At the moment the hubby and I are on a 2 week vacation!
AMEN!
This vacation has been long overdue and planned. We headed to Wisconsin for about a week and now are in Michigan for a week.
The main goal of this vacation was to RELAX, SMILE, LAUGH.. and see FAMILY! It was also a goal to have our family see Baby Heimes as a growing belly before she is born.
I will recap on the vacation in time but at the moment I am going to post on the TOPIC EATING!
At the moment I am a eatting machine.
Within your first and secound trimester they ask you to intake about 250-350 extra calories a day. At your third trimester they ask you to inake 450 extra calories for your growing little one.
Before we found out we were pregnant I took on the challenge of eatting healthy to lose weight and it worked! I am dead set that it was the losing weight and change of lifestyle that made making a baby easyer for our family. So after finding out I was pregnant... eatting healthy was one of my main goals. However let's be honest I am only human and I have my cravings!
I was recently contacted by Oliva Keth of Veterans United. She asked me if I would be intrested in having a guest post from Adrienna May who is a mother of three and featured author over at
Military Spouse Centeral. I gladly said "YES" and I am excited to try out some of her recipes once we are back in Florida! Here is her post on ...
5 Health Conscious Pregnancy Recipes
As a pregnant mother to be, everything from morning sickness and cravings, to constant worries of what is safe to eat, are constantly on a mother’s mind. To help you focus on the joy of being pregnant instead of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we have compiled a list of ‘good taste and good for you’ recipes:
Florentine Pasta
1 pkg of whole wheat or spinach pasta
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red pepper chopped to size preference
1 bag of fresh spinach
2 Tbsp. of olive oil
¼ cup of Asiago cheese
For this recipe, simply boil the pasta to desired tenderness, drain, and place in a serving bowl. While pasta is boiling, sauté 2 cloves of minced garlic over medium heat. Once cooked, add in red pepper and then the bag of fresh spinach. Sauté until spinach is slightly wilted. Then add the sauté mixture, along with the 2 tbsp. of olive oil, to the drained pasta. Mix together and serve.
Watermelon and Mint Salad
Watermelon is a great cure for morning sickness so this is an excellent recipe for mom’s prone to morning wooziness.
½ small red onion, sliced
1 ½ cups of seedless watermelon, cut into bit size pieces
1 ½ cups of arugula
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
6 kalamata olives, pitted and diced
¼ cup of fresh mint
1/3 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
In a large bowl, mix the lime juice, olive oil, olives, and onion, and let set for 15 minutes. After the onions have soaked add the watermelon, mint, arugula, and feta to the dressing. Toss and immediately serve.
Beef and Broccoli
1 lb. of rib eye or top sirloin, thinly cut
1 ½ Tbsp. of minced garlic
3 Tbsp. of soy sauce
2 Tbsp. of minced onion
1 Tbsp. of sugar
1 Tbsp. of sesame oil
1 Tbsp. of honey
1 Tbsp. of sesame seeds
1 pinch of black pepper
4 cups of broccoli florets
In a gallon sized resealable bag, place the sliced beef, onion, sugar, garlic, soy sauce, honey, pepper, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Shake the bag until the meat is thoroughly coated, and then placed in the fridge to marinate for 2 to 3 hours. Lightly steam the broccoli so that it remains firm but is still cooked, and then allow time for it to cool. Once beef has marinated, cook in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Beef should take 4-6 minutes to cook. During the last 2 minutes, add the broccoli to the sauté pan and make sure that it gets coated with marinade.
Breakfast Smoothie
1 frozen banana
½ cup of frozen blueberries
½ cup of nonfat vanilla yogurt
½ cup of orange juice
Ice to desired texture
Place all ingredients in a blender, and mix on high until desired consistency. If the smoothie seems too thick, simply add more orange juice or a slash of skim milk. Smoothies such as these have a variety of combinations, for example spinach can be added for extra folic acid and fiber, and are great for giving you a morning boost.
Easy and Guilt-less (well almost) Raspberry Turnovers
2 cups of raspberries, fresh
4 ½ Tbsp. of sugar
1 Tbsp. of water
2 Tsp. of lemon juice
1 ½ Tsp. of cornstarch
4 3 inch square pieces of puff pastry, chilled
Butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking sheet with butter. In a saucepan over medium heat, place the raspberries, sugar, and water, and cook until the raspberries break down. Once they begin to break down, add lemon juice and cornstarch to thicken the mixture. Once it thickens, remove the mixture from heat. Lay each puff pastry piece out on the baking sheet, and place a ¼ of the raspberry mixture in the center of each piece. Dampen the edge of the puff pastries with water, then fold the dough to envelope the raspberry mixture. Crimp edges with fork, brush top of pastry with water, and then sprinkle with remaining sugar. Allow the pastries to cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, then remove, slit the tops with a paring knife, and bake for 15 minutes.
While there’s no single must-have nutrient for expectant moms, there are some – folate, iron, calcium, omega-3 fats, and fiber – that play important roles in a healthy pregnancy so it is always a good idea to make sure that you get these nutrients throughout the day. By simply mixing up the aforementioned recipes, you can easily get all the nutrients you need while also curbing morning sickness, bloat, and other pregnancy woes. Happy eating!
Adrienne May is a military spouse, mother of three and featured author for Military Spouse Central, offering news and tips to an active social network of over 100,000 military families. Follow her on Google+ or tweet her @AdrienneMay.
Florentine Pasta
Beef and Broccoli
Breakfast Smoothie
Raspberry Turnover
Click the pictures! Let me know if you try any of the recipes! :)
