house guests.

My parents are coming in for the holidays and I am ecstatic!  They are what most people consider healthy.....whole wheat grains, low fat, low carbs, etc....  but they are plagued with many physical ailments.  Every time they visit I like to provide a paleo menu so they know this way of eating is tasty and I'm hoping since they will be here for 12 days they may actually see some improvements in the way they feel while they are here.  We'll see....

So here is what I have planned for their visit (in no particular order):

Spiced Chicken with Mashed Plantains

South of the Border Acorn Squash

Prime Rib and fixins (this will be Christmas Dinner and probably not Paleo)

Steaks with Roasted Vegetables

Burgers with Sweet Potato Chips

Taco Salad

Tom Kha Gai Soup

Chili

We'll probably go out to eat a night or two and we will have my momma's lasagna on Christmas Eve.  Cause that's what I remember having growing up and I want it now that I'm grown :)

Meal Plan

Did you stop reading because in the last post I wrote by instead of buy?  Yeah, I realized that long after it was published and it's been in the back of my mind to fix it since then.  Unfortunately, there have been so many bigger things in the front of my mind I didn't get to it...  

This week I have planned to make what is listed below.  But, I woke up to no water so I'm not sure how life is gonna work for the next few days.  The pool is now serving as a place to wash hands for now....just added more chlorine...and we are finally going through the water we had stock piled for hurricanes.  I guess we could always eat canned chicken and saltines for dinner if need be....

Monday:  Rotisserie chicken and leftover fall roasted vegetables

Tuesday:  Sweet Steak Salad (if we have water)

Wednesday:  Sun-dried Tomato Meatballs and a veggie salad

Thursday:  Pizza

Friday:  Toss up?

Saturday:  Chili

Sunday:  Spiced chicken with plantains

Meal Plan

Everywhere you read these days you read something like "It's almost Christmas already?" or "This year went by so fast!"

Even though I'm feeling that way, I'm not gonna say it.  I just nod my head and agree every time someone else says it.

Speaking of nod.  Have you ever seen/heard of Land of Nod?  They have some super cute, unusual stuff for kiddos.  I like cute and unusual stuff.  Actually, it's the part of Christmas that plagues me the most.  For my family I want to get them stuff they want, but what do you do for those people you buy gifts for but don't want to get normal stuff.  I don't want to get my best friends t-shirts.  Unless it's this one....

or this one.....

Those are funny.  I would buy my friends those.  

You see what I mean though, right?  It's tricky to get the perfect "I know you enough to get you something cool, yet practical" gift....especially because there aren't many cool but practical gifts.  How did I get here?   Not quite sure.....   I guess I should just say, good luck with the rest of your Christmas shopping.  Don't let it get you down.  It's not what Christmas is about anyway.  It's about a little baby that came to save the world.  For that I am grateful....eternally grateful.  (you see what i did there?  ha!)

If you're still with me here's the menu for the week:

Monday- Sweet potato basil soup with sausage

Tuesday:  Spiced chicken with plantains

Wednesday:Thai- style steak salad

          - for soy sauce i'll use soy free tahini sauce
          - for sugar i'll use honey
          - for vegetable oil i'll use coconut or olive
          - for peanuts i'll use walnuts or almond slices
          - i may not use bean sprouts

Thursday:  Pizza

Friday: Steak and fall roasted veggies

Saturday:  Not sure.  Probably chili again....but I may do burgers instead.

Sunday:  1st birthday for my little one!  Menu tbd.

Meal Plan

Here is what the dinner menu is this week...

Monday:  Paleo Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti squash

Tuesday:  Tom Kha Gai Soup

Wednesday:  Curried Coconut Tilapia

Ingredients:
1 c. coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves (i get them at whole foods and store what i don't use in the freezer)
2 tsp. fish sauce
1 1-in. pc fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp. red curry paste
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 large shallot, sliced
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 lb. tilapia filets
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 c. toasted coconut

Bring milk to a simmer, add lime leaves and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in sauce, ginger and paste; set aside.  Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil on medium high, add shallots and sauté 5 minutes.  Toss with curry powder and add 1 more tbsp. olive oil.  Continue to sauté 5 minutes before adding fish filets in a single layer.  Cook filets 2 minutes on each side.  Pour milk blend over filets, top with cilantro and continue to sauté at a minimal boil for 508 minutes.  Serve over rice; top with coconut. 

You can find Kaffir Lime Leaves at Whole Foods.  I usually purchase a few boxes and store them in the freezer to have on hand for when I need them.  The Tom Kha Gai recipe calls for them as well....

Thursday:  Pizza

Friday:  Taco Salad

Saturday:  Chili

Sunday:  Roast

I don't think you're supposed to do that....

Today I ate Milk Duds while I ran.  I don't think you're supposed to do that.

It was the first time I have worked out in a l-o-n-g time and I abhor running.  Apart from my sister I don't think you would find someone who hates running more than me.  I am convinced if someone was chasing me I would not run...I would try to talk them out of it.  So I think today I ate chocolate on the warm up run as an attempt to condition my brain with positive reinforcement that working out is good.  It didn't really work....I felt kinda like garbage the rest of the workout.  But that's how I work.  I have a degree in psychology.  That's why I would attempt to talk my chaser out of chasing me.  To prove my point I will tell you a little story....

When I was in high school I was on the track team.  I was a three sport athlete and track was in the spring making it the last sport of the school year.  Which meant I was in the best shape by then...with two other sports seasons under my belt I didn't have to get in shape again after summer break.  Our track team was exceptionally small and not especially talented, so while my event was high jump every meet I filled in wherever they needed me so we would not have to forfeit.  This meant I ran everything from the 100m dash to the 2 mile (worse than childbirth) so my daily practices included everything that could prepare me for these races and everything in between.  I say all this so you can see I was in tip top shape...best shape of my life...and I always came in last.  Or close to it.... One race the announcer actually got on the loud speaker and announced to the meet workers not to put the hurdles on the track because there was still one runner running.  I waved proudly to the audience as I strutted on by.  I am not designed to run.  My blood vessels are not shaped to provide enough oxygen to my heart to run.  They all get stuck in my face turning me an alarming shade of red after only 10 meters.  It's not something I have to adjust to and get into cardiovascular shape....it's just not a strength.  Just like some people are artistic and others are not....Some people are runners and some are not.  I am not.

So today I was grabbing at straws to make running more enjoyable.  I actually said something untrue and unkind to my husband while we were running because that's what it does to me....puts me in a dark place.  I hurt his feelings and I am sorry.  Don't worry, he got back at me by including sprints in my workout combo.  Joke was on me. I was not laughing.  I was wheezing...close to passing out.

Here was my workout today:
Warmup:  running, stretching
Strength:  Squats 3 sets of 8 @ 65lbs
Combo:  3 Rounds-
               Box jumps (and by box jumps I mean large tree stump jumps) x10
               Pull ups x5
               Clean and jerk with rock, throw rock over branch x5
               Sprint to tree and back x2

Fallen

I am off the wagon.  I'm so far off the wagon I cannot even see it.  It was nowhere in sight while I was in the McDonalds drive-through getting two egg and cheese biscuit sandwiches for breakfast.  Yep, that's right.  McDonalds.  Only for breakfast though and no meat.  Never any meat.

Did Thanksgiving do that to you too?

So this week I'll be getting it together.  I'm sensing a theme here...getting things together.  Surely that is not supposed to be an ongoing goal.  At some point I should attain it and actually have myself together, right?  Whole Foods is going to be my first stop today in hopes of advancing towards achievement.  I'm going to buy the things for these meals:

Monday: Steaks and Roasted Vegetables

Tuesday: Sweet Pepper Steak
          Sub coconut oil or EVOO for vegetable oil
          Sub arrowroot for cornstarch
          Will use tamari sauce instead of regular soy sauce
          Eliminate the sugar.  May use honey, but probably won't.
          Will serve over cauliflower rice 

Wednesday:  Paleo Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti squash

Thursday:  Pizza  (ok, a setback....)

Friday:  Chicken Soup  (this is something my husband does every so often.  It's basically chicken broth and he has no recipe.)

Saturday:  Chili

Not much for you....

I don't have much for you this week.  With Thanksgiving looming (what?!) and a fridge packed with lettuce and little else I will be making salads, several salads, over the next few days.

So let's revisit this Thanksgiving thing.  How did that happen?  I know it is early this year, but holy smokes I was not prepared for it.  So much so that we don't have any plans.  We have been invited to a few places, but I'm not sure what we're going to do.  See, I have control issues when it comes to holiday meals.  A few years back we went to some good friends for the Thanksgiving holiday and (forgive me if I offend you with this story) the food just wasn't good.  Wait.  It wasn't that it wasn't good, it was simply that it wasn't what I was used to.  I am Dutch.  I am from the midwest.  That means we have mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cornbread casserole, green bean casserole, jello salad, baked beans, ham, turkey, rolls, stuffing, and pies.  And in my family everything that can be made homemade is.  The mashed potatoes and stuffing are not from a box.  The pies are not from the bakery section of the grocery store.  That's just not how I was raised.  So when the food was presented and not one of those items was on table and the only homemade thing there was what I brought I lost it.  Well, I kept it together until we got in the car and then I lost it.  I mourned for "my" Thanksgiving dinner.  You know what I mean right....on certain days (holidays especially) you just expect certain things.

That day was a huge learning experience.  I now know I have control issues in the kitchen on holidays and I have no trouble hosting.  You can bring the football team, just let me cook what I want to cook and we will be just fine.  Surely I cannot be the only person who feels this way.

The only things I'm putting on the menu this week are Mango Chicken Salad and Sweet Steak Salad.  We may have a random thing here or there, but mainly I am not planning on making anything besides those to things and the aforementioned Thanksgiving dinner.  And no, it probably won't be paleo.   For reasons I just explained.  This meal is worth it to me to cave.....You can see more on my reasonings on this post.

A story and a Meal plan

We have a dog.  A four legged family member.  A German Shepherd.  She lives outside mostly but comes inside at night.

We also have a large yard (1.25 acres) with a lot of wild vegetation on it.

We now have a tick problem.  In the 8 years since we have had her and the almost 3 years we have been in our house I have never seen a tick or a flea.  She is on prevention medicine and I've never even thought about it.  So on Friday when my in-laws were visiting and Grandpa noticed a "mole" on my sons head that turned out to be a tick I freaked out momentarily, felt like I had bugs crawling all over me, and then remembered he had been wearing a sweatshirt with the hood on he has worn to school so I figured he picked it up there on the playground.  Well, last night I gave him a bath and found another tick.  I also found two mysterious looking bugs underneath the windows, by the dog bed but had no idea what they were and neither did my husband.  After I found the tick in the boys head my husband did some research and those mystery bugs were engorged american dog ticks.  Since then we have found several more and I. am. freaking. out.  The dog is in quarantine and I am frantically trying to coordinate the outside exterminator with the inside exterminator and the vet all at the same time since it is no use to treat one at a different time than the rest.  Can I just tell you I feel so disgusting and dirty.  I know it's not the cleanliness of my house that determines this infestation; nevertheless it's the way I feel.  I want to get a hotel room and fumigate my house.  I need help.  Emotionally and physically.

So doesn't that story make you want to take cooking advice from me?  Surely it does.  I promise you I am not a dirty person.  And anyway, I don't provide you any food I just give you other peoples recipes...

Monday:  Leftovers.  We have steak, shredded chicken, and chili so we will be clearing out the fridge today before stuff gets thrown out.

Tuesday:  Taco Salad  (here is the seasoning recipe I use)

Wednesday:  Meatloaf

Thursday:  Pizza

Friday:  Aloo Gobi

Saturday:  Chili

Last Weeks Meal Plan

I am not a single mother and so when my husbands schedule becomes crazy hectic and I turn into one I do not deal well.  I applaud single parents everywhere.  There cannot be a more difficult job.  This past week and this next week to come I will not see the husband much at all so I have tried to make meals that will be good whenever he gets home.  So here is last weeks and I will post another of this week.

Monday:  South of the border acorn squash.  I used the recipe from Paleo Comfort Food, but this is identical.  I used ground beef instead and it was delish.  One of the husbands favorites.

Tuesday:  Spiced chicken with mashed plantains.

Wednesday:  Salad with shredded chicken, grapes, walnuts, and avocado.

Thursday:  Pizza.

Friday:  Steak with roasted fall vegetables.  Normally if I make this for just us I leave out the red potatoes, but my in-laws were in town so to make it go a little further I threw the potatoes in the mix.  I actually like it better without them.

Saturday:  We went out to eat to our favorite place Leftovers.  I had plantain and butternut crusted chicken over greens with pears, watermelon, and a cactus pear dressing.  It was so delicious I can't even describe it.

October is Over! and, a meal plan.

holy smokes.  october was brutal.  there wasn't any one big thing that kept me struggling to keep my head above water, instead, it was a million small things that almost sunk me.  just when i thought we were in the clear, wham, something else.  life is like that though, right?  so i shouldn't let the 14 of you who were reading this blog regularly suffer.  i'll try not to do it again, but lets face it....i probably will at some point.  just give me grace.

so i'm starting the month of november with my meal plan.  it's been cooler this week so i'm inspired to make fall type stuff.  and by cool i mean mid-70's.....that's sweater weather here.

Monday:  Steak and fall roasted veggies.

Tuesday:  Tom Kha Gai soup  this isn't the exact recipe i'll use (mine is from paleo comfort food cookbook) but it is similar enough

Wednesday:  South of the Border Acorn Squash  again, my recipe is from the above mentioned cookbook but this looks like it.

Thursday:  Pizza

Friday:  Leftovers

Saturday:  Chili

Sunday:  Roast

Meal Plan- crockpot meals

As I mentioned in my previous post the next few weeks are going to be, well, nuts.  So with the exception of today and Thursday I am making crockpot meals.  Most of these recipes are from Paleomg and no, I'm not being paid for advertising.  So without further adieu...

Sunday:  Steaks and sweet potato soup

Monday:  Crockpot Ropa Vieja with Cuban Style Rice

Tuesday:  Honey Ginger Apple Shredded Chicken (her recipe calls for pork)  I am also going to go on a limb and will put acorn squash on the bottom of the crockpot.  Too risky?

Wednesday:  Slow cooker chicken with some sort of veggie.

Thursday:  Pizza

Friday:  Sweet Potato Lasagna.  This is not a crockpot recipe, but I've made it several times and think it can be.

Saturday:  Chili.  Sorry if you're getting tired of this...we obviously are not.

Meal Plan Review

It looks like if I don't have to write my daily food log I don't write much at all....my apologies.  I'd like to give you a little glimpse at what is going on in our life:  we are in the home stretch of finalizing the adoption of our little boy.  This means paperwork, meetings, background checks, etc....  So give me some grace over the next few weeks as we rush to get everything (plus lots of other stuff) done over the next few weeks.  This, plus my husband was off work last week so we attempted to "unplug" and share some wonderful time together. Too bad he has to work....it was fun having him home with us!

It is now almost a week after completing the w30 and I'm doing pretty well.  Natural sugars is the only thing I have included in my diet on a consistent basis, so now I follow what is considered normal paleo- mostly.  I had pizza on Thursday, a few slices of parmesan cheese one day, and then last night a friend brought over some apple crisp like dessert that was not at all paleo....but it was good!  And really, that's pretty much it.  I have yet to have any alcohol and I'm not sure why.  I haven't wanted to have any while the kids are awake and then when they go to bed I haven't really wanted it.  Strange, I know.  If I can keep this balance up I'll do just great.


Do you really care though?  What you probably want to know is how my meals turned out this week.  I know, you're dying in suspense.  Well, then have no fear....here is the outcome.  I actually hardly followed it at all.  Whoops.

Sunday:  Leftover chili.  I used 4 lbs of beef for chili thinking we normally have very few leftovers....but we ended up having one less person to eat it so we had TONS of leftovers.  Think lunch everyday tons.  So that got me out of cooking anything on Sunday.  You're welcome me.

Monday:  We spent the day at Seaworld and on our way home we stopped at Whole Foods for dinner.  I got a hamburger on a bed of lettuce with onion, tomato, and ketchup and a plate of fresh fruit.  I was very proud of myself for passing up what looked to be a delicious turkey sandwich on a pretzel roll (what?!) for lunch and pizza for dinner.  Fortunately, that pizza craving was quenched a few days later.

Tuesday:  Taco Salad (seasoning recipe)

Wednesday:  I was going to stop to pick up a rotesserie chicken from Publix, but I found this recipe compliments of Pinterest and instead used my slowcooker to cook my own chicken.  Instead of using a whole chicken, I used chicken breast and this meal was D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.  I mean, really good.  I made sure my plantains were a little more brown this time and so the plantain mash came out much better too.  I also don't measure my coconut milk and simply add it to the processor until my desired consistency is reached.

Thursday:  Pizza.  Yum.  Man have I missed this!  I felt some minor crummies in my tummy afterward, but nothing too bad. I don't know if that's because it's been missing from my diet or because that's just what it does to me.

Friday:  Cabbage enchiladas.  These turned out pretty good.  I doubled the recipe of meat and I think I ended up using 7 cabbage leaves so a perfect amount for my fam.  I also used tomato sauce instead of the paste and broth and it turned out tasting good.  The sauce is what adds flavor to this dish so you want to make sure you don't skimp on it.  Also, taste the sauce as you go along to make sure it has enough flavor for you...

Saturday:  Can you guess?  That's right. chili.  This time though, I cooked in a surprise.  We got an order of beef sausage from our local market Terre Verde and I added that to the chili.  I also got a new brand of hot sauce which is much hotter and had to sub red wine vinegar with sherry vinegar...the results were amazing.  I was sweating by the end of my bowl (but I'm a huge wuss with spicy stuff) so I don't know how those boys did it adding jalapeños to it.  Phew...

I'm done

So my 30 days are done. Phew.

To sum it up, I didn't feel any different.  After I got over those first few days of caffeine withdrawal I kept waiting for the extra energy to kick in.  But all I did was wait.....I still got occasional headaches, I was still tired during the day, I still had aches and pains....I wasn't plagued with them, but I got them once in a while over the course of 30 days.  So in a way, that's a relief.  "What?" you say.  Well, let me explain.  While I wish I would have gotten the energy of a 13 year old and felt amazing, the fact I didn't notice any changes makes me believe I was doing it as right as I can before this 30 days.  That means I can go back to a glass of wine a night, some pizza on Thursday, coffee creamer in coffee, and that occasional dark chocolate treat.  I figure I must make good enough choices on a regular basis that those indulgences don't do the damage to my body that I wondered about.

So two days after the program ended I am still doing well.  The past two mornings I made smoothies and reintroduced protein powder.  One scoop of egg white protein powder contains 23g of protein....more than I was getting out of those nasty eggs.  We spent the day at Seaworld yesterday and after getting a venti decaf pumpkin spice latte with no whip cream (at 400 cal and 60g of sugar!) I stuck to a paleo day.  I had a cobb salad for lunch and got a hamburger on a bed of lettuce from Whole Foods on our way home.  Today I had chili for lunch and a taco salad for dinner.  I attempted to make my own pumpkin spice creamer, but it was a fail.  Yelk.  Opened that so delicious coconut creamer right up and enjoyed that instead.    Then, after dinner I had some chocolate.  I have yet to introduce alcohol or gluten into my system yet.  However, my children were a little nuts today so I don't know how much longer I can hold off on wine!  And it'll be awfully difficult to hold back from pizza on Thursday.....  we shall see!

As for my skin.  That sucked.  I didn't have many expectations for my body during this, but I was expecting more from my skin.  I am not sure I thought I would have supermodel airbrushed skin, but I thought it would be better.  It wasn't.  I may not have been as flushed, but I still had some redness and acne like spots.  Nuts.  Definitely not worth the 30 days sans coffee...

Meal Plan

Today is my last day of w30.  Wowza.  It was much easier this time around and sometime next week I'll give you the recap of it all, but currently I am trying to catch up on this while the baby is yelling at me from his crib and I have limited time until I leave for church....

Sunday:  Roast..seasonings I use here

Monday:  Cabbage enchiladas

Tuesday:  Hamburgers with sweet potato fries

Wednesday:  A rotisserie chicken from Publix over plantain mash

Thursday:  PIZZA!!!!  FINALLY!!!!!

Friday:   Salad with veggies and shredded chicken

Saturday:  Chili

Meal Plan Review and w30- day 29

Sorry about the delay in the meal plan review....the hubs was working on an awesome promotional video for c7f.  You can check it out on youtube here.  So since he was hogging the computer and my little one was hogging the iPad...I relaxed.  Started to read a new book-  The Book Thief.  Ever read it? Interesting so far.

I also had to get the chickens ready for transfer.  Their new family came to pick them up and wouldn't you know, we knew them.  Their little girl is in the same preschool class as D....small world.  I'm feeling really good about this now because I know they will be treated as pets, not simply as the livestock that they are.

Review:
Sunday:We went to a restaurant and I ordered a bacon mango salad with coconut chicken.  I 86'd the dressing and cheese, but I have a strong feeling the chicken included ingredients that were not w30 approved.  I promise you this was my only questionable choice in the last 29 days.  I didn't even lick my fingers when making dessert for a church function.  Ehh....I tried.

Monday:  Our order of meat didn't go through so we didn't have any ground beef...so instead we had Shredded chicken over mashed plantains.  It was really good.  I used chicken because I don't like pork and didn't use the beef broth because I didn't have any broth that was w30 approved...and I already messed up once.
you
Tuesday:  Taco Salad  (seasoning recipe)

Wednesday:  Steaks with broccoli and brussel sprouts.  I roasted the broccoli; steamed the brussel sprouts then put them in the oven with bacon while the steaks finished cooking.

Thursday:  Stir-fry.  It was gross.  I thought I had stir fry veggies, but instead I only had carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli so that over a bed of mashed cauliflower and chicken.  Plus, my coconut aminos ran out so it didn't have any flavor.  It wasn't good folks...make sure you have plenty of ingredients for stir-fry.  I was tempted to cheat and use tamari sauce, but I already feel guilty....

Friday:  I ended up scrounging around the house.  We did a lot of yard work so I gave the little man chicken nuggets, while the adults ate on our own.

Saturday:  Chili.  So good.



W30- Day 29
Breakfast:  frittata- with eggs, bacon, olive, tomatoes, avocado

Lunch:  larabar...and i forget.

Dinner:  chili

Chicka, chicka, bye bye

I am a terrible chicken mother.  When we first got them a few years ago I really had no expectations of them living this long and so never thought about having them long term.  I have been told our chickens are "a bit of a conundrum" around our area.  They stay in our (and neighbors) yard with no fence and they have lived almost 2 years.  I blame the busy street in our front yard and crazy dog on the other side of the house for the first and our guardian German Shepherd for the second.  So I cannot believe I have just given them away.  How terrible am I?  Terrible, I know.  And, I don't even have a good reason.  They are really good chickens, the kids love them, and they are very low maintenance on a day to day basis.  The thing though, is that they are really, really, really dirty.  Dog poo is one thing in my yard.....it is difficult to miss those piles and they are easily cleaned.  But, chicken poo....let me tell you...it's everywhere.  It's in my garage, it's by my front door, it's by my back door, on the driveway, etc....everywhere.  So that's one reason.  I'm tired of feeling like my house and myself are really dirty.  It's really embarrassing telling guest after guest not to step in the chicken poop as they come to the front door.  The second reason is now that Adam is doing more personal training on his days off it has become increasingly more difficult to find time to clean the coop.  We have a large, poorly designed coop that is a bear to clean....so it takes a lot of time to dedicate to clean.  Time I no longer have.  And my chickens seem to be picky...they don't lay when the coop is dirty.  So, lately, no eggs.   Let me translate:  very few eggs + poop everywhere= relocation.  Sorry, that's the way it is.  I am a little sad about it. I feel like I've failed them.  Especially when I told D and he got really sad and asked me not to give them away because "he loves them."  Then he talked about the new family giving them away or bringing them back.  It's really difficult to explain this type of thing to a 4 year old.  I hope this does not translate in his little mind that if he is really dirty he can switch a family too....or wait?  Maybe this can be good ammunition later in life....just kidding.  I'd never do that.

So off they go later tonight or tomorrow...sorry but they are just livestock.  At least I didn't take them to the butcher.

Breakfast:  2 morning glory muffins

Lunch:  left over stir fry

Dinner:  turkey, sweet potato soup, apple

w30- day 27

My household woke up crabby this morning.  Jesh.  Wish I had some coffee to help me deal.  Luckily, the little one went off to school, my husband and I got in a workout, and the baby (after cutting his first tooth) went to sleep for a long afternoon nap.  Ahh...hear that?  Silence!  It hasn't been that way in a few days.  So after getting some things done around the house, Adam took D to martial arts while I went around and put up flyers for Free Chickens.  We have decided to give away our chickens and I am feeling very torn about this....story to come tomorrow.

Breakfast:  2 muffins (we ran out of eggs...hence the chickens going away)

Lunch:  leftover chicken and plantain mash

Dinner:  chicken stir-fry

Snack:  carrots and sun-butter

30-day 26

I said my peace in my previous post when I was catching up on yesterday.  We are out of eggs and our chickens are on strike since I haven't cleaned their coop in, well, too long.  So today is going to be a day of random eating.

Breakfast:  2 muffins, some chicken

Lunch: taco salad

Dinner: chicken with plantain mash

w30- day 25

My little man is still recovering from the stomach flu and is home watching movies and playing games again today.  So add that to my husbands crazy work schedule this week and we have one screwed up schedule.  We have been ordering our meat from a local farm store and haven't been able to pick it up yet, so I've had to switch quite a bit of the meal plan around.  If friends come over tonight, despite the house being tainted with the flu virus, we'll have steaks.  If not....leftovers.  Nothing but the best for my fam :)

Here was yesterday's day in food:

Breakfast:  2 muffins, 2 hard boiled eggs

Lunch:  Taco Salad

Dinner:  Chicken with plaintain mash.  Oh boy was that good.  Check back on Saturday for the complete recap.  

Snack:  carrots with sun butter

w30- day 24

Phew....my little four year old has been sick, making it much harder to keep up with things around here.   I'm hoping to pull myself together soon...probably not until he gets back to school.

Breakfast:  2 muffins, turkey

Lunch:  sweet potato soup, chicken, "apple pie"  (recipe coming soon)

Dinner:  taco salad

Snack:  Apple pie

Meal Plan

Sunday:  Heading out to a restaurant with some friends visiting from Indiana...wish me luck :)

Monday:  Buffalo Chicken and Sweet Potato Meatza

Tuesday:  Steaks with broccoli and/or brussel sprouts

Wednesday:  Shredded chicken over mashed plantains  (i know the link is for pork, but i don't like pork so i'll sub chicken)

Thursday:  Taco Salad

Friday:  Stir-fry.  I'll use frozen stir fry mix and instead of soy sauce i'll use coconut aminos and fish sauce. It'll be served over a bed of cauliflower rice. 

Saturday:  Chili

Meal Plan Review

This week was such a blur I don't even remember what happened in my kitchen....  Phew, I hope this week is less chaotic!

Monday:  I was feeling under the weather and we had a bunch of shredded chicken in the fridge so we ate salad with chicken, bacon, mango and veggies

Tuesday:  Curried Coconut Tilapia with cauliflower rice.  I got this recipe from the kaffir lime leaves box.  It was really good!  I do not like fish and this was good.  I only got to eat half my fish though because my 4 year old kept eating off my plate!  Here's the recipe....I assume since they put it in the box for you it is legal to share:

Ingredients:
1 c. coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves (i get them at whole foods and store what i don't use in the freezer)
2 tsp. fish sauce
1 1-in. pc fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp. red curry paste
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 large shallot, sliced
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 lb. tilapia filets
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 c. toasted coconut

Bring milk to a simmer, add lime leaves and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in sauce, ginger and paste; set aside.  Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil on medium high, add shallots and sauté 5 minutes.  Toss with curry powder and add 1 more tbsp. olive oil.  Continue to sauté 5 minutes before adding fish filets in a single layer.  Cook filets 2 minutes on each side.  Pour milk blend over filets, top with cilantro and continue to sauté at a minimal boil for 508 minutes.  Serve over rice; top with coconut.

Wednesday:  Sweet Pepper Steak.  It was descent.  Nothing spectacular, but for a quick meal it was perfect.  Here are the changes I made:
          Sub coconut oil or EVOO for vegetable oil
          Sub arrowroot for cornstarch
          Will use tamari sauce instead of regular soy sauce
          Eliminate the sugar.  May use honey, but probably won't.
          Will serve over cauliflower rice or salad

Thursday:  Sweet Potato Lasagna.  This is such a delicious meal.  I double the recipe and instead of making enchiladas I use my slicer thingamabob on my food processor and make a lasagna instead.  Also, instead of frying all those slices I throw them on a pan in the oven to get them soft.  I fried them the first time I made this and it did add flavor, but used up a lot of time.  So, you can decide what you prefer.  Also, I think I am going to try this in the crockpot next time.  Just brown the meat and make the sauce...throw in the crock pot on low 6 hours or so and I bet it'll be perfect.  Without precooking the sweet potatoes.

Friday:  The big boys ended up having a boys night and went to eat and then to a local football game.  That meant it was day 2 of sweet potato lasagna while watching a movie in my quiet house....ahhhh.....

Saturday:  We still had almost an entire pan of lasagna left so we finished it off....

Sunday:  Some friends from Indiana are visiting and we plan to take them out to enjoy some local flare....wish me luck ordering from the menu!  

w30- Day 22

Meal Plan review on it's way...

Breakfast:  egg stacks

Lunch: sweet potato soup, carrots

Dinner:  sweet potato lasagna (yep, day 3 of it)

Workout:
Squats 75lbs reps:  6,8,8
Shoulder Press 45lbs x8, 3x's  (5 w/o assistance, 4 w/o assistance, 3 w/o assistance)
Deadlift 65lbs x8
Body Rows 3 sets x 8

w30- day 21

I'm falling behind in my posting....this past week has been extremely busy!  I hope that doesn't continue....

Breakfast:  2 hard boiled eggs, muffin, cantaloupe and grapes

Lunch:  turkey, sweet potato soup, cantaloupe

Dinner:  sweet potato lasagna

Snack:  larabar and carrots with sun butter

w30- Day 20

Wholly Guacamole it is day 20!  Only ten days left until....just kidding.  I'm not going to say it.

I have a few friends who know what I'm doing and they often say things like "only 10 days left" and "you can eat anything you want in a little over a week!"  Yes, yes that is true...but if I do go back to what I was doing before, then the last 30 days were pretty much useless.  Except, I did find out coffee and nuts are not the cause of my face irritation.  So that's something.  It's going to be hard to not go crazy when my 30 days are up, but I'm in a habit now so I have a good feeling....

Breakfast:  2 muffins

Lunch:  turkey, carrots and sun butter, and cantaloupe

Dinner:  sweet potato lasagna  (see sat for the recipe link)

w30- Day 19

You know what is pathetic?  The fact that I posted almost the exact same thing two days apart.  Yep, I'm that excited about Starbucks I couldn't remember I had posted about two days before.  That's a shame.

Breakfast:  chili, hard boiled egg

Snack:  larabar, muffin

Lunch:  two hamburgers with onions, avocado, and tomatoes  ( i like stacked things)

Dinner:  sweet pepper steak





Boys lunch for tomorrow.....turkey, mango, carrots w/ sun butter, and a granola bar

w30- Day 18

Wow.  Day 18.

The days are flying by.  The end will be here before I know it.  The first thing I'm going to do....go to Starbucks and get a pumpkin spice late.  Then I will live the w30 lifestyle again as I slowly add in sugar (natural), dairy, and gluten.   I just need to splurge on a really, really delicious coffee.  I'm going to get the big one, too.  Don't judge.

So you may ask why I'm still giving up coffee if I don't technically need to and it's obvious I'm going to go back to drinking it.  Well, I'll tell you.  Drinking black coffee at this point is not worth it.  That's the story.  If I want to drink coffee I want it to be really yummy.  Black coffee does not fit this description.  I wish I could tell you my skin has miraculously healed and I look like an airbrushed model...but it hasn't changed a bit.  I gave up coffee, I gave up nuts (mostly), I dedicated time and effort to making sure I did my face routine, and nothing changed.  I am not going to give up meat or hot showers so sorry face...you're out of luck.

Breakfast:  2 hard boiled eggs, sweet potato soup

Lunch:  veggie salad with chicken

Dinner:  coconut curry tilapia  (yum...stay tuned for the recipe on Sat)

Snack:  morning glory muffin



Little mans lunch:  fish hard boiled egg, dried veggie chips, kiwi, greek yogurt

w30- day 17

Let me tell you what I do not crave...wine, sugar, bread, butter, or cheese.  I did at first, but now I am officially over those.  Once in a while I will get a quick craving for something sweet right after dinner, but it passes quickly.  To help with that feeling of "needing something else" after dinner I sip on a coconut water.  For some reason it really helps.  Maybe the craving for coffee overshadows all the rest....whatever the reason I am grateful that's my only struggle.

Breakfast:  2 muffins, fruit smoothie

Lunch:  salad with veggies and chicken

Dinner:  salad with bacon, mango, and chicken

Snack:  larabar, Naked Green Goodness smoothie

And since I haven't been too good about posting pictures lately, here is one of D's lunch for you....

Peanut butter and jelly elephant shaped sandwich, carrots and cucumber, grapes, and trail mix.  This is his 4th week of school and his first sandwich....hope he doesn't expect them from here on out.

w30- day 16

I cannot believe I am halfway through.  While I am not going to go crazy when I finish this, my husband is planning to drive me to Starbucks first thing Monday morning to get me a pumpkin spice late....ahh....it's gonna be so good.  So after that I think coffee and creamer will be my first step.  I hope to make my own creamer with coconut milk, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and honey.  I'll share that recipe (compliments of pinterest) later.  I say I am not going to dive back into my old habits with reckless abandonment, but I've done this before....I know how quickly it is to fall off the wagon.

For being halfway through I feel pretty good.  I thought I would feel better, but I can't complain.  I hope the next few weeks are better and I have every reason to believe they will be.  I have changed a lot these two weeks so hopefully my body will get out of shock and into recognizing this is the new normal.  By the way, did you watch that show?  I did for about 4 minutes...then promptly shut it off.  Did not appeal to me in the least.  I'm not into offending every race, gender, sexual preference, etc...and thinking its awesome.  It's not.  Stop.

Breakfast:  2 Morning Glory Muffins

Lunch:  Chili, carrots with sun butter

Dinner:  A burnt beef roast and butternut squash.  It was not meant to burn.  Accidents happen.

Snack:  Larabar and an apple with sun butter.

Meal Plan

This is what is on the docket this week:

Monday:  Coconut curried tilapia w/ cauliflower rice (new recipe from the kaffir lime leaves box)  If it's good I'll give you the recipe.

Tuesday:  Sweet Potato Lasagna

Wednesday:  Sweet Pepper Steak
          Sub coconut oil or EVOO for vegetable oil
          Sub arrowroot for cornstarch
          Will use tamari sauce instead of regular soy sauce
          Eliminate the sugar.  May use honey, but probably won't.
          Will serve over cauliflower rice or salad

Thursday: Taco Salad

Friday: Buffalo chicken and sweet potato Meatza

Saturday:  Chili

Sunday:  Roast

Meal Plan Review

Monday:  Pot of Chicken Pie (Paleo Comfort Food cookbook).  This stuff is really good.  I wish I could post the recipe, but I don't thing that's legal...  It is a book I would recommend buying; I make a lot of things from it.  Especially these Morning Glory muffins I'm currently obsessed with.

Tuesday:  Sausage and cabbage noodles with fried apples.  Two things:  1. Don't accidentally buy iceberg lettuce instead of cabbage.  It is not the same.  Not the same at all.  2.  My fried apples turned into chunky applesauce because the apples I bought were of a softer variety.  Because they were getting to this consistency I just added cinnamon and skipped all the rest.  Still yummy.

Wednesday:  Chimichurri w/ sirloin and butternut squash.  If you make this, you really need to make sure you haver enough cilantro.  I accidentally bought more parsley thinking I needed it, but it was cilantro I was lacking.  I had almost one cup and dragging two kids to the grocery store wasn't worth the other 1/2 cup so I just made it.  Not at all the same.  My word...so many mistakes this week on my part.

Thursday:  Leftovers

Friday:  Tom Kha Gai soup and dry, boring salad.  Soup was good- before I spilled 1/2 of it.  My bad.

Saturday:  Chili

Sunday:  Roast with sweet potatoes and carrots.  I already know how this is going to turn out so I can post about it....it's gonna be good.

w30- Day 15

I didn't tell you this yesterday, but last night at church I knocked over the table of soups.  It just collapsed.  Nuts.  Luckily, we only lost one soup and a little bit out of the other two, but still...."Hello, I'm here early to help.  What would you like me to do?  Oh, spoil everything and make a big mess?  Sure.  Right on it."    You know what they did to me for punishment?  Made me divvy out all the desserts to the pedestals for a centerpiece.  It wasn't really a punishment, but they did ask me to do it....so I did.  All I wanted to do was lick my fingers....

Today Adam took me to a park across from the beach for a workout.  He might have broke his toe because of my suggestion.  Someone lock me in my house for the rest of the weekend.  It looks really gnarly.  A little mangled even.  Oops,  my apologies babe.  The rest of the workout was good...

Agility/Movement:
crawling/balancing on beam
pull up techniques
active hang

Combo: (3x's)
8 deadlifts w/25lbs
rock balance
precision jumps (this is where he broke the toe)
bear crawl uphill/crab crawl downhill

Cool down:  dipping my toes in the Atlantic Ocean.

Food:

Breakfast:  egg layers

Lunch:  muffin, carrots and sun butter

Dinner:  chili (early dinner)

Snack:  larabar, more muffins- I'm a little obsessed with these.

w30- day 14

Yesterday was torture.  Plain old torture.  First, I had to make a dessert for a dinner at church tonight.  Have you ever made a dessert you couldn't eat?  Couldn't even lick the stuff off your fingers?  It is terrible!  Then, to make matters worse I had to suffer through making pizza for the little man.  Forget it.

On the bright side, I do feel good.  I don't talk about that much, but this week I've felt really good.  So that makes it all worth it.  Just waiting for my skin to catch on that it's not supposed to get zits or have flare up's anymore....

Breakfast:  3 hard boiled eggs and honeydew melon

Lunch:  Turkey, sunbutter and carrots, morning glory muffin

Dinner:  Tom Kha Gai soup.....and lots of lust stares at the desserts perched upon my table at the ladies event tonight.  Curse you w30, curse you!

The egg drama

Hard boiled eggs are quite the little drama queens.  So temperamental in their peeling.  You begin and get a big chunk off, get excited it's going to be an easy egg to peel, and whamo the rest of the egg is a giant mess.  Full of teeny, tiny, itty bitty, cracked pieces that are nearly impossible to get off.  The egg just lays there...doing nothing to assist.  Or it's the opposite....the entire egg white gets peeled off with the giant shell piece and you're stuck with a ball of yolk.  If only I had a better relationship with the hard boiled eggs relatives (over easy, scrambled, poached...) I wouldn't have to continually endure this fiasco.  I am quite confident after this w30 is over I will have grown out of tolerance with hard boiled eggs.

I mean look at this mess.

Breakfast:  2 morning glory muffins, coconut water

Snack:  2 hard boiled eggs

Lunch:  Turkey, sunbutter with carrots and apples

Dinner:  Left over chicken pot pie







Want to know the best way to hard boil an egg?   (yeah, like you're going to trust me after looking at that picture....)  Here's the advice of experts at The Incredible Edible Egg:

Here’s How

1. PLACE eggs in saucepan large enough to hold them in single layer. ADD cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. HEAT over high heat just to boiling. REMOVEfrom burner. COVER pan.
2. LET EGGS STAND in hot water about 12 minutes for large eggs (9 minutes for medium eggs; 15 minutes for extra large).
3. DRAIN immediately and serve warm. OR, cool completely under cold running water or in bowl of ice water, then REFRIGERATE

They have some pretty great "insider tips" on there too.  I should have checked them out before hard boiling....

w30- day 12

Boring day.  My apologies.

Breakfast:  egg with tomatoes, green goodness smoothie, half a hard boiled egg (leftover from the boy)

Lunch:  leftover pot of chicken

Dinner:  chimichurri with sirloin steak and butternut squash

Snack:  muffin

Things that are not worth it in my mind.

There are a few things in my life I have decided are not worth the trouble.

One being macaroni and cheese.  I like a good mac and cheese, but you will never find me making it.  Kraft does a great job of making it and I will leave it to the experts.  No thank you.

The next is spaghetti sauce.  If I'm making something with spaghetti sauce it usually means I am in a rush and therefore do not want to bother with time consuming preparation and such.  Those jars are just fine to me.  Okay, you people who love you're own...great.  I'm so glad you do.  I just don't.

The last (that comes to mind at this moment) is "stock."  Beef, chicken, vegetable...you name it.  I think it's troublesome.  So much chopping and simmering and splashing my stove top.  Then there's the de-boning and straining and jarring....it's too much.  Just too much.  Unfortunately, on whole30 you'll be hard pressed to find a store brand stock that doesn't include some sort of sweetener- so homemade it is.  Goodness dear reader, I was up until after 11:30 (shh...I have two young ones that wear me out) waiting for that broth to cool enough so the bowls wouldn't crack when I put them in the fridge (learned that one the hard way).  I'd much rather pop open a container and use within 7 days....

In case you're adventurous and think it is worth it to make your own here is the recipe I used.  It is from my friend and I think she got it from a Barefoot Contessa....  This makes a TON.  Really....a lot.

Chicken Stock:

2 (5 pound) raw chickens....I get them at Costco in a pack of 2 for $8-$9-ish (cheaper than Publix)
3 yellow onions, unpeeled & quartered
6 carrots, unpeeled & halved
4 celery stalks with leaves, cut into thirds
20 fresh parsley sprigs.....I use one bushel from Publix, I don't count them
15 fresh thyme sprigs.....I get the package of organic ones at Publix & use half of them
20 fresh dill sprigs.....I get the organic package at Publix & use all of them
1 head of garlic, unpeeled & cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns.....I've just used regular ground pepper & it works fine

Directions:
Place the chickens in the bottom of a 16- or 20- quart stockpot, then pile all the other ingredients on top. Add 7 quarts of water & bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat to simmer & let cook for 4 hours uncovered. (I put the lid on & leave it a little cracked to vent.)

Strain the entire contents through a strainer, discarding the solids. (I use tongs & put all the chicken & veggies/herbs on a platter & let them cool; then use a soup ladle to get the broth out to the strainer. The chicken will probably take a few minutes to cool enough to handle. I keep the chicken & toss the veggie/herbs.) Store in tupperware containers. Leave to top off, let cool & skim the fat off; then you can refrigerate (good for 5 days) or freeze ( good for 6 months).

I finally did it!

I finally made my own creation and it tasted good!  Adam had a bite and then after his workout made his own.  Thank you (bow), thank you (bow).  It was an egg layer.  That's what I'm going to call it anyway.  1st layer sliced tomato.  2nd layer sliced avocado.  3rd layer fried egg.  4th layer bacon.  5th layer sliced black olives.  Good people...good.  So with that under my belt I decided to continue on with a day of firsts and I pulled myself up onto this (what seems to be) a really high bar MovNat style.  I'm in week #2 of w30 and working out and I can climb.  My child self would be so proud of me.  Check out c7f for a video of my climb.  It doesn't look as impressive as what it is.  Whatever...you do it.

So with that, my day in food:

Breakfast:  may I present to you....Egg layers:

Snack:  Morning glory muffin and carrots with sun butter.

Lunch:  leftover cabbage and noodles.

Dinner:  Pot of chicken pie.

Dessert:  'nother muffin probably.


Those two first almost make up for not getting to drink coffee today....almost.

Here's what I put in the boys lunch....
Homemade applesauce, hardboiled egg, raspberries, and sweet potato soup.  He ate it all...well except for the yolk ball of the egg.


And for the finale of the post...my workout:
Squats:  65lbs 3x8
Shoulder Press:  45lbs 3x8 (with assistance)
Deadlift (working on form):  45lb 3x8

Leg swing up x2  (MovNat lingo)

10 for 10 and w30- day 10

Today is the 10th of September, meaning it's the 10th day of w30, and I have been to the grocery store 10 times.  Yep.  10 for 10.  One day I was at two different grocery stores three times.  Good grief.

Breakfast:  Fruit smoothie, hard boiled eggs.

Lunch:  Sweet potato soup, morning glory muffins (Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook)

Dinner:  Sausage and cabbage noodles and homemade applesauce.  Except I grabbed the wrong pre-cut lettuce so instead of cabbage it was iceburg lettuce....not at all the same thing.

Snack:  muffin and a larabar

Also made chicken stock today for the many recipes needed for this week.  I'm not sure the whole process is worth it.....

My new favorite thing for my child

A few weeks ago I ordered smoothie pops for D's lunch and I didn't know what to expect.  Well, I LOVE them!  Hit your head?  Smoothie pop will help....  Had a bad day?  Smoothie pop will help.  Won't stop bugging me?  Have a smoothie pop!  These things are amazing.  They give the feeling of having a special treat, but I couldn't care less how many he has since they are healthy!  And by healthy I mean healthy....  I have this pet peeve (that began when browsing pinterest) when people call food healthy and it is truly terrible for you.  Darn those marketing companies for skewing your perception of what is healthy.  You've been had.  Don't worry....we all had been.  These are the pops...I highly recommend them.

w30- day 9

Breakfast:  strawberries, banana, and coconut milk.  2 hard boiled eggs.

Lunch:  huge bowl of chili.  

Dinner:  chicken parmesan with sweet potatoes

Snack:  larabar

Meal Plan

Monday:  Pot of Chicken Pie (Paleo Comfort Food cookbook)   Closest thing to that homey chicken casserole of your childhood.

Tuesday:  Sausage and cabbage noodles with fried apples.  Are you looking for a really quick meal?  This is it.

Wednesday:  Chimichurri w/ sirloin and butternut squash.  Told you the husband liked this a lot!

Thursday:  Leftovers

Friday:  I have a woman's night at church and I volunteered to make a dessert.  Then I thought about it and also volunteered to make a soup so I know there will be something I can eat.  So I'll leave that chocolate eclair cake for others to enjoy while I dine on Tom Kha Gai soup and salad.  I am going to make the recipe from Paleo Comfort Foods, but this one looks similar.  The boys are on their own.

Saturday: Hamburgers

Sunday:  Roast with sweet potatoes and carrots


Kind of boring this week....sorry 'bout that.

Meal Plan Review

Sunday:  Steak with Brussel Sprouts.  If you would have told me I would voluntarily make brussel sprouts a few years ago I would have laughed in your face.  Who makes brussel sprouts?  Well, if you fry them with bacon I do!  They are really yummy.  What wasn't yummy was the steaks.  I got organic grassfed Ribeye's from Whole Foods and they were so chewy!  I was really disappointed.

Monday:  Did a little switch up.  Seems I forgot it was Labor Day in the original meal planning so I traded this day with Saturday and had some burgers, sweet potato fries, and asparagus.  You also know by now I served them with sauteed mushrooms and onions and made some "cave ketchup" to accompany it.  It wasn't Heinz, but it was a condiment and for that I was grateful!  Here is the recipe...

Cave Ketchup (Paleo Comfort Food cookbook)

Ingredients:

6 ounces of tomato paste
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp of mustard powder
1/2 C of water
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 pinch of allspice
1 pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika (optional)
1 clove of garlic
1 bay leaf

1. Combine all ingredients (except garlic and bay leaf) in a medium sized sauce pan
2. bring to a boil stirring frequently
3. add in garlic clove and bay leaf whole. Reduce heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes stirring occasionally
4. Watch for desired consistency, add water as necessary b/c it will thicken quickly at the end
5. Remove bay leaf and garlic clove, allow to cool. 

Tuesday:  Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta:  All I have to say to this is...I'm a  moron.  For some reason I thought I made this before on w30 with jarred sundried tomato pesto so without thinking I did it again.  Only as an afterthought did I look at the ingredients and there it was- Parmesan Cheese.  Balls.  So I was able to salvage some spaghetti squash not tainted with the pesto and served it up with some artichokes, chicken, and sundried tomatoes.  It wasn't too bad.  

Wednesday:  Chimichurri with Sirloin Steak and Butternut Squash.  Adam loved it.   I liked it, but not as much as he did.  I'll definitely keep it on the list because it was really simple to make.  Perfect for those busy days.

Thursday:  Taco Salad.  Best comfort food on this diet.

Friday:  Veggie salad with shredded chicken.

Saturday:  Chili.  It's college game day....of course we had chili.

Sunday:  Chicken Parmesan.  This was the first time I have made something from this site and I was pleasantly surprised.  This dish was full of flavor.  Next time I'll pair it with some spaghetti squash...I meant to this time, but I forgot to buy it.  

w30- day 8

Pinterest is getting very difficult to peruse...all that food!  I do okay with cravings until someone mentions it or I spend time on pinterest lusting over all those desserts!  I should just add that site to the w30 programs "not to have" list for the next three weeks.

Breakfast:  sweet potatoes, hamburger, fruit smoothie, and bunny shaped hard boiled egg

Snack: carrots with sun butter, larabar

Lunch: mixed green salad with carrots, peppers, chicken, and avocado

Dinner: Chili

Dessert:  Pumpkin Mug Cake  Okay, so I really like a whole lot of what this girl makes, but this wasn't one of them.  I don't blame her though, I blame me.  When will I learn making Paleo desserts is not worth it.


Workout:
agility/movement warm up
deadlift/ clean and jerk technique with log
Combo:  3x
front log throw
clean and jerk with log
log carry (20M)
pull ups (5)
log balance
side rock throw

W30- day 7

Let's see...what was my favorite thing to get me through today?  Got to be Maranathan sun butter.  Delicious treat with carrots today.  I was tired this afternoon, but the jury's still out on whether that was because of whole30 or because I didn't sleep well.  Probably both.  It was nothing out of the ordinary, just trying to keep track of how I feel so in case I get the urge to do this again I'll remember what I went through.  Looking back on my previous experience I must have been going hog wild eating whatever was in site before because I was in rough shape more than halfway through.  Grateful to not be feeling that way this time....just one day of misery and a few headaches.  And those were probably from caffiene withdrawal.  And since my face isn't looking any better I may never give up coffee again.  I'll tough it out the whole time though just to be sure.

Beakfast:  two hard boiled eggs, leftover breakfast casserole without the eggs...so basically just meat and sweet potatoes.

Lunch:  taco salad and a peach

Dinner:  salad with shredded chicken and tons of veggies.

Snack:  larabar, mango, carrots with sunbutter

w30- day 6

If given the choice between coffee and pizza I think I'd choose pizza.  Or at least at this moment, as I serve my 4 year old his delicious looking tiny personal pizza I would.  Ask me tomorrow morning and I might have a different answer.

Breakfast:  Breakfast lasagna.  That looks pretty gross actually....don't let that deter you.  It's really yummy.

Post workout snack:  sweet potato soup, hard boiled egg, raspberries.  Coconut Water straight from the source!

Lunch: I kind of snacked...see above...plus a larabar, a peach, some carrots with w30 approved sunbutter.


Dinner:  Taco Salad...and a lot of it to keep me from eating the boys pizza!


Workout:  MovNat workout
Warm Up
- ground transitions
- step over/ duck under

Technique
- balancing (kneel, 180 turn)
- lateral swing from dead hang

Combo (3 rounds)
- balance length of 2x4 down and back
          -2 kneel downs in each direction
- rope climb (modified)
- lunges x10 on each leg...bearing weight with rock apron 10lbs
- crawling 20 M (prone and supine)