Whole 30 Days 2,3,4

The past few days have flown by (thankfully) and have been much less painless than the last round I tried to do back in December. Days 2 and 3 I was pretty tired, and on Day 3 I actually took a nap. It was glorious. I have noticed I am already sleeping so much sounder at night. I am actually sleeping through the night. Well until the dog wakes me up at 4am, but I'm go back to sleep without any problem. Anyways, here's the quick of what I have been eating.

Quick side note: On Day 3 I was presented with a challenge. I had to attend a going away party at my mom's house. She had made chicken and sausage gumbo (which is not compliant) and many guests brought over lots of delicious looking appetizers, sides, and desserts. I made bacon "topped" dates so I could have a snack. I even brought my own dinner, but didn't end up eating it until I got home.

Breakfasts- 2 eggs scrambled in ghee, Pederson's sugar free bacon, and a piece of fruit (banana, strawberries, or an orange.)

Lunches- Leftovers of Chicken, red potatoes, and green beans

Snacks- raw pecans, carrot sticks and guacamole, or fruit listed above

Dinners- Garlic and Lemon Chicken with red potatoes and green beans. (Days 2 & 3) I used a whole chicken instead of the chicken breasts and doubled the rest of the recipe.

Day 4- Grass Fed Roast in the pressure cooker with onions, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, balsamic vinegar, a dash of ACV (to make the broth taste more like bone broth), and beef broth. Sauteed brussell sprouts and baked sweet potatoes with a small dab of ghee.

Whole 30 Day 1 (January edition)

After a fun, food-filled, alcohol-filled, and company-filled holiday season I'm feeling pretty yucky! AND we went to New Orleans to celebrate my brother in-law's big 4-0. We ate and drank, and ate and drank. AND I gained 2 lbs from that trip even despite all of the walking we did for 2.5 days.
Since Russell and I didn't make it past day 5 back in January, we both agreed that we would start again after our trip to NOLA. SO here we are again, day 1.

Breakfast for day 1 was beef and veggie (cabbage, carrots, celery, calabasa squash, potatoes, and zuchinni) soup that my sweet mother in law made us on Saturday. I can't seem to get enough of this soup over the past few days.

Lunch- more soup and sliced carrots with some of the premade HEB guacamole, and some sliced strawberries.

Dinner- Thai Basil Beef with Zoodles. (Russell's favorite.) 

Today I also made one of my favorite snacks, Beef Jerky. Here's how I did it. But feel free to add any spices you make like.
Grass Fed Paleo Beef Jerkey 

2lbs Lean Sliced Beef cut into strips
1/4 cup Coconut Aminos
2 dashes Red Boat Fish Sauce 
1 tsp Black pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder  (optional)
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
**Red Pepper flakes if you like some spice!

Combine all of the above ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut the beef slices into small strips and add to the sauce you just made. Let the beef strips marinate for at least 2 hours. (24 hours is best but I rarely have that kind of patience when I'm making this.) 

Once you are done marinating, put your beef on the dehydrator trays. Make sure to allow some space between the pieces of beef. Turn your dehydrator on high and let cook for 5 hours.  Make sure to not over cook in the dehydrator.  You will get crispy beef instead of a chewier texture.
If you do not have a dehydrator you can do this in the oven. Cook the beef at 200 for at least 4 hours.

My Hard Reset (Caution maybe TMI)

I don't think I've ever been so sick in my 32 years. The stomach virus that is going around this year is intense. All 3 of us got the virus, Kannon first who complained of a tummy ache, had a fever, and was just plain fatigued for 2 days finally threw up on the 2nd night of the illness. I woke up the next morning (Friday) at 3:30 am and vomited and vomited for 4 hours. It was painful. Actually it was coming from both ends. IT.WAS.BAAAAD! But 4 days later I'm seeing the light. I'm still feeling a bit dizzy. I am trying to see some good coming from this. So here it is. I lost 5lbs, and I haven't had a craving for ANYTHING! I now want to try to start on my Paleo journey again. Whole 30 will have to wait until after a vacation in the beginning of January. (New Orleans is no place to try to be on a diet....) So here's my plan. Week days at home paleo, on the weekends I have the freedom to do as I please. I think this is a good place to start. I did this for many months after my Whole 30 in February and this is how I have kept most of the weight off. I will still post recipes that I use. So keep posted for what's to come!!!

Whole 30 (round 2) Day 4 & 5

I woke up on Day 4 with a clear head thinking to myself "Today is going to be a good day." Then about an hour into the morning I realized I was VERY angry at EVERYTHING. I got very upset at the grocery store about not being able to eat cheese (which I am VERY fond of). I was just very irritable and half way through the day I felt very tired. I also had no appetite. Food in general was just not appetizing. So food wise it was a good day, but mood wise it was bad.

Hand dipped beeswax candles

I'll just go on to Day 5 before sharing my meals because there's no good new here. I forgot to set my alarm the night before maybe because I was so tired but who really knows. Anyways, my day just didn't get off to a good start. I dropped K off at school and his teacher needed some help making some candles for a celebration next week. So I did that and it was very calming. I then got done doing the candles and the ladies setting up a Pop-Up Shop benefiting our school (Great Oak School) were in need of some help with some tasks. I ended up staying at school all day lending a helping hand. I returned home without any lunch only a Lara Bar (no, the real ones, not one I made hehe). On our way home there is this awesome new restaurant on the short cut to our neighborhood that has a big playground and sand pit for the kids. I had the thought "A sandwich and a beer on the patio sounds amazing." Well, Russell didn't object. In fact, he got really excited and agreed. So much for supporting each other. It's more like sabotaging each other. We went, enjoyed our beers and sandwich, Kannon had a blast playing on the playground and COVERED in sand. I am okay with my decision but I do have that twinge of regret.

Winter Pop-Up Shop

So today I start over again. Day 1. Let's see if I can make it to day 6 this week! ;)

As far as meals go this is how my compliant meals went.

Breakfast- Coffee with coconut milk & cinnamon, egg and banana (day 4 & 5)

Lunch- the trusty old Chicken salad salad

Dinner- Simple Roasted Chicken, with purple sweet potato fries (tossed in olive oil salt/pepper roasted in the oven with the chicken for about an hour), and brussell sprouts (sliced in half sauteed in ghee, salt, pepper, & garlic)

Purple Sweet Potato Fries

The Brussell Sprouts were the best part!

Whole 30 (round 2) Day 3

I thought day 2 was bad. Nope, I was completely wrong. Day 3 was not fun at all. My brain was so foggy and I was so hungry, fatigue and a dull annoying headache ALL.DAY.LONG! I did manage to get up and do a few things like run errands, take K to the park, and some things around the house. It took every single ounce of energy I had to get up and have a somewhat productive day. I was so thankful that I had leftovers for lunch and dinner. I thought about caving and getting a pizza but I stayed strong and did not. (Day 3 has been the day I fail in the past.) As far as meals go I made some fresh Zoodles and had leftovers for dinner.

Breakfast- Boiled egg and carrot sticks with almond butter, coffee with coconut milk and cinnamon

Lunch- Chicken Salad salad (anyone seeing a trend???)

Camren Kitty wanted some too

Snacks- pomegranate seeds, a few pieces of dried mango, handful of raw cashews, and a slice of bacon (one of the perks of W30!)

Dinner- Leftover Thai Basil Beef over zoodles. I added a few more veggies (same ones from the night before) and reheated in a saute pan. I also made a fresh batch of zoodles since we devoured them the night before.

Zoodles

I am so happy to have made it through day 3. Onto 4 we go!!!!

Whole 30 (round 2) Day 2

UGhhhhh. Let the food hangover begin. Day 2 was rough. I felt constantly hungry, had no energy, and had a touch of an annoying headache (this is all NORMAL and expected as I am detoxing. See Whole 30 timeline to keep up with what is normal) I ate too many snacks, but I was still compliant and had a successful day. I tried a new recipe for dinner that will be added to the meal rotation because it was amazing and quick and easy. I found it on the Whole 30 daily email that I receive. So let's begin...

Breakfast- Coffee with coconut milk and a dash of cinammon, 1 boiled egg and leftover turkey soup from Day 1

Snacks of raw cashews, pomegranate seeds, a few pieces of dried mango (I realized around 2 pm that I was snacking so much because I forgot to eat lunch. oops!)

Lunch- Chicken Salad Salad (Here's the recipe)

Dinner- Thai Basil Beef from Whole 30 daily email Here's how it goes. Add any veggies you'd like or subtract any veggies you don't like. Make it your own. Russell and I found this to be delicious! It wasn't the prettiest meal I've ever made, but we cannot wait to have it for dinner again tonight!

Thai Basil Beef

Thai Basil Beef
2 tbsp coconut oil
1lb of Grass-Fed Ground beef (or protein of your choice)
1/2 small yellow onion chopped
1/2 red bell pepper sliced
small handful of bamboo shoots (optional)
small handful of water chestnuts cut in half (optional)
Fresh or dried basil
2-3 tbsp Coconut aminos
1 dash Red Boat Fish sauce (optional)
Red Pepper flakes (optional) *I like mine spicy

*Serve over ghee sauteed zucchini noodles (or in the paleo world "Zoodles")

Melt your coconut oil over medium heat. Add ground beef and season with a little salt/pepper. When fully cooked add your chopped onion. Cook until the onion is translucent. Then add your bell pepper and other veggies cook 2-3 minutes then add your coconut aminos (and fish sauce if you are using it.) Also add your basil (and red pepper flakes) at this time and let cook for just a few minutes. When the veggies are cooked to your liking (I like my red bell pepper soft) serve over zoodles or eat alone. 

Whole 30 (round 2) Day 1 the Prep

I forgot a few things about Day 1 that I did to set myself up for success. These are things other than the cleaning out the fridge and pantry for my triggers.
For those who don't know what Whole 30 is, go here to learn more.

First off, GHEE!! Beautiful, golden, ghee! Or as some may know it, clarified BUTTER! It is just butter that has the dairy parts removed.
Instead of paying $9.99 for a small jar of ghee I pay $3.25 for Kerrygold Grass-Fed butter and I make my own ghee in 10 whole minutes. The stove and pan do all the work. All you have  to do is keep an eye on it for when it is ready. I use NomNom Paleo's recipe for ghee. (You will notice I have my favorite blogs for referencing all that is W30 and Paleo.)
Here's the link. Nom Nom Paleo's Ghee

Second, I forgot about my 4-5 days worth of paleo chicken salad. Now this one is a bit more complicated. This requires making your own mayo which is way easier than anyone could imagine.  This is Melissa Jowlan's Mayo video, check it out for paleo mayo instructions. It is the most delicious mayo you will ever taste.


I do a roasted chicken (recipe here Simple Roasted Chicken). Then take the meat off and put it in my mixer with a paddle. It shreds the chicken quickly and easily.  I then add celery, onion, garlic powder, green onions, parsley, pink himalayan salt/black pepper, and lastly fold in the mayo. Make sure to let this sit in the fridge for a few hours for the flavors to intensify.

 Chicken salad salad

I like to make this recipe weekly and then I have no excuse for not having lunch already made. I love putting the chicken salad over a green salad, adding any veggies I have around (carrots, celery, cucumbers, radish) and raw unsalted sunflower seeds. Then I dress with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I also like black pepper, and a dash of salt. 

Here's what you'll need:

Meat of a 3-5lb whole roasted chicken
1/2 stalk celery
2 tbsp of grated onion (white or yellow will do)
1 tbsp of garlic powder (more or less to fit your taste, I like a lot of garlic!)
2 green onions chopped
3 tops of fresh parsley chopped
~2 cups  mayo or one recipe from above
Salt and Pepper to taste

-Mix all of this together and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours for the best taste.  And then ENJOY!!!

Whole 30 (round 2) Day 1

I figure the best way to keep myself on track this time is to write about my journey. I had great success with my first Whole 30 but every time I try a second round I don't get past day 3. This time I feel is a bit different. I over did it at Thanksgiving (and the days following). I feel content with the decisions I made, but I'm ready to move past it and clean my body up again. So Day 1 was good and successful. Here's how it went.

Breakfast- Coffee with organic coconut milk and 2 boiled eggs. (clearly this meal was not well rounded, but I had not made a trip to the grocery store just yet.)

Lunch- The end of leftover turkey, homemade chicken broth, with carrots, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and a scrambled egg (similar to egg drop soup but with carrots.)

Snack- handful of raw cashews and 3 strawberries and 3 grapes

Dinner- Nomnompaleo's Cracklin' Chicken (http://nomnompaleo.com/post/74180911762/cracklin-chicken) roasted organic fingerling potatoes, sauteed garlic asparagus, 2 sliced strawberries with about a tablespoon of coconut milk.


I highly recommend the Cracklin' Chicken. It was delicious and very simple to make. The hardest part was the de-boning part. :)

Purple Drink

I can't really think of a name for this concoction. It turns out deep purple so "Purple Drink" it is. This is really delicious and is packed with good stuff!

1 cup frozen sweet cherries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup Chobani Greek yogurt (vanilla)
1 cup Coconut Milk
1 Banana
1 tsp ground flax seed

put all in the blender until smooth. You can add more or less coconut milk depending on how thick you like your drink.

Cheers to your health!!

Super Green Smoothie Recipe

Here is a recipe that is actually for the juicer, but I have tried it in my wonderful and fabulous Vitamix Blender and found that I like it better in the blender. SO, here it is. This recipe makes approx 2 large smoothies.

3-4 medium leafs of Kale rinsed
1 Small Handful of spinach rinsed
2 small apples, cut and cored (remember don't eat the seeds!)
1/2 cucumber
1 tsp ginger root
1/2 cup of water
1 lemon peeled and seeded

And to make it a bit sweeter, you can add a handful of green grapes!
Also, if you make more than you can drink, you can keep it in the fridge for 2 days! So CHEERS to your health!!

Skinny Green Tropical Smoothie

Lately I have been on a smoothie kick. I make 1-2 smoothies a day. I feel as though its better to blend all of these good things together and drink them raw than cooking them and reducing the vitamin content. And Kannon LOVES a smoothie. Today I came across this recipe and tried it. It was one of the best green smoothies I have tried yet! I did make some changes to it though. I used a tablespoon of coconut oil (yes that is weird but it has good fats in it). And water instead of coconut milk and shredded coconut. So, I since I loved it so much, I figured others may enjoy it too! So CHEERS to your health! And thanks Skinny Taste for the great recipe. I love this blog!!

Skinny Green Tropical Smoothie
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 2 • Serving Size: 1 3/4 cups • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 228 • Fat: 7.7 g • Protein: 10.2 g • Carb: 30.2 g • Fiber: 3.9 g • Sugar: 19.4 g
Sodium: 70.5 mg


Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup light coconut milk
• 6 oz fat free Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup fresh pineapple, cubed
• 1 ripe medium banana
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 tbsp sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 1/4 cups ice

Directions:

Put everything into the blender and blend until smooth. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

Garden Lasagna

So today I tried this recipe. I made a huge mess making it. At the end of making it, I was thinking to myself "this better be good or else..."
But it was the best veggie lasagna I have ever had. I did change a few things based on what I had at home. I used whole milk rather than 1% milk. I also used whole wheat noodles. I used the Ronzoni Healthy Harvest whole grain lasagna noodles. You couldn't even tell that they weren't regular noodles!!
Anyways, I wanted to share this amazing recipe with you all....
ENJOY!!!

Garden- Style Lasagna

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Garden- Style Lasagna

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time: 45 min

Cook Time: 60 min

For a low fat recipe, this one is unbelievable! We really enjoy the flavors, and it's even better the next day for leftovers.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped zucchini
2 cups chopped yellow squash
2 cups thinly sliced carrot
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
dash of nutmeg
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat cottage cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
9 pre-cooked lasagna noodles, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Spoon onion mixture into a large bowl.

3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and yellow squash; sauté 4 minutes or until tender and just beginning to brown. Add to onion mixture.

4. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add sliced carrot; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add chopped broccoli; sauté 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add to onion mixture. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss well to combine.

5. Place flour in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg; stir until smooth. Stir in spinach.

6. Combine cottage cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella; stir well. Spread 1/2 cup spinach mixture in bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over spinach mixture in dish; top with half of cottage cheese mixture, then half of vegetable mixture, and about 1 cup spinach mixture. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining spinach mixture on top of noodles; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.

7. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information per serving:
Serving size: 1/12th of the lasagna
Calories per serving: 286
Fat per serving: 4.52g
Saturated Fat per serving: 4.52g
Sugar per serving: 7.77g
Fiber per serving: 3g
Protein per serving: 20g
Cholesterol per serving: 26mg
Carbohydrates per serving: 33.45g

WW POINTS per serving:
Points Plus Program: 7 Old Points Program: 7

Source: RecipeGirl.com (Adapted from Cooking Light )

We have a walker on our hands...

Kannon turned 15 months on 12/12, just a few days ago. Seems like just yesterday he was just a little bitty baby! Yesterday, 12/14, my mom came by to drop off her dog and the in-laws were here helping diagnose a washing machine problem and also to drop off their dog. Everyone is traveling this weekend and Russell gets the job of dog sitter! While everyone was here Kannon decided to take his first steps. It was by accident too. He didn't realize that no one was holding onto his hand because he was holding a piece of toast and not someone's hand! He then took one small step and stopped, then took another and another before sitting down. He did this maybe 5 times yesterday! We are so excited and no proud of our little man!

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Soon to be Christmas....

Kannon had a blast on Halloween. As you can see he was a tiger. Specifically, Mike the Tiger!! (Geaux Tigers!) He really enjoyed seeing all the people. We sat in the front yard and handed out candy with Sunshine and PawPaw Wayne. Kannon even went to a few neighbors houses to say hello. He tried to crawl into each like he belonged there!

Then there was Thanksgiving....
Kannon absolutely LOVED Thanksgiving. We went over to the Eyring's house for Thanksgiving. Kannon had a blast playing with his cousins and visiting with family. Most of all, he LOVED the food. He ate a huge plate of food, but that wasn't surprising. We are so lucky to have such great cooks in the family!!!

And now onto Christmas. Russell and I have been slacking on the Christmas cheer this year. There's just a lot going on right now. Lots of decisions, decisions, decisions. Russell's job just moved even farther away and now he has quite the hike to get to and from work. So, we have recently been trying to get our house ready to put on the market. Our 'honey-do" list is quite lengthy still, but at least we have started. So, Christmas hasn't been on the top of our list. We finally put up our lights last night. We went and bought some new LED, energy star rated lights. And they are pretty cool! We still have ALL of our Christmas shopping to do too. YIKES!!! But I enjoy shopping so I won't complain... Wish us luck!

Time to start AGAIN...

So, I'm going to start making more of an effort to update more often. It has been a LONG time and since Kannon came along a lot has happened. We are gearing up for Halloween. I am looking forward to sitting outside and passing out candy with Kannon and Russell. And I can't believe its almost November. This year has gone extremely fast. Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. The weather is starting to cool off and its almost time to start making all the yummy food that goes along with that.
Hopefully, I will have some cute pics to share from Halloween.

Getting Greener....

So this past week Russell (with the help of his dad) planted a garden in our backyard. He planted several different kinds of tomatoes, jalapenos, bell peppers, green beans, watermelons, and some red potatoes. I bought a blackberry bush about a year ago and it has yet to have any berries on it until now. There are green berries all over that thing! Good thing I know someone that loves blackberries (Katherine).

In other news this week... My car got broken into at work on Wednesday. The jerks stole my radio (which I bought 3-4 years ago for $89 so it wasn't worth much), my purse which only had some change a dollar bill and some lip gloss, and my wallet which only had my insurance cards. So they didn't exactly get away with much. Just frustrated that I have to continue to go back to this place 3 times a week and not feel so safe as I did before.

Baby Bump news... Started my 17p shots (aka Hydroxyprogesterone). It's a tocolytic meaning it helps prevent contractions, to help prevent me from going into preterm labor (PTL). The home health care nurse that came also works at Texas Woman's Hospital on the Labor and Delivery Unit. She asked me my about my last pregnancy and I told her I was actually there when I went into labor and we knew a lot of the same people including my preceptor. But she was so nice and showed Russell how to give me the shots, which don't hurt as bad as I thought they would. It is an intramuscular injection that has to go into the ventrogluteal muscle (right above the bum) and the solution is oil based so its VERY thick. Anyways, the first few days I didn't feel any different but by Friday I was feeling very agitated and frustrated easily. Then Saturday I was so exhausted from my rough week at work that I had a complete break down. Not to mention that I'm 16 weeks today and quickly approaching that scary week 17! LOTS of emotions come along with having increased hormone levels, which most of us women can relate to. Anyways, on a good note I got a swift kick from Nugget last night which tells me he is getting bigger and stronger and will make his daddy a proud soccer player one day!

Getting Started

Since this is a new year, I figured it was a good time to try this whole "blogging" thing out. I hope to add things on here that are about Russell and I's adventures in "going green" and I'm sure I'll have plenty of other things to add that have nothing to do with going green. Our first attempt at "going green" was yesterday. We went to go test drive new cars, actually hybrids. The conclusion we came to was Prius, of course! It just makes sense... 50mpg and it has some really neat technology features. I'm super excited about having a new car and especially one that is reducing the amount of CO2 emissions and also saving money on gas! Also, this weekend Russell and I are going to try (notice the word TRY) to build a rain water collection system. This should be interesting so stay tuned!!!