Here are my week 17 pix from this morning:

 

 

 

 

 

I guess I look about the same as last week. Maybe grey is slimming. : )

I’m still able to wear my shorts, some pants, skirts, shirts, and my skinny jeans. Every week, a few items fall off the list. Today I reached the breaking point and decided to shop at Old Navy.

I was surprised to find that Old Navy’s maternity section next to the children’s clothes.  I found a few pairs of pants but bought my tops in the regular department (one size larger). I’m hoping to last until Thanksgiving. We’ll see!

Sunday I didn’t write because we went downtown to see the grand finish of the Tour de Missouri.

The race had podium girls and everything! We enjoyed seeing our favorite international cyclists in action and to be around other cycling enthusiasts. Sometimes we feel out-of-place (E more so than myself) because we follow sports like cycling rather than football.

On Monday I had a typical morning off, a typical breakfast, and a quick lunch of almond butter-and-banana sandwich and nectarine.

I’m not an almond butter fan (especially when considering the price), but I appreciate almonds’ higher omega 3 content  in comparison to peanut butter.

I tried something new for dinner, chick pea cutlets. The recipe included chick peas, seasoning, chopped vegetables, yogurt, wheat germ, and cornmeal. I fried them in olive oil.

I served them with wheat pitas, tahini, lettuce, and tomato. I ate two half sandwiches and felt full. They were delicious! (Thanks for the cookbook 15 years ago, Mom!)

 

 

 

Tonight I ate leftovers and made a hodge-podge casserole for E. Basically I threw in our leftovers with an herbed white sauce and some mozzarella cheese. We’re going out of town in a few days, so the hodge-podge was perfect. Who knows about the taste, though. I’m still not eating chicken these days.

I plan to start posting more about nutrition soon. I’ve just been busy lately with unpacking and settling in.

More later…

Sorry I missed a day! I don’t always feel like using the computer. I’ve never been much of a “screen” person – no TV, little computer.

Anyway, on Friday night we went to a get together at E’s professor’s house. I brought coconut lime bars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These bars didn’t even rival some of the desserts there! E and I shared a plate of 10 desserts. No, I don’t use pregnancy as an excuse. I would have done the same thing in the old days too. We rarely eat sweets at home, so we splurge when we go out.  E was the leanest guy there, but he must have eaten at least double everyone else’s portions! He needs the calories, though, since he trains 20 hours per week.

Yesterday, Saturday, I had my typical boiled eggs and fruit breakfast after an hour run and yin yoga. Lunch was a salad, fage, and toast with hummus.

 

Yes, I did feel a bit guilty about all the sweets and compensated with a salad!

 

 

 

 

For dinner I made balsamic glazed salmon, corn on the cob and quinoa with green vegetables. Since we want to venture away from wheat, we decided to start with quinoa. (The commissary didn’t have any other reasonably priced grain.)

Honestly, I was scared to cook and try something new. I read about quinoa in the Bittman cookbook and got to work. It only took about 20 minutes to cook. The final product was slightly clumpy, a texture I like. I sauteed the veggies in olive oil and dumped in the quinoa. I added a bit of salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese, my favorite MSG source. Very unintimidating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t even eat half of the quinoa for some reason. I think I was exhausted from the run and a 60 minute walk with Brewster.

This morning Brewster and I went on his weekly long morning walk. We looped around the old part of post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Missouri River is adjacent to the post, and the Lewis & Clark trail used to pass through post.

 

This post is great for walking. On the weekends, traffic is minimal. Even human contact is minimal.

When including the Disciplinary Barracks, airfield, and hunting areas, this post is huge! I can’t even run from one end to the other.

 

Afterwards, I rode on the trainer for 30 minutes. We have a nice set-up in the finished basement room. Definitely challenging after a four month break.

I was ready for this breakfast of mushrooms, eggs, and a grapefruit sprinkled with sugar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The breakfast was light because I need to eat lunch early. Brewster and I have training today. Afterwards, E and I are going to Kansas City for the final stage of the Tour de Missouri. Then we’re going to see Mama Mia on stage!

More later…

Last night we had tamale pie for dinner. I helped E with the recipe since he was training for a few hours beforehand.

This recipe contains corn, tomatoes, cheese, ground turkey, kidney beans, and a cornmeal topping.  We love casseroles, so this dish is a favorite in our house. With this dish, we even have leftovers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The blank spot is E’s portion, not mine, by the way!  Here’s my portion:

I found this recipe on a K-blog (Korea-related blog) but unfortunately lost the link. If you post a comment, I can email you the recipe.

 

I had a few strawberries for dessert, walked Brewster, and headed upstairs at 8:45pm.

 

 

This morning I feel overwhelmed by my “to do” list. I always have a lot of unfinished business when I move. After a few hours of tasks, I had my typical boiled eggs and mixed fruit for breakfast:

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, I can’t believe that Brewster’s “ticket” to California cost the same price as mine!

More later…

Here’s a picture I meant to post on Monday:

E and I swam here on Monday for the evening triathlon swim.  About 40 people were there, mainly women training for a ladies’ triathlon.

As usual, E put on my wetsuit for me. I think he knew I wouldn’t make it into the water without his help. (He even dug the wetsuit out of our basement boxes.)

Two different buoys were set out to make a triangle formation. The distance was 500-600 meters per “lap.” Too bad I could barely finish the first lap. The wetsuit felt constrictive, and I could not breath. I mean, I expected some shortness of breath (a reaction to an innate fear of cold, murky water) but not that much. It’s definitely time for me to get back in the pool, as I haven’t trained in five months!

Anyway, this morning I had a quick breakfast of boiled eggs (one egg, three whites) and this mixture:

One sweet potato, one natural applesauce pack, a squeeze of honey, and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. It tasted delicious! Then I hurried to the club to help set up for a Post Spouse’s Club event.

Back at home, I ate leftovers for lunch:

Tomato sandwich with sun-dried tomato hummus and tahini and a citrus salad with homemade pomegranate dressing. If you haven’t tried making dressing, I highly recommend it. You can even experiment with your own recipes once you know the formula (oil/vinegar/seasonings + (sometimes) additional liquid).  My dressing only took 5 minutes to make.

Here is the recipe for Pomegranate Vinaigrette (from Yoga Journal magazine):

Mix the following ingredients in a airtight container and chill:

• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 c. pomegranate juice
• 2 tbsp finely chopped yellow onions (I omit them.)
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp brown sugar or to taste
• 1/4 tsp salt

The citrus salad should include toasted walnuts ( toast for 7-10 minutes at 250 degrees), greens, and mandarin oranges. Very fresh tasting!

After lunch I made raspberry bars using a recipe from cooks.com. I can’t believe none of my cookbooks had this recipe!

E and I are taking this simple gift to our neighbors, who had a baby a few days ago. We don’t really know them, but we’re a neighborhood full of newbies, so why not?

(For example, we probably won’t have a baby shower since we don’t anticipate making “real” friends here.)

Yes, I did sample a few!

More later…

Here was my bump this morning before heading out to my ob/gyn appointment:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Believe it or not, that back arch is natural. Unfortunately, I have mild lordosis.)

Weight: 123 lbs. (115.8 pre-pregnancy)

 

 

 

 

I had two boiled eggs and two nectarines on the 33-mile drive to my doctor’s office. 

Here’s the drill for a low-risk appointment: On arrival, I do a urine test for glucose and protein analysis. I’ve read that this test is unnecessary, but I’m not going to say anything. Then the nurse weighs me and asks if I have questions for the doctor. 

Then I wait…and wait…and wait for the doctor. She asked me a few questions, listened to the fetal heart rate (140 – normal), and offered a detailed sonogram at a perinatalogist’s office. I agreed to the sonogram but turned down the AFP test. She answered my two big questions. Yes, I can travel over the holidays, and, yes, I can sleep on my back until 20 weeks. 

Finally, I scheduled next month’s appointment and the perinatalogist’s appointment. All that work for $115! (I saw the itemized bill.)

I took advantage of being in civilization and headed to Crate & Barrel, Dick’s, Macy’s, and Whole Foods. Sadly, I had to buy a bathing suit 3 or 4 sizes larger than usual! My dress size was also two bigger, just to be safe.

Here are a few interesting purchases from Whole Foods:

 

I’ve decided to try agave nectar for a few upcoming recipes. I found the price expensive ($5.00) for sugar. Personally, I’d rather cut down on sugar  than spend 10 times the price for a natural alternative.

I did like the cost of the spelt flour and the barley, though. My husband and I want to try different grains. Enough of the wheat rut!

I also bought some date-coconut rolls. I meant to buy figs, but I could not stomach a fig’s shape and crusty exterior. All I could think of were all the bugs that must have been mixed into the crate of figs. (I know a certain percentage of bugs are allowed per unit weight.)

I did not have to buy any Lara bars this time because of this care package from my sister. I think she feels sorry for me because I live in a small town, while she lives in the best neighborhood in a major city.

She sent me one of each flavor! Today I tried lemon bar. Delicious!

Hopefully I will have more interesting food pictures later. I keep forgetting to use my camera!

We were busy yesterday with shopping, puppy training, and unpacking. Our house is really shaping up! Speaking of moving, I read on Averie‘s blog that she has moved, I believe, 7 times in the last 8 years. I decided to count my moves and realized that I have moved 10 times in the past 8 years!

I vowed to settle down directly after college because my family moved frequently. How ironic that I’ve moved so many times. (Those 10 moves don’t even include all the  moves I’ve made since graduation!) We have at least 3 more moves in the future until we can settle down.  

Anyway, here’s recap of my food on Sunday.

Breakfast of berries with eggs:

Lunch of leftover salad and a vegan burrito:

I like to brown the burrito in a toaster oven. I guess it would technically be a baked chimichanga then.

For a snack I had the standard yogurt, berries, and granola. I decided to measure the granola, though, to eat 1/2 serving. Based on that measurement, I discovered I had been eating over 400 calories of granola for previous snacks! No wonder I had not been hungry for dinner. I do think that periodic food measurements can keep you on track for high calories foods. Three-fourths cup is actually much less than one might think!

Anyway, I definitely should have measured my dinner portion! I ate a lot but felt fine afterwards. I know I shouldn’t use the pregnancy excuse, but I really don’t understand how I ate so much.

I made spinach and cheese calzones from scratch using Mark Bittman’s vegetarian cookbook.

This cookbook and his How To Cook Everything serve as The Joy of Cooking in my kitchen. (You know how everyone recommends you have one comprehensive cookbook in your kitchen.) Being a New York Times fan, I veered towards his cookbooks.

Anyway, here is the filling:

You can be creative here, even though I wasn’t! Next time I’d like to make a veggies-only version.

The dough only takes about 15 minutes to make and 60 minutes to rise. I used both white and wheat flours in mine, but you could use any flour. Trust me – this dough is so easy to make. It also tastes much better than store bought dough. It’s not salty or greasy, which might equal bland for some people.

A  pizza stone (pictured) makes a crisp-bottomed final product. A pizza skin makes the transfer onto the stone easy. (Too bad I don’t have one!)

This meal is another good one for people who will only eat “hidden” vegetables.

More later!

Last night I ate this mix of swiss cheese sauce, tuna, couscous, and steamed broccoli:

It reminded me of the (in)famous Garbage Plate from Nick Tahou’s in Rochester, NY:

In college, this dish was popular to eat on a dare after a night of drinking. I went to school in Buffalo, not Rochester, I never drank, and I had even heard stories of this monstrosity.  If you know anyone from western New York, ask him/her about the Garbage Plate. Changes are, you’ll hear an interesting story or two. And don’t say “upstate” to refer to western New York, either!)

(I should not have looked up this picture during pregnancy…feeling slightly nauseous now…)

This morning I ate egg whites with roasted red peppers and soy sausage, along with a small bowl of cereal.

I like my morning eggs the way other bloggers like their oatmeal!

Today I’m volunteering at a clothing closet at the VA hospital. Veterans receive tickets to “purchase” an outfit for a job interview or for personal use. Speaking of outfits, my pants won’t button, and my shirt was too tight (not good when you’re working around men). It’s time to go up a pants size!

This morning I walked Brewster and ate this quick breakfast:

Oatmeal, peanut butter, 1/2 banana, a splash of pure syrup, and a protein shake.

I’ve been focused on unpacking and organizing our things. We’ve made progress in a few rooms, but we are nowhere near done. I can’t even think of exercising until the house is more organized. At least I have the walks with Brewster.

I’m heading to the ACS (Army Community Services) to drop off the loaner items. Like everything else on post, this building is only 5 minutes from my house. I really don’t need to leave post at all. Most days I don’t! Lately I have missed Korea a lot. I could walk or use the subway to go everywhere, and my closest friend lived next door to me.  I even miss the noise and the crowds. Shopping is just not the same here without the noise, the pushing, and the aisles jam-packed with people.

More later…

Welcome to Thursday…Thought & Tip Thursday! Every Thursday I will share a thought and tip based on my experiences.  Don’t worry…I won’t lapse into professional registered dietitian mode.  (I love my profession, but I like to save my work for when I’m actually working!)

Disclaimer: this first thought/tip will not be helpful for single women or women with husbands who cook often!

I enjoy cooking, but I sometimes feel resentful about it. While I’m working in the kitchen, my husband is surfing the internet. Even when we both worked full-time, I still prepared our dinners. Every time I’d complain, he would say, “it’s not because you’re female…you just cook so much better than I do.”

(Interesting…when we were dating he usually cooked dinner for himself…)

 

I realize that he handles certain household tasks, so perhaps the cooking has become mine. When I get negative about it, I shift my thinking. Cooking is a creative endeavor, not a chore! The work is worth a meal from scratch!  Those thoughts help some. What really helped more, though, was getting my husband involved a little bit.

We always go food shopping together on Friday evening. I make a list with food columns based on the Commissary’s lay-out.  In the past, I always held the list and told him what to get.  To increase his involvement, I now give him the list, and he gives me instructions.  After shopping, we have a “free” dinner, meaning I don’t cook.

We had always done the standard “I cook, you clean” routine, but I wanted him to be more involved with cooking.

On Sundays we started the ” — Family Breakfast” tradition. Since he makes amazing pancakes, he usually does the cooking. That way he remembers that he does have cooking abilities!

The breakfast is also good quality time, since he spends half the weekend training.

We decided he would cook on Wednesday nights. I select a recipe, usually something simple.  I repeat the recipe often, so he grows comfortable with it.  When I worked, I would place the recipe(s) along with ingredients on the counter in the morning.  I would also jot any suggestions in the recipe’s margins.

Otherwise, I stay out of the kitchen on Wednesdays. He seems to prefer the time to himself.

He enjoys making homemade pizza, enchiladas, shepherd’s pie, meatloaf, and tamale pie. (Yes, I stick to the traditional “male comfort foods” for his cooking nights.)

When we have dinner get togethers, we both plan the menu and prepare the meal.

This system has worked for the past two years. We both enjoy it. Also, he has a greater appreciation for my cooking. I rarely feel resentful in the kitchen anymore.

Yesterday was Wednesday, and my husband prepared scrambled egg whites, soy sausage, and French toast. Breakfast foods are always easy and fun to make, especially when your house is a disaster!

 TIP OF THE WEEK: If you feel resentful about doing all the cooking, include your husband in simple, regular tasks.  Ask him to prepare the things he cooks well (homemade pancakes and omelettes for my spouse). Designate one night a week his cooking night. Choose simple recipes for foods he loves to eat (the so-called ‘greasy cheesies’ are my husband’s favorites).