Sweet, healthy and happy favorites
I can’t even begin to describe how happy it made me (and Dave) to get the news out this week that we’re expecting a little addition. Being pregnant is a funny thing — because you want to be so excited from the outset, but then you’re not supposed to let on that something is going on until a certain point. Well, I reached that point, and I was about to burst. So now I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders!
To all of you wonderful friends who commented on Facebook, Instagram, sent me a message, wrote me an email or even a text or commented on this post, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ve been putting a lot of my life out there on the Internet for a few years, but there’s been a little part that I’ve been holding back on the fertility struggle side. It feels SO good to know that you guys now know what’s been going on, and I can now start sharing so much of my journey to get pregnant and how I made some changes in my life. But I mean, we don’t have to talk any more about that today. Let’s talk about light and fun and simple stuff, like FOOD and FAVORITES. Ready for them? (Oh and for those of you who are not excited to see this blog turn into a pregnancy diary, I’ve got you covered. It WILL NOT take up every thought. K? I promise!)
My favorite pantry staples: Bob’s Red Mill
*Thank you to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this mention. I received complimentary product and compensation, but the words, pictures and thoughts are totally my own. As always, I appreciate you supporting the great companies who support A Lady Goes West.
First of all, you know I’m so into supporting family-owned companies, and Bob’s Red Mill was started by Bob and his wife, and is now completely employee owned. With beginnings in the state of California, Bob’s Red Mill is now headquartered in Oregon.
The brand sells whole grain and clean flours, baking goods, oats, cereals, granolas, mixes and even nutritional boosters. The products are non-GMO and some of them are also gluten free. The kind folks at Bob’s Red Mill let me pick out a few items to try, and I had a tough time, because I wanted it all! However, I settled on these four things …
- Organic 7-grain pancake and waffle mix
- Nutritional yeast
- Baking powder
- Gluten free organic old-fashioned rolled oats
Just in time for Easter, and much to Dave’s excitement, I selected a holiday-inspired breakfast recipe to prepare for us this past weekend using some Bob’s Red Mill products, and you can bet it will be happening again on Easter and throughout the year. Ladies and gentlemen, I made carrot cake pancakes using the organic 7-grain pancake and waffle mix, and it was SO easy. (Oh, did you know that I love carrot cake?)
I was inspired to make the carrot cake pancakes because I found the recipe on the Bob’s Red Mill site, which was super helpful. When you scroll through the product options, you can find corresponding recipes for each. Love that!
In less than 10 minutes, I had made a delicious plate of pancakes for us both, full of raisins, walnuts, carrot shreds, coconut oil, one egg, cinnamon, and of course, the organic 7-grain pancake and waffle mix. The pancakes were DELISH, and we each devoured our plates. (True story: Dave had two small pancakes, and I had three large ones … #eatingfortwo-ish.) In addition to the pancake mix, I’m loving the quality, taste and texture of the oats. And I’ve been wanting to try nutritional yeast as a high-fiber cheese alternative for a while. So simple, so healthy and so tasty! Love it all!
You have maybe seen the Bob’s Red Mill packaging in the grocery store and not known what a high-quality brand it is. Well now you know! Find a store carrying Bob’s Red Mill here. Thanks again to Bob’s Red Mill!
My favorite sweet treat: NadaMoo
So I’m not necessarily a dairy-free person (pizza is life), but I do love coconut, and that’s what originally led me to pick up NadaMoo, which is made from non-dairy organic coconut milk. I was in Sprouts on a Saturday evening strolling for dessert, while holding an oven pizza in my hand (in the height of my very glamorous sweatpants-wearing early pregnancy stage). And of all the ice creams I looked at, well, they just didn’t have the greatest list of ingredients. (I always look at ingredients of products I buy, to make sure I know what every single thing is that’s listed — to me, it’s more important than looking at the fat or calories or carbs or whatever.) Then I picked up NadaMoo, and it was full of good stuff. I bought a little tub of the snickerdoodle flavor, took it home and tried it after dinner and was totally blown away.
The nice people at NadaMoo saw my Insta-story of the snickerdoodle that night and sent me coupons to get even more goodness. So I got three more tubs, and each one is more delicious than the next. This does NOT taste like an ice cream alternative. It’s rich and thick and so tasty. I think that birthday cake is my favorite, because it has amazing little chunks in it, but they’re all good. Thank you, NadaMoo! Healthier desserts are my heaven!
My favorite picture from the week: Rudy
Earlier this week, Dave and I went to get a first trimester screen and ultrasound and came home with some new pictures of the little bundle growing inside me (eeeeek!), showing the baby’s profile, 10 fingers, etc.. As soon as I got home, I pulled the pictures out, and you-know-who was super interested.
He was pawing at them, so I put them on the ground, and this impromptu photoshoot ensued. I die. To be totally honest, I treat Rudy like my little baby right now, and am constantly carrying him and talking to him and fawning over him. I’m slightly nervous about how he will have to adopt to having another small being in the house in just six months. One of my girlfriends told me to get a babydoll a couple of months before I’m due and start holding it, so he gets an idea that something is changing. Might be a good thing to try. Any help out there, you dog mommas who also turned into human mommas?
My favorite links from the week
And here’s what I’ve been loving from around the Web this week …
- I love this article, because it’s so true. We all need to be in nature sometimes. Like way more than we are right now. It’s healing. Get outside and stroll!
- Fitness fails! OMG — who has had some of these things happen to them? I have fallen off a treadmill twice in my life. And BOY does that hurt. Both times happened in Orlando in my condo gym, and I was alone in the wee hours of the morning.
- More talk about the importance of sleep? I’m in!
- I’m a sucker for a good dance routine. This one is AWESOME.
Hope you have a fabulous weekend! If you’re celebrating Easter, ENJOY! See you soon!
Check out these faves by @apstyle, including an #Easter inspired breakfast ... Click To TweetQuestions of the day
What’s your favorite pancake topping?
What are you up to this weekend?
Still over the moon for you and the family (and Rudy!). He is going to be such a good big brother. Ridley will be a terror.
AHahah we’ll see how Rudy does. Happy Friday, Susie!! Hope you have good things in store for your weekend. 🙂
I love Bob’s Red Mill and I actually haven’t tried the pancake mix yet! Gotta pick that up! Favorite pancake topping is probably strawberries and peanut butter! This weekend I’m doing a birthing class and hospital tour with my husband and Sunday will be church and an Easter brunch with my family! So so happy for you, Ashley and I hope you have a great weekend <3
OMG birthing class and hospital tour? It’s getting REAL real for you! Wow! Let me know how that goes. And strawberries and PB on pancakes? What a grand idea — I may need to try that out. Happy Friday, my friend! Enjoy your weekend! 🙂
It sure is!! Yes, the pb and strawberries are so good!
I’ve never heard of Nada Moo! I wonder where they sell it. I’m always skeptical to order products like that to be delivered since I don’t want it sitting out during the day. Rudy is going to have a sibling- SO cute! Happy Friday, Ashely!
I’ve found NadaMoo at Sprouts and at Lunardi’s here in the East Bay, so I bet you could find it in a specialty grocer in the city. Keep your eyes out! And HAPPPPY FRIDAY, my friend! 🙂
Ashley!*** typing way too fast this morning- hello caffeine!
Hhaha TOTALLY okay — I mean, people spell my name wrong without knowing all the time. You caught it, so you’re good!! 🙂
I love that Bob’s Red Mill has been coming out with so many new products! And omg the embarrassing gym moments, definitely guilty of tripping on the treadmill and wearing capris with holes in exposing places. Just gotta laugh them off and know you’re not alone I guess. Have a fabulous weekend lady!
Oh no! Capris with exposing places? heheheh Hope your man wasn’t mad hahahah Anyways, YES, I LOVE Bob’s Red Mill — I want ALL of the products. Happy Friday, gal!!
I need to find Nada Moo!! Ohhh I fell off a treadmill once. So embarrassing. But what was nice is that 3 people rushed over to make sure I was okay. I felt like shoot, it really can happen to anyone and everyone understands!
Hi Christina! HOW embarrassing! I know from experience that falling off the treadmill totally hurts, but I’m sure your pride was injured far worse. Nice of people to attend to you in your time of need hehehe! Anyways, Happy Friday, girl!! 🙂
Nada Moo is my absolute favorite dairy-free ice cream EVER!!! It’s so creamy and tastes just like what I remember real ice cream tasting like. Man, I can’t stop eating it once I start. The Birthday Cake flavor is so good, but I really really love the Snickerdoodle flavor. The chunks of cookie are amazing. 🙂
Hi Kayla! Yay for NadaMoo! I’m so happy I stumbled upon it, because I share your love for it. I need to get some more of the snickerdoodle flavor! Happy Friday, my friend!! Hope you have a DELICIOUSLY dairy-free weekend hehehe! 🙂
Still so excited for you, Ashley!!
As for the NadaMoo – how does it compare to HaloTop? I’ve seen a couple other healthier ice creams out there like Enlightened and Artic Zero but haven’t heard the best things about them.
Hi Erin! Thanks again! And I can safely say that NadaMoo is WAY BETER than Arctic Zero. I haven’t tried Enlightened, so can’t answer that. And quite frankly, I like it more than Halo Top too! It tastes richer!
Oh God!! Congratulations for the Wonderful New! ?
Love & Kisses from France.
Hi Audrey! Thank you SOOOO much for the sweet works. And sending those loves and kisses right back to you. Thank you for reading!! 🙂
Congratulations, such wonderful news! I can’t believe I didn’t know about Nada Moo and I live in Austin where it’s made! Had my husband pick some up last night and can’t wait to try it. Breastfeeding hunger and cravings are insane compared to pregnancy hunger, I am always eating!!
I would recommend finding a dog trainer that does bringing home baby classes. We went to one and it was so helpful! It’s so important to set proper boundaries with dog and baby to ensure everyone is happy and safe! Dogs have different natural tendencies and ways to correct their young that aren’t safe for babies.
Hi Jess! Yay for NadaMoo! How cool that it’s from your city heheh! And I’ve heard that breastfeeding hunger is pretty crazy! Thanks for the tip on the dog trainer, that may be a good idea for us. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy your dairy-free ice cream, Momma!! 🙂
Congratulations to you and Dave! Such happy news! We had a dog before our first baby and he was definitely our baby. I remember worrying about the transition of bringing a baby home. Our dog got used to seeing all of the baby stuff around and after my son was born and I was still in the hospital my husband brought home a blanket with my son’s scent on it for the dog to get used to. People used to tell me that once I had my baby, I would no longer treat my dog the same way but that was definitely not true. Our dog quickly adjusted to life with a baby as he still got a lot of attention and we kept to his routine of dog walks as much as possible.
Hi Maya! I LOVE to hear this news. Thank you for taking the time to tell me, because I REALLY worry about Rudy and how he will do when some of the attention is on someone else. We will definitely try to keep things routine for Rudy. And bringing home a blanket from the hospital is an idea I’ve heard before, and I’m SURE we will do that. I really appreciate it, lady! I may need your advice on more things heheh! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
I worried about how my dog would handle it as well. So much so that I remember crying as I said goodbye to him on the way to the hospital to have the baby because he didn’t know how his life was going to change. Lol. Those hormones. Haha. It all turned out fine. Happy weekend!
OMG that is so sweet! I can totally see myself doing that!
Awww Rudy is so cute. And I’ve heard such good things about Nadamoo, but I’m not dairy free, so I think I’ll wait to try it. However… maybe I’ll cave and buy some soon. 😀
Bob’s Red Mill products are so good. They have such a wide variety.
Hi Emily! That’s the thing about NadaMoo, is doesn’t taste dairy free, it’s just delish no matter what! And YAY for Bob’s Red Mill and all the healthy products they have for sale. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, lady!! 🙂
Love this! My doggie wore a ‘I am going to be a big sister shirt” =)
I totally wished they had this ice cream were we live!
That is SO cute, Bethany! I would love to dress our Rudy up in clothing, but sadly, the hubs isn’t into it ahahah! Hope you had a great weekend!
This is a good read. I will share this article to my friends for sure.
Thanks for reading, Bernice! 🙂
Hi, our dog was about 2 when we had our daughter. I was definitely concerned about how she would react to less attention but she quickly fell into her role guarding the baby. She still gets mad at people outside of the family if she feels like they are being mean to my now toddler. Pretty adorable!
We put a dog bed in the nursery for a good month or two before baby arrived as well as a treat jar in there. She basically continues to get one treat in the morning and one in the evening so she really looks forward to when my daughter wakes up each day! In addition to sending a blanket home from the hospital my husband and I spent about 10 minutes solely with our dog when we first came home from the hospital and my parents watched my daughter in the other room. Then we slowly introduced the two.
It’s funny because now my daughter has entered a phase of being annoyed by my dog and my dog still affectionately follows her around the house 🙂
Oh my gosh, Julie, I LOVE to hear how sweet and inclusive you’ve been of your dog with the new baby coming into your life. I totally hope to emulate it. Love the tips too! And how sweet that your dog follows your daughter. They must be adorable together!! 🙂 Hope all is well, lady!