Day Twenty-Two - New Guide

The Whole30 creators recently compiled a list of commonly asked about foods.  It's pretty informative and definitely worth the read.

Day Twenty-One - Grilled Chicken Wings

This recipe is from my mom and is a classic staple of the volunteer fire department bbq chicken fundraiser.  I like to marinate chicken wings for 2-3 days in the recipe and then cook on the grill.


Chicken Marinade

Ingredients
-chicken (wings, breasts, whatever you want)
-1/2 c. olive oil
-1 c. apple cider vinegar
-2 tsp. salt
-2 tsp. poultry seasoning
-1/2 tsp. pepper
-1 egg

Directions
1.  Mix together all ingredients in a ziplock bag and marinate for 1-3 days.
2.  Grill and enjoy!

One thing I've discovered is that marinades in the store are expensive.  A lot of times you can find a mock recipe online and it doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup or other undesirable ingredients.

What is your favorite homemade marinade recipe?

This is an unrelated picture but I thought this post needed a picture.  :)

Day Twenty - Finances and Food

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a crazy financial nerd.  I love crunching the numbers and figuring out how I can save here or there.  Luckily I married a man who not only tolerates my love of excel spreadsheets but embraces my need to number crunch.

That being said the biggest expenditure in our house, after rent, is food.  When we switched over to eating more Paleo/Whole30 style I was worried it would affect our budget.  So I did what any number crunching nerd would do.  I set a budget and tracked my expenses to see how I would do.

The results were that I wasn't really spending more money eating paleo then I was eating a regular standard american diet.  I actually found I was spending more for quality meat but less for snack food.  Overall I've been able to eat healthy, delicious food for around $400-$500 per month.  Now I know to some that may seem like a lot but we don't eat out and we are constantly feeding friends and family so it's not always just the two of us.

One trick I use is to try to spread meat out to two or three meals.  Like slow cooking chicken breasts or a pork or chuck roast, shredding it, and then using the meat in a taco dish one night and stir-fry the next.

Another great tip is to shop at Aldi.  Now I know that not everything is great at Aldi but you can find some great stuff there for way cheaper than the grocery store.  (See my salsa shout-out from yesterday.)

All in all though I find if you glance at the fliers before you leave and make your meals so that they are dinner and lunch the next day, you can stretch your budget pretty far.  I feel confident that if I was just feeding myself I could probably do a month of paleo for around $200.

So what do you budget for food?  Has your food budget increased with eating paleo?

(Also if anyone is interested I love the Dave Ramsey model of personal finance and it is basically what we follow in our house.  Also check out his podcast on itunes, its a great motivator.)

Day Nineteen - Snack Pack

Sometimes you are between meals and hunger strikes.  Sometimes you are on the go and too busy to stop for a conventional meal.  And sometimes you just need something to munch on, like while watching a movie or on long drives.  When any of these scenarios happen it is important to have quick access to healthy and filling snacks, as this is when you are most likely to fall victim to a snickers.

So what out there is a healthy paleo snack?  (Note I said paleo.  Some of these are a bit gray on how Whole30 they are with a little bit of soybean oil or high salt content.  You are an adult though and I trust you can make a decision on what you feel is best.)

1.  Sweet Potato Chips
-I discovered these last month and I've never been a potato chip fan but they are awesome!  Crunchy and salty to satisfy those cravings.

2.  Guacamole
-Make sure it's just avocados and other clean stuff.  Apparently some people put mayo in guac which is both gross and weird.  Right?  Use sweet potato chips or baby carrots for dipping.

3.  Fresh Salsa
-In my opinion Aldi's fresh salsa is the best.  Use sweet potato chips for dipping.

4.  Almonds
-Surprisingly filling and I think they have a delicious flavor.  I like to mix them with walnuts.  I keep a baggie in my purse and at my desk.  Great for quick snacking.

5.  Baby Carrots
-They take a long time to chew so they are great for long road trips.  Not great for movies though.  Too crunchy!

6.  Almond Butter and Apple Slices
-This is such a decadent treat.  Seriously try it.  Almond butter isn't that great on its own but once you dip an apple slice into it magic happens.

7.  Unsweetened Applesauce
-Another great portable snack for when I need a quick blood sugar boost, like during a hike or 10:30 am at work.

8.  Pickles
-I used to hate pickles, now I can go to town on a jar.  Just make sure not to get ones with sugar.  Mmmm....so good after a serious workout.  Salty and delicious.

9.  Sunflower Seeds
-I know there is a lot of salt in sunflower seeds but they are the best snacky food during a long road trip or a very suspenseful movie.

10.  Larabars
-I already touch on these but they are great to keep on you for a quick snack that will fill you up and boost your energy.

11.  Dried Apricots
-I know you're supposed to avoid dried fruits but I love gummy candy.  Apricots are a great alternative to gummy candy and they are one of the few dried fruits I've found without added sugar.

What's your favorite clean snack?

Day Eighteen - Project 333

It seems to me that anytime I begin to over haul and gain control over one part of my life I feel liberated and start thinking of other ways I could improve my life.  The great thing about going through the Whole30 is that it is really a minimalist approach to eating.  Eat these healthy things, don't eat these unhealthy things.  So depending on what's in season you have variety but your options are slimmed down.  Once I adjusted to what was ok it made meal planning and prep actually easier.

Taking this approach I started looking around at different minimalist websites and trying to see what else I could keep variety but slim down options.  That is when I stumbled upon an amazing blog.  Project 333 is a sub-blog (not sure that is even a thing) of Courtney Carver at Be More With Less.  Project 333 basically is a venture to live the next 3 months with only 33 items of clothing.  When I first read that I was floored.  Only 33 items (not including bras, underwear, socks, etc.)!!!

So I went over to my closet and immediately began pulling clothes out and laying them on the bed.  In about 30 minutes I had filled two bags of clothes for friends and discarded everything that was too ratty.  Next I went through and separated out my warm weather clothes from my cold weather clothes and put all cold weather clothes in a bin for storage.  After all that was done I was left with close to 33 items of clothing that actually fit, was in good condition, and was my style.

One thing I discovered was I definitely have a very small color palate that I wear.  Black, blue, white, gray, dark green, and soft pinks are the colors that I look good in and have the most items in.  So if I'm looking at purchasing any new items I know to stick to these colors.  Neons just don't work on me except if I'm hiking and need to be visible.  :)

So I've been working with that closet for a few weeks now and I feel it has made me more stylish and I spend less time getting ready.  Also it's shown me where I have gaps in my closet, like I need a pair of jean shorts and a nice white tee-shirt.  It has been a fun experiment and definitely something I want to keep up for a while.

What do you think?  Could you get by with only 33 items?

Day Seventeen - Sweet Potato and Ground Beef Chili

So I'm seeing a pattern with my recipe posts.  Apparently everything I cook is an easy to throw together, delicious, weeknight meal.  Sorry that today is more of the same.  :)

Sweet Potato and Ground Beef Chili

Ingredients

-1 lb ground beef

-1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and cubed

-1 onion, chopped

-2-10 oz cans of tomatoes and chiles

-8 oz can tomato sauce

-1 green pepper, diced

-1 to 2 Tbsp. chili powder

-1/2 tsp. cumin

Directions

1.  Brown beef in large stock pot.

2.  Add peppers and onions and cook till onions are soft.

3.  Add rest of ingredients a simmer till sweet potato cubes are soft and all flavors are combined.

Slow-Cooker Alternative

1.  Brown beef and place in slow cooker.

2.  Add all other ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours.

Day Sixteen - Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Day Fifteen - Halfway There and How My Body is Like a Pick-up Truck

I can't believe it's been fifteen days since I started this journey.  I've been really enjoying posting my recipes and I apologize that I've gotten a bit behind over the past couple of days.  Life happens.

Anyways today I want to share the way that I see eating off plan.  A lot of people out there (and I used to be one of them) call it cheating or being bad, both of which have a negative connotation.  I've started calling it off-roading and I now compare my body to a truck.

If you've ever been off-roading in a truck or SUV it is fun (yes I am a country girl).  However if you go off-roading all the time eventually you will have a truck that is beat and will no longer run.  Off-roading in a truck to me is the perfect analogy for eating poorly.  It is fun but if you do it all the time you will have a beat up body that doesn't want to run anymore, although parts on a truck are cheaper than on a body.  :)

So what do you think is a good way to look at eating off plan?
    

Day Fourteen - No Sugar Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I have been in denial for a few years.  I acknowledged that I had a problem but I still could not stop myself.  I'm talking about my love/hate relationship with dairy.  Mmmm....cheese and ice cream.  Ugh...stomach cramps and other symptoms I will spare you from.  With my first Whole30 I couldn't believe how good I felt and when I did my reintroduction I immediately learned the culprit of my issues.  Oh dairy how I love you but sadly the feeling is not reciprocated and so ended my love affair with ice cream.  Low and behold though at the end of my first Whole30 I discovered No Sugar Added Coconut Milk Ice Cream.  At $4.99/pint I was hesitant as I thought it would probably be gross and I would waste $5.00.   However in the name of science I bit the financial bullet (I prefer frugal to cheap) and the unknown possible assault on my taste buds.  What I discovered though is now my go to treat for lady time cravings or movie and ice cream night.  The ingredients are good, with a few hard to pronounce but safe stabilizers, and with only 4g of sugar per pint the stats are amazing.  What really speaks for itself though is the taste.

The first pint that I tried was the Butter Pecan.  I'm totally an old person because I lover Wether's, butter pecan ice cream, and root beer barrels.  I would call the Butter Pecan more Butter Rum Pecan because it tastes like someone made ice cream with Malibu Rum.  Tasty unless you had a night in high school where you consumed too much and now the smell makes you ill.  Overall I really enjoyed it but it wasn't my favorite of the two flavors I tried (I did it for science!).


My favorite was the Chocolate.  Oh my goodness it tasted like a Wendy's Frosty!  So good and definitely killed my chocolate cravings.  The only problem is a pint seems to not last long.  :)

I still have yet to try the vanilla flavor but I'm sure it's delicious as well.  As with anything processed it is a treat and I try to eat sparingly but I'm so happy to have found a delicious frozen treat that does not make me feel ill 20 minutes after eating.

What is your favorite treat?

Day Thirteen - Balsamic Potato Salad

This is a great potato salad for those that don't like mayo and/or are eating paleo.  I know you're not supposed to eat white potatoes but I figure that it's not a big deal if you are going to a BBQ.  This is also going with us to Whitney's birthday party.

Balsamic Potato Salad
Adapted from the Dinosaur BBQ Cookbook

Ingredients

-1 to 3 lbs of potatoes (I like new reds but this time I used salt potatoes)
-1 lb asparagus
-1 large red pepper
-1 large orange pepper

-5 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard
-6 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
-salt & pepper to taste
-1 to 2 Tbsp. fresh minced garlic
-6 Tbsp. olive oil
-several dashes of hot sauce

Directions
1.  Boil potatoes whole till done. Drain and chop into 1 inch cubes.
2.  Slice and saute peppers.  Chop asparagus into 3rds and add to peppers.
3.  Saute till everything is cooked but still a little crisp.
4.  Mix potatoes and veggie mixture together.
5.  Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl.
6.  Add dressing to potato mixture.
7.  Serve hot or cold.

Day Twelve - Blueberry & Blackberry Crumble

I love berry crumble and inevitably would find a clean crumble recipe.  I'm taking this to my friend Whitney's birthday party on Saturday for all paleo and non-paleo to enjoy.

Blueberry & Blackberry Crumble

Adapted from here

Ingredients

-2 c. blueberries

-2 c. blackberries

-juice of one fresh lemon

-1 to 2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder

-1 c. almond flour or meal

-1/4 c. walnuts or pecans

-5 pitted dates

-1/4 c. coconut oil, melted

-1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1.  Mix berries together and place in a 9x9 dish.

2.  Drizzle lemon juice over berries then sprinkle arrowroot powder over berries.

3.  In food processor combine almond flour, walnuts, dates, and cinnamon.

4.  Pulse till well combined.  

5.  Pulse in coconut oil 5 to 7 times.

6.  Place crumble on top of berries and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

On a side note I'm currently reading World War Z and it is really good!!  What is everyone else currently reading?

Day Eleven - Pulled Pork Tacos

So these are really more like pulled pork fajitas but Jim adamantly calls them tacos and I just go with it. I don't know where I originally got this recipe but I've adapted it for the Whole30 and it is just as good as when it had brown sugar in the marinade.  It is another slow-cooker recipe so it is good for a week night and you can either use fresh peppers and onions or grab a bag of frozen peppers and onions.  Either way it is pretty quick to throw together.

Pulled Pork Tacos

Ingredients

-3 to 4 lb pork roast or loin
-3 peppers and 1 onion cut into strips (or bag of frozen pepper and onions)
-2 tsp. dried oregano
-2 tsp. cumin
-2 tsp. chili powder
-1 Tbsp. salt
-pepper to taste
-4 cloves of garlic or 2 heaping Tbsp. fresh minced garlic
-2 Tbsp. olive oil
-3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
-1 large onion (cut into quarters)
-1 Tbsp lime juice

Husband Friendly Ingredients
-tortillas
-cheddar cheese

Directions

1.  Put everything except the pork and peppers & onions into a food processor.  Process everything till a marinade forms.
2.  Rub the pork roast with the marinade.
3.  Slow-cook on low for 8 hours.
4.  When roast is done, cook up the peppers and onions in a frying pan.
5.  Remove roast from slow-cooker and shred with two forks.
6.  Place meat back in slow cooker and stir so that flavoring coats the meat.
7.  Add meat to the peppers and onions mixture.
8.  Serve on top of mixed greens.

Husband Friendly Directions
1.  Serve in a tortilla with cheddar cheese.

Day Ten - Super Easy Whole Roast Chicken

When I discovered that it was really easy to roast a whole chicken I gained one of my greatest entertaining tricks.  Who knew that people are super impressed if you pull a beautifully browned and moist whole chicken out of the oven?  Even better it only takes about 5 minutes of prep, the meat usually can be stretched to 2 or 3 meals,  and (depending on size) costs around $10!  Also if you don't have time to roast in the oven, this recipe also works for slow-cookers* too.

Super Easy Roast Chicken

Ingredients

-whole roaster chicken 

-lemon

-onion

-2 Tbsp. olive oil

-1 tsp. rosemary

-1 tsp. thyme

-salt and pepper

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 450.  

2.  Rinse and dry whole chicken.  Put in a 9x13 dish.

3.  Quarter the lemon and the onion.  Stuff into the cavity of the bird.

4.  Mix together olive oil and seasonings.  Rub on the outside of the bird.

5.  Put in oven at 450 for 30 minutes.

6.  Turn oven down to 350 and cook for an additional hour to hour and a half depending upon size.

7.  When chicken is done pull out of the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting into it.  This step is the most important!!!  The chicken needs to rest or it will be dry.  Trust me.

-Additionally I like to wrap up sweet potatoes in aluminum foil and bake them for a side dish while the chicken cooks.

*Slow-Cooker 

1.  Prep chicken as above.

2.  Put whole chicken in slow-cookers on low for 8 hours.

3.  No need to let it rest as it will be fall apart tender from the slow-cooker.

What is your favorite meal to impress guests?  

Day Nine - Speides Chicken with Veggie Skewers

This weekend has been a whirlwind already!  I've had an awesome time hanging out with a lot of great people, however this has lead to not the cleanest eating.  I've tried to make sure that the core of my meals has been as clean as possible but I definitely ate a piece of cake on friday (birthday party) and saturday (graduation party).  The funny part was that I was hungover from friday's piece of cake on saturday morning.  Literally hungover from a piece of cake!  I'm taking a breath today and starting out with some delicious protein and veggies to help stabilize my blood sugar and a lot of water.  I hope everyone is having a great weekend too!

Recipe of the day is one of my favorites for grilling.  If you live down by the Binghamton area or have been to the NYS Fair you know this one for sure!

Spiedies Chicken

Ingredients

-3 to 4 chicken breasts*

-1/3 c. olive oil

-1/4 c. lemon juice

-1/4 c. white vinegar

-2 garlic cloves minced

-1 Tbsp. dried parsley

-1 Tbsp. dried basil

-1/2 tsp. oregano

-1/2 tsp. garlic salt

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions

1.  Cut chicken into ~1 inch cubes.

2.  Mix all other ingredients together and put in large ziplock bag or casserole dish, add chicken.

3.  Let chicken marinate for 24 hours.

4.  Put chicken on skewers and grill till done.

*I also like to use thighs and drumsticks.  Just marinate and grill.

Makes 4 servings at $10 for a total of $2.50/serving.

Veggie Skewers

Ingredients

-zucchini

-peppers

-onions

-mushrooms

-whatever other veggies you want!

Directions

1.  Chop veggies into uniform pieces and skewer.

2.  Grill till done.

Price depends on what veggies used.  :)

Note:  I always do all the same veggies or meat on a single skewer.  This is because different veggies and meat take different time to cook.  For example if you put peppers on with chicken, the peppers would be burnt by the time the chicken was done.  

How's everyone's weekend going?  Anyone else have a hangover from eating something off plan?  

Day Eight - Portabella Pizzas

When Jim and I got married he very seriously told me that I had to promise to not come between him and his mistress.  He then informed me that his mistress was Pizza.  Seriously though that man loves pizza so much that we have probably eaten it once a week since we've lived together.  As I embarked on this journey I knew that pizza would be a weekly  part of this journey so I looked for an alternative.  Behold the Portabella Pizza!

Portabella Pizza

Ingredients

-4 large portabella mushroom caps
-small jar of sugar free pizza sauce
-toppings of choice

Directions

1.  Wash and dry caps.  Scoop out the gills with a spoon.
2.  Line a baking sheet with foil and put caps on scooped side up.
3.  Put meat topping of choice (I've done pepperoni (probably not clean!), ham, and italian sausage.  Pick one.)
4.  Put sauce over meat.
5.  Top with any veggies desired.  (I did green peppers.)
6.  Bake at 420 for 15-20 minutes

Makes 2 servings at $7 (depending on toppings) for a total of $3.50 per serving.

As for a husband friendly option I just make him pizza.  :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Day Seven - Lara Bars and DIY Lara Balls

Day Seven!!  Great job everyone, you've made it through the first week which can be the hardest!  I'm so proud of all of you for sticking with it and even if you've had a beer or a sliver of rhubarb pie you've just continued on and not thrown in the towel which is the important part.  :)

So now to the recipe part.  Today I'm going to talk about one of my favorite clean snacks: LaraBars.  For those of you who don't know, LaraBars are a clean eating "granola" bar that is prepackaged, delicious, convenient, filling, and gives you a burst of energy.  So they are pretty much amazing.  The only not amazing part of LaraBars is the cost, at $1.49 per bar they can be a little pricey.  If you can handle that then I have a review of three Whole30 compliant flavors and if not keep reading because I have a simple DIY recipe for LaraBalls.

LaraBar Review

I tried the blueberry muffin, coconut cream pie, and apple pie flavors.  Hands down the coconut cream pie was my favorite!  Then again I love coconut cream pie.  The blueberry muffin surprisingly tasted like a blueberry muffin and I even bought a five pack of them at Target (sadly they didn't have five packs of coconut cream pie).  The apple pie was the only one I felt "eh" about.  I'm not a real fan of dried apples anyway but I just felt it lacked something.  Maybe it needed some nutmeg or something.  I would eat it again but only if the other two flavors were not available.  I ate most of them as a snack between when I got home from work and taking Tucker for a walk.  They gave me a little boost and kept me full till dinner time.  They are also a great hiking snack for a quick boost of energy.

Recipe for LaraBalls
(I'm so immature that I giggled when I typed balls.  How are any of you friends with me??)

The recipe is a basic ratio that can be mixed and matched to make a variety of different flavors.  The basic recipe is:

1/4 c. dates
1/4 c. dried fruit (make sure no sugar is added)
1/3 c. nuts
dash of whatever seasonings you need

Pretty simple right?

To make them you:
1.  Process dates and dried fruit in a food processor till it comes together in a ball.  Remove and put in a bowl.
2.  Process nuts in food processor till nuts are finely chopped.  Add seasoning and pulse to combine.
3.  Add nuts to fruit mixture and combine with your hands.
4.  Roll into 4-6 balls and refrigerate.

Here is a couple of my favorites:

CB&J.
1/4 c. dates
1/4 c. raisins
1/3 c. cashews

Cran Almond
1/4 c. dates
1/4 c. craisins (hard to find sugar free so I have done sugar sweetened ones, if you find a brand let me know!)
1/3 c. almonds

Blueberry Muffin
1/4 c. dates
1/4 c. dried blueberries
1/3 c. mix of cashews and almonds
dash of cinnamon

Apple Pie
(haven't tried but I feel this is basically what the recipe is)
1/4 c. dates
1/4 c. dried apples
1/3 c. mix of cashews and almonds
dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

Again I want to say how proud of all of you I am!!  Let me know how you did.  What was the easiest part and the hardest?  What do you miss the most and what did you discover that was delicious?

Have a great weekend!

(Also as a disclaimer all reviews are my own.  LaraBar has no clue who I am.)

Day Six - Ham and Sweet Potato Hash

Hey Everyone!  I apologize that this didn't get posted yesterday.  Our internet was down so I couldn't set it up to post and then our house guests arrived early!  It was a crazy day to say the least.

Today's recipe is one of my favorite brunch recipes.  With ham you definitely have to check what is in it and where it's coming from.  Ham is probably not the cleanest meat but I like it before a day of hiking or kayaking to get a little extra salt.  I hope you all enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Ham Hash

Ingredients

-ham steak
-2 medium sweet potatoes
-2 Tbsp. oil (ghee, coconut, olive, or butter)

Directions

1.  Peel the potatoes and dice into ~1/2 inch cubes.
2.  Heat oil in large frying pan and add potatoes to pan.
3.  Do not stir the potatoes for the first 5 minutes!  During this time dice up the ham steak.
4.  Give potatoes a good stir (one side should be browning) and let sit again for 4 minutes.
5.  Stir potatoes and check to see if they are done (they should be soft with a crispy outside).
6.  When potatoes are done push to the side and add the ham to the other side of the pan.
7.  Fry ham for 2-3 minutes then mix potato and ham mixture together.

Note:  If you use olive oil watch the potatoes like a hawk because they will be more likely to burn!

Sorry again that this did not get posted.  I will post Friday's a little later in the day but then I should be back on track.  Hope everyone is doing well with their eating!!

Day Five - Sunshine Love Smoothie

When I get home from work sometimes I am ravenous.  This is not awesome as I usually have 2-3 hours before Jim will be home for dinner.  I have discovered that a delicious fruit smoothie fills me up and gives me a wonderful boost of energy.  Now I know that some paleo people would consider a fruit smoothie the equivalent to a big glass of sugar.  Agreeing that it probably shoots your blood sugar up I don't drink smoothies for breakfast but I love them for a snack or if I'm dying for something sweet.  My favorite smoothie is great if you are feeling run down or on the verge of being sick.

Sunshine Love Smoothie

Ingredients
-1/2 orange
-1/2 c. chopped pineapple
-1/2 banana
-coconut milk (canned coconut milk is a delicious treat here)
-ice cubes
-dash of vanilla

Directions
1.  Peel orange.
2.  Place all fruit in blender.
3.  Add 1/2 c. of coconut milk to start and blend.  Add more till everything is blended.
4.  Add 6 ice cubes and a dash of vanilla and blend till ice is chopped.
5.  Serve with a straw!

What time of day are you ravenous and are you a sweet tooth (like me!) or do you crave savory?

Also because it is wednesday and everyone needs a good laugh here is a video of Prometheus and Bob, to go along with the whole paleo thing.  Enjoy!

Day Four - Philly Cheese-Less Steak Salad and Contentment & Compassion

This is another great weeknight dinner recipe.  In case you didn't know it, I love my slow-cooker!

Philly Cheese-Less Steak Salad

Ingredients
-2 to 4 lb beef roast
-1 c. beef broth (the Rachel Ray brand broth is clean)
-3 green peppers
-2 onions
-mushrooms
-mixed greens

Husband Friendly Ingredients
-sliced provolone cheese
-hoagie rolls

Directions
1.  Put roast and broth in slow-cooker and set on low for 8 hours.
2.  When you are ready to eat slice and saute peppers, mushrooms, and onions in large frying pan.
3.  Pull roast out of slow-cooker and shred with two forks.
4.  When peppers, mushrooms, and onions are cooked add ~1/4 to 1/2 cup of liquid from slow-cooker to deglaze pan.
5.  Add shredded beef and mix together.
6.  Serve on top of mixed greens.

Husband Friendly Directions
1.  Turn broiler on high.
2.  Place foil on baking sheet and put opened hoagie rolls on sheet.
3.  Top one side of roll with beef, peppers, and onions.
4.  Place a slice or two of provolone cheese on top of beef mixture.
5.  Broil for ~2 mins to melt cheese and toast one side of the bun. (Watch to make sure it doesn't burn!)

Makes 6 servings at $18.58 ($20 for HF) for a total of $3.10 ($3.33) per serving.


I recently read Leo Babauta's beautiful pieces on his two life principles: contentment and compassion.  I love how simple and yet incredibly profound the articles are and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Love you all and hope your day is going great!

Day Three - Chicken Stir-Fry and a Question

Happy Monday!  Too much enthusiasm for a Monday morning?  Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays.  (I couldn't help myself.)  How was everyone's weekend?  Did you hit up the Farmer's Markets that are back?  I stopped by the Fledging Crow stand on saturday and picked up some mustard greens, baby kale, and a giant bunch of scallions.  They have the best veggies!

 Today's recipe is a veggie rich one that is for those busy days when you don't have a lot of time to cook.


Chicken Stir-Fry with Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients

-2 to 3 chicken breasts
-2 packages of frozen mixed veggies (I like Pepper and Onions, and Sugar Snap Stir-Fry Mix.  Just make sure it's sauce-less i.e. just veggies.)
-1 Tbsp. olive oil
-1 tsp. sesame oil
-1 tsp. Chinese five spice
-1 Tbsp. fresh minced garlic
-1 tsp. sesame seeds

-1-4 dashes of hot sauce (depending on preference)
-crushed red pepper (depending on preference)
-1/2 tsp. ground dried ginger
-1 tsp. fresh basil paste or 1/2 tsp dried basil
-1/2 head of cauliflower
-1 Tbsp coconut oil

Husband Friendly Ingredients
-1 to 2 tsp of soy sauce
-Rice

Directions

1.  In morning throw raw chicken breasts in slow-cooker on low for 8 hours.  (I like to do a whole huge package of chicken breasts so that I have cooked chicken on hand.)
2.  Saute frozen veggies in frying pan, spooning off excess water.
3.  Remove chicken breasts from slow-cooker and chop to bite sized pieces.  Add to veggie mix.
4.  Make cauliflower rice using coconut oil.  Follow this awesome tutorial.
5.  Mix up oils and spices in a bowl then add to the veggies and chicken.  (Play with the seasonings and see what you like best, we like it spicy!).  Stir till all veggies and chicken are coated in sauce.
6. Serve veggies and chicken on top of cauliflower rice.

Husband Friendly Directions

1.  Make up rice according to directions.
2.  Add soy sauce to his bowl of stir-fry.

Makes 4 servings at roughly $12 (taking partial costs of spices and oils into consideration) making it $3/serving.

So now for the thought of the day.  I was flipping through a website the other day and came across an article titled "Can you accept your body and still want to lose weight?".  In the video she says "I feel like I love myself/Wish I was a completely different person".  This cracked me up because I have definitely thought that before and felt like a total oxymoron.  (See what I did there.)  The question got me thinking though: Can you love who you are and still want to improve yourself?  To put the initial question in a different manner: Can you accept your natural intelligence level and still want to further your education?  Most people would say yes but that to further your education depends upon your skills.  Simply put not everyone can be a MD but they could be a really skilled plumber, builder, care giver, mechanic, salesperson, etc.  So using my logical progression I reword the initial question to:  Can you accept the natural body you have and still strive to improve it?  Personally I believe yes.  It's taken me a long time to face the fact that I will never be a size small because my body structure is simply not built that way.  However I can feed myself well and exercise to put a nice healthy body over my solid frame.

What do you think?

Day Two - Expect Problems and Eat Them for Breakfast

Before starting this plan I would eat a whole wheat english muffin with homemade jam and a cup of coffee with french vanilla creamer for breakfast.  It was so yummy (and for all those who've had my jam you know what I'm talking about) but by about 9:30-10 I was hungry.  By noon I was hangry.  (Hangry is when you are grouchy because you are hungry and we've all been there.)

All that has changed since I started eating a healthy mix of protein, natural carbs, and fat for breakfast with a cup of black coffee.  Now I feel full, alert, and am less cranky mid-morning at work.

So what does breakfast look like?

Black Coffee or Green Tea
- You can use coconut creamer in your coffee but I suggest trying black for a week.  I really enjoy the flavor now and don't even miss the cream and sugar.

Eggs
-Lots of eggs from a good source.  I'm lucky in that I have a fresh egg delivery service (Thanks Sara!) but if you aren't as lucky as me try to purchase eggs that are from free range chickens.  The omega-3 content is much higher and trust me they taste way better.

Avocado
-Slice and enjoy!  I like to fold sliced avocado with sauteed mushrooms and spinach into an omelet.

Sweet Potato Homefries
-Cube and fry up with coconut oil or olive oil.  I will be posting a sweet potato and ham hash recipe at some point so stay tuned.

Fruit
-Apples, Pineapples, Bananas, Strawberries, the list is endless.

Nuts
-A walnut and almond mix is my favorite and the cheapest.

Chicken Stir-fry
-I know this is weird but I really like it for breakfast.  Also any dinner time leftovers can be consumed for breakfast.

If you are missing oatmeal, cream of wheat, or any other hot breakfast.  Try this quick and delicious recipe.  I haven't tried making it the night before and heating in the morning but I assume it would work fine.

Banana Nut Meal
Makes one serving. Adapted from here.

Ingredients
-1/2 to whole ripe banana (I think unsweetened applesauce would work too)
-Little less that 1/2 c. of mixed nuts (I like almonds and walnuts but pecans would be wonderful too!)
-1/2 c. unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk
-dash of vanilla (also maple extract adds a nice flavor)
-pinch of cinnamon

Directions
-Process nuts in food processor till coarse meal develops.
-Add sliced up banana, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon to nut mixture.
-Process till smooth.  Just a couple of pulses will usually do the job.
-Pour out onto bowl and either eat cold or put in microwave for 30 secs to 1 minute for hot.

If you haven't got much time in the morning these are my favorite quick breakfasts:
-Handful of mixed nuts and an apple or banana
-Two hard-boiled eggs and a cup of unsweetened applesauce (I usually hard-boil 6 eggs at the beginning of the week for a quick snack or breakfast.)
-Scrambled eggs with spinach and mushrooms (I saute up a big container of spinach, mushrooms, onions, etc at the beginning of the week and then just throw in the pan with two scrambled eggs.  Takes roughly 2 minutes in the morning.)
-Smoked salmon and avocado (Wish I could eat everyday.)

Hopefully this helps anyone that was feeling stumped about what to eat for breakfast!

Thought of the Day:

"Lighthouses don't go running all over an island looking for a boat to save; they just stand there shining." - Anne Lamott

What is your favorite Whole30 breakfast?  Are there any recipes you want to try?

Day One - Italian Stuffed Peppers and Letting Go of Perfection

I love peppers.  This was not always the case, as my poor green pepper loving parents will testify.  Sometimes I think I was just picky to be that way. Anyone else?

Anyways this recipe combines two food loves: peppers and italian food.  This recipe is also man friendly.  Please refer to the husband friendly section in the recipe.  I will do a "husband friendly" variation on most of my recipes so that if only one person in the house is eating clean it is easy to modify.  Also I will try to post overall cost and cost per serving on each recipe.  Eating healthy doesn't  have to cost a ton of money. :)

Italian Stuffed Peppers
adapted from here

 Ingredients

  -1 lb of good quality ground beef (or you could substitute ground chicken, turkey, or pork)
-24 oz can of sugar free tomato sauce
-6 peppers (I like to get green and tri-color)
-1 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
-1 to 1.5 tsp italian seasoning mix (or combo of basil, oregano, marjoram, and rosemary)
-salt and pepper (optional)
-box of frozen chopped spinach

                                                           


Husband Friendly Ingredients

-ball of fresh mozzarella
-1/4 c. parm cheese

Directions

1. Brown ground beef.  Defrost spinach in microwave.
2. Add sauce, garlic, seasonings, and spinach to beef.
3. Wash and cut peppers in half lengthwise.  Remove seeds, stems, and veins.
4. Line baking sheet with foil.
5. Fill pepper halves with beef mixture and place on sheet. (See below for Husband Friendly option.)
6. Bake at 450 for 20-30 minutes.

Husband Friendly Directions
1. After filling half the peppers add the parm cheese to the beef mixture, stir, and fill remaining peppers.
2. Slice the cheese into 6 slices and top the husband friendly half peppers.

Makes 6 servings for $17 ($13 without the cheeses) for a total of $2.83/serving ($2.17/serving).

Thought of the day: I used to have perfectionist tendencies.  Sometimes it was paralyzing and kept me from even starting because I was sure the end result would not be perfect.  Then I had an amazing discussion with someone about perfection and she laid it out like this:

Say you have two balance beams.  Balance beam A is 5 inches off the ground and balance beam B is 6 feet off the ground.  Which one do you feel you would need to walk perfectly across and which one do you think you are more likely to fall off?  I bet most everyone could skip across A but would be wobbly if not fall on B.

My take away (setting aside the whole setting the bar high part that could be construed here) is when you try to be perfect you are more likely to fall.

So how's everyone doing on Day One?