Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin!

I had a little extra time this morning, so I decided to get some baking done that I planned to do later today.  So here it is 6:30 am, and I have 3 loaves of Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread that are just about ready to come out of the oven done, as well as a batch of Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes made for breakfast!  I'd say that's a productive morning!

Both recipes came from my favorite source, 100 Days of Real Food.

I'll start with the pancakes.  Her recipe is actually for Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes, but I wanted pumpkin so I subbed the 2 ripe bananas with 1 cup of pumpkin puree.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Adapted from Williams Sonoma Breakfast Cookbook/100 Days of Real Food

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour (I use King Arthur’s organic white whole-wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted + butter for frying
• 1 cup pumpkin puree

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the honey, eggs, milk, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Whisk together thoroughly, but do not overmix.
3. Gently fold the pumpkin into the batter with a spatula.
4. Heat a griddle or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Swirl enough butter around the pan until it is well coated. Add pancake batter using a soup ladle.
5. When the pancakes have begun brown on the bottom, flip them over to cook the other side.
6. Serve and enjoy!

The only thing I was disappointed with, was that they weren't very pumpkin-y at all.  They really tasted just like regular pancakes, but they were still very good regular pancakes :)

Now, the Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread.  I LOVE this stuff, so do the kids.  It's delicious.  When I am making it to keep I usually double the recipe and make one loaf, and 12 muffins, and freeze the muffins.  This time I am giving it away, so I doubled the batch and made 3 loaves. 

Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Bread

Adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup oil 
• ½ cup honey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (from the flour down to the salt).
3. Make a well (hole) in the center and throw in the eggs, oil, honey, and vanilla. Stir together thoroughly with a fork, but do not overmix.
4. Fold in the pumpkin puree.
5. Generously grease a large loaf pan or put muffin liners in a muffin pan and then pour in the batter.
6. For a loaf bake for approximately 30 – 40 minutes and for muffins bake for approximately 18 – 22 minutes. Check for doneness by making sure a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

And there you have it!  Now, I have to tell you, I was skeptical, whole wheat, no sugar?  Hmmm.  But both recipes are delicious!  You can't even tell they are "healthy".  My kids gobble them up, and think it's some sort of treat, I love it!  So just TRY it, you'll be pleasantly surprised! Oh, and 1 hour, start to finish, I had the bread made and in the oven, pancakes made and plated, bread out of the oven, who doesn't have time for one hour?

Later today I am making Cinnamon Glazed Popcorn, stay tuned!

Bacon, Cheddar, Chicken, and Rice Bake

Yesterday I made "Bacon, Cheddar, Chicken, and Rice Bake" for dinner.  I found the original recipe on Pinterest (here) and made a few little adjustments.

Bacon, Cheddar, Chicken and Rice Bake

Adapted from All Recipes

4 tablespoons butter 

1 medium onion , chopped (about 1 cup)

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

4 tablespoons whole wheat flour

3 ½ cups chicken stock

3 ½ cups milk

1 ½ cups uncooked brown long-grain rice

3 cups cooked chicken , cubed 

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese , shredded

1/2 cup cooked crumbled bacon

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat and cook onions until translucent. Add garlic, salt, and pepper. Add flour and mix well. Cook until starting to color. Stir milk and stock into flour mixture.Turn heat to medium high and add one cup cheese and continue to whisk as mixture comes to a simmer.  Add rice and lower heat to medium low. Cook until the rice absorbs most of the liquid and is tender, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add chicken and bacon to the rice and sauce mixture. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 inch casserole. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar on top of the casserole. Place in oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbling.

The original recipe called for regular flour, regular rice,and season salt.  I subbed the flour for whole wheat flour (King Arthur's) and I used brown long grain rice.... I omitted the season salt all together.   The other change I made was the time for the rice..... I was long past 20 minutes and still had hard rice.  I estimate it was about 45 minutes before it was tender.  Next time I might use minute rice!  

Sorry for the crappy photo, I was in a rush to get to class and wanted a picture before it got devoured by hungry animals.  Haha.

Anyhow, it was good!  The kids and husband all enjoyed it, and I will make it again!

Tomorrow I am making more Whole Wheat pumpkin bread and Cinnamon Glazed Popcorn (all REAL food treats for gift baskets!)!  Stay tuned for recipes and pictures!  

I ran! And made pot roast....

So before I even knew I was pregnant I noticed I was having a hard time running. I would be out of breath after a quarter mile, and couldn't fathom finishing my normal 3 mile routine.  So for the past 6 or so weeks, I really haven't ran much at all.. Other than one minute sprints in Intervals class.(which leave me huffing and puffing).. This morning, after a rather rough night of battling cold congestion and sore throat, I oddly felt brave and energized... My congestion had broke, I was able to breathe, and the dog was begging to get out, so we went. After a quick warm up walk I decided to give it a shot, and I started to jog..... and I kept going... and going!  I stopped about halfway through my 3 miles and walked for 2 minutes, and then got right back to the jog.  Granted, this is a much slower pace than my normal jog would be, as I have to keep my heart rate under 140, but, it was better than nothing! And let me tell you, it was awesome, I felt like myself again, for the first time in weeks!  I can't wait to do it again!  I hope it's a sign that I am moving out of the "So tired all I want to do is sleep phase" of this journey!

In other news, last night for dinner we had Pot Roast.  I have avoided it lately because my favorite recipe uses a packet of ranch mix, a packet of Italian dressing mix, and a package of gravy mix.... all processed, fake, and full of additives which I am trying to avoid.... So after much searching I found the Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast Recipe.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/2008_the_year_of_the_pot_roast/

I have to say, it is a perfect replacement to my old recipe.  It was delicious.  I did all the beginning steps as she outlines, however after searing the meat and deglazing the pan, I moved everything to the crock pot and cooked it on low for about 6-7 hours.  Yum!  

Speaking of "keeping it real" Thanksgiving is just around the corner... I have to admit, it's going to be a cheat day around here.  I think I am going to stick to regular old classics, maybe I'll tackle holiday recipes next year.

Panting is my new breathing...

Just walking across the room lately has me out of breath!  apparently shortness of breath is common, but it's nothing I had ever heard of before, so it threw me for a loop.  I first noticed last week when I was trying to do my morning run, halfway through my first lap I was gasping for air, not at all normal for me.  Since then it has progressed, and now just pushing a cart through the store has me winded!  It has made exercising hard, but I am trying my best not to get discouraged and give up.  I just take it easy in my class, and I do a lot more walking than I used to on my "runs" (if I can still call them that!).  The only thing that is hard is the classes I instruct, I haven't let the cat out of the bag yet, so I have to try my best to keep my intensity up so they don't think something is up.  Last week I did use my knee as an excuse, I might need to stick with that for a whole longer until this "exhausted" phase passes!

On a different not, I have eaten everything in site for the past week and a half, and that stops today!  I told myself last week that when I got back from Tahoe, that was it!  So I am back on the wagon.  I am veering away from my no carb eating plan, and I am going to follow a whole food plan, much like what I feed the kids.  No refined flours and sugars, whole foods, all natural.  I decided I would also track my calories to be sure I am staying withing a healthy range.  According to http://www.freedieting.com/tools/pregnancy_calorie_calculator.htm I should have about 2300 a day during my first trimester.  That seemed really high, so I also checked http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/calculate-calories-needed-during-pregnancy-1600.html and it also said about 2300.  However, most sites also say 300 more calories a day than what you were eating, and I was eating 1300-1500.  So I am going to aim for about 2000 calories a day.  Keep in mind, that amount takes into consideration the amount of exercise I do, and I will be verifying it with my Doctor at my appointment next week.

Today for breakfast I had protien shake (a double one actually) 235 calories.  For a mid morning snack a sprouted wheat Bagel from Trader Joes (yum!!) with a laughing cow cheese spread, 285 calories. For lunch I had a can (2 servings) of all natural tomato garden soup and a slice of whole wheat bread, 310 calories.  So far I am at 820 calories for the day.  I will have another snack this afternoon before I teach my class, and then dinner when I get home.

Speaking of dinner, tonight is breakfast.  I am making crustless quiche.  Eggs, sausage, cheese, broccoli, and olives.  Yum!

A little change of pace

10/14/12

So last Wednesday while I was in intervals class, I kept catching my profile in the gym mirror, and thinking "why does my midsection look so puffy?!" The scale hadn't moved, I hadn't gained or lost anything significant in the week, but I felt completely bloated and gross.  I checked my calendar, and realized I was probably PMSing.  My cycle is never right on the nose, so according to what is "regular" for me, I could start in the next day, or next week. For some reason though I just had this nagging feeling.  I had been taking clomid, which had made my cycle exactly 30 day the previous month, and as of Wednesday I was on day 35.  Back story.... Clomid helps to stimulate ovulation.  I did 7 rounds of it a few years ago with no luck.  My OB told me from the get go that I needed to lose the weight to up my chances, but I wanted a solution NOW so we tried anyway.  Surprise, it didn't work.  So now, I've lost the weight and gone back, and she was ecstatic.  She said 99% of the time when they tell a patient to lose the weight and then try, they never see them again.  So she was happy to start me on another round of Clomid. The first month was the normal let down.  So that brings us back to now, month two, day 35.  So like I said, I feel a little uneasy ignoring it just because it was so exact on the dot last month.  I figure what the heck, and I take a test.  2 lines,  2 dark lines, 2 fastly appearing dark for sure lines.  Panic.  Rip open another test.....Well look at that, same result!  At this point I'm crying, shaking, and still in disbelief.  After calming down some I decide I want a good test, one of those digital ones, a good brand, that maybe these cheap store brand ones are lying to me.  So I run to the store and get the Clear Blue Easy Digital Test, all they have is a 5 pack, I don't even care, I buy it.  The results are in :

At this point I was a ball of emotions, nervous, scared, thrilled, excited, blessed, you name it.  It's something that I have wanted for so long, so so long.  Something I have wanted for so long that I began to think it would never happen, it just wasn't in God's plan for me.  So to be staring at these three sticks and seeing a whole different future than I imagine was just overwhelming.  I put them all in a gift box and gave them to Ari when he got home.  He opened them and just at in silence for what seemed like eternity.  When he finally did speak it was "Are you serious?  REALLY??"  He was very excited, and already wants 3 more.  I did the math and figured I was just about 5 weeks along.  Very very early.  So the next morning I went to the lab at the clinic and took their test.  the next few hours of waiting were agonizing.  I kept thinking my tests were wrong or something, yes all 3 of them.  Thankfully they were not, and the clinic confirmed my pregnancy, and set me up with my first appointments.

In the meant time, I keep thinking about all the signs I missed.  Normally I am so in tune, waiting and analyzing every feeling or syptom that MIGHT be pregnancy, how did I miss these?  I was tired, so TIRED, sleeping through alarms, nodding off in the afternoons, having trouble making it through my normal work outs, just wiped out.  Hungry, I was so hungy!  I was waking up between 3 and 4 am because my stomach was growling like I hadn't eaten in days.  And then of course the bloating, and the pressure I was feeling in place of normal PMS cramps.  Once I put it all together it was pretty obvious, I don't know how I missed it all.  All of that has continued, but add frequent need to pee.  I have to make it a point to get my homework done early in the day, otherwise I am too tired to concentrate and get anything accomplished.  I tried to sleep in this morning, but woke up at 5:00 am feeling like my stomach was eating itself, not to mention I had to pee, so there was no going back to sleep.  Other than that though I feel ok, no sickness yet, knock on wood.

Bread, take two.

I tried it again on Monday.  Success!  It came out great, and tastes great, too!  And, so long as you have yeast, it's pretty fool proof.  Throw it in, and walk away!  I'm excited to continue making this, so long $5 loafs of natural wheat bread!

I got the recipe here, another one from 100 Days of real food.  She hasn't let me down yet!  

Speaking of her blog, I also made pumpkin bread.  Whole wheat pumpkin bread.  It's AWESOME!!  It tastes just like regular pumpkin bread with the refined flours and sugars.  I tripled the recipe... I told you I have pumpkin coming out my ears!  It made two loafs, and 12 muffins.  Here is the link to the recipe.  Enjoy!!

That's all I've got for now, happy hump day!  The weekend is just around the corner!

Weekly Prep

On Sundays I try and make some stuff in bulk that I can freeze and use through out the week.  Yesterday I made waffles, egg mcmuffins, shredded chicken, and bread (attempted...).

Lets start with the Waffles.  I got the recipe from 100 Days of Real Food, ( recipe, here). I double the amounts, and instead of oil, I added pumpkin (because as I will share later, I have LOTS of pumpkin).  Doubled, it makes 10 waffles, I quarter them, and stick them in the freezer.  The kids love them, they hate when our freezer stash runs out, they have them for breakfast, and use them to make sandwiches for lunch.  I have even been know to snag one here and there and spread a little natural PB on it and enjoy.

Next we made Egg McMuffins.  I use a muffin tin to bake the eggs, then I add a slice of ham, a slice of cheese, and one of the baked eggs to a whole wheat english muffin, bag it, and stick it in the freezer.  Another super easy, and yummy, breakfast on the go.

I stuck 6 completely frozen chicken breast in the crockpot yesterday morning, added some garlic, minced onion, diced green chilis and a little salsa, and let it cook on low allllll day.  I shredded the chicken, and will use it to make Chicken tacos tonight, and probably chicken taco salad later this week.

Lastly, I attempted to make Whole Wheat Honey Bread.  I was so excited to find a recipe for the bread machine!  Unfortunately, I thought it was a quick bread, I didn't realize it needed yeast, and I didn't have it!  I stupidly hoped baking powder and baking soda would suffice, I was WRONG.  It was like a boulder, hard as can be!  Total Fail.  So I will be buying some yeast today, and trying again!

Now, about the pumpkin.... Andrew brought home a HUGE pumpkin, at least 25-30 lbs, from school.  He won it in a raffle.

So I chopped it up and cooked it. And cooked it.... and Cooked it!  Holy Pumpkin!

Each bag has 4 cups, the small container has 4 cups, and the large container has 10 cups!  Hence the pumpkin waffles.  And this week I will be baking pumpkin bread, and muffins!  Recipes to come :)