Well, I've been a mommy for about 2 months now. So far so good! This Thanksgiving I had quite a lot to be thankful for. My little L changes every day. She's getting chubbier (which isn't saying much) and is learning how to talk and smile! I have a healthy, happy baby and that's more than I could ask for.
As a mom, every day I find myself feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and exhausted, but also completely overjoyed, totally blessed and filled with unconditional love for this little baby girl. It's quite an emotional roller coaster! Having a baby truly pries you away from selfishness and pride. I've been spit up on, pooped and peed on. I've lost sleep, lost my free time but have found my purpose in this world.
The best advice I had gotten going into this motherhood journey was that with kids you need to relearn how to do life all over again. The way I do laundry has changed, how I workout has changed, the way I cook, getting ready in the morning - everything! It takes patience and planning ahead in order to keep up with it all. Even now, I'm typing with one hand because my girl is asleep on my lap. I can't even remember what I used to do with my time before I had a baby. Probably a whole lot of nothing..
So this is where I get to share how I'm figuring out how to keep my healthy lifestyle + baby duties all balanced.
Mommy Life - Food Prep:
Pregnancy does a work on your body. From the start of pregnancy I have been amazed at how I was able to grow a person, birth a person, and now provide everything my little baby needs - God is so cool! But of course with pregnancy comes weight gain. I personally gained about 30 lbs (but keep in mind I didn't go full term. L came 5 weeks early!). I hadn't changed much about my diet during pregnancy. I still made home made meals and still indulged from time to time. Now that I want my abs back, it needs to start in the kitchen.
If you've read any of my posts about ways to keep a healthy menu I am all about meal planning, and I am SO happy I've managed to incorporate this habit pre-baby!
Quick steps for a healthy food week:
1. Become a person of habit and routine:
Get into a good rhythm for breakfast and lunch. Maybe you plan to have 2 eggs and some fruit every morning. Maybe lunch is always leftovers from dinner the night before or a chicken salad you prepped over the weekend (check out the yummy recipe below!). Make a routine that can become second nature.
2. Collect recipes:
Pinterest is my best friend. If I have no clue what to make for dinner for the week all it takes is a quick search on Pinterest and I'm bound to find something new and delicious. Then I make a list on my phone what recipes I want to make for the week. Right now my list includes coconut chicken, stir fry, chicken salad and fish with sweet potatoes. Nothing extravagant, but I've got a plan.
Try to include a good amount of protein in each meal, a veggie in each meal and be smart about how you indulge. Just remember, too much sugar and starch equals increased fat stores and weight gain.
3. Shop with intention:
Now that you have your list of meals, make your list of what you need for each recipe. Then you can grocery shop with purpose while saving time as well.
4. Use the precious time you have:
Mommy life doesn't allow for much extra time when every 3 hours I'm nursing, diaper changing, comforting a fussy baby and rocking her to sleep. So when I have a few minutes I use it! That means prepping veggies, putting things in my crock pot, boiling eggs or whatever prep I can do while I have the chance. Most of the time my meal prep is interrupted by my little L who lost her passie or just needs to be held, so what used to take me 10 minutes could easily take me a half hour or more.
I'm definitely still adjusting and trying to give myself some slack. I may not get out of my PJ's every day or wash my dishes for days on end, but I do what I can. Of course my number one priority right now is my baby girl.
And now - a recipe to share!
Thanksgiving has already come and gone. My husband and I are working on eating up all of the leftovers we were given - yummy! This year I had made a delicious chopped salad (recipe found here) and this is what I decided to do with the leftover salad ingredients:
Quick Chicken Salad:
Ingredients
Cooked and shredded chicken breast
A few chopped pecans
1-2 Tbsp dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped apple
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
2 slices cooked and chopped bacon strips
Poppyseed dressing
Directions
Simply mix all ingredients with the amount of dressing you like (just don't overdo it!) and enjoy! Not all salads need lettuce.
This could easily be prepped ahead of time and thrown together for a quick lunch to bring to work.
So do what works for you in order to eat healthy, real, delicious food.
