Tag Archives: pregnancy

Baby Boy Blueberry is here!

6 Replies

Baby Boy Blueberry was born one day before his due date a few weeks ago!

I won’t go in to his full birth story, but I will share with you that I had a successful VBAC! Labor was really really long, which makes sense when you think that even though he’s my second baby my body had never done all the things it had to do before. Cupcake was delivered via c-section before I ever dilated or had too many real contraction.

1570114929187.jpg

All of the hard work was totally worth it.

1570113914251.jpg

My husband was amazing the entire time. He always is, but I got to see a whole new super hero side of him. He was the first to hold our son – he caught the baby! It was an amazing delivery in the end.

1570114163169.jpg

I cannot express in words how invaluable my doula was. Even if you have given birth before, I still definitely recommend a doula. It is so wonderful to have a knowledgeable third party looking out for you in the hospital. My husband was able to focus on comforting me while my doula gave him tips, listened out for what the nurses and doctors were telling me, helped me understand what was going on with my body, and ultimately cheered me on and helped me emotionally.

1570115206160.jpg

Cupcake is so smitten with her little brother. Of course, she’s being a total toddler with Mami and Daddy, but when it comes to her baby she’s being a total angel.

1570115086241.jpg

We are so grateful to God for these blessings ❤

Advertisement

Due Date Cookies

9 Replies

I am doing everything in my power to get baby boy Blueberry out in a natural way. One of the things I’m doing is eating 6 dates a day. According to studies, women who eat 75 grams of dates (approximately 6 deglet noor dates, or 3-4 medjool dates) a day for the last month of pregnancy have shorter & easier labors. Dates are also packed with nutrients like potassium and magnesium which help with with swelling and blood pressure. You can read all that Mama Natural has to say about them here.

The only problem is that I am not a fan of the taste of a plain date. Therefore I have been finding creative ways to get them in without just forcing myself to eat them. I’ve been putting them in smoothies, eating Larabars, making them into peanut butter balls, and baking these cookies. I found this recipe and tweaked it to make it more date-y and also a little more simple for the 9 months pregnant mama. There’s no waiting or chilling in my recipe – just whip up & bake!

Due Date Cookies - Mrs. Dessert Monster

Cupcake loves making these cookies with me, or as she says it “mixa con Mami”. I love toddler speak! She really enjoys eating these cookies, too. My husband said they were ‘good, not great’. He’s more of a chocolate chip guy. I told them they weren’t for him – they were for me and the baby!

Due Date Cookies - Mrs. Dessert Monster

Dates and walnuts go really well together, but I have also made these with a mix of walnuts, almonds, and pecans. You can’t go wrong with any or all of those nuts.

Due Date Cookies - Mrs. Dessert Monster

This recipe contains 24 dates and makes 24 cookies. Therefore with this recipe you can be saying 6 cookies a day instead of dates!

Please say a prayer for me as I approach delivery day!

Due Date Cookies

  • 24 pitted deglet noor dates (or 12-15 medjool)
  • 1 cup walnuts (or your favorite nut)
  • 1/2 cup room temperature butter (1 stick)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Using a food processor, chop the dates and walnuts together until they are broken up into very small pieces – a little bigger than a coarse meal. Alternatively, chop by hand to desired size. Set aside.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugar using stand or electric mixer.
  3. Add the egg & beat until incorporated. Then add vanilla.
  4. Mix in dry ingredients on low. When fully incorporated, add date/walnut mixture.
  5. Scoop 24 cookies onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake for 11-12 minutes, until bottoms just start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cool completely. Enjoy!

Pregnant Chocolate Mousse

3 Replies

Chocolate mousse is our tradition around here for New Year’s.  The only issue for New Year’s 2019 was that I had just found out about baby #2’s existence & my mousse recipe has raw eggs. This does not bother me one bit on a ‘normal’ day, but I do eat more carefully for my little ones. Inspired by my last pregnancy when I made pregnant tiramisu, I knew I could find a way to make this dessert pregnant-friendly, too. Turns out it was pretty easy!

The basic ingredients for my mousse are chocolate, butter, and a basic (French) meringue – just egg whites & sugar whipped together. Thanks to the Great British Bake Off, I have learned there are actually 3 types of meringues: French, Swiss, and Italian. French meringue is the only one where if you don’t bake it the eggs stay raw. Therefore I figured if I used one of the other types of meringue to make my mousse, the results should be similar to the original recipe while being pregnancy safe. I was right!

Mrs. Dessert Monster - Pregnant Chocolate Mousse

I chose to use an Italian meringue to make my New Year’s treat. The results were pretty close to my original! The consistency and flavor are about the same – maybe a touch sweeter. I enjoyed it so much that I made it again when my cousin & her family came to visit us for a few days in the spring. It’s one of her favorite desserts.

This was my first experience with Italian meringue. I was initially concerned that I didn’t do it properly because there was a good bit of sugar crusted in the sauce pan, but the meringue did fluff up nicely and was plenty sweet enough. I should probably invest in a candy thermometer instead of using my all purpose food thermometer. I should also mention that’s the only thing about Italian meringue – you really do need a thermometer to tell you when the sugar mixture is at the correct temperature. I haven’t played with it enough to know of any ‘hacks’ that will let you know when it’s ready without one. To be honest, getting burned is one of my biggest fears so I don’t think I’ll be playing around too much with molten sugar!

Mrs. Dessert Monster - Pregnant Chocolate Mousse

I am really happy with how this recipe turned out, and will consider making this one when I make mousse to share from now on!

1566342403448.jpg

Baby #2 is just a few weeks away from coming out! Cupcake is so looking forward to finally holding her baby brother.

Pregnant Chocolate Mousse

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips (one bag)
  • 1/2 lb butter (one stick)
  1. Combine sugar and water in a sauce pan. Heat over high heat until sugar syrup reaches 240°F on an instant read or candy thermometer. Brush down sides of sauce pan as necessary with a pastry brush dipped in water to minimize crusting.
  2. Combine egg whites and lemon juice in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Set mixer to medium speed and mix until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.
  3. Slowly drizzle hot sugar syrup into mixer bowl while it’s running. Increase speed to high and whip until meringue forms stiff peaks. Add vanilla while mixer is whipping.
  4. Melt chocolate chips & butter in a hot water bath.
  5. Gently fold melted chocolate mixture into meringue until smooth & uniform in color. Let it set in the fridge overnight either in individual servings or one large container. Serve on its own, or with fresh fruit.

 

Happy Mother’s Day!

1 Reply

Yesterday was my first Mother’s Day…that I knew about. One year ago today we found out about our sweet little Cupcake.

May 15th will always be a special day for our family.

wpid-1431956326285.jpg

We bought a house in 2015.

1494606662869

We became godparents in 2016.

We actually became godparents on the same day we realized we were parents. That is so special.

Looking at that picture above was what made me take a pregnancy test, actually. Was I just bloated, or could it possibly be…?

1494606588607

I posted this picture on social media as a “one year later” happy homeowner pic. Truthfully, this is the first photo of us as parents. After that first positive pregnancy test. After going to the store to get another one to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.

I wish we could find out about our babies the moment they’re conceived, but we are not that advanced yet. To find out the real exact moment we become parents. Those lines on a home pregnancy test (or 3) will have to do.

wp-1466168566123.jpg

From the moment the strip turned pink I was a different person. A mother.

I was carrying my child. My parents’ and in-laws’ grandchild. My siblings’ & siblings-in-laws’ niece. My friends’ godchild. So loved by everyone well before she came out of my body.

Not a ‘potential’; no longer just a hope & prayer. A real, living human being. 46 chromosomes. Irreplaceable & unrepeatable.

wp-1471653010604.jpg

Today, I’ve been a mom for a whole year.

1494787983177

Pregnant Tiramisu

5 Replies

I have been pretty good this pregnancy about following the guidelines of what not to eat. Not too paranoid, but definitely avoiding the basics.

No alcohol. No cold cuts. No sushi. Limited caffeine. Nothing with raw eggs.

Raw eggs is one that seems straight forward, but isn’t. Meringue frosting? Raw egg whites. Homemade mayonnaise dressings? Probably has raw eggs. Tiramisu? RAW EGGS.

I had never made tiramisu before, but earlier in my pregnancy I had a hankering for it & looked up some recipes to see if I could substitute the obvious non-pregnancy friendly ingredients out. I was surprised when nearly every recipe called for raw egg yolks, & some also use the raw egg whites!

I figured tiramisu was just one more thing I’d have to add to my  ‘No’ list. Until I came across this post by Lily from Little Sweet Baker. She did it! An amazing egg-free tiramisu recipe! With a few substitutions, baby & I could enjoy tiramisu after all!

wp-1481295139210.jpg

Not only is this recipe safe for pregnancy, it’s also amazingly simple – which is great since pregnancy brain is in full swing around here. To make the tiramisu truly pregnancy friendly I used decaf espresso & omitted the liquor. My husband & I switched to decaf espresso when we found out about the baby, so that was no issue. I also increased the amount of vanilla extract a little to ‘make up’ for the liquor taste.

wp-1481295192600.jpg

I ended up making this recipe several weeks ago when we had some friends over to watch a football game & it was a big hit! One of my friends is really sensitive to caffeine & was grateful for a decaf tiramisu recipe. So it’s not just pregnancy friendly!

wp-1481295184505.jpg

Serve with a decaf cappuccino & have yourself an (almost) authentic Italian night!

Pregnant Tiramisu

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1 cup mascarpone, softened
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cups decaf espresso, cooled
  • lady fingers
  • cocoa powder for dusting
  1. Using an electric mixer, beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix the mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla extract.. Add mixture to whipped cream and beat again until smooth.
  3. Dip each lady finger into the cooled espresso. Do not soak too long or they will get soggy. Line a 9×9 square baking dish with a layer of dipped lady fingers.
  4. Spread half of the cream mixture over the lady fingers. Repeat another layer of lady fingers & cream. Chill for a minimum of 4 hours, best if overnight.
  5. Dust with cocoa powder before serving. (If you do this before chilling the tiramisu, like I accidentally did, it will still be delicious! Just a little less pretty.)