On The Run Mama

Today has been my last day home from work and able to try new recipes.  Tomorrow the kiddos go back to school and I go back to work.  After a week off of work for me, no school for the kiddos and no early morning alarms, tomorrow morning has the potential of being brutal.  I’ve tried to prepare as much as possible ahead of time.  The rest of the week we’ll be having dinners that Hubby or I made ahead of time and froze, left overs or frozen foods I stocked up on from Trader Joes. 

This morning I made a double batch of Blueberry Baked Oatmeal; which I first made a couple of weeks ago.  I still love this recipe!  It will be a staple in our house now I’m sure.  I made a big pan of it, so it will last for the three for the week and make the mornings simpler. 

Tonight we tried Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup from Recipe Swagger.  It was a hit from the first bite!  Little R said it reminds him of his favorite soup.  I’ll take that review!

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
2 whole large Cloves Of Garlic Minced
2 Tbl Olive Oil
2 10 3/4 oz Cans of Condensed Tomato Soup
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped or 2 Tbl Of Sun Dried Tomato Paste (I had regular tomato paste on hand and used that.)
2 cups Half-and-half
2 cups Chicken Stock
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 Tbl Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 whole 9 Oz Package Of Cheese Filled Tortellini
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese, for garnish

Saute garlic with the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat until golden brown.  Be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too brown or burnt.

When the garlic is done, add tomato soup, tomatoes, half and half, chicken stock and spices.  Bring to a simmer.

Once simmering, drop tortellini into the soup. Cook according to the package directions. After tortellini are cooked, ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

Tonight we had steak with my parents for dinner and I brought Cilantro Lime Quinoa for a side. The original recipe is from Martha Stewart and calls for rice, but I like quinoa better since it has more fiber and protein. It was really good! Very flavorful. I would make it again.

Cilantro Lime Rice from Everyday Food, April 2008

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4 (It fed 5 of us and we had leftovers.)

Ingredients:
1 cup long-grain white rice
Coarse salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until water is absorbed and rice is just tender, 16 to 18 minutes. (I substituted cooked quinoa for this step.)

Meanwhile, in a blender, combine cilantro, lime juice, oil, garlic, and 2 tablespoons water; blend until smooth. Stir into cooked rice, and fluff with a fork.

Something I have been wanting lately has been my mom’s banana pudding that she made when I was a kid. I asked her for the recipe; which was much simpler than I knew, and today Hubby got what I needed at the store.

Honestly, it isn’t a healthy option and I’ll have to eat it in moderation. On the flipside it was exactly as I remembered and wanted. I was so excited that I had to take a picture and share it. It is the little things, and often (the right) food, that make the difference right now.

I ATE A SALAD!! 

This is a big deal.  For the last month or two I haven’t even been able to stand the sight of, let alone eat, lettuce.  I’ve had the hinkering to try a sald the last couple of days, but have been nervous to.  I ate it today, and it was GOOD.

I’m closing in on 12 weeks.  My energy is perking back up.  I actually didn’t need my nausea med last night (still needed it this morning).  And now I ate lettuce.  Almost done with the first trimester!

I’m really trying to eat healthy when I can, but it all depends on how my stomach is feeling at the moment.  Something I can love one day I won’t be able to stand the thought of the next day.  (Which makes grocery shopping really hard!)  On a side note, I have to give big kudos to Hubby.  He’s been very understanding of my food whims and has made more runs to the store than I can count.  Yesterday I came home to find gummi bears after saying earlier that I wished I had some.  Then last night about 9pm Hubby made me pancakes.  I’m very blessed!

Back to my smoothie… so thankfully my stomach has been approving of smoothies the last couple of days.  I’ve been making them with mainly frozen strawberries, some frozen blueberries, vanilla soy milk, protein powder and a little bit of sugar.  

It is amazing how much better you can feel after a good night’s sleep!  I actually felt like eating this morning and made a smoothie.  This is one is go-to smoothie, because we always seem to have bananas and frozen blueberries around.

1 banana

1/2 C blueberries

1/3 C vanilla Greek yogurt (today I used plain yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla extract and a tsp of sugar)

1/3-1/2 C milk

You are absolutely right.  We can lose weight without exercising.  I’ve just found that I need to exercise otherwise it is more difficult for me.  I have to be very strict and regimented with what I eat.  Exercise gives me a little more room to be flexible and have treats on occassion. 

When I saw the Dr last week I was talking with him about my plateu.  He recommended that I check my metabolic rate checked, so I’m going to make an appt (through Kaiser) to be assessed.  He said that after getting assessed and getting a game played taylored exactly to people’s bodies that he’s had many clients lose the rest of the weight.  I’m excited about learning more about how my body handles food.

Lunch!

Today I’m working from home, which meant I got to eat lunch with Hubby.

Orange chicken from Trader Joes and quinoa.  I put a little salt and garlic powder in the quinoa.  Delish!  Total calories ~ 473 (Probably should have had a little less chicken…)

Banana Nut Oatmeal Smoothie

I found this smoothie on pinterest a little while ago and finally made it yesterday morning.  I had to tweak it a little bit to meet what I had on had.  Yesterday’s smoothie was eh, but a changed some more today and it was great today!

You can find the original recipe in the link above, but here is how I made it today:

• 1 banana (It was supposed to be frozen, but I forgot.  The smoothie would have been colder if it had been frozen.)
• 2 tsp almond butter
• 1/2 packet (1/4 cup) of plain instant oatmeal
• 1 tsp honey
• small handful of crushed ice
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (50 cal)
• 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/4-1/3 cup of milk

Ps.  I absolutely love my handheld blender and this cup that goes with it.  It makes it so easy to throw everything in, blend it & eat it!

Homemade Peach Frozen Yogurt

Can you say delicious??  WOW!  I found this recipe on Pinterest and had to try it.  Very easy and very worth it. 

The three ingredients are peaches, greek yogurt and honey.  I knew it couldn’t be too bad for you, and after trying it I looked up the calorie count… about 65 calories per serving!  That makes this tasty recipe a definite keeper.

You can find the recipe here.  Some tips: make sure the peaches are very ripe, and puree the daylights out of it to get the smoothest frozen yogurt possible.