Say Cheese! Its Week 15

Mamma and Baby Make Cheese

 My Dad and Karen got us a cheese making kit for Christmas.  You can make a pound of mozzarella or ricotta from a gallon of milk.  I love this because I can control what goes in my body using lower fat cheese and organic milk.  Baby has me craving cheese all the time!  Tonight I am going to make some bruschetta to go with our cheese.  So here it how you make an easy cheesy treat!

1. First take one gallon of pasteurized milk and add 1/4c dissolved rennet and 1/4c citric acid.  
2. Place the pot on the burner and bring it up to 90 degrees stirring constantly.  
3. After it reaches 90 take it off the burner and cover for 5 minutes.  This is when the whey and curd form.  
4. As you can see in the picture below, you then can cut the curds into blocks.

5.  Place the pot with the cubed curds back on the burner and bring up to 120 degrees stirring gently.

Next comes the fun part!

6.  Here I placed the curds in a microwave safe bowl and strained off as much whey as possible.  

 7.  Microwave the bowl for 1 minute and strain off more whey.  Then press the curds together into a ball.

8.  Next stretch the cheese into long strands until it looks shiny!

9.  Form the cheese into whatever shape you would like.  I chose to do a twist, but next time I will do a braid.  

 10.  Place it in an ice bath for 15 minutes to hold the shape.

Finished product!  Yummy!   Enjoy mozzarella in dishes like lasagna or serve with fresh tomatoes and basil.

Baby Update

How Far Along: 15 weeks, 3 days
Baby's Size: Apple
How am I Feeling: I have been sick for about a week with a sinus cold.  I finally broke down and decided to take approved medicine because I am not getting better.  Morgan has been taking great care of me.
Things I Miss: Wearing my skinny jeans buttoned (right now I have to wear them unbuttoned with an elastic band).  I am going to go get maternity pants before work starts back.
Next Appointment: January 2nd

14.5 Weeks

 Belly Talk

I call this picture "pregnant with a big dinner".  Mom just fed us some lentil soup at her house and I was stuffed before I took this picture.  Needless to say the baby is growing fast!  Already the size of a lemon and soon it will be the size of an apple.  We are at 14.5 weeks...didn't have the time or motivation to blog on Monday but better late than never.  

Morgan and I have been sick for the past few days and I have had a hard time getting to the gym.  Finally got there today for some jogging.  We have been busy buying Christmas gifts and it seems like every store I go in to I want to buy baby things instead of the things I go in there for.  I have noticed a bit of "mommy brain" lately, meaning I forget everything.  My office is covered in sticky notes because I cannot seem to remember a single thing.  

Proud Daddy! - At least one of us will still have their six pack after all of this  :)

Yummy Things

This week we went to Whole Foods and learned how to make homemade marshmallows.  They were delicious and so easy!  The recipe will follow soon.  We make hot chocolate with almond milk and let our giant marshmallows melt on top of them.  I would blame the baby for my sweet tooth, but I have always had it...

Coming Soon

We put an offer on a house!  Hopefully we will have good news in the next few weeks.  If not, then we will continue our search.  We are quickly outgrowing our apartment.

How far along? 14 Weeks, 3 Days
Maternity clothes? I am going to buy them after Christmas.  I am mostly just in need of pants and bras right now

Stretch marks? No
Symptoms: Bloating and sore muscles
Sleep: Great as long as I have my hubby and my body pillow
Best moment this week:  Whole Foods cooking class with my family
Miss Anything?  My abs...
Movement: Hopefully in the next month!
Food cravings: Say Cheese!
Anything making you queasy or sick: I felt sick today when I drove past a chicken truck, but those are just nasty
Have you started to show yet: I think my short waist is making me show kinda early, what do you think?
Belly Button in or out? In
Mood: Mood swings right now, just ask Morgan, he is a champ for putting up with me!
Looking forward to: Starting to look like I am pregnant

13 Weeks

Oh boy my body has changed!  You can see from these two pictures, having a baby will totally change an athlete's body.  Well at least it changed mine!  We are now 13 weeks along and could not be happier!  Although most of my pants no longer fit....I have found the B Band from Target to be very helpful when you have to wear your pants unbuttoned.  I have luckily not been sick (knock on wood), but I have been exhausted.  Finally last week I got some energy back and have been able to workout at least four times a week. Having a baby is already changing our lives and we are currently looking for a new home.  We will keep you posted on that one, but our one bedroom apartment is so small that I had to search for 10 minutes to find a blank wall to take the photo.  My body is hiding the light switch in the picture...

As you can see, I am in an awkward stage of showing, where I look like I had a really big lunch and not like I am pregnant.  Though I am sure it will come soon enough!  I am just trying to enjoy every minute of it.  I could not do it without Morgan and his amazing foot rubs :)

How far along? 13 Weeks, 0 Days
Maternity clothes? Not yet, I don’t know how much longer I can hang on.  I’m having to go with my pants unbuttoned most of the time.
Stretch marks? No
Symptoms: Fatigue, bloating, and constant thirst
Sleep: Great as long as I have my hubby and my body pillow
Best moment this week:  entering the second trimester! and hopefully getting in a workout tomorrow
Miss Anything?  Wine and cheese
Movement: Not yet
Food cravings: No cravings this week.  Last week I really wanted Thai food, which is still lingering.  My craving for sweets has started to diminish.
Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of hotdogs...ew...
Have you started to show yet: I have a short waist, so I am showing a little
Gender: We will find out in 7 weeks!
Labor Signs: No, just a little stretching and cramping occasionally...Dr. says this is normal
Belly Button in or out? In
Mood: Ecstatic 
Looking forward to: Gaining more energy! and starting to really look pregnant and not just like I ate a huge lunch

Easy Pumpkin Soup

Got These?

Then let's 

make soup!

     

Last night I came home to some yummy sauteed free range chicken breast cooked by my adorable husband!  I thought we could use a side dish so I searched the cabinets for soup ingredients.  I came up with an easy recipe for pumpkin soup using only four main ingredients! (I did not count the spices as ingredients because it is still delicious with pumpkin flavor alone)

 Easy Pumpkin Soup

1 can 100% pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 can lite coconut milk

1/2 yellow onion chopped

1-2 cups unsalted broth (chicken or veggie)

*Note: you can add more or less broth depending on how "soupy" you like your soups

 Spices to suit your taste*, I used:

2 T lime juice

3/4 inch grated ginger root

2 cloves of minced garlic

1 tsp ground corinander

2 tsp cilantro

Dash of curry powder

Dash of cinnamon

Salt and Pepper

  

*Sweet soup option- use pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, maple syrup, and coconut cream!

 

Directions:

      Throw everything in a pot, bring it to a boil and simmer until the onions are soft.  We ended up also throwing some sauteed chicken chunks in our soup for added protein. That's it! Easy as pie!  Mmm speaking of pie, I am having gluten free "Pumpkin Pie Pancakes" for my post training breakfast.  Recipe will be posted soon!

 

Housewife House Tackles a Chicken

  

Last night I decided to surprise my hard working husband with a roasted chicken.  Some of you may know, I have been a vegetarian for the last three years.  This being said, I have never man-handled an entire raw chicken before!  So after a trip to the grocery store I stood over the sink with a 4 pound chicken looking up at me.  To my surprise I roasted the sucker with ease!

Here is my recipe for Simple Southwestern Chicken

What You'll Need

• 1 whole chicken
• Olive oil
• Seasonings (You can really use any seasonings you like, these are some of my faves)
• Lime Juice
• Pepper
• Salt
• Cumin
• Paprika 
• Garlic!  My #1 Spice 
• Onions, garlic cloves, roasting vegetables (optional)
• Preheat your oven to 400 F and find a roasting pan

1. Examine the Rear- You heard me correctly; look up the chicken's rear end and pull out the bag of guts (this was the worst part for me)
2. Give Him a Bath- Rinse the chicken inside and out, make sure the water is not on high unless you like chicken juices splattered all over your clothes and kitchen...mmm...
3. Mix Your Spices and Rub Him Down- I mixed all my spices in a small bowl and added about 1/4 cup of olive oil.  I know some of you hate when people do not post specific quantities, but guessing with these spices won't hurt your chicken.  When in doubt add more garlic!  Next, rub the spices all over your chicken (the spice and oil mixture should resemble a paste).  This was both gross and kinda fun!  I also chose to chop some garlic and place under the skin, as well as some onions and squash in the pan surrounding the chicken.

4. All dressed up and nowhere to go!...except the oven- Place your rubbed down chicken in a roasting pan, breast side down.  *Some roasting vegetables may have to be pulled out of the pan before the chicken.

5. Roast chicken at 400 for 15-20 minutes per pound- The thermometer should register 165-170 when finished.

*It may take longer if you stuffed and onion inside your chicken, which I did :)

 Serve it up!!  I served my chicken with the roasted yellow squash, onions and whole garlic cloves. 

Caramel Apple Crepes

This recipe is not paleo, but it was made with lots of love for my hubby on Valentines Day.  I assume they were delicious because the plate was clean!

Em's Crepes

1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Dash of cinnamon sugar for dessert crepes

Whisk together wet ingredents then slowly sift in flour and salt; beat until smooth.
Lightly butter a large frying pan on  medium heat. Scoop up batter with 1/3c measuring cup and pour into pan, simultaneously swirl batter around the bottom of pan until it is coated in a thin layer of batter.  Return to heat and let crepe cook until sides begin to curl up, then flip the crepe and cook on the other side for 45 sec-1 minute until lightly browned.  Then fill 'em up!

Caramel Apple Filling

2 medium apples peeled and sliced
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp butter (bad about measuring sometimes)

Cook butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium high heat stirring often until it is reduced; add apples and cook until softened. 

Enjoy!

Raw Vegan "Cream Cheese" Frosting

Recipe adapted from www.healthylivinghowto.com

1 c blanched almond meal
1/3 c water
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
4 tbsp no calorie sweetener (I use granulated stevia or splenda)
Dash of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. 

Pipe onto delicious cookies!

Fluffy Blueberry Cupcakes

           Over the past few weeks I have been trying to eat as Paleo as possible.  Some days all I want to do is sink my teeth into a huge piece of chocolate cake or eat 20 cookies in one sitting.  I have found that Paleo desserts seem to disappear in our house just as fast as non-Paleo, but I don't feel quite as guilty eating them!  :)  Here are some incredible blueberry muffins/cupcakes I made last week.  This was before I bought coconut flour so I will be posting the coconut flour recipe soon, as well as a strawberry and banana recipe.  Banana mufins are great when you add flax seed meal!

Em's Fluffy Paleoberry Cupcakes

3 cups almond meal (I use honeyville brand)

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract 

1/4 cup agave nectar or sweetener of choice

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 cups blueberries

1/3 cup coconut oil melted

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup or more coconut milk to achieve smooth consistency

 

      Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the vanilla extract, honey, lemon juice and coconut oil. Mix well. Add the almond meal and baking powder and mix well. Add the blueberries and mix gently. I baked them in mini muffin pans for approx. 15 min on 350 F. 

 

Homemade Paleo "Frosting"

1 egg white

1/4 cup maple syrup 

(I only had Smuckers Sugar Free, I think it would have "fluffed" better with the real stuff)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup blueberries

Beat egg white, fold in maple syrup, vanilla, and lemon juice.  Place blueberries in pan over medium-high heat until they reach a jam consistency.  This won't take long, so continuously stir to avoid burning.  Fold blueberry jam in to egg white icing and pipe or dollop on cupcakes.

 

Now share them with your husband and watch them disappear! Yummy!