Sunday, October 31, 2010

Mmmmm...Marinara Sauce

So I channeled my inner domestic goddess the other day and made home-made marinara sauce. My house smelled so good!! It is a bit of work, but well worth it. I use Giada De Laurentiis' recipe and it is so yummy! I double it and store the rest in the freezer for future fabulous meals.

I learned a really cool trick about storing sauces and soups in the freezer not too long ago. Measure the sauce into 2 cup portions into freezer zip-top bags and lay them down flat to freeze. Once they are solid, you can stand them upright and they don't take up as much space in the freezer. They are easy to defrost this way also, just throw them into warm water for a few minutes. These type of things appeal to my type-A organizer personality.

By the time It got done simmering the kiddos had gotten up from their nap, so all I did with it for dinner was put it over some penne and add some Parmesan cheese. I think it was a hit though.




I think I'm going to make some healthy baked ziti with the marinara sauce this week. Here is what I put in it:

1 lb ground turkey
1lb penne pasta, cooked and drained)
1 10oz box frozen spinach ( thawed and squeezed dry)
2 cups mozzarella
1/2 cup Parmesan
4 cups marinara sauce
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce (optional)

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Mix all of the ingredients together, reserving 1 cup of the mozzarella and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan.
Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-fat cooking spray and pour in pasta mixture.
Level the top and sprinkle with the reserved cheeses.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned.

This recipe is a family favorite in my house. It's a great way to sneak in all of those healthy vegetables!

Enjoy!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Finding Myself

I'm a thirty-something woman who used to have a career and is now a stay-at-home mommy to the most fabulous twins EVER! I'm sure I'm not the only one out there trying to be superwoman, so I decided to start this blog to share my quest to fit it all in.  

While I think the decision to stay home was the right one, it has not come without its challenges. I started my career as an Athletic Trainer, and after graduate school, I made the jump from sports medicine to fitness. The best part about it all was the people I was fortunate enough to help. I learned as much from my athletes and clients as they did from me, probably more so.

I loved being immersed in a healthy lifestyle. My husband and I always made it a priority to get our workouts in and eat healthy meals. It was a breeze while I managed a gym! Then I got pregnant, and wouldn't you know it, we were going to have twins! So, my visions of being one of those "fit pregnant women" were blown to bits. While I had a very good twin pregnancy, the fact that I was having multiples made it a high risk. No more running, no more weight lifting, I was limited to pre-natal yoga and walking. The walking even went away when I was 6 months along because I was getting so huge that my hips were rebelling.  Let me give you a little mental picture here, I'm 5'3" and I have no waist so I looked like an oompa loompa who had swallowed a stability ball. At 32 weeks I was put on bed rest. My kiddos got tired of waiting and were born on July 22, 2009, 6 weeks early; AKA the happiest/scariest day of my life. They spent 14 days in the NICU and then came home with a clean bill of health. Our new reality had begun.

The first few months flew by in a haze of sleep deprivation and dirty diapers. I barely had time to shower, let alone worry about how I felt. But now that the kids are in a good routine and I have a little more time to my self (a precious little), I feel a little lost. So I'm going to find a new me...