Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps

This past week Bart and I have dominated the kitchen with new recipes. We went back to very strict eating to get back on track and it can be really hard to find flavorful foods. Bart is all about the flavor. I can handle eating brown rice and beans but Bart can only choke that stuff down sparingly. Bart has saved me during my Hashimotos treatment because he is so great at finding alternative recipes that work with my restrictions. He is such a great cook and is willing to experiment. I am lucky to have him in my corner!

I will share most of the recipes we cooked this week, starting with this one (my fav).

 Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps. These things are so dang good. It might seem like a lot of ingredients, but this is a one-pan wonder so it's totally easy. You can add more/less of any ingredients. I ended up adding a little more sesame oil and rice vinegar because I felt like my turkey was getting a little dry (probably because I cook things on too-high)

• 1 Lb. ground turkey
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1½ tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp garlic, chopped
• 1 Tbsp basil, chopped
• ½ Tbsp lime juice

• Heat the sesame oil on medium heat in a large sauté pan. Break apart the turkey with a spoon and allow to cook until the turkey is cooked through.
• Add in the soy sauce, garlic, lime juice and vinegar and allow to cook until the ingredients have cooked into the turkey. (Turn down the heat while you add the ingredients so the flavors don't cook out before they have time to soak into the turkey) 
• When finished take off the heat and stir in the fresh herbs.
• Place the turkey mixture into the butter lettuce and top with the slaw.

Asian Slaw- this really completed the meal. I didn't really measure everything out, so just do what you think your family needs. These veggies taste awesome with the sauce tossed in. 

• purple cabbage, shredded
• red bell pepper, sliced
• green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce

• Combine the vegetables together in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl combine the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and whisk together.
• Pour the dressing into the slaw mixture and toss to combine.

One of my new favorite recipes! Enjoy!

Shut up and run

It was such a beautiful day today with the  sun shining and a light breeze. A perfect day to run. So I laced up my sneaks and hit the pavement.

Within two minutes my swollen feet were yelling at me saying "these running tennies don't fit!" And my hips were saying "hey, we're busy getting ready for birth and this running thing isn't our idea of a good time." Even my pregnant belly was a little irritated. 

I told them all to shut up and deal. 

And I ran. 

As a runner you learn that discomfort isn't a reason to quit. It's a reason to prove to yourself that you are in charge- not the aches and pains that try to tell you otherwise! 

My shoes are too tight and my running pants no longer "hug me in all the right places" they more squeeze me into submission.  But my lungs still work and my heart still loves it. So I am going to keep on running. 

Hi Baby: 6 Months

Hello my darling little one,

Saying I can't wait to see you sounds like the understatement of the year. I want to meet you and see your face and have you join our family! Your dad and I have so much fun just talking about you, I know it will be so much better when you are finally here.

You are either getting more active or you're just growing bigger- either way I can actually feel you throughout the whole day. Daddy has only felt you kick once, but it's only a matter of time before you moving around in there will be something anyone can notice.

It's an indescribable thing to feel your first child move. I don't know how anyone could go through pregnancy and not believe there is a God. It's such a miracle and a process unlike anything else on Earth.

If I had to describe my pregnancy in one word it would be PEACE. I haven't stressed about you at all. I haven't felt the need to research in books and memorize every little thing happening. I know you are in there growing and developing just the way you should be. It's only when I think about the actual birth that I start to get a little freaked out...but I still have a few months until I really need to focus on that right?

Stay strong and keep growing

xoxo

Mom

OK Fine, I'll Get Out of Bed

My daughter got me out of bed this morning for the first time and I know it wont be her last!

A couple days a week Bart gets up extra early to head to football workouts. I get to stay sleeping for about another hour. Today that hour wasn't long enough! I just wanted to stay in bed all morning. There's something about having the entire bed to yourself that makes you never want to move. As I was laying there enjoying my extra space and pillows, baby M (we decided on a name) starts to move/kick! I felt her for the first time about a week and a half ago and I just love it. It's not usually in the morning but apparently she was ready for us both to get out of bed.

It made me smile and I just laid there for a few more minutes enjoying her company. When she began shoving on my bladder I finally lost the battle.

I am so excited to meet this little one! 6 months down...4 months to go!

Day 365

Wow, it has already been a year since I was diagnosed with Hashimotos! Hard to believe it's already been a year, and that it's only been a year! Getting pregnant while still getting use to the lifestyle changes has felt like two steps back in the whole process, but I am still proud of how far I have come. In fact, 21 weeks pregnant and I still don't weigh as much as I did a year ago before I found out what was going on with my body. Crazy right? Obviously my weight loss wasn't the most important change I went through, but it is pretty easy to measure.

To say that Hashimotos changed my life would be the understatement of the year. I learned self disciple and gained a greater appreciation for my body. I finally understood that I have so much more control over my health than I realized. I became more conscious of my decisions and how those decisions impacted my life. My cravings for sugar have NEVER gone away and I have probably eaten my weight in carrots. Some days I really hate having to wonder about what I am eating 24/7. Other days I don't have to think twice.

Before being diagnosed I felt like crap all.the.time. Bart really wanted a baby but I couldn't even imagine having to take care of a little person when I could barely take care of myself!  I knew I eventually wanted to be a mother, it just didn't seem possible with my current health. I got pregnant within a few months of completing my program because I was finally confident with myself and my body and I knew I would be able to handle it. I'm so thankful for the diagnosis because not only did it change my life and my health/body, but it made it possible for me to want a baby and know that I could be a good mom. I don't know if there is any greater blessing than that!

I would go through all the great things that have changed with my body and treatment but the current prego situation kind of reverses a few things...that being said, I'm interested to see how my post-baby experience goes as I continue to live this lifestyle.

Here is a look back at a few posts as I was in the thick of things!

Day 6
Sick Like a Normal Person
Day 28
My Moment
Fresh Food Grocery Shopping
Day 118
Day 143

2 Cents: Along Came a 9 Pound Baby

I have a few things I want to talk about today and I'm in that mood that makes blogging extra fun for all of you readers out there so...enjoy!

First thing's first. I posted this article on FB Woman Delivers 9-Pound Baby in Surprise Pregnancy
and I will ask the same question here. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN??? It's not this specific story that gets me, because I have seen a bunch of them. It's the whole "surprise pregnancy" thing that I can't wrap my head around. Before I was pregnant I thought it was strange and unlikely. Now that I am pregnant I find it impossible for this to be completely true.

There are a few "surprise pregnancies" that I can understand. The "oops I got knocked up by my boy toy down the street" or the "I'm on birth control and BAM it happened anyway" or then the "we've been trying for years and it finally happened" surprise. I understand that not all pregnancies are planned. Cool. whatever. It's the whole all of a sudden I'm in labor and have a 9 pound baby in my arms surprise that I just can't comprehend.

Let's discuss shall we? What happens to a woman's body when she gets pregnant? 

Number 1: you miss your period. The same monthly cycle that should be happening pretty regularly. Really intense athletes or other women with different issues don't always have this monthly visitor, but those are the exception to this age old rule. Miss it once shame on you, miss it twice maybe you forget...miss it 8 times in a row? unlikely.

Number 1.5 I'm kind of skipping past the whole "you feel shitty" part of things because not everyone would attribute that to pregnancy so I will let that pass.

Number 2. A baby starts to GROW INSIDE OF YOU. It starts off small, but eventually that little one is being measured in pounds...not ounces. I don't care how overweight someone is, the body changes of a baby aren't the same as typical weight gain! It's focused in one area (hello baby bump) and it gets pretty hard. It doesn't say squishy like a fat belly. It's round and it's sturdy and THERE'S A BABY INSIDE. Am I missing something??

Number 3: You should eventually feel said baby move. It might start out feeling like gas, but from stories I have heard you can soon start to see your belly move as your baby moves. once again further proving that THERE'S A BABY INSIDE.

I can see how it might take a woman several months to catch on that she's pregnant, but to get through your entire pregnancy and go into labor without knowing?  I just feel like there must be a few strings not attached for that to happen....

Anyway, that's what I think. I get that it happens. I just don't get that it is actually happening...

*here is my other post from today where I essentially tell everyone to go to hell...enjoy!

But seriously, I'm not having twins.

2 days ago I got asked the question 'are you sure you're not having twins". The conversation  went something like this:

Her: Wow you have really popped
Me: Yep!
Her: Are you sure you're not having twins??
Me: Pretty sure...
Her: You just look really big for 4 months...
Me: Well maybe that's because I'm 5 1/2 months
Her:.......walks away

Fine. whatever. In my mind I punched her in the face and moved on. She hadn't seen me for 3 weeks or so so I chalked it up to small talk.

Today I had another conversation that really just pisses me off. I was with my coworkers (one who happens to be 3 weeks further along in her pregnancy than I am) and the guy turns to me and says,

Him: When is your due date?
Me: August
Him: Are you sure they didn't mix up you two? 
Prego girl: No no, I just carry mine differently (trying to be nice...which I appreciated)
Him: Are you sure you're not having twins??
Me: Pretty dang sure. What do you want me to do? Suck it in?
Him: Well I knew a girl who gained 80 pounds when she was pregnant
Me (in my mind) Who the hell said I have or will be gaining 80 pounds??
Me: I actually haven't gained that much weight, it's just how my body is holding it all...
Him: ....awkward pause walks away.

WTF? It's like being pregnant all of a sudden gives MEN a pass to talk about my body TO MY FACE. I don't care if you want to go chat about how big my belly is compared to the other prego girls at work, but do we really need to discuss it?

What exactly do you think a pregnant belly looks like? Do you understand that there is a BABY in there? Not only is there a baby, but there are my intestines, kidneys, stomach, bladder, liver and other internal organs that have to SHARE with the baby.

Women have different body types and so they look different pregnant. I have a longish torso so really, my belly isn't sticking straight out like a lot of other petite girls. I happen to have more space for everything to spread out instead of the basketball effect. I wasn't overweight when I got pregnant so this little girl made her bump debut maybe a little earlier than a woman who was carrying a few extra pounds when she got pregnant. I honestly don't know what a 5 month pregnant belly is "supposed" to look like and I honestly dont care. There is literally NOTHING I can do about the size of my belly so why the hell do we need to talk about it?

Me being pregnant doesn't just give you the green light to openly discuss the changes that are happening to MY body. Not only can I not control it, but I shouldn't have to worry about it either. Do you know how self concious it makes me feel to have everyone in the room looking at my belly as you discuss the correct sizing of baby bumps? Lucky for you I can let it slide after I vent about it.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm growing a little human right now which makes me better than you. So shut up and bring me a cookie.