Quinoa Lettuce Wraps

I posted a picture of this on Instagram the other day and had several people ask me for the recipe so here it is....

Quinoa Lettuce Wraps


1/2 C Quinoa
1 Tbl. Olive Oil
1 C Black Beans
1 C Garbanzo Beans 
1/2 Large Red Bell Pepper - chopped
1/2 Med. Yellow Onion - diced
1/2 C sunflower seeds
1 Avocado - chopped
1 bunch of Cilantro - chopped
1-2 Tbl. Mexican Seasoning 
1 Tbl. water
Salsa (optional)
Sour Cream (optional)
1 Package Butter Head Lettuce

1. Cook Quinoa according to package and set aside

2. Put oil in skillet and set to med-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until soft (about 5 min.) Add seasoning and water, then toss in garbanzo beans. Cook for additional 3-5 minutes until warm. Turn stove off.

3. In medium size mixing bowl add the cooked quinoa, onion mixture, rinsed black beans, sunflower seeds, and cilantro. Toss until fully mixed together.

4. Pull individual leaves off lettuce and rinse.

5. Serve - fill lettuce wraps to desired amount with quinoa mixture and top with salsa, sour cream, avocado and additional cilantro if desired.


Side Note: I put the leftovers in the fridge and had them the following day as a cold Quinoa salad. It was delicious!!! There are so many variations you can do to this recipe. You could add kidney beans, jalapeno, corn, etc. Have fun with your food. Eat your colors and enjoy!!!

Pregnant and tired

I forgot how tired you get when you are pregnant. I had so many plans this past week for projects I wanted to do around the house; not a single one of them happened. I laid around from one couch to the other. I went from my bed to the floor to the kitchen table to eat and then back to the couch. Sometimes it can be really hard for me to listen to my body and just relax and not worry about the dishes in the sink or the laundry piling up. I have to remind myself that although I am simply lying on my butt my body is busy growing a child and that is an extremely important job to take seriously. I am so blessed that I am able to be home. I do not think I would make it through a day of work. I barely make it to Lochlan’s naptime before passing out.

This is good parenting right here

 I love my two-hour nap in the middle of the day. It is what I look forward to most right now. Luckily for Lochlan there have been a few moments where I had the energy to take him to the library or the park and yesterday we actually went to the pool, which he really enjoyed. Poor kid every morning he comes in my room and says, “Get up Mommy!!” Luckily for me, he loves to color, read books and play with his toys. He is pretty good at entertaining himself, which is such a blessing right now

My symptoms as of now are extreme fatigue and nausea. I have not actually thrown up yet which is a blessing. When I was pregnant with Lochlan I puked every single day the entire 9/10 months I was pregnant. (They say you’re pregnant for 9 months but usually it is more like 10). I feel like being more relaxed this time around has helped my stomach settle. I don’t have the anxiety about what’s to come with this pregnancy. I also have stayed on top of eating small meals and snacking through out the day. Not overeating or waiting to long to eat can mean the difference between keeping down your food or not, at least for me. 

I have become very sensitive to smells. I can’t even be around eggs and I smell maple syrup randomly through out the day. Almost every morning I have woken up and had a whole-wheat waffle with vegan butter and a little jam with a banana and a large glass of water to take my prenatal with. I don’t particularly like eating the same thing for breakfast every day but right now it is enough to feel satiated but not to full and it keeps my stomach calm so I’ll take it. I know soon enough I’ll be able to eat a wider variety for breakfast. Every other meal I am fine. I can usually eat whatever sounds good to me. I have been doing a lot of vegetable sandwiches, hard cheese and crackers, Thai food is my best friend right now, oh and lots of sautéed Kale. I LOVE kale.

This is how I like to eat it; it’s very simple but delicious. 

Heat olive oil in skillet – mine is cast iron. Then I take two huge handfuls and place them in the skillet. I toss the kale around until it is coated with olive oil. I let sit for about a minute. Then, I pour about one to two tablespoons of water over the kale and cover with a lid. I let that steam for maybe 5 minutes, stirring once. I will take the lid off and decide if I want it softer or not but usually I like it a little al dente. Then I take it out of the skillet put a little sea salt on it and top with pumpkin seeds and eat. It’s so yummy, healthy and easy to do.

What’s one of your go to snacks when pregnant? 

Baby on Board

I found out I was pregnant the other day!!! About 7 weeks ago David and I decided we were going to actively try to conceive a child. I went through one cycle and now I am pregnant. So as most women in my family I am definitely as fertile as I thought I was. 

I feel very blessed that I have been able to do natural family planning and have a child when I want and not have to use birth control. So far, I haven’t had any severe pregnancy symptoms other than fatigue and frequent potty breaks.  I’ve already started needed to pee constantly so I’m slightly scared for what’s to come in the coming months when my uterus just keeps getting bigger and the baby pushes down on my bladder more and more. I’m pretty sure I’m just going to have to put a catheter in and I’m not even 8 weeks pregnant.

Lochlan is so cute already about the baby. He already likes to say Hi and give my belly kisses. He also likes to say that he has a baby in his belly, which I find adorable.

We are extremely excited to have another child. However, I really am trying to enjoy and take in the next nine months with Lochlan and appreciate the last little bit of time we have together with him just being our only son. David and I have gotten really nostalgic about Lochlan being our first-born. We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful, smart, caring, and creative child as our first. He definitely raised the bar for all of our children to come; I’m sure he will be a great brother.

I had my last day of work this past Friday, which was already planned before I found out I was pregnant. It kind of was perfect timing for all of this to happen. I’m lucky that I get to come home and take care of my family.

I am planning on posting my symptoms, thoughts, feelings, research and my meals. So hopefully all my family, friends and those of you I don’t know can find some joy, inspiration or information from my experience.

When I found out I was pregnant with Lochlan I had so much fear and anticipation around that pregnancy and birth because I did not know what to expect. I am definitely more relaxed this pregnancy and feel better prepared for all of what is to come. But even though I’ve been pregnant before and gave birth this is still a new experience and a different baby. I feel like I need to reread everything and educate myself again to ensure that I am doing everything as I’m supposed to.

I am also working on letting go of my fear of the possibility of having another breech baby and the pain of that labor. I am so blessed that I was able to deliver my son at home and have a natural birth and that everything came out right. But, it was definitely painful and my body remembers it so I’m going to do a lot of meditation, relaxation and visualization on having a head down and a calm, peaceful birth; definitely nothing as exciting as the last one was.

I am looking forward to sharing my experience. Here’s to the next nine to ten months of pregnant bliss!!

Life your life

Live your life to the fullest - I know everyone has heard this expression a lot but seriously you just never know what can happen. Say I love you to those you care about and don't let negativity infect your life. It's not worth it. Respect that no one is perfect and enjoy the mishaps along the way. We get so caught up in all the drama and what we don't have that we truly miss out and waste so much energy and time. In honor of my dear friend who has passed so unexpectedly I am going to enjoy all the moments and not worry about the next; plan for the future but not get bogged down with the details, and enjoy and cherish my family and friends.

A Mother, a friend, a wife has passed

My dear friend Michelle Platt-Brown passed away yesterday. She was a devoted Mother to 5 beautiful children, a loving wife to Danny Brown and a Las Vegas native. She passed away with no notice. Her husband had gone to bed and woke up around 4am to find her on the floor unresponsive. After trying to revive her himself he rushed her to the hospital where they confirmed she had passed. Danny now has 5 small children to take care of (ages 10-1). He is going to need lots of support and love from the community. I have set up a PayPal account to accept donations to give to him and his family in this time of need. Anything that you can provide will be appreciate. As of right now we are unsure of the reasons behind her passing. All we know is she was taken to soon. My heart goes out to her family and especially all those babies that now have to grow up without the love of their Mother. Thank you to all everyone that has offered to support money, time, food, prayers and more. I am so thankful that we have such a strong community of women that will group together and help each other out. It is truly amazing and special. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I know Michelle will have more peace knowing her children will be taken care of and that the community she grew up in and loved is behind her.

Rest in Peace my dear friend

We will watch over your family; I know you would have done the same for me.

I have a link to the PayPal account on the right corner of the main page for donations.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to All!!!!

Happy Mother's day to all the Mother's in the world. I am so thankful to be a Mom and to be a part of this incredible "club."

Here are some quotes about Mothers; enjoy and may you truly have a blessed day!!!


A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving


A mother is someone who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take - Unknown


When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice once for herself and once for her child.- Sophia Loren Women and Beauty


I shall never forget my mother, for it was she who planted and nurtured the first seeds of good within me. She opened my heart to the lasting impressions of nature; she awakened my understanding and extended my horizon and her percepts exerted an everlasting influence upon the course of my life.-Immanuel Kant


There is an instinct in a woman to love most her own child - and an instinct to make any child who needs her love, her own.  ~Robert Brault


No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love.  It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star.  ~Edwin Hubbell Chapin

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.  ~Tenneva Jordan


One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters.  ~George Herbert


The phrase "working mother" is redundant.  ~Jane Sellman


The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men - from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes


Who fed me from her gentle breast
And hushed me in her arms to rest,
And on my cheek sweet kisses prest?
My Mother.
~Anne Taylor


The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.  ~Rajneesh

In response...

“Every path to success has been littered with doubt, fear, and uncertainty, as well as persistence, calculated risks and repeated action. The difference between someone who fails and someone who succeeds is the courage to act...”

One of the greatest aspects of social media is being able to connect with other people and share your personal stories/experiences and allow others see to see a side of life that they may or may not have experienced or dealt with and may or may not agree with.

I am okay with the fact that others are not agreeing with the choices that I made during my birth. Where would we be in this world if people always agreed with one another and no one was willing to stand away from the "mainstream" and trust in something else.

I am not here to say that my choices in my birth are the only way to go or even the best way to go, or to cast judgment on those that choose different paths than I would. I simply wanted to share my birth story.

  

In regards to my birth; I believe in trusting ones body and trusting ones instincts. I trust in my beliefs; like many of us do in all sorts of ways. I chose to trust in myself and in my midwives ability to assist me in bringing my son into this world. I chose to accept the consequences for MY actions whether they be good or bad. I do not feel that that was a narcissistic act or even a selfish one for me to make. I feel it was a mindful decision for son and myself because I know that in that moment every ounce in my being was telling me to leave the hospital and I did.  I am NOT saying that that is what all women should do; it is what I chose to do.

My hope in sharing my experience is that all women will learn to trust themselves and do what they feel is best for their bodies and their unborn child, whether that is having a homebirth, delivering vaginally in a hospital, or having a caesarean. I hope that women can take a stand for what they feel to be their best option not because someone told them is was the right thing to do but because they made an educated and thoughtful decision and chose to trust in what they feel to be right and true.

Bad things happen to everyone. Yes, my son could have died but I, too, could have died in the hospital. No one knows what would have happened if I had stayed. The point is that I made a choice for myself and my family, and I believe it was the right choice. I chose not to fear the “what if’s” and am thankful that I did. You all have the right to feel otherwise and I accept your feelings. I appreciate all the thoughts whether they are for me or against me. I am not trying to advocate that all women deliver breech babies at home. I am advocating that women educate themselves on their options in birth and choose according to what they feel most comfortable and confidant in.