and my Dr. and I have already talked about when she would consider inducing me, which would be at less than 40 weeks. So in my mind, I've over halfway. I'll take it any way I can! Ha!

This past week has really been great. I ate very well and got some exercise in almost every day. I'm feeling really good about going to my Dr's appt on Wednesday and I'm hoping she will see how hard I worked these last 4 weeks to have be healthier than I was in the months past. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it goes!

How far along: 20 weeks

Percentage Complete: 50% - HALFWAY!!

Baby is as Big as: A large banana (This week, we switched from the "crown-to-rump" measurements to the "crown-to-toes" measurements.

Maternity Clothes: You betcha!

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 good bit during the night.

Best Moment This/Last Month: Still feeling the kicks from the outside and Addison thinking/saying that she can feel it, too. I'm doubtful on this, but you never know!

Movement: Still kicking away like crazy!

Food Cravings: None out of the ordinary. - But I am able to eat chicken again.

Gender: Still not known.

Wedding ring on/off: On

What I am looking forward to: My Dr’s appt this week - TC and my mom are both coming along for this one. Can't wait!

Days until my next appointment: ONLY 2...but who's counting?!?!?!

So long for today...

WIAW #14

Happy hump day! So glad today is over. Only two more days left. It seems like the closer I get to maternity leave, the longer it takes my weeks to go. I'm dreading April and May!! I live for the weekends! It's supposed to warm up for this weekend, so we're planning to go camping. Nothing fancy, just a local spot we like to go. I had to take Pounce to the vet today...that's never a pleasant experience. But we both survived and he spent the rest of the evening recovering.

I was able to snap some pics of all of the foods that I ate today. I've built up some great momentum the last few days with my eating and exercising and I've very pleased. I hope my dr. will be just as pleased next week. I also hope that I can keep up the momentum! So here are the eats from this week's WIAW:

Breakfast was my usual egg and egg white with 2 pieces of Whitewheat toast. One piece had low sugar jelly:

My first morning snack was some FF vanilla yogurt and blueberries:

My second morning snack was some light string cheese and some strawberries:

Lunch was some homemade chicken salad (I promise to share the recipe some day) on a mini pita with some Special K Cracker Chips and some cantaloupe:

My afternoon snack consisted of some light Greek yogurt and an apple:

Dinner was a new recipe of Crockpot Jambalaya (Recipe coming soon):

Dessert was a bowl of Strawberry Yogurt Burst Cheerios and milk:

EXERCISE:
Tonight I did the Standing Work portion of my pre-natal pilates video. Always helps me to sleep better.

I really hope to keep up the motivation and momentum that I've found. I have a candle party that I am going to on Saturday that I'm a little worried about overindulging. But we'll have to see how that goes.

So long for today...

Slow Cooker Balsamic Roast Beef

Hey there! Hope your week is going well. It's another long one for me. 5 whole days of work. But it's supposed to warm up for the next few days. Hopefully, I will get a chance to get out and get some walking done outside. Also helps to get some Vitamin D from the Sun!!

I tried another Emily Bites recipe over the weekend. Actually, I tried a couple of them, but let me tell you about this roast. It was absolutely delicious. It made the house smell incredible all day. My mouth was definitely watering by the time dinner time came. Then when I tasted it, oh my gosh! So good! It was so easy to throw together and defintely didn't disappoint when it came time to try it. Here's the recipe:

SLOW COOKER BALSAMIC ROAST BEEF
adapted from Emily Bites
Servings: 8
Points+: 6

3 lb round raw, boneless round beef roast, lean and trimmed of visible fat
1 cup beef broth
¼ cup Balsamic vinegar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
1 T honey
½ t crushed red pepper flakes (I didn't use)
4 cloves garlic, minced

Place the meat in the slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the meat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours.

After cooked, break it apart using a fork (the meat should fall apart easily). Ladle about ¼ - ½ cup of juice over the roast beef when you serve it.

EXERCISE:
Last night, I did the Floor Work portion of my Long & Lean Prenatal video. This was only the second time that I've done this. I thought I remembered it being pretty easy, but apparently I remembered wrong! Ha! It felt good to challenge my muscles and I plan to keep this one in the rotation more often!

So long for today...

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...