MIA and surprise you're pregnant!

So, my posts have been a bit sparse over the last couple of weeks....sorry about that!  I do have a pretty good excuse....found out I'm expecting our third child and I've been a bit nauseous.  Apparently, you can get pregnant while nursing without ever having a period. As is typical in my first trimester, I have an aversion to cooking---I'm fine with eating, but if someone else made the food, it seems WAY more appealing.  Wonder why that is? I'm thinking this little surprise might affect my 1600 calorie meal plans since my focus will be turning toward eating more calories and protein than I would be if I was trying to maintain my weight.  Healthy eating is still a priority and I'm thinking I will focus more on healthy meal plans than sticking to a strict calorie...

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Pesto Stuffed Portobellos

Simple and Delicious, Pesto Stuffed Portobellos are quick and easy enough for lunch and fancy enough for dinner.  This meal is my latest craving and seems like it keeps popping up on our lunch menu. I find mushrooms delightful, but my kids do not agree---as with any meal I love that my kids get picky about, I say, More for me!  My kids eat some pretty healthy stuff most of the time because they have little choice, so I think they should be allowed to actually really not like a few foods in this world.  Right now mushrooms are at the top of that list.  Bummer for them, I'm going to keep making these Pesto Stuffed Portobellos! Recipe...

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The Fear of Eating Healthy (part 1)

Over the past decade I have made numerous changes to my diet to include healthier choices, some have been easy and some have seemed torturous at the time.  Almost all the major changes have been accompanied by a twinge of fear or at least hesitation.  Fear of what, you may ask---Well, as you become more conscious of your food choices and more aware that a truly healthy diet means leaving behind a lot of familiarity and relearning many of the skills associated with eating this can be quite intimidating!  Healthy eating is in many ways an emotional choice as much as it is based on factual knowledge of eating the "right" foods. I have found it empowering to reflect on my fears and articulate them.  I'd like to tackle one fear at a time in a series of posts beginning with...

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Apple Baked Oatmeal

Delicious hot oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfasts.  If you've followed my blog with any regularity you may have seen my post on Baked Oatmeal or "Special Oatmeal" as my son calls it.  This warm, easy to make, comfort food finds its way into our breakfast menu on a weekly basis.  I do switch it up a bit here and there by adding pumpkin or blueberries and now that my daughter is old enough to eat peanut butter, I've been wanting to try a peanut butter version of baked oatmeal.  But today's switch-up from the normal raisins was baked oatmeal with apples. By switching out the sugar for dark brown sugar and adding vanilla...

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Tilapia Fish Tacos with Guacamole and Fresh Pico

Tilapia Fillets are coated with a mixture of wheat germ, corn meal, and Mexican spices, then pan fried and placed inside corn tortillas packed with guacamole, Pico di Gallo,  and even cheese if you wish.  I have converted fish haters into fish lovers with this fish taco recipe! People in Kansas don't seem to be very familiar with fish tacos, so even though this version barely resembles the fish tacos one might enjoy in sunny California, these are edgy enough in these parts!  I like fish tacos with cabbage too, but these please even my pickiest family members! Here is the recipe for Tilapia Fish Tacos with Guacamole and Fresh...

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