Starting a New Family Tradition: Pizza Night!

Our new baby is due to arrive in about 6 weeks or so and we've been spending more Friday nights at home. Mostly because our weeks are packed full with errands, projects for the new house, getting together with friends, and date nights. We're wrapping up our 4-week Monday night Lamaze and Birth Prep class this coming Monday. We have 3 baby showers coming up in the next couple weeks so life is busy! The last few Friday nights our date nights have been at home watching movies and making homemade pizza in our new convection oven! Last week Aaron told me that our homemade pizza was better than takeout and he wants me to make more of it. What a sweetheart! Tonight, after a quick trip to my local Trader Joe's, I made this pepperoni and olive pizza, Caesar salad, and pear slices to round out the meal.

Tonight, I told Aaron that we have a new Berkey Family tradition brewing - Friday Pizza Night! I had visions tonight of making pizza as a family with the kids. I can see our daughter standing on a step-stool placing the ingredients on the pizza while I coach her. Aaron likes to slice the pizza. Back in our condo, I made lots of pizza from scratch using my KitchenAid stand mixer. That last few Friday's, I've made our pizza using the Trader Joe's pizza dough in a bag. You buy the dough ball and then roll it out at home. I like that the dough is not made with funky ingredients or hydrogenated oils and even better that it's $.99! I plan to make the dough from scratch again when I get in my groove.

How I made it:
- Preheat the oven, according to package instructions (mine was 350 and I used the convection oven setting). Roll out the dough on a floured surface with a rolling pin. Coat the pizza pan with cooking spray. Place the rolled out dough on the coated pizza pan. Use a fork to make small holes on the dough.
- Prebake the dough for 8 minutes.
- Pull out the pizza dough and add your sauce, cheese, and toppings.
- Bake for another 11-12 minutes until the pizza is golden and bubbly.
- Place pizza on a flat surface and cut it into slices.

**While the pizza baking, I make my green salad and slice the fruit. The entire process only takes about 30 minutes!

I think pizza has the power to bring a family together! Kids and parents alike love pizza! And the toppings and possibilities are endless! You can use fresh tomato slices, spinach, canadian bacon, proscuitto, basil, olives, chicken breast, pepperoni...anything! Think of all the fun you can have when you have a themed pizza and make food art!

Making your own pizza is fun and it saves you money. No need to wait endlessly for the pizza delivery on a busy Friday night. And you can ensure the quality of ingredients and nutritional value by making it at home.

So here's the birth of our Berkey Friday Pizza tradition. Your tradition doesn't have to be pizza, but my point is that traditions are the fabric of our memory. You can start a tradition with friends and have it grow into family in the future. Traditions with friends and family are healthy because of the emotional bond and trust you feel when you perform them over time. It really gives you that warm, cozy feeling inside when you can share a common tradition with your loved ones!

Paying Attention to Your Body Helps with Healthy Pregnancy

Last weekend, I had some maternity photos taken, which we're planning on using in the baby's nursery and in her baby book. Our friend, Shawn, is a talented photo journalist, who worked for the local news station here in Indianapolis and now he's teaching videography to local high school students. We were his first maternity photo shoot and it was very fun! This first photo was taken at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) at their famous "Love" statue. It was 39 degrees outside, but we tried to take some outdoors photos so you could see my belly.

Our due date is in the middle of March so I'm almost at 33 weeks now, the home stretch! I'm happy to report that pregnancy has treated me very well. If you follow my blog you know that I'm still cooking nutritious foods and indulging some cravings from time to time. At 27 wks pregnant I blogged about the lifestyle changes I made years before to prep my body for pregnancy. Since then, I was cleared of anemia or gestational diabetes from the routine standard tests. A few weeks ago I went to the chiropractor for a routine adjustment and that cleared the hip soreness I had developed from sleeping only my sides. Pregnant women are encouraged to sleep on her side to avoid cutting off circulation and blood flow in the aorta from the weight of the baby. I typically go every 4 weeks for an adjustment, but now that I'm in my 3rd trimester, going every 3 weeks seems to be the right amount.

I passionately believe that by living a healthy lifestyle, I learned to pay close attention to my body's reactions, which have helped me manage my pregnancy changes and maintain overall good health. Pregnancy has been a pleasure and joy. I feel my body pull back at this stage when I'm walking so I have learned to slow down a bit. When I'm tired, I take a nap or go to bed early. Sleeping 8-9 hours is healthy for everyone, not just pregnant women. Eating small meals has helped me because it helps me avoid pregnancy-induced heartburn and keep my energy steady.

Think about this....the last time you ate a sugary food, like a donut or store-bought cookie, what happened after you ate it? What do you feel? I notice that I get really shaky and jittery. Sometimes, I give in to a treat. Yesterday, I was craving a Starbucks scone. I had the jitters from the sugar! But, pregnancy cravings can be VERY powerful!

What I have ultimately learned through pregnancy is that listening to the subtle reactions in my body is the most powerful tool you can use to guide you through a balanced healthy lifestyle.

Sunday Morning Treat: Homestyle Whole Wheat Waffles

For my third week of Sunday morning breakfast blogging, I decided to make homestyle buttermilk waffles. Aaron was excited because we've had our waffle iron in storage for about 1 year! Bring it on! I have a recipe that I adapted from my brother-in-law's grandmother, Rosalee Gingerich, who sadly died just before this past Christmas. She was such a fabulous cook that her family created a compilation cookbook and my sister-in-law, Megan, and her husband, Todd Gingerich, gave me a copy of the book since I love to cook so much when Aaron and I first got together. Rosalee has recipes for homemade pickle relish, ketchup, jams, and tons and TONs of family meal goodness. I used to make these waffles in our Chicago condo and I have modified her recipe so it has 1/2 the original butter and I use 1/2 whole wheat flour to boost the fiber.

Serving suggestions: Aaron likes his waffles very simple with syrup. I like to add things to mine to make it more nutritious. You can see today, I topped my waffle with slices of bananas, pecan pieces and local maple syrup. When serving this to your family, think of other fun toppings like peanut/almond butter, jams, cooked and spiced apples, and any other nuts like slivered almonds or walnuts.

Homestyle Belgium Waffles Makes 4 large waffles
Adapted from Rosalee Gingrich, Indiana grandmother and wonderful home cook.

2 cups flour (1 cup white/1 cup whole wheat)
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, whites and yolk separated
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups lowfat buttermilk or lowfat milk

1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix egg yolk, melted butter, and milk. Add to dry ingredients.
3. Beat egg whites until foamy (see picture). Add to the mix.
4. Preheat the waffle iron. When warm coat with cooking spray. Cook batter in 4 even waffles.

Enjoy the waffles right away. They store in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Easy Tips for Weeknight: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Tonight I made a quick and easy version of spaghetti and meatballs.

Out of breadcrumbs, no problem! When I pulled out my ingredients, I remembered that I'm out of breadcrumbs. Not to fear! I used the heels from the whole wheat bread loafs that we already have on hand. You drop in the bread in the food processor and give it a whirl for about 1 minute until you have crumbs. Using fresh bread, your crumbs will be soft, moist, and airy. Even better, you can avoid the additives found in traditional store-bought breadcrumbs like hydrogenated fats and use better quality ingredients that you might throw away anyway! That's cost savings that is good for your health, too!

Easy meatballs under the broiler. Check out my previous post for a foolproof method for making meatballs under the broiler. For tonight's meal, I made them the same way in that post, but I didn't have fresh herbs on hand. I used dried Italian herbs, 2 tsp crushed garlic, 1 tbs tomato paste, minced onion, 1 egg, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper. Check my recipe on the post for the breakdown of ingredients. It's always easier for me to make meatballs under the broiler because they hold their shape and cook so quickly.

Comfort food in a snap! This meal was not only healthy, quick and easy, but also kid-friendly. Here is how it came together:

Mix and form the meatballs with the ingredients and placed them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Cook meatballs under the broiler, see my original recipe post. While forming meatballs bring 2 medium pots filled with water to a boil.

Pour a jar of your favorite marinara sauce in a large pot and warm it slowing on the back of the stove.

Add veggies such as sugar snap peas in a pot too blanch (4-5 minutes) and add 8 oz of pasta to the other pot and cook per package instructions. I used whole wheat pasta for my meal.

Flip the meatballs to the other side and cook about 2 more minutes. When ready, add to the large pot with marinara sauce.

Drain pasta and veggies. Season veggies with a small amount of butter, salt and pepper. Serve it up! The entire meal takes about 45 minutes start to finish.

Plan ahead for leftovers: For tonight, I made enough for 4 servings so we have 2 servings in the fridge for a quick meal to reheat. Aaron and I put the leftovers away in individual servings so it's easy to grab the meal and go!

Fun Project: German Apple Pancake Breakfast

If you saw my post last Sunday, I'm more inspired to make an elaborate breakfast in the wintertime on the weekends because there's no rush to go outside. Sundays are perfect because it's a family day and we relax together while I do a lot of cooking to prep for the week. I was inspired by a comment someone posted on Facebook yesterday about an Apple Pancake. I remembered that I saved a recipe from Cooking Light magazine to make a German Apple Pancake. It works best if you have a cast iron skillet since you caramelize the apples in sugar on the stove top (see the picture) before you add the batter and put it in the oven to bake. Cast iron skillets are great because you can use them on the stove or the oven.

As you can see from this picture, this isn't the traditional pancake that you typically see. It's a custardy dough almost like bread pudding. I modified the recipe to use less sugar and more cinnamon to my taste. Aaron and I really liked it for breakfast, but other Cooking Light readers made it for dessert. You need to eat it right away when it comes out of the oven because it's puffy, but one reviewer said it tastes great leftover and reheated. I used a bartlet pear and cameo apple from my produce box and it was good to have both, but all apple or pear will work well too.

German Apple "Pancake" Makes 6 servings (Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup egg substitute (or 4 eggs)
  
• 1 cups lowfat milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cups thinly sliced granny smith apples
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preparation:

• To prepare batter, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine egg substitute, milk, butter, and vanilla in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add egg substitute mixture to flour mixture, stirring with a whisk. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425°.
• To prepare apple mixture, coat bottom and sides of a 10-inch ovenproof skillet with cooking spray. Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; sprinkle half the mixture evenly over bottom and sides of pan. Arrange apple in an even spokelike layer in pan. Sprinkle apple with remaining granulated sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat 8 minutes or until mixture bubbles. Slowly pour batter over apple mixture.
• Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375° (do not remove pancake from oven); bake an additional 13 minutes or until center is set. Carefully loosen pancake with a spatula. Gently slide pancake onto a serving platter. Sift powdered sugar over top. Cut into 6 wedges; serve immediately.
  

Nutritional Information Calories:173 (28% from fat) Fat:5.4g (sat 2.8g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.9g) Protein:7.7g Carbohydrate:23.2g Fiber:0.9g Cholesterol:11mg Iron:1.5mg Sodium:213mg Calcium:101mg

Keep Warm This Winter with These Maple Raisin Bran Muffins

I woke up to a gray, 5 degree day so I thought it was a perfect time to do some baking. Even better, since it's only me and Aaron in the house, we can eat these muffins all week for breakfast or snacks. Baking on a cold winter morning makes the house feel warmer and you and the family can enjoy a healthy, homemade treat together.

I decided to try a new reader recipe from Cooking Light and as I was reviewing and measuring the ingredients something seemed wrong. The muffins didn't call for either baking powder or baking soda. I looked it up and sure enough I remembered one of my tips, to check the reviews before I tackle a new recipe. A woman reviewed and said that the muffins were too dense, then the original reader that submitted the recipe said there was a typo in the printed and online recipe so she gave out the proper measurement for baking soda. I'm glad I listened to my gut feeling. I also read that the reviewers thought the muffins were too sweet so I reduced the brown sugar in the topping.

Try these muffins if you like oatmeal raisin cookies. I made these muffins in our new convention oven and they came out in 15 minutes perfectly golden (see above). So with my tweaking, here is my adapted version of the recipe. We really liked the muffin and the texture came out fluffy with the baking soda addition.

Maple Raisin Bran Muffins (makes 12)

Ingredients:
Batter:

• 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Dash ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cups 2% milk or low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cups butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Topping:

• 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cups oats
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• To prepare batter, lightly spoon the flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flours in a large bowl. Stir in oat bran and next 6 ingredients (through salt); make a well in center of dry ingredients. Combine sour cream and next 5 ingredients (through egg); stir well with a whisk. Add to dry ingredients; stir just until moist. Spoon mixture evenly into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.
• To prepare topping, combine 1/4 cup dark brown sugar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; toss with a fork until moist. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack.
  

Yield: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 249(29% from fat); FAT 7.8g (sat 3.8g,mono 1.9g,poly 1.2g); PROTEIN 4.6g; CHOLESTEROL 52mg; CALCIUM 65mg; SODIUM 274mg; FIBER 2.1g; IRON 1.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.1g

Gratitude: A Healthy Emotion

2009 comes to a close in a few short hours and I'm thinking back to my last year and even the last decade. 2010 marks a fresh new decade with opportunity. 10 years ago, on New Year's Eve 1999, I was back in the Bay Area celebrating with my Silicon Valley-minded friends. We all heard about the Y2K claims that the world would shut down because of a glitch in software code. I didn't believe it, but I did wonder "what if?" in the back of my mind. When the lights stayed on and we were still alive, we all cheered. I remember rocking out to Prince singing "I'm going to party like it's 1999!" What a fun moment in time. Now, a decade later, I'm reminded by how much has changed in my life. In the last 10 years, I traveled all around the world, met my husband, and worked hard on my career. I'm grateful that now we're beginning a new chapter in our lives. In June, we decided to move to Indianapolis to simplify our lives to raise our family. The day after I moved, I found out that we were expecting our baby girl. This spring, we will welcome her to our lives and begin to nurture her to become a healthy, strong individual. Our expectations about parenthood are that it will both challenge and reward us in ways not previously possible.

It's with these heavy thoughts in mind, that I realize how eternally grateful I am for my challenges in my life. Let's face it. I've had more than my share of trauma and drama. But, the important part is that here at age 33 and with a partner who supports me more than anyone can, I'm embarking on the next decade with eyes wide open ready to take on more!

I started this blog to share my tips and strategies for healthy living in the real world. One thing that you don't read about in the media about healthy living is how to balance emotional and spiritual well being. Health studies have proven that overweight people are more likely to permanently lose the excess weight when they practice a healthy lifestyle AND attended counseling sessions to heal their mind. Your mental health is healthy for the body! You hear about the mind and body connections all the time. People are stressed out and then, they become sick.

On the final hours of 2009, I'm sitting in my kitchen, cooking soup in my new house that we moved into earlier this week. My husband is here and we're genuinely happy and grateful to share our lives together. I took this photo of our backyard on the first morning we woke up in our new home from the fabulous sun room where we will share many meals with our family and friends.

My wish for you is to have a healthy heart, body, and mind for 2010. Let's keep the journey going...

Try this Spicy, Healthier Mac and Cheese: Chipotle Mac and Cheese

Ever since this Cooking Light recipe came out in 2004, it's been a favorite in our house ever since! Chipotle Macaroni and Cheese is a healthier version of macaroni and cheese and you can use whole wheat pasta to add more fiber. The smoky chipotle chiles in adobo sauce come in a small can in the Mexican food section of your grocery store. You can freeze the remaining chiles or store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator where they store for months.

This recipe makes 6 servings for an entree portion and you can serve it as a side dish for a dinner party with chicken or pork and stretch it further. I made this for tonight's dinner with steamed green beans. We were happy to have it again since I haven't made it in months. I've made it so many times that I have memorized the recipe. If you have kids you might want to reduce the number of chipotle chilis from 2 to 1.

Chipotle Macaroni and Cheese (serves 6) - photo courtesy Cooking Light

1 (7 1/2-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (ONLY use 1 or 2 chiles)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes undrained
4 cupss cooked elbow macaroni 2 cups uncooked
2 cupss shredded cheddar cheese reduced-fat (8 oz)
1 cup 1% cottage cheese
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg lightly beaten
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons bread crumbs


Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Remove 1 tsp adobo sauce from can; set aside. Remove 2 chipotle chilies from can; finely chop to measure 1 tbs. Reserve chilies and remaining sauce for another use.
3. Melt butter in a Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped chilies, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium; add tomatoes. Cook 3 minutes or until thickened. Add reserved 1 tsp adobo sauce, pasta, chedder cheese, cottage cheese, milk, Parmesan, and egg; stir to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into a 2 quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Calories: 324; Fat 8.5g; Protein: 34.2g; Carb: 39.6g; Fiber 2g.

A Must-Read Guide for Women Thinking of Starting a Family in the Future...

Back in 2007, I decided to take my healthy lifestyle up a notch to prep my body for baby. At that point, I didn't know exactly when we were going to start a family, but I thought it would be best to take advantage of the time to get my body in shape to grow a healthy human. By the time you're in your 30's so many of your friends have had babies or in the process of it so you hear all the things they're going through when they're pregnant with nutrition, exercise, and the cycles a woman's body goes through to make room for the growing baby. I know a body takes time to adapt and optimize so I thought why not start now. I was already committed to a healthy lifestyle of nutrition and exercise, but I decided to improve further.

I'm 27 weeks pregnant now and enjoying a very smooth and healthy pregnancy. Health professionals say that pregnant women have higher blood pressure/cholesterol/or blood glucose and swelling. I haven't had any of these conditions. I truly believe that my preparations made all the difference. The recommendations that physicians make to pregnant woman are not too far from a non-pregnant woman, except for the part about alcohol. I really do miss wine right now!

There are 4 physical phases for a woman to consider as you plan to bring a child into this world that effect your body. If your body is strong and healthy, you can help ensure a healthier experience for you and baby!

• Fertility & Conception - lifestyle planning can help set the stage for pregnancy achievement for you and your partner. I tracked my fertility signs for over a year before pregnancy, which was empowering to know MY body.
  
• Pregnancy - 40 weeks to grow a healthy human and your body goes through massive changes over this period to adapt for life's miracle.
  
• Labor & Delivery - The more medical interventions (induction, c-section, etc), the harder the labor and longer time for recovery. Physical fitness conditioning preps you for the labor and delivery.
  
• Lactation - your baby's most perfect and nutritionally balanced food is produced by you! And the health benefits are massive for you and baby.
  

So here are the health overhauls and steps that I took to plan for baby years before my pregnancy.

• Read your labels: eliminate dangerous fake sweeteners like High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Aspartame, and Sucralose from your diet. This is really important and harder to do! Everything from salad dressings, condiments (ketchup), cereal, yogurt, bread, are loaded with fake sweeteners. HFCS is particularly dangerous to your metabolism because it encourages over-eating because your body doesn't feel satiated and over time your body becomes less efficient at processing sugar, which can lead to Type 2 Diabetes. After this process my husband is now on-board, too! Perfect timing because I definitely don't want our baby to be exposed to fake food either! I buy organic versions of yogurt, ketchup, cereal and bread to avoid these dangerous sweetners. Instead, I use all natural sweetners that your body can process like pure Stevia Extract (not Truvia), honey, and sugar in moderation. It turns out my nurse told me in the first visit "no pink, yellow, or blue packets, just sugar is ok." I told her no problem, DONE! Remember, your baby is growing in your body and getting all the nutritients that you are good/bad. Do you want your baby to develop his/her own metabolism with food we are not meant to process naturally?
• Balanced nutrition and smaller meals. I've learned to eat more fresh produce over the years and spreading my meals in smaller portions throughout the day. Your metabolism needs a variety of high-quality foods found in nature (whole foods and complex grains) to maintain a steady stream of energy throughout the day. Physicians recommend that pregnant women eat smaller meals to avoid nausea and indigestion. To be fair, I have had indigestion, but not nausea. I truly believe this is due to my already healthy nutrition habits.
  
• Fitness foundation - aerobic endurance and strength training. Labor and birth are one of the most challenging physical experiences a woman can go through in her life. A strong body going into pregnancy helps immensly because physicians do not advise you to START a NEW fitness program during pregnancy. When I met with my OB/GYN for the first time, she asked me what my fitness routine was and I told her about my heart monitor, spin classes, and strength training workouts. This foundation gave her the comfort to allow me to target a 160 bpm heart rate maximum goal rather than the 140 bpm that many women get. This helps tremendously since pregnant women's hearts are taxed more so your heart rate is much higher than pre-pregnancy. This gave me a better buffer for my prenatal fitness routine. Having strong and balanced muscles from strength training help me carry the extra baby weight without worrying about losing my balance or swelling up. Having a fitness routine helps pregnant women maintain a slow and steady weight gain.
  
• Vitamins & Fish Oil: Many pregnant women complain that the prenatal vitamins make them sick. I switched to prenatal vitamins from my pre-pregnancy variety (whole foods multi-vitamin from Dr. Mercola), but continued to take my fish oil. Pregnant and lactating women should take 300 mg of DHA found in fish oil capsules for omega-3 fatty acids. It's recommended for the baby's body and brain development and for the woman's general heart health.
  
• Final Step: Pre-pregnancy physical and check-up. Back in April, I went to the doctor for an annual physical exam and blood work. They told me that I'm completely healthy and better than optimal in many cases! I had another physical for work a couple months ago and I know that I have an optimal blood glucose, which means I'm not at risk for gestational diabetes. In 2 weeks I'll go for my routine 3rd trimester blood work to screen for gestational diabetes, but I'm confident there won't be any issues due to my previous scores and healthy lifestyle!
• Finally all this prep work is great, but listening to your body is key to staying healthy in the moment! I haven't gotten extensively sick during my pregnancy. I may feel run down and the start of a cold coming on, but I take the time to rest and sleep, which helps me bounce back faster! I blogged before about not taking the flu shots during my pregnancy. I haven't worried too much about getting seriously sick because I'm proactively listening to my body's signs of exhaustion to ensure a higher immunity.
  

I'm sure you can tell from reading this that I have thought endlessly about becoming a mother physically and spiritually (that's a whole other topic)! That's why becoming a mother at 33 feels fantastic! I hope you can join me in the smooth journey!

'Tis the Season for Tea: Yerba Mate

A couple years ago, I discovered Yerba Mate tea. I love brewing tea in the Fall and Winter seasons and it's fun to try different varieties. I stock wide varieties in the pantry in case I have a craving for chamomile, green tea, or mint and it's great for guests to choose their favorites. Then, I spotted Yerba Mate one day and I was intrigued by smoky flavor and the health advantages like antioxidants, improving digestion, aiding mental clarity, and boosting your natural energy. Maybe that energy comes from the natural caffeine, but I do enjoy the flavor!

Yerba Mate is grown in South America and enjoyed by the people of Argentina, Uraguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil.

I buy the Guayaki brand pictured on the right because it's a fair-trade product and it supports the native people to grow and harvest the plant.

To brew, I warm the water in a tea kettle on the stove. I use an average size tea pot and place 2 tea bags at the bottom. Pour the hot water in the tea pot with the bags and brew for 3-5 minutes.

Try it with sweetener (sugar, honey, stevia extract) and even a splash of vanilla soymilk or milk. The smoky flavor is very soothing and rich.

You can buy it in the natural foods section of your local store, Trader Joe's, or Whole Foods.