Author: Megan

Surprise!!! We are Expecting our FIRST Heaven-Sent-Blessing and we are OVER-THE-MOON ecstatic to finally say we are expecting a bundle of LOVE due to arrive in March 2019!!!

It has been a long time of praying and waiting but one thing is for certain; God’s timing is and will always be perfect.

Where do I begin to express my overwhelming joy, gratitude, and downright shock!  Perhaps to better explain our journey I will rewind the hands of time back to May 22, 2010, the wonderful day my husband Ryan and I were married.  Like most couples we wanted to enjoy a few months, even a year of our new chapter in life as newlyweds without starting a family right away.  Eventually though, when the time came to officially start to try for a baby, nothing happened.  One never thinks there would ever be an issue for something so natural?  I mean, most newlyweds don’t jump right into assuming they’re going to have problems having a baby…right?

Well, we were one of those couples where the months of trying turned into years.  I just chalked it up as this must be God’s plan. ‘Maybe we’re one of those couples that aren’t meant to have biological children?’  But after the years of anger and frustration, I found my peace and serenity of letting go and letting God especially over things I have no control.

Please don’t be fooled that I was always this logical and rational.  This way of thinking certainly did not happen overnight.  Rather it was after 4 years of being terribly disappointed that I eventually couldn’t take the pain of not being able to get pregnant and out of desperation, I started to change my way of thinking. This way of thinking just happened to coincide with Super Bowl Sunday 2015 after having our second failed IUI attempt.  An IUI, (Intrauterine Insemination) is a fertility treatment that involves placing the sperm inside a woman’s uterus to facilitate fertilization.  This procedure although harmless, is just as equally invasive.

I started praying and praying and praying. From that moment on, I felt an inner peace like nothing I had ever felt before and I  knew God heard me and if it was meant to happen according to His will, then it would happen.

Our infertility diagnosis fell into the “bucket of unexplained infertility.” Trust me, when I say,  I’m not sure what is harder to deal with; knowing what is wrong with you or not knowing what is wrong with you? This was a very scary and isolating place to be in for several years.  This diagnosis made my husband and me feel like the outcast toys sent to misfit island, except in our case, we were further cast offs placed onto yet ANOTHER island of malfunctioning toys that had something wrong with them, but no one could figure out what it was.

You watch family and friends continue to have children and it appears to be effortless for them to get pregnant. Or, you hear of  friends or coworkers talking about not being able to have their THIRD child!  Meanwhile I’m thinking to myself, ‘yeah, all we want is at least ONE child’!  With paralyzing thoughts of some major health problem or even cancer, I finally broke the cycle of worrying and put it ALL in God’s hands.

Unfortunately for me, the first year turned into more than 7 years. But as I quickly realized, we all have crosses to carry.   I started to notice something. Thanks to social media with many brave women sharing their stories, I realized there are many couples dealing with their own struggles. In this time where social media seems so fast paced and devoid of human interaction let alone of human emotion, there were people sharing their stories to help give hope to others. It was the first time I felt that this issue wasn’t just happening to us. Whether it’s others’ inability to get pregnant, stay pregnant, or to carry full-term, you know that many couples have suffered silently through this difficult emotional roller coaster. The one thing I did for myself was not to allow this issue to define me. Instead, I started to bloom where I was planted. I started doing the things that I wanted to do for myself and to do them now. I enjoyed the many trips my husband and I were able to take and really enjoyed visiting new places making our own memories. But most of all I allowed myself to LIVE.

I am here to share our news now from the other side of this devastating time in our life. Our baby girl is due to arrive in late March and we are not only HAPPY but very GRATEFUL.  God answered our prayers on His time, not ours. I am certainly not saying this will be the case for everyone going through this incredibly difficult journey, but if I am able to give the smallest glimmer of hope to any couples struggling, then I feel I have helped in a small way. During this magical time of the year that is filled with so many acknowledged blessings, blessings we are unaware of, and the many, many blessings to come, I would like to extend a heartfelt Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy and healthy New Year! Know you are NOT alone.

God Bless You All!

XOXO

Megan

Have you ever had a red meat craving? Generally, I don’t, and I am perfectly fine with eating ‘meat’ once in-awhile or even occasionally however, there are the few and far between cravings where my body wants a bit of red meat.

I’m not referring to a big ol’ steak or even prime rib on my plate because that form of ‘red meat’ has never appealed to me.  Now, if I’m cooking my own red meat like ground beef, steak stir fry, steak Stromboli or in this wonderfully delicious sirloin tip roast then yes, I will have some red meat for sure.

Sometimes I even hate to write about how I’m really only able to eat that I make, but when you suffer from digestive issues it becomes your reality. Meaning, you know what you are putting into any recipe and what offending ingredients you are leaving out.  I also know that if I’m making any food I don’t have to worry about any digestive discomfort hours to days after.  If you have a reaction, especially to gluten and dairy, you are very aware of how your food is prepared thus limiting what can and cannot be eaten. This not only can be difficult to make food but puts a strain on family when they are doing any of the cooking when you are present.

Anyway, on to my mom’s recipe, which I tweaked just a bit to accommodate my issues without taking away any of the flavor!  I look at my cooking as giving the gift of ‘delicious health’ to anyone eating food I have prepared! I suppose this is the humorous side of cooking with food intolerances!

My husband bought me an Instant pot, but I have yet to use it on my own and decided that since I really don’t know how it works, I’m going to stick with my ever trusted crockpot. I will blog on my instant pot later and definitely report back.

I have made this recipe where I have both seared the roast in a prior to placing it in the crockpot, as well as placing the entire roast into the crockpot without searing it. This step is entirely up to you. Once the meat is seared or not, turn your crockpot on high and place the meat in along with 1 diced green pepper, 1 medium diced onion, 3-4 cloves of diced fresh garlic, 1 fresh 4 oz container of mushrooms (I use baby bella brown mushrooms), and a packet of French onion seasoning (mine was from Frontier Soups), or feel free to use the Lipton French onion seasoning packet.

Set it on high and check occasionally over the next several hours and dinner is done!!!

XOXO,

Megan

Ingredients:

• Sirloin Tip Roast (I ask the butcher to cut it in chunks or into quarters)
• 1 large green pepper
• 1 container of fresh mushrooms
• 1 packet of French Onion seasoning packet (Lipton’s makes one readily available at most grocery stores)
• 1 medium onion
• 3-4 cloves of diced garlic

Directions:

Turn crockpot on high and add meat, diced green pepper, onion, garlic, sliced mushrooms, and seasoning pack of French onion. Cover with lid and check periodically.

Tis the season for the flu, colds and many unwelcome germs!  If you and your family are struck with these nasty intruders than a hot bowl of healthy and delicious soup is what the doctor ordered!  You probably already have the ingredients sitting in your pantry and refrigerator for this quick and easy soup.

With the holidays right around the corner options of food choices are no doubt endless. So having a lighter option even if you aren’t fighting off a cold, can be also what the doctor ordered to give your stomach a break especially from all the various foods enjoyed this time of year.

In a large pot, I start off with ‘my soup basics’ of onion, garlic, carrots and celery sautéing until the everything is tender and cooked enough before adding the other ingredients.  As this is cooking slowly, I am cutting up my other ingredients like fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, and zucchini as well as opening and rinsing the Cannellini beans for the soup.  When you are making any soup and not really following a recipe, which for me is most of the time, I will cut up any vegetable I think would blend nicely together with the current soup I’m making.  Unless, however it’s a specific soup like; Italian Wedding soup where following a recipe is needed!!

Not only is this soup easy to make but it’s such a healthy change from all of the holiday foods to enjoy and not feel guilty about.  Plus, think of it this way, you’re getting your daily serving of vegetables all in one or maybe two bowls!  So it’s a win, win recipe to try and definitely share!

Happy Holidays,

XOXO

Megan

Ingredients:

1 medium onion

3 cloves of garlic

3 stalks of celery

4 regular sized carrots

1 container of fresh mushrooms (slice them if they aren’t pre-sliced)

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes with the tomato juice (Optional: If I have fresh tomatoes I will chop and add the fresh ones too)

2 zucchini

2 32 oz. containers of vegetable stock

2 cans of Cannellini beans

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot add your onions, garlic, celery and carrots and sautee or cook until onions are translucent.
2. Add your can of tomatoes and chopped zucchini and mushrooms. Cook a few minutes before adding your 2 (32 ounce) containers of vegetable broth.
3. Rinse the Cannellini Beans thoroughly before adding them to the soup.
4. Reduce heat to low and stir until ready to serve.