simple bedroom re-do ~ teenage edition

The husband and I are slowly making progress with the little bambino's room. What was once an office, is now a room full of…clutter. But easily removable clutter - so that makes it ok! Right?? Essentially, we have a few more months before we have to worry about the tiny occupant moving in, and it was important we focused on an entirely different room first: the teenaged daughter.

I've felt this from day one: before the spouse and I go overboard on the little lady brewing in my belluh, he and I needed to focus on the 15 year old lady that came first! R discussed with A what she felt she wanted to happen in her room. Two things came out of that:  (1) to rearrange the room so that an enclosed space felt open and (2) to have a deep red accent wall, which would match well with her new, white furniture.

1. Tape

2. Cut/Paint Shelving, Paint Brackets Gold, Paint Walls Red, Hang Shelving

3. Rearrange Furniture and Clean the Space

In the end, A is ecstatic about the changes, while R and I are glad to have accomplished something affordable, yet impactful for the teenaged lady :>

Done and done.

New York State Apples Become Turnovers!

The family and I traveled to upstate New York for some Hyde Park fun and apple picking! What we didn't realize when we stepped foot on the apple orchard, was that the husband, step-daughter, and I would walk away with between 40-50 apples...

Don't misunderstand, we eat a lot of apples. But that equals approximately 15 a week between the 3 of us...not 50. Thus, in an effort to never (ever) waste the most amazing fruit on the planet (personal opinion), I decided to make simple, easy peasy, quick turnovers!

This recipe involves ingredients you most likely already have, minus perhaps the puff pastry, which makes it an affordable, quick way to provide your household sweet tooth with 8 large (yet oddly light) turnovers.

Yield: 8

Recipe Deets
1 package puff pastry
1 egg whipped with a tsp of water for egg wash
Raw sugar (if you would like to sprinkle a bit on the outside prior to baking)

Insides
4 large apples of choice cored, peeled, and chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used 1/4 brown, 1/4 xylitol for a lower sugar option)
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
cinnamon to taste!

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
dab of vanilla extract
1-2 tsp water (according to thickness preference)

- Thaw your pastry in the 'fridge overnight, or on your countertop for a few hours
- Add all you "Insides" ingredients into a pot and allow apples to soften over medium heat (approximately 15 minutes), then set aside to cool
- Cut your pastry into 8, large squares
- Distribute cooled "Insides" evenly into each square (leave enough room to seal, so about a 1-1 1/2 tbsp in each)
- Seal each pastry in the shape of a triangle, use a fork to make the cool "ribbed" effect
- Place on a greased baking pan, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with raw sugar
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until pastry is "puffed" and golden
- Removed and allow to cool on a rack

- In a small bowl, combine all of your "Glaze" ingredients
- place in a ziplock bag, cut a small hole at one end, and distribute evenly over the pastries!

Done and Done! Feel free to reheat in a toaster oven or conventional oven over the next few days - or however long they may last...

It's All About Squash! Squash! Squash!

I believe we all know what happens when you're a family of three, soon to be a family of four - the need to cut back on costs all ova' the place! While this doesn't seem like a bad idea, family of four or not, it isn't the most enjoyable thing to do, especially when it involves one of my favorite things: food.

About a month ago, the husband and I decided that making a weekly menu would really aid me when compiling my grocery list, because I tend to get carried away with ingredients with the hopes to create new, fun vegetarian meals for the spouse and I. But with all this boring ol budget talk, I have to arrange breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 3 individuals, one of whom that is not vegetarian. Essentially this means my husband and I make two dinners per night: one for he and I, and one for his meat-eating daughter. This places some strain on the food-budget, so how do we continue to make at least one new, never consumed meal a week? Eating items in season, meaning: SQUASH!!

Baked Acorn Squash with a Quinoa Apple Stir Fry

Looking for a low carb, low fat, low sodium, low low low yet filling meal? Acorn squash has your back!

Recipe Deets

1 acorn squash
1/2 cup of quinoa (prepared)
1 apple (chopped - I used gala)
2 scallions (thinly sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
olive oil for drizzlin'
coriander
sea salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

- cut squash in half, place in baking dish, scoop out seeds, drizzle with olive oil, and salt/pepper the 'thangs
- place in oven for 35 minutes (flesh side down)
- in a frying pan, heat with some fat free olive oil spray
- add scallions and apple and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat
- add quinoa and garlic, season with coriander (to taste)
- fry for approximately 5 more minutes and set aside
- once the squash is done, take it out of the oven, stuff your quinoa mixture on top (see photo above)
- place everything back in the oven for another 10 minutes - feel free to add some shredded cheese!

Voila! Yum-time!

Baked Zero-Sugar Cinnamon and Sugar Butternut Squash w/ an Eggy

This is a classic recipe that I've taken the *ahem* liberty to make "Paula Friendly". Apparently my mother used to make my sister and I brown sugar and cinnamon squash frequently, though I have no recollection of this. Kid-brain-bad :D

Recipe Deets

1 butternut squash
vegan butter (or regular) to taste ! You do not need a lot, about 1/2 tbsp each half
xylitol, stevia, or truvia - any of these plant-based sweeteners will work
cinnamon
eggy

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- cut squash in half and remove insides
- spread the buttuh around
- sprinkle as much cinnamon and sugar as you'd like!
- bake covered for 30 minutes
- bake uncovered for another 20, or until super soft
- fry an egg

BAM! And I promise your home is going to smell amazing. And why the step-daughter didn't wish to try this, I will never know...

Spaghetti Squash with Vegan Meatballs and a Poached Egg 

1 spaghetti squash
2 eggies
1/2 log of Gimmie Lean vegan sausage
1 red bell pepper chopped
cherry tomatoes (halved)
2 cloves garlic
fresh basil
shredded chedda'

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (surprise, surprise)
- cut squash in half, clean the puppy out, and place face down in the baking pan
- bake for 45-50 minutes (the back of the squash may brown, but you need the flesh to be soft)
- as the squash is cooking, take half of your Gimmie Lean log and roll up some mini-meatballs
- put a dab of oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs
- add peppers, tomatoes, and garlic - cook on medium heat until the tomatoes are super wrinkled and soft
- turn heat on low/warm, add basil and cover
- once the squash is done, pull for oven and get ready to poach your eggs!
- add enough water in sauce pan for an egg to have room to float around, for every cup of water add a tsp of vinegar
- bring the water to a boil (not a super crazy boil, but a happy lalala bubbly boil)
- take a slotted spoon and make a "whirlpool" in the pan
- carefully break an egg into the whirlpool and set your timer to 3 minutes
- as the egg is cooking, take a fork and scrape out the inside of the squash onto the plates - it should look like...well...spaghetti (not too much crunch, but a bit al dente)
- top your squash with the vegan meatball mixture, some shredded cheese, and your poached egg!
- if you're doing two plates, create another whirlpool and repeat the eggy process

If my poached egg description was confusing, I'm sure the Internet has a million YouTube pages dedicated to teaching individuals how to poach that perfect egg :>

Enjoy your low carb, low calorie, low fat, high fiber, high nutrient-based dinners, because the husband and I sure do!

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Muffins *phew*

Ever go grocery shopping, exceed your budget by $17, realize that you didn't purchase enough school lunch/work snacks for two very metabolically inclined individuals, and then decide *blank* it I'm going to search the pantry and make an awesome, yet healthy, dessert snack from scratch! No? Well that was me Saturday - palm to face frustration at being forgetful, on an ever-revolving budget, and just overall wanting to enjoy the weekend without having to worry about the upcoming school/work week.

Now that I got that whining out of the way, on to the recipe!!

The ingredients are simple, you know, like how things used to be made prior to Big Box Companies swooping in with their food engineers and chemists.

If you bake, even rarely, you most likely have most of these ingredients on hand (minus the vegan choco chips, of course), which makes this recipe super budget friendly!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

1 1/2 cups Organic Flour
1 cup Rolled Oats
2 Bananas (mashed)

1/2 cup Sugar (I used xylitol, which is a plant-based sweetener) 1 tsp Baking powder 1 tsp Vanilla extract dash of Cinnamon 1/2 cup Organic Peanut Butter 2/3 cup Soy/Almond Milk 1/2 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl, then all wet in another bowl (minus the milk).

Mix it all together! Then, add milk and chocolate chips.

Place in 12 cup muffin tin and (i sprinkled some raw sugar on top for a bit of crisp), bake for 20-23 mins

Voila! easy peasy

Easy, Affordable Vegetarian Meals for the Weekend

This past weekend consisted of the husband and I making our way from our small, shore town community to the larger, bustling City of Philadelphia. While this would usually equal some major money being dropped, we opted for an evening visit to my twin sister and her boyfriend's (also named Rick, like my spouse) new apartment. Instead of going out to eat, the twin and I decided to do a mini-potluck. Why mini? Well, she and I were the only ones who contributed, while the boys sat and talked about aliens and the over-abundance of salt, sugar, and fat in foods. Truth.

Now onto the recipes! First up,

Vegan Tofu Dumplings

6 oz Somen Noodles (Japanese noodle) cooked as directed and drained
1 package of extra firm tofu pressed and finely chopped
Scallions sliced thin (to taste)
Ginger powder (to taste)
Garlic minced (to taste)
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 tbsp Low sodium soy sauce
1 package of wonton rounds (from Asian market, because they have about 3 ingredients)

- Mix all ingredients in a bowl, there shouldn't be excess water because the noodles will bind everything well
- Dab a tsp or two in the wonton rounds (this recipe makes a lot, so make as many as you need)

- Wet the edges of the wonton wrappers and fold/pinch
- Heat up a frying pan with some spray oil
- Brown the bottoms of the dumplings, then pour 1/4 cup water over them, cover, and steam for 5 minutes

Voila! Yum!

Vegan Shiitake Cold Noodle Salad

Disclaimer: this is my sister's recipe, and I'm going off of memory here...either way, it's something you can definitely make your own!

2 packages of shiitake noodles (rinse rinse rinse)
1 package of extra firm tofu (super pressed!)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Red Cabbage chopped thin (to taste)
Scallions (to taste)
Cilantro (to taste)
2 apples chopped into bite size pieces
Juice of one lemon
1 tbsp of light soy sauce

- Cut tofu into bite size pieces, sautee, and let cool
- Combine all other ingredients
- Once tofu is cool, and it to the other ingredients and shove it in the 'fridge until you're ready for some amazing food-in-mouth fun!

All in all, a super filling dinner with some enjoyable people! Both of these recipes involve ingredients that cost under $2 a piece (save for the soy sauce, oil, and vinegar), plus it makes large portions meaning...lunch the next day!

Until the next mini-potluck!

Vegetarian Dinner ~ light yet filling

Din-time is very important to me for numerous reasons: (1) I'm practically starving from the last time I had a snack, ohhhh, 2 hours prior...maybe, (2) I want to consume something that isn't carb heavy, but also has all the elements needed for the growth of my swiftly developing little one, and (3) I tend to like to graze the pantry closet, so creating a meal that's filling AND light is key!

This recipe makes a fair amount, so that means dinner for two and leftovers for the next few days (lunch anyone??)

1 English cucumber cut into bite sized pieces
2 large red peppers in bite sized pieces
1 pint of cherry tomatoes halved
1 cup of cooked corn
chopped fresh parsley to taste
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
2 fried eggs (for a serving of two)

Combine all ingredients (minus the eggs) and cool for approximately 20-30 minutes. Once chilled, fry your eggs and serve! Voila! Easy peasy dinner for two :>

Baby-Making Budget ~ autumn decor on the cheap!

With Halloween on the way, I'm beginning to see all sorts of Autumnal decor sprouting up all over the internets and in craft stores like Michaels, AC Moore, and JoAnn Fabrics. Last year I would've thought, "well I don't mind if I do!" and grabbed a piece-o-something here and there to decorate the house. But this year, with the step-child in 10th grade and a small human brewing in my belly, I thought more logically about the matter - "heck, I'll make something myself!"

yes, that is a carrot.

First, I thought about what I had already: an apothecary glass from being wed to the spouse, some LED battery lights, and nifty smelling pinecones leftover from the previous year's Christmas projects. With those pieces in mind, and a bit of inspiration from Pinterest, I took my 40% off coupon and darted to Michaels. The place always has all kinds of sales, so I grabbed 4 mini-bundles of autumn-esque faux-flowers and one bag of tiny-pumpkins, then I was on my way with having spent under ten buck-a-roos for the lot!

The entire process was a bit tedious, but with a little bit of patience (and I truly mean a little bit, for anyone who knows me) and an eye for aesthetics, I finished the centerpiece in about 20 minutes. It turned out quite well, and is super simple for anyone who wants to give it a go. So simple, I bringing leftover "ingredients" to my sister's abode next weekend so that she may have a pretty centerpiece too!

11 weeks ~ bye bye flat belly and announcement photo!

While I wanted to wait until 12 weeks showed it's wonderful, energy-inducing, no more food aversion face - I decided to jump on the Now! bandwagon while the creativity (well more so the motivation) was a-flowin' and take the announcement photo with two of my favorite pregnancy supporters: my husband and step-daughter.

Most of the announcement photos I've seen usually involve husband + wife or wife alone. I wanted to make sure that Asa was involved because she was there the day I found out my belly was carry a tiny person, and she has been oh-so helpful throughout this entire 1st trimester. And let's face it, I never want to exclude Asa or make her feel as though she isn't numero uno in the Littlefield household!

Ahem. Not the most flattering photo, but I want to keep track of my ever enlarging abdominal area. While I lost three pounds in the 1st trimester, I have gained between 1.5-2 lbs of what was lost. It was inevitable!

I can still get away with hiding any differences in body change, as I'm floating around 115-116 lbs. Let's hope it stays that way for a while because I'm not ready to give up on summer-wear yet!

Here's to a smoother, more energetic 2nd trimester!

Why Morning Sickness is a Lie

Morning sickness is a lie because it doesn't pertain exclusively to the morning hours of the day! Oh no, this 1st Trimester guest enjoys coming on strong around the 7th week and making itself known throughout the remainder of the 12 weeks. Well, I'm 9 weeks along, and while most of the nausea and headaches have subsided, I'm left with extreme fatigue and odd aversions to some of my favorite foods!

Essentially, this unborn child has taken my will to eat the foods I love and zapped my energy to the point of being couch ridden by 8pm, and fast asleep by 9:30. This fun, youthful, sports loving 29 year old has taken on the life of an 80 year old woman. I'm counting down the days until this little uterus traveler returns my energy and love of food...while slowly, but surely I wave goodbye to the physical and mental form that I once knew ;>

So how have I been combatting the dreaded morning sickness (besides complaint)?

Say hello to my middle-of-the-night saviors. Any mothers who have gone through the dreaded mid-night stomach pains knows what I speak of when I say a small bite of a banana can be the difference between drifting back into slumberland or lying awake trying to will away the pain, which seems so deeply internal that it makes me wonder whether or not the little one is banging its under-developed fists on my uterine wall!

One capsule of ginger prior to breakfast can be the difference in extreme or manageable nausea. The spouse researched the correct ginger tablets that are safe for growing humans before allowing me to greedily consume the little gel-caps in preparation for some epic food-in-mouth performances!

While I'd like to say that it helped each and every time I ate. I found that my aversion to certain foods far outweighed the ginger's tummy calming properties.

Favorite foods such as egg whites, asparagus, and any flavored salty snack that wasn't a bland saltine cracker are a few of the items baby has decided "No! Mom no have no mo'!"

sads.

This little item came a bit late on the scene, but let me say it has been a wonderful! Instead of being bed-ridden for hours, my nausea and headaches were reduced to a semi-functioning level all with the help of these little pressure point wristbands! Sea-bands are a natural way to relieve morning sickness and seem to provide a bit of relief so that I may continue to work and bring home the bread ;>

Up next? When will this bebe show itself??

9 weeks: Maintaining 114.2-115.2 (minimal weight-loss)

Five Weeks With Bebe ~ New and Old Eats

How else should I spend my first post of this blog other than on my favorite subject: FOOD! When initially finding out I was on my way to carrying a mini hu-mon in my belly, I instantly began to mentally review every single item of edible consumption, the good, the bad, the beneficial, the practically nutritionally useless and so on. The only red flags consisted of sugar free gum, alcohol, my occasional sushi consumption, cappuccino, and various preservative filled foods (i.e., Goldfish, pretzels, non-organic ketchup, etc.), so I let them go with a swift wave of my hand and decided to embrace foods I was already accustomed to eating, but would integrate them into my everyday lifestyle.

Easy peasy.

Oh-so-beautiful kale! I recently purchased a dehydrator and went right to work on creating healthy, low fat, low calorie, low carbohydrate snacks for work and home. First, kale seasoned with nutritional yeast! The entire process (including dehydrating) takes approximately two hours. The great thing about using a dehydrator instead of a conventional oven: all your vitamins, nutrients, and active enzymes are still alive!

Super amazing. I seriously, and most honestly consumed half a gallon sized bag of dried kale...no one should have to witness this, it's a massacre.

Dehydrated red peppers are my next favorite! They go well with egg whites, and also as little finger foods.

The catch? They take upwards of five hours to dehydrate. Blah! And more blahs! They good though. Like really.

Now about water. I didn't like water prior to having baby in tummy, and I don't like it now! Yet, I consume 60-70 ounces a day turning me into a giant water balloon. It's quite distressing actually! Ha! So, I decided to mix it up and make some watermelon basil water since my basil garden has completely out done itself this year.

The contraption I used to create this little juicy-juice was given to me by the spouse for Christmas. It's called the Aquazinger! Super fancy!

Essentially you stick fruit in the bottom (which has some metal teef), then you fill the 'thang with cold, purified water, allow to steep for 15-30 minutes and voila! Fruit flavored water!

I will be trying many more combinations, as my interests tend to wane quickly. But as long as I don't have to consume plain old icky water everyday, I will be satisfied.






Above is the essential "new" elements to my diet. Some of the old include egg white "muffins" with basil and hot sauce, apples, pineapple, strawberries, watermelon, and the occasional bite of a raw Lara Bar (usually the Cherry Torte). Prior to pregnancy I was very aware of eating healthy, moderately, and maintaining my weight. While I know that's an impossibility to maintain any sort of semblance of your normal physique during baby-making time, I'm going to attempt to be regimental with my eating and exercise so that I may keep my body in tip-top shape throughout the 40 or so weeks!

Here I am at 5 weeks (going into my 6th): hovering happily between 115.2-116.2 (all belly-progress photos after this will be done in a black tank top so to remain uniform...exciting!)