Homemade Neapolitan Pizza Sauce

Ever since my friend Beth posted about her pizza sauce recipe, I've been dying to try it myself.  We are huge fans of Punch and the thought of recreating that wood-fired pizza at home got me so excited!  We added a little fresh garlic to ours.  

And started with a can of whole tomatoes.  I used Market Pantry, but I'm sure the San Marzano ones would be better. 

After draining and chopping the tomatoes, mush them up with a fork.  

Add a clove of pressed garlic, along with a pinch of salt, a few pinches of sugar, and a little dried oregano.  

And you've got homemade pizza sauce!  WAY better than the jarred stuff {we also use Preggo spaghetti sauce instead of pizza sauce}.  

Top on your favorite pizza dough and you've got yourself a good pizza! Maybe next time we'll throw the pizza dough directly on our grill for a real wood-fired pizza. 

Lose That Baby Weight

Ughhhh.  Losing the baby weight is no. fun. at. all.  Rarely will a movie star gain 30-50 pounds for a movie role, even if they are getting paid millions of dollars (and if they do, they likely win an Oscar for it!).  Moms, on the other hand, have to do it every few years!  I'm starting to feel like a yo-yo.

Of course our payment is in babies and not money, which is priceless.  :)

My story is similar to many other moms:  initially, the weight drops pretty quickly and easily. And then, the last 10 pounds.  They're like, stuck.  I've pretty much been gaining and losing the same 2 pounds for the last, um, two months?  Lack of sleep and little time to myself have probably not helped much either.

So now I'm starting to buckle down and get serious.  Clara just turned 3 months TODAY and I don't want to be carrying around baby weight for longer than I have to.  Here are two things that have really been helping me to stay motivated.

#1
First, I downloaded a free app on my smartphone that I am in love with.  It's called Calorie Counter by FatSecret.  It's a very simple and easy way to keep track of calories.  It even has - get this - a barcode scanner so you can just scan the barcode of the last granola bar (or two) that you ate.  :)  This has helped me tremendously to keep a food log, and I have become more aware of everything I put in my mouth. It's even kind of fun! The app has a weight tracker and an exercise diary which I have been using as well.

#2
Second, my new favorite thing is Zella workout clothing (found at Nordstroms).  I love their Live In Legging and bunched v-neck t-shirts (I'm not seeing these online), and really want this in white. Everything I've tried on by Zella is flattering, the shirts are longer, and super comfortable. Perfect to wear to the gym (or all day?).  It was a little splurge for me, but definitely worth it if it keeps me motivated, right?  

What about the other moms out there?  How did you lose your baby weight and what was your motivated?

We're Ready...

I must have the best followers in the world...after three weeks with no posts, you haven't given up on me, have you?  I truly thank you for being patient with me.  I got an email from my mom yesterday letting me know that I need to update my family picture on my blog from a family of three to a family of four.  Oh, and the "about  me" still says I'm expecting (thankfully, that no longer is true).  So I apologize for the lack of posts these past few weeks.

I plan to be back soon with some fun ideas of things to do with toddlers around the house. And homemade pizza sauce. So I'll leave you with a picture of "Callie C" and "Clara Lu," and if there was a caption it would say, "we're ready for spring!"