Hi, weather
Hi friends! How are you? Hope you’ve had a great day so far 🙂 I’m glad you liked the gluten-free post are still enjoying the family posts- I’m having so much fun writing them. It’s funny because I go through phases where I feel like I have nothing to write about, and then something like this happens and there’s so much to say. Writer’s block is taking a long vacation- big fan of that <3
I actually made dinner last night!
Nothing too crazy, but a dinner nonetheless 😉 I think the Pilot was happy to have someone make food for him again.
We both had salads with Caesar dressing +
scallops cooked in butter with garlic, sea salt, pepper and topped with lemon juice (after my first bite I may have danced around singing “I’ve still got it” haha)
brown rice pasta and marinara.
Pretty tasty and super easy 🙂
Some more recent eats:
Breakfast cookie dough cereal with organic blackberries and banana, heated up for a 30 sec
Work lunch and snackage:
Caesar salad (obsessed with the TJs dressing!), quinoa and kidney beans that I stirred hummus and lemon juice into to *season* it [try this- it was awesome!!!]
With organic berries, grapies and goat’s milk yogurt
To be real, it’s a little rough to look at these last two photos because this afternoon was the second time I’ve gotten sick. I’ve been nauseous on and off –but discovered the secret: eating every hour- but actually got sick as soon as the Pilot picked me up from work today. It’s funny though because I’m loving every second of all of this, even the weird not-so-fun parts – in the grand scheme of things, it’s NBD 😀
There’s a work party tonight –the pastry chef that I work with is having an ice cream and cookie party!!- but I’m going to lay low since it was a long and crazy day. Hopefully they’ll bring me a couple of leftovers to work tomorrow?
The Pilot’s bringing home Indian (yessss!!!), we’ll probably hit up the gym later (weights for him, walk for me) and I have a funny fashion post to write, too, about a major snafu that happened in Vegas 😉
Hope you’re having a great night <3
xoxo
Gina
Zumba song of the day: “Pause” by Pitbull. SO fun- awesome for warm-up
Something to talk about: All-time favorite salad dressing? I go through phases, but Annie’s Goddess will always be #1. Does anyone have a Goddess dressing recipe?
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I love any and all homemade salad dressings. Right now I’m obsessed with the one found on Emily’s (dailygarnish) blog. It is SO delicious… even days after I make it. Those scallops look amazing!
i saw the post when she made that- i need to give it a try!
I want to try the goat milk yogurt from TJ’s…the thing is I’m not a huge fan of goat cheese so I’m wondering if it has the same strong, pungent flavour?
Yum jealous of your Indian food tonight :), though I shouldn’t be considering I’m leaving for India this weekend and will get plenty over there 🙂
it’s pretty goat-y but i’m used to it haha
I’m really loving seeing your pregnancy eats. My husband and I are going to start trying for our 3rd (and last) soon and I’ve recently lost about 100 lbs. I’m worried about gaining a boatload of weight, so it is nice to see some clean, healthy eats!
I usually just use olive oil and lemon juice for dressing, but I recently bought a bottle of bleu cheese dressing — which is no good since dairy wreaks havoc on my insides – but I just love it so much. A little bit doesn’t seem to bother me, so I savor that little bit each day 🙂
Glad you love writing the family posts because I love reading them! 🙂 I also think it’s totally awesome that you’re embracing both the fun AND not-so-fun parts of pregnancy. You have a great outlook. In the end, all those ick parts will be temporary and NBD, as you said.
My all-time favorite dressing is Brianna’s poppyseed. It’s a little sweet, and a little goes a long way.
Well said, Laura 🙂 I totally agree– Gina, you have a beautiful outlook on the experience as a whole– we’re lucky to be along for the ride!
I’m a goddess dressing fan, too… and I recently converted my husband, as well! I’ve never made my own dressing (other than tossing some balsamic & olive oil on a salad, haha), but I’m looking forward to trying some of the “comment suggestions” 🙂
That dinner looks awesome! I love putting my scallops right in my pasta! So delicious!
My all-time favorite is Brianna’s Champagne Caper Vinaigrette. I am on a quest to create a low fat version of it. My first attempt just had too much vinegar and was a little toe curling.
I tell you what- this is why I’m freaked out about being preggo. I HAAAAATE getting or feeling sick. HATE.IT. How are you coping?!?!?! My mom used to eat oyster crackers like…all day long. She even had them by her bedside to eat right when she woke up in the morning. I wonder what actually CAUSES people to have ‘morning sickness’…. so weird!!
it’s pretty weird. i’ve read in some books that it’s the body recognizing an invader, or protecting yourself from ingesting anything dangerous (like a defense mechanism). saltines have become my best friend, but for me the sickness hasn’t been too terrible. having the flu is 1000 times worse
Mama Pea has a recipe for goddess dressing. I have not tried it yet, because I have been waiting on my Vita-Mix to be delivered (it got here today!!!!!). I will definitely be making this dressing soon.
http://peasandthankyou.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6000533&prev_term=blender
My favorite dressing has got to be the Back to Basics Balsamic recipe from Eat Drink and Be Vegan – love it and it’s so simple too!!
I love Goddess dressing as well – and I do have a recipe! I posted it a while back on my blog: http://www.acquired-tastes.com/2010/02/homemade-dressing-annies-goddess.html
🙂
Lately I’m loving Marzetti Simply Dressed Balsamic Vinaigrette but like you, Annie’s Goddess is my ALL TIME favorite. I used to purchase it only occasionally since it’s so rich and so darn delicious that it was so easy for me to go overboard with the dressing. However Annie’s recently came out with a lite version of Goddess that only has 60 calories per 2 TBSP, and I think it tastes the same as the regular one. 🙂
whoa, that’s exciting!
I always find myself mixing hummus with random things to add flavor…and it always tastes good!
There are sooo many recipes online for Goddess dressing…and I have one, too, in my dressings/sauces section. Truth be told, I use Vegenasise as the base ingredient for tons of my salad dressing and sauce recipe. That or cashews + nooch. That makes things get off to a good start for me!
And being sick…only a few times? That’s great! Girl..I was.so.sick. for about 30 weeks. I won’t bore you with my stories but I am so happy you’re feeling great!
🙂
I can tell how much you are absolutely glowing just reading this post! Even enjoying morning sickness — I love your wonderful attitude! When I get pregnant (yeaaaaaarrs from now), I hope I can channel my inner fitnessista too 😉
those scallops look to die for!
i wish i had a ice cream and cookie party, its my birthday today and that would have rocked! lol
I love Paul Newman’s dressing. It’s amazing. But sooo expensive. Could drink it by the bottle. Oy poor you, gingerale is a huge helper for me when I get nauseous from my treatments. And saltines. They become my best friends. I’ve only ever had 1 real fashion snafu. Trying on dresses, came out of the dressing room in an extremely busy store only for my best friend to realize after 3-4 minutes of prancing around that the dress I was wearing was tucked into my thong. And my dressing room was on the mens side of the store. AWESOME. I am one classy gal. You can’t bet I have not made that mistake since ;p
I’m loving “Pause” too! I’ve been throwing it in as a pre-cooldown song since it’s not too aerobic (I’m using Beto’s chreo from the video). It’s a fun one for sure! 🙂
Same here! I am going to use it right before my cool-down too. I love it – such easy choreography, but I know everyone will love it.
I almost always stir in my hummus with quinoa or salads as a dressing – love it!! When you lived in Orlando did you ever go to Dandelion? I work there and our Goddess dressing is DEFINITELY my favorite goddess! I used to use Annie’s organic goddess (which tastes a lot different from Annie’s natural goddess, oddly enough) and after having ours I could never go back!
Just catching up on all your recent posts – SO happy for you, how exciting! Pregnancy is slightly terrifying to me so I really appreciate your willingness to share it with us.
I like very few bottled dressings, but that TJs Caesar looks great – would you mind posting a pic of the label? Sometimes finding things there can be tough.
Hope you start feeling less sick soon 🙂
Does the TJs Cesar have raw eggs? I thought that was a no no during pregnancy? I love their balsamic dressing it’s the best around!
nope, no raw eggs in there
My favorite go to dressing and flavor booster is salsa. I have salsa on almost all of my salads. It’s also amazing on a quinoa, bean, veggies salad. I love that I can use a different kind to get a different flavor.
I’ve never tried goddess dressing. Maybe I will try one of the recipes from the comments though.
My favorite is the Goddess dressing, too. It rocks!
I have been craving scallops recently, which is odd since I have never cooked them before. You breakfast cookie dough cereal is the BEST, way better than store bought cereals 🙂
PS Love your Family posts!
I’ve recently fallen in love with using a hummus as an alternative to dressing myself! It’s delicious mmm <3
I’m going to have to try out hummus as “seasoning”, I like the idea of that.
Congrats on the news, SO awesome. I endured my first (and only pregnancy) during AZ summer as well. You are lucky so far, summer has been very kind to us, no? I was sick almost my entire pregnancy from sun up to sun down, no joke. However, I was a major stress ball about every thing in my pregnancy and a very wise girl friend of mine told me the nausea was a “good” thing b/c it meant my body was doin its thang, which made sense, I guess. My own personal observation and certainly NOT scientific, ALL my friends who had nausea ALL had girls, all of them. In fact, I predicted a certain blogger was having a girl way before anyone knew. BTW, all I could stomach was GF saltines, non gluten free Poptarts (so gross I know) that luckily lasted a week, anything cold/frozen (it was an AZ summer after all), anything grape and that was about it. Most of my “healthy” eating went right out the window and you know what, that was ok. I have a perfectly healthy, happy 9yr little girl. You just have to roll with how you are feeling that day and go with it. So happy for you, you and the pilot are on an adventure of a lifetime, SO exciting!
P.S. I bought the cheap Cocoa Butter cream @ Walgreens and it smells like cookie dough. Not a single stretch mark anywhere, not one 😉
Scallops are SO GOOD! And I always do a little happy dance when I successfully cook them 🙂
I’m a honey mustard girl, but also love a creamy balsamic. Love reading about the pregnancy journey!
the pilot’s fave is honey mustard too 🙂
I just found the Pause video with Beto in it yesterday. Its so funny with the women in stiletto’s and the facial expressions! 😀 I’m definitely going to use the song for my class.
we were watching it and CRACKING up haha
all time favorite salad dressing would be balsamic.. It’s low in calories and tastes amazingggghhhh!
Your meals always look so delicious! Yum! 🙂 Oh, I love Pitbull so much!! Will have to check that song out. I go through phases with salad dressing also. I just had an Avocado Ranch last night that was out of this world. I’m not a huge Ranch fan, but anything with Avocados I’m game. I also love Caesar dressing (and anchovies on the salad). 🙂
Have a wonderful day!
I add hummus to practically everything:) It just adds so much more flavor and extra protein!!
On my salads i normally just add oil and vinegar and spices but if I’m out and they have goddess dressing , you better believe that i eat more of that then the actually salad;)
My fave dressing is Olde Cape Cod Balsamic.. and I also like the Wasabi Soy by the same company!
Mmm, I <3 scallops. I made grilled scallops with grilled pineapple salsa the other night. T'was delicious!
Favorite salad dressing? Lately the farmers market tomatoes have been so juicy and flavorful that they have served as my 'dressing'. I love a good, aged balsamic. Especially one that is thicker, like syrup. 🙂
I love using hummus + lemon juice as a salad dressing or stir fry sauce. I don’t have a favourite bottled dressing though… I haven’t really found any that I love!
Nice job with the scallops I used to struggle cooking them but once you get the hang down its easy!
aaah getting sick is my biggest fear! I’m a teacher so my luck I’ll feel a sudden urge to get sick while teaching my 10 year olds. EEK! Hopefully I’ll be able to feel it coming on and run to ask the teacher next door to stand outside our rooms while I dash to the bathroom haha.
My fave dressing is a organic balsamic mixed with a little olive oil!
Your quinoa dish looks tasty! I’m totally going to try adding hummus next time – it’s a great idea!
I love TJs light champagne dressing (tastes very similiar to Caesar)…have you tried it before? I don’t think it actually has alcohol in it.
Yay for making dinner! Sorry you haven’t been feeling too well- I’ve been there! Not because of pregnancy, though! I suggest broth-y soups to calm an acting-up tummy!
I love Goddess dressing, but my mom makes a fabulous Thai Peanut dressing based on Moosewoods’ Low Fat Favorites cookbook! Basically:
1 cup salsa
1/4 Peanut butter
1 tsp fresh ground ginger
2 T each soy sauce, Apple cider vinegar, and Honey
Fresh cilantro
This makes really thick dressing that is great for stir fry veggies, and I’ve pureed it into chickpeas to make thai hummus. For salad dressing, add some more of the liquids, and thin with a little water.
Thanks Colleen! I’m writing that one down! My favorite dressing is homemade with 1/2 c. jam (I bottle my own –strawberry, plum, etc. are all good), 2-3 T. vinegar, 1/4 c. oil, 1/4 c. water, 1t. dry mustard powder. These are approximate measurements –I hope they’re close enough. Sometimes a little salt added to taste.
It looks like you’ve mastered the scallops.
My fav dressing is dijon mustard, white balsamic, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper whisked together.
Congrats on your pregnancy! That’s so exciting!! I am very new to this blog but I have to say it’s one of my faves now! You mentioned in your post today that you were nauseous and getting sick. I just thought I would share something that really works on the nausea for me – ginger chews. Someone mentioned ginger ale above and that works fabulously too, but, personally, I like the chews better because they have a little bit of a spicy kick to them. I usually by mine at either Whole Foods or Akins but I saw them at target recently by the register. Congrats again!!
good to know- i love ginger chews!!
need to pick some up 🙂
I LOVE hummus mixed in with quinoa and chopped veggies, so yum! I’ve been making double-batches of Mama Pea’s mmm sauce and using as a salad dressing. It’s so so tasty!
do you happen to know if that TJ’s Caesar dressing has anchovies? I know you eat fish, so no biggie if you aren’t sure! your meal attempt looks tasty! my co-worker said the same exact thing when she was pregnant, she just couldn’t cook and started buying her lunch everyday instead (and of course having her husband do the work ;)) hey – it’s the least they can do!! 😀
good meals! I hear ya on the TJ’s Dressing and Annie’s Goddness… My two favorites.
Also I love hummus and lemon juice as a dressing. 🙂
Hi there, first time posting on here, even though I’ve been visiting and lurking for a while. Your scallops look perfect. As far as dressing I’m very simple and like fresh squeezed lemon juice and Bariani evoo. Sounds boring but Bariani has so much flavor that salads don’t need any more than that, in my opinion.
yum, i’ll have to try that!
Hi Gina,
I’ve been reading your blog anonymously for something like 2 years now and have never commented! But when I read all your family posts and your exciting baby announcement and I decided I could not hide anymore…I felt sooo happy and joyful for you I just had to tell you! I’m so excited for you guys and can’t wait to read about your experience on this amazing journey you have embarked on!
Just so you have a little idea of who’s been reading your blog behind the scenes…I’m about to be a senior in college and I too am very interested in fitness and nutrition. I’m planning on going to grad school for naturopathic medicine and I love reading about your experiences with alternative therapies and homeopathic medicine because I’m super interested in all of that! I’m not at all ready to have a baby any time soon but I’m really interested in your views about natural fertility, birth control, and what you did to prepare your body for this! I love your approach in these topics.
Anways, just thought it was definitely time to say hi!
~Elly
thank you so much and thanks for saying hi 🙂
I agree with you about it being no big deal in the grand scheme of things because I was nauseous for the first 14 weeks but I was so afraid of losing them that it made me feel better knowing they were still there since I was nauseous. 😉 Love reading your posts!
it makes me feel better too- i know something is going on in there 🙂
If you find yourself feeling ill all the time ask your doc about taking a B12 vitamin. I took them briefly with my kids and it works miracles!! Glad to hear you’re enjoying the ride. Too often people complain, but your bod is working HARD!! 🙂