Author: Lindsay Ingalls

Weekend Wrap Up: Busy, Busy, Busy

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This weekend was one of the busiest and most productive weekends we have had in, um, months? Friday night was a little on the lazy side, we had dinner and relaxed on the couch and I went to bed early.

Saturday I was up early to get a little cleaning done and then off to my girlfriend Cate who was in town for the weekend so we could chat and go over plans for the baby shower she is hosting with help from my mom in June. We also indulged in some sticky buns that Neil was ever so nice to get up and bake us Saturday morning (unfortunately no photo).

After my visit with Cate, Neil and I headed out to run a few errands around town.  We also stopped into the new sandwich shop to pick up an Indian Chickpea grinder to share for lunch. It was a really great sandwich on delicious bread but both Neil and I didn’t totally get the Indian part of it, but either way we enjoyed it.

The remainder of our Saturday was spent organizing, relaxing on the couch, reading and eventually I made a delicious dinner which will be tomorrow’s recipe of the week.

Sunday: There was no rest at our house this Sunday, it was our most productive and busiest day of the week! Neil and I got up early to pick up the floors (in our carpeted rooms) and move everything out of the nursery so we could shampoo the carpets.

While we waited for my parents to arrive with their machine Neil prepared some homemade bagels and coffee and I worked on the bagel toppings and a nice fruit bowl.

Everyone (except me) got their coffee on and then it was off to the cleaning and shampooing!

After shampooing all of our carpets we decided to head out for a few hours to run some errands and have a picnic lunch while the carpets dried.  After stopping at a few shops, Buttered Noodles and Home Depot, we decided to find a spot for lunch.  We enjoyed a nice spread of homemade ginger peach iced tea, hummus, crackers, berries, and pasta salad.

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad: 1 packaged of cooked whole wheat shells; 1 15-oz can of black beans and 1 15-oz can of chickpeas, a bunch of cherry tomatoes cut in half, one small red onion diced, a handful or two of baby carrots cut into circles, lots of black pepper and enough of Briannas French Vinaigrette to coat everything.

After our outing we headed back to our house to move things back into place and my mom and I worked on decorating the nursery while the guys watched the remainder of the Yankees game.

Once my parents headed home I made some dinner and we settled in on the couch and caught up on a few shows before heading to bed to read. After a busy day my snoogle never looked so good.

How did you spend your weekend?

April Foodie Pen Pals

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How did it already become April 30th??? I almost forgot all about it then I remembered it’s Food Pen Pal reveal day!

The Lean Green Bean
This was my first month participating and I loved it so much I decided to participate again next month…and so did the Husband!
I received my package from Jeannette who sent me a fantastic package of goodies.

The favorite item was the homemade vegan brownies which the Hubz and I spent the weekend enjoying.

Thanks so much Jeannette for a great box! I really loved everything!

Quick & Easy Recipe: Stir-Fried Noodles

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Stir-Fried Sesame Garlic Noodles with Tofu and Veggies

This recipe is quick, easy and it’s cheap! This dish is reminiscent of an (Americanized) Chinese lo mein dish, but much healthier.  It is also the perfect recipe to make when you need a quick and easy lunch or dinner and it is wonderful hot or cold.

Serves 2-3
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 block extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2” cubes
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
6-8 button mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or 1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 servings of cooked noodles (capellini, rice noodles, soba noodles, or udon noodles)

Heat the oil in the saute pan over medium-high heat for one minute.
Add the tofu, bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms to the pan and immediately toss with the oil to coat.  Cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, tamari, sesame oil and black pepper.  Cook for 5-7 minutes or until veggies are tender.
Add the noodles and chili garlic sauce. Stir to combine. Serve.

{Pregnancy Update} 29 Weeks

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How far along are you: 29 Weeks (photo 28 weeks 3 days)

How big is the baby: Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you’ll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby’s hardening skeleton each day. (source)

Baby’s Gender: We both think it’s a boy and find ourselves referring to them has he….

Baby’s Name: We have a name for a boy or a girl

Weight Gained: 18.5 lbs

Clothes:  I picked up two new dresses this weekend- wahoo!

How are you feeling: I am feeling pretty good but I am definitely feeling tired out. Today I had to go to an out of town meeting which involved 2 hours driving each way (luckily I didn’t have to drive) and then sitting on an uncomfortable chair for 3 hours.  This trip left me exhausted and ready for a nap as soon as I got home.

What do you miss: Sleeping. Energy. Running. Sprouts.

Symptoms: Lots of aches and pains, especially my hips at night.  Lots of heartburn.  Some mild headaches from not enough sleep.

Cravings: Veggie burgers. Berries. Oatmeal.

How are you sleeping: Hips are sore when I sleep, waking up all the time to pee and so thirsty. Tossing and turning.

Workouts: I lots of walking last weekend and I went to yoga.

Things I’m looking forward to: Starting our birth classes next week. Our baby shower in June.

Sacred Pregnancy by Anni Daulter

This Week–> Sacred Pregnancy Week 29: Water Energy

This Week’s focus:

Have you considered laboring and birthing in the water? What are your thoughts on this and are there any feelings relating to this process that you feel you need to cleanse at this time?

 

The Last Getaway: Part Three

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After our busy morning in Freeport we settled in for a nap before heading out to Soakology. Soakology is a foot sanctuary and teahouse in Portland that Neil and I came across a few years ago and absolutely loved our experience there and have been dying to go back since. Last year we couldn’t fit it into our visit but we made sure to call ahead and make appointments this year.

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When we arrived we checked in and chose our foot soaks from a pretty extensive selection.  I was told due to pregnancy I could not do any that had rosemary and there was one specific detox one that was not suitable for pregnant woman; I loved how informative and knowledgeable the staff was! Neil decided to go with a rosemary, seaweed and tea tree soak that was described as being good for runners and bikers and I went with the chai and fig soak which sounds as luscious as it was.

While we waited to head downstairs to the soaking room we looked over the tea and treats menu.  We both decided to go with iced tea, ginger peach for me and ginger mint for him.  We were also a little hungry so we ordered the Mediterranean Plate which had hummus, olives, pita and veggies; it was fantastic!

Unfortunately I couldn’t take any shots of us actually getting our feet soaked or of the downstairs soaking room but I can tell you it was just as amazing as I remember.  We were seated in these big comfy chairs that are elevated off the floor and we were given these wonderful warm scented shoulder/neck pads as we slipped our feet into giant bowls of soaking water that had little smooth stones in the bottom to run your feet across.  We sat back, relaxed and enjoyed our soak, tea and snack.  Honestly, when we first went here we were a little skeptical about just getting the foot soak (you can also get food scrubs, massages, and upper body massages as well) but we were both pleasantly surprised at just how relaxing it was to sit back with your feet in a nice bowl of soaking liquid.  Appointments are about an hour long and during that time they come through and offer you more hot water to reheat your soaking liquid.  This is one of my “must do in Portland” activities and I hope we are able to do it again soon.

After our relaxing foot soak we decided to head out to Portland Head Lighthouse and Two Lights (two other lighthouses), both of which I hadn’t been to in many years and Neil had never been to.  Although the temperature started to get a little cool it was a beautiful night and we took full advantage of it.

After taking over 300 photos and enjoying some time by the water we headed to Silly’s Restaurant for dinner. We had never been to Silly’s, but since it was known for being vegan friendly and for having veggie burgers (what we both were in the mood for) we decided to give it a try.

The menu is huge at Silly’s and although we had gone there on a mission for veggie burgers we ended up having a hard time deciding on what to order.  We finally settled on two items to share:

The Zombie burger A veggie burger, vegan mozz, spinach, onion, tomato, spicy sauce, pineapple & jalapenos on griddled garlic bread with fries Buffalo Fries. We decided to swap out the regular fries for buffalo fries (fries tossed with hot sauce) and served with a creamy spicy vegan sauce.  The burger was homemade and delicious! We were both also pleasantly surprised that the pineapple was not overpowering (our only concern).

We also shared the ZoomaZoom (vegan) Falafel with spicy vegan spread, spinach, lettuce, tomato, onion and black olives.  This was really tasty as well and the perfect companion to the Zombie Burger.  While the Zombie Burger and fries was a little heavier the ZoomaZoom was much lighter; the perfect combination for sharing.

After dinner we headed to Whole Foods (again) and I picked up a kiddie sized chocolate sorbet for dessert and Neil got himself a local beer to bring back to the hotel to try.  We spent the remainder of the night looking at the photos from our day and relaxing.

Sunday was all about picking up groceries and our favorite goodies from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s before heading home.  We stopped in North Conway to do a little more outlet shopping, where I found another maxi dress from Banana Republic on sale from $100 for only $30! Then we had lunch at Moat Mountain before finally heading straight home where we settled in on the couch to relax.

We had the perfect last getaway before the baby’s arrival and I couldn’t be happier.

The Last Getaway: Part 2

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Our second day in Portland started off as it usually does at Whole Foods where we picked up our favorite make your own parfait.  We love to the make your own because we can fill it with as much or as little fruit, soygurt, granola and other goodies that we want.  We both tend to be heavy handed on the fruit and light on the soygurt and additions which makes it a great deal at only $3.99.

To go with our parfaits we picked up americanos, decaf for me and regular for him, which were okay.

We also picked up lunch while we were there to eat later on in the day.

After breakfast we headed just north of Portland to Freeport to do a little outlet shopping.  We arrived a little early so we headed to the L.L. Bean Flagship Store where we had a little photo session.

We spent the morning wondering around Freeport getting our shop on. Unfortunately I wasn’t that successful, seems it is just going to get harder from here on out to find pregnancy friendly clothes. However, I did find a dress that I really like, which you will see in my next post. Neil lucked out and he found a bunch of items at the J.Crew Outlet to update his summer wardrobe. We stopped for a lunch break between stores and enjoyed our goodies from Whole Foods.

After shopping we headed back to the hotel for a nap before going for an amazing foot soak, sightseeing and to dinner.

Recipe of The Week: Chipotle Bean Tostadas

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Last week I mentioned that I was making Chipotle Tostadas from Raw & Beyond for dinner one night.  Well I did make Chipotle Tostadas but mine were a little different from the recipe.  I didn’t have any dried beans, tomato powder and decided to use large brown rice tortillas instead of sprouted grain. Below is my take on this recipe from Raw & Beyond.

Chipotle Bean Tostadas

Inspired by Raw & Beyond

Serves 4

  • 2-15 oz cans Eden Organic Kidney Beans* with bean liquid reserved
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 4 brown rice tortillas, or any tortilla you like
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • Salsa
  • 1 romaine heart, thinly sliced

Cover the bottom of a small sauce pan with some of the reserved bean liquid. Heat over medium-high for a minute and then add the onion; cook for 5-6 minutes until soft.  Stir in the garlic, salt, cayenne, cumin, and chipotle chiles; cook for 30 seconds.  Add the beans, remaining liquid and tomato paste.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.  Place 2/3 of the bean mixture into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to the pan and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low.

Heat the tortillas in the oven at 250F until crispy, about 15 minutes. Top each tortilla with 1/4 of the bean mixture, 1/4 of the avocado, 1/4 of the romaine and a big dollop of salsa.

Other great additions are cilantro, vegan sour cream and/or hot sauce.

*I use Eden Organic Kidney Beans because they are preserved in water with kombu.  If you are not planning to use Eden Organic beans make sure to rinse and drain your beans.  You will also have to use water in replace of the bean liquid.