World's Healthiest Pumpkin Pie! (No, seriously...)

So, I wanted to play around with my Shakeology a little bit, and also give a healthy twist on a fall special: PUMPKIN PIE!!!

I recently made the sugar/fat-filled version of this for my eldest's birthday early this month, and I did it again but this time made it healthier than your HEALTHY morning cereal :)  He asked for some last night, and I served it with pumpkin granola sprinkled on top and a dallop of homemade greek yogurt. His words? "This is delicious! I can't even tell that it's healthy!"

Here is what you need:

1 can pumpkin

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2- 2tsp cinnamon

1 serving vanilla Shakeology

1/3 cup cashew milk (any milk would work, this is your healthiest option!)

1/4 tsp pink salt

1-2 tbsp coconut sugar (to your taste preferences, I used 1 tbsp)

1/2 cup egg whites

STEP ONE

Preheat oven to 425F.  Pour pumpkin into a saucepan, and on cook pumpkin with salt, cinnamon, ginger, and coconut sugar on low until it starts to bubble. Let cool down.

Step two:

Put pumpkin mixture in mixer, add shakeology, egg whites, and milk and mix until well blended.

Step three:

Pour finished pumpkin mixture into oiled pie pan or pie crust (I did mine crustless). Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350 and let bake for another 45 minutes.

Step four:

Make sure knife comes out of the center clean, and then let cool. Serve with greek yogurt and granola on top!

Why You Should Exercise Before and During Pregnancy

28 weeks

Pregnancy can be rough, especially when that third trimester hits! The key for energy and sustainability is getting your nutrition and food intake in check (that means cut back on the overindulging... you are going to regret jumping on the "eating for two" bandwagon!) and keeping active DAILY.

I have kept up my exercise routine throughout my pregnancy, but I would not be able to be this active had I not been doing it before. Granted, I have modified and backed down a lot, but I still exercise more vigorously than many others out there who are hitting the gym daily.

See, we get tempted to change something when we get pregnant. We either decide to stop working out and start eating a lot, or we try to START working out and eating right. But this shouldn't be the case! Besides being slightly more careful of your diet, drinking more water, and adding prenatals (or Shakeology), your life should't change. Now is NOT the time to shock your body or try something new. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT to get healthy before getting pregnant.

You see, when your body is not used to certain amounts of exercise or certain moves, it takes awhile to understand what your body is feeling. Therefore, you have to figure out what hurts "good" and what is actually hurting you negatively. For me, I have been working out daily for ten years. I've been doing beachbody workouts for 8 years. I know what is an okay hurt, and what needs to be checked out. Therefore, I was comfortable continuing Beachbody workouts. I know when to stop! I know the difference between my cramping (which I got a lot prior to pregnancy), so when I feel it's related to being pregnant or it's something new, I back down.

Let me tell you, though, you're going to want to be able to be as active as possible! For your sake, the baby's sake, and the sake of your husband. You're going to start to get pretttttty annoying once you're not able to sit up out of bed or move out of certain positions without assistance, so being able to fend for yourself and do as much as possible is a total bonus. You'll feel better about yourself, and your husband will, too (my husband and I are really open with each other about our feelings, so even though he tries to be really helpful and considerate, I know it's still annoying at times!). It also will make time go by so much quicker!

There were two days I just decided to bum around, and I felt like this last trimester would go on forever...don't let yourself fall into that slump! Keep as active and as normal as possible so you're not crying counting down the days.



TOXINS:
Your body stores tons of toxins in your fat. When you let those toxins build up in you during pregnancy (by eating more and exercising less), you are storing up toxins in your fat. This makes it less safe to lose that weight fast post-partum. Going on a diet or cleanse while breastfeeding is a bad idea; all those toxins are going to your baby! So maintaining clean eating and limited fat gain makes it so you  not only have less to lose, but you have less toxins to give to your baby.




Pregnancy is such an amazing time, I will be sad when it's done and over with, but excited to hold our precious baby in my arms!

Third Trimester LIFESAVERS For the Active Momma

A lot of things have happened towards the end of my 2nd trimester and beginning of my 3rd.


-GETTING FAT!

 I have not eaten more food than I usually do, and I still workout every day; however, I have gotten chubby! My arms and legs have cute little deposits of pregnancy fat. It's blowing my mind! I'm starting to think it has to be from slower digestion, to where my body just can't handle or digest the amount of food I usually eat. They say to eat slightly more during pregnancy, but I think this is a myth that needs to be debunked. Eat normal. Americans usual overeat anyways, so you should be good.


-Sleep is HORRIBLE.

Oh I just want a good nights sleep! I toss and turn, have RLS, my belly hurts, everything is just pure misery!


-Working out is harder.

My pelvis and abdomen have started to get pains while working out, and this stresses me out. I can't do normal pushups anymore because it puts too much pressure on my abs and pelvis. I'm starting to fret about how I'm going to keep at a healthy weight if I am eating normal and CAN'T workout much. This will be my journey to take on.







SO, with these new developments, I have found some relief in certain items (I wouldn't write about these if I didn't truly think they were lifesavers...).



1. Belly Band





This belly band has changed the way I'm able to work out! I do have higher hopes now that I've purchased this. Although I do my pushups from a step now, my stomach and pelvis get enough support from this band that I am able to continue on without pain. It also makes it so I can jog! I never thought I'd be able to jog during pregnancy!

***I do believe in having a strong enough core to support your belly, so I only use this during exercise.




2. Brita Filter Water Bottle


 


I have not been drinking as much water as I should ever since the start of my second trimester. Reason? Water tastes gross! I am much more sensitive to the mineral and metal tastes in water, that I usually only like bottled water but do not want to spend money on that. My solution was to get a brita filter water bottle. I have a Brita Filter on my tap water, but I need it DOUBLE filtered, so I pour the filtered water into here. LIFE....SAVER. I'm excited to keep my water intake up!



3. The Step




Yes, Brian Regan has a joke about the step... ("***Ding dong****"Oh! My step is here!" **runs down the steps to get it...).  But seriously. This thing does wonders! With this and my belly band, I can do BURPEES NOW!!!! Who would've thought?! I am able to do burpees, pushups, and tricep dips all comfortably. I even try step workouts every now and then :) This is a must.



4. Yoga Booty Ballet: Baby on the Way

Find at my beachbody shop: www.beachbodycoach.com/donicanash

This would not be the greatest workout for the fitness guru, but if you're starting working out or need an extra nighttime routine (or are having a tired day), this is great! It's not too much of anything. IT has a little cardio, a little stretching, and a little strength. The stretching is great, because when you're pregnant, you really are at a risk of overstretching. This is a perfect little 30 min routine that is GREAT for the third trimester.


5.  Pregnancy wedge



I don't have one of those expensive fancy pillows, mainly because I'm cheap and not willing to spend that much on one item... But sleep is hard! I have tried to use pillows to prop my belly up, but they are too big and uncomfortable. This is AMAZING if you have pain with your belly when sleeping.

25-27 weeks pregnant

26 weeks

SO... 26 weeks came and went (and I'm now in the third trimester!!!). Gained 20 lbs so far. I can tell that about 5-7 of that is fat weight, which I hear is normal (past that is just excess!). So I'm not going to fret over that, and just enjoy the whole pregnancy process :) Here's the thing about being pregnant, or being a woman for that matter: you will be judged. Women will  always compare themselves with you and therefore put judgement on you. 

For example, a lot of women think I am small and have no belly. 1) this is false, my belly is measuring exactly the same as the week I should be (in cm)    AND 2) women exaggerate in their mind what they think their belly was OR are ashamed of the way they held a baby in their belly.

This is not healthy! In no way should we be comparing or judging others. I realize it's a way for people to make themselves feel better or put the blame on somebody else (i.e. "well SHE just works out too much..." etc) for the way they imagined they looked, but it is not a good mindset to indulge in. If I have learned anything, it's that all women handle pregnancy differently and uniquely. It is beautiful! OWN the way you do pregnancy! That doesn't mean you should own the fact that you just want to eat candy and sit the whole time, because this is not "owning" your pregnancy, it's letting pregnancy own you. But yes, let yourself have that craving every now and then, get physically active for the health of you and your baby, but let whatever happens to your body happen! You might carry your baby differently than someone else, or you might have non-elastic genes and get stretchmarks or have your belly button stretch out even though others don't. OWN IT. Those things you can't control! 

And I wanted to point out in a picture format why some people don't see me with a belly....it's called walking with a tight core. Ever since I started focusing on keeping my core tight while working out and walking, my abs naturally became tight. I didn't do any more ab exercises, I just let my normal routine all go through my core; and strong abs came as a result. I try to keep up this habit even while pregnant because I want to support my posture and keep my core strong without doing much abdominal work. So below you will see a picture of me tightening my core, and one of me letting it hang lose (at 26 weeks).

See the difference? Yes, I like for people to know I'm pregnant. And sometimes I feel pressured to look big and purposefully stick my belly out just to ease people's minds (people judge when they think you should be bigger than you are). But it's not an okay pressure, and I don't like to give up my posture just to put on a show for others. Womanhood is a hard process! We hurt ourselves by allowing our minds to compare or criticize. 

I'm finishing phase 1 of T25 this week and am moving on to phase 2 (beta) next week! I've added the weight routine from "How to Exercise When You're Expecting" on MWF because I modify much of my T25 moves and therefore need a little strength added to it. But I love T25 during pregnancy! It's great, and the modifications make it so I can do it any day throughout my whole pregnancy.

If you'd like to find out more about exercising while pregnant, you must get this book!

FAVORITE Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

This is by far my most favorite gluten-free crust I have made yet. One reason it was so good is because this is a pan style crust, meaning I put it in a pan with lots of oil..... ***gasp!

Ingredient list:
3 tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup luke warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 egg whites (do NOT buy the carton kind! Those are cooked and won't fluff)
3 cups gluten free flour blend (make sure it has starch or xantham gum)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder



Mix sugar, water, and sprinkle yeast on top. Set aside.

Mix sugar, flour, and baking powder and set aside.

Beat egg whites until they formed soft peaks.

Mix oil, vinegar, and salt in with the yeast mixture. Then pour into the egg whites and beat on medium speed until combined.

Add remaining dry ingredients and combine on high speed for 1 minute. Grease two pie pans (the more oil, the more "pan" style the pizza will taste), and press dough into the pans. **Get your fingers wet to keep from sticking to the dough.


Let rise for about 45 minutes until it has fluffed up.


Cook without toppings for about 20 minutes at 350, add toppings, and cook for another 20-25 minutes until crispy, golden brown.


***Note, I precooked for about 40 minutes and then added toppings and broiled the cheese. Both ways work and it's up to your preference! I like crispy style.

Orange Creamsicle Shakeology

Still feeling summer, so I'm taking it back to Orange Creamsicle Shakeology :)