It’s The Real Deal! Real Sorbet (With Locally Grown Fruits!)

I went to a “Green Baby” fair that was put on by the Gathering Place (theplacewegather.com) which is a holistic center focused on: pregnancy, childbirth and parenting- on Sunday in Little Haiti.  I know you’re thinking, “Green Baby Fair in Little Haiti?” but it was really such a pleasant afternoon with tons of information, a great goodie bag and this amazing sorbet vendor called “Real Sorbet”.

It was love at first site for me.  I drug my sweaty, pregnant self over to the cart and started chatting with one of the owners.  She was super sweet, the epitome of fresh farm girl, she let me know that their fruits are locally grown and right now Mango is in season so they are creating some delicious combinations!

Not only are they a cart vendor but they also box up their sorbets and ship them out for you!  I tried the Lime and Watermelon sorbet which was very refreshing but my mind keeps thinking back to the Mango she was describing and my mouth is watering.

To track them, go to their facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Real-Sorbet/146603888742754 or twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/RealSorbet.  They also have a website www.realsorbet.com but it looks like it may be under construction right now.

Pregnancy Glow Plan!! From “For The Glow”

It’s finally here!!  For those of you who have been dreaming and searching for a pregnancy-friendly meal plan, look no further!!

Our friend at For The Glow, Jenn, has sent us this amazing overview plan for eating while pregnant.  Her advice is to eat to nourish, not to lose weight. (Of course, we always encourage you to speak with your doctor before starting any food plan).

I love that she has plans for vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians…. so every woman can eat right for her stage in life.  Her website is www.fortheglow.com.

Vegetarian Nourish (link to pdf here).  Go to www.fortheglow.com for more information.

Glow, not Grow

At my 24 week check up two weeks ago, my doctor seemed concerned that I had gained 20 lbs.  I must admit it was a bit terrifying to realize that I had gained that much, I’ve never weighed this much in my life.  However, the impact hadn’t really sunk in.  In my head I was thinking, “but I have 10 more pounds I can gain”.

When she explained how her office is very careful about keeping patients on a healthy track, I completely respected her.  She said that they try to keep c-sections to a minimum and gaining tons of weight during pregnancy can often produce a bigger baby – not just weight-wise but also length/bone mass too.  When your baby gains more weight, their shoulders stretch as well as their legs.  This can create an issue when coming out as a natural birth.  Which is why some women who gain quite a bit during pregnancy are required to have a c-section.

I have been through two surgeries in my life and neither one was fun or easy to recover from so I’m doing what I can to stop this freight train.

That is why I am so excited to bring this to all of you that are searching for a healthier way of eating or a Pregnancy “diet (not really a diet)” plan!!!  I have talked about her before but Jennifer Jordan from “For The Glow” is extremely informative as well as a product of her own success.  I bought access to her site two years ago and have been meaning to use one of the plans for ages.  I’m finally ready and willing to make some major changes for my health and to keep my baby healthy.  I also want to try to implement some of the changes long-term, even after the baby is here.

So, starting in Tri 3 next week (I’m counting week 27 as the start of Tri 3 because it basically is) I’m going to start on the For The Glow Vegetarian Plan (www.fortheglow.com) that just came out this week.  I can’t share everything because you’ll have to buy it yourself to find out (but it’s really inexpensive and has TONS of information) I do want to give you an overview and how it is changing me and my health.  The best part of the plan is that it doesn’t tell you how much you should be eating so it is flexible for a baby mama like myself!

I love new beginnings, I love that my baby is going to be getting even more nourishment and love from what I eat.

Stay tuned for more information tomorrow on what a Day in the Life looks like or go there yourself to find out! http://www.fortheglow.com.

Pass On Your Healthy Eating

My happiest memories of childhood come from mom and grandma’s trips around the country.  Whether it be Yellowstone or Colorado or somewhere else new and exciting, each trip was an adventure.  Some trips were made in the dead of winter, up snowy mountain passes, others in the heat of summer wearing a yellow and white striped shorts and tank to keep cool.

Along with these great memories come memories of food.  We were frugal passengers in our adventures- snacking on “gorp” (according to wikepedia Gorp is -Good old Raisins and Peanuts) which was basically trail mix with tons of M&M’s mixed in.  I never worried if I was getting too much fat or sugar, it was actually quite healthy and I can say that I was a very fit kid till I started making my own food choices.  Another treat that I remember were little sesame candies that you can still find at your local health food stores.  They are delicious, get stuck in your teeth and to this day still remind me of vacation.

The closer I get to birth, the more I am preparing my mind for raising a healthy child.  I wish I was as savvy as my mother who knows her edible plants and actually eats them (and to our chagrin sometimes, made us eat them- cattails are edible but that doesn’t mean they taste good).  Instead, I’ll have to go on what I know and teach him to make healthier choices at the grocery store.  I hope I can be a good example as well- one that not only teaches eating healthy but actually lives to better herself and the planet.

I think Americans have created a sense of entitlement in ourselves, we deserve to eat what we want, we deserve to not get fat for eating hamburgers and fries every day.  We deserve for people to treat us as if we were fit though we are obviously not.  “How dare someone tell me I’m not eating healthy”.  I think the entitlement is wrong.  Instead, we should be telling ourselves, “I’m entitled to be healthy, I’m entitled to make better choices for myself instead of the crap that tv commercial try to shove down my throat”.  We are entitled to have the best body possible and to live healthy lives but without making those choices, we won’t get to where we want to be.

It’s our duty to pass on the healthy entitlement to our children.  I can’t imagine my child dying of lung cancer because he smokes or dying of diabetes because he eats too much sugar.  I would love to find a community of parents who are raising their children to be healthy adults, what a great way to teach your kid healthy habits- having them grow up with peers who are doing the same!

Discovering Indian Cuisine at Mint Indian Brasserie

Everything seems to be more vibrant and intense in India, dizzyingly colorful and filled with rich scents and spices. My interest was initially piqued by their beautiful clothing, especially their tunics and accessories, which were things I could easily wear. Despite years of searching for exotic clothing and décor, I had never actually set foot in an Indian restaurant. Maybe it was my aversion to spicy food, maybe it is just the fact that there extremely few Indian restaurants in Miami, but before this weekend, the extent of my experience with Indian food was limited to frozen foods. Jessica loves Indian food and we had been planning to have an Indian-themed lunch for quite some time, so when a coupon on LivingSocial popped in my inbox for a new upscale Indian restaurant in Brickell, I knew we had to try it.

Mint Leaf Brasserie in Brickell (Financial District, Downtown Miami, FL) is relatively new to the downtown scene, although their original restaurant in Coral Gables has been established since 2008. It is definitely an upscale version of Indian food, and quite possibly not the best choice for an introduction to the cuisine, but all the same we enjoyed it tremendously. While there was some haggling to be done to actually use the coupon they had advertised with LivingSocial, the food itself was wonderful. We visited the restaurant at noon on a quiet Sunday, we were the only patrons in the entire establishment for most of our meal. Being that all the items on the menu were foreign to me, we opted for their vegetarian thali, meaning plate in Hindi. A thali is an array of traditional dishes served as a platter, typically consisting of rice, vegetables, curd, chutney, dhal (pureed lentils, chickpeas or other starchy vegetable), a sweet dish and bread.

A vegetarian thali at Mint Leaf Brasserie costs $35 per person and includes vegetable bhajjia, tandoori paneer, sooki sabsi, dal makhani, channa masala, Bombay aloo, pillau rice, naan and a choice of either kofta or makhani mattar paneer for your main entrée. If you are anything like me, most of this sounds like gibberish, but fear not as it is all wonderfully delicious. My favorite was most definitely the kofta, which is vegetables and grains made into a paste, and then formed into balls. They are then simmered in a spicy sauce, absorbing the flavors and becoming very soft. They are excellent when scooped with a thick piece of naan (grilled flatbread).

While the prices may be a bit higher than you would pay on average for a Sunday lunch, the experience is priceless. In one afternoon I feel I have learned a tremendous amount about Indian cuisine, the tastes that I favor and feel much more confident venturing out to another Indian restaurant. If you are in the Brickell or Coral Gables area during the weekdays for lunch, they also have a smaller portion thali for only $14.50.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

A big thanks!

Thanks to Anthony Lussier, our former Insanity coach (I say former because I can’t do Insanity while pregnant) who donated some sample packs of the new yummy Vegan Shakeology.

If you are interested in doing the Insanity challenge or P90X, please find more information as well as details on how you can get your hands on this great vitamin infused shake here:

http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/tntfitclub

http://beachbodycoach.com/TnTFitClub