FRUITY KALE SMOOTHIE

I've been feeling really sluggish lately and at first just attributed it to the pregnancy. Then recently at my doctor's appointment, I was told that my iron count was WAY too low. I knew that the prenatals I was taking didn't have iron, but I didn't really consider it to be a big deal. Guess I was wrong... :( 

Hearing that I was anemic kind of freaked me out, so the second we left the doctor's, we went straight to our nearest grocery store. After checking out this helpful site and getting some recommendations from my doctor, I picked up a few items:

• red meat
• raisins
• kale
• spinach
• lots of fruit (vitamin C increases iron absorption)

Because I'm so low, I'll have to be on iron supplements and will need to be more aware of what I'm eating everyday. So in attempt to get on a good start yesterday, I threw together this quick smoothie for E and I. 

Ingredients

3/4 C of orange mango nectar 

1/2 C of strawberries

1/4 C of raspberries

1/4 C plain Greek yogurt

half of a frozen ripe banana

1/2 C of chopped kale

*optional: add a tablespoon of agave or honey if you prefer it sweeter

Tonight steak is what's for dinner. Hey it's not bad having an excuse to eat more steak...;)

Talk to you all soon,

HEALTHY CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

If you haven't come across her blog yet, you definitely need to go over and meet Sarah at Dwell on Joy. She is one of the nicest people I've "met" from blogging and yesterday she shared a story that left me laughing so hard that it inspired me to share mine today. ;)

Back in high school, I joined track for one season. Although I enjoy watching and sometimes playing sports, I am not athletic by any means and mainly joined to appear more "well-rounded" when it came to applying for colleges. One day after practice, my friend and I were getting ready to head back home. Unfortunately the way we usually took was locked up that afternoon. We decided to jump the wired fence since it was only a couple of feet high. (Translation: We were just too lazy tired to walk to the other side of the field to get out.) Anyways, my friend went first, climbed up with ease and made the jump down like a pro. Nothing to it right? Then I climbed up. Just as I jumped off, all of a sudden I heard a "rrrrriiiiiipppppppp" on my way down. My sweatpants had somehow gotten caught by the wires and it left me with a nice BIG gaping hole.

"OH MY GOODNESS, I JUST TORE THE BIGGEST HOLE IN MY PANTS!" I screamed out in horror. 

Then in those same couple of seconds, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that our boys softball team was practicing just a few yards away. 

ALL OF THEM staring in my direction...

MOST OF THEM with a huge smile plastered on their face...

Like Sarah, I pretended like nothing happened, took off my sweatshirt, wrapped it around my waist and took the walk of shame past the whole team with my friend. My sweet friend who was trying so hard to hold back from bursting out laughing...

Do you think that softball team still remember that traumatizing moment of mine? Perhaps not. But I probably will have that moment forever engraved in my mind. 

Have Sarah and I motivated you to share YOUR most embarrassing moment? Please do! ;)

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With this pregnancy, I've been craving a lot more sweets than usual. Unfortunately those cravings always creep in right before bedtime. What a thoughtful baby I have, huh? ;) So when I saw this super healthy and easy cake recipe from Delighted Momma, I knew I had to try it out. I made a few slight changes, because I found the cake to be a little dry. However once I topped on my ice cream, it really didn't seem to matter anymore and the combination was just perfect!

Ingredients

3 T almond meal

3 T unsweetened cocoa powder

2 T honey

2 T milk

1 T coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

few dashes of salt

*Optional: few dashes of cinnamon, cayenne and semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Mix everything together in a mug and pop it in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. Top it with a few scoops of ice cream and enjoy!

DIY KITCHEN MAT

I've been wanting to replace our ratty old kitchen mat for awhile now.  Although I really liked our old one, I wanted something a little more playful this time and preferably easier to clean.  

When I ended up having extra fabric leftover from the runner, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give my mat a little makeover. ;) The duck fabric was perfect too because it was nice and sturdy. 

Since I didn't have exactly the right "width" left, I cut my fabric apart and then sewed it together to have a better fit. 

I ironed down the seams so that they would lay flat. 

Next, I sprayed some adhesive on top of the mat and then started wrapping my fabric over it. 

  

Oh the wonders of duct tape... hehe. 

Make sure you pull all the edges of the fabric tight before taping them down. 

Finally paint on a layer of water-based polycrylic and let the mat dry for a few hours. This will help protect the fabric from yellowing and provide you a wipe-able surface!

That's it! Wasn't that super easy? :D Have you ever tried covering your old mats before?