Naughty Vegan Treats

Since I found out I passed my glucose test... 

Photo from http://thekrazycouponlady.com

This is basically sugar disolved in water
but it is soo good and organic
so I don't let myself feel too bad.

I am contemplating indulging in a sugary treat.

Photo from http://moneysavingmom.com

Damn the vegan blog that
informed me these are vegan!
That is dangerous information.

(I have already started enjoying one of these. Shhhhhhh)

Cooking Through Peas and Thank You, Part Two

Sticky notes for the ones I must make ASAP!

Tofu Scrambles

Tofu mixture marinating

Veggies stir frying

All together now!

Ready to eat!

What We Changed: 

• We used the wok rather than a skillet.

Thoughts:

• I did not try this one because I am a picky eater- do not like tomatoes, peppers, or onions- but Ian loved it! He had it for dinner and it was perfectly filling. 

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

The dough

Finished product

So moist and the perfect ratio of chocolate chips to bread!

What We Changed: 

• Followed the recipe exactly.

Thoughts:

• I LOVE IT. An indication is that I made this five times in two weeks. Once, I used half the zucchini because that is all I have left and I have to throw it out because it was extremely dry.
• I love this chilled from the fridge, hubby loves it directly out of the oven :o)
• The recipe suggests that the bread bakes for 50-60 minutes. 55 minutes was perfect for us in our conventional over. When we started making it in the toaster oven instead, it was necessary to decrease cook time or risk drying the bread out since the heat source is closer.
• Buy up the rest of the summer zucchini, bake a million loaves of this and stick them in the freezer for delayed gratification!!!

If You Missed It: Cooking Through Peas and Thank You, Part One

Cooking Through Peas and Thank You, Part One

I was in a rut. My meal plans were getting uninspired and repetitive, and I want to eat a big variety for the future taste preferences of baby Squiggles. 


I have been following Peas and Thank You blog for sometime and knew that the author had come out with a cookbook. I found it on Amazon.com for very cheap! 


So far, I have cooked 11 of the 85 recipes in Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love and I do more each day! I love this book. The recipes are easy and totally different from one another. "Mama Pea" eats no animal products and her recipes reflect this, though you sometimes have the option of using vegan cheese like Daiya or organic cheese. I truly think an omni would not miss meat, dairy, or eggs in these yummy meals! 


Over the next couple of weeks, I will post my responses to the meals I have made:

• Photographs
• What I did differently than the recipe
• My thoughts 

Starting with...

Tofu Ricotta Gnocchi

Chilled, rolled, cut, and ready to go!

Cooked and tossed in sauce

Noms on a plate. Flour everywhere!

What We Changed: 

• We did not have vegan cream cheese so we used dairy cream cheese (this was eaten mostly by hubby not myself)
• We used frozen homemade pesto sauce instead of tomato sauce, though we have made this since these photos were taken and have used tomato sauce. 
• We used a ton more basil in the ricotta mixture because we have an abundance in the garden!

Thoughts:

• I only tried one because it was not vegan but they were delicious! Do not expect them to taste like potato gnocchi, however. The second time we made these, we let them sit in the water a little bit longer and preferred that.
• You need to plan ahead for this recipe because it takes time to press the tofu and the dough takes time to chill. 

Pregnancy Update

(from http://maybebabylaf.blogspot.com)

How far along? 26 weeks, 4 days

Due Date:  December 30- though at my last appointment, my fundal height measured a week ahead.

Total weight gain/loss: 

9/7 Prenatal Appt.: +11, 164 lbs., Total +21 
(My doctors think it was water retention)
9/22 Prenatal Appt.: -1, 163 lbs., Total +20
(Back to normal!)

Maternity clothes?: All of the time and I have only bought a couple of items, the rest were gifts or handed down.

Sleep: Same as before.

Best moment this week: 

• Met with an amazing pediatrician! 
• Hubby feeling and seeing kicks
• My seeing kicks (even my parents have now!)
• PASSED MY GLUCOSE TEST!
• Blood pressure and weight gain back to normal 

Movement: Still not as often as I would like but YES! Certain times of day and certain positions of mine do increase movement or at least allow me to feel it more. Eating sweet/cold or both increases kicking. 

Food cravings: Hot dense soups, bready things, soft pretzels (anyone made these homemade?)

Food aversions: None

Symptoms: 

9/7 Prenatal Appt.: Elevated blood pressure! 132/78

9/22 Prenatal Appt.: Blood pressure 116/64 

Back in the healthy range...it was a very scary fluke before!

• Stretch marks!! All over my breasts, under my belly, top of buttocks, and around the belly button
• I got sick one night, not sure if this was pregnancy or food poisoning.
• Really difficult to get up and down
• Dry hands!

Gender:  Our 20 week scan showed a penis! 

Labor Signs: No- I read that some women have Braxton Hicks by now, but not me.

Belly Button in or out? At first I was the one going on about this but hubby is really commenting how much my belly button is sticking out! It has not 'popped' all of the way.

What I miss: I am adjusting to changes in relationships with friends and family and realizing how different they will be soon.

What I am looking forward to: Labor and delivery!

  Milestones: 

• Hubby feels the kicks!
• We both see the kicks, though he sees more because they mostly occur below my belly button which I can't see.
• Don't know if this is a milestone, but I cannot see "down there" anymore!

Note the mutant cat at my feet!

Meal Plan + Photos

Sunday: Indian Chickpeas

Monday: Vegan Sausage

Tuesday: Tofu Nuggets

Wednesday: Potato Latkes

Thursday: Crepes

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Tacos heavy on the avocado

(I'm going to do a post upcoming about how we meal plan; there is a method though it may seem random!)

(Vegan) Zucchini Latkes from last week. Delicious! Hubby loved them so much he requested regular potato latkes this week. Recipe is here.

Vegans love pets/companion animals, right? 

Sleepy hubby, sleepy kitty

Other kitty snoozes a few feet away...

Caught!

Meal Plan, Farmer's Market Haul, Baby Bump

Great news! The internet is back on in our apartment. We did fine without it (lots of cooking, cleaning, reading, baby bonding) but it did limit our productivity. Now we can do many more baby preparations like reading consumer reports, adding to our registry, figuring out the legal matters we need to attend to, and more. Plus, back to Netflix streaming, YouTube, and blogs :o) 

I promise that we were meal planning although I did not post them here! This week we ate/are eating:

Saturday: Black Bean Soup with Broccoli

Sunday: Tofu Gnocchi, Salad, Sauteed Squash

Monday: Portabella Burgers, Salad

Tuesday: Zucchini Casserole 

Wednesday: Potato Leek Soup

Thursday: Zucchini Cakes or Latkes

Friday: Early leftovers, then hitting the road!

Saturday: No idea! We are camping with my parents out of town! Possibly many granola bars, bananas, and trail mix. 

...all with as little salt as possible. At my last prenatal appointment, my blood pressure was elevated and I had excessive weight gain possibly from water retention so I was told to watch sodium. Pretty easy when you homecook almost everything you eat!

We also made it to the farmer's market for the first time in a month for the last of the summer produce:

Zucchinis, Garlic, Arugula, some type of Pepper, Trombone Squash

Meanwhile, I am growing away :o) Many strangers approach me about having twins are/or being due any minute now. Yeah.....single baby, end of December. 

25 weeks, 1 day 

Updated Morning Smoothie Recipe- Safe for Pregnancy

Adjustments to Smoothie Ingredients

*Original ingredients in black.

*Changes in purple.

*Original smoothie recipe posted here.

• Half of a banana
• 1/2 c. non-animal milk (I've used hemp, almond, soy, rice, and coconut water)
• 1-2 tbsp. flax oil
• Not anymore
• 1 tbsp. raw maca powder
• Not anymore (this may be unsafe for pregnancy) 
• 1 tbsp. raw cacao powder
• Not anymore. Instead, I use a squirt of Santa Cruz's organic vegan chocolate sauce. This doubles as a sweetener, which comes from invert sugar. 
• 2 tbsp. protein powder (This is half a serving. I use Hemp.)
• Why did I ever use half a serving?! I am using 4 tablespoons, the full serving, now. 
• 1 tbsp. agave
• Not anymore! (Could cause contractions) I have used a few drops of stevia or just the Santa Cruz chocolate sauce. 
• 1/2 tbsp. coconut oil
• I have stopped using any coconut oil. I decided I want to get those calories from elsewhere in my diet. 
• 1 tbsp. nut butter (sunflower, almond, whatever)
• Sometimes 2 tbsp. if I feel I need a protein boost.
• Bunch of greens! (Kale, spinach)
• When kale is out of season, I can only buy it in these big bags that go bad before I can use it all. So, when kale is out of season, I stick to organic baby spinach in those little containers. 
• At least three ice cubes. I use seven, thick like a milkshake.
• I have been using 6 ice cubes for a while now
• Optional: ground flax, Spirulina
• I usually put in 1/4 teaspoon of Spirulina, no ground flax

The Promise of Noms to Come

I have been MIA! We are having huge issues with our internet that began when we moved back in June. We are going on a month without internet in the apartment so I am online much less often. What has happened in that time?

Drake the cat has been helping us set up the nursery.

• We have eaten delicious homemade food- without the internet, we have spent a lot more time cooking and baking.
• I bought and fell in love with the Peas and Thank You cookbook. Everything has been delicious and I am saving these meal photos for a separate post.
• I re-visited an old cookbook- College Vegetarian Cooking. It is simple to vegan-ize all of these recipes and with most we have had great luck! 
• I stopped eating dairy after having cheese for a few months. The exception right now? Nutella. :o/
• My diet has become a lot more raw and heavy on fruits and veggies in an attempt to do a low salt diet because my blood pressure is starting to send up some red flags. 
• Second trip ever to Whole Foods. Worth the two hour drive! My only qualm is how expensive the buffet food was, but it was delicious, especially the Indian options. 
• Our old slow cooker broke and my mom has given us hers! Lots of slow cooker meals in our future for yummy fall food especially now that I am working again. 
• I have been planning many blog posts and I promise to upload them soon!

Cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

I think we are finally over our muffin-phase. These are peach cobbler muffins!

Not the prettiest food, but hubby loved this slow cooker chili with TVP!

Pregnancy Update

(from http://maybebabylaf.blogspot.com)

How far along? 23 weeks

Due Date:  December 30, definitely! This was confirmed by our 20 week sonogram. HE (yes, he!) is measuring exactly on target!

Total weight gain/loss: 10 lbs as of 8/12 (20 weeks)

Maternity clothes? Totally maternity clothes. I had been getting away with normal tee-shirts for working out but they don't cover my stomach now and I'm flashing my belly to school children waiting for buses while I run. I also am still stretching out and loving these regular yoga capris I've been wearing the whole time.

Sleep: Actually starting to get used to sleeping only on my left side, though it's still uncomfortable and painful. The bad thing is I keep waking up on my back. Putting pillows behind it has not helped. I bought a preggle pillow for between my knees and have been loving it! 

Best moment this week: 

Let's say best moment since I last blogged was seeing the baby BOY in a 20 week ultrasound for which we both got a clean bill of health!

Movement: 

Bunches of movement! I had two scary days last week with little movement but then he came back strong. 

Food cravings: Ice cream, crepes with nutella

Food aversions: None

Symptoms: Really nothing new but the sneeze-and-pee is getting very aggravating.

Gender: 

BOY for sure!

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button in or out? Partly in, partly out, When I stand profile the belly button does stick out at the top.

What I miss: This is very superficial but I miss not have a face, back, and chest covered in acne. I miss stress-free sleep and traveling without worrying about bathrooms and accessing healthy food!

What I am looking forward to: 

Getting in better shape- I need to get my endurance up for labor and practice birthing squats especially!

  

Milestones: 

I felt the baby move outside the belly but my hubby has not. I have an anterior placenta so it may be awhile.