Y’all I feel like Superwoman, today

Disclaimer: I need to celebrate a bit after the insanity that took place this morning and the other parenting subs won’t understand the gravity of what went down and how hard it really was. Please don’t read this if you’re not in a good headspace to hear me brag just a lil bit 💜

I hate August. It hasn’t dipped below 80 degrees F in a couple weeks now and recently the highs have been over 100 so I’ve been a bit more unregulated than usual just due to the heat. To add to the fun, we’ve been getting rid of flour beetles in our pantry over the past couple of days which has literally never been an issue for us for the decade we’ve lived in our house. I figured out where they were nesting (rip to my almond flour 😭) took care of that and we sorted through all of our dry goods, put the remaining ones in airtight containers, and cleaned the pantry shelves. Awesome, right?

Y’all, I woke up to a swarm of fire ants (many of which were absolutely gigantic!!) on my pantry floor this morning 😭😭😭😭.

Fun fact about me: I cannot handle an excess of bugs in my home, of any kind. We’re usually pretty on top of things like this but yenno how it gets when you’ve got a little one (mine is 14 months and has been super active since he achieved mobility so a few of our deeper cleaning chores have fallen by the wayside, I admit).

Instantly I’m in a murderous rage and feel like crashing out into a meltdown…but that’s not what happened.

Instead, I somehow managed to:

Exterminate a large portion of the ants, figure out what was attracting them (a giant bag of skinny pop from Costco that my husband got for me as a lil treat but somehow had a tiiiny opening in the bag) and get rid of that, completely clean out my pantry floor, deep clean the area, caulk up some tiny openings along the base boards where they could get in, set a pet and baby safe poison trap for any stragglers so they could take it back to their nest and kill the queen.

All of this on top of feeding myself and my baby, completing our usual morning chore routine together (prep baby meals for the day & milk/water cups, unload the dishwasher, do a load of laundry, and fix my hair in my usual sensory friendly style), coordinate details for an upcoming visit with the in-laws, and SOMEHOW got the baby down for his nap with 5 minutes to spare. We even had time for our usual pre-nap silly cuddle routine to reconnect since he spent a large chunk of the morning playing independently while I dealt with The Invaders 🐜 .

Y’all I’m so freaking proud of us. My son was so patient and resilient with minimal complaints; what a little trooper! I managed to keep my temper to an absolute minimum (only had one quick outburst in the other room when the toilet also clogged in the middle of all this because of course it did 🫠).

When I was growing up, my own mother would have been terrifying to be around if all this happened to her in the span of one morning and I, as a result, would’ve been close to shaking in fear of being the reason that she snapped entirely. But my son was giggling and chatting with me for most of the morning while I took care of the problem(s). 🥹

I don’t know how I managed to do all this, honestly, the morning is kind of a blur outside of the broad strokes. But the crisis was handled and I’m now back in my routine, burning off my extra adrenaline on my walking pad, like usual.

Just wanted to share this because parenting/running a household can be so difficult, especially for us as autistic people, but I love knowing that I can still do hard things if life throws me massive curve balls like this…now hopefully everything in my house can calm the fuck down for 48 hours or so 😅…

Mama needs a minute lol.

I might book a massage this weekend…I think I’ve earned it 🥰

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u/Elfie_Mae — 7 hours ago

Thought it would be fun to do a full day of eating for my hungry 14 month old 😋

Breakfast: 2x banana oat pancakes w/ grated carrot in the batter, some blueberries, a few raspberries & a cup of mild wholly guacamole (nobody come for me for the packaged avocado; I refuse to play roulette with avocado ripeness on top of everything else lol 😅). He drinks a little ice water with his breakfast.

Morning snack: 2x broccoli, cheese and onion bites (he’s obsessed with these and the recipe helps me use up my leftover broccoli from my own meal prep so I’m also obsessed with them lol). He drank just under 6oz of milk with this.

Lunch: 1x veggie & lean grassfed beef meatball, roasted sweet potato quinoa (butter, cinnamon & ginger) & a serving of the fan favorite: poop fruit 💩. He had ~4oz of milk with this.

Dinner: we tried something new with 2x spinach banana mini muffins and some peanut butter for dipping, a veggie and Parmesan egg bite & some buttered broccoli.

Usually he has a bedtime snack (it’s either 2 more broccoli cheese bites or a sweet potato, banana & peanut butter muffin) but he had a long nap so dinner was late enough that he wasn’t hungry before bed. He did have 6 more oz of milk right before brushing his teeth and going to bed.

This was fun!

ETA: his leftovers don’t go to waste, don’t worry lol. My husband loves to snag our son’s rejects for a quick snack while he’s working xD

u/Elfie_Mae — 1 day ago
▲ 77 r/CICO

Grassfed NY Strip Steaks were 60% off at my local grocery store…y’all best believe I made it work 🤤

(Pardon my gnarly knife work lol I got a better one after I took the photo)

Total cals: 661

Macro [and fiber] breakdown: 74P 29C 28F & 6g of fiber

We’ve got a ~10oz organic grassfed NY strip steak w/ just enough avocado oil spray on it to make the salt and pepper stick, a bowl of white velvet soup (potatoes, turnip, rutabaga, & leeks), 3 slices of smoked salmon I need to finish & some steamed broccoli.

Perfect post gym meal (set a new PR, too 🦵🏼)

It’s a good night 🥰. What’d you guys have for dinner??

u/Elfie_Mae — 2 days ago

Homemade toddler snacks your kids love? Looking to add to our freezer stash!

My 14 month old is ravenous, lately lol. What homemade snacks are your toddlers loving right now? I’m looking to add a couple recipes to our rotation. We have no allergies to worry about.

Mine is currently obsessed with these:

Broccoli cheese bites: https://feedingtinybellies.com/broccoli-and-cheese-bites/#wprm-recipe-container-394

Sweet potato, banana & nut butter muffins: https://www.theleangreenbean.com/sweet-potato-banana-muffins/

I also add finely chopped shredded coconut to the sweet potato muffins.

Both of these freeze and reheat really well so I can make giant batches that we can munch on for a couple weeks at a time.

Thanks in advance, everybody!

(Photo is of one of the sweet potato muffins I mentioned plus a few pieces of another lol. Snapped a quick picture halfway through snack time xD)

u/Elfie_Mae — 13 days ago

Homemade snacks that your toddlers love? Looking to add to our stash

My 14 month old is ravenous, lately lol. What homemade snacks are your toddlers loving right now? I’m looking to add a couple recipes to our rotation. We have no allergies to worry about.

Mine is currently obsessed with these:

Broccoli cheese bites: https://feedingtinybellies.com/broccoli-and-cheese-bites/#wprm-recipe-container-394

Sweet potato, banana & nut butter muffins: https://www.theleangreenbean.com/sweet-potato-banana-muffins/

I also add finely chopped shredded coconut to the sweet potato muffins.

Both of these freeze and reheat really well so I can make giant batches that we can munch on for a couple weeks at a time.

Thanks in advance, everybody!

u/Elfie_Mae — 13 days ago

Bone density is in the bottom 3% at 30 years old 😥

(Not asking for medical advice! Just support/experiences from others who have gone through something similar so maybe I can calm down)

I just got my first ever DEXA scan done this afternoon (I started taking my health seriously after I gave birth a year ago and added in strength training (strong lifts 5x5 3 times per week focusing on progressive overload) ~3 months ago so I wanted to get a scan done to establish a baseline reading so I can track my body composition progress.

I know I have some more weight to lose after some more months of recomping/lean bulking but I was really shaken up by my bone density reading.

As far as I know I don’t have any hormonal or thyroid issues (all my readings came back normal during pregnancy), though I did unfortunately spend most of my 20’s drinking, smoking and taking poor care of myself in general, nutritionally (I quit drinking in 2022 and I quit smoking before I got pregnant and will never pick it up again).

I’m going to book an appointment with my primary care provider to discuss this so I’m not asking anybody for medical advice, here, but I won’t lie I’m spiraling a bit over this and I’d really appreciate some support or personal stories from anybody who’s gone through this.

Has anybody else had readings this low for their bone density and come back from that to reach a healthy level? Is this something I’m going to have hanging over me for the rest of my life?

UPDATE: My actual t and z scores were available in the pdf form of the results and both numbers were -0.4 😮‍💨. Still work to do on my part but I’m no longer panicking! Thank y’all so much for all your suggestions! Still a big help for improving from here!

u/Elfie_Mae — 1 month ago

So I used to love Lilo & Stitch: The Series sooo much…

That I saw this Angel plush when I was walking through Barnes and Noble with my son and immediately said:

“If found please call: 555019829343453365882”

I was in the second grade when I memorized that and I completely forgot about it for yearzzz…

Wild that I didn’t get diagnosed until my mid 20’s 😅

What evil little fandom things did you make a point to memorize and carry with you always?

u/Elfie_Mae — 2 months ago

Prep for Papa, Mama & our 1 YEAR OLD 🥳🎉

Y’all I’m so glad to be posting again 🥹😭. We enjoyed our trip but our emergency get-through-the-week prep upon return was a bit bare bones so I’m excited to have some good eats, again!

~

Papa’s Food: Ground beef (1/2 tbsp EVOO, 1/2 tbsp bacon grease, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, tomato powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and porcini mushroom powder w/ a few hits of Worcestershire sauce) w/ sweet potatoes OR a gluten free almond bread muffin w/ grassfed butter on a bed of baby spinach.

Poor guy is burned out on broccoli so he requested dry spinach, this week.
~

Mama’s Food:

-High protein blueberry-vanilla baked oatmeal

https://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/s/fsd6va4bWx

Notes: I added a tbsp of extra light tasting olive oil for some extra fat content, some vanilla extract (measured with my heart lol), cinnamon, nutmeg and blended the mixture (before adding the berries; don’t blend the berries!) just a little to partially shred the oats and make sure everything was mixed. This also freezes and reheats really well!

-Maple Dijon Chicken

Ingredients:

• ⁠1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• ⁠4 Tbsp real maple syrup
• ⁠2 Tbsp olive oil
• ⁠4 tsp soy sauce
• ⁠4 clove garlic
• ⁠1/2 Tbsp dried rosemary or fresh
• ⁠4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl, stir together the Dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, and soy sauce. Mince the garlic and chop the rosemary. Stir both into the marinade.

Arrange the chicken thighs in a casserole dish so that they are close, but not overlapping. Pour the marinade on top and then spread it around until the thighs are completely covered.

Bake the chicken thighs in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until they are cooked through and the liquid around the thighs is simmering. Spoon some of the liquid over the thighs, return them to the oven, then switch the oven's setting from bake to broil. Broil for about 3-5 minutes, or until the top of the chicken is golden brown.

-Roasted Potatoes: Bake for 30-40 min at 365 F then for 10-15 min at 450 F.

• Golden potatoes: pepper, paprika, ground mustard, garlic, onion, oregano & za’atar.

• Sweet potatoes: pepper, garam masala & thyme.

-Steamed broccoli (I go through over half a pound a day lol)

-Cod Fishcakes: https://mytableofthree.com/crispy-fish-cakes/#mv-creation-345-jtr

Notes: this recipe yielded 27 cakes for me using a cookie dough scoop. I added an entire bunch of fresh parsley, as well.

-strawberries, raspberries and blueberries (oh my!)

~

Big Boy’s Food 🎉:

-Banana-oat pancakes (carrot and zucchini)

https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/baby-pancakes/#wprm-recipe-container-59308

Notes: I made triple batches of both varieties. I grated 2x medium carrots into one [triple] batch and 1x large zucchini into the other. I also added a splash of vanilla extract to the mixture.

-the rest of the Cod Fishcakes for his freezer stash for weekly allergen exposure

-blackberry puree (I use this to flavor yogurt and oatmeal)

-Brussels sprouts mash (the actual sprouts are still a bit hard for him to chew so I’m sticking with the mash for a while longer)

-Homemade gluten-free cheez-its (we’re not gluten free, it’s just time to start incorporating snacks into my son’s daily schedule and I wanted to use almond flour in the crackers for more protein and healthy fats).

https://kalynskitchen.com/recipe-for-cheese-crackers-with-almond/#mv-creation-136-jtr

Notes: I used smoked cheddar and added paprika and garlic powder to the mixture. Y’all these are actually really good and pretty easy to make.

u/Elfie_Mae — 2 months ago

No prep for the grownups this week but here’s my almost 1 y/o’s meal prep & plan for next week’s vacation 🚙🏡

Here’s something a bit different for y’all :p. I usually include what foods I prep for my baby’s freezer stash (I can’t believe he’s about to be a year old omg 😭) at the end of my weekly meal prep posts but I don’t show the individual daily meals that we feed him because I only prep them a day ahead of when we need them. However, we’ve got a special occasion coming up since we’ll be traveling for a family wedding so I actually have a bunch of meals ready to go for once :p. We may not end up using everything we bring with us (his meal times may not align with the eating schedule of the family members we’ll be traveling with so any food he eats during adult mealtimes will probably just be tastes here and there) but I wanted to make sure that he had access to healthy, balanced meals rather than having to wing it on the spot when we’re supposed to be relaxing and having fun lol.

I get told often that I’m pretty extra for doing all this (or do the kids say “doing the most”, now? Who knows lol) but after growing up in a family where nearly every single member struggles immensely to create/maintain a healthy relationship with food, it’s *very* important to me that I do everything I can to give my kid(s) a foundation of delicious and nutritious food, especially during these early years when they’re forming their own perception of what food *is*.

Final disclaimer before we get started going over all the food/dishes: I’m *not* an almond mom and never will be. I’m very pro balance when it comes to food (80/20) and my kiddos will grow up with plenty of access to regular treats (albeit most of them will be homemade but like, sugar is not the enemy in my house lol)…just not for another year or two, as per the recommendations of the USDA & AAP.

Okie doke, now let’s get to the food ⬇️

~

(Meal plan is on the final slide; it has ingredient breakdowns for the simpler dishes but I’ll include the recipes for the more complex ones)

Starting with slide #2 going from left to right, we’ve got his proteins for the trip:

-a slice of pan fried pork chop

-a sockeye salmon fishcake (recipe: https://mytableofthree.com/crispy-fish-cakes/ ; I used sockeye salmon instead of cod. I do recommend slightly undercooking the fish in the oven. It helps keep the cakes from being too dry. I also added a finely chopped bunch of fresh parsley, 1 tsp of onion powder, 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, and 3/4 tsp of smoked paprika.)

-2x veggie mini egg bites (recipe: https://mykidslickthebowl.com/mini-egg-muffins/#recipe ; I added a bunch of finely chopped fresh parsley and I used Gruyère cheese.)

-chicken cheddar biscuit (recipe: https://www.reddit.com/r/foodbutforbabies/s/SN5XwviNfg ; I added 1 shredded carrot (also squeezed in a cheesecloth to remove extra water; highly recommend this extra step), most of a bunch of fresh curly parsley (finely chopped), a little onion powder, and 1/2 a tbsp of nutritional yeast.)

-“Magic Meatball” Lamb and feta edition w/ tons of veggies in it (recipe: https://savorylotus.com/loaded-veggie-turkey-meatballs/ ; I used: ground lamb, grated yellow squash, grated carrot, finely chopped spinach, finely chopped fresh parsley, half an onion (chopped very small) and one bulb of fennel also finely chopped. I also added 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 2 tbsp of flour, and 1/2 cup chopped feta cheese to the recipe. I also omitted the melted butter in the recipe since I was using ground lamb, this time, but I do recommend it if you’re using a meat with a lower fat content! Then I seasoned the mixture with salt, pepper, paprika, dill, ground mustard, and garlic powder. The recipe recommended baking the meatballs on top of a metal cooling rack w/ a sheet pan underneath and I second that recommendation (I’ve baked them with and without the cooling rack and they are more evenly cooked when using the rack. Baking in the oven is preferable to cooking them on the stovetop since the extra veggies make the meatballs more delicate due to the extra water).)

~

Moving onto slide #3 we’ve got some sides:

-organic hummus (we’ll add EVOO to this when we serve it)

-lemon-ricotta quinoa w/ spinach and garlic

-balsamic and garlic Brussels sprouts

-pumpkin puree w/ ricotta, kale and seasoning (again, see the meal plan for an ingredient breakdown; I’ll add one portion of lentils to this before serving).

-baba ganoush

-organic apple and butternut puree cubes (we’ll use these for Thursday’s yogurt bowl lunch)

~

Slide #4 has some more sides:

-pasta w/ marinara, ricotta, kale, and seasoning

-sweet potato quinoa (we’ll add butter to this before serving)

-black bean “burrito bowl” (this is for Friday’s lunch; we’ll melt in some shredded cheese before serving)

-“poop fruit” puree cubes (blended peaches, pears & prunes)

~

Slide #5 has some breads:

-2x slices of Ezekiel bread (one will have butter and one will have organic peanut butter)

-2x varieties of Baby pancakes (recipe: https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/baby-pancakes/#wprm-recipe-container-59308 ; I added a splash of vanilla, nutmeg & cloves to the batter then folded in 2x medium shredded carrots (or 2x medium shredded zucchini) that I squeezed with a cheesecloth to get the excess water out. I also cooked the pancakes in a little butter. These freeze and reheat perfectly! I put them in a gallon ziplock bag after they’re cooled then place a piece of parchment paper on top and do more layers that way. Once they’re full frozen, the paper can be removed.

~

Slide #6:

-2x varieties of oatmeal (see meal plan for ingredient breakdown; one packet of organic plain instant oatmeal yielded all 4 portions and I used 1/3 cup of soy milk to cook them. He’ll eat two “portions” at a time, the silicone muffin cups couldn’t hold a single portion all at once lol).

-some frozen organic mango chunks for his breakfast fruit at the end of the week. We’ll grab some berries from the grocery store once we get to our airbnb for the first couple days of brekkie.

~

Slide #7:

-frozen organic rainbow cauliflower

-frozen organic green beans

-frozen organic peas

-organic no sodium added canned lentils that I rinsed and froze in portions (one will go with the pumpkin, kale and ricotta mixture and one will be served with a tiny bit of oyster sauce for his weekly shellfish exposure).

~

That’s all folks! Feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments and I’ll try to get to everybody as soon as I can. Please do remember that I’ve been building and maintaining this system for my baby’s freezer stash and meal plan for months, now. It definitely did not happen overnight but wow it’s been a lifesaver when it comes to offering him a varied diet without having to scramble to come up with something before every meal.

Now I’ve just gotta get us all packed and ready to go! This momma really needs a vacation so I’m super pumped for the week ahead lol. I’ve been living in sweats or athleisure wear basically since he was born so I’m positively giddy for the opportunity to get all dolled up and feel pretty for a night of celebrating family and dancing my little toes off xD.

u/Elfie_Mae — 3 months ago

My 11 month old’s favorite dinner

Lamb and feta veggie meatball (mashed into pieces after this photo was taken), lemon ricotta quinoa w/ spinach & garlic, and hummus w/ EVOO.

What meals are always a hit with your baby(s)?

u/Elfie_Mae — 3 months ago

Feast 🍤🍠🫛🥦🥑

Y’all this was so good. 38P 43C 14F & 12g of fiber

Shrimp: avocado oil, salt, pepper, old bay, lemon pepper, Cajun seasoning blend,splash of fish sauce, splash of oyster sauce, splash of teriyaki. Sautéed on medium heat until slightly undercooked (I meal prepped all this so I didn’t want the shrimp to overcook in the microwave upon reheating).

Sweet potato: avocado oil, salt, pepper, garam masala & thyme. Bake at 365 F for 40 minutes then at 450 F for 10-15 min.

Roasted green beans; avocado oil, salt, pepper & tomato powder. Bake at 425 F for 15-20 minutes.

Broccoli is just lightly steamed with some of the shrimp sauce poured over it for flavor.

Avocado for dipping the sweet potatoes in.

I’m stuffed.

u/Elfie_Mae — 3 months ago

Happy Memorial Day, Preppers!

This week for lunch/early dinner my husband has:

-4x portions of grassfed ground beef (EVOO, tomato paste, Worcestershire, garlic, onion, paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, cayenne).

-Various carbs (roasted golden potatoes, roasted sweet potato, & gluten free almond bread muffins)

-Roasted green beans (avocado oil, salt, pepper & tomato powder)

-Lightly steamed broccoli

-butter or spicy ketchup

For my own meals I made:

-High protein blueberry-vanilla baked oatmeal for breakfast

(4 servings per pan) 1 serving = 385 calories 28P 49C 15F w/ 5g of fiber.

https://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/s/fsd6va4bWx

Notes: I added a tbsp of extra light tasting olive oil for some extra fat content, some vanilla extract (measured with my heart lol), cinnamon, nutmeg and blended the mixture (before adding the berries; don’t blend the berries!) just a little to partially shred the oats and make sure everything was mixed. I’ve been eating this 4 days a week for the past month, now. It’s easily my favorite breakfast as far as energy and satiety and it keeps great in the fridge. If you haven’t tried this yet, please do!

-Maple Dijon chicken thighs, roasted golden potatoes & steamed broccoli for lunches

Chicken Thighs: bake at 375 F for 30-40 min then broil for 2-4 min.

• ⁠1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• ⁠4 Tbsp real maple syrup
• ⁠2 Tbsp olive oil
• ⁠4 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ⁠4 clove garlic
• ⁠1/2 Tbsp dried rosemary or fresh
• ⁠4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

Potatoes: avocado oil, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, paprika, ground mustard, oregano, za’atar. Bake at 365 F for 40 min then at 450 F for 15-20 minutes.

-Fusion sauteed shrimp w/ roasted sweet potato home fries, roasted green beans and more broccoli

Shrimp: avocado oil, salt, pepper, old bay, lemon pepper, Cajun seasoning blend,splash of fish sauce, splash of oyster sauce, splash of teriyaki.

Sweet potato home fries: avocado oil, salt, pepper, garam masala & thyme. Bake at 365 F for 40 minutes then at 450 F for 10-15 min.

Then for the baby (and the rest of us lol) we have washed and cut strawberries, raspberries & blueberries.

Finally, a full restock of roasted beet puree and roasted sweet potato mash for the baby.

I like to mix some of the beet puree into his pb&j yogurt bowls with some cherry puree. It works really well with the fruit and peanut butter and adds a subtle layer of depth, especially if you roast the beets before pureeing so they caramelize. The sweet potato mash is great for giving smaller grains a more uniform texture. I usually mix in some barley, quinoa or couscous.

Have a good holiday, everyone!

u/Elfie_Mae — 3 months ago

Dinner was 🔥

I thought about using the mission zero net carb tortillas for a fajita moment but decided sweet potatoes would fill me up more and give me that good ol’ beta-carotene that I’ve been skimping on, lately. Still, there’s 11g of fiber, here!

This was all very good. I need to roast sweet onions more often.

Also I did not mean to draw a face in my guac, and yet… 👀

u/Elfie_Mae — 3 months ago

His, Hers & Baby’s

Hubs is tired of chicken, so he’s got some thinly sliced lean steak, roasted potatoes *or* sweet potatoes and roasted onions, & baked balsamic Parmesan asparagus. For the sweet potatoes he’s got a lime wedge & whataburger spicy ketchup. For the roasted potatoes, he’s got some butter.

My dinners have the steak (salt and pepper) and sweet potatoes (avocado oil, salt, pepper, garam masala & thyme) along with roasted red and green bell peppers and onions (avocado oil, salt, pepper, paprika, tomato powder, garlic powder). I’ll also have some guacamole with this.

My lunch and breakfast are the same as they’ve been for the past month 😅. I’m really digging these meals.

Brekkie: high protein (28g) blueberry vanilla baked oatmeal that I’ll have with strawberries and raspberries (I have this on gym days; on recovery days I usually have a keto roll cut in half w/ 2 tbsp of peanut butter and some berries).

https://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/s/B4m5KrxaCv

Lunch: maple Dijon chicken thighs (4 lbs of thighs marinated in 1/2 cup Dijon mustard, 4 tsp minced garlic, 4 tsp aged soy sauce, 4 tbsp real dark maple syrup, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce & 1/2 tbsp rosemary. Bake in marinade at 375 for 40 minutes then broil for 2-3) w/ roasted potatoes (avocado oil, salt, pepper, paprika, ground mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, za’atar, & oregano) & lightly steamed broccoli.

Lastly, we’ve got berries & purées for the baby; poop fruit blend (peaches, pears, & prunes) & cherries (for flavoring his yogurt).

u/Elfie_Mae — 3 months ago

Breakfast for Dinner w/o breaking the [calorie] bank

532 calories 54P 4C 34F

2x eggs w/ 184g of egg whites scrambled & some frozen spinach leaves in 1 tsp of EVOO. Seasoned with turmeric, cayenne pepper, cumin & salt.

3x slices of black pepper bacon

4x slices of smoked salmon

So good and super filling 😋

u/Elfie_Mae — 3 months ago

I can officially squat 100 lbs 🥳 (85% of my body weight)

I just started lifting seriously 3 weeks ago and I’ve been following the strong lifts 5x5 program MWF w/ moderate cardio (power walking 4-5 miles with my son in his stroller) 6 days a week and I’m over the moon at this milestone!!

I know I have a long way to go to reach my bigger goals (I want to be able to: 1. Squat my entire body weight 2. Bench my entire body weight (half way there!!) and 3. Do unassisted pull ups) and I’m making a point to take things slow and steady.

I’m just really proud of myself. I had no idea I was already this strong. Can’t wait to see how far I can go 💪🏼🦵🏼🍑

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u/Elfie_Mae — 3 months ago

Prep for the whole family: His (vibing), Hers (recomping) & Baby’s (Growing 🩵)

• His: 2x meals w/ seasoned grass fed ground beef (cooked in a skillet w/ EVOO & a little bacon grease. Seasoned w/ S,P,G & O + za’atar, paprika, ground mustard, cayenne pepper, thyme, oregano, Worcestershire sauce & a splash of teriyaki), baked balsamic and Parmesan asparagus (400 F for 12 minutes), lightly steamed broccoli and roasted seasoned potatoes. The other two have a gluten free almond bread muffin (this recipe usually looks way more appetizing…I think I added an extra tbsp of oil by mistake 🫠. Still tastes fine, though). Some butter in each for the carbs.

Almond bread: https://houseandhome.com/recipe/laura-prepons-gluten-free-almond-bread/

Notes: I replaced the honey w/ erythritol and monk fruit sweetener 1:1. I, personally, don’t taste a difference.

Potatoes: https://jz-eats.com/whole30-recipes-slow-roasted-mini-potatoes/

• Hers: Same lunch on repeat for the last 3 weeks and still going strong lol. Maple Dijon baked chicken thighs, roasted seasoned potatoes, & lightly steamed broccoli.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Maple Dijon Chicken

Ingredients:

• ⁠1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• ⁠4 Tbsp real maple syrup
• ⁠2 Tbsp olive oil
• ⁠4 tsp soy sauce
• ⁠4 clove garlic
• ⁠1/2 Tbsp dried rosemary or fresh
• ⁠4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl, stir together the Dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, and soy sauce. Mince the garlic and chop the rosemary. Stir both into the marinade.

Arrange the chicken thighs in a casserole dish so that they are close, but not overlapping. Pour the marinade on top and then spread it around until the thighs are completely covered.

Bake the chicken thighs in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until they are cooked through and the liquid around the thighs is simmering. Spoon some of the liquid over the thighs, return them to the oven, then switch the oven's setting from bake to broil. Broil for about 3-5 minutes, or until the top of the chicken is golden brown.

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-Breakfast: High protein blueberry-vanilla baked oatmeal (forgot to take a prep container photo and I’m in couch mode, now lol)

https://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/s/fsd6va4bWx

-Dinner: Baked skin-on salmon w/ citrus and dill (bought it from the Kroger frozen section; the brand is Sea Cuisine and it turns out really buttery and flakey) , more broccoli, instant grits with a slice of plastic cheese melted into it, and a few slices of smoked salmon.

• Baby’s: Banana-carrot oat pancakes & assorted berries (raspberries, strawberries & blueberries).

https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/baby-pancakes/#wprm-recipe-container-59308

Notes: I shredded 2 medium carrots into the batter, added some cinnamon, nutmeg & vanilla, and cooked the pancakes in butter. My son adores these.

u/Elfie_Mae — 3 months ago

If you start finding yourself with stronger cravings for salty things, ask yourself if you’ve been sweating more lately and, if you have: salt your food a little more instead of reaching for a snack. It might help.

I could *not* figure out why I was positively dying for the tortilla chips at night in a way that felt out of control…but then I remembered that I’ve been walking outside during the hottest part of the day and have been sweating much more than usual lol. Started sprinkling a bit of extra salt on my usual meals and haven’t had an issue, since.

That’s all folks! 🐷

Disclaimer: if you have a condition/variable in your health profile that makes the advice I’ve just given a bad fit for you, please don’t take it. I’m not a medical professional.

reddit.com
u/Elfie_Mae — 4 months ago

…But I’m still hella short with a preference for eating 4 meals per day (meaning most of my individual meals will still fit this sub) so y’all will still see me around here posting meals from time to time, if that’s alright (I just won’t post full days of eating, anymore).

Now onto the real reason why I wanted to post this: high protein blueberry vanilla baked oatmeal 🤤. I’ve never had baked oatmeal before but this is about to become a weekly fixture in my diet for the foreseeable future. I’m trying to break my snacking habit so I’m planning meals that incorporate foods with a high satiety index (this one features oats and Greek yogurt).

Here’s the recipe I followed: https://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/s/fsd6va4bWx

(4 servings per pan) 1 serving = 385 calories 28P 49C 15F w/ 5g of fiber.

Notes: I used optimum nutrition gold standard whey in the “French vanilla crème” flavor for the protein powder. I also added a tbsp of extra light tasting olive oil for some extra fat content (this is my go-to oil for baking so I don’t have to use canola or vegetable oil) some vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and blended the mixture (before adding the berries; don’t blend the berries!) just a little to partially shred the oats and make sure everything was mixed. It’s delicious by itself but the sugar free syrup really takes it up a notch!

Happy Monday, everybody!

u/Elfie_Mae — 4 months ago