Vacation - Going Back to Daddy's Roots

As part of the Philly/NJ portion of our vacation, we HAD to hit up some of Daddy's childhood hangouts.  His parents suggested we take Nash to the boardwalk at Ocean City.  Sure, Atlantic City has its own boardwalk, but the one at OC is way better, they said.  It. Has. Rides.  It was Nash's first time on these kinds of rides (although he did ride a carousel once at Legoland), so he was a whole big bag of emotions.

A little bit nervous. A whole ton of excited. And bursting at the seams with impatience. There were only a few he could go on (we felt like he might jump off some of the ones where he had to ride by himself), but we made the most of it and he had a blast. So much so that we had to drag him away kicking and screaming. 

The second part of our Daddy-led adventure was a trip into Philly.   This is Joe's hometown...where he spent many a (wild) night with friends and days cruising the streets in between classes at Temple and home in Cherry Hill. (editor's note: this is totally my perspective and Joe would probably laugh at me if he actually read my blog).

We were to meet his best friend Dave and his family downtown on South Street before heading to the Philly's game so that I could do what any normal person visiting Philly for the first time would do.

Get a REAL cheesesteak.

Jim's is the place.  Apparently there are a few places, but Jim's is one of the best that was close enough to be a reasonable pit stop on the way to the game.  The line was nearly out the door, so I took that as a sign we were in the right place.

After being schooled by the locals on how to properly order my meal ("wit" not "with", and that meant onions.  And REAL cheesesteaks are made with cheese whiz.  So I got a "cheese witout"), I was finally able to taste the official tourist food of Philly.

 And it was pretty damn tasty...although I would have liked more cheese whiz.

Afterwards, we rolled right on over to the stadium for the game.  Our section sung Happy Birthday to Dave's son Michael.  We ate ice cream out of little Phillies hat cups.  And our kid was miserable the entire time.  This photo was one of the only ones I took because I spent the rest of the game fighting with him, explaining to him why we don't hit other kids in the faces and then pushing him in circles around the stadium praying he'd fall asleep.

Needless to say, we left early.  But hey, at least I got a cheesesteak and this little man got a certificate for attending his first Phillies game.   What more can you ask for?
 

Wordless{ish} Wednesday

This week my focus is all on the big day.  The big race.  My biggest accomplishment.  The Princess Half Marathon is on Sunday...  Outfit is purchased.  Hotel plans have been made.  One long{ish} run is behind me.  Now just counting the minutes.



Noshing on some blueberries during my army training

I'm staying focused by eating right...which is no easy task these days.  I've literally been nursing my bad eating habits since I was four months pregnant, and I'm finally feeling in control again.  I'm tracking everything I eat on myfitnesspal and logging my workouts on runkeeper. 



This is the handiest food app I've seen in a long time...You can literally just scan
 each food item and BAM!  It enters it...easy peasy

I'm hardly even tempted to cheat...and that feels good.  I know deep down this is something I want, and I'm only hurting myself if I don't stick to the program. 
 

The Army's version of a "snack"



The perils of radio

So, here's hoping I:
(1) Finish the run on Sunday without any major issues (i.e. death or dismemberment)
(2) Stick with the program
(3) Get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 130

Weighty Issues

This is a frustrated post...just an FYI.

So, it's now been 14 months since I had my son.  Never a day in my life did I think I would be this far postpartum and still needing to get my body back on track.  I've been so overwhelmed, so stressed out, and just downright depressed that I haven't been working out consistently and I've been eating like crap.  Who knew it would be this hard...

So, when I found out I was coming here for two weeks I decided this would be my reset button.  I knew I would be all alone, without the pressures of work, family life, or needing to feed others with the foods they love, and I could just be me.  Week one was a totally failure.  I don't think I even tried to eat healthy, although I did work out a bit.  After heading home for the weekend, I realized I was wasting my opportunity and needed to get back on track.  So this week I have been doing really well.  I've been tracking all my food, working out, drinking water, taking vitamins.  Doing everything I know to get back to where I want to be.

And then I hit a roadblock.  You see, I've been tracking my calories on the Spark People app, which lets me input my goals, my food, and my workouts.  It told me my BMR was 1725, and in order to lose 12 pounds in 12 weeks, I would need to cut 3,500 calories a week - either by diet or exercise.  So I've been tracking so far...never exceeding my calories and working out.  Then I decide to google BMR and I find out that pretty much all the other BMR websites out there say mine is only 1435.  Shit.  So, in order to just MAINTAIN my weight, I have to only eat 1435 calories (I've been averaging 1600, minus 190 in exercise).  So, I'm barely maintaining right now.  I'm just not sure how I can get under by 500 calories a day with that low of a BMR.  And not feel like hell, that is.

In addition, I've really been leaning away from animals products these days.  I gave up dairy for the whole month of January and have been planning to go full-on vegan for Lent, but I'm at a crossroads.  The only way I know to be lean and fit is to eat chicken and veggies.  Fish and good carbs.  Cottage cheese and egg whites.  Nothing vegan about that.  So, do I give up my hope of being vegan (which makes me feel better - but that may just be compared to when I was eating crap, I don't know) or do I risk adopting a new eating plan that may or may not leave me skinny and/or sick?  I know it's possible to be a fit vegan, I'm just not sure if it works for me.  But I want it.  But I want to be lean too.

My 30-Before-30



image via

I have heard a lot about these kinds of lists, and I thought it would be great to put one together!  In case you haven't heard about it, the gist of it is to compile a list of all the things you want to do/experience/accomplish before your 30th birthday.  Some people do them right after they turn 20 and give themselves a decade (their lists usually have more difficult goals on them), but a lot of people do what I'm doing - they make their list the day after they turn 29 in an effort to make their last year as a 20-something more meaningful and productive. 

Basically, I just want to make sure I don't turn 30 and say, gee, I wish I had done that in my 20's.  So, without further ado...here is my list:

1. Run a half-marathon
2. Start a retirement account
3. Get paid for photography  (one photo, one session, whatever...)
4. Sew an outfit I'd wear in public
5. Take Nash to see the snow
6. Bake and decorate a multi-layer ombre cake
7. Capture a great "fireworks" photo
8. Take part in a haunted house
9. Go on a big family vacay
10. Visit a foreign country (kind of a gimmee since my unit is going to Japan in Jan)
11. Start a business
12. Get paid to design something (biz cards, flyers, logos, invitations, whatever...)
13. Take a real roadtrip somewhere new and random
14. Can something I grow or make myself
15. Try bikram yoga
16. Begin composting
17. Kick my sugar habit
18. Set up and maintain a photo archive system
19. Do a mud/fun run with a group of friends
20. Go on an adults-only cruise
21. Complete a 30-day photo challenge
22. Buy a new house (near a playground)
23. Master the perfect sourdough bread recipe
24. Start a family tradition
25. Perform a full pull-up unassisted (might be easy for some, but I've never been able to do it)
26. Meet Giuliana Rancic and tour the E! Networks building (ok, this may be dreaming)
27. Build Bubs a sand box from scratch (no plans, no kits)
28. Donate 10 hours of time to either a kids' charity or an animal shelter
29. Learn how to swim
30. Have an awesome 30th birthday party

Ok, there it is, people.  In black and white.  Guess that means I have to stick to it, huh?  This is harder than New Year's Resolutions!!  Wish me luck!

Saturday Farmer's Market

I guess it's about time I wrote this post, since it's almost the NEXT Saturday.  Hahaha...I'm such a procrastinator sometimes.  Better late than never.

Last weekend, I convinced Joe to come to Gymboree with us because we were hoping to graduate.  It's this cute little ceremony where they give you your very own Gymbo, you take pics, they measure you...and it's his first little graduation.  Well, our normal teacher was not there, so no graduation for us.  Nash had a great time with all his little friends though...they haven't seen each other in a while because we haven't made it to Gymboree in a few weeks (10 am is just so darn inconvenient).

Afterward, we decided to finally go and check out this local farm that I found on the internet.   We've been to the closer Farmer's Market before, but I noticed all their stuff was from other countries, like it's like, what's the point?! 

This place is a trio of local farmers who bring their stuff together and sell them.  They sell plants, veggies, fruit, honey, baked goods, eggs, and even goat's milk cheese.  But it is a bit of a drive for us...so Nash took a quickie nap on the way.  Turns out they didn't have much because they are moving to a new location, but I did score some sweet figs, a unique-looking squash, and a pineapple plant. 

Nashie woke up just in time to meet a baby cow!  The little girl was the same age as him (6 months)...but she was huge!  Hard to believe they are so big...  You can't tell from the sour look on his face, but he liked her, I swear.

Our Little Farmer's Market

We have taken to growing a ton of stuff here at the DiPinto house.  I love the idea of growing our own fruits and vegetables since it means we save money at the grocery store, we know our stuff doesn't have a bunch of pesticides or anything on it, and it's fun too!  

Beefsteak Baby!

It all started with a small crop of basil I grew last year (that gave me so much basil I couldn't even use it all).  This year, we went full bore and decided to grow a bunch of different things.  Here's a rundown of what's growing out there right now:

• Basil
• Tomatoes
• Papaya
• Green Beans
• Cantaloupe
• Carrots
• Spinach (not doing so great)
• Dwarf Bananas
• Chiquita Bananas
• Muscadine Grapes (just bought!)
• Oranges (have never given us fruit, erg...)
• Mangoes
• Avocados (hasn't sprouted yet...heard it can take 3 months)

Mango!!  It's growing like a champ!

We're also growing a bunch of new plants:

• Peony Nancy Nora
• Dahlias (regrowth from last year)
• Bamboo (still going strong!)
• Climbing Roses
• Hydrangea (finally has bloom buds!)

I can't wait for everything to grow and fruit, and I can make stuff with our bounty!  Our yard has become a mecca of yumminess, and I REALLY can't wait for the papayas, mangoes, bananas, and grapes (all of which are new projects this year).  Yum!!

Something's Cookin'

I am working on a new project these days...putting in long hours researching, learning...totally engrossed in it.  I am hoping it takes me places...it's something I'm so genuinely excited about.

Image via

Anyone have awesome cake recipes?

Making Baby Food

I know I said I would post on this a million years ago, but this is the first really free moment I've had all week. Being back at work really slims down my free time, especially because I spend a good portion of the night before preparing for the next day so I don't forget anything or run late.

Anyway, here it is.

I decided to whip up some baby food for Nash's 2nd go at solid food. If you recall, we introduced him to some solid food at about 4 months, but quit soon after because he wasn't sleeping well and thought it might have been a digestive thing (it wasn't). Either way, we decided to wait to try again. I wanted to wait until his 5-month mark, but he seemed so interested in food, it was almost sad to deprive him. So I spent a few hours making him some yums (would have taken less time, but I dilly-dallied). I wanted to start him off with peas, since everyone said he should have green vegetables first.

I made all of the recipes using my favorite baby food book, The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet.

I got some frozen peas from Target.

I put them, along with a small amount of water, into the microwave for a few minutes.

While the peas cooked and cooled, I started on the apples.  I used fuji apples,

since they are supposed to be pretty sweet.

 (Note:  this is for the microwave version...I usually do the stovetop 

version and will explain why later).

I cut the apples into quarters and then laid them cut side down 

to be microwaved (not shown).

Once the peas were cooled, I put them in the food processor 

along with some of the cooking water and pureed until smooth.

For the apples, I waited for them to cool, then peeled them and pureed along 

with some formula.  This is where I prefer the stovetop method.  It was 

difficult and very sticky to peel the apples once they were cooked and soft.  

The other method involves cutting and peeling first, then cooking with a 

small amount of water on the stove (checking levels often) until soft.  

Much less messy.

And this is the final product!  I also made sweet potatoes (just clean, 

prick with a fork, microwave, and puree with formula - easy!) and 

bananas (saute sliced bananas with a lil unsalted butter, then puree), 

but didn't snap photos of those.

By the way, he loved the peas!

4 Months Old Today!

Unbelievable.  Our little muffin is getting so big!!

Hard to fathom how fast time has flown...and yet it feels as though he's always been in our lives.  We celebrated his sweet little birthday by hitting up the pediatrician for his well baby check up!  He's grown 3 pounds and almost 2 whole inches since his last visit, and he is still off the charts for height!  It's so funny to hear the doctor when she first sees him...she's always like, whoa...

So he's the size of a large 7-month old or a small 11-month old.  She even asked us if we had any really tall people in our families, and we were both like NO!  It's crazy...but she did say that by 9 months he should settle into his genetic height category, so we'll know more then.  Poor baby had to get a couple of shots today, which was not a cool birthday present, but it's what he has to do.

We also celebrated by giving him his first taste of REAL food.  Like I mentioned before, he has eaten the commercial Gerber Organic Brown Rice cereal and also homemade oatmeal, but no real food up until now.  I know it's early to start him on solids, but I think he'll be ok.  He seems so interested in what I'm eating, I feel like I'm depriving him!  I was eating a turkey sandwich the other day and he kept staring at it and licking his lips!  It was quite adorable, but so sad!  I just wanted to tear off a little bit and give it to him!

So he seemed to really like his potatoes, but he REALLY liked it when I mixed it with a bit of rice.  We are going to make sure we keep giving him his grains since America is sadly behind the curve on whole grains, and they provide the iron he needs, so I mixed them together.  Going to hit up the Farmer's Market on Thursday and hope to pick up some avocados for next week!  I also want to check out some of their other stuff in hopes of making some of his food ahead of time and freezing it.

The Evolution of a Baby's Diet

We started giving Nashie rice cereal around his 3-month birthday.  It was due in part to a lot of people saying it would help him sleep better, and in part because he seemed really interested in me when I would eat my oatmeal during playtime in the morning.  So I thought we would try it.  The first attempt resulted in this:

 

So, I waited a few days and then tried again.  Amazingly, he did great!  He loves the rice, which I don't really get since it tastes like nothing.  But he urges me to hurry up, it's hilarious!

Next week we have his 4 month check up and admittedly I'm nervous to tell his pediatrician about the rice.  I know they say you should wait, but I just did what I thought was best for him.  So, assuming she doesn't go too crazy about the whole situation, I plan on introducing some yummy veggies next week.  Here's my plan, week by week:

Week 1:  Sweet potatoes
Week 2:  Avocados
Week 3:  Peas
Week 4:  Carrots
Week 5:  Butternut Squash
Week 6:  Green Beans
Week 7:  Bananas
Week 8:  Apples

All homemade too...since I really don't want to buy any of that packaged stuff.  I also want to try making him some homemade oatmeal to switch off with the rice.  Well, that's my plan anyways...we'll see how it evolves.

Catching Up

I realize I have not posted anything in a long time!  I think we have been so busy trying to get out and do things that I am neglecting my more inactive activities, like blogging.

Today, the DiPinto grandparents came over to sprinkle some fertilizer on our lawn, but little man had just fallen asleep.  So sad when this happens because I know they only have so much time here with him before they head back up north.  So we made plans to get together tonight. 

Warhol and Photobooth attacked the sleeping baby!

So little man and I are hanging out alone today while Daddy works.  I spent the morning playing with his new toys and whipping up some new baby food.  Although he is too little to eat said food, I want to play around a bit before the actual time comes, so I know all the little tricks and roadblocks I might run into.  So far I have made the following:

• Brown rice cereal.   I tried this a few weeks ago by simply grinding the rice in the blender before cooking it up with some water.  I thought this came out a little too grainy though, and I even cooked it with waaay more water and for way longer than the recipe said.  I think this is due to my blender not getting the rice quite fine enough.  So, I bought a coffee/spice grinder the other day.  I still feel like there are some harder bits in there (compared to the super mushy rice cereal you buy at the store), but it's looking pretty good.
• Oatmeal.  I used the spice grinder to grind some of this up, but I did not cook it up.
• Apples.  This is pretty straight forward.  Steam apples on the stove for a bit, then puree.  Easy peasy.
• Nectarines.  I bought a bunch at Wal-mart yesterday because they were on sale and thought they would make great baby food.  So I peeled it, removed the core, and microwaved for about a minute.  Then I pureed.  It was delicious!!
• Bananas.  This was an interesting recipe in my book The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet.  It said to saute a banana with a tablespoon on unsalted butter for two minutes, then mash or puree.  The smell, OMG...the taste, OMG.  I wish I was a baby so I could justify eating buttery bananas all day.

Photo from Amazon

 Can't wait to scout the farmer's market to find even more things for him (and me) to try!

Menu Planning Monday

The last week was kind of disheveled when it came to meals, since we had a couple rough night AND Joe's parents are in town, so we tend to just head up to their house to eat yummy Italian food.  So I only ended up cooking three times.  Here is a rundown of our meals for last week:

Sunday:  Rigatoni with veggie chicken strips and broccoli in a basil cream sauce.  Not the healthiest, but tasty and quick.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday:  Pan-seared crusted Tilapia, asparagus risotto, and corn on the cob. 
Wednesday:  We had Salmon and Mahi with vegetables at Joe's parents' house.
Thursday:  I made orzo with shrimp and tomatoes, green beans.   This was delicious!
Friday:  Leftovers
Saturday:  Leftovers
Sunday:  Pizza.  We watched the football game with his parents.

This week I am going to try to do better, but his parents are still in town so some of my planned meals may fall to the wayside if we get together with them.  The upside of his mom cooking is that she always makes really healthy, delicious meals.  But here is my plan anyways:

Today:  We are doing our own thing.  Joe is eating leftover pasta and I cooked up a bunch of chicken breasts and added a microwaved sweet potato with cinnamon.
Tuesday: Mahi, couscous, and sauteed spinach.
Wednesday:  Veggie meat sloppy Joes with corn on the cob.
Thursday:  Veggie chicken and orzo "chicken noodle" soup and spinach salad.
Friday:  Joe works, so this is usually a free day.  I will likely eat some mini turkey meatballs I made with some brown rice and veggies.
Saturday:  Pasta with shrimp, corn, and avocado.
Sunday:  Spaghetti squash and meatballs.

Thanksgiving Fit for a Vegetarian

Thanksgiving is always a tricky one for use for two reasons:  (1) Joe always works as Thanksgiving is one of their busiest nights of the year and (2) Joe doesn't eat turkey, hates cranberry sauce, and doesn't like anything pumpkin.  So....what to do.  I obviously still want to celebrate it since it is one holiday that always reminds me of family and food, cooking and celebrating.  So I set out to create a Thanksgiving meal for us non-meat eaters.

I began with a salmon with puff pastry and pesto recipe I got from Giada's book that Sandra got me (she always gets me these signed cookbooks!).  I figured it sounded fancy enough to make the meal special.  Then I knew we had to have stuffing, so I made one with apples, sauteed mushrooms, and rosemary mixed in.  Finally, I didn't want to add another carb and no vegetables, so I decided on making my cauliflower mashed "potatoes."  I had made these before and Joe liked them, so I knew we were set. 

Yum-o!!  After we stuffed ourselves, Joe headed off to work and I settled onto the couch with my mac and a steamy mug of homemade peppermint hot chocolate.  It was just delightful.  In case you want to know how I made that, here's the recipe I used:

1 c skim milk (I know they say full-fat is better, but I don't drink the stuff so this is what I had)
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 oz each of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. 

Bring everything to a simmer over low heat and stir until the chocolate melts.  Serve with whipped cream and crushed peppermints.  De-lish!  And because I used some sweeter chocolates and not plain cocoa, I didn't add any sugar or sweetener to it, but you could do it that way too (works well if you want to use splenda or stevia for a sugar-free option).

Midweek Breakfast Baking

Lately I've really embraced my role as wife (housewife, currently) and have been making a ton of creative new recipes for Joe to try (mostly for dinner, as that's his only consistent meal of the day).  So I thought I would share these recipes with you as I make them, complete with my own personal review, in case you want to try them yourself.

My biggest challenge is always how to make meat dishes vegetarian-friendly, since my husband only eats fish and seafood.  Thanks to the plethora of fake meat products out there now, I have been really successful in recreating some of my favorite foods using soy- or wheat-based veggie products.  Keep in mind you can always make the recipes using regular old meat too.

Yesterday I started out making these pumpkin cinnamon rolls I found (think it was on Make It and Love it, but I can't find the link anymore).  The recipe comes from another site too.  I started them yesterday and finished them this morning (they take a while to rise), and just polished off one for breakfast (may need to make that two soon).

Here is a shot of my finished product:

Now here's my review:
Pretty tasty!  Does take quite some time (as I am guilty of using older yeast, so it took way more than the hour listed on the recipe for my dough to double in size).  Also, I liked the idea of including some wheat flour in there to boost the health content, but I found I actually tasted it (which may slightly deter my not-so-healthy husband).  And yes, the pumpkin is rather subtle (again, so as to hopefully trick my husband, who does not like anything pumpkin).  Also, I did not add cardamom or cloves to the filling (because I just didn't have them), but I think it turned out great anyways.  Overall rating though: 8 out of 10.