Another Chance!

So I find myself pregnant again!!! Very much rejoicing but also very much overweight. What a predicament. Well, I have a plan! See I am overweight enough that I really don't need to gain weight. I am actually 5 lbs over my normal full term pregnant weight. Yes, you read that right. I am 8 weeks pregnant and 5 lbs OVER my full term pregnant weight. So after lot's of reading and common sense I have decided to do a month of green smoothies or green thickies. I will add pickles and tomato juice or V-8 if IO need salt. I will be adding coconut oil and oatmeal to some of my smoothies and I am also taking a very good raw prenatal and cod liver oil. Whew, this is going to be one healthy little punkin!!! :) Feel free to come along with me on this little journey. Little? 8 more LONG months is what it really feels like! I won't be perfect but I will do the best I can! TTFN!

Only 9 1/2 weeks left!!!

I just have to take one day at a time. I think I am doing pretty good. I'm watching carbs but not being too restrictive. I am aiming for about 125 g a day. And of those I am making sure they are good carbs. I bake my own bread so increasing the fiber there is easy. I already grind my own wheat but I can add bran or flax to the mix. I am also doing a superfoods green drink at least twice a day with a tablespoon of chia seeds all mixed into 4 oz of aloe vera juice, 4 oz water and a few drops of stevia. It really doesn't taste that bad and it is super healthy. Those are kinda like my snacks at about 100 calories per serving, 8 grams of fiber and at least 7 grams of protein. Then lots of raw foods. Today for lunch was a bbq onion sandwich with spinach, tomato, and avocado. I love those! I make sure the bbq sauce has no high fructose corn syrup. For dinner willl be a huge green smoothie with added ground flax. I do also have some yogurt for a snack for a quick protein. One day at a time. the next few days are going to be very hard. We are going away for church and it is always hard to say no to pop on the road. But I will try to be strong. I can do it!!!

Only 9 1/2 weeks left until I get to hold this precious little guy! I can't wait! He still doesn't move a whole lot. He moves just enough for me to know he is still alive! All of my other babies were real movers, I guess this one must be more mellow! :0) We'll see about that.

Raw Chocolate Cheesecake! Yum!

Chocolate Cheesecake W/ Blueberry topping
Crust:
2 C walnuts
1 C soaked dates
2 T cocoa
Blend in a food processor until doughy.
Cheese:
3 C soaked Cashews
3 peeled lemons
1 C raw honey
1 t vanilla
4 T cocoa
Blend well, I did take the seeds out of the lemons.
Topping:
3 C blueberries
1/2 C raw honey
3 T water or more until blended
Blend well!
Layer in a pie pan or small cake pan, crust, blended cheese, and topping. Put in freezer after each layer to set. This is very rich and a small piece does the trick. I thought the cheese layer was maybe a little too lemony. Is lemony a word? Anyway adjust according!
I found this recipe on loving it raw. com. I changed a few things to my own liking but will probably play with it a little more. It's nice to have something like this every once in a while!

Almost 27 weeks!!!

It has been about 3 weeks since I posted. So you are probably thinking I have been blowing it big time. But that is not the case!! I have been doing pretty good.
My husband took me on a surprise vacation for our 17th wedding anniversary! It was a fun time. I did not do the best on that trip. However here at home I have been doing good. I have gained some weight, kinda sad but I do want a healthy baby. I just have to keep on this right track and things will be fine!
I think I made my favorite green smoothie today. Here is the recipe!

Favorite Green Smoothie
2 big handfuls of spinach
2 c+ water
1 c frozen mango
2 peeled oranges
1/2 c frozen pinapple
2 T agave
Blend up and enjoy. so green and pretty and so yummy!

I'm really going to try to post some pics. Not sure if my dial up will let me but I'm really going to try!

Week 24~Progress report

Well, things are going very well! I am so happy to report that I am doing and feeling good! My vita-mix has been so much fun to use and the smoothies are sooo good! I have been at least 75% raw. Even while away at church I decided to bring some things so I could stay healthy. They were more than happy to have me eat different. They said not to feel bad at all. There is one man in our fellowship with diabetes and so they understand having to eat different. Food can be your enemy or help you heal. Just depends on what you feed your body.

My daughter and I canned salsa and it is SO good. No not raw but put away for the winter! I love canning salsa. I thought I would post my favorite recipe.

Hot Salsa
15 med tomatoes
3 white onions
12 jalapenos
12 oz tomato paste
2 C white vinegar
2 T salt
2 T sugar
1 bunch of cilantro
2 T lemon juice
Chop all ingredients (I use a food processor, so fast and easy) and combine in a pot and simmer for about 3 hours or until thick. Ladle into hot jars seal with lids, and I do oven canning. I put the jars into the oven, turn it to 250 and then after it gets to 250 I set the timer for 25 minutes. Then just turn off the oven and let them sit until cool. Works every time!

Now the FDA says it is not safe to do that, yet look at what the FDA says IS safe. People have been oven canning things like tomatoes for years and years. There are certain things that need to be pressure canned and I'm just not sure of all that. So do your own research and decide for yourself!

My Menu for today!!

Well, so I got my vita-mix and love it. I used it for several things tonight for dinner. For my cooked food family I made a nice black bean taco filling and chopped onion and cheese in it. I don't care for how it does cheese but oh well. I like to grate cheese. And it is something we shouldn't even be eating anyway.
So for my dinner I had raw enchiladas with raw sour cream made in the vita-mix. I have never had such creamy, smooth raw sour cream. The recipe is:
Raw Sour Cream
1 1/2 C soaked cashews
1 T cider vinegar
1 t lemon juice
1 t salt
1 t miso (I didn't use any)
1/2 C water
Mix it up! It is sweeter than regular sour cream but is wonderful on the enchiladas!
I used raw corn tortillas, and a nice veggie mix that I marinated in worcestershire. I really like worcestershire!
Okay so that was dinner, pretty much all raw. For lunch I had a sandwich on a whole wheat bagel. It is called a world class sandwich and it is pretty good. You saute onion in BBQ sauce and that is your sandwich filling, then top with spinach, tomato, avocado, and any other veggie you want. So not completely raw with the bread and cooking the onion but it is oh so good. I also had carrot & barley juice, of course! Now for dessert!!!
Chocolate Freeze
1 C almond milk
1/4 C raw honey
2 T cocoa powder
2 bananas frozen
2 C ice
I'll put everything in the Vita-mix and blend it up, Yum, yum!
BTW, the vita-mix came with a really nice whole foods cookbook that I am loving. You can easily swap raw foods for certain things and make raw meals! They have a value of $50 just for the book. I think I got a really good deal buying a refurbished vita-mix. It has a 5 yr warranty too! I feel like I am really going to be able to do this raw food lifestyle. Still aiming for 85 % raw for my daily total. However I can see being 100% pretty easy most days. Oh, and my weight was down again! I can already see a difference in my face. I was starting to look pretty fat. Again I am the same weight right now as when I delivered my 5th. So I know I do not need to gain any weight. It can come off the places it's not supposed to be. And baby is getting great nutrition. Now a confession...I still have to kick the caffeine habit. I know it is bad for my baby and can even mean smaller birth weight. I'm working on it!

My Vita-mix is HERE!!!!!

I just used my Vita-mix for the first time and I am in love!!! I made a Garden Fresh Cocktail. I used two tomatoes, 1/2 small red pepper, small handful of spinach, 3 baby carrots, 2 T onion, dash parsley, 1/8 t hot sauce, 1/2 t worcestershire, dash of sea salt, & 1 C ice, blended it and it was so good and smooth! Amazing! My children loved it! Tell you what.... I would much rather drink this than chomp on wet leaves! I get most of my greens in the form of a smoothie. I also highly recommend Barleymax from Hallelujah Acres. It is the most cost efficient way I have found to get that kind of nutrition. Their processing is done in a way to not ruin the enzymes and I Love the berry and mint flavors. I also have a greenstar but find it hard to use it. I did the math and it is much cheaper to order the juice on the go set from Hacres.com. It has carrot, barley, & beet which is what I usually juice anyway. For a month it costs less than buying the produce. Yes the old fashioned way would yield higher nutrition but I don't have the time. I'm actually thinking of selling my greenstar. I would only use it for fruit when doing a juice fast.??? And I know I won't be doing that for a long while being pregnant and then nursing for hopefully at least a year. All I know is that I am so very happy with my vita-mix. Wow!