Good Eats

The holidays are a crazy time to try to lose baby weight. Even though I am doing the Game On Diet with a friend, I am only half-heartedly trying to lose weight until after Christmas. Last night I had a church-group potluck with lots of wine and some awesome cranberry pie. This morning I didn't have time to eat breakfast, and as soon as I got to work, someone said "hey Vera! There's some sausage balls over there if you want some!" Then I had a work potluck at lunch with ice cream sandwich cake and whoopie pies. Tonight I had a church dinner with chili served over Fritos. Get the idea?

I also went back to work this week, which means finding the time to prepare healthy meals has gotten harder. It definitely requires a lot more planning and organization.

But the thing is, as much as I love whoopie pies and chili served over Fritos, I really can't go more than a day or two without craving fresh veggies and other healthy and yummy goodies. In fact I'm eating handfuls of edamame right now. My body feels so much better when I feed it body-loving foods. And when my body feels better, I am a happier person. And when I am a happier person, I'm a better wife and mother and employee and friend.

So, here's how I'm handling my non-potluck days...

Breakfast has always been my most difficult meal. I'm just not hungry when I wake up, and mornings always seem so hectic now that the older kids are in school. But I really do feel better when I eat a good breakfast.

My favorite breakfast is a green smoothie - when I drink these every day, I find myself FORGETTING to get coffee at work because I have so much energy and feel so good! I have been putting the ingredients in ziploc bags and freezing them, then putting them out on the counter as soon as I wake up (around 5) and then blending when they are a little thawed an hour later (I tried straight frozen, but my blender couldn't handle it).

Green Smoothie
1 whole orange
1 whole frozen banana
1 cup frozen mango/strawberry/pineapple pieces (I get a smoothie mix from Kroger with these in it)
2 cups fresh raw baby spinach
Blend, blend, blend - you want to blend for a really long time, so the spinach is totally not chunky anymore. Even though they look pretty gnarly, these smoothies are yummy - even my kids will drink them. If the green freaks you out, add some blueberries for a purple smoothie :)

I also make a big batch of steel cut oats at the beginning of the week and put into single-serving jars to heat up. I add some maple syrup, walnuts, and apples for a very quick, very filling breakfast.

When I was pregnant, I needed lots of protein at breakfast to keep from feeling sick. I'd scramble two eggs with some fresh spinach and some cream cheese and eat with toasted Ezekiel bread - yum! Scrambling eggs doesn't really take very long.

If I can't manage breakfast before leaving the house, I throw some Greek yogurt in a little jar with granola and fresh raspberries on top and eat it at my desk when I get to work.

For lunch, I have been making giant salads and putting them into mason jars to take to work with me. I made THIS aaaamazing salad Sunday and ate it Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday for lunch. It was seriously GREAT! Tonight I made one of my favorite salads for tomorrow and Friday

Asian Slaw with Ginger-Peanut Dressing
from Once Upon a Chef

¼ cup honey
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut butter
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 cups prepared shredded coleslaw
2 cups shredded carrots
1 red pepper, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
1 cup pre-cooked, shelled edamame (or more - I love edamame and probably doubled this)
2 medium scallions, finely chopped
½ cup salted peanuts
½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

Mix the dressing ingredients and then toss with the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. This made 3 big lunch mason jars for me.

Dinner... I usually cooked dinner when I get home from work. But right now baby Wyatt and I are still getting used to being away from each other all day, so he wants to nurse the minute he sees me... for about four hours ha ha! I'm kind of equally unwilling to give up snuggle time to stand over a stove. This is where the crock pot is my best friend. And mornings are hectic, as I mentioned, so it works best for me to prepare the crock pot meal the night before, right in the crock pot insert, which I put in the fridge overnight and then stick in the crockpot in the morning. Tomorrow we're having

Chicken Curry
from Mama and Baby Love

3 Tablespoons flour
4 Tablespoons curry powder
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5 pounds chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potatoes
2.5 cups baby carrots
2 cups coarsely chopped mango
1 cup chopped onion
1 chopped zucchini
2 minced garlic cloves
1 chicken bouillion
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup peanuts or cashews

Mix everything except the raisins and nuts together and put in the crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. I put mine in the crockpot in the fridge the night before, or you can freeze and then throw the frozen ingredients straight into the crock pot! Add the raisins and nuts as garnish for serving. Serve over rice (I can make rice while breastfeeding - it's one of my talents. Actually I made shiitake and asparagus RISOTTO while breastfeeding one time - one arm held baby and the other stirred and stirred. No one else in my house was impressed, even though I praised myself profusely at dinner.)

So, between egg nog and rum balls, fudge, cheese balls, and big ham dinners, try to get some of your veggies too. Mama says it will make you feel good!