How to Make Ghee at Home

2 eggs with avocado and tomato salad

Not the best pictures, but chicken wings, tostones, and avocado - YUM.

A very random concoction on a very busy day: avocado, tomatoes, red onion, chicken sausage, and olive oil

Keeping it simple with some scrambled eggs with coconut milk and dried tarragon

A delicious meal I made by accident: Walnut Pesto Ground Pork Salad

2 hardboiled eggs drizzled with the walnut pesto sauce I'm currently obsessed with eating

Sara's Chicken

I decided to make a big batch of chicken breasts for emergency protein. They were simply seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked in the cast iron skillet in some ghee.

Some of that emergency protein with roasted butternut squash and rutabaga and of course, the walnut pesto sauce.

Horrible picture, but some more of that emergency protein with some organic marinara sauce

A big pile of food: sweet plantains, chicken sausage, and an avocado

Bacalao con Guineos: Salted Cod with Plantains. Recipe coming soon.

Yum. 

We desperately needed to go food shopping last week so the options for breakfast were limited this particular morning. I had eggs, leftover ground beef and an avocado. Sounds like a meal to me! Plus, leftovers are my favorite. You've probably heard me say this a million times. Leftovers almost always taste better than the day you made the food and they make eating a healthy diet with a busy schedule so easy. 

So I decided to make an omelet with the ground beef and top it with avocado and fresh cilantro. My homemade salsa would have also been wonderful, but I didn't have any in the fridge - tragedy, I know. I found this quick meal to be yummy and very filling. Nothing like a big serving of protein and good fats to get you going! 

Ground Beef Stuffed Omelet with Avocado Recipe

Recipe Ingredients: 

2-3 organic eggs (I used 2 jumbo)

1/2 tsp of homemade adobo seasoning

1/2 cup of cooked ground beef, divided

1 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 avocado, diced

Pinch of salt

Fresh cilantro 

Recipe Directions: 

1.) Heat a small pan over medium heat. 

2.) Scramble the eggs and add the adobo seasoning. 

3.) Warm up the cooked ground beef, about 30 seconds in the microwave. 

4.) Add enough olive oil to coat your medium-hot pan, about a tablespoon. 

5.) Pour the scrambled eggs into the oil and let set for about 20-30 seconds. 

6.) Add half of the ground beef mixture to the eggs as they cook. 

7.) Once the eggs are almost set, fold over half of the eggs to create the omelet and seal all of the ground beef inside. 

8.) Once the egg is fully cooked throughout, remove and place on plate. 

9.) Top with diced avocado, a pinch of salt, and fresh cilantro. 

10.) Dig in! 

 

My husband said the following to me the other day:

Watermelon with freshly squeezed lime juice is what got me through my first trimester. When nothing else was appealing or would stay down, watermelon always did the trick. This was my very first craving and it has remained strong throughout the last 5 months. Since it was still winter when I first started craving watermelon, they were hard to come by and my husband even spent $9 dollars on a half watermelon! Oh, but it was so worth it. What a good hubby.

According to the article "Watermelon Wonders" found on www.fitpregnancy.com:

Watermelon eases heartburn and reduces swelling; its high water content (92 percent) and fruit sugars alleviate morning sickness and dehydration; and the minerals it contains can help prevent third-trimester muscle cramps. Ounce for ounce, watermelon is richer than tomatoes in lycopene, an antioxidant that protects against cancer and cardiovascular disease, boosts the body's immunity to infections and naturally raises the skin's SPF, according to Steven Pratt, M.D., author of SuperFoods Rx (HarperCollins).

Even better news for pregnant women: A study in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics found that daily lycopene supplements reduced the incidence of preeclampsia by 50 percent. Test subjects were given 4 milligrams of lycopene; a single serving of watermelon can have triple that amount. What's more, scientists have discovered that watermelon is packed with vitamins A, C and B6, as well as potassium and magnesium. These nutrients are important for the development of your baby's vision, brain, nervous and immune systems, and more. For you, potassium regulates water balance in the blood and body tissues during pregnancy. And you get all these benefits for less than 50 calories per cup.

Bring on the watermelon! Adding the freshly squeezed lime juice was just something I discovered by accident, while I was cutting watermelon and trying to make guacamole all at the same time with my next craving: avocado. A piece of watermelon touched some lime juice on my cutting board and I was in heaven. I've been adding lime juice to many things as baby really enjoys sour!


Now, when I knew I needed some type of substance in addition to my watermelon I turned to my BFF the avocado. I knew the healthy fat content would keep me full a little longer and hopefully keep the nausea at bay. Sometimes I'd just eat a whole avocado for lunch and call it a success. Now that I'm able to eat more complete meals, I still try to add 1/4-1/2 an avocado to my meals - either as guacamole or just topping it with some diced pieces. It always satisfies.

According to this article, "Avocados are good for pregnant women since the high folate content in them helps in the development of brain and other tissues of the baby.  The B6 vitamin in these fruits may help in reducing nausea that is associated with pregnancy." 

Sounds like a win-win!

My craving for grapefruit came on all of a sudden. I have enjoyed grapefruits in the past, but it was a while (maybe even years) since I've had one. Then one morning, they just came to mind and I HAD TO HAVE ONE. ASAP. I went grocery shopping that night and ate a very large grapefruit while I was driving home, and it was heavenly. Again, sour things have been very appealing! Plus, grapefruit is an excellent source of Vitamin C and Vitamin A, and a good source of fiber, potassium, Vitamin B5, and Vitamin B1 according to this article. And I find them very filling.

So mangoes are my absolute favorite fruit in the world. To me, there is nothing better than eating a ripe, juicy mango - hands all sticky and everything. Whenever I am looking for a snack and find a mango waiting for me, I rejoice. It is always the perfect snack, a perfect addition to a salad, or even a perfect side dish. I just love them. I love them so much that my grandmother actually ships me mangoes as a gift. I love that lady. The mango pictured above is actually one that my grandmother shipped to me. It was perfect. God bless her.

Like the other foods listed here, mango is also very nutritious. It is an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Folate - great for baby! It's also a good source of Fiber, Vitamin B6, and Copper.

Again - no guilt here!
Lastly, the plantain. My grandmother also ships me plantains because she doesn't believe we can find good ones here in PA. Either unripe and fried up as tostones or very ripe and sauteed as amarillos/maduros, plantains have been another staple during these months of pregnancy. They are denser and also help to keep me full.

Not many people realize that plantains are actually quite nutritious, since they are typically fried in Caribbean cuisine. However, I fry them in olive oil (a good fat) so I'm not concerned! Plantains contain significant amounts of Vitamins A, C, B6 and Folate, so I feel no guilt enjoying them!


So those are the 5 foods that I don't feel guilty for craving during my pregnancy. Now, of course things haven't been perfect. Over the last week, I've developed a craving that I'm not so proud of: crackers with a thin layer of mayonnaise on top. Hey - you win some, you lose some!

Don't judge :)

XOXO,
SMP

I paired the chicken with mashed cauliflower and my roasted butternut squash recipe. The girls really loved it and I was thrilled to see them practically lick their plates and go up for seconds. There's no better compliment than that. 

We spent the rest of the night sharing stories, laughing uncontrollably, and showing my sister some of my crazy dance moves. Not that she doesn't know - but I like to remind her that her big sister still got it!