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 )