Jordan's First Baby Shower

I need to say a HUGE thank you to three of the best friends a girl could ask for! My friend's Shelby, Steph and Beth put together the most adorable baby shower for Jordan.

A quick side note: This was the 3rd outfit I tried on and I was intending to change my pants a 4th time but couldn't bring myself to bend over again. Baby J is making it harder to dress! I see slip on shoes in my near future hehe.

Josh and I are decorating the nursery in Dr. Suess, therefore, it was only fitting that Jordan's shower be  the amee theme! We ate biggle balls and picked off of cheese trees. We munched on one fish and two fish, and enjoyed green eggs and ham.

There was so much thought and love expressed in each and every decoration. It had me smiling from ear to ear!

Jordan was given gift upon gift and we are so greatful!

We are patiently waiting for the day we can put her in this swing :)

It was a beautiful day filled with family, friends, and love. Jordan is so lucky to have all these wonderful people her life!

Now let's talk food for a moment.

To my pleasant surprise, my appetite has been somewhat small lately. I have been craving cold smoothies more than anything this past week, thus it only makes sense that I stock up on all my favorite smoothie ingredients this week!

Smoothies, if made properly can be a great way to get in a lot of important nutrients, and they can be whipped up in a flash!

My smoothie of choice this week has been a green smoothie. 

Ingredients:

- 6 oz  plain, non-fat Greek yogurt

- 1 cup  fresh spinach

- 1/4 cup frozen blueberries (or berry of your choice)

- 1/2 medium banana

-1/2 or 1 full scoop of vanilla protein powder

- 1 cup light soy milk

Method:
-Mix all ingredients in a blender with ice, pour, and enjoy!

This smoothie is packed with protein, iron, B-vitamins, and calcium! Don't like blueberries? Try strawberries. Want something a little sweeter, but still healthy? Try banana, yogurt, milk, chocolate protein powder, and a little peanut butter.

WE WERE SNOWED IN TODAY SO I COULDN'T MAKE IT TO THE GYM. THANK GOODNESS FOR Myyogaonline.com

The Good, The Bad, and The Yummy

I've lost a much needed companion this past week, and his name is Sleep! Jordan has been throwing quite a few dance parties lately and they all conveniently start right when I am trying to go to sleep. Between her stellar dance moves and my inability to find a comfortable position to lye, I am up nearly every hour. Looking on the bright side, I will be ready for night time feedings by the time she gets here!

In other news, I am very proud to announce that Josh and I will be welcoming our NEPHEW William James Haygood in June!!! Jordan is thrilled to have a little boy cousin and so is the rest of the family!

I am so proud of how well my sister has rocked her pregnancy! She's stayed  on track by eating healthy and working out regularly. She even started training for a half marathon that she is hoping she will be able to complete while she is 31 weeks pregnant!! Regardless of whether or not she makes it to the finish line, her daily determination is keeping her and my little nephew healthy as can be! Lesson to be learned ladies: maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine while pregnant doesn't just benefit the baby, it benefits yourself as well. Exercise and a proper diet are large contributors to your mood and energy levels.

                                                         

Josh is traveling for the next 8 weeks in a row which means I get make all the "weird" foods that he refuses to eat! My Nanny (that's my grandmother) and I took a trip to Trader Joe's a few weekends ago to stock up on some of our favorites; one of the items I bought was tofu. I don't cook it often, mainly because Josh won't eat it, but I do like it as an alternative to  meat every once in a while. This week I decided to make tofu nuggets. I've been recommending this recipe to my clients who have kids that refuse to eat meat. It's a good source of  protein and has the crunch of a chicken nugget. Pair it with BBQ sauce, ketchup or low-fat honey mustard, and you'll forget you are eating tofu!

TOFU NUGGETS - Combine with your favorite dipping sauce and a healthy vegetable and you have your self a delicious vegetarian meal!

Ingredients

-1 block firm or extra-firm tofu, pressed (by pressed they mean sweat as much water out of the tofu as you can. 

-1/3 cup soymilk ( I used regular milk because I was out of soy, regular milk works just as well)

-2 tbsp mustard ( I chose a low-fat honey mustard)

-1 tsp onion powder

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 tsp dried parsley (optional)

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp black pepper

-1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional) ( I did not use the yeast)

-3/4 cup bread crumbs ( I chose to use panko to get that extra crunch)                               

Preparation:

1. Cut tofu in 1/4 -1/2 in thick slices

2. Mix milk and all other ingredients except the bread crumbs in a wide bowl. Place bread crumbs in a separate bowl.

3. Coat each piece of tofu with the milk mixture and then coat in bread crumbs.

4. Place on a baking sheet and cook on 350 degrees for 25 minutes flipping tofu once.

* After I baked my nuggets,  I sprayed each piece lightly with PAM, turned the oven to broil, and let the nuggets broil for 2-3 minutes on each side to crisp up. 

**When reheating I suggest sticking them back in the oven rather than using the microwave to prevent them from getting soggy.

I boiled  fresh Brussels sprouts, sprinkled with a little Parmesan and used low-fat honey mustard as my dipping sauce

Tonight I'm fixing eggplant Parmesan and roasted butternut squash. YUM!

HAVE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY HUMP DAY! KEEP ON MOVING!

                                                                                                                                                                                           

Falafel!!!

This time last year I was returning from an unforgettable two week trip to Israel. It was a very emotional two weeks for me as I did a lot of reflecting on myself and my religion. There were times when I felt slightly out of place being in a group of over 20 people aged 22-26 as the only married person, but I got over it. However, if you asked me a year ago, as I felt too young to be married at times, if I imagined I would be here, 12 weeks away from welcoming a baby girl, I would have laughed.

So here I am a year later, and 7 seven months pregnant with food CONSTANTLY on the brain. Naturally as I was reflecting back on my trip from last year, I started thinking about all the wonderful food! The Israeli diet is rich in vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats, much like the Mediterranean diet. I ate eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, hummus, and fruit at nearly every meal for 2 weeks straight and LOVED it! In fact I loved it so much that when I got home I stocked up on all the same foods and spent the next month mimicking recipes I had eaten while over there.

While preparing my grocery list this past weekend I went through my recipe book in search of healthy snacks and dinners to make this week for my ever- growing appetite. While flipping through my book I came across the falafel recipe that I must have made 10 times or more the month after my return from Israel. My mouth started to water and my stomach growled at the mere thought of eating a falafel right then and there.  There was only one thing to do; I loaded up on felafel goods that day along with hummus, eggplant, tomatoes, and fruit!

After 3 dog walks, a 2 mile walk on my lunch break, and bicep/tricep day at the gym I was almost too tried to make the meal that would satisfy my craving...ALMOST :) I mustard up the energy and in a few short minutes I was happily feeding  my taste buds. I made sure to make enough for left overs so I will be eating falafel for at lest another two days, and I'm NOT complaining.

Now if you go to Israel, or any local falafel stand, you will find that their falafel is fried. Frying anything  makes it absolutely delicious ,but, you can get the same great taste without all the added fat by baking your falafel instead. Here is the recipe that I use.

BAKED FALAFEL (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-falafel/)

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
  
  
• Wrap onion in cheese cloth ( you can also use a paper towel) and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Set aside. Place garbanzo beans, parsley, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, and baking soda in a food processor. Process until the mixture is coarsely pureed. Mix garbanzo bean mixture and onion together in a bowl. Stir in the flour and egg. Shape mixture into four large patties ( I did about 10 small patties instead) and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Heat olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Place the patties in the skillet; cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.
• Transfer skillet to the preheated oven and bake until heated through, about 10 minute                           
  
                                                                                                                           

   Now how you fix your falafel is up to you, but the classic falafel is stuffed inside a pita with hummus, cucumber, onion, and tomato, and topped with tziki sauce. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tzatziki-sauce/

  I have a recipe that I normally use for tziki sauce, but this time I opted for the store bought .

  

  These 100 calorie whole wheat pita pockets from Trader Joes are the perfect size!

  

  FALAFEL!

  
  

  If you want to cut out some carbs try making a falafel salad instead.

  
  

  

  
  

      

  HAPPY HUMP DAY EVERYONE! GO THE EXTRA MILE AND CELEBRATE GETTING HALF WAY THROUGH YOUR WEEK BY ADDING AN EXTRA 30 MINUTES TO YOUR WORKOUT TODAY!