Mommy Muffin Top Destruction Begins

I knew boob feeding meant an extra 500 calories.  I ate well, exercised mildly (if that), and quickly lost all my baby weight.  I was left with some jiggle, but it wasn't too bad... easily hidden with clothes not too tight on the waist, flattering dark shades, and jewelry.  And then at 9 months, we began to ween my son.

I went from around 7 feeding a day to 5 and then to 3 and finally I'm at 2.

And I continued to eat roughly the same (I won't lie, I had some moments with Chinese New Year and then Superbowl Sunday!) and my work outs were likewise.

And then....

Out of nowhere, I gained five pounds (two of it might of been gone after I pooped).

Worse than that... the jiggle has magnified into a very noticeable mommy muffin top.

And so it begins today.  I will annihilate you mommy muffin top.  Say good bye to your days on my hip.

DAY ONE 


Thursday - I went to a latin aerobic class today that was boring.  My mom made me go, I talked with all her friends, noticed I was the youngest girl there by about ten years, and tried my best to remember how to move my hips from my ballroom days (about ten years ago in college).  My left ankle started to throb.  I continued.  I sweated a tiny bit.  I hope all that hip twisting did a number on my muffin top.  Cha-Cha, Samba, Rumba, and even about one minute of Jive.

I think I'll put on Smash and Switched at Birth while doing some bicycles and toe taps.  And yes, I'll post a before and after photo - I'm just too embarrassed to post a before one now.  To be continued...

Cooking Rice with a Tatung

I know of no other rice cookers.  My entire life.. I have only seen this one.

Tatung!

Too bad I never helped my mom make rice.

1 person = 1 cup of rice, 1 cup of water in the container... 1/2 cup of water outside the container in the base of the cooker.

So math geniuses... if I want to make 4 cups of rice for 4 people... that's 4 cups of rice and water with 2 cups of water on the outside.  DUH!

Orange Chicken in a Crockpot with Snow Peas

I love me some orange chicken, but the breading ... is it really necessary?  I decided to find out.  And of course, use the crock pot since it was for Sunday dinner and the less involved I have to be... the bette!


Orange Chicken:
4 chicken breasts - cut into cubes, with 2 breaded in flour, 2 not breaded.


Sauce Mixture
3 T kethcup
4 T brown sugar
1 T apple cider vinegar
4-6 oz of orange concentrate (a can is about 8oz, so I did a little under half, and thawed it by putting it in  tub of warm water)
1 t salt

I used olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium, and browned the breaded chicken a bit (didn't have to be fully cooked since I was going to use the crock pot) and boiled the other 2 chicken breasts which were actually frozen.

I put the chicken in the crockpot and poured the sauce mixture over the chicken and cooked on low for 5 hours.  Next time, I'd go for 4 hours because most of the chicken was already cooked and the sauce got burnt on some pieces.

Snow Peas:
I cut off the ends of about 2 cups of snow peas (did you know you have to cut off the ends?!, it took me a few errors to realize this).

I chopped up 1/4 of a yellow onion, put some olive oil in a small saucepan and sauteed the onions for 3-5 minutes, then added the following:

3 T light soy sauce
1 t coarse pepper
2 T sesame oil

My husband made some rice and we had ourselves a delicious Sunday afternoon dinner.

Don't judge by the photo... some food that tastes good is not always the prettiest.  Nor is the laundry I later folded which is peeking out from the back.  HAHAHA!  but the chicken came out delicious!  Breaded or not, the sauce is a winner.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat... but probably add some scallions afterwards (forgot!).

New Goal Making!

Everyone makes new year's resolutions.  So much so that my membership advisor at Equinox (aka my fancy gym) said there are no discounts in January because no promotions are necessary!  What is it about the new year that pumps us eagerly eating right, working out, and trying to look and feel better?  I've never liked New Year's resolutions (because it's really just setting myself up for failure) but I'm jumping on the bandwagon ... with my own small tweak....


30 Day Goals!


For 30 days, starting January 16th, I will....

1) Stretch for 15 minutes a day - so my dream from when I was five years old was to do the splits.  That dream has never been actualized... not even when I was on the dance team and getting up at 6 AM to dance from 7-9AM every day.  Yeah.... life has a funny way of really handing it to you and I have never been able to do the splits.  I got close, but not entirely there!  Needless to say, I am even more inflexible than I was at 16 so stretching will help me be more agile so I can chase my baby, leap across to my husband in a perfect split, and just feel better!

2) Work out at a minimum of 20 minutes for 4 days a week - it's always interesting how life changes your goals.  Two years ago, I would have scoffed at that goal.  4 days a week?  Wimp!  I was consistently working out 6 days a week, sometimes 7.... with Saturdays being a double whammy.  Meaning, my Saturdays consisted of a hike, at least two work out classes (think pilates or some aerobic dance class), followed by at least 30 minutes on a treadmill or an elliptical and then some time relaxing and unwinding in the steam room and showers at my fancy gym... where the blow dryers and free shampoo make my world turn.  But the reality is... life changes and yes, it is HARD to work out when you have a baby and you're not a celebrity with a nanny to take care of your little one while you work out.  I have to selectively choose which classes I go to during the day (and pay for child care at the gym) and I am so lucky my mom gifted me the fancy gym membership for a year (that I barely can make it to... but still, it's nice when I can!).  I want to go to the gym at 6 AM everyday, take some spinning classes, shower and come home before Jordan wakes up... but let's face it... I'd rather sleep these days!  And showering?  Overrated.  Plus, there never seems to be time as his naptime = my work and blogging time.

So those are my two fitness goals for 30 days.  What are yours?  Oh wait, nobody reads my blog hahahaha oh well.. it's fun to pretend anyway.

Bread Pudding Flan?

I didn't have enough eggs last night to make a large (9 x 12) pan of bread pudding, so I reduced the recipe by half and attempted to used 1.5 eggs (go figure) and ended up using more egg whites... the result was a weird combination of semi bread pudding on top and flan on the bottom!

Here's how I made it:

2.5 cups of sugar
1 t vanilla
4 egg yolks
1 egg and 2 egg whites
1 8oz can of coconut milk

I used 12 Hawaiian rolls, cut them in half (as if you were making sliders) and placed the bottoms into a 9x9 Pyrex dish.  I then poured half of the well beated mixture above over the 12 halves in the pan... put the tops on and then used the rest of the mixture.

Cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees with a piece of foil covered... then remove the foil and cook for another 45 minutes.

The result is flan-tastic!

Product Review: My Lululemon Obsession

When I first bought an Equinox membership at a charity auction and the Santa Monica location back in 2008, I noticed three things.  

1. The group fitness classes kicked my butt to another level unlike any I had experienced at 24 Hour Fitness
2. There were quite a bit of good looking young and hopefully available victims (but who hits on people they meet in the gym... oh wait, my friend and me)
3. What was this weird Omega symbol on every girls' really cute-I-am-totally-jealous-want-that-cute-yoga-outfit?!

I kept spying the number of Omega symbols I counted.  Every single pair of yoga pant that fit on a butt very nicely seemed to have one.  There must have been something magical about this brand, but what I did not know yet.  All I knew was it looked cute and these girls could probably wipe off the sweat and spend their whole day in those clothes and look great!

Shortly after that, I was with my brother in Old Town Pasadena and noticed a store sign with the big Omega symbol.  "What is that?" I asked my brother.  "That's Lululemon, that store I told you about with expensive yoga pants that look DANG good on any girl."  "Oh, is it expensive?" I asked my brother, who six years smaller than me, sure knew a lot about this new brand.  "It might be, I don't know what that's aboooot."  Oh, they're from Canada folks.  HA!

Still single, in my mid 20's and with a lot of disposable income, I decided against my frugal instincts to check out the store and try on some of their stuff.

Here's what I learned.

• Sizes for ALL: Lululemon pants come in short, regular and long - which was PERFECT for me, because at 5'9... most pants owned at the time had me screaming "flood's a coming!" and only my dance pants seemed to be long enough.
• Store extras: Lululemon pants come with free hemming and re-hemming if they get it wrong (and they will even take your already worn pants back for stitching up small holes if you accidentally create one).  They also have free water inside the stores, and offer free yoga and fitness classes, normally one on the weekend and one on the weekday - check your local store for more details or subscribe to the nearest store's newsletter for more details!
• Expensive: Lululemon pants are not cheap.  A regular pair of "groove pants" which are fitted yoga pants, are normally $98.00, and my favorite baggy straight legged lounge pants (I have worn one pair on every single flight or road trip I have ever been on since owning them) is called the "still pant" and runs at $108.00.  I would definitely splurge on the pants, the tops are not always well made.  I have noticed some side seams that are crooked and after trying a few styles (I did purchase many on sale), I decided most were too thick for me to sweat in.  I prefer Ion tops or a nice sports bra with a thin yoga shirt over it (as I also hate shaving my pits!) but the Lululemon tops are nice if you're hopeful of meeting someone while working out or going to work out with a guy you may be interested in (as my husband and I did before we were dating and yes, I sported Lulu!)
• Amazing Fit: Lululemon pants have a magic elastic yoga material that makes your bum look awesome.  My husband is not a fan of my Lulu obsession, but once, he even commented - oh your bum looks good in those pants... to which I responded with... thank you Lulu to which he slammed his forehead, realizing he was encouraging my Lulu obsession.  Too flat in the chest when wearing sports bras?  Never fear, Lululemon has booby inserts (see above - the four little weird beige things in the middle)!  I actually never used 'em but it was nice to know they were there in case I wanted to.  
• Environmentally conscious and cute: Every purchase comes in a cute reusable Lululemon bag (with special New Year's editions coming out right about now!) with sayings such as "drink more water" or "friends are more important than money" or "do one scary thing a day."  Encouraging, environmentally friendly... can we get more granola here folks?

For more details on their products, their community, mission, blog, and learn why they are such a hot and growing ticker symbol, check out Lululemon's website.

I got their Company manifesto (what's printed on their cute bags) and decided to include it here.  

12 Snacks I Always Have In the House

90% of being healthy is eating right!  To help encourage that, and because my husband and I are notorious for chowing down on any snacks we have at home, we try to keep the snacks to a minimum and since I'm always home, I try to keep healthy snacks around for those moments when I just need to munch on something and am not really hungry or I'm hungry, but need something with protein and not too damaging as dinner is quickly approaching.

That said, here are 12 snacks (all 100 calories or less per serving) that I aim to always have on hand, in no particular order, which are all great and helped me get back to pre-prego weight asap.

1. Water - see my prior post, water is so important!
2. Almonds - warning, these are jam packed with protein, more than a a handful is actually more calories than you need when just in need of a snack
3. Raisins - need something sweet and quick?  Raisins!!
4. Ritz crackers - these got me through most of my first trimester and are a good snack, not super healthy, but just enough to help curb your hunger a bit
5. Bananas - easy fruit - you just peel it, no cutting!  no washing!
6. Apples - easy fruit - you just wash it, no cutting necessary - and if so, I just cut four pieces around the core and avoid anything else (like peeling it)
7. Dip - for veggie dipping, mine is homemade wannabe Cafe Rio dressing, you can get the recipe here, hummus will also do, but I didn't have it on hand- I usually have one or the other
8. Carrots - helps you see, taste great with dip or hummus ...what's up Doc?!
9. Celery - zero calories.. what?!  it takes you more energy to eat it than to burn it... so whatever you eat with it can have some calories.. like the dip!
10. Dark chocolate - okay, so the raisins weren't doing it... dark chocolate is superior to all other chocolates so eat some (but not too much!) it's supposed to lower blood pressure because it's a potent antioxidant.  What does that mean?  All you have to know is that antioxidants get rid of destructive molecules that are associated with heart issues.  
11. Light Yogurt - mmmm also helps with the sweet cravings and the pro-biotics in it help fight the yeastie beasties!
12. Ice cream - we always have ice cream at home.  It's our go to for dessert and it's a healthy dairy item

Lose Weight By Drinking H 2 the O

Did you know drinking TONS of water can help you lose weight?!

You don't say.  Tell me more Daisy.

Most of the time, when we snack or think we're hungry, we're really just thirsty.

Drinking water ALONE, can help you lose weight - no exercise, no eating right, etc. but of course, there won't be much lost there if you don't do the rest.  The reason lies int he fact that the body is able to flush out waste when you have enough water (poop any?) so having a regular time in the bathroom for number 2 comes with good water and a good fiber-ific diet.

Why do I know this?  Have tried it.  Whenever I look at my food journals and see that I have been eating a lot of sugary snacks - mostly candy and cookies, it's because I haven't been drinking much water.    And.... for the thousands of dollars my mom paid for me to go to charm school when I was 19, the first thing the fitness expert told us was... start drinking more water if you aren't already.  So from that day on, as much as I hated water.. I have started (tips on making it taste better include adding a slice of lemon, orange or cucumber).  Some people think water will bloat them... not true.  Instead, water helps rid your body of excess water ... try it if you don't believe me.

The prescribed amount is 8 glasses per day... but who uses glasses right?  I probably drink about two Nalgene bottles (that's one liter per bottle or 34 ounces each).  If you drink water bottles, look at the ounces and try to get around 64 ounces a day (a coke bottle is about 16 ounces or two cups and a normal water bottle like the one I'm drinking below is around 16-17 ounce a day so four a day of those.. or more!)

Yes, that's a lot of pee-ing and makes it hard if you're in a line of work (teachers... sorry) where you can't go often.. but it's what's good for you!

So H 2 to O, get your drink on.

Brussel Sprouts Baby Food

So easy!!! I normally make baby food and I don't track how much I put in.. but I did this time!

1 pack of brussel sprouts from Trader Joe's - about 4 cups in the Vitamix

Steam the brussel sprouts

I have peas pictured, yes I know these aren't brussel sprouts, but I didn't think to take photos until I was on the next batch of vegetables which were snow peas!

Mix in Vitamix with 2 cups of water and 2 ice cubes

Blend blend blend

Pour into ready to eat bowls or freeze into ice cube trays

For ice cube trays, spray some non-stick Pam onto the saran wrap before covering to prevent freezer burn (not always guaranteed but helps).

After trays have frozen, remove from trays and store in ziploc bags with labels (dates if you might take a long time... Jordan goes through these in about 2 - 3 days).

The Truth About Making Baby Food VS Buying It

If you're breastfeeding, I don't really think making baby food will help you SAVE money unless you already have the tools. Over the course of however many babies you choose to have (the more you have, the more you'll save), you may end up saving money but the start-up costs are quite hefty.

This is what you'll need, in order of importance.

1) Baby (they are expensive - haha, it's a joke.. if you didn't get that, stop now)

2) Vitamix (yeah, you can get a baby food maker but that's useless after your baby grows up, the Vitamix has a useful life of 7 years and cost about $400 at Costco and acts as a food processor, smoothie maker, ice cream maker, bread dough mixer, shake maker, baby food maker, peanut butter maker, hummus maker, sauce maker, and apparently I learned it also grinds wheat. It is truly amazing and the one kitchen appliance I use almost daily. It's also easy to wash and makes baby food making a cinch!)

3) Steamer - I use my old school Chinese rice cooker because all I have to do is add some water on the outside of the bowl, put the veggies on turn it on.. don't have to watch for it as it will just turn to warm when done. I say old school because the new kinds out there make it easy to steam rice but useless for anything else besides rice. The brand I use is the Tatung rice cooker which runs for about $75 on Amazon but don't cheap out and get the tiny one (which my mom gave me in college and is too small for anything except a prop on your shelf to indicate you are Chinese)

4) Ice cube trays - These run for about $2.99 at Target

5) Ziploc bags -$7 for about 52 per Amazon

6) Saran wrap - $6.25 for a roll of Kirkland Stretch-Tite

7) Permanent marker - $3 for 2 markers

8) Pam or equivalent spray - $2.99

9) Tupperware containers - bite sized baby ones work the best, I got Nuk ones with caps but any small Tupperware will do, or you can save the glass or plastic containers from store bought baby food and reuse those. These cost me $5.99

Estimating about $5,550 for all costs in, minus the baby you're looking at $550 which is conservative because the Vitamix, rice cooker, saran wrap ziploc bags and ice trays can be used for non-baby stuff too! Baby food costs about $1.99 for a pack of 2 which can last my 6 month old baby about 1-2 days. Assuming he eats at the current amount for 3 months, that is about 45 days at $2 or about $90 to buy.

To make, I calculated the following: Food costs of $6 bucks a week (for veggies and fruits I'd make into baby food) over the course of 12 weeks or 3 months which is $72 bucks plus an amortized $15 / month if I assume my start-up costs can be spread over 36 months which would be $45 for three months which turns out to be a total of $117 to make my baby food.

So $90 to buy versus $117 to make... equals a difference of $27 bucks for three months or $9 more per month. Why in the world would I make my baby food, right?

I started to think about how weird it was that unopened baby food can just sit out unrefrigerated until opened. What are they putting in it that enables them to let it sit out at room temperature? Who knows?! But it can't be good! The whole point of homemade cooking for the family is so we know what we're putting into our body and why we only eat out once a week. So why in the world would I give my son baby food that is $9 cheaper per month and not really know what is in there? Why not just feed him what I know are real vegetables plus water (decided not to use my frozen breastmilk because then the food made might not last as long in the fridge)? So that is why I decided to start making baby food. Truth be told, the stuff above makes it very easy to do. And I feel good knowing my son is eating what I made versus something labeled as peas but probably filled with who knows what!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake!

I made some pumpkin alfredo and unfortunately for me, the pumpkin in a cans come so large... I had to make some pumpkin pie milkshake with the leftovers!

2 cups milk

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

1T brown sugar

1/4 cup whip cream

3/4 cup pumpkin from a can

Add a few dollups of whip cream on top and...perfection.

Pumpkin Chicken Alfredo

For Halloween this year, we had our friends, the Oldroyds join us for dinner and FHE. In celebration of Halloween, I decided to make something festive and went with pumpkin alfredo taken from Our Best Bites. It was delicious - and not just per my husband, even the Oldroyds thought so (unless they were just being nice...)

It was so easy.. and with the leftover pumpkin from a can, we made pumpkin pie shakes!

Makes 10 servings (we had four people with leftovers enough for one person's lunch)

Ingredient List:

3 T Light Cream Cheese

2 T Flour

2 T Butter

1/2 yellow or white onion chopped

1 cup low fat milk

3 cloves of garlic (use the store pre bought container kind!)

3 chicken breasts

1 t sage

1 t dill weed

2 T chicken broth

1 package of pasta - fettucine

1/4 cup of pumpkin from a can

vegetables (optional)

In a blender, mix:

3 T light cream cheese

1 cup low fat milk

In a saucepan, heat 1T butter and 3 cloves chopped garlic for 30 seconds and add milk mixture. Stir constantly for about 10 minutes, sauce will thicken.. then remove from heat, add 1 cup of Parmesan cheese and put a lid on it (so it continues to steamy cook). While you're doing this, have your husband help grill some chicken (I just sprinkled some pepper and salt on it and had him grill it and then I cut it). You can also steam some broccoli if you want some vegetables in the pasta.

Start pasta - cook as normal... I used little circle fun pasta from Costco. I like how they look but the thickness of the pasta goes great with a thick sauce like alfredo.

In another saucepan, on medium heat melt 1 T of butter, put in about 1 cup of chopped onions and stir and cook until it's translucent and smells yummy. Add in 1 t of dill weed, 1 t of sage and 2 T of chicken broth and keep cooking for 1-2 minutes, then add the alfredo sauce and 1/4 cup of pumpkin from a can and swirl, mix, swirl and add cooked pasta in and keep mixing... remove from heat and dinner is served!

Egg Salad

Sometimes when I forget to think about what's for dinner, I like to make egg salad. Full of protein and so easy to make!

Boil 6 eggs
T mayonnaise
3/4 T Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon curry powder
some salt and pepper
2 green onions diced

Mix and serve with cheese and lettuce on wheat bread and dinner is served.