Munchie Monday

Hello, Welcome back to Monday. Oye.

How was everyone’s weekend?

Mine was swell.

We were rooting for the Phillies all weekend!

My lover, Cole was amazing last night on the mound!!!

this weekend:

I got a few good gym seshers, lots of cleaning…and then some R & R…. Munchkin even let me snuggle with him a bit during the game:

can you see the ears?

I decided that Hershey’s chocolate sucks. What was I thinking when I made my S’Mores with it? See, when you are used to only eating really GOOD quality chocolate, because you figure, when you DO eat chocolate, it’s gotta be the good stuff, make it worth it–then eating Hershey’s or another commercial cheap brand isn’t as good.

So, after I decided that, and was oh so tempted by your S’Mores suggestions…Michael went out and got a Lindt chocolate bar to split so I could make a few more S’mores Friday night:

I used stuck the marshmallows in the micro for 10 seconds, then put them on top of the chocolate and graham, and stuck them in the broiler for 1:30….I put a little peanut butter on the other graham, stuck it together….and it was the best S’More I ever had in my entire life.

Now….I never want to look at them again….at least for a long while.

The eruptions on my face concur. Up until now, no pregnancy craters. Milk chocolate could be the connection, and all that sugar.

The rest of the weekend my sweets cravings got satisfied by these:

Organic Grapes on sale at Whole Foods for $2.99….can’t beat it

The weather has been GORGEOUS all weekend! In the early morning, it was just lovely getting out on my deck to catch up on my reading. My books these days are not what you are used to seeing, and I have over a dozen more in my den (thanks to Julie) to tackle in the next 6 months.

Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven is not for the faint of heart….I can handle it because I read like every single book they are referencing in there….but to first time moms that haven’t read The Food Revolution The China Study or Eating Animals, this book will scare the crap out of you. On the other hand, there’s a lot of great information in there for people that can handle the gory details……a lot of “why” it’s important to do certain things. If you’re one of those people that scare easily, gets stressed out, and doesn’t like “to be told” what to do, how to raise your child, and doesn’t like to be preached to, it’s not for you. I got a kick out of it…I already knew ALL of the information they were putting out…they added the “why it’s important during pregnancy” to it, which was good. I read this really early, so I associate it with when I was getting nauseas all the time, meaning I pretty much can’t  look at it anymore, haha.

Belly Laughs was adorable. It’s a great ego booster. Here, you have former Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy having ZERO filter on all her symptoms during pregnancy. If you have a weak stomach, and don’t want to know the icky-ness behind what you are about to endure, don’t read it. If you want to know you are not the only one that is getting weird symptoms X, Y or  nasty Z, it’s a cute, fun, easy read way to not feel so alone!

I am really enjoying this book that Susan sent to me (thanks again, VERY sweet of you   )

It has LOTS of great facts, things I didn’t know (there  is a lot of that though, lol)…..it goes through your pregnancy week by week, and has little spots to journal and fill in important factors that you may not remember later on!

I signed up for an amazing 4 week prenatal yoga class…I am SO excited to start it. Unfortunately when I signed up I didn’t realize it starts THIS week (Jen’s sister is teaching the class, and she called me in a panic saying the next session was starting soon & there were only 3 spots left—so I went on in a panic and signed up not paying attention to the dates). I have had a client booked for 7pm this week (not a usual time) so I have to miss the first class, UGH. When I called the studio they said I could make it up in the next round….PHEW!

source

Tip of the Day: Many believe that  only way to get iron is through red meat. It is true that animal sources of iron (meat, poultry and fish) are considered HEME iron, which is more easily absorbed in the body. However, there are many excellent plant sources (non-HEME) of iron, and if you are a vegetarian, just by pairing Non-Heme foods with a food source of vitamin C (peppers, strawberries, broccoli, tomatoes,  kiwi, oranges) you are improving your bodies  absorption of iron.

To give you an idea of how much you need, the minimum daily requirement for pregnant women is 30mg (it’s SUPER important for preggo’s to get their iron). Dried fruit is an EXCELLENT source of iron! 1 cup of raisins have 5.8mg of iron, apricots have 8.2mg, and peaches have 9.6mg. One cup of prune juice offer 10.5mg of iron. Other great sources of iron are Lentils (6.6mg per cup), Kidney Beans (5.2mg), Soybeans (8.8mg), and Oatmeal (10mg/serving). You can’t always rely on supplements to get your nutrients….again, you do not know if your body is going to absorb it all. I’ll be trying a new recipe this week, a perfect example of plant based vitamin C….stay tuned

My Fitness Dish Move of the Day: Just because my tummy’s getting bigger, doesn’t mean your Ab workout has to suffer Here’s oldie but goodie…..one of my all-time favs!

Lower-Body Toner

Primary Muscle Group: Buttocks and Outer Thighs

Muscle Groups Worked in This Exercise: Gluteus Maximus, Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus, Biceps femoris (long and short heads); Quadriceps

Preparation: For this exercise, you’ll need to lie on your back and place your feet and calves against the ball. They should be about 1 foot apart. Place your arms at your sides and your palms on the floor.

Breathing: Exhale while you lift your hips and rotate the ball, inhale as you return to starting position.

Execution: Lift your hips and back off the floor, exhale, and balance on your shoulders and heels. Rotate the ball with your feet toward the floor to the left. How far can you go without losing your balance? Inhale and roll back to center and then repeat to the right. Alternate left and right up to 12 repetitions.

Comments: What a great balance and coordination exercise! Hey, it’s okay to laugh at yourself on this one.

see more great moves like this & get your FREE fitness analysis here!

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What did you do this weekend?

Any fun books you are reading right now?

xxoo