May 15th, 2013

Nutrient Breakdown WIAW

by Tiff

As you know, it’s time for another What I Ate Wednesday {WIAW} post.  Woohoo!  Anyone else like checking out everyone’s eats?  If so, be sure to check out the other foodie posts at Peas & Crayons.

For this WIAW, I want to highlight a few of the nutrients upon which I have been focusing.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, just a few fun highlights for ya.  The nutrients aren’t just for preggos; they’re great for everyone to work into their diet.

Pre-Workout: prenatal vitamin with DHA and salt-free rice cake (DHA helps with baby’s brain development)

Post-Workout: TeeChia super seed cereal (one item in the Bestowed box – if you haven’t entered my Bestowed giveaway, you can do so HERE), plain nonfat yogurt, and blackberries (blackberries have 7.6g fiber per cup; yogurt adds calcium, which is important though preggos don’t need much more than other women ages 18-50)

teechia

Snack: Larabar Uber Cherry Cobbler (also from my Bestowed box, it contains nuts with “good” fats to help baby’s brain and eye development)

uber

Lunch: green smoothie filled with baby spinach, blueberries, a banana, unsweetened original almond milk, and vanilla whey protein (spinach is high in folic acid, a B vitamin that helps prevent neural tube defects, preggos need at least 600 mcg daily & the banana is great for both potassium and B6)

smoothie

Snack: a hearty handful of KIND granola (unpictured) along with baby carrots and a hard boiled egg (the egg alone is a nutritional powerhouse including goodies like pantothenic acid, which is essential for hormone and cholesterol production and for baby’s metabolism, and choline, which helps brain cells develop while also helping to prevent neural tube defects)

snack

Dinner: baked jerk chicken breasts with red bell pepper, black beans, brown rice, and a side of sliced mango (chicken provides a boost of iron and zinc, both of which are most easily absorbed through meat/seafood, and a woman’s need for both iron and zinc increases significantly in pregnancy, the vitamin c in the pepper helps the body absorb the iron and it strengthens the body’s membranes, including amniotic membranes)

chicken

Dessert: ice cream! (depression is bad for baby, and ice cream makes me happy, therefore ice cream is good for baby… right???)

ice cream

For more information about pregnancy nutrition and “super foods,” you can see these links.  There’s a ton of info out there, and perhaps I’ll do another nutrient breakdown WIAW in the future.

  1. Super Foods + Smart Advice = The Best Prenatal Diet
  2. Pregnant? Omega-3 Essential for Baby’s Brain
  3. Tell Me What to Eat by FitPregnancy
  4. Legumes in Your Pregnancy Diet
  5. Pregnancy Nutrients You Need to Help Your Baby Grow <– good one
  • Do you focus on certain nutrients from time to time?
May 14th, 2013

Bestowed Giveaway

by Tiff

Hello All!  I think this blog has been teasing me.  Last week, I said there was no bump.  Then all of a sudden, there was small but definite bumpage.  Yesterday morning, I said my energy levels were getting better, but all I wanted to do all afternoon was sleep.

Funny how that works sometimes, eh?

I did manage to muster up a bit of energy toward the end of the day so that I could squeeze in a 3-mile walk and 20 minutes of yoga.  Though I’m normally up for my morning sweat, that just wasn’t happening yesterday.

Luckily, this definitely was happening.  Warm weather is salad weather, and I was really in the mood for a cobb salad dinner.  In the mix: field of greens, cucumber, hard boiled egg, slice of uncured turkey bacon, bell pepper, shredded colby jack cheese, Newman’s Lite Honey Mustard, and some corn.

salad

I hate to call him out like this, but at dinner, Kevin asked for more dinner salads like this over the summer.  Whaaa???  Fine by me!

salad

That’s not the only yum I’ve been having.  I’ve also been digging into the Bestowed box, which I received on Friday.  Bestowed sends its members 5 product samples each month, and I received their May box to try and review.

box

I haven’t tried everything in the box just yet, but Kevin and I both loved the Way Better chips.  They have a tasty little kick to them!  I wasn’t crazy about the coconut water powder (though I do like coconut water) or the salad cookbook.  I’m still undecided about the TeeChia super seed cereal, and I’m really eager to try the Sun Cups sunflower butter cups.

chips

You can find out more about the membership options and some of the featured products on the website.  If you choose to join, be sure to use the 5OFFBSTOWED01 discount code for $5 off a monthly or annual membership.

Now it’s time for the fun part.  You can win a box of your own by entering my giveaway.  I will announce a winner on Friday, May 17.  There are five ways to enter; be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.

  • Leave a comment telling me what item(s) you’d most like to find in a foodie box.
  • Follow me on Twitter @ LoveSweatBeers
  • Follow me via Instagram @ LoveSweatBeers
  • Subscribe to my blog via email (on the right sidebar)
  • Tweet about the giveaway saying something like, “I’m entering to win a @bstowed box of goodies from @lovesweatbeers at http://www.lovesweatbeers.com/2013/05/13/bestowed/”

Good luck!

May 13th, 2013

15 Weeks: Bam, a Bump!

by Tiff

BAM!  Just like that, we have a bump!  It seemed as soon as I said I didn’t have one last week, it just popped out of nowhere.  Then again, with a baby the size of an apple, I suppose I should suspect a little something, eh?

bump

Here’s a little survey-style info that might be a bit more reader-friendly than reading paragraph after paragraph of my ramblings, which I guarantee aren’t helped by my sentimental hormones and my scattered pregnancy brain.

How far along? 15 weeks

Baby’s size? Apple (about 4 inches)

Total weight gain/loss: On Friday I was 4 lbs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I tacked on another over the weekend.

Maternity clothes? My skinny jeans have finally gotten uncomfortable, but I don’t need maternity stuff just yet.  I ordered a few maternity items just in case I have another growth spurt like this one though!

Sleep: One word – dreadful

Best moment this week: Seeing my mom and dad this weekend

Miss Anything? I really haven’t missed beer/wine nearly as much as I thought I would.  In fact, I usually don’t miss it at all.  The fam and I went to a wine tasting though on Saturday afternoon, and that wasn’t quite as fun with my decaf cappuccino.  However, I’ve gotten used to it already.  I guess to answer the question, I miss sleep the most.

Food cravings: I want ice cream every night.  I tried to fight it, but I feel much more satisfied (and I don’t overeat it or other things) when I just let myself give into the urge.  In short, there are two containers in my fridge right now.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing makes me sick, but my sense of smell is freakishly strong, which is often not so pleasant.

Symptoms: A good bit of my energy has returned; slightly moody; minor cramping (aka: round ligament pain – completely normal); acne (more on this later… possibly another post)

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy but occasionally a little mean (sorry everyone!)

Looking forward to: Having a “real” bump that doesn’t just look like a little pot belly

bump

I don’t know if this counts as my first Mothers’ Day weekend as a mom, but my family members were kind enough to send me cards anyway.  Such sweeties!

decaf    brunch

I took my parents to a Tonic concert on Friday night, and we attended a wine tasting on Saturday.  On Sunday, we all went to brunch, which was fantastic.  Sadly, I also had to drop the fam off at the airport, but I have excellent news – they may have found a home they like here in NC.  Yaaaaaay for babysitters close relatives!!!

  • What were you up to this weekend?
  • Do you live near your family?
May 10th, 2013

Friday Five

by Tiff

Let’s just jump in, shall we?

1. Happy { Early } Mother’s Day!  My mommy is coming to visit, and we have a few fun plans for the weekend.  (Okay… my daddy’s coming too.)  Other than their company, I”m most excited about brunch.  Bring on the quiche!

tiki

Mom & Daughter Tiki Stop

2. It’s live music season again.  Hurray!  I usually don’t get too fired up about concerts, but there are a few winners coming to town.  Fuel, New Kids on the Block (kidding on this one), and Luke Bryan.  Bring it on, Luke!

 

3. Lunch!  I already shared my lunch splurge on Wednesday, but most days this week I’ve been enjoying turkey chili muffins with potato-cauliflower mash.  Mmmmm!  I made a batch on Sunday for Kevin and I to have all week.

muffins

turkey chili muffins

4. I was craving peanut butter, peanut butter, and more peanut butter yesterday.  Surprisingly enough, I was able to restrain myself, but it wasn’t easy.  I just opened the bag of peanut butter flavor KIND granola, and oooooh my… YUM!

5. Babymoon!  Kevin “allowed” me to book us a babymoon.  I wanted to surprise him with it, but I chickened out and discussed it first.  We always discuss big purchases.  This purchase isn’t all that big since we’re only driving over to Myrtle Beach for a night, but hey – we’re busy folks!

BVI

Beach Throwback, BVI – Winter 2009

May 9th, 2013

Workouts & Why I’m Not Running

by Tiff

Whew!  It’s Thursday, and we’re over the hump.  Thank goodness!  I know I haven’t been sharing much about my workouts lately, but sharing too much might have given away my secret too early.  Now that the cat’s outta’ the bag, here’s my current plan.

  • Monday: 45-minute walk with incline intervals + lots of stretching
  • Tuesday: 20 minutes at-home cardio (such as this YouTube workout) and my Tracy Anderson DVD
  • Wednesday: 30 minutes cardio + abs/core workout (*I use parallel bars for leg raises.)
  • Thursday: 20 minutes cardio + upper body workout
  • Friday: 30 minutes cardio + lower body workout
  • Saturday: 3-5 mile walk outdoors (Tracy Anderson DVD if weather isn’t permitting)
  • Sunday: rest!!!

workouts

I did this routine last week and will probably complete it a few more weeks before changing the plan.  I’ll give more information on the Tracy Anderson Pregnancy DVD in the future since I haven’t decided if I like it or not yet.

tracy

Today’s workout didn’t really happen as-planned.  I was having some light pain in the belly, so I decided cardio and abs work wasn’t really the best idea.  I did 20 minutes of yoga in the morning, this Tone It Up workout (3x through), and went for a 2-mile walk at lunch.

workout

Not to worry with the pain – I think these are just some growing pains, like ligaments n’ such.  These aren’t the worrisome pains I had back in March.  Yup, it was just a little scare, but this is why I decided to quit running for the rest of my pregnancy.

One day I happened to run, I experienced cramping, spotting, and an urgent call to the doc.  I also happened to have a 5k scheduled that weekend.  Sooooo I had a little talk with Jesus and said a lot of prayers.  He helped me realize that whether or not I could run or wanted to run didn’t matter.  He helped me see that from here on out, I’m not the only one that matters.  I don’t get to come first anymore.

I want to be very clear here: I do not thing it is bad to run while pregnant if you’re already a runner.  Once I found out what my problem was, I don’t think I needed to give up running for medical reasons.  However, I did need to give it up for personal reasons.  Sometimes my desire to go for a little jog or really push myself in a workout is strong, but it’s not as strong as the promise I made to the baby.

Sorry to be cheesy, but I just want you to know why you’ll be seeing so many walks.  Good thing I love a good walk!

  • Tried any new workout DVDs or online videos lately?