More food pictures!

I have been awful about posting frequently, but maybe I will get into the habit soon! I know that I love pictures when I go to a blog, so why not put more pictures on my own blog? Well, here are more pictures!

Here is one of our dinners last week: Lentil Taco Salad (Mmmmm!)

Here is dinner last night: Parsley Pesto Pasta (Homemade Pesto) w/ Fresh Tomatoes & Side Salad w/ sunflower seeds and raisins

Here is what I am eating right now for lunch: Veggie Burger on an Ezekiel 4:9 Bun topped w/ Smashed Avocado, & Field Greens

Menu Plan Monday: Week of April 15th, 2008

I know, it's Tuesday, but I just didn't get a chance to post my meal plan yesterday! This is the plan for this week:

Monday: Baked Parmesan Tilapia w/ sauteed fresh spinach & tomatoes, over garlic quinoa
Tuesday: Cabbage & Carrot Soba Noodles w/ side of orange slices
Wednesday: Veggie Pot Pie w/ side of fresh fruit
Thursday: Lentil Tacos topped with sliced avocado w/ side salad
Friday: Date night!
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup

Also, I realized I never post pictures of our food! So here is a dinner from last week:

Tortilla Soup w/ side of refried black beans (tortilla chips on the side)

And here is what I had for breakfast today:

1/2 Grapefruit, 1 scrambled egg w/ spinach, mushrooms, & onion
1 cup Mother to Be Tea

I sprinkled about 1/2 T of nutritional yeast on top of the eggs. The nutritional yeast is a good source of vitamin B12 (along with the egg). I also had 2 of the cookies I made last night:

Best Oatmeal Cookies

Here is the recipe. YUM! These came out SO good! I cut the recipe by 1/3, used whole wheat flour instead of white, and cranberries instead of raisins.

So, that is what stuff looks like around here! I think I am going to try to make a habit of posting more pictures of our food!

For more meal plans, visit OrgJunkie!

Menu Plan Monday: Week of March 24th, 2008

This week isn't too busy, so I am trying some new recipes.

Monday: Lentil, Radish, and Spinach Stuffed Pita w/ Carrot Salad (I didn't make it last week... so, I am trying it today!)
Tuesday: Better Than Bacon BLTs w/ Pasta Salad & Orange Wedges
Wednesday: Veggie Enchiladas w/ Side of Black Beans (I am making this one up)
Thursday: Pumpkin Pasta w/ Side Salad
Friday: DATE NIGHT!
Saturday: Crockpot Peanut Chicken w/ Brown Rice & Stir Fried Asian Veggies
Sunday: Leftovers!

So, I found this great new blog. It is called Kath Eats Real Food. She has some great ideas on there! She is also studying to become a Registered Dietitian. I absolutely love being an RD, and it is great to hear about others entering into the field of nutrition with a great outlook on food and health.

For more menu plan ideas, head over to OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Have a beautiful day!

Menu Plan Monday: Week of March 17th, 2008

I am LOVING the second trimester so far... cooking and planning meals has returned to normal. Thank goodness!

So, here is this weeks meal plan:

Monday: BBQ Chicken Pizza w/ side of fresh pineapple
Tuesday: (We are having company) Swiss Chard Soft Tacos w/ sweet potato fries, side of mango
Wednesday: Tempeh & Broccoli Stir Fry w/ Brown Rice
Thursday: Lentil, Radish, & Spinach stuffed pita w/ Shredded Carrot Salad
Friday: DATE NIGHT! Hopefully Indian food!
Saturday: Leftovers or Honey Baked Lentils
Sunday: Potluck at church - Banana Bread and maybe something else

I am also MAYBE going to try this recipe for our company tomorrow: Raw Apple Pie. It sounds amazing and so very healthy... I will let you know if I try it! I am a bit nervous about trying it because if I mess it up, that is a lot of wasted expensive ingredients!

Visit OrgJunkie's Blog for more menus!

YAY!

We had our first midwife appointment today... and we got to hear the heartbeat!!!!!!!

I am so so so very excited! My husband and I both started crying. What and incredible experience!

The midwife said everything is going great at this point, and the baby seems healthy! Looks like our due date is September 19th, 2008 (give or take 2 weeks :)!

YAY!

Menu Plan Monday: Week Of February 18, 2007

This week is going to be interesting and busy. I work with the youth at church, and we are leaving Friday morning to go on retreat through Sunday afternoon. So... I will need to have things frozen/easy to prepare for my sweet husband to have over the weekend!

Without further ado:

Monday: Lentil Dal, Coconut Cabbage, and Pita Bread
Tuesday: Baked Potatoes, Broccoli, Pumpkin Rolls, and Salad
Wednesday: Bean Burgers w/ Oven Baked French Fries
Thursday: Tomato Pasta (I think?)
Friday - Sunday (for my husband): Pizza, Bean Burgers, Leftovers, Quesdillas

I am also preparing one of the breakfast meals at the retreat. Here is what I am planning:

Whole Grain Pancakes
Muffins (not sure what kind yet)
Fruit

I am going to make the dry mixes for the pancakes and muffins in advance. Any recommendations on muffins? I LOVE this recipe made with whole wheat flour, but I don't know if the teens will.

Mmmm... Lentil Dal for dinner!!! I better get cooking!

Head over to Org Junkie's blog for more menu plans!!

Menu Plan Monday: Week of Feb 11, 2008

So... the name of my blog is "Live. Love. Food.", but I have not been loving food very much lately. I never in a million years thought it would be possible for something to make me not want to cook!!

Well, this pregnancy has defiantly put a kink in my favorite thing to do! I not only don't really want to cook anything, but nothing sounds good. Oh well, I am sure this will pass... and then everything will sound good (let's hope)! My sweet husband has been so patient and kind through all of this! He has not only helped prepare meals, but has been ok with sometimes having cereal for dinner!

Without further rambling, here is this weeks meal plan:

Monday: Bok Choy, Veggie, and Tofu Stir Fry over Soba Noodles
Tuesday: Red Lentil Hummus on Pita Bread Sandwiches w/ side salad
Wednesday: Church Fellowship Meal - I am bringing a loaf of bread
Thursday: Grilled Tilapia topped with Cabbage & Radish Slaw and Tortilla Strips w/ side of roasted sweet potatoes
(This is a treat for Valentines Day... I am also going to serve sparking cider and make a dessert, not sure what yet)
Friday: Date Night!
Saturday: Veggie Loaf w/ Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Salad
Sunday: Leftovers

My reasoning for these are: the stir fry won't take very long, and the lentil hummus I can prepare earlier in the day and assemble for dinner, the veggie loaf will make leftovers... always quick!

Hopefully, this will be a pretty simple week! Does anyone have any other ideas for quick, yummy meals?

I won, I won!!

So, about a week ago, there was a HUGE giveaway carnival over at Bloggy Giveaways. I spent... oh, 5 or 6 hours entering the contests. Ridiculous, but completely addicting I tell you.

Well, it paid off! I won a BEAUTIFUL set of handmade cards from Heather over at Cool Zebras. Here they are (to be honest, I stole the pictures she posted on her blog... I hate dealing with our camera sometimes! They look even cuter in person!):



How cute are those?? I will totally be needing them for upcoming thank you notes! Thanks Heather!

News and a Meme

So, for all 2 people who read this blog... the reason I have been gone for a bit is due to some exciting news. That's right, we are expecting! My husband and I are SO excited that the Lord has blessed us with this new life!!

The reason I haven't been blogging is because of my new friend "morning sickness". Oh, how I hate morning sickness... first, because it isn't just in the morning it is ALL.DAY.LONG! Second, I am not actually throwing up, I am just nauseous. This is one time in my life where I wish I would throw up because maybe it would make me feel better!

So, now for some fun... I was tagged for a Meme by GreenStyleMom.

In the Past year (I'm using 2007):
What was your most embarrassing moment?
Hmmm... this is a hard one. I guess when you get older, you don't really get embarrassed easily! I would have to say it was when I was taking my niece to the bathroom, and she yelled out "I think someone is going poop!"... and in fact, we walked out at the same time as the person in the stall next to us who was as embarrassed as me!

What are you proudest of achieving?
In the past year I am most proudest of finishing my internship, passing the exam to become a registered dietitian, and getting licensed!

What would you do differently with the benefit of hindsight?
I would call my friends more often. We all recently got married or had children, and I think we have all been "too busy" to call one another. I wish I would have called more.

What did you love about last year?
I loved being married! We had a pretty rough year with our car accident. It happened in July, and I am still going through physical therapy and the legal stuff is STILL going on. It definatly brought my husband and I closer.

In the Next year (I'm using 2008):
What do you want to say you accomplished next year on this day?
That I have a safe, natural birth and deliver a beautiful blessing in September!

What are you looking most forward to in the next year?
Our baby! I am looking forward to having this new life grow inside of me and learn more about myself in the process.

What goal of yours are you most tantalized by?
Hmmm....

If you knew you only had the next year to live, what would you make sure to do? What is stopping you?
Spend more time with friends. Travel. Laugh more. Worry less.

Look what I found, look what I found!

I AM SO EXCITED! We have been trying to slowly decorate our home, and the most recent room has been the office. I have really wanted a chair in here to have a "reading nook". SO......... Look what I found at Goodwill today for $4.99 -

Ok, yes I said four dollars and ninety-nine cents... SO EXCITED! How cute is this antique chair? One leg is a TINY bit wobbly, but nothing you notice sitting in it.

I found it as soon as I walked in the store, and didn't want anyone else to have it. I picked it up, not knowing it weighed at least 35 pounds, and realized I couldn't exactly carry it around with me while I shopped for other bargains.

So, I took it to the front and asked if they could hold it... they said yes, but I was still paranoid that someone else would grab up my amazing find! As I kept shopping, about every 10 seconds, I would glance up front making sure my new treasure wasn't being taken to a new home. Seriously, I was ready to fight anyone who even thought about touching it.

I know, I know... I sound insane, but FOUR DOLLARS AND NINETY-NINE CENTS! Who wouldn't want to strap it to their back so no one else could take it?

Anyways... I am excited! Now, I am off to finish it off by draping it with the asparagus colored woven throw I found at Tuesday Morning for about $5! YAY!