workouts these days

i've had a few people ask me how my regular workouts have changed since i found out i'm pregnant, and in short....they've changed a LOT.

i used to do a combination of fairly high-impact workouts (like jillian michael's ripped in 30, 30-day shred, etc.), pilates, yoga, and the occasional outside jog. a couple of months before i found out i was pregnant, i got the tracy anderson method dvds, which i was realllllly enjoying. when i found out i was pregnant, i didn't really have a clue what to do.

while i discussed safely working out with my doctor, i of course also took to the internet to see what is and isn't safe. first, i deduced that it's probably not the best idea to continue with plyometrics-type training. some people may be comfortable with that, but i wasn't. based on my conversations with my doctor, i also decided not to run, since it was more of an occasional activity for me and not a regular thing my body was really used to. yoga, pilates, and weights sounded like the best options, as long as i wasn't laying flat on my back for extended periods of time.

i wanted to find something new since i've been doing my usual yoga and pilates dvds for quite awhile now. i was just getting into the tracy anderson method, so i was sad to potentially have to give that up. half of the method is cardio with lots of jumping though, so i knew i wouldn't feel totally comfortable continuing that. while doing some research on whether that was okay during pregnancy, i found her pregnancy workout video, the pregnancy project! what a lifesaver.

the pregnancy project

i'm currently on month 4 and i really really love it. there are 9 dvds in the box set, one for each month. each month works on arms and legs and incorporates some balance exercises to ensure that the abs still get a little work. there is no cardio involved, but your heart rate will still be up there!

the first trimester focuses on keeping up your activity while not overdoing it or being in weird positions to test your gag reflex. :) the energy picks up a little in the 2nd trimester since most people tend to feel a little less tired and nauseous, and it starts to keep your growing belly in mind. while i haven't done the 3rd trimester workouts yet (obviously), they are supposed to focus on opening your hips and stretching you out to be prepared and flexible for labor (yikes).

the great thing about these videos is that tracy was pregnant while filming, so she is very easy to relate to and knows what you're going through at each step. she also has a lot of her celebrity clients film interviews as extras on the dvds, with topics like handling cravings, getting your mind right to workout during pregnancy, etc.

i can't recommend tracy anderson's videos enough. the tracy anderson method is a decent financial investment, but it is so worth it! and if you're pregnant and trying to figure out how to keep up an active lifestyle, i highly, highly recommend the pregnancy project. i'm having so much fun with it! she also makes a post-pregnancy dvd for new moms that i can't wait to try later this year!

meals in a box

in our house, we really try to make our meals as fresh and healthy as possible. this usually entails lean meat (chicken, lean ground beef, ground turkey), whole grains, and veggies.

i'm not too staunch of an anti-processed-foods person, but i do think that whole foods in general are better for our health.

all of that doesn't mean i don't love a good boxed meal though. there are a lot of good options for "meals in a box" out there that you can change or add to to make surprisingly healthy!

these are great when you're in a pinch for time or just can't figure out what to make and need to use something you already have in your pantry.

here are 3 of my favorites:

annie's homegrown cheeseburger skillet dinner

this annie's meal is basically a healthier version of hamburger helper. i grew up on hamburger helper and really like it, but i know it's probably not the best thing for you in the world.

while the annie's version also isn't as good as a fresh meal, it does use organic pasta and 100% real cheese. it also doesn't have artificial flavors, preservatives, or synthetic colors. 

annie's has several versions of skillet dinners (alfredo, cheesy taco, and lasagna), but i've only tried the cheeseburger mac so far. will definitely try the others in the future!

old el paso hard & soft taco kit

this is another one that i grew up on and still love: old el paso's taco kits. my favorite is the half crunchy/half soft kit (michael likes crunchy; i'm soft all the way!)

this kit is great because it gives you the shells, seasoning, and taco sauce, so all you have to have is the meat and add-ons. we typically use lean ground beef or ground turkey; shredded chicken is great too. we always have salsa, avocado, and cheese to put on top, and usually serve with sides of black beans and/or corn. you can really make it as healthy as you want!

michael's favorite way to eat this meal is to put a bunch of shredded lettuce in a bowl, pile the meat and toppings on that, then crunch up some crunchy shells in the mix.

betty crocker suddenly pasta salad

while this isn't technically a whole meal in a box, it's a great base to build a meal on, or just to use as a side. 

i can't tell you how much michael and i both love this stuff. it is so fast and easy to make, and it's so so good! it's even better after a few hours of sitting in the fridge, so the leftovers are especially yummy.

we eat this a lot when we make really simply grilled or baked chicken for dinner, along with a veggie. it's a perfect starchy side that's different from the usual rice or potatoes. you can also use it to build a cold salad. we make one pasta salad meal with cold chopped chicken and artichoke hearts...yum! this would be a perfect base for that.

i think buying a few boxes like these and keeping them in your pantry for a rainy, lazy day are a great way to make sure you're cooking at home more often than eating out. they've saved me in a pinch several times!

april birchbox

i've been slacking on my birchbox posts for the past few months, so here's a new one!

this is my april birchbox, the theme of which was april showers. [side note: i don't ever think the themes of these boxes actually correlate to the contents. the little theme sheet they include is always fun to read, but it doesn't really have anything to do with what you get.]

• beekind body lotion: has everyone read about how bees are dying off at crazy rates these days? if not, time magazine has a lot of good articles about it. anyway, beekind is a gilchrist & soames brand that donates part of its proceeds to honeybee and sustainable pollination research. very cool! anyway, i like this lotion a lot. it's light but moisturizing, and has a really nice lemony scent.
  
  
• harvey prince yogini fragrance: i'm not much of a perfume snob; i'll pretty much use anything that doesn't smell like an old lady. this perfume kinda fits into the "whatever" category...i probably wouldn't choose it myself, but i don't hate it, so whatever! i'm sure i'll use it til it's gone. :)
  
  
• kind healthy grains bar (maple and pumpkin seeds): i'm not the biggest fan of getting food or tea in my birchbox. don't get me wrong, i love eating, but that's not really why i subscribe to birchbox. i wasn't too thrilled to find this bar in my box, but it went in my snack drawer at work, and i'm sure i'll be glad i have it some day soon!
  
  
• davines all in one hair milk: i don't know about you, but any product called "hair milk" just grosses me out from the get-go. i had to get over the product name, but once i did, this stuff is pretty nice! i sprayed it on my hair after showering/combing and before blow drying. i can't really tell if it helped to detangle my hair like it claims to since my hair is pretty short right now, but it definitely didn't make it any worse. maybe i'll save this one for when my hair grows out a little more.
  
  
• the balm: how 'bout them apples? lip & cheek stain: my bff just started getting birchboxes, and she got this product in her first box last month. check out her review here! i actually got the same color that she did (pie), and i agree that i love it as a cheek stain/blush! i use the same lip balms/glosses pretty much every day, and i like something with a little more moisture in it for my lips, so i decided to only use this on my cheeks. the color is great, and i felt like it really brightened up my face. this is one product i might actually consider buying to add to my makeup routine in the future.

any other birchbox fans out there? it's a good gift for mother's day if anyone is searching for ideas!

roasted veggie penne

hello everyone!

i hope you're all having a great week so far. i'm so thankful this is a short week due to good friday, and i'm pretending today is really wednesday.

everything is going well in our world...winding down this semester of school for michael (less than a month to go!), getting ready for our upcoming vacation, and of course still being very excited about baby. she/he is the size of a peach this week, and i actually have a fairly noticeable and permanent bump. fun week!

we made today's recipe several weeks ago, when it was still too cold to be spring and i was wishing for anything that made it feel like summer. this is a pasta dish, but it's loaded with veggies and isn't heavy at all. perfect for these warmer days! (even though this week is a bit of a bump in the road...come back 80s!)

[original recipe found here]

you will need:

• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 2 medium bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2" pieces
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 1 red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 12 oz whole-grain penne pasta
• 1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan (or pecorino) cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, torn (or a few teaspoons dried basil)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1. heat large pot of salted water to boiling to prepare for pasta. preheat oven to 450.

2. in a large bowl, combine zucchini, peppers, broccoli, onion, garlic, and olive oil. divide between 2 baking sheets (i lined mine with foil for easy clean-up). sprinkle with salt and roast 15-20 minutes, stirring once. veggies should be browned and tender after roasting.

3. while veggies cook, add penne to boiling water and cook according to the package directions. reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. drain pasta and return to pot.

4. to pasta, add tomatoes, cheese, basil, crushed red pepper, roasted veggies, and salt. stir to combine, adding pasta water if needed. cook on medium heat for 2 minutes before serving.

the final product. can you tell how cold i was??

enjoy!

alice springs chicken knockoff

happy hump day!

earlier this week, i made one of our favorite chicken recipes: a knockoff of alice springs chicken from outback.

i used to eat outback a lot, and my go-to meal was always alice springs chicken with cheese fries. doesn't get much better than that! now that we cook a lot more than we eat out, trips to outback are less common, but thankfully i can replicate the chicken at home.

[original recipe link here]

you will need:

-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
-6 bacon slices
-about 1/2 cup honey mustard
-1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
-2 cups shredded colby jack cheese
-lowry's seasoning salt

1. prepare chicken (which to me always means pounding to an even thickness and trimming fat). season both sides of each chicken breast with lowry's seasoning salt. place in refrigerator.

2. cook bacon in a large skillet until crispy. you want to crumble the bacon, so getting it crispy is important!

yum.

3. remove bacon from pan and set aside, leaving grease in the pan.

4. saute chicken in bacon grease for 3-5 minutes per side, or until browned. then place chicken in a foil-lined 13x9" pan.

chicken + bacon grease = heaven

5. here is where you start assembling the chicken. you start with honey mustard, which you can buy already prepared, or just make your own. we don't normally have prepared honey mustard in the house, so i made my own using, wait for it...honey and mustard. i start with mustard then just stir in honey til it gets sweet! 

looks like a wal-mart ad

6. spread honey mustard on top of chicken.

7. next, add sliced mushrooms. (it may look weird to add fresh mushrooms to this, but you really don't need to saute them beforehand! they will cook up just fine in the oven)

8. then comes the crumbly bacon.

9. finally, cheese!

10. bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

we had our chicken with pasta salad and sauteed asparagus, and it was so good. i'm getting hungry thinking about it! one of my favorite meals for sure.

enjoy!

maternity clothes: 1st experience

let the baby posts begin!

first up...my first go-around with shopping for maternity clothes.

obviously everyone grows at a different rate during pregnancy, but as a nervous first-timer i read every week-by-week blog i could find to see when i could expect to need bigger clothes. some blogs said 6 weeks, some said 15! helpful.

i didn't really start to notice a difference in the way my clothes fit until i was about 10 weeks along. it was at that point that my skinniest skinny jeans were having some buttoning issues. i decided to buy a couple of bands to help me continue to wear my regular jeans, which have been really helpful and actually a lot more comfortable than i thought they'd be.

i got 2 be bands from target in week 10, one white and one black. they're $16.99 apiece and totally worth it if you want to get some extra wear out of your smaller pants.

excuse the super weird picture

my parents were randomly in town when i was 11 weeks along and offered to take me shopping for maternity clothes. at this point, i really didn't think i needed any, but if you know me, you know i never turn down a chance to shop. i get it from my mama!

an old navy close to my house recently added a small maternity section, so we went there to see what we could find. i honestly expected everything to just be too big and not fit me right yet since my belly is still pretty small.

y'all. trying on maternity jeans changed my whole attitude. the elastic band fits you at any point in your pregnancy (even now, when my bump is just big enough to cause some fit problems). no more button struggle or dreaded muffin top! i've read some blogs where people don't ever buy maternity jeans, but they don't have to be expensive, and they're so comfortable! i don't understand why you wouldn't buy some. i don't think i could deal with just the belly band for the whole 9 months.

the shirts and dresses are so cute too - most of them have ruching on the side that looks totally fine with a tiny bump, but you can tell will look great as you grow. i haven't worn those yet since i have plenty of springy shirts and dresses that i'm wearing as much as possible while i still can. i'm sure i'll break them out soon though!

even though i technically don't need to wear maternity clothes every day, i really love having them as an option. the pants are all really cute and fit so well, and i'm looking forward to getting lots of use out of the dresses and shirts as the weather warms up.

here are a select few of the things i got. thanks again to my generous parents!

skinny jeans! obviously a must. these are pretty low-rise
with a dark wash and not a full panel,
which i liked. feels a little less restricting.

here's the big mama full panel! these are cute cuffed capris,
also in a dark wash, which i prefer.
going to get lots of use out of these this summer!

grey and white striped tshirt...basic,
but i know i'll wear it a ton

might be my favorite purchase! tank maxi dress
with a slit on one side. SO cute and comfy

my mom's favorite :) pretty summery shirt
with a big flower detail on the side

i actually just bought this one myself in the online maternity
clearance section at old navy. work appropriate, and i love stripes!
the $14.99 price tag was pretty great too :)

at this point (almost 13 weeks), i'm wearing a good mix of my old jeans with the band and the maternity jeans. leggings, dresses and skirts are also lifesavers now that it's warm enough to wear them. some of my smaller shirts are out of the picture at this point (especially fitted button-ups, which just fit awkwardly for multiple reasons), but most of my summer tops should fit me fine for a little while longer. i'll working in the maternity shirts as i go, and on the lookout for more now that i can feel summer coming!

cream cheese pancakes

i think we (michael and i) can officially call ourselves pancake fanatics. we used to have pancakes pretty much every saturday and sunday morning, unless we went out to brunch, and i love finding new ways to make them different. now that i've been having some weird food cravings/aversions, we haven't had pancakes as much, but since i'm officially at the end of my first trimester, i'm happy to work them back into my diet!

awhile back, i tried the quinoa pancakes recipe you can find here. i also like to mix in bananas, chocolate chips, cinnamon, etc. to make the usual pancakes a little more special.

about a month or so ago, i tried something very different: cream cheese pancakes. (original recipe here)

there are 4 very simple ingredients to make 8 pancakes:

-4 oz cream cheese

-4 eggs

-2 packets splenda (or sweetener of your choice)

-1 tsp cinnamon

put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. let the batter sit for a few minutes until the bubbles settle down, then fry on a griddle as usual.

not surprisingly for me, i took a "before" shot and was so excited to eat that i didn't take an "after". to be fair, i started the batter and michael cooked the pancakes while i was upstairs scrambling to get ready for church. sooo i missed a few photo ops. :)

anyway, here's what they look like, courtesy of ibreatheimhungry.com:

next time you're in the mood for a different kind of pancake, give these a try! so easy and fast (and gluten and carb free, might i add)!

best lasagna recipe in the world..ever

okay the title may be over-selling this lasagna a bit, but it's really my new favorite. i like lasagna fine, but it's never been one of my go-to favorite meals. this recipe changed all of that for me!

my parents were in town a couple of weekends ago for my mom's birthday celebration, and i cooked dinner at our house on friday night for all of us. i was trying to think of something different than i don't cook all the time, something that i knew she would like, and something big enough to feed 6 people (including 2 garbage disposals aka my husband and brother). lasagna seemed like a good fit, so i set out to find a recipe. i didn't even have a lasagna recipe in my cookbooks! the horror.

like it always does, southern living came through for me in a big way (link to the original recipe here).

stolen from southernliving.com

the sauce is homemade, so it is a little time-consuming, as opposed to buying a storebought sauce. it was so worth it though! you could make the sauce in bulk and freeze it for future use too.

here's what you need:

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided 
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 14.5-oz can italian seasoned diced tomatoes
• 2 6-oz cans tomato paste
• 8-oz can italian seasoned tomato sauce
• 1 tsp italian seasoning
• 1 1/4 tsp salt, divided (honestly. who measures out salt in a recipe like this?? i didn't.)
• 3/4 tsp pepper, divided (same same. no measuring here)
• 12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 8 cups boiling water for pasta
• 16-oz container ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 c grated parmesan
• 2 6-oz packages mozzarella cheese slices

1. saute onion in 1 tbsp. hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until tender (roughly 5 minutes). add garlic, and saute 1 minute. add beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is fully cooked through. drain, then return mixture to skillet.

2. stir in diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. 

3. set meat sauce aside.

4. place lasagna noodles in a 13x9" pan. carefully pour the 8 cups of boiling water and 1 tbsp olive oil over the noodles. let stand 15 minutes. (you might want to check these every 5 minutes or so to make sure they're not sticking together).

5. stir together ricotta cheese, eggs, parmesan, salt and pepper until blended in a small bowl.

6. spoon half of the meat sauce mixture into a lightly greased 13x9" dish. shake excess water from noodles, and arrange 6 noodles over the meat sauce. top with half of the ricotta mixture and one package of mozzarella slices.

7. repeat layers once.

8. bake, covered with foil, at 350 for 55 minutes. uncover and bake for 10-15 more minutes or until bubbly. let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

3 reasons i love this lasagna:

-using the mozzarella cheese slices layered over each other instead of shredded mozzarella makes such a huge difference! the top of this lasagna was perfectly cheesy.

-it's easy to cut! i don't know why, but even piping hot right out of the oven, it was so easy to cut and serve.
-it's so delicious.

enjoy!