Eating Laps | healthy laps

a fresh (and healthy) start

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Jen

I am finally back on track with my eating and feeling great!

The past week, I have been starting my day off with a glass of fresh squeezed juice. I have been feeling dehydrated, tired and just crappy lately, so starting my day off with a lot of vitamins and nutrients is a great way to start the day. I feel re-energized!

Beets, carrots, apple, 1/2 lime and a knob of ginger were in the mix.

Refreshing and delicious on these hot and humid summer days!

Juice is a great way to get a natural boost of energy and essential vitamins in to your diet. The calories do add up, but a glass every morning or every few mornings won’t do any harm as long as you eat healthy the rest of the day. Healthy eating makes me have more energy and feel much better about myself. And, now that I have a little one to raise, it is important to me to get her on a healthy track right from the start.

On Saturday morning, we took Hayden out for a walk through the trails at Elm Bank in Wellesley. It was a gorgeous day; perfect for some exercise!

After our walk, we toured the gardens, including the children’s garden!

And, we had a picnic on the grounds and relaxed.

Once home, I made up a batch of Angela’s Veggie Burgers and we had a delicious meal!

These burgers are delicious! Jam packed with oats, beans, nuts and carrots, these burgers are filling and healthy! I piled my burger high with cheddar cheese, avocado and a slice of tomato. And, served them with sweet potato fries and corn on the cob.

What a perfect day!

Filed under: Eating Laps, Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

i’m pregnant: week 36

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Jen

Hello blog friends! Just a quick little post to tell you that I am still here. 🙂

I haven’t posted in just over a month, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been having tons of fun. My 8th month of pregnancy was pretty good! I continued to feel great and tried to get in as many walks as I could with the snowy and cold weather we have had here in Boston. We spent the majority of our time relaxing and getting ourselves ready to have our baby. The nursery is almost complete (pictures to come when it is complete!) and we have just about everything that we need for our little one.

Tomorrow marks the end of my 36th week of pregnancy, which means that I am considered full term, so the little one is fully developed. Our due date is a mere 3 weeks away!

Week 32

Week 34

Week 36

The baby keeps growing bigger and bigger, but I am still right on track where I should be. Everyone is healthy and happy. 🙂

I have been trying to keep up with the healthy eating, which really isn’t that difficult when you make delicious healthy dinners, like Angela’s Mandarin & Maple Quinoa!

Delicious ingredients combine to create a sweet and spicy quinoa dish.

Overall, I have been feeling good. Definitely getting more and more uncomfortable, especially while sleeping, but nothing that won’t be worth it in the end!

Filed under: Eating Laps | Tagged: pregnancy, quinoa | 3 Comments »

smaller meals & snacks

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Jen

I have been so hungry when I wake up over the past few weeks. I try to get up and drink some water right away because I also feel very thirsty, but that doesn’t keep me out of the kitchen for long! It’s usually around the time I am brushing my teeth that my stomach really starts grumbling. 🙂

I head to the kitchen for some cereal to hold me over.

Pomegranate Blueberry Crisp from Trader Joe’s.

It is delicious, but a little too sweet for me in the mornings.

I also usually whip up a smoothie to drink mid-morning at work, when I knew I will be hungry again.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

1 frozen banana
8 frozen strawberries
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp pepitas
1 cup water

I love smoothies as a morning snack! They are filling and refreshing.

For lunch today, I made an old favorite, which was pieced together after scouring through our empty cabinets and fridge for lunch.

Almond Butter, Banana and Jelly Sandwich on Millet Bread.

(this is a recycled photo, but you get the point! :))

I seem to get hungrier for snacks than I did before and I think it is because my meals have been smaller. I don’t have as much room for food in my stomach anymore (!!), so smaller meals and snacks sit much better with me.

Snacktime – Hummus & Spelt Pretzels

And, for dinner, I stopped at Panera Bread on my way to our Newborn Essentials class!

Thai Chicken Salad, which was packed with romaine lettuce, chicken, peppers, carrots, edamame, wonton crisps and a light thai dressing.

This salad was great!

And, during class I snacked on a Blueberry Muffin Larabar, which is a new flavor that was sent to me from Larabar as a sample.

This flavor is delicious! It smells just like fresh baked muffins and tastes just as good.

Filed under: Eating Laps, Product Reviews | Tagged: cereal, larabar, salad, smoothie | Leave a comment »

adventures in breadmaking

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Jen

This past Wednesday, Boston was hit with a big snowstorm, which meant a snow day! It was a perfect day to stay inside and bake. 🙂

I started the chilly, snowy day off with a bowl of warm oatbran.

I cooked the oatbran with milk, a mashed banana, a dash of vanilla and a shake of cinnamon. It came out great!

I stirred in some dried blueberries towards the end and topped it with chocolate peanut butter, cranberry almond butter and a sprinkle of coconut.

A great breakfast on such a chilly morning.

Next on my list for the day was to try out my new breadmaker that we got for Christmas!

I had been dying to try it out. So, I looked up some recipes and got started with some Cranberry Almond Apricot bread.

It is extremely important that you put the ingredients into the breadmaker in the order shown. Wet ingredients must be first, then dry on top.

Then, place the pan into the breadmaker.

Close the lid and make your selections. For this bread, I used the White Bread setting for a 1lb. loaf on light (next time, I would do medium).

Three hours and 21 minutes later, out came the perfect loaf of bread. 🙂

A crust formed on the outside, and when you sliced into the bread it was soft and doughy. Just the way I like it.

A little while later, I sliced up a piece of the warm bread spread on a little butter and served it with a smoothie for my afternoon snack. 🙂

A chocolate cherry bomb smoothie!

Yum!

Now, I know not everyone has a breadmaker…and you could definitely make this bread without one and bake it in the oven. It just takes a little more work because you are waiting for the dough to rise, etc. But, I’m sure the bread would come out just as good!

Filed under: Eating Laps, Recipes | Tagged: breadmaker, oatmeal, smoothie | 2 Comments »

my newest cravings – carbs!

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Jen

I still can’t figure out if my cravings are really from being pregnant, or just normal cravings that every woman has. What I do know, is that I give in to my cravings much more these days…and I love it. 🙂

This week, my newest obsession is cereal. But, not just any cereal…crunchy cereal! The last few days, I have been loving Kashi Go Lean Crunch – Honey Almond Flax.

It is crunchy and sweet, without being overly sweet.

And, I love it topped with banana and served with freezing cold milk.

The ingredient list isn’t so bad, and the nutritionals are definitely up to par. With 200 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 8 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein it will keep you full and satisfied for awhile.

Other favorites for lunches have been hummus sandwiches made on homemade bread (made with my new breadmaker!!) filled with hummus, spinach/lettuce and cucumbers.

This might be my absolute favorite lunch…it’s delicious and satisfying. Two really important things!

Along with my sandwiches, I try to eat a piece of fruit and a yogurt for more staying power.

And, for dinners I have been craving carbs! So, the other night we decided to make up a lighter Mac & Cheese that I found in my Women’s Running magazine.