Pregnancy Power Food

Just had to get a snap shot of the dinner we had tonight - sooo yummy!! Steak, sautéed asparagus and mushrooms with garlic and a delicious spinach salad with homemade honey Dijon vinaigrette!

Baby Log: Weeks 29 - 37

The final countdown... I am only 3 weeks away from meeting our beautiful baby girl and Stephen and I both couldn't be more thrilled. Hospital bag is packed, birth plan (eh a few little notes not really a plan) is ready, list of people to contact for Stephen, car seat is installed, we are ready to go!!

Food cravings: As always, toast and chocolate cake... darn those carbs!  Wine... is it acceptable to bring a bottle with me in my hospital bag?

Food Aversions: Still no zucchini...unless in the form of chocolate zucchini bread :) I am really hoping this goes away. Now the thought of it doesn't disgust me anymore... I did eat one piece when my dad made kabobs over Labor Day weekend, but that was about all I could muster.

What I am feeling: So much better than I ever imagined. I am more and more tired as the weeks go on, but I am still able to CrossFit a couple times a week and I am trying to keep walking here and there! I actually did go on an amazing hike on August 31. We hiked Avila Ridge, which is a pretty darn good hike. Never thought I would be able to do it at 36 weeks!

Looking down from Avila Ridge!

I am also constantly overwhelmed with thankfulness. Sometimes I sit back and wonder what Stephen and I did to be so incredibly blessed. We are surrounded by some of the most amazing family and friends we could ever ask for, and I am so looking forward for each and every one of them to meet our precious little girl. From the 2 amazing baby showers we were thrown, to the special cake and goodies at one of my "last" coalition meetings for work, to the insane number of homemade quilts and blankets we were given - we truly have been blessed by God to be surrounded by amazing people. Bring on the tears... they seem to flow extremely easily these days :)

Baby Movement: She is a little dancing machine! Always moving. Below are a few videos I got of her in action- they are pretty quick because she would always stop when I actually had the camera ready to go.

On August 18, Stephen really got to feel her in action before we went to bed. Sometimes I wonder what the heck is going on in there. I told him that her day consisted of "A marathon, 5 rounds of hiccups, kick boxing lessons, 1 more round of hiccups, a kettlebell swing seminar, and jazzercise" - this girl is SO active and I love every second of it. The moments she isn't moving, all I want her to do is give me a good jolt!

Video on July 28, 2014 at 9:09 pm

Baby Hiccups on August 25, 2014 at 10:43 am

Baby Roll on Sept 5, 2014 at 2:30 pm (Last day before maternity leave!)

Next Steps: I am now officially on maternity leave- nuts! I am really fortunate to get a pretty good maternity leave - off until mid January then part time until mid-March. It helps when I have tons of vacation and sick time saved up! I must say, this is the first time since I was 15 that I didn't have to worry about waking up for work - I am not sure what I think about it. Hopefully this little girl comes pretty close to her due date to give me some much needed time off before sleep as I know it is no more!

I am now also in my weekly doctors appointment phase! 

Baby Girl Pics from September 4

The beginning of our weekly doctors appointments! We had our last ultrasound before meeting our little girl face to face!!

Her little face!! The white circle near the right is her nose, darker areas next to it are her eyes
she is frowning :) 

Her little hands- giving "knuckles" already!

Belly is officially out of control!!!

It's official...

I have found a new cup holder :) I also must say, Red Dirt Coffee House is by far my favorite coffeehouse. Coffee and drinks are amazing with a Hawaiian flare you won't get anywhere else. Delicious food, and they start making my coffee when they see me walk in. I <3 them!

Sausage & Veggie Brown Rice Pasta

This dish turned out excellent. The broth was delicious, veggie mix was perfect, it was incredibly easy! I will definitely be making it again! My mom got the sausage from a local grocery store and it was fresh, I think that is what made all the difference in this dish, so if you have it available, get fresh sausage!! If you are looking for a similar recipe to this, I made a different Hot Italian Sausage dish back in January, it was also delicious and a bit of a change up from the below recipe.

1 pound spicy Italian sausage

1 pound mild Italian sausage (can do all spicy if you want)

2 -3 cups cut green beans

1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped small

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons minced dehydrated onions

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 pint mushrooms, chopped

Brown Rice Pasta

Baby spinach

Chopped mozzarella cheese (optional)

Directions:

• Remove Italian sausage from casing and brown in a large pan.
• Add diced tomatoes, mushrooms, chicken stock, green beans, Swiss chard and seasonings and cook for about 15 - 20 minutes to let all the flavors incorporate and to let the Swiss chard cook down and green beans get softer.
• Cook pasta according to directions.
• Layer some pasta in a bowl, then cover with about a 1/4 cup of fresh baby spinach. Then cover with the sauce!
• You can also top with a few small chunks of mozzarella cheese, however if you are doing paleo, that is of course a no-no. 



Maternity Pictures!!

So in love with all of these photos! A HUGE thank you to Weston Neuschafer Photography for doing an amazing job, as always!!

Paleo Zucchini Banana Bread

Well the food challenge is over, but my family wants to keep going to some extent! My mom really wanted to make another zucchini bread so we had some healthy snack we could go to. However, we wanted to try a different one than the last time because although the guys loved it, my mom and I both thought it was a little too chocolatey :)  We got this recipe from a friend at the gym and make some of our own modifications/changes/additions. Here is the recipe we came up with and this yielded 2 loaves.

2 1/2 cups almond meal

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda 

4 eggs

4 tablespoons coconut oil

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cup zucchini, grated

1 banana, mushed 

1 1/2 cups pecans (my moms idea and DEFINITELY a must!)

Directions: 

• Grate zucchini over a paper towel so that some of the liquid is soaked up
• Put dry ingredients (meal, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts) in a bowl and stir
• Put all the wet ingredients in a blender, including the zucchini and banana, and pulse for about 10 seconds. 
• Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix thoroughly
• Put in a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 45-50 minutes until the bread is firm to the touch in the middle. 
• Enjoy!!