And the Journey begins, again

So here I am again, post baby and ready to lose this baby weight, again.  I just had my 3rd and last baby June 8th, 2015.  I'm almost 5 weeks postpartum.  I have at least another week before I can begin exercising due to having my 3rd c-section.  My plan is to focus on my eating habits for the next 3 weeks and then beginning August 1st, I'll start my 30 day challenges.

Some of you may recall when I did this just 2 years ago after baby #2 was born.  I had gained 60lbs that pregnancy, tipping the scale at 225lbs.  It had been a stressful and emotional pregnancy and I ate horribly.  With a simple diet change I dropped 40lbs the first few months after giving birth and then stalled at 185lbs.  After seeing this photo of myself in May I decided I had to buckle down and really make a change.  I took the month of May to prepare and then did several 30 day challenges the month of June and dropped that last 20lbs to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

This time, things are going to be different and more difficult.  I gained 10lbs over the 15 month period between this last picture and getting pregnant again.  I *only* gained 40lbs this pregnancy, but I didn't eat that bad.  My eating habits are still pretty good and only need a little fine tuning, with cutting out sweets and more carbs.  I am only 5 weeks postpartum, but the weight sits so different on me this time.  I don't think I look like I need to lose as much weight as I do.  I am sitting at 200lbs (15lbs heavier than the May, 2013 photo) and am still wearing maternity pants because my postpartum pants from last pregnancy still don't fit.  

Now begins my journey to getting my body back where I want it to be.  I probably wont get back to size Sm/Md shirts and size 5-7 in Juniors pants, like I was before becoming a Mom.  But that's ok.  That was a long time ago...

July 2010 1 day before finding out I was pregnant

Lifesaver Casserole

This is my "let's see what's in the fridge and make something delicious with it" casserole.  But since that's too long of a title, I just call it my Lifesaver Casserole.  (Note, there are no lifesavers in it.  Do they even make those anymore?)  It's great for using up leftovers too.  I will tell you what I used in this one, but you can really put anything in here you want.  Potatoes, carrots, celery, green beans, rice or no rice, any kind of meat...  I adapted my recipe from this Shipwreck Casserole Recipe by Deep South Dish.

Ingredients

• 1-2lbs Ground Beef (And/or any other meat.  I also used left over Roast Beef this time)
• Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, seasonings of choice
• 1/2 - 1 Onion chopped
• 1-2 large potatoes
• Veggies of choice (celery, carrots, peppers, beans, etc) I used 1 red bell pepper and a few stalks of celery
• 2 cups cooked rice (great way to use leftover rice!)
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped (or cans of diced tomatoes or tomato soup)
• 1 cup water
• 1-2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and set aside. 
• Cook ground beef and season with salt, pepper and garlic if desired. 
• Layer casserole with onions on the bottom, then potatoes; sprinkle lightly with seasoning salt, or salt and pepper. 
• Top with vegetables of choice.
• Top with cooked rice then the ground beef. 
• In a blender, puree/blend tomatoes, water and Italian seasoning; pour evenly over the top. 
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove cover and sprinkle with cheese.  Let cheese melt and serve!

Amazing Pumpkin Pecan Sticky Buns

We really enjoyed these... I mean, REALLY enjoyed them!  They were even better the next day after sitting and soaking in the glaze overnight.  Yum!  I will be making these again.  Be warned, they are very sugary and not necessarily good for you... But, there is pumpkin in them! :)

Ingredients

Streusel

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Glaze

• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tb coconut oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Buns

• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 4 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 TB coconut oil
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 TB sugar

Directions

• Combine Streusel ingredients and set aside
• For Glaze, mix maple syrup and coconut oil together and pour onto bottom of 13x9 pan.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans.  Set aside.
• For Buns, in a large bowl stir all bun ingredients until dough forms.  Place dough on lightly floured surface.  Knead to smooth dough, about 10 times.  Roll out dough to 15x9 inch rectangle.  Sprinkle dough with streusel.  Roll up dough tightly from one long side; pinch seam to seal.  Use sharp knife to cut dough into 12 equal slices.  Place cut side down in pan.  Sprinkle with any streusel that falls out.
• Bake 23 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately turn pan upside down, releasing buns onto serving plate.  Serve warm.

Homemade Rice Pilaf

We are adding fish to out diet once a week.  I'm going to try and come up with some delicious and creative sides to go with it!  Although I must say, there is nothing quite like some fresh Rice Pilaf to go with fish.  Instead of buying that pre-packaged stuff full of god-knows-what, I made my own.  It was fantastic.

Ingredients

• 10-15 Spaghetti Noodles (angel or regular)
• 1 cup Rice of choice (We like Jasmine, but brown rice is healthier)
• 1 TB Butter
• 2 cups Water
• Parsley (Fresh is best but dried is good too!)
• Lemon, if desired
• Garlic salt (or sea salt)

Directions

• Take about 10-15 spaghetti noodles (or more or less to taste) and break into small pieces
• Place in pan and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until noodles turn brown
• Add 1 TB butter and 1 cup of rice, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes
• Add 2 cups of water, juice of 1/2 lemon (if desired), parsley (1-2 TB dried, more if fresh) and salt
• Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat to low to medium-low and cook until rice is done

Pumpkin Bites with Cream Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup white or whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/3 cup homemade applesauce
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 1 TB ground flax*
• 3 TB water*
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup pureed pumpkin
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• Cream cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
• In another bowl, mix pumpkin puree, syrup, applesauce, flax, water and vanilla until smooth.
• Add dry mixture to wet and mix until combined.
• Spoon into mini muffin tray and make 12-15 minutes.
• Let cool and top with cream cheese!

*Flax and water is used as an egg replacer, you can use 1 egg instead of flax and water.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 3 medium ripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons flax meal 
• 3/4 cup warm almond milk
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter or almond butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup real maple syrup 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 cup all purpose flour 
• 1 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1 TB baking powder
• Pinch salt 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
• Mash the bananas and set aside. 
• Mix the flax meal with the warm almond milk and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Then add in the flax meal mixture and bananas.
• In another bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet using a spatula and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
• Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a knife or bamboo skewer comes out clean.

Adapted from this Better Banana Bread recipe.

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