Must haves

Ok. So this pregnancy I am trying really hard to eat healthy. With Evie I gained over 40 lbs - which is maybe just what my body does during pregnancy. I lost it all, so no big deal, right? This time around I am trying to be a lot more conscious of what I am taking into my body and how I'm taking care of myself. I'm not counting my calories or doing any sort of diet (don't worry, mom!) during pregnancy...I know that isn't safe, unless under doctors orders. Anyway, when I go to the grocery store, these next two items are usually a must on my list

I usually buy the Walmart brand of these veggies, unless I have a coupon or they are on sale. I know fresh is always better, BUT sometimes (and by that I mean usually) it's nice to have these on hand in the freezer when you don't have fresh. We have some sort of veggie with dinner every night and Evie loves them! She will usually eat her vegetables up first. We also usually have left overs so Evie and I will eat it with our lunch! Side story. Yesterday Evie and I loaded up the car and headed to Tri Cities to check out Target's clearance...it ended up being a waste of a trip, but we had fun together. Anyway, we went to Wendy's for lunch and I asked her if she wanted fries or apples with her hamburger.....she said "APPLES!" I remember thinking in the past...what kid would choose apples over fries? My kid, thats who! And she ate every single one of them! I am guessing I just got lucky with Evie not being picky with food....I might not be so lucky with this next one...

I love this rice! It's so nice to make for lunch and serve it with left over chicken breast from the night before (since Owen refuses to eat left overs) and a leafy green salad. AND there is only 150 calories for 1 cup of rice. That's a lot of rice! The whole grain fills me up for longer and it usually makes enough for a couple meals. Evie likes it too, so that's nice!

I usually make it to the gym every morning, except the days I have to work there. I have had to start taking it a little easier because of my back and just because my body can't do as much for as long. At least I am there, right?! Before the gym I usually have 2 slices of whole wheat bread with peanut butter and a banana. That's my favorite go - to breakfast. Fills and fuels me up :)

I also really like low fat cottage cheese and tomatoes or yogurt as a snack or in the morning. .....and then there is....

Pinterest.

That site is awesome/evil...hear me out. I don't mind baking. I don't think it's hard to follow a recipe and have it turn out...for the most part! But since I started using Pinterest I have made a few different dessert recipes, and they were all soooo good! The first one I made were these Peanut Butter Cup Brownies....let me tell you. They were delicous AND easy peasy! It only made 12 cupcakes, which was perfect because I took them to a friends house for dinner and was able to get rid of them!

I also made a Cinnamon Roll Cake.....turned out just as delicious as the Peanut Butter Cup brownies, which is why I ended up throwing half of the cake away! I couldn't have that stuff sitting around my house. Seriously, though...the amount of sugar and butter that were in those...no good. I couldn't eat it without a guilty conscience! And I'm pretty sure large amounts of cinnamon give me a stomach ache...not a big fan of LOTS of cinnamon. I also made this BLT Pasta Salad for an Elders quorum Pinewood Derby a couple weekends ago. It was really good and I left the party with an empty bowl :)

Owen getting ready to race his car :) He came in 2nd place.....that's ok, maybe next time! How can you beat a car with a potato gun sending it down the track?!

Long post....kudos to anyone who reads the whole thing! I just thought I would share some things that have helped me and my family eat healthy. I'm interested if anyone else out there has some foods or ways they eat healthy with their families. I'm always looking for ideas and tips!