2nd Trimester Meals & Snacks

For my first 16 weeks of this pregnancy I felt so bad that I pretty much ate whatever, whenever. Anything that sounded appealing I would eat, and I ate pretty much all the time to try to keep the nausea away. Now I will caveat that I'm normally a pretty heathy eater, so even eating terribly isn't too bad for me, but I had gotten used to a ton of pretty empty calories (think toast, cereal, etc.) and lots of sweets. But about halfway through 2nd trimester something hit me and I realized I had like 20 more weeks of this pregnancy and could not keep gaining 2-3 lbs a week!

So, I kicked my butt into gear and started doing short pilates sessions every morning, as well as going for at least a 30 minute walk every day.

But I also really revved-up what I was eating. And it totally helped.

Here's what a "normal" day of meals looks like for me right now:

Breakfast
Always the same: 1 egg, usually pan-fried in a little butter, often with a sprinkle of shredded cheese & sometimes with some ripped up spinach. Add a piece of buttered sourdough toast & a cup of tea and this is basically the same breakfast I've been eating every day since forever. Lately we've been trying to eat more veggies so I've been adding either chopped up bell pepper & onion or mushrooms & onions to the pan before the egg. Every now and then I'll add a side piece of bacon or turkey bacon. Taylor usually eats the same as me, except he does 2 eggs and no toast. The kids usually get the same as me, just cut up (though for them I alternate days where they get oatmeal/raisins/peanut butter). I'm super particular about my sourdough bread. I only ever get it from one very specific bakery!!

Morning snack(s)
I've learned that I need at least 1 but sometimes 2 snacks at work between breakfast and lunch. I eat breakfast about 530am and lunch usually around noon so it's basically a snack every 3 hours or so.

Lately I've been cooking up a big batch of steel cut oats on the weekend & portioning into containers for my first mid-morning snack. I add a sprinkle of cinnamon & tsp (or two) of brown sugar, and a bit of milk (sometimes some blueberries too), and it's been delish! I don't think I've ever particularly craved steel cut oats before but right now I'm loving them. If I need a second snack before lunch my go-to is a Fage yogurt cup. I've been opting for the full-fat version, always strawberry, and each of them has 11g of protein! Other options for a second snack: a handful of an almonds & craisins mix (I pretty much keep with me all the time in my purse!), or a banana and some peanut butter.

Lunch
Totally depends on the day if I have something going on at work, but over the past few weeks Taylor and I have been perfecting salads. We do a mix of spinach, arugula, and kale as a base and then top with some combination of: cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, sprouts, slivered almonds, black beans (usually just for Taylor), goat or feta cheese (usually just for me) & grilled chicken. Taylor tops his salads with a squeeze of lemon & I opt for just a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. These salads have been SO good and so filling! I usually pair my salad with some fruit, which lately has been raspberries & blackberries, a bag of grapes, or an apple.

Afternoon snack(s)
These vary depending on the day but generally I pack 2-3 of the following and eat them throughout the afternoon at work or on the way home:
-Baby carrots & a small container of hummus
-Celery stalks paired with some peanut butter
-Bag of grapes
-Apple
-More almonds/craisins!

Dinner
This has probably been the most challenging meal area for us. Taylor has been following Tim Ferriss' "slow carb" eating plan for a while now so I usually try to make meals that fit into that. It's pretty clean eating so generally pretty healthy, which works well for both of us! It's usually some kind of protein and lots of veggies (usually two since I'm trading the veggie for a carb). No dairy/cheese/carbs can be challenging when I'm feeding the kids so they sometimes get a slightly different meal than we have, but usually I try to only cook 1 meal a night so often I just modify what we're having for them (and then give them a side of fruit, or cheese, or avocado or something like that).

Here are a few new recipes we've tried recently that we really liked:
-Chicken zucchini poppers (w/ a side of guacamole & some green beans) - the kids loved these, and we did too!
-Cauliflower Rice Taco Bowls (w/ all the usual veggie-friendly taco toppings: lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado) - the kids liked this too and I gave them the freedom to choose their own toppings so they ended up with just cheese, avocado, and greek yogurt (aka our "sour cream") on top.
-Chicken & Asparagus Lemon Stir-Fry (everyone liked this! I separated out the asparagus for the kids so they had chicken, a few pieces of asparagus (not loved), and then fruit)
-Edamame Fried Rice (I even added tofu for a little extra protein and everyone loved this!)

These are some of our regular go-tos:
-Turkey Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
-Green Onion Salmon
-Meatloaf w/ sweet potato fries & green beans

And this week we're trying these new recipes:
-Steak Taco Lettuce Wraps (w/ Mexi-Cauli Rice)
-Veggie, Ham and Cheese Bake (I just left out the cheese on half of it for Taylor)

Dessert
We are not regular dessert people. Don't get me wrong, I love me some sweet treats, but in general we don't regularly have "dessert" after dinner. The kids sometimes get a bowl of fruit if they finish their meals, but just as often I give them fruit with their meals so I wouldn't say they expect any kind of dessert. In general we treat sweets as "treats" and our rule (mainly for our sanity) is that the kiddos don't get treats during the week, but on the weekend we are okay with one a day (usually depending on what we're doing like a birthday party, or cookie decorating, or something like that).

However, one of my absolute favorite mom-treats is to sit down in the evenings with a piece of (good) chocolate & a small glass of milk and relax for a second after the kids are in bed (or sometimes after dinner while we're watching TV). This has been my splurgy treat forever and usually I don't do this every night but especially during pregnancy I let myself more often (especially when Taylor is having a glass of wine!!). Taylor knows my love of good chocolate bars well and keeps me well stocked :) He got me a set of these a while back and they are hands down my favorite chocolate EVER. I can make a chocolate bar last for quite a long time and so I always have a few good options in the fridge....aaaand I may or may not have an entire shelf in the door of the fridge with my chocolate stash. Oh one last thing: these macaroons are absolutely delish & a current pregnancy favorite!

On The Menu: Sesame Crunch Bars

I love sesame seeds. Sesame bagels are my absolutely favorite.

When I came across a recipe for Sesame Crunch Bars, I knew I had to try it.

Here's the recipe:

Sesame Crunch Bars

Ingredients:

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup honey

1 tsp salt

3 cups sesame seeds

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped cashews

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350.

Mix peanut butter, honey, and salt. Add the rest of the ingredients. 

Press flat into an oiled baking dish (13x9).

Tip: Use wax paper to press down to prevent it from sticking to your fingers!

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cut into bars.

Be warned - this recipe makes a TON of crunch bars! Definitely half the recipe - unless you want to eat crunch bars for a month!

I opted to use 1 cup of black sesame seeds and 2 cups of regular seeds. I think I was feeling too "foodie" at Central Market when we were shopping. The black seeds added an interesting color, but I think they also have a more intense flavor. One thing is for sure: they get stuck in your teeth pretty badly.

It was really pretty all mixed together.

At the last minute I couldn't help but chop up some chocolate chips and add them on top - the peanut butter flavor was just begging for some chocolate.

As much as I do love chocolate, I'd probably leave it out next time. It made the bars messy. Sigh.

So in summary: no black sesame seeds and no chocolate - just follow the recipe! That's so hard for me sometimes.

The mixture turned a pretty gold color in the over...you'd be able to see it more if I hadn't added black sesame seeds or chocolate!

These pretties found a place in the snacks category of our meal plan this week. Yum!

Recipe from these two lovely ladies!

On The Menu: Carrot {Juicer} Muffins

Our juicer has been getting a workout lately! Taylor has been juicing up a storm & we've tried a plethora of juice recipes. My favorite juices tend to be "morning" juices - lots of carrots, apples, and oranges (and not very much celery, cucumber, or kale!).

One very common byproduct of juicing so often: leftover pulp! You can apparently do many things with leftover juice pulp: fertilize a garden, add it to a compost pile, feed chickens, etc. Since we live in a very small condo, in the middle of a city, without a backyard, we typically end up just throwing out the pulp anytime we juice.

Anyway, after a few weeks of throwing away veggie remains, I got the idea to search for a muffin recipe where I could actually use some of the pulp instead of throwing it away every time. Behold: carrot muffins!

I found the recipe on Pinterest here but made a few modifications. Here's my version of the recipe:

Carrot Muffins

(Typically makes about 18 muffins)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

Pinch of chia seeds

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

3-5 cups of "shredded veggies"

(ie carrot pulp or apple pulp or anything you want to put into your muffins)

1/2 cup pecans (or any other nuts you have on hand: almonds, pistachios, etc.)

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable

2 teaspoons vanilla

A sprinkle of oats for decorating

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F and prep your muffin tin.

(Use pretty muffin cups so you smile every time you see one of the muffins)

Into a large bowl mix together flour, baking soda, flax, chia, cinnamon, and salt and whisk in sugar. 

Coarsely chop the nuts. 

Add carrot pulp and nuts to flour mixture and toss well.

In another bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and vanilla. 

Add add to flour mixture, stirring until batter is just combined well.

Divide batter among muffin cups, filling them three fourths full.

Sprinkle on some oats as garnish.

Bake until puffed, 15 to 20 minutes.

The muffins are dense, filling, and healthy (at least I'd like to believe they are healthy!). I try to add in whatever I can to make them full of good ingredients - more nuts, dried fruit, etc. I want to try using apple sauce instead of so much sugar next time I make them. 

Typically I make a batch on the weekend and then we have them as breakfast or as a snack during the week (I consider 1 muffin a serving & we wouldn't have a muffin for breakfast and for a snack in the same day!).

In terms of storage, I put the entire batch into a gallon ziplock (after they've cooled) and keep them in the pantry for a few days and then move them to the fridge. We typically eat them in about 2 weeks - they were a little dry towards the end but still good!

My favorite way to have them for breakfast is to heat one up in the microwave for a few seconds, cut it into quarters, and then spread a little bit of peanut butter on each quarter. Yum!

Afternoon Snack: Chobani Bite

Can you tell I love yogurt?

It feels like every other day for the past two weeks I've been posting about yogurt. I can't help it - there have been so many new kinds at the grocery store lately - I'm loving it!

Today my afternoon snack was a Chobani Bite: coffee flavored Greek yogurt with chocolate chip bites. I love that this comes in small, 100 calorie sizes. One of my biggest irritations with yogurts are containers that are way too big - and who can really eat just half if you're at work? If I was at home, sure, I may put a half container back in the fridge for the next day, but at work, a place where I share a fridge with my entire floor (about 60 people!), that's impossible. Plus, there's something satisfying about finishing an entire container, ya know?

This yogurt "bite" came in a  4-pack - a perfect purchase for a week's worth of work snacks.

The consistency was awesome and the yogurt wasn't too sweet - overly sweet yogurt annoys me. Yogurt is supposed to be healthy, people!

I was a little skeptical about the chocolate chip bites - I feel like yogurt is supposed to be a healthy snack, not an excuse for chocolate - but they were actually really good. They were tiny pieces so it didn't feel like I was eating a handful of chocolate chips.

Overall, I'd totally buy this again. I think it's a great afternoon snack if you're craving something sweet. I saw a recipe the other day for frozen yogurt bites that I've been wanting to try - I think this yogurt would be perfect!

Afternoon snackin'

I tried this yogurt for the first time and I'm kind of on the fence about it. It's super healthy - all natural ingredients, no preservatives, etc. But it's almost too healthy. That being said, it was 200 calories for this little container, and I feel like that's just a little too much for a snack!

The coconut flavor wasn't quite as prominent as I would have liked, there weren't any yummy flakes of coconut, and the yogurt was a bit on the thick side. Think thick-enough-to-dip-apples-into thick. I'm used to a different consistency I guess! Overall I might buy it again, but I probably wouldn't have it as a snack at work - I could see having a cup for breakfast with some granola, or having just a half a cup with some apples instead! 

Afternoon Snack: EpicSeed Greek Yogurt + Chia

Afternoon snack: Epicseed peach greek yogurt + chia seeds

Afternoon Snack: Chobani Coconut Yogurt

Coconut yogurt, dark chocolate, and almonds. Need I say more?

On The Menu: Lemony Scones & Almond Beauty Bars

As you can probably tell, Taylor and I have been trying to eat very healthy lately. We're trying to incorporate as many fruits, veggies, and super foods into our diet as possible. We do generally eat pretty healthfully, but I feel like we've been kicking it up a notch lately! It's crazy how different you can feel based on the foods you consume.

Weekly meal planning helps us plan ahead and stay on track - plus, it makes me feel organized and confident that we're going to eat great (and healthy) things all week. It helps me to write out our meal plan somewhere - sometimes I use my phone and sometimes I literally write it out like I did this weekend. I'll post this week's meal plan later today!

This weekend I whipped up two new healthy recipes in preparation of the week ahead: Lemony Scones & Almond Beauty Bars. The scones are going to be breakfast for a few mornings, and the beauty bars are afternoon snacks. Both recipes are from Drew Parisi (a nutritionist - her website is here) and Robin Long (a Pilates instructor - her website is here).

I adapted the scone recipe a bit based on what I had on hand, but they turned out great! I swapped out 1/2 cup ground flax seeds for the 1/2 cup ground chia seeds, and then used 1/2 tsp chia seeds instead of the 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (what the heck is xanthan gum anyway!?). They were tasty and filling. I paired my breakfast scone with a hot mug of black tea - yum!

Lemony Scones

(Makes 6 servings)

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups almond flower

1/2 cup ground chia seeds

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xantham gum

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 egg

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

zest of 1 lemon

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, mix together dry ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.

Add wet ingredients into the food processor with dry ingredients and pulse until combined.

Form into a ball of dough and place onto the prepared baking sheet.

With slightly wet hands, press the dough into an even circle, about 1/2 inch thick.

Score the scone circle into 6 wedges. 

Bake 10 minutes, cut through wedges to separate.

Bake for 2-4 more minutes.

Almond Beauty Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds

1/3 cup pitted medjool dates

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbs cocoa powder

1 Tbs raw honey

Directions:

Place almonds in a food processor and process into a fine meal.

Add remaining ingredients and process into a dough-like texture.

Either roll dough 1/2 inch thick and cut into bars or simply roll into energy “balls”.

New favorite dessert. It seriously tastes like coconut ice cream!

New favorite dessert. It seriously tastes like coconut ice cream!

Trying a new snack this afternoon. I've never had chia seeds before!

Trying a new snack this afternoon. I've never had chia seeds before!

Carrot-Apple Muffins

Carrot-apple muffins (with oats, a little bit of flaxseed meal, and chopped pistachios)...yum!