Tuesday Update

Our 14 days clean eating challenge is over, but it was seriously amazing!  I lost 2 pounds and my body felt so good!  When I eat like I normally do, it's not like I feel gross.  But when I started eating clean, this may be TMI, but my digestive tract never felt so clean!  It was crazy.  I will admit, I was actually more tired than usual, but it might've been because I wasn't getting enough snacks in.  Or maybe, it was my body adjusting to the lack of sugar.  Who knows.  It was hard to find quick snacks that went along with our diet.  I will have to do a little bit more grocery shopping and meal planning next time.  Anyway, I was really looking forward to our cheat day, because it was also a welcome home dinner planned for Andy's younger brother, Sammy.  Last year, Sammy joined the Air Force, and we hadn't seen him since like October!  He finished basic training and his job training, so he got to pay us all a visit before he left for his base in Vegas! We are so proud of him and happy for him! 

Back to eating, we kinda both fell off the clean eating wagon the past couple weeks.  To be honest, I only cooked about twice in the past two weeks.  Andy was gone on his 2 week AT for the military in Wyoming, so I was struggling to keep my head above water playing the role of both parents while working and going to school.  I salute you single parents.  You win.  Seriously... omg.  Actually, Eva did really well.  I could tell she missed her dah-dah because the day he left, she started acting really clingy around me.  Every time I put her down or leave the room, she would shriek.  This is very abnormal for her too, because normally she can entertain herself for a long time!  Maybe she's teething also.  Who knows.  Anyway, I think I cooked 2 clean meals for us the whole time he was gone, but luckily when there's only one adult eating, meals tend to last a bit longer.  Luckily, my parents and Andy's parents fed me and sent me home with leftovers, so I only ended up eating out one time when Eva and I went on a mommy-daughter date one afternoon.  

Unfortunately, I was also unable to make it to the gym the past 2 weeks since Andy was gone.  I improvised by going for runs with the jogging stroller and doing a few at home workouts in our basement.  But honestly, I just didn't find as much time to workout as often as I'm used to.  The whole single parent thing seriously kicked my butt!  To be fair, our days were pretty busy.  We ran a few errands, went to the park A LOT, went to the pool, and played at home.  But between school, work, homework, and entertaining Eva, I was too exhausted to workout at the end of the day like I normally do.  Needless to say, I am so glad Andy is finally home!  

We have a little cleaning out of the refrigerator to do, but as soon as the food is all gone, it's back to another clean eating challenge!  I should admit, the food that we have isn't that unhealthy.  In fact, last night I made a chicken and veggie lo-mein using quinoa noodles, but the noodles also have corn in them and they are processed, so that's not on our diet.  Just need to make a few small adjustments, like getting rid of the lunch meat, whole wheat bread, and ice cream that may or may not have made its way in my shopping cart the other day.  

Lastly, an Eva update:  she's officially walking as of last week!  No more baby steps for this little girl.  She's a full on walking machine! 

11 Months!

I'm finally heartbroken watching my baby get so big.  Before, it was such a joy watching her grow and learn new things.  Don't get me wrong, the older she gets the more fun she gets as well.  I never thought I could have so much fun with an 11 month old.  But now that we're only a month away from turning the big ONE, I am so sad.  The time has gone entirely too fast.  Some days are long, but the weeks just fly by.  Where did my baby go?  I can't believe I'm about to be a mom of a toddler! Ahhhh!!!

I have started getting busy planning her birthday party.  Invitations are ordered and recipes have been bookmarked.  It's just going to be a small affair, but I wanted invitations and some cute pictures to celebrate her first birthday and put in the final pages of her baby book.  We're not going too over the top on her first birthday, but I couldn't let this landmark go by unnoticed!  I can't wait to share pictures as things come together.

Eva has sure been busy this past month!  She isn't solely walking yet, but she is taking steps!  Her preferred method of mobility is still crawling, but she lights up every time we cheer her on for taking steps.  I think the most she has taken at a time has been 9.  It's so darling.  She still only has 2 teeth, but I can tell she is working on a few more.  She has constantly been chewing on her finger, and also been a little extra clingy lately.  She can now go all the way up our stairs in the blink of an eye.  She is so fast!  Still taking 2 naps a day, and the mommy breaks are much needed.  She is a little energy sapper!  I am looking forward to the transition to just one nap though.  We will be able to spend much more time hanging out with friends! 

One of Eva's favorite things to do now is to read books.  Sometimes she crawls over to her bin of books and pulls one out and brings it to me to read to her.  How can I say no to that?  Her favorite books are the ones with little flaps to look behind or ones with animals in it.  She likes to point to an animal and I tell her what noise it makes.  It's a fun little game we play.  She's actually getting pretty good at saying animal sounds herself!  She can do a snake, dog, owl, cow, and an osprey.  I know an osprey is kinda random, but while we were on vacation, there was an osprey nest right outside the window that she started imitating.  She's pretty good at imitating things.  She will try to make the noise you are making whenever she can!  She now says ma, dada, hi, hey, and poop on command.  Her newest word is "thank you" but she only gets the "tha-" part so far.  It comes out more of a "tha-na".  She also is working on "no," but mostly she shakes her head.

This past month she was entirely too sweet!  She loves to give short cuddles (like 1/2 second cuddles).  She will crawl over to you, climb in your lap, give you a snuggle, and then turn right back around and go back to what she was doing.  It's so sweet.  If only she would sit still for more than 5 seconds! Her kisses are adorable too.  She opens her mouth really wide and says "ahhhhhhh!!!" when she wants a kiss.  She then will proceed to say "ahhh" as she lays one right on your face... or anywhere for that matter.  I've had her open mouth kiss our dog's leg before.  Ugh, I just keep telling myself she's strengthening her immune system.

Since the weather has been so nice lately, we've been going to the park A LOT.  It's great because I can get my run in for the day as well.  We drive down to the river, put her in the jogger, and we run to the park!  Then I get her out and push her in the swing for a while.  Eva could swing all day if we let her.  Then we run back to the car and drive home.  It's the best little outing ever!  We both get to do the things that we love.  The other day, we went on our very first mommy and baby date!  We took a cheat day from our clean eating and went to the mall.  We did a little bit of Father's Day shopping and Eva wardrobe shopping, and then we stopped at the food court for a snack.  We shared some Japanese Hibachi grill and shared a smoothie from Orange Julius.  I was in heaven, and I'm pretty sure she was too.  I can't wait for more days just like that.  It was seriously one of the most fun things ever!  

That pretty much sums up our month!  Now that I've started classes again, it's hard to find time to do fun stuff together as a family.  But the days that we do get to do a fun outing are so much sweeter.  Cheers to summer days.... the best season of all! 

7 Days of Clean

We've made it through our first 7 days of clean eating.  We had a few hiccups along the way, such as the wedding I went to on Saturday and then family dinner on Sunday, but overall it's been great so far!  I feel mentally and physically stronger, less bloated, and simply better about myself.  I'm not weighing myself until the end of our challenge, but I can tell I've lost a couple pounds. I've decided to extend our 10 day challenge because of the slight cheats we had over the weekend.  Andy and I both have enjoyed the experience and want to make it more of a lifestyle.  Sure we will eat bread and pasta and sweets every once in a while, but those cheats are going to be few and far between.  Possibly just on date night and family dinner nights when we can't control the menu as much.

The best part of this challenge has been experimenting with so many new delicious recipes!!! Who knew clean eating could be so freakin yummy?!  Here are a few of the recipes (old and new) that I've tried during our clean eating challenge:

*** Disclaimer - I pretty much never measure things unless it seems important, so please bear with me while I attempt to replicate my recipes***

1.  Kale chips:  these have become a staple for our snack cravings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Wash and pat dry kale leaves

Tear of chip sized pieces of kale from stem

Spray with cooking spray or toss lightly in olive oil

Sprinkle with salt and pepper (or other seasonings such as garlic powder)

Bake 10-12 minutes, and VOILA! 

2.  Flourless Pancakes topped with Greek yogurt and strawberries

Ingredients:

2 Cups of dry steel cut or rolled oats

1 ripe banana

Dash of salt

Dash of cinnamon

1 Tablespoon of Honey

1 1/4 cups of vanilla (I used plain) Coconut milk or Almond milk

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1 egg

**it also called for baking powder, but I did not add any**

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except the egg in blender.  Blend until smooth. 

Add the egg and pulse until blended

Heat a skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Pour about 1/4 cup sized amounts onto hot skillet and brown on both sides.

Top with all natural maple syrup or greek yogurt and fruit! 

3.  Baked sweet potato fries!

Slice sweet potato lengthwise into 1/4 inch wide strips

Toss lightly in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes

** I also put them under the broiler for about a minute as well to crisp them up a bit**

4.  Chicken and veggie stir fry served with steamed brown rice, topped with homemade soy sauce!!!

Seriously the home made soy sauce was amazing, and I couldn't tell the difference! I am so happy to have found a soy sauce alternative that is clean, and soy free! 

Stir Fry

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped broccoli florets

1 cup halved baby carrots

1 chopped onion

1 cup snow peas

1 bunch of green onions

2 raw chicken breasts diced

2 tsp of garlic

Directions:

Heat skillet on medium high

Spray with nonstick cooking oil

Add broccoli first, cook until slightly dark green

Next add carrots, cook until not quite soft

Then add the onion and snow peas

Cook until onion is almost soft

Lastly add the chicken, green onions, and garlic

Cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked through

Top with Homemade Soy Sauce, which is seriously amazing! It sounds weird, but it's not!

Homemade Soy Sauce Recipe:

Ingredients:

4 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp unsulphured molasses (I didn't have any so I used honey)

1/4 tsp ground ginger (I don't like ginger, so I didn't add any)

Pinch of pepper

Pinch of garlic powder

1 1/2 cups of beef broth or chicken broth (I used my homemade chicken stock)

Salt to taste (I added some because my stock had no salt)

Directions:

Stir together all ingredients and cook in a sauce pan over medium heat

Bring to a boil and boil gently for about 10-15 minutes.

Add salt to taste.

Can be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Lastly, tonight I made a recipe that one of my high school friends posted on her blog recently.  It was Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai.  It was amazing!! The only difference I made was I used my homemade soy sauce instead of store bought, and I used PB2 instead of peanut butter!  Check it out here!

Feel free to suggest any other recipes that you have found to be good clean eating options.  Breakfasts and snacks are the biggest challenge right now.  Thanks in advance!