Nothing much newsworthy for me this week, but some of the “Week 21” pregnancy descriptions I read are sounding sort of doomsday for the weeks to come.
For example: “You should enjoy this time of pregnancy, because as you approach your third trimester you will find your belly expanding to unbelievable proportions.”
Yikes. Most of the time right now I still feel like a completely normal sized person, so I AM trying to enjoy it. Seeing the pics of women in their last couple months freaks me out.
And, they say about the baby moving: “Enjoy these first gentle love taps — soon enough your growing baby’s kicks will get more aggressive.”
Yikes again. I can feel her so strongly now I can’t imagine when she’s 7 times the size with no extra room to move around!
So, I really am just trying to enjoy life and not dread the 3rd trimester!
Speaking of enjoying life, this recipe for Lentil Sloppy Joes is incredible. We made it once a long time ago, got the recipe who knows where on the internet, and resurrected it on Sunday night. Even better than I remember, this needs to go into regular rotation. It’s easy, cheap, and healthy while still tasting like comfort food. Nathan loves it too.
Lentil Sloppy Joes (make 4-6 sandwiches)
1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups water
1 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced (optional – I don’t really love green peppers, but we used a slightly spicy red pepper from our garden and it turned out great.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t oregano
1 t salt
8 oz. can tomato sauce**
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 T maple syrup
1-2 T wet yellow mustard (we don’t like this so left it out, I think Nathan did add some mustard powder though, I have no idea if it’s the same thing.)
Directions:
1. Put lentils in pot with water, cover and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.
2. While lentils are cooking, sautee the onion and pepper in oil in a soup pot for about 7 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and sautee a minute more.
3. Add cooked lentils, chili powder, oregano, and salt to onions/pepper and mix. Then add tomato sauce and paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Then add maple syrup and mustard and heat through. Turn off the heat and let sit about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Serve on whole wheat buns with a side of green veggies or salad and you’ve got a great healthy meal. We doubled the recipe and had no problem eating it in 3 days, it is soooo delicious.
**Note about ingredients – if you’re new to this health thing, make sure you check the ingredients on tomato sauce and buns. Lots of tomato sauces have added sugar, dairy products, and other unnecessary icky stuff. You can always find some at regular big box stores that is vegan with no extra crap. Most breads, even whole wheat, have high fructose corn syrup and a bunch of other unrecognizable ingredients. The two kinds of whole wheat buns they had at Cub both had HFCS, so I just sucked it up and bought them, because really sloppy joes are not the same on a slice of Ezekiel bread. (Although I did eat my leftovers like that when the buns were gone and it was still damn good!)
K
MMM! I love anything involving a lentil. Even more when it’s a mound of lentils. I’ll definitely be making those Sloppy Joes.
I’ve hit the point where I’m supposed to be gaining massive amounts of weight. We’re still at a grand total of just barely 4lbs. gained since the beginning. I guess the baby is perfectly sized for how far along we are, so I’m not worried. Just kind of wondering if all the big currently tent-like shirts will ever fit.
I woke up this morning, laying on my left side, to both sides of my belly being popped out at the same time. He must have been crouching, then standing up really fast, then crouching down again. It was such a weird feeling. Weird, but nice.
Oh! We rented a doppler for home! It’s only $45/moth and will tell us what his heartbeat is. We can also connect via usb to save the sounds if we want. It should be here sometime today. Yay! Since I’m paranoid and start losing my head if I don’t feel him move for a couple hours, this will help me feel better.
I’m going to get dressed and go get the stuff for the Joes. =D
Oh, glad the recipe sounds good, definitely let me know how yours turn out!
I think I’m in the “slow to gain” category too, only about 7 lbs. total so far here, but the midwives say all growth is normal.
That doppler sounds great for combating paranoid, it hasn’t really struck me yet, seems like she moves around in there a lot and keeps me reassured =).
I love sloppy joes- as soon as I’m eating again I think I’ll try it!
I’m sad my 2nd tri- which everyone has said is lovely is still miserable just like 1st tri. It’s got to be a matter of weeks though… I’ve got to start feeling better soon.
Oh I hope you do feel better soon! All I wanted when I felt shitty was fruit and bland starches, like potatoes…. don’t worry, you’ve got lots of your 2nd trimester left =)
I made this tonight with just a couple of changes and it was delicious!
I didn’t have any tomato paste on hand so I subbed a bit of ketchup…it seemed right at the time.
Left the syrup out (on accident) and sprinkled in a bit of extra chili powder near the end.
Ate it on an open faced english muffins. Yum!
Wishing all you ladies healthy pregnancies!
Oh wow, good to know it works without the maple syrup, I considered that a key ingredient in the recipe, but it’s also expensive if you get the real stuff!
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