It's Prep Time!

Oh boy.

 I love Pinterest. Like, really, really love the ability to put all these cool ideas in organized boxes and be able to look them up on my phone at a moment's notice.
 

Like, Grocery shopping: what was in that one recipe that I don't have at home?
Ah, ginger!

Or, House cleaning: How can I use vinegar to clean my home?
Ah, floors!

Or, 3am Self helps: What helps calm down heart burn naturally for pregnant moms?
Ah, that's right! Apple Cider Vinigar. 

 

Now, I've never had a newborn baby before, but I'm far from clueless, I know what's coming. 

 I figure these next 2-ish weeks will give me time to prep some yummy homemade meals that we can enjoy during the baby's first few weeks at home.

 I'm determined not to rely on fast food. That's the last thing my body will need at during those long sleepless nights.

So, I sat down, got on Pinterest and typed this in the search box:

 "easy freezer meals for new moms."

Wooah! What?! 

-Cheesy potato casserole. 

-Chicken broccoli casserole covered in cheese and white sauce.

-Breaded chicken breasts made with Buisquick, cheese and frozen green beans.

-"Healthy" cauliflower casserole covered in Alfredo sauce. 

-peperoni, cheesy, Pizza flavored white pasta casserole. 

Yikes! How can anyone expect new moms to survive on this junk?

 Tons of empty carbs that will do nothing but make you feel tired and depressed and then hungry sooner than they should... Plus add who-knows how many fat pounds to the already undesirable weight gain that happened in the last 9 months. 

So I tried again and typed in: "Healthy meals for new moms." 

Stuff came up like, "use Light ranch" on this dish, and use "gluten free flour" with this cheesy, chicken Alfredo dish. Oh, and "buy lots of Lean Pockets."
Seriously?!?

Not cool man. Not the ideas I was excitedly expecting. Now I'm pretty annoyed. 

So, I've decided to stick to the basics of the Paleo diet and the Clean eating that I  TRY to follow, and come up with my own "healthy dish" ideas for new moms. 

I'll let ya know how it goes once the baby arrives!

So far, I've collected some great (already thought of) ideas HERE, and HERE, and yes, I actually MAKE 90% of the recipes I pin. (I'm not one of those people that just pin stuff to pin stuff).

Some of my favorites have been recipes like, the stuffed Avocado. Filled with quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, cilantro and lime juice. (skip the sour cream, just add more lime juice and pepper.)
...and the Turkey Tacos made from organic ground turkey, onions, herbs, tomatoes, avocado, etc, wrapped in Lettuce instead of flour tortillas. 

...and the shredded zucchini raw food slaw. yumm.
...oh and the raw lemon and coconut dessert balls. Ask Matt. They were insanely yummy!

 

Once you have the basic healthy ingredients down, it's pretty easy to make meals up as you go. Most of the time I just look at what I have available in my fridge and the dish just kinda makes itself. 

No, I am no chef, but Matt claims the food tastes good and, well, no one has died from eating it yet. I mean, if I can get my 2 year old to eat these super healthy meals without covering them in butter and salt, so can you!

Last night for example, while figuring out what to make, I noticed my fridge is pretty empty. But somehow I was still able to make a yummy whole wheat noodle, ground turkey and broccoli Lasanga with organic tomato chunks as the sauce, seasoned only with healthy herbs and grilled onions. 

Brandon downed his bowl and asked for more.

And, we have left overs to freeze! 

See? Who needs Alfredo sauce?! Who needs cheese?!

Usually, green or yellow squash is my go-to filler for casserole dishes, but we're out right now. Broccoli works. Cauliflower and most types of beans or lintels are great fillers too.
 If you want meat, great! Just know what you're buying. Get informed about where your meat is coming from and what it is ACTUALLY made out of. Especially if you're breast feeding or giving it to your kids. 

Tonight's dinner? Scrambled organic eggs with baby spinach leaves and chicken sausages. Because that's what's in the fridge... it's healthy, filling, super quick and easy to throw together. 

Well now, all this lunch and dinner food stuff sounds great. 

But what breakfast?
What about snacks?

Paleo Pancakes are my fav. for breakfast. So easy to make, so yummy, so guilt free. Also, you can make 3 times the batter and fridge or freeze it until ya need it! No sugar, no butter, no flour, no milk. These are amazing, and taste great with nothing but a little apple sauce or fresh fruit on top! (Brandon and I also love these pancakes as easy snacks on the go).

As far as snacks go, I'm not sure how much time I'll have cut up my daily snack fruit bowls with a toddler and an infant sucking up all my time... but I have a very able husband, and he's used a knife before.
He can also spread non-salted peanut butter on rice cakes for me if I need him to.

I'm sure I'm getting some rolled eyes at this point.

 But seriously, if I can work an 8 to 10 hour day, then come home and make a healthy dinner each night, AND do an hour work-out from my P90X or Insanity videos for 3 months straight, I'm pretty sure I can continue a good life style being a stay at home mom with 2 kids. I mean, right? 

In fact, I got myself a little something I like to call "inspiration" at the store the other day. A new work out outfit. Yay!

Mainly, I see all of this as a really good challenge. And I love challenges. Consistency is key, and I'm not ready to give up yet.

While getting our home physically prepared, I've been doing a little of my own Mental Prep as well.

Women like Maria Kang make me want to just continue to "be all I can be". 

I love looking back and thinking, yes, that was hard...but we did it! and no one died.
 
I can't wait to start this new crazy adventure! I want to have lots of energy and lots of fun with my new growing family and this is the best way to make it happen.

       So, c'mon little girl, we're waiting!