Month: March 2011

I’m getting hungry!

After two successful pre-cleanse days, which consists of replacing breakfast and dinner with one Isagenix shake and having a sensible 400-600 calorie meal for lunch, I’m ready for tomorrow, which will be my first cleanse day. The cleanse days are the most difficult as you can’t eat anything all day long, except 6 raw almonds throughout the entire day! I am getting so hungry just thinking about it.  This is going to be rough but I’m trying to keep the end goal in mind, losing some of this post pregnancy weight. It just doesn’t feel right having this weight on without a baby to care for. I need to lose it, for my own sanity and look forward to getting back into my regular jeans again!  At least I’m trying to see if losing the weight will help, I’m trying everything imaginable under the sun to be able to survive each day without Julian.

I’ve had some recipe requests so I will be posting a Potato Leek Soup recipe and a Spinach Frittata recipe tonight. Super easy meals to prepare and so delicious and good for you. Enjoy and as always, feel free to share and comment.

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What’s cooking for dinner tonight?

Last night, I made the tortellini soup with spinach for dinner. It was so delicious. Even though I wasn’t supposed to eat it because I’m on the cleanse program, I gave it a little try. Every good cook tests his own cooking. It’s very easy to make and your family will love it. It’s my own original recipe.

I’ve also added some other yummy new recipes to the blog and will continue to add more this week. Check out “recipes” in the menu at the top of the page.

Tonight, I’ll be making some vegetarian nachos. Tortilla chips on the bottom, pour some vegetarian chili (leftovers from the other night) on top of the chips, and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese (always a staple in my refrigerator). Melt in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes and dinner is done! We enjoy topping off the nachos with some fresh salsa and sour cream. This is a definite treat for the kids. Very kid-friendly meal. You can add a green salad with tomatoes, olives and cucumbers as a side dish for the nachos.

What are you cooking for dinner tonight?

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The Dirty Dozen, Plus

Buying organic is healthier for the environment, farmers and for you and your family. Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and conservation of soil and water to enhance the environmental quality for future generations.

Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that are not given any antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides.

Since many of us can’t afford to buy all 100% organic, the solution is to avoid those foods that have the heaviest amount of pesticides, chemicals, additives and hormones. Here are the Dirty Dozen: Meat, Milk, Coffee, Celery, Peaches, Strawberries, Apples, Blueberries, Nectarines, Bell Peppers, Spinach, Kale, Cherries, Potatoes and Grapes. Plus, here are some others that are frequently contaminated with potent pesticides: Lettuce, Tomatoes, Carrots and Pears. Most of these are easy to find at your local grocer as well as at Farmer’s Markets during the summer season. Other grocers that sell a variety of quality organic produce, coffee and dairy are Whole Foods Market and Trader Joes.

I’ve pulled together this organic/conventional list that may be useful during your shopping trips. This is a great resource for our family.

Organic Fruit: Apples, Blueberries. Cherries, Grapes, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Raspberries, Strawberries

Organic Vegetables: Bell Peppers, Celery, Lettuce, Potatoes, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes

Organic Dairy: Butter, Cheese, Eggs, Milk, Yogurt, Peanut Butter

Organic Other: Meat, Poultry

Conventional Fruit: Avocados, Bananas, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Mangos, Oranges, Papaya, Pineapple

Conventional Vegetables: Asparagus, Brocolli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Corn, Eggplant, Onions, Sweet Peas, Sweet Potatoes

Conventional Other: Bread, Cereal, Pasta

According to the Environmental Working Group, consumers can reduce their pesticide exposure by 80% by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables. Here’s a great article with more information: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods.

Organic foods are a healthy, wholesome, safe choice for all of us, especially for growing infants and children. The most important lesson is for all of us to do the best that we can for ourselves and for our children. Support our local farmer’s efforts and buy local/organic whenever possible.

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It’s time to cleanse my mind and body.

Today I started my Isagneix 9 day cleanse program. This is a great program that I did three years ago. It really helped kick start my metabolism after Lucas was born and gave me renewed energy.

The program consists of shake days, in which you drink an Isagenix shake for breakfast and dinner and eat a well-balanced small lunch, and cleanse days. The toughest are those cleanse days in which you can’t eat anything except 6 raw almonds for the entire day. Of course, you are supposed to drink a lot of water and you are drinking the cleanse drink, but it really hits you that you can’t eat anything during those days! Thankfully, there are more shake days then cleanse days and by the end of the program, you feel rejuvenated and really notice the weight loss.

Today is a shake day for me so it’s not too bad. However, I do have a small headache already because you are not supposed to drink coffee either. That’s another difficult part, especially for those that rely on that caffeine to give them a boost of energy.

Wish me luck, especially since I’ll be posting recipes on my blog this week and still cooking delicious foods for my family.

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I thought it was supposed to get easier.

Everyone tells me that the sadness and longing for Julian will get better over time. Well, I think you are all wrong because it seems to be getting worse. Unless, maybe it’s the circumstances and there has been a lot of reminders around lately.

I remember being pregnant with him and how wonderful it felt to hold him inside of me and all the times in the beginning when I would feel him constantly moving around in my belly. It was so magical. I can still remember that one day while I was waiting for one of my weekly ultrasound appointments at Bridgeport Hospital, and as I sat there, he was twirling around inside of me so much. I put my hand on my stomach and spoke to him, “Hi Julian. Are you having fun? You’re kicking around so much. Mommy loves it when you do that. I can’t wait to see you. I love you so much”. I can remember and feel that day like it was just yesterday! His movements inside of me made me smile and I was at my happiest during those moments. They are too be cherished and I hope I can teach all of you who plan to or have children, enjoy all of those special moments with your pregnancies, babies and children. We are all blessed to have these little people with us. They are a part of us and teach us so much. So, grab your little one and hug and kiss him and watch him smile up at you. I still love it when my mother hugs and kisses me.

I went to visit Julian at the cemetary yesterday and I felt so sad to see all of those children’s gravestones. It just doesn’t seem right for little ones to die. We’re only supposed to die when we’re very, very old (I don’t plan to die until after 100). I read many of their gravestones while I was there and one of them said “Baby Boy and the last name”…. that poor family didn’t even get a chance to name their baby. That is so sad. As I looked all around, with the wind blowing at me, sometimes very strongly, I felt so overwhelmed with sadness. My little Julian was there too. It just seemed so unfair. I wanted him home with me. I wanted to be cuddling him in my arms and putting him to my breast, comforting him with his eyes looking deeply into my eyes. Does it sound right to any of you that God takes these little tiny babies and small children from us? It doesn’t sound right to me at all and I struggle with this every day.

I received a book from the “Read to Grow” program that we signed up for at the Hospital. They send free baby books to families so they can read to their baby and teach them the importance of reading from the beginning. I believe in that for sure. When Lilliana was little she used to sit in her room looking at all of her books. One day, I went into her room because it was so quiet, she was probably 18 months, and there she was sitting on the carpet with books surrounding her, “reading” one of her books. I can still picture that moment in my mind like it yesterday too. It is so special. She still does this now. She wakes up early so she can sit in her bed and read without any interruptions. She does this every morning. She is amazing and we are very proud of her. Well, getting this book and reading the survey questions: Do you read to your baby? Does your baby enjoy the books? Do you sing to your baby etc… how can I answer those questions when I don’t have a baby anymore?

That brings me to another moment when Julian was here. Mike was reading to Lilliana and Lucas before bed (our night time routine) and I went in there with Julian, he was breathing and eating good that evening, and we read a baby book to Julian. Lucas said “we are all together as a family reading books. Julian is here”. I cry thinking about that moment. He was so happy to have his brother there with us. We had always talked about our anticipation of those moments. The kids talked to Julian in my belly all the time and we talked about looking forward to when he would be born and we could do things together as a family. That was such a special moment for me, for all of us, and little did I know that it would be the only moment we would do that together.

I apologize for all the sadness today. Like I said, I guess it’s the result of a lot of reminders these past few days. It happens sometimes, to no one fault’s, but just life and the road to healing, I guess.

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Meditation is deep!

Every week, when I go to yoga class and meditate, I get an overwhelming feeling of sadness and the tears just pour out. I don’t know why this continues to happen, every single week! I guess it’s the only time when I actually sit still and quiet for a long time so I am reminded of Julian and how much I miss him. This may sound strange, but sometimes my sub-conscious (Julian) talks to me. We have a little conversation in my own head. Maybe one day, I won’t cry and I’ll be able to just sit, relax and remember our happy memories with Julian. Maybe.

On a different note, I have some exciting tips for all of you about making pancakes as well as another pancake recipe, that uses milk rather then buttermilk, since most of you always have milk at home. This is a basic recipe that can jazzed up with any of your favorites ingredients, such as bananas, chocolate chips or blueberries. My kids’ favorite is banana, chocolate chip pancakes. YUMMMMO! This morning, we made banana walnut pancakes and my niece said “we should call these banana nut muffin pancakes”. I thought that was cute. Banana Nut Muffins are one of my favorite flavor of muffins. Muffins are a great snack item and we make a batch of them almost on a weekly basis. Look for my recipes on the menu at the top of the page and feel free to leave any questions/comments. No question is a silly question. We’ve all asked them before. Lots to share with you, so stay tuned!

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