Paleo Meal Plan

So for those of you who dont know, I had a baby eight weeks ago yesterday. And I noticed that certain things (dairy, beans, etc) were really affecting Thomas. So I set out to find out exactly what it was that was affecting him (he was being extra fussy and not sleeping well), as well as what triggers I had for my digestive health. I had tried the Whole 30 challenge before I got pregnant, but had to stop because of nausea. I set out to do it again, but I realized that if I tried to deprive myself of things that I really wanted, I would binge and do more harm than good. So I am attempting to do a Paleo approach, but cheating when I want to (within reason). The only exception to this is dairy, because Thomas is not tolerating that at all. I am not doing this to lose weight (although I lost 8 pounds last week!), but am doing it simply as a way to help my baby and me as we adjust to new mommyhood. 

One of my favorite things to do is to peruse Pinterest for yummy recipes. I have had several pinned already that fell into the Paleo category (check out my Paleo board here!), but spent some time finding new ones and carving out a meal plan for the week. If you are interested in what I ate, check out my pictures and the link to the recipes that I used!

Day One:
Breakfast- Paleo Bacon, Egg, and Kale Breakfast Casserole and a few tomato slices.
This recipe is super yummy! I made it then cut it up and put each piece into a zip lock in the fridge so I would have an easy option for a tired morning. 

Lunch-Buffalo Chicken with a salad topped with red and green peppers, celery, carrots, avocado, and homemade Paleo Ranch Dressing (made with homemade Paleo mayonaise, which is also in the Ranch recipe). I used this recipe for the chicken, which is not Paleo friendly. To make it Paleo, I simply swapped out the butter for Ghee to make it Paleo.

Dinner- This Herbed Salmon with Dry-Roasted Spaghetti Squash was super yummy. We prepared the salmon and spaghetti squash exactly according to the recipe, and prepared extra for lunches. A side of sugar snap peas completed the meal.

 

Day Two:

Breakfast" I made a simple scrambled egg (a little bit of Ghee in the pan, 3 eggs, salt, pepper, and paprika), cut up a whole tomato, and half an avocado. Simple, yummy, and filling!

 

Lunch- I used the leftover salmon from dinner the night before and put it on a salad with avocado and homemade Paleo ranch.

Dinner- I dont have a picture because I was starving. But we made eggs, bacon, and tomato for dinner. I was too hungry to fix anything else!

Day Three:
Breakfast-more breakfast casserole. No picture-I forgot to take one!
Lunch-More leftover salmon salad
Dinner-Honey Soy marinated Chicken thighs with Sweet Potato fries and broccoli. This was super good. I am making this again, for sure! I just swapped out the soy sauce for coconut aminos to make it Paleo.

Day Four
Breakfast-Breakfast casserole (I'm getting boring, I know!)
Lunch-My typical salad with leftover chicken thighs and Paleo ranch dressing.

Dinner-I cheated. I was tired and didnt feel good, so Ben and I went to Del Taco. I actually had a hamburger. And it was amazing. But I felt it later after having eaten clean all week!

Day Five:
Breakfast-Yummy eggs, sausage, and tomato. I added a little Frank's hot sauce to the eggs and it was GOOD.

Lunch: Salad with Salmon. Boring. I was so over it at this point.
Dinner: I didnt take a picture for some reason. But I made this Paleo Slow Cooker Pad Thai. It was really good, but I had to add a good bit of salt. Ben ate it over rice and seemed to enjoy it.

Day Six:
Breakfast-I cheated and had cinnamon rolls from Hardee's. SO WORTH IT.
Lunch-Leftover salad
Dinner-We marinated some chicken breast with the marinade from the steak salad (from Day Seven). We threw it and some Cajun Okra on the grill and cut up a giant tomato on the side. The marinade was AWESOME.

Day Seven:
Breakfast-I actually skipped breakfast this day. Sue me. It was Sunday and I was running late for church!
Lunch-My usual salad with leftover grilled chicken and a bowl of fruit.

 Dinner-Asian Marinated Flank Steak with a Summer Salad and squash.

What do you think of what I ate last week? I am having so much fun picking out recipes and cant wait to continue to cook different things. I am definitely noticing a difference in how I feel, and cant wait to see how that progresses the longer I eat this way.

Herbal Essences Naked Voxbox Review

I have been a member of Influenster for quite some time now, but just recently got selected for my first Voxbox. If you don't know, Influenster is a company that partners with other companies to promote brands through social media. They send out boxes with free product for bloggers and other social media users to review. It's a pretty cool program-if you want to check it out for yourself, sign up here! I The box I received (for free, for the purposes of this review) contained three products from the Herbal Essences Naked line-Herbal Essences Naked Moisture Shampoo, Moisture Conditioner, and Dry Shampoo.

The new Naked line from Herbal Essences boasts that it is free of parabens and dyes and comes in three different lines-Moisture, Shine, and Volume. I received two products from the Moisture line (the Shampoo and Conditioner) and one from the Volume line (the dry shampoo).

The Shampoo and Conditioner has a light, minty scent and a thick texture. I checked the ingredients, and it does still contain sulfates. I am not super happy about that (I switched to a sulfate-free line a few months ago and have seen a noticeable difference in the texture of my hair) but I decided to give it a try anyway. After using the Shampoo and Conditioner, my hair felt very clean and soft. I live in the South, so humidity is a major problem for me and my curly hair. One of the things that I loved most about these products is that my hair held the style, even after being outside in the heat and humidity for about an hour.

Verdict: I really loved how my hair looked and felt after using these products. However, I couldn't work them into my daily routine because they contain sulfates. If they changed up the composition to remove them, I would probably actually switch to this line because I love the scent and the feel.

The Dry Shampoo is definitely something I was excited to try as a new mom. It is awesome to be able to fully fix my hair one day and still look presentable for AT LEAST 2 more days. The shampoo and conditioner also lengthened the amount of time that my style would hold. It also helped hold the volume in my hair that will usually fall flat after a day of my hair being straight.
Verdict: This was a great dry shampoo. I will definitely continue to use this product-I am so excited use it in the future!

Disclosure: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Disclosure: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  - See more at: http://www.trishalyn.com/2014/07/herbal-essences-naked-voxbox/#sthash.NiXf9qcu.dpuf

Disclosure: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  - See more at: http://www.trishalyn.com/2014/07/herbal-essences-naked-voxbox/#sthash.NiXf9qcu.dpuf

Disclosure: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  - See more at: http://www.trishalyn.com/2014/07/herbal-essences-naked-voxbox/#sthash.NiXf9qcu.dpuf

34 Week Bumpdate and a 4D Ultrasoun

How far along? 34 weeks. Time is FLYING. 

Hubs wanted to be in the picture this week. I think he was feeling left out! This was not today, but Easter Sunday at church! (Wearing a Motherhood Maternity top, Gumption Gals pants, and Target shoes.)

Weight Gain: Forgot to update this last week. I have gained 25 pounds and little man is a CHUNK. 

How Big is Baby? Butternut Squash, 

Maternity Clothes? Nothing new, but I did break these pants out-super comfy. I wore them twice in one weekend. Shhh don't tell! 

Stretch Marks? Welp. Thomas moved/flipped head down, so I have a few new stretch marks on that side. 

Sleep? I think I may be some kind of pregnancy unicorn. I fall asleep amazingly easily, stay asleep except to get up to pee, MAYBE once, and have been able to fall back asleep until 7:30, 8 ish. I don't know why or how this changed, but I am NOT complaining!

Best Moment of the Week: I won a 4D ultrasound through a Facebook contest. I seriously have never won ANYTHING before so it was so exciting! We got to see him in 4D and even though he was super scrunched up, we can see a few features (like my nose!!!) and he was pursing his lips and even waved his fingers. I love him so much already :)

This his profile with his hands under his head. Very blurry from these pictures, but I will update with some more tomorrow! 

If you know what you are looking for, you can see his sweet nose and pursed lips!!

Movement: He is getting pretty scrunched in there, so his movements aren't as strong as they were before. But they are DEFINITELY still there!

Food Cravings: Fruit. Fruit. and more Fruit. And absolutely anything sweet. Carrot cake from Easter was yummy:)

Gender: Baby Selman is a BOY!!! We also finally decided on a full name- Thomas Michael Selman

What I Miss: Being able to bend over. Seriously took that one for granted. Being able to breathe through my nose. So underrated. Walking without waddling. 

What I'm looking forward to: Little man being here. Today more than ever I cannot wait to meet him!

Symptoms: Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Emotions: I basically cry all the time now. Happy, sad, no reason. And I am SO grumpy. Sorry everyone. 

Belly Button in or out?  Pretty shallow but still in My doctor says I apparently have a deep belly button so mine may not pop out at all.It continues to get more and more shallow, so we shall see!

Wedding rings on or off?  Off. So depressed.

Things I Need To Do: Well, we are in a temporary living situation, so I will not be setting up a full nursery until after Thomas is born. We are not going to do a house search AND move AND have to unpack and decorate with me being as pregnant as I am. So we will live in our current location for a few months then find somewhere to live. We are excited to have this opportunity to have the time to find a house that is perfect for us!

The fam jam on Easter. 

Linking up to: Tucker Up, Because Shanna Said So, The Pleated Poppy, and Get Your Pretty On

Pesto, Chicken, and Mozzarella Panini, or My First Ever Recipe Post

Y'all. I think I may just be a genius. Ever since moving to Montgomery and having a great kitchen I have been experimenting with new recipes. However, I have been eating a lot of sandwiches for lunch because they are quick and easy. I have been trying to spice things up in the lunch department, and I broke out the panini press the other day to try to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Then I started thinking about my time at Auburn and this great place called Bizilia's on College Street where I'm pretty sure I had my first panini ever. They had a ton of different types of paninis, but I ALWAYS got the chicken panini. It was creamy and flavorful and delicious and I knew I had to try to recreate it. I didnt have all the ingredients that they use, but I made my version of a chicken panini. If you want to try out this absolutely fool-proof recipe, check it out below!

Pesto, Chicken, and Mozzarella Panini
Makes 1 Sandwich

Ingredients
*2 slices of sourdough bread (I used sourdough because it's what I had. You can use rye or even fancy ciabatta. That would be super good).
*2 or so tsp store-bought Pesto (You could make your own. It would probably be better. But store-bought was easy).

This is the type of Pesto that I used. They sell it at Publix.

*Mayonnaise
*Half a chicken breast, sliced (you could use more or less, or omit it all together. Making 2 sandwiches would obviously use a whole chicken breast. I just prepared mine in the oven with salt and pepper).
*4 half inch slices of fresh mozzarella (you could use shredded, but the fresh stuff is just so much better and SO gooey!!)
*2 Campari tomatoes, sliced thinly (I used Campari because I bought them for other things. You could use regular tomatoes if you want, but I think the small size worked well for this sandwich.)

Directions
1. Preheat your panini press or griddle.
2.. Spread your bread of choice with mayonnaise.
3. Add half the pesto to one piece of bread and the other half to the other piece of bread. I used a heaping tsp and drained some of the oil off on the side of the jar.

4. Place 2 slices of the mozzarella on your bread.

5. Slice your chicken and place on the bread.
6. Add the tomatoes.

7. Add the other 2 slices of mozzarella. 
8. Place the other piece of bread on the sandwich and put it on your sandwich maker or panini press.

9. Close the lid to your press and cook for roughly 3-5 minutes.
10. Eat and enjoy the melty goodness.
11. Write me a thank you note because this is the best and easiest sandwich ever.

Y'all. So good. And gooey. And yummy. And flavorful. *Please excuse the mess on the table. I'm still learning about this whole food thing!*

Let me know if you try this-it is my new favorite sandwich and you should totally try it!

Week 33 Bumpdate, or Why Maxi Dresses are a Pregnant Girl's Best Friend

How far along? 32 weeks. I realized that I am technically in my 8th month as of today. I always thought it was just 9 months, but apparently it's closer to 10. Whoever made up the 9th month lie is just rude! So ready to meet my buddy!

Dress: (old), Gap-similar; Cardigan: Loft

Weight Gain: 19 pounds

How Big is Baby? Squash

Can we talk about how comfortable this outfit is? I wore it to the Easter music at our church this past Sunday, but didn't take a picture, so I knew I had to document it for today's post. 


Maternity Clothes? Maxi dresses are God's gift to pregnant women. Seriously. So comfy and easy to throw on, and you still look cute. Win win! 

Stretch Marks? Welp. Thomas moved/flipped head down, so I have a few new stretch marks on that side. 

Sleep? I think I may be some kind of pregnancy unicorn. I fall asleep amazingly easily, stay asleep except to get up to pee, MAYBE once, and have been able to fall back asleep until 7:30, 8 ish. I don't know why or how this changed, but I am NOT complaining!

Best Moment of the Week: Feeling Thomas move during the Easter music. Little man loves Gospel and blue grass! 

Movement: Little man has flipped, so I am feeling movement in places I didn't before. It is still the best part of being pregnant!

Food Cravings: Fruit. Fruit. and more Fruit. And absolutely anything sweet. I had chocolate cake from Zoe's this week, and it was MA-GI-CAL. 

Gender: Baby Selman is a BOY!!! We also finally decided on a full name- Thomas Michael Selman

What I Miss: Being able to bend over. Seriously took that one for granted. Being able to breathe through my nose. So underrated.

What I'm looking forward to: Well…the Selman family has moved to Montgomery. It is going to be a big change for us, but we are both so excited about this new opportunity and are taking life by storm! 

Symptoms: Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Emotions: I basically cry all the time now. Happy, sad, no reason. And I am SO grumpy. Sorry everyone. 

Belly Button in or out?  Pretty shallow but still in My doctor says I apparently have a deep belly button so mine may not pop out at all.It continues to get more and more shallow, so we shall see!

Wedding rings on or off?  Off. So depressed.

Things I Need To Do: Well, we are in a temporary living situation, so I will not be setting up a full nursery until after Thomas is born. We are not going to do a house search AND move AND have to unpack and decorate with me being as pregnant as I am. So we will live in our current location for a few months then find somewhere to live. We are excited to have this opportunity to have the time to find a house that is perfect for us!

Ben's shadow in these pictures cracks me up!

Linking up to: Because Shanna Said So, Tucker Up, The Pleated Poppy, and Get Your Pretty On. 

Bumpdate Week 32

Shirt, Motherhood Maternity- same shirt, solid colors; Skirt (old), Kohls- Similar

How far along? 32 weeks. I realized that I am technically in my 8th month as of today. I always thought it was just 9 months, but apparently it's closer to 10. Whoever made up the 9th month lie is just rude! So ready to meet my buddy!

Weight Gain: 19 pounds

How Big is Baby? Squash

Maternity Clothes? Got a few t-shirts. Wearing one of them in these pictures. Really trying to mix and match with things I already have to get more outfits!

Stretch Marks? Welp. Thomas moved/flipped head down, so I have a few new stretch marks on that side. 

Sleep? I think I may be some kind of pregnancy unicorn. I fall asleep amazingly easily, stay asleep except to get up to pee, MAYBE once, and have been able to fall back asleep until 7:30, 8 ish. I don't know why or how this changed, but I am NOT complaining!

Best Moment of the Week: I switched doctors, and I got to have another ultrasound. It was so exciting to see him and how much he is growing!

Movement: Little man has flipped, so I am feeling movement in places I didn't before. It is still the best part of being pregnant!

Food Cravings: Fruit. Fruit. and more Fruit. And absolutely anything sweet.

Gender: Baby Selman is a BOY!!! We also finally decided on a full name- Thomas Michael Selman

What I Miss: Being able to bend over. Seriously took that one for granted. Being able to breathe through my nose. So underrated.

What I'm looking forward to: Well…the Selman family has moved to Montgomery. It is going to be a big change for us, but we are both so excited about this new opportunity and are taking life by storm! 

Symptoms: Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Emotions: I basically cry all the time now. Happy, sad, no reason.

Belly Button in or out?  Pretty shallow but still in My doctor says I apparently have a deep belly button so mine may not pop out at all.It continues to get more and more shallow, so we shall see!

Wedding rings on or off?  Off. So depressed.

Things I Need To Do: Well, we are in a temporary living situation, so I will not be setting up a full nursery until after Thomas is born. We are not going to do a house search AND move AND have to unpack and decorate with me being as pregnant as I am. So we will live in our current location for a few months then find somewhere to live. We are excited to have this opportunity to have the time to find a house that is perfect for us!

So apparently your nose spreads when you are pregnant. Not a huge fan of that. 

Ellie girl had to join in on the picture taking fun. She is such a diva!

Linking up to Because Shanna Said So and Tucker Up

Bumpdate Week 30

How far along? 30 weeks. That. Is. Crazy. 8-10 weeks left on this little man. I cannot wait to meet him!

Photo by the amazing Chelsea Patricia Photography. More to come of these later!

Weight Gain: 16.5 pounds

How Big is Baby? Large Cabbage

Maternity Clothes? Same as before

Stretch Marks? No new ones to report. My stretch mark creme seems to be working really well at making the ones I do have fade away, so thats good.

Sleep? Well somehow by the grace of God I manage to sleep through the night most nights. But I have been waking up at about 4am and cant go back to sleep...so there's that.

Best Moment of the Week: My baby shower was pretty incredible. I hope to be able to share pictures from that soon! (And thank you to all the ladies who said they actually read this every week...makes me feel so good!) My mom also got to feel Thomas kick (and boy did he kick!) so that was exciting for her.

Movement: I've started having Braxton Hicks. Weird, and not really all that comfortable, but they dont hurt, so there's that.

Food Cravings: Fruit. Fruit. and more Fruit. And absolutely anything sweet.

Gender: Baby Selman is a BOY!!! We also finally decided on a full name- Thomas Michael Selman

What I Miss: Being able to bend over. Seriously took that one for granted. Being able to breathe through my nose. So underrated.

What I'm looking forward to A lot of changes are going to be happening in our lives in the next few weeks. None that I can share at this time, but I am so optimistic about our future as a family!

Symptoms: It's just pee city over here.

Emotions: I basically cry all the time now. Happy, sad, no reason.

Belly Button in or out?  Pretty shallow but still in My doctor says I apparently have a deep belly button so mine may not pop out at all.It continues to get more and more shallow, so we shall see!

Wedding rings on or off?  Off. So depressed.

Things I Need To Do: Oh dont even get me started. 

Me and the hubs after the baby shower. Boy do I love that man!! Photo again by Chelsea Patricia Photography. Isn't she the best??

Linking up to Tucker Up.