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!!

Building our Home

Stopped by to see the progress on the house today. Although from first glance it didn't seem like a ton of stuff had been done, all the electrical is done, drywall has been delivered and all the windows. They are working on the back retaining wall too! Stephen's brother Chris was there with us this time, so we were actually able to get a picture together! This picture is us standing in sort of the dining room - looking towards where the kitchen will be. Chris is standing in what will be the living room :)

Our little place coming together - 32 weeks!!

Beautiful Baby Shower

This past weekend my friends and family all joined to celebrate Stephen & I and our little nugget! It was an absolutely gorgeous shower. My mom did an insane amount of work to get the house ready, make gorgeous decorations, and make it a day I will never forget. A special thank you to my friend Alyssa who helped with the preparations and Doreen who got us a very cute cake for the shower!

Here are a few pictures from the day. I really was overwhelmed with the love that everyone showed us. There were several times during the day I had to step back and just think how incredibly blessed Stephen and I are to have such loving friends and family.

Sign in table - including the AMAZING homemade diaper giraffes my mom made!!

Shower favors :)

Can't wait to read all the fun notes everyone left when we are changing diapers.

Cute cake!

So many blessings!

Of course you need a man zone for the men to congregate

Baby girls first proposal - Mason made a "Future Mrs. Lewis"
onesie... complete with a ring pop!

My amazing husband!

Beautiful, loving and generous mama!

Sisters!!!!

Peggy & Kyle <3

Mama and Pops!

Wonderful friend Alyssa

The Hubby's Lettuce Burgers

These were SO delicious! Just look at the spread Stephen had for our burger night! Of course, no buns required (or allowed) so we used butter lettuce to wrap these babies up. The sauteed jalapeno and mushrooms were an amazing addition. Not to mention the side dish of BBQ broccoli and asparagus.

Ground beef or turkey

1 lb bacon (1/2 for crumbled inside burgers, 1/2 for stacking on top)

mushrooms, sauteed with garlic and clarified butter

red onions

tomatoes

salsa

sauteed jalapenos

butter lettuce

mustard

avocado

Babymoon!

With our insanely busy schedules, I am so so happy Stephen and I were able to sneak away for a little babymoon! We decided to keep it close and easy. We went to Monterey! We stayed at the historic Spindrift Inn on Cannery Row and visited Pacific Grove, Carmel, Big Sur, of course Monterey, and enjoyed some delicious food! Stephen and I were both a little bummed to come back to reality.

17 Mile Drive through Pebble Beach

17 Mile Drive through Pebble Beach

Gorgeous spot at the McWay Waterfall Trail at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in Big Sur

Baby Log: Weeks 21-28

I am a couple weeks late posting this one (since I will be 32 weeks this weekend- eeekkk!)

Food cravings: nothing special. An amazing glass of red wine would be nice though.

Food Aversions: Still no zucchini... sauteed veggies in general sound kind of yucky.

What I am feeling: Great. Some minor back and neck pain, but nothing too bad. Helps having an amazing husband who is always willing to give me a massage, and parents who cook us dinner all the time and provide a beautiful home for us to stay in while we are building ours, for those things, I am so grateful!

Baby Movement: I will never forget the day or moment. At 3:30 pm on Wednesday, May 21. I KNOW I felt the baby kick (or punch) for the very first time. Up until that point, there were feelings, that might have been movements I suppose, or gas, who knows. But this one was a definite kick. Amazing how powerful a little 13 ounce baby girl can be! It was right at my belly button and it was like I could feel the outline of the foot as it kicked me. It quiet literally made me jump out of my chair at work!

The tech had warned me that I might not feel her move a little later than most because she is nice and cozy up very high in my uterus. So I was just patiently waiting. What an amazing feeling it was, it immediately made me burst into tears :)

After that, about a week later she decided she never wanted to stop moving. She kicked and punched randomly all day, but every single night between 8-9:30 pm she was the most active. Hope she knows my bedtime is 8 pm! I can't tell you the joy it brings me when I would be laying in bed and I would feel a kick and Stephen would jump over to feel her move. It is really special that he can now share in those moments with me now.

A few times during these weeks, I could also feel her whole body as she spun around. What started with a kick, then felt like her whole back then a hand. She even kicked and punched in two separate spots at the same time. I love her so much already!

On June 18 after lunch I am pretty sure I felt her little hiccups for the first time. I could be wrong, but pretty sure that is what it was! It felt like a very rhythmic heartbeat for about 2 minutes.. then stopped.. then started again for about 1 minute. Definitely felt different than a kick. I loved it!

Next Steps: More doctor's appointments to check progress, a babymoon coming up and just enjoy this journey!!

Paleo Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Everyone had been asking for a Paleo Chocolate Zucchini bread on the challenge, so I finally got over the fear of zucchini I have had for the past almost 8 months and made it :) I found the recipe on PaleOMG.com and I doubled the recipe... thank goodness, if I didn't it would have been a pretty tiny loaf! The bread was delicious... moist, extremely chocolaty and pretty much guilt free I thought! Definitely recommend!! Also- for those of you with picky kiddos - you don't see any green in this bread, as far as I am concerned you can tell them it is chocolate bread ;) Next time I make this bread, I am going to experiment a little - add some banana, walnuts and probably coconut!!

2 medium zucchinis (3 cups) shredded and drained well

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups peanut butter or almond butter (I use PB, next time will try AB, can also use sunbutter)

2/3 cup raw honey

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup coconut flour

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg (optional but I love it so I added it)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

  

Directions:

• Shred and drain the zucchini well. You want it to be pretty dry.
• Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until fully incorporated
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes if you are doing one large loaf like I did. You want a tooth pick to come out pretty clean but not too dry - want to keep that bread moist.
• Let cool and serve!!