Homemade Ranch Dressing

I found this recipe online as I was browsing for healthier versions of the foods I take to work with me.  I love my raw veggies & salad with Ranch dressing, but Ranch dressing is terrible for you.  I plan on giving this dressing a shot next week (unfortunately we did our shopping trip this morning before I found the recipe).  I will post back with an update after I make it!

This will last about three days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Makes 1 cup. Serving size: 2 tbsp


Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt or
1/3 cup plain Greek-style nonfat yogurt
1/3 cup lowfat buttermilk
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs finely chopped fresh chives
salt to taste

Steps:

If using regular yogurt, place it in a strainer lined with a paper towel and set the strainer over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain and thicken for 20 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together the strained or Greek-style yogurt with the remaining ingredients.

Recipe Courtesy of:

http://www.healthcastle.com/healthy_salad_dressing.shtml

Why stop at 1?

Since I got pregnant I have had the worst cravings for one particular food that I won't look twice at as we pass in the store, let alone ever allow on my grocery list.  What is this food you ask?  Oodles of Noodles (Top Ramen).  Specifically, the beef flavor.  I know, I know...what the heck is a health nut vegetarian doing craving those sodium, calorie & fat laden little packets of noodles?  I blame my parents...(not really).  I lived off of Oodles of Noodles when I was a kid, absolutely loved them~!  Of course, then my metabolism was much more on par and I didn't suffer from hypothyroidism.  Now, just looking at a packet makes me gain 3 pounds.

So I caved in and had hubby pick up some for me.  I had a couple of them that night and this morning still craved them.  So at lunch I ate two more, then I decided I might want one more.  So I had it.  Once that third pack hit bottom, I was ill!  I felt awful all day and still feel queasy when I think of them.  I think my overindulgance might have cured me of my awful cravings.  I only need to buy 6 mths more of time before my self control becomes my own and not the whim of the excess hormones running through my body.

Now that I am craving free I am going to go to the store to fill up on healthy, good for me, raw veggies & fruit and try to get myself back on the right track!

Out performed by my 4.5 year old!

We just finished lunch, and, as I was cleaning the kitchen, I hear the T.V. come on and my 4.5 year old say "mom....mom.....I can't hear the T.V."  I walk into the living room with the following words on the tip of my tongue:  "Tabby, do you really think you need to watch T.V. right now....why don't we find an activity to do together"

Just before the words actually fell off my tongue I realize she had cleared the toys out of the middle of the living room floor, had her water cup poised on the stand for her water break, and was getting ready to work out with Tony & the Kids.  The worst part of this is that she has done this for the past 3 or 4 days.  She used to only think about her workout after she saw me doing my video.  But she has been keeping up with her workouts even though I haven't been keeping up with mine!  I can not believe my four and a half year old is giving me a run for my money :)  I am extremely happy and proud that she is doing this on her own. I would never ever EVER force my children to do a workout video, they get plenty of exercise in their daily play.......Tabby has always enjoyed it so her aunt & uncle bought her Tony & the Kids for Christmas.  She was sooo excited to have her very own workout dvd.

I highly recommend the workout video if you want to have a fun way to incorporate activity in your child's day.  It is not a structured workout so to speak....Tony is very silly and fun in the workouts.  For example they pretend to surf in one of the exercises.  They get down on their stomachs really fast and move their arms and legs like they are swimming, then they get up and pretend like they are trying to get their balance etc.  They also pretend to be frogs and scootch down then jump up, they hop on one foot then the other pretending that the ground is really hot etc..  It is a lot of fun and doesn't seem like a workout at all.  Tabby gets right into it.  Plus it is very inexpensive.  I have included the link below.

www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDTHKIDDVDS1?referringRepID=28560

So anyway....looks like I might have to do my workout today.  I can't have my kids out fitnessing me :)

Is it ever going to end??

I will be ten weeks tomorrow!  Instead of regaining my energy and feeling like I am in some state of general wellbeing, I think I am feeling worse and worse!  All of my pregnancies were different and this one is no exception.  I feel queasy almost all day long except for immediately after I eat, and first thing when I wake up in the morning.  I haven't been sick, but I just have that awful feeling in my stomach...kind of like if I read too much in the car.  I have only 3 more weeks till I pass the first trimester I really hope that I start feeling better soon.  I haven't been doing my workouts.  I got one day in total this week and didn't have enough energy the other days.  I hope to pick back up once I am feeling better.  I may be down, but I am not out.  I have an appt with my OBGYN on Thursday and hope to see the baby or at least hear a heartbeat.  If all looks good at that appointment I think I will tell work and share our news with the rest of my family & friends. 

I got a call, tonight, from my neighbor accross the street that I haven't spoken with in months and found out that she is pregnant too!  She is due in July a month before me.  That is really great news because her son and my son are the same age, and now our two new babies will be the same age too!  Ready made playmates :)

Patience and Perseverence!

So I am at the exact date that I should have finished the month of Burn Circuit.  Somehow I landed here a whole week behind.  I lost a day here and a day there and then 3 days this week.  Two of them I didn't workout when I was supposed to and then tonight I did Burn Intervals instead of Push Circuit 3 because I felt I needed the cardio after two days of being lazy :).  The first trimester always kicks my butt in terms of energy levels.  I think that is why I always gain so much weight in the first trimester.  I am always tired and don't want to do more than sit down or sleep.  I still am pretty proud of what I have accomplished so far though!  I WILL finish week four by Friday.  Then I will post my photos & measurements upon completion of the Burn phase.  I am showing a lot more now.  I have had a couple of co-workers as a friend of mine if she had heard anything about me being pregnant again.  Fortunately she knows I am pregnant and that I want to keep it quiet a bit longer so she said she hadn't heard anything :)  Gotta love good friends!  I will be 9 weeks tomorrow, so I hope to stay on track with my workouts the next 3 weeks.  Once I hit the 2nd trimester I will have to modify my ab routines so I am not lying flat on my back. I am not sure how I am going to do that :)  I will figure something out!

Fit Minded

My middle child, my son, is a high energy low focus type child.  In order to get the best results with him, you have to turn him to face you and make sure he is really listening.  I swear that kid can turn it on and off like that.  I will say "Rory, go get your clothes and get dressed for the day" and he won't respond, he doesn't miss a beat in his play and is face doesn't even register that he heard my voice, but I can also then say to his sister "Tabby, thank you for getting dressed so quickly, would you like to help me make cookies" and all of a sudden his hearing aid is turned on.  We have been working on finding activities that teach him to focus, while still are in the realm of play.  One of his newest favorites is what I like to call "the lego project".  I will make some sort of simple 1 dimensional shape out of legos and then provide him with the exact same number of legos in the same shape and color and he will try to create the same shape I did.  A simple game, but he loves it as long as I am careful not to get to "creative" with my shapes.  We were able to find a game that runs along similiar lines....it has shapes and flashcards showing different pictures created by the shapes.  Rory loves the truck ones and does a really good job putting them together.  I love the Learning Store.  Such great toys!

Another thing I have noticed and tried to jump on when the opportunity arises, is that when his sister is practicing writing her letters, he watches intently and tries to mimic her.  He wants so much to be like his sister at times.  He actually does a pretty good job with writing some of his letters (for being almost 3), thanks to Tabby's love of letters & recently, writing.  He is a pretty smart guy, but channeling his energy into useful outlets can be challenging.

Letting Go

I finally decided it was time to get comfortable with a sitter.  It only took me 4 and a half years to finally make that decision..... No that's not true.  I had decided about a year and a half ago, but haven't actually followed through until now.  We tried a daycare center when I first started my job out of college, and a month into it they called me at work and said my daughter, who was just a year old at that time, had fallen out of a high chair and passed out.  When I asked how she fell out of the high chair they responded "she was standing up in it and didn't listen when we told her to sit down".  That was it for the center.  We then found a nice lady who had an in home daycare that we really liked, but she didn't have room for our son when he was born.  At that point my husband and I just began alternating shifts so that one of us was always home with the kids.  I loved this situation and tend to feel that no one can take care of our kiddos quite like us.  Although the preschool we send our oldest to 3 half-days a week does a pretty amazing job too!

My husband is full time and I am going back to full time to help out the firm during tax season.  So I asked around and finally settled on a friend's neice.  She is only 13, but would only be watching the kids for 5 hours so my husband can get some sleep before he goes in to work at night on Thursdays.  She is a very nice, responsible girl and I think she is a good choice.  We can grow together.  Once she gets older and the kids and I get more comfortable with her, my husband and I just might get to have a night to ourselves here and there.  I am a little nervous, but remind myself that my husband will be in the house and can help out should the need arise.  I hope everything works out!