Almost eviction time

Oof. In all honesty I thought we’d be a family of four by now. Instead, I have these fat bloaty cankles as evidence that I am massively pregnant. 

I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining- it’s just an observation. Weeeeeeird things happen. On the plus side, when I peel off my socks at the end of the day, I can see what brand I was wearing because of the imprint. Cool!

Um yeah.

I don’t eat at the hospital cafeteria a whole lot, but this past week I failed to make enough dinner to have lunchtime leftovers. I ended up buying a wrap. Wraps are usually SUPER MEH. This one rocked, and so only two days after the fact, I re-created it at home and it got the approval of my husband, who is even more MEHHHHHH on wraps than I am.

Spicy Chicken Wrap

-4 oz Neufchatel cream cheese, softened

-2 tablespoons (or more or less, depending on your preference) chopped jarred jalapenos

-4 whole grain tortillas

-16 oz skinless boneless chicken breasts or tenderloins

-1/2 cup pre-made pico de gallo

-shredded lettuce

-salt and pepper to taste

Supah simpul. Using an electric mixer, whip together your cream cheese and jalapenos. Cover and refrigerate if making wraps later, or set aside.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken breasts/tenderloins and either grill outside or on a stovetop grill pan. Cook until internal temp reaches 165+ degrees.

To assemble wrap, spread 2 tbsp cream cheese on the tortilla, add ~4 oz grilled chicken, then top with pico and lettuce.

Spicy! Easy! Cheap! Yaaaaaay.

Per wrap (makes 4): 390 calories, 30 g carbs, 12 g fat, 35 g protein, 4 g fiber.

Now that I’ve written this post, time to elevate my ASICS-imprinted feet.

Fonsee Feast

36 weeks along tomorrow, bay-bay, and we have been getting stuff donnnnnnnne. Our master bedroom redo is done-ish, and Mac’s big boy room is fully complete. My tendency is to leave a project 94% complete and move on to a new project, and such is the case with our bedroom. I still have to paint and hang the cabinet doors to our sink closet, but good enough for now. I really wish I had taken before pictures- imagine plain white walls with gnarly 70s yellowy-brown oak doors and trim. You know, like the rest of my house.

I went with a pale purply-blue for the walls and then various shades and patterns of blue for décor, plus gold accents. I am in loooooove. It’s so peaceful and pretty without being overly girly. The bench at the end of the bed was a Craigslist find that I spray painted and recovered. I already had the two lamps and painted those as well and got some new shades from Target. Wall art is from Kohl's and, yep,  painted that too. 

I am proud to say that we’ve managed to keep it clutter-free for going on 3 weeks. I’m trying to get better at having set rules for myself, one being that I will not allow myself to put “stuff” on the dresser. It always starts innocently enough- “Oh I’m just going to set this necklace here for me to wear tomorrow” and then before I know it I’ve got a heap o’ junk. I also picked up a tip from one of my patients that is genius. Instead of keeping several garbage cans around her home (including the bathroom), she only uses the kitchen garbage. Not only does that cut down on having to empty a bunch of little garbage cans, but it helps her be more active around the house. Blow your nose in the bathroom? Gotta walk down to the kitchen to pitch it. I’ve started adapting it too and I have to say it’s working for me.

We’ve also been loading up on tasty meals, sort of anticipating doing a bunch of frozen stuff once baby arrives. The freezer has been stocked with Trader Joe’s but in the meantime, I’m making things like fancy tacos. Why “fancy tacos?” ‘Cause when Mac pronounces “fon-see?” it is the cutest thing ever.

Fancy Tacos

-1- 1 ½ cups shredded pork (I had made a huge pork loin in the crockpot a few weeks ago- pork + broth + 8 hours on low + shred = done)

-2 teaspoons vegetable oil

-1 cup fresh corn (about 3 small ears worth), cut off the cob

-8 corn tortillas

-Pinch of chili powder

-Juice of 1/2 lime (or go ahead and use the whole thing if you’d like)

-1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco

-1/2 cup premade pico de gallo (just let the grocery store do the work here)

-1 avocado, peeled and sliced

-Salt and pepper to taste

In prep for baby, I’ve been bulk cooking shredded meat. If you haven’t tried this already, you need to. This works with any boneless skinless meat- try beef, chicken, or pork. Amount doesn’t matter at all- place the meat in the crockpot, add ~4 cups low sodium broth, and cook away until it’s nice and tender and shreddable- about 7-8 hours. I portion this into 1 ½ cup baggies and then I freeze. Makes it so easy to then whip up chicken quesadillas, BBQ beef sandwiches, and anything you could ever want for shredded meat.

For corn:

-Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 teaspoons oil. Add corn. Saute for about 5 minutes- corn will brighten up and make occasional popping sounds. Remove from heat and stir in chili powder, lime juice, and if desired- salt and pepper. Pour in a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.

-Wipe down the skillet and return to medium high heat. Heat up tortillas, working in batches. I like mine to have just a few browned spots on them for the slight toasty taste. We’re going to use two tortillas per taco, since corn tortillas are more breakable than flour.

-Assemble your tacos: start with pork (add salt and pepper here if you’d like), warmed corn, avocado, queso fresco, and pico.

Yum yum yum yum yum. Tastes infinity times more fresh than what you’d get at Baco Tell, or Jaco Tohn’s.

Cravings and such

Sometimes it is pure torture to be a dietitian. Something I would like to get straight from the start here is that I do not sit around craving celery, tofu, and skinless chicken. When I had a patient confess to me that she went to Olive Garden and ate fried calamari, whooooo, hello. Now my brain is all wanting fried crispy-chewy-salty-fatty goodness. UGH.

It’s not all bad though- when I take the time to cook a healthy dinner and pack leftovers to work, cravings die pretty quickly. Last night I whipped up something new- Greek style couscous. Not exactly an ocean treat, but really tasty and satisfying.

Greek style couscous (vegetarian)

-1 box whole wheat couscous

-Low sodium vegetable broth- the same amount of water that the box calls for (mine was 1 ¾ cups)

-1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

-1 cucumber, sliced and diced

-1 pint cherry tomatoes (I used yellow), cut into halves or quarters

-1 small red onion, diced

-1 can black olives (I left mine whole- I hate them, and this way they’re easier to pick out)

-Juice from two lemons

-1/4 cup olive oil

-1 teaspoon ground oregano

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon pepper

-4 oz crumbled feta cheese

1.       Prepare couscous according to package directions, subbing veggie broth for the water. I think this adds a lot more flavor. Cover with foil and set aside.

2.       In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, chickpeas, and olives.

3.       In a small bowl (or Pyrex measuring cup), whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, and seasonings. Pour over veggies. Let marinate for a few minutes.

4.       Combine couscous with marinated veggie mix and stir in feta.

5.       Serve either slightly warm or at room temperature. I say that while I’m eating it cold out of the fridge as leftovers- still good.

Both Baby Guy and Baby Daddy ate this up. As is, the recipe yields 4 servings. Per serving: 480 calories, 60 g carbs, 21 g fat (most of it is heart healthy due to the olive oil), 17 g protein, and 10 g fiber. That is a LOT of gut filling, satisfied belly, keep ya regular fiber.

Who needs fried calamari anyway, right? 

Month Recap

Ohhh, February. Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Brunch with the girls and steak and lobster tails for dinner with my two true Valentines.

And then nothing's as romantic as Bob Odenkirk in some "Better Call Saul" to round out the weekend.

I’m 34 weeks along now and as much as I hate the term “nesting,” I think I’m doing it. On my radar now is cooking meals in bulk to freeze for later. One such awesomely freezable meal is “fried” rice. Though, in order to freeze it, you have to not hoover down all the leftovers right away like we did.

"Fried" Rice

3 cups instant brown rice

16 oz boneless skinless chicken tenderloins, diced into ½ in cubes

16 oz extra firm tofu, diced into ~1/4-1/2 in cubes (could omit either tofu or chicken and double up)

1 large sweet onion, diced

2 cups raw carrots, sliced thinly into coins

3 large eggs + 3 tablespoons milk, lightly whisked with fork

3 tablespoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/3 cup lite soy sauce

1.5 cups frozen green peas

2/3 cup chopped green onions

½ teaspoon minced garlic

½ teaspoon powdered ginger

Pepper to taste

Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside (in a really really large bowl) and cover to keep warm. In a large shallow pan over medium heat, cook scrambled eggs. Add to rice bowl. Wipe down pan, add sesame oil. Cook chicken for 5 minutes, Turn over. Add carrots and onions. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add tofu, garlic, ginger, green onions, peas, and sesame seeds. Cover and reduce heat to low. Let cook for a few minutes. Add soy sauce. Add mixture to rice. Add pepper to taste.

This will make 8 servings. Per serving: 330 calories, 34 g carbs, 10 g fat, 26 g protein, 2.5 g fiber. Compare this with chain restaurant versions that pack nearly 600 calories per comparable serving.

Don't stop Bieb'in

I know we’ve all been thinking it, so I’m gonna go ahead and just say it-

Justin Bieber’s new songs are really good.

Is it too late to that I’m sorry? Nope, not sorry.

On a totally unrelated note, I gave my dad kind of a lame gift this year for Christmas- only a slight step up from homemade coupons for chores. He had mentioned wanting to try and eat healthier for breakfast. I decided to make him a bunch of pre-cooked frozen meals that can be eaten on the go. When it came time to actually cook and prep, I made breakfast burritos and blueberry oatmeal cups.

Simple Breakfast Burritos

-10 whole grain wheat tortillas

-6 whole eggs + 6 egg whites

-1/2 cup skim/1% milk

-5 strips low sodium bacon, cooked, cooled, and crumbled

-1/2 cup shredded cheese

-2 cups fresh spinach, washed and patted dry

You could really feel free to add in whatever else you’d like- onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. My preferred way to cook bacon is to line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a cooling rack inside. Put the strips of bacon on the cooling rack so that the grease drips onto the baking sheet underneath.

Whisk together eggs, egg whites, and milk. Cook over medium heat until scrambled. Remove from heat and add spinach. Cover until spinach is wilted- the residual heat from the eggs will do this in just a few minutes. Add crumbled bacon.

To assemble burritos, place a spoonful or two of egg mixture in a vertical line in the middle of the tortilla. Wrap the right side of the tortilla across the egg mixture. Fold the top and bottom of the tortilla, then roll over to the left. I wrapped each tortilla in a paper towel, then wrapped that in plastic wrap. My logic is that you need to wrap it in a paper towel to microwave anyway, so might as well wrap it from the beginning.

For the blueberry muffin cups, I followed this recipe from the kitchn with a few modifications (mainly subbing in blueberries and chopped walnuts).  

Fiber-riffic breakfast for ya, dad. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some YouTubing to do. NOT SORRY.

Bum bum bum

I feel like a bum pretty much most of the time. Am I the only one? I realized today that I was given an invite to a birthday party for one of the kids at daycare. Totally forgot about it. Never RSVPd. Never went. Bum. Mac’s room pretty much always smells like poo, because even though the Diaper Genie rocks, it is apparently no match for what my kid produces, and I don’t stay on top of emptying it every 7.4 hours like apparently I should be doing. Total bum. I haven’t been on top of posting weekly recipes in a really really long time either. I’m still cooking, taking photos (if we can call them that), and making new things, but I never get around to actually posting. Compleeeeeete bum.

Is it weird that the one thing I’m never a bum with is online shopping? Save me, Nordstrom. FREE SHIPPING AND FREE RETURNS AAAAAND FREE SAMPLES. Gah. Hook, line, and sinker. In a previous order I got a sample of La Prairie facial cream. Loved the smell of it, so looked it up to purchase a full size. Learned it costs $400. Wish I would’ve been way more stingy with my lone sample.

Anyway. Back to me being a bum.

I made some soup last week, which is news, because I’m not really that into soups. WHAT. I think it’s for the same reason I’m not a huge fan of ice cream. WHAAAAAT. I like chewing my food, and I dunno, liquidy things usually aren’t my jam. But this soup was prettttttty decent. My two food critics ate it up too, so I deem it post-worthy.

Sausage & White Bean Soup

-1 lb mild Italian turkey sausage (I can only find the links at the store but if you twist the links, it’s easy to get the meat out of the casings)

-1 small yellow onion, diced

-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

-1 box (32 oz) low sodium vegetable broth (could sub chicken broth as well)

-1 can white beans (I used cannellini), drained and rinsed

-1 can diced tomatoes, pre-seasoned with basil/oregano (use plain diced tomatoes if your store doesn’t have this)

-1/4 teaspoon pepper

-1/2 cup half and half or sub with 2%/whole milk

-2 cups fresh baby spinach, rinsed

One pot easy-ness. Heat up your pot to medium-high heat and saute meat, breaking up into small pieces. Once meat is almost cooked, add onions and garlic and saute. Add a teaspoon or two of olive oil if the meat is dry (turkey tends to be lean). Turn heat to low, add broth, beans, whole can of tomatoes (do not drain).  Add pepper. Bring heat up to medium-low and let simmer for 10+ minutes. Just before serving, add cream and spinach. Turn off heat and cover. Let sit for a few minutes to allow spinach to slightly wilt. No one wants slimy spinach, but no one wants crunchy raw spinach. You be the judge here.

I served these with the chintziest garlic breadsticks ever, but in case you’re curious-

Easy Garlic Breadsticks

-4 whole wheat hot dog buns, cut in half length-wise

-Tub spread (like Smart Balance)

-McCormick garlic bread sprinkle (I find mine at Target)

Heat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread just enough butter on each bun half to cover. Generously sprinkle the garlic bread powder. Optional- add shaved Parmesan. Bake for 5-10 minutes, or until desired doneness. Each breadstick is only ~75 calories.

And in case you think I'm exaggerating about being a bum, this is apparently the only pic I took of the soup. Bummety-bummety-BUM.

Soup makes 4 generous servings: 370 calories, 28 g protein, 25 g carbs, 16 g fat

Reso-blew-tions

Flappy blue cheer!

Or happy new year. Whichever.

I am resolving (this is BIG) to (wait for it…) not make any resolutions. Bleh. More power to people who would like to, and I know in the past I’ve been big on it, but you know? 2015 was just fine! And hoping 2016 will be too.

Yeah, “just fine.”

I’m easy to please.

Oh hey speaking of easy to please, I made an old recipe last night with a few variations which are worth reposting.

Thai Meatballs with Coconut Sweet Pepper Rice

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground chicken

2 cups carrots, finely diced

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

~1/3 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro

2 eggs

1 teaspoon powdered ground ginger (or ½ teaspoon fresh)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 tablespoon sambal oelek (that little jar of chili garlic paste in the Asian section- I promise it’s not hard to find)

2 slices bread

1 can light coconut milk (or water)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a shallow bowl, pour 1/3 cup coconut milk over the 2 bread slices and let that soak in for a minute or two. Combine all ingredients, including soaked bread, into a large bowl and stir to combine well. Using a spoon (or your hands), plop 1.5-2” blobs of meat into a glass baking dish. These are not very oily meatballs, but I still prefer something with depth as opposed to a regular metal baking sheet. No need to actually roll these into meatballs, as they’ll be somewhat wet and loose (GROSS). Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until internal temp registers 170 degrees.

For the coconut rice, I used a rice cooker. You could just do it old-school over the stovetop too.

2 cups jasmine rice

Remaining light coconut milk + enough water to make 2 cups worth of liquid

1 bag sweet peppers, sliced (about 2 ½ cups)

Pour rice and coconut milk in rice cooker and set according to directions (with ours, you push the “white rice” button- so easy!). When there’s about 5-10 minutes left (either rice cooker or stovetop), add the peppers. You want them crisp-tender and steamed, not cooked to mush.

Serve 4 meatballs with ¾ cup rice & pepper mixture.

D'oh. Pay attention to the coconut milk can before you open it...

Wild haired peanut butter thief...

Boom. Easy tasty dinner. So far so good, 2016.