Due Date Mini-Muffins

Today is my due date.
but...
Baby is not here yet.

I've been anxious, bored, and restless since I stopped working. I've been preparing for this date and here we are; no baby yet.

There are thousands of lists with things to do to prep for life post-baby. Since I've never had a life post-baby before I had no idea which were useful and which were eccentric.

We installed the car seat base, that seemed vital. We attached the co-sleeping bassinet straps. We washed tiny socks, gowns, and swaddling blankets in scent free detergent. We have 100 cloth diapers ready to go, plus one poor stuffed lion whose been wearing our practice folds. We spent way too much money on an adorable handmade stuffed fox that I love and will probably not let my son touch until he stops drooling.

What am I forgetting? Nourishment! It's not recommended to do a lot of cooking right after your baby is born. Probably, if you have an amazing community of people around, they will bring you food and delicious meals. My plant based diet can be challenging for folks so I decided to prep food for myself. In the freezer right now we have a lentil loaf and mashed potatoes, chili, shepherds pie, spinach lasagna, strawberry chia breakfast bars, and carrot walnut breakfast bread. ... keep reading for a mini-muffin recipe...

Green Smoothies

Green smoothies are to New Years what mistletoe and twinkle lights are to Christmas. It's the essence of the holiday. Everyone is detoxing and increasing their intake of green vegetables, and smoothies are a popular choice. I like green smoothies as much as the next vegan.

Here is my take on this year's green smoothie.

Oh wait... It's not green!
Tricky tricky.

This was my "All American" dinner the other night. Burger, Fries, Shake. My burger was the ever delicious Joe's Quinoa Patties in Power Protein flavor (Gluten-Free). My shake is a smoothie with TONS of spinach in it. Wanna Make One? ...

Vegan Short Cuts

Have you ever seen the TV show Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee?
It's not vegetarian or anything but it's an interesting concept. She takes pre-made items from the grocery store and slightly alters or personalizes them to make a "homemade" meal quicker and more easily. She might take pre-made pudding cups and pre-made ladyfingers and put them together to make a homemade trifle dish.

As much as we all love to cook at home from scratch I think this type of cooking is more common. You have to deal in reality to make a lifestyle work. Committing to healthy or plant based meals is the same way. Total homemade may be best but sometimes we need to allow ourselves some short cuts in order to get dinner on the table in time.

Here are five of my favorite vegan short cuts! (in no particular order) .....

What does a Vegan Eat While Pregnant?

I have gotten a few questions about my vegan diet while I've been pregnant. 

I try to live with the idea that my body knows what it needs. If I can trust my body's intuition and provide what it's asking for... then I'll be alright. It's a double edged sword though because I have to get my body to trust me. My body has to trust that I will give what it is asking for, and fairly quickly after it asks. Otherwise your body can turn into a crazy untrusting hoarder who stocks up on leftover calories and energy for another day. This is what most people don't want, since your body is the storage space for that hoarding.

Homemade Spinach Lasagna

During this pregnancy I ate when I was hungry, and I ate until I was full.