Bad Habits

It has become noticeable to me that posts about Baby T are the most popular. I'm sure this will continue to be the case once she arrives as well!

I know some people refer to Hungry Heart as a food blog. I post a lot of what I eat, but that wasn't my real intention.
I like to think of it as a "healthy living" blog. And to me, healthy living is about daily activities, what I eat, and the general goings on of the Tylutki household.
After the arrival of our little peanut, I'm sure there will be lots of pictures of her.
But hopefully the blog will be a reflection of a family on a healthy living adventure. Including, food, fitness, and plenty of baby pictures!

On to the food:

This sandwich was one of those dinners when I felt a little sad after it was gone. I wanted to eat it again.
It was just pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. And a nice layer of hot sauce.

With baby cucumbers and Simply Dressed Light Blue Cheese dressing on the side.

Have you tried Marzetti's Simply Dressed line of salad dressings?

They contain yogurt, and are all natural. The blue cheese was an ok substitute for their full fat blue cheese dressing (our favorite). It was tangy with a few chunks of blue cheese.
Personally, I think I would rather stick with their regular dressing, mixed with a little lemon juice. More tang, about the same fat as the light version.
But this was a decent choice for a pregnant woman on a serious blue cheese kick.

I feel as though I have eaten fairly healthy while being pregnant. But somewhere along these 9 months I picked up a few bad habits:

• I butter my toast
• I eat ice cream approximately 6-7 days a week
• I have been eating creamy salad dressings
• I have an after work snack meal of cereal
• I have about 3 sodas per week (usually root beer, and only the last month or so)
• I haven't been eating enough veggies

I am confident I can cut out many of these habits after Baby T arrives. I will be fine without soda and creamy blue cheese dressing.
But saying goodbye to my daily Breyer's Neopolitan and Honey Nut Cheerios might be another story...

Baby T: Week 39

5 days until my due date!

Still feeling generally uncomfortable. My hands (especially my left) are really swollen and occasionally my fingers go numb. Lovely!
But I still have good days and not so good days. Yesterday I actually felt pretty great.

My insomnia has been much better lately, but I am finding I am have to change positions more frequently. Just hard to get comfortable these days!

Baby T is still wiggling like crazy, which is still amazing. Dr B. told us yesterday that she was about average size (7.5 lbs). She must be so squished in there!
Dr B. basically said I can go into labor any time, even though I feel pretty normal. He is also the doctor on call for the next 9 days, so I was pretty happy about that.

In the meantime we are just waiting.
I am starting to get anxious to meet our daughter.
Are you ready in there?!

We can't wait to see you!

Trifecta

I hear when you get towards the end of pregnancy you have urges to start nesting.
Does it count that I have been dying to clean the refrigerator, but not actually done it? It seemed to require so much bending over.

Jerry has done an excellent job of taking care of me, especially in the last few weeks. Many runs out to get ice cream, as well as cleaning, and cooking.

Yesterday I hit the spoiled pregnant wife trifecta:

He cleaned the refrigerator, grocery shopped, and cooked dinner.

Clean and full!

A manly meal of steak and potatoes. This of course, is Jerry's plate. Only a few more weeks and I can eat a steak this rare!

I should mention that he also managed to go for a 6 mile run before dinner. And then after dinner contemplated cleaning the basement. I begged him to sit down!

At least one of us is nesting....

Waiting

Just wanted to pop in and say hello this morning!

I had a relatively uneventful weekend, and I failed to take any pictures. But I wanted to post something. Didn't want to leave people wondering if I'm in labor.

I'm not.

On Saturday I felt like a huge uncomfortable, useless, pregnant lady with terrible back pain and wacky emotions.
On Sunday I felt pretty great.

I'm hoping the great feeling lasts throughout the week.
I know it is only 7 days until Baby T is due, but I know its common for first time moms to go past their due date.
So I keep telling myself she will be here in two weeks.
I am going to continue to work as long as possible, as it seems to make the days go by faster. 

Let the week(s) of waiting begin!

Like A Rock

Aahhh. I slept like a rock last night.
At least my body seems to reward me with a good night's sleep after a totally crappy one.

I probably slept well because Jerry made an awesome dinner last night.

Fish tacos with fresh salsa and chipotle cream.
All I had to do was answer a few questions from the comfort of the couch, and he did the rest!
In the taco:

• pan seared tilapia that was seasoned with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika
• salsa with tomatoes, avocado, red onion, parsley, jalapeno, and lime juice
• chipotle cream made with light sour cream, mayo, lime juice, garlic, and minced chipotles in adobo

Jerry gets two thumbs way up for this dinner. Plus, it only required about 5 minutes of the stove being on. Perfect for a 95 degree day.

Aside from the 'so-under-ripe-it was almost-crunchy' avocado, it was amazing. Easily the best thing I have eaten in weeks. I inhaled two of these, and probably could have eaten another. And I had extra chipotle cream. I hear spicy food can induce labor ;)

The only reason I didn't eat three tacos is because I was saving room for the peanut butter ice cream sundae that Jerry went out and got me after dinner! 

The only thing I am liking about this hot weather is Sadie's smile.

I love that when its hot, it looks like she is smiling. Even though I know she is probably just panting. Its just one of those things I love about dogs.


Hot weather; loving it or hating it?

I am staying firmly planted inside the AC!

Baby T: Week 38

38 Weeks

Ok, I'm starting to get really uncomfortable.
My hands feel swollen, my back aches, and I have a serious waddle going on.

And who is ready for the 90+ degree temperatures to go away?

I get frequent Braxton Hicks contractions. The past few days they have really increased. Very simple tasks  seem to bring them on; grocery shopping, cooking dinner, etc. Pretty much anything that involves standing for any length of time.
Jerry has asked me 10 times if we should call the doctor, but I am positive it is just false labor.
For now!

I find myself constantly wondering what our baby is going to look like.
I am so excited that I think nerves are partially to blame for my insomnia. I wake up and  my mind starts racing. I lay awake and think about daycare. And labor. And recovery. And breastfeeding. About raising a happy, healthy, nice little girl.

Mostly I think about how I can't wait to meet our daughter!

I think Sadie is pretty excited, too.

Jerry and I have assembled the pack n' play, bassinet in our bedroom, and I finally packed a bag for the hospital.
We are ready for you, little girl! Please come out and meet us soon!

Oats in a Jar

Now that the weather is getting hot, I am back to eating overnight oats again.

I had a tasty batch on Saturday morning.

1/2 cup oats, 3/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon chia seeds, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries. In the morning I added sunflower butter and a tablespoon of shredded coconut.

I ate it outside on the deck, and was stalked by Sadie in the process.

I am even more excited to eat this morning's oats.

Same mix as Saturday, but with fresh local strawberries. Ready for me to eat at work!
I am so disappointed that I cannot pick strawberries this year. I picked a ton last year, and they lasted me months.
Unfortunately at 38 weeks pregnant, me and bending over are not great friends.

Just ask Jerry, who now has the job of putting on all my shoes that involve a buckle :)

Back to Basics

When I am making dinner, I always try to make sure my plate has a protein, a carbohydrate/starch, and a vegetable.
I almost always cook with canola or olive oil, so I don't really worry too much about fat. Plus, when Jerry is training for a race, I pretty much add cheese to everything (to make sure he is getting enough calories).

Last night I went pretty basic with dinner.

Protein: chicken
Vegetable: green beans
Starch: potato

Grilled chicken, boiled salt potatoes, steamed green beans with lemon and garlic

If you wanted to optimize the health factor of this meal, substitute the potatoes for a whole grain or complex carbohydrate. (Brown rice, quinoa, lentils, whole wheat pasta or bread).

We grew up eating a fair amount of potatoes in my house.
My Dad claimed to dislike rice. I think he just preferred potatoes.

The longer we are married, the more Jerry branches out with his food choices. But sometimes he just wants meat and potatoes (and onions, of course).

Summer in central NY is salt potato season. A Syracuse specialty.
I'm not sure if they have salt potatoes in other parts of the country, but around here, they are a side dish staple in the summer. BBQs, fairs, etc, always have them on the menu.

"The Real Taste of Summer!"

The ones I find in my store are always sold in 5 pound bags, and are almost always this Hinerwadel's brand.
They are basically a small white potato that comes with a large bag of salt. When you drain the potatoes, the salt makes a nice snappy crust on the skin of the potato.
Simple and delicious!

Have you heard of salt potatoes?
Were they a summer staple at your house?

Baby T: Week 37

37 weeks. Check out that awesome 'I just woke up from a nap' hair!

The belly is definitely larger than 6 weeks ago.

31 weeks

Baby T:
Is now considered "term".  She is over 19 inches long and probably weighs close to 7 pounds. Dr B said she is very compact in there, and was definitely still head down.
I'm spending more and more time wondering what she looks like.

Me:
Tired.

Carrying around a 6-ish pound baby all day is exhausting. I am taking more naps than usual.
I am officially up 30 pounds. My feet are getting a little swollen, and all of my shoes seem to be a little tight.
But other than that, I generally feel pretty good. Only one bout of insomnia in the last few days. People seem to constantly be asking me if I am uncomfortable, and I can honestly tell them no. I still feel like a pretty lucky pregnant lady. It helps to have central air :)

My mom helped me put up the sticker mural in the nursery, and I am very happy with how it came out.

I still haven't packed a bag for the hospital yet, but that is on today's to-do list.

+/- 19 days until her arrival!

No Fun Sunday

Well. Sunday was not quite what I had planned....

After church Jerry and I had a nice little lunch on the grill.

Burgers with a side of grilled veggies, enjoyed on the patio.

Water for her, beer for him.

Little did I know our deck would soon look like this.

We have had some issues with water pooling in the corner, so Jerry thought he would remove some of the decking and space out the boards. He also wanted to run some wiring for outdoor speakers. 

He thought it would be a nice afternoon project. 

Wrong. 

He found tons of wet, rotted wood on the side of the house and sun room. So much that he had to remove a window. And pull out a bunch of moldy insulation. That animals had clearly been living in. 

Now, I am grateful that Jerry found this problem. And very grateful that he knows how to fix it. 

But of course, I did what any woman who is 37 weeks pregnant would do when she sees a giant hole in her house.
I cried.
And then went to get a hug from my mom.

Sigh. Not the best day to not be able to open a bottle of wine.
So I had the next best thing.

Don't worry, I got Jerry one, too!

Breakfast Dinner

Mmmmm, pancakes.

Unfortunately, this tasty dish was not this morning's breakfast.
But it was Thursday's dinner!

Cooked by this handsome chef:

These fluffy cakes were made with half whole wheat flour, half all purpose.
I spread sunflower butter between my 'cake layers and then topped them with frozen blueberries that I heated on the stove.

They tasted like a decadent peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Served with a side of bacon and a big scoop of Chobani blueberry yogurt.

It was a struggle to eat all of this, but I managed to clean my plate!
And I was only slightly jealous that Jerry topped his with a pool of maple syrup and runny farm fresh eggs.

I'm off in search of a breakfast half as delicious as this dinner.
Then it's (belated) spring cleaning in the Tylutki household!

Dinner Done Right

The pattern of insomnia continues. 3 am to 5 am, why do you hate me?!

At least our dinners have broken the previous pattern of random/takeout.

Grilled flank steak with mango salsa, grilled corn, and Alexia waffle fries.
Jerry and I have never grilled flank steak, but we definitely will in the future. Even though mine was well done, it was still nice and tender. I didn't snap a photo, but Jerry's medium rare serving looked amazing!

The salsa was nice and refreshing also.
Mango, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, garlic, and basil. With a little lime juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
Jerry was very happy with this dinner.

I was pretty happy with this cold quinoa salad.

• 1/2 English cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 -3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• juice of one large lemon
• 2 Tbls galric olive oil
• salt and pepper

Toss in a bowl. Add one cup quinoa, cooked and cooled. 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts.

I had mine with a big scoop of homemade tzatziki sauce.

Jerry had a small serving along side leftover flank steak.
I loved the flavors of this, and the crunch from the nuts and the cucumber. It has made great leftovers, too.


Jerry and I finished our last childbirth class last night. We are officially ready to have a baby!
Jerry and I are using this weekend to give the house a serious cleaning and work on some outside repairs. And possibly some pack n' play and bassinet assembly  :)

Baby T: Week 36

36 weeks

Check me out 16 weeks ago:

20 weeks

Baby T:  Has moved head down!

I am very relieved. At our appointment yesterday, Dr B. initially thought she was in the same breech position (as did I). But he when he checked with an ultrasound, he saw her head was down in my pelvis. Very low, actually!

Sorry I thought your butt was your head, baby!!!

He also noted that she had large feet, and was going to be a "good size". Apparently she is taking after her daddy :)
I am assuming "good size" mean 8 pounds, because anything much larger than that scares me. That means right now my belly has over 6 lbs of Baby T in it!

In addition to her feet, Dr B. also pointed out her heart, kidney, bladder, ribs, spine, and a few bones.
The heart was the most amazing thing. All four chambers were pumping away. We could even see the aorta and pulmonary vein.

Me: I am feeling pretty good!
I still get tired very quickly, have a few bouts of back pain, and a little trouble sleeping.
I seem to alternate a  good night's sleep with a bad one. I was up randomly from 3:15 to 5:30 this morning. I guess it is better than insomnia every night!
I was given a sheet at the doctor's office yesterday that explains the signs of labor. I was basically told I could go into labor any time now. Exciting/scary!

+/- 26 days to go!

Seafood Coma

Instead of not being able to sleep I actually overslept this morning!

It's probably because I find grocery shopping exhausting these days.
Good thing Jerry came with me! And carried all the bags!

We spent way more money than we usually do.
And even splurged on some seafood for last night's dinner.

 

Simple linguine and clams with a few shrimp thrown in. 

Lots of garlic, lots of wine, lots of parsley. It was fantastic!

If a seafood and pasta feast helps me get a solid 8 hours every night, I will be willing to eat this every day :)

Exciting things on the agenda today; a doctor's appointment, and then meeting the newest member of our family, baby Liam James!

Re-Stocked

I am making my list and checking it twice.
After slacking off at grocery shopping for too many weeks in a row, I have my list stocked with lots of produce and quite a few staples as well.
I can't wait to have a re-stocked kitchen.
Hopefully that means some yummy stuff on the blog in the weeks ahead!

Last week Jerry and I made chicken salad for dinner.

I believe there are two types of chicken salad.
I lump them into two categories; chunky and spreadable.

I like both kinds of chicken salad, but this smooth-er version is one of Jerry's favorites.
We make our "spreadable" chicken salad with the help of the food processor.

Into the food processor:

• 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 small stalks of celery, roughly chopped

Pulse 2-3 times to finely chop veggies.

• add 3 cups of chopped or shredded cooked chicken (I used a roasted chicken from the grocery store)
• salt and pepper to taste
• a pinch of paprika
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise or plain yogurt (I used 2 tbls of each)

Pulse again 2-4 times until chicken is incorporated and you get the consistency you like.
You can add more or less mayo, depending on how moist you want your chicken salad.

This comes together in no time, thanks to the food processor.

Jerry prefers his on toasted bread with extra onion (I know, shocking).
But I really enjoyed mine scooped with an ice cream scooper onto some mixed greens.

This batch will make 4-6 servings (depending on how thick you make your sandwich). And it is great as leftovers.
I ate this again on Saturday, and used it as a dip for some celery sticks.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

I spent mine at a breastfeeding class, picking up the last few things off of our baby registry (gotta have a diaper pail!), looking at pictures of my sister's trip to Italy, celebrating my great aunt's 94th birthday, and awaiting the arrival of my newest nephew.
He should make his entrance into the world today!