One of my favorite memories of growing up in Panama as a toddler was the empanadero. This man would come up the hill on our block with a little cart ringing a cow bell. In his cart he had an array of empanadas. My favorite was always the plain cheese one. At least that’s what it sounded like to me as a child. I would get so excited and tell my parents that he was coming. Usually I ended up asking my grandfather for some change, and he always gave in. 

So here we are today in Pensacola, Florida. Nowhere near anyplace with authentic Hispanic foods. I found the best thing ever at Publix this weekend- frozen empanadas!! You’d think first trimester I would be crazy about frying them, but the smell of frying makes me sick right now. These empanadas are oven friendly! All I had to do was bake them for 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit- voila!  Baked is definitely healthier than fried 😉

  
It didn’t compare at all to the one from my childhood, but this will do for now. 

My diet has consisted of a lot of carbs, saltine crackers, and ginger snap cookies. These have been my best friends the last couple of weeks.

Tonight I was craving something cold and sweet. I took a peak into my freezer and found these sweet things I froze a few nights ago- green grapes! 

Super EASY! All you need is some grapes and freeze them a few hours. Enjoy!! 

  

Ice cream is one of my top comfort foods. The last couple of weeks dairy has not say well with me. I’m not sure if it’s part of the new morning sickness, or if this baby does not like dairy.

This ice cream alternative looks delicious!!

  

1. Freeze 6 bananas and 1 cup of strawberries
2. Blend 2 bananas with 1 tsp vanilla bean extract until creamy. Pour in glass bowl.
3. Blend 2 bananas with the frozen strawberries until creamy. Pour in the glass bowl.
4. Blend remaining frozen bananas with 1 tsp coconut oil and 2 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder until creamy. Pour in the glass bowl.
5. Now you have a Neopolitan “nice cream” 🙂

It’s funny how life works. My last post was about being more consistent with my food recipe sharing. Well, the day after that I felt nauseous for about a week, and I have not been wanting many foods at all. The thought of vegetables made me gag. 

Turns out our family is growing and we will have a real Labor Day this year! 

  
I will probably be actually having crazy cravings over the next couple of months, and I am beyond excited to share this new journey with you!

Xoxo

Cleo