38 WEEK FOOD DUMP!

After traveling Monday through Thursday for nearly 3 months , Josh is finally back to working from home as we await the arrival of Jordan. ONLY 2 MORE WEEKS!!! To say I am ready is an understatement! Physically, I feel great! And things are still pretty easy. But, I'm ready to hold my sweet girl; and to see my ankle bones again!!  I have had what I like to call "perma-cankles" for the last 2 weeks. Some days they are smaller than others, but I can't figure out what keeps the swelling down. Some days working out decreases the swelling and other days it puffs them up like balloons. So I guess I'll just keep on keeping on!

Now that Josh is home I have been trying to cook dinner at least 4 nights a week. I figure while the house is still quite and my energy level is high, I'll enjoy some time in the kitchen.

Here are 2 of my favorites from last week. I found them on cookinglight.com under the heading "Eating Healthy on a Budget" This is a GREAT place to find wonderful recipes to feed the  family for very little money!


GREEK STYLE PORK CHOPS

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 (4 oz) boneless center-cut loin pork chops
3/4 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp fresh dill
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups diced plum tomatoes
1 /2 cup diced seeded cucumber
1/2 cup diced red onion
cooking spray

Preparation:

1. In a large Ziploc bag combine 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, oregano, 1 tsp olive oil, and garlic. Add pork chops to bag and marinate for 20 minutes turning bag over after 10 minutes.

2. Combine remaining vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, dill, and 1/8 tsp salt in a small bowl, stir well with a whisk. Cover and chill until pork is ready to serve.

3. Combine tomatoes, onion, and cucumber, sprinkle with 1/8 tsp salt and set aside until ready to serve.

4. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove pork from marinade bag and sprinkle each piece with remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Add pork to the pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until desired doneness is reached.

5. On each of four plates place 3/4 cup of tomato mixture and top with 1 pork chop and a dollop of  yogurt mixture.

*** I chose to bake my pork chops on 350 for about 20 minutes rather than using a grill pan.  I served this dish with a side of pita bread and hummus.

MUSHROOM AND SAUSAGE RAGU WITH POLENTA
**I forgot to buy polenta on my shopping trip so I used grits instead and it was wonderful

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
8 oz hot turkey Italian Sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced ( I used baby bellas instead)
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt, divided
1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, un-drained
2 1/2 cup no salt added, fat-free chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked polenta (or in my case grits)
4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 Tbsp butter

1. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Remove sausage from casings and add to pan, sauté for 3-5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain fat and remove sausage from the pan.

2. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat, add onion, sauté 3 minutes. Add mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sausage, 1/8 tsp salt, and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium; simmer gently for 15 minutes.

3.While sausage mixture is simmering, bring broth and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add polenta (or grits) stirring well. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened. Stir in remaining salt, cream cheese, and butter. Serve with sausage mixture.

HAPPY HEALTHY EATING!

Someone has been soaking up all the attention he can get before his little sister arrives.

 

Booty Burning

The trainer at my gym asked me to take some photos of myself in a bathing suit this past weekend for before, during, and after photos of my pregnancy; talk about getting out of my comfort zone!!! I have never been hesitant to put on a two piece until now. However, rather than looking at those photos with embarrassment and shame, I actually looked at them and thought "not so bad, at least I can still fit my rear into it!" Not to mention I now have even more motivation to continue hitting the gym until I go into labor.

I'm sure all of you ladies out there, pregnant or not, are starting your crash dieting and amping up your workout routines to get ready for summer. Looking for some new exercises to shape your thighs and get that round, firm booty to fill out your new bikini? Try these squat variations!


Squats are great way to tone your thighs, hips, glutes, and hamstrings. Add 3 sets of 15 reps to your leg workout each week and you'll have a toned tushy  in no time!


Regular Squat:

Stand with feet shoulder width apart, chest up, lower back slightly arched, and butt out. Squat down until your hamstrings are parallel to the ground, if possible,  and rise back up to starting position. You can increase the difficulty by holding a weight plate or bar with weight plates on each side.

If you are sporting a belly like me you may need to put your feet farther than hip width apart to get low enough in your squat.

Side lunge Squats:
These target your glutes as well as your adductor muscles, or inner thighs

Start standing feet together, toes facing forward. Step your right leg out to the side, lunging with your right leg. Your left leg strays straight. Return to standing position and step and lunge sideways with your left leg. Left and right count as 1 rep. Maintain the same position as if doing a regular squat: chest up, butt out and knees over ankle.

To increase difficulty hold a dumbbell in each hand.





Squat with leg lift:

Perform a regular squat, however, when coming back up to starting position lift one leg parallel to the floor, keeping your turn forward. This will work your abductor muscles, or outer thighs.

Don't wait until you are fully standing to kick your leg to the side, you should be lifting it as you are rising from the squat.

I did these three exercises along with: hamstring curls, quad extensions, lunges and the adductor/abductor machine and my rear and legs were feeling the burn!!!

LUNCH MEAT MADE EASY!

Store bought lunch meat is full of chemicals, dyes, and preservatives, not to mention it's extremely expensive!!

Here's a quick and easy way to make homemade deli meat! All you need is a pack of boneless skinless chicken breast and your favorite marinade or dry rub!

Marinade or rub your meat down with you favorite ingredients, bake in the oven at 350 for 35-40 minutes and thinly slice your meat with a knife or mandolin as they would in the deli!

PRESTO! Cheaper, more natural, and flavored to your own liking, lunch meat.

"Oh The Places She Will Go!"

This past weekend my girlfriends from high school threw a baby shower for our sweet little Jordan. I have been friends with this amazing group of girls for 13 years now! We have shared thousands of laughs together, shed many tears together, held each others hands through dozens of break ups, and cheered each other on from the sidelines during every major event. We all went in different directions during college, but we never strayed too far from each other. Now, in our late 20's, we are watching each other walk down the aisle to say " I do", and more recently, experiencing the wonderful world of children. Between the 10 of us, we now have 3 little girl additions to our group; Jordan will be the 4th.

Circa 2004

Throwing it down for 311

Wedding days!

I think it's rare to find TRUE everlasting friendship like the 10 of us found in each other. We are so lucky to have each other and I can only hope that our sweet little girls find the same forever friendships that we have found. You know those postcards of the old ladies on the beach drinking their cosmos and laughing like there is no tomorrow? We will have our own postcard like that 40 years from now!

Here's our postcard from the beach circa 2005

And a glimpse at Baby J's BEAUTIFUL shower

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” ~Dr Seuss

Onsises, bibs, and burp clothes made with love

To Jordan:

  In the words of the wonderful Dr.  Seuss:

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” 

WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE ALL THE PLACES YOU WILL GO!

The Final Countdown!

As the end of my pregnancy creeps closer, there seems to be fewer and fewer hours in the day! Between work, weekly doctors' appointments, house cleaning, and last minute touches on the nursery, my free time is very limited these days. I can't remember the last time I put my workout routine at the bottom of my priority list, however, I admit that this week I have. After day 3 of not getting to the gym, I had to resort to bringing my workout to work. I frequently walk 2 miles during my lunch break, but my body and my brain were craving some strength training yesterday, so I brought my dumbells and resistance bands to work and got a full shoulder and back workout in during my lunch break!

Remember, it doesn't matter if you have 30 minutes, or 60 minutes, any workout is better than no workout at all. It may not have been one of the hardest workouts I've ever completed, but it got my heart rate up and my shoulders burning!

Here is a link with some great resistance band exercises that can be completed with one piece of equipment and very little space!

http://www.band-exercises.net/exercises/shoulders/




RECIPE OF THE WEEK.....

BAKED CRAB CAKES WITH CHEESEY JALAPENO GRITS





CRAB CAKES:

Ingredients:
1/3 cup prechopped red bell pepper

2 tablespoons lowfat mayonnaise ( you can substitute Greek yogurt!)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt                

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 green onions, chopped

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 1/3 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided

1 pound lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed ( I used canned lump crab meat)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided       

Dijon Sauce

2 tablespoons lowfat mayonnaise ( or Greek yogurt)

2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream                               

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Preparation:

  

1. Combine first 7 ingredients. Add 1/3 cup panko and crab; toss gently. Divide crab mixture into 8 equal portions; shape each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Place remaining panko in a shallow dish. Gently dredge patties in panko.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add 4 crab cakes to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and crab cakes.

3. Combine 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and remaining ingredients; serve with crab cakes.       

**The recipe doesn't call for baking, however, after pan searing I baked mine in the oven on 350 for about 15 minutes to make sure they were nice and warm on the inside.      

 CHEESEY JALAPENO GRITS

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño chili

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

1 cup 1% milk

1 cup quick-cooking grits

1 1/2 cups grated hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese (about 6 ounces)

Preparation:

1. Combine chicken broth and milk in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Bring broth down to medium heat and slowly add grits. Stir frequently until grits are fully cooked.

2. While grits are cooking, melt butter in a medium sauce and add peppers, jalapeno and garlic. Sauté until peppers are soft (about 5-6 minutes).

3. Add cheese and pepper mix to the cooked girts.

 HAPPY FRIDAY!

"WAKE UP WITH DETERMINATION, GO TO GET WITH SATISFACTION"- ANONYMOUS

GET YOUR WOKROUT IN TODAY!!!