Friday, June 28, 2013

Easy Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Some meals are so simple it's stupid.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
Chop 1 white or yellow onion into long thin strips
Cut into strips 3-4 peppers (Green, Red, Yellow, Orange)
Cut 2 pounds of chicken (skinless/boneless). Chop each breast into 2 pieces.

Layer in crock pot:
Onion
Chicken
Peppers

Add on top 1 packet of fajita seasoning mixed with ~1 cup of Chicken Stock or Water.

Let cook on low all day long. Shred the chicken.

And BAM, this is what you have!


 
Ok, maybe there's some extras in there. Like finding low-carb tortillas (La Tortilla is your best choice) and adding some extras like avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream. You can add beans & rice if you wanted, but I didn't want to bother with the extra carbs.
 
The meal is really simple. I would also recommend this a freezer meal. Pre-chop the onion, peppers, and chicken, add the fajita seasoning and freeze. Then you just have to pick up the extra fixens. And we cheated by buying already shredded lettuce. I don't mind chopping tomatoes, but eh, lettuce.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

10 Weeks!!

Even though I am officially 29 weeks... I just don't see myself getting to September. Sometimes I think I'll be lucky to make it halfway through August. I think some of the worry is coming from the fact that things aren't done and there is a lot I want to do and not a lot of empty weekends.

My doctor's appointment was canceled Friday afternoon but I was able to send my glucose numbers to my doctor. I was prescribed Glyburide, a small dose, for at bedtime. This should help my fasting numbers. Most of my breakfast numbers are ok. I have a couple high ones, but it's all a learning experience. All my lunch numbers are fabulous! I have a lot more high dinner hits and need to concentrate on eating wiser, especially when I am outside the house.

I have to be wiser about some snacks too. While I want to eat the entire box of toaster strudels or container of cookies, it's not really a good idea for baby. Tonight's snack was strawberries, sugar free Hershey's syrup, and cool whip. And a cheese stick. I always need to eat protein with a snack. Ice cream & Cheese Stick, Hummus & Cheese Stick, Eggo & Cheese Stick, Cookies & Cheese sticks. 
Because of the GD, I will start weekly ultrasounds at week 32 which is July 12. Week 36 (Aug 9) is a longer US including a growth scan to measure the baby. I could be ready to delivery anytime after this. If I go with my hypothesis of Week 37 - I'm giving birth between August 16th and August 22. And I think August 20th will be it. It's right in between Grandpa's & Melissa's Birthday. Just a guess. Today we joked that Melissa will never get to celebrate her birthday by herself. 
In June 2011 I predicted the Cardinals would win the World Series that year on Thursday October 27th. (Yes, I have the saved screenshot from facebook!) I was one day off, but it's because of a rain delay. I could be totally right on Baby G gracing us with his presence on August 20th. 
Things I want to do:
  • Sleep.
  • Eat a donut.
  • Sleep some more.
Wait, what is this list? Looks like my hopes and dreams.  
Things I need to do:
  • Deep clean kitchen floor. I hope to tackle this next weekend the 28th and 29th. Volunteers are welcome!
  • Paint nursery. (I won't actually do this, but it needs done.)
  • Wash all baby clothes.
  • Wash all diapers.
  • Clean everything. Clean everything again.
  • Get nursery organized. All the furniture is put together and in there, but the closet still needs cleaned out and redone.
Things planned for the summer:
  • Lake trip!  
  • Cardinals Game! We have tickets to a few games.
  • Baby Shower!
  • Shopping! 
I'm working on creating a "chore" chart. It's nothing too complicated, but I hate cleaning and push it off until the house is so dirty that I can turn on the attic fan and it sucks all the dog hair and dust out. (Ok, just kidding....) I think I'm going to divide it up by rooms. If I can dedicate 15 minutes an evening to cleaning one room, Jason won't have to spend two hours on the weekends (after mowing the lawn) vacuuming. Yea, I said that. I don't vacuum, I used to, but I married a man that does it! But I feel bad because it's not hard, I can do it. I just know that he will. So part of this is for me. Because I am more than capable of cleaning. I just need to stop putting it off. So that's the new plan. One room a day, 15 minutes each day. Of course the kitchen will get 5 minutes a day of making sure the dishwasher is emptied/filled and counters are cleaned off.

Got my Highlander in for an oil change. I rolled over 90,000 miles recently. Firestone informed me that my timing belt is the next important thing I need to take care of. Couple things - at least if my timing belt calls it quits, it won't kill my engine like some old cars. But I will be stranded.... and well, it's summer. I'm pregnant. And most of my driving is to Springfield and back. Being stranded on my way to the gym, not a huge deal.... being stranded on a hot summer day while 7 or 8 months pregnant? Yea... that's ok. We'll go ahead and spend the $400 to replace my timing belt. Since I plan to drive the car forever, and the timing belt won't last forever, it will be a good investment.

Tonight was nice... Jason is helping his brother rearrange furniture so Monday and I have been curled up in bed. We watched Mission Impossible 2 (Thanks Amazon Prime) and ate french fries. Just kidding! I had that snack, Monday didn't get any. And no french fries right now. My sister jokes that she always gives Monday french fries. She might, whatever.

Next weekend Jason & his brother are having a HUGE yard sale at their Mom's house. They have a lot of stuff to sell - some of their mom's furniture, and she collected older "antique" pieces, and just all the normal stuff you have when a parent dies and need to clean out their household.  Hopefully they are able to clear it all out so Tim & Crystal can make the house 110% theirs. (So next weekend I get the weekend to myself again.)

On Saturday July 6 Jason has to go to Terracon Bloomington to clean out the office. Him and 4 other coworkers are going up to bring everything back. So I get Saturday to myself! I hope A will be here, but she's still trying to figure out her travel schedule that week.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Now enterting the 3rd trimester!

Only 12 weeks to go! Which seems like 3 months but it's really like 2.5.

Baby G is kicking and very active! He rolls around and responds to his (secret) name. My abs are getting quite a workout from growing a human.

I had some great doctor appointments these past couple days and learned a lot more helpful info about GD. Meeting with the actual OBGYN was the best. I've mostly been seeing residents and since my actual doctor (who I do love) is still on her own maternity leave, I got to finally meet with Dr. W. Who is fabulous! She will actually deliver Baby G and if needed, help with the c-section.

According to the doctor's office, I've only gained 12 pounds so far this pregnancy. And with the controlled diet I shouldn't see much weight gain above that. According to my own chart, and recent weight loss, I've gained 16. I'm cool with that. It's better then the projected 30 had. But I'm not worried - if I gain weight, I gain weight, the baby needs it.

My doctor will not let me go past my due date. So Baby G will make his grand appearance before September 7! If I am able to maintain my sugar levels, then I can go up to my due date. If it's too hard to control with diet, exercise, medication and/or insulin, they'll induce me between 38 and 39 weeks. If Baby G is too big, it'll be a scheduled c-section. I don't want that. I don't want to shove a baby outta my vajaja either, but the kid has to come out.

One of the hardest things about a GD diet and monitoring is that I test 2 hours after a meal. This isn't a huge deal after breakfast, but at lunch and dinner I'm not eating enough and am hungry an hour after eating. This isn't a big deal but I have to test at 2 hours after eating, and I don't want to throw off my numbers by eating more. Mostly, I'll think "Oh, I'm eating this and that" and forget to prep "that" until half hour after I'm done eating.

I had ice cream Thursday night! I was craving it and so we headed to the grocery store to check it out. I wound up picking out Edy's Slow Churned Smores. :) I've been craving Smores since we set up or fire pit and kept seeing the Smores kit at Sam's Club. But can't have them now. I can't imagine how many carbs are in a smore. I like the Smore ice cream bcause it's like Rocky Road where the nuts are replaced with graham cracker. It was a good treat and my fasting number the next morning was a-ok. I did eat a cheese stick right before the ice cream. I have to balance carbs and protein.

It's also recommended I eat around 1800 calories a day. I'm not sure if I should have like 2 cheese sticks with each meal to help me get there or steak with each meal. It's a juggling act.

As of today (Saturday), I've been following the GD diet for 10 days and have lost 5.6 pounds. It sounds like a *ton*, especially for a pregnant chick, but I honestly think it's kinda fake. I ate a lot of junk a few weeks ago that probably packed on some extra sodium and water weight. As long as the baby is growing well, my doctor won't be concerned with weight loss. As I learn how to eat more and hit my 1800 calorie mark, I shouldn't see much more weight loss. I think. I've read that I need around 2100 calories during my 3rd trimester if I am sedentary. Well now I have to walk 30-minutes almost every day, so I need more to make up those (minimal) calories burned. Remember though that the baby will get the nutrients he needs. He'll take it from my fat, bones, hair, nails, skins.... and I'm still taking my vitamins at night. My vitamin list - I take a prenatal, DHA, B-12, and a calcium. Hopefully Baby G is getting everything he needs from those.
 
I spend a lot more time building recipes in spark and making sure I'm within the carb limit. Grandma made my favorite dessert for lunch tomorrow. It's called "Meghan's Cherry Delight" and is the easiest thing to make. It's an angel food cake ripped into pieces, covered with instant vanilla pudding, and then once that is chilled, spread cherry pie filling on top. See picture. From the last time she made it, Father's Day 2008. (Thanks Facebook for dating things!)
 
While we don't want to tell Grandma that I have GD, mom tried to explain to her that with the family history of Type 2 Diabetes that the doctor has me watching my sugars. Then Grandma pulls out her "I made it with sugar free ingredients!" comments she always uses. The crazy thing I have learned (and that grandma has been told but doesn't listen to), is that Sugar Free or Fat Free or Low Fat things have MORE carbs and worse ingredients then just eating full-fat items. Check out the labels for yogurt and salad dressing the next time you are at the store!
 
So yea, tomorrow's desert - none for Meghan. :( And it's MY dessert. It's named after me! But it's ok. I can probably take home a small dish to eat before bed. And come baby day, grandma can make me another one. I've also added Olive Garden to a list of wants after the baby is born. I'm glad they post their nutritional info, it's a wake up call to not eat there!
 
Tonight's dinner is Tortellini Soup. I can eat 1/2 of a roll with it. And a movie with my honey. We got Gangster Squad (I think?) from Red Box.

After the movie - WHOA. Do not EAT while watching Gangster Squad. That's why I get for not knowing what all a movie was about before renting it. I got it, Mobsters, Mickey Cohen, some deaths expected. Movie was good overall. But no need to lie at the end. Cohen is a real mobster, but you can't change the end of to make the movie look better. That'd be like changing the end of Titanic from the ship sinking and 99% of the people dying to the engine catching fire and people were on board for days without working toilets. Ok, maybe Gangster Squad wasn't that drastic, but it might as well have been! It was good though. I like it. I laughed, I cried, I groaned... worth the $1.29.

Finally finished switching the nursery and office. Almost have the office completely cleaned and organized. Will post a picture later. Nursery isn't painted yet, so pictures of that will come way later. The main furniture is assembled and in there. Waiting on (to buy) my rocker/recliner from Weekends Only.

Happy Father's Day Sunday!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Follow Up - Nutrition of Tater Tot Casserole

So.... in regards to "not eating enough". I think it's true. I just made 6 more Tator Tot Casseroles and built the recipe in Spark to determine the nutrition value and most importantly, carb value. I was worried about how many carbs were in it and limiting those.

Here it is:
I based this on a few factors.
 
My bulk recipe makes six 8x8 casseroles. When Jason asks how much I want, I tell him "9 tots". As in, dish me out 9 tots and the layers under them.
 
I stuck with the "9 tots" because a serving of Tater Tots is 9.
 
Each casserole has 41 tots on top.

So each casserole has about 4.5 servings per casserole. We sometimes get 5, some people get 4 depending on how hungry they are.
 
As you can see, after all the ingredients are added up, most of the Carbs still come from the Tater Tots. The soup has some carbs and it should be another 4 carbs from the soup. (I must go check this.) Even thing, I'm still only getting 24 carbs for one serving. I do need to eat more. Maybe not all of it in Tater Tot Casserole (or extra Tater Tots), but adding other carbs, fruit, brown rice, ect to the meal.
 
And yes, maybe eating more of the casserole. It's full of protein and veggies so it isn't bad for you! :-)
 
On that note, I think lunch today will be salad and tater tots. :-)

Monday, June 3, 2013

What's in your fridge?

After a major clean out, this is what we have in our fridge & freezer. 


Top shelf - Bread, Apples, Bagels, Cool Whip, Salad (for dinner tonight), chopped onion.
Second Shelf - Eggs, Watermelon, Soda, Ground Turkey (behind the soda), Cheese in the drawer
Third Shelf - Questionable Margarine, Apple Juice, Garlic, Orange Juice, Leftover Tator Tot Casserole, and Strawberries.
Bottom Drawers - Butter and Juice
Door - Nothing.

Our sad freezer. :(
Ice, Texas Toast, Eggos, Asian Lettuce Wraps, Veggies, Chicken Sausage, and Sweet Potato Mac 'n Cheese. In the door are some popsicles, ice packs, and Fish Oil Vitamins.

The Asian Lettuce Wraps & Sweet Potato Mac 'n Cheese came from the potluck exchange last night.

Mom gave us a lasagna and it's in the oven. I also just made an Angel Food Cake so we can have strawberry shortcake.

I have to use the ground turkey and onion to make more Tator Tot Casseroles. Good news is I have a lot of room for them in the upstairs freezer.

Our downstairs freezer is full and it's good - it helped everything in the deep freeze remain frozen. Probably helped a little that the deep freeze is in the basement where it remained a little cooler.