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!

Skinny Spaghetti

I am thankful Josh was out of town last week because I was having one of those weeks where I felt like an orca whale and no amount of compliments could have convinced me otherwise. Lucky for him he was on business and didn't have to deal with my moping and complaining. My hands were swelling, my feet were tingling and my pants were fitting tighter than normal. So I increased my water, and made sure to monitor my salt intake. Here we are a few days later and luckily I am  feeling much less like Shamu and more like Jessica.

Just in-case you need a visual of what I felt like.

As you get farther along in pregnancy your body starts to retain more fluid and you may notice some swelling. Although this doesn't normally happen until the end of pregnancy, not maintaining a proper diet and water intake can cause the swelling to happen earlier. I usually advise my clients to avoid a lot of processed foods and limit the amount of meals eaten out at restaurants as they are loaded with sodium!

It's also very important to keep up a good exercise routine! You really need to get in a good cardio workout at least 3 times/week. The more you sweat the more water your body will release and this too will keep you from getting so swollen.

Here is one my favorite low sodium dinners from this past week. It is really easy to make and not only is it low in sodium but it's also a low carb dish! I don't get home from work until 7:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I really don't like to eat anything starchy that late at night. This dish is a great alternative for your average spaghetti and meatballs.

Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs

For the Squash:


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Cut your squash in half length wise and scoop out the seeds. Sprinkle both halves with a little bit of olive oil and a few cranks of fresh ground pepper. Place both halves of squash on a baking sheet with rind side up and bake for 30-45 minutes.

When squash is done cooking remove it from the oven and scrape the inside lengthwise with a fork. The squash should come out easily in long strands that look a lot like noodles (hints the name spaghetti squash).

 

Meatball Nirvana Recipe (from allrecipes.com)

-1lb of extra lean ground beef
-1/2 tsp of sea salt
-1 small onion, diced
-1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
-1-1/2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
-3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
-3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- dash of hot sauce ( I use Franks Red Hot Sauce)
-1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
-1/3 cup skim milk
-1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs

Season the beef with the first 9  ingredients (through the Worcestershire). Add milk, cheese and bread crumbs and mix well. Form beef into 1 1/2 inch meatballs and place onto baking sheet. Cook for 20-25 minutes on 400 degrees or until they are no longer pink in the middle ( I cooked them at 350 because I put them in the oven with the squash and just let them cook a little longer).

I recommend a slotted baking dish like this one so the extra fat can drip off.

Place about 1 cup of squash in a your bowl with a couple of meatballs and top with a sauce of your choice( I used PREGO Heart Healthy because it's lower in sodium) and VOILA. Spaghetti and meatballs!

Not only is it heart healthy but it's for us "PREGO" folks hahaha

I topped mine with a little reduced fat bleu cheese (pasteurized of course)

The average 1 cup of cooked pasta has about 220 calories compared to the average cup of cooked spaghetti squash which only has 42 calories!!!




I had a lot of left over squash so I gave some to my parents and took the rest for lunch the next day. Instead of topping the squash with tomato sauce I tossed it in lemon juice, cracked pepper and bleu cheese crumbles. It was a delicious combination!

HAPPY TUESDAY! PUT DOWN THAT EXTRA HOLIDAY COOKIE AND REACH FOR A PIECE OF FRUIT INSTEAD