My Favorite Lunch

Hi!  How was everyone's Thanksgiving?  Hopefully everybody had a wonderful day filled with turkey and pumpkin pie.  I know mine was.  :)  Sorry I was MIA for a week, expect that to probably happen again as life can get a little hectic.

I have a hard time finding the perfect meal for lunch.  If I eat too much meat I feel sluggish, too much veggies and I'm starving by 3pm.  So lunch needs to be a good blend of healthy fat, protein, and veggies to keep me full but not ready for a nap.  Enter the delicious and simple Coconut Milk Butternut Squash Soup.  I hope you all enjoy this easy recipe as much as I do.


Coconut Milk Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients
-Whole Butternut Squash, cut into ~1 inch cubes
-olive oil
-salt
-pepper
-can of coconut milk

Directions
-Toss squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
-Roast at 350 for 1 hour or till fork tender.
-Put squash and milk in a food processor and blend till a thick soup forms.  (Will look like baby food.)


I like to make this on a sunday night and then I have a quick and filling lunch for 3 or 4 days (depending on how hungry I am).

On a side not I've walked 20.5 miles since I started my 90 miles challene.  Only 69.5 miles to go!  

Honey Garlic Ginger Chicken Wings

I had my first chicken wings a little over two years ago when I went to a wing and pitcher night with some friends.  I became very hungry due to consuming several pitchers of beer and ended up eating a dozen glorious chicken wings.  Since then I've consumed many chicken wings and these honey garlic ginger chicken wings are just as delicious as their deep fried counterparts.  As a cheaper alternative you could use this recipe with drumsticks and thighs.  They go well with sweet potato fries and some pineapple slices.  Mmmmm.

Honey Garlic Ginger Chicken Wings
(adapted from: thepaleomom.com)

Ingredients:

-3 lbs chicken wings

-1/3 cup honey

-1/4 cup lemon juice

-1/4 cup water

-2 tbsp soy sauce

-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

-2 tsp garlic powder

-3/4 tsp ginger powder

Directions:

-Mix together the marinade ingredients.  

-Add chicken to the marinade and let marinate for 2 days.

-When ready to cook pre-heat oven 400 degrees.

-Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

-Put a baking rack on the baking sheet and place chicken on top of rack.

-Bake for 30 minutes then turn chicken and bake for another 30 minutes.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday...just think a week from now we'll be eating turkey!  :)

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I found a non-paleo version of this delicious homemade meatball recipe several years back and since then it has become a staple of my winter weekly menu.  Even though I'm convinced Albany is the tropics, the early sunset definitely puts me in hibernation mode and has me craving some hearty winter food.  (Anytime I type meatballs I think of "Schweddy Balls" from that SNL skit.  I am a 13-yr-old.)

So here is my recipe for Paleo Meatballs and spaghetti.  I hope you enjoy!

Paleo Meatballs and Spaghetti

Ingredients

-1 to 2 lb ground beef

-1/3 c. almond meal

-2 eggs

-1/2 to 1 Tbsp of Italian Seasoning mix 

-1/4 c. parm cheese (optional, and not paleo but it was for the husband)

-Jar of no sugar added tomato sauce or your favorite pasta sauce 

-One whole spaghetti squash

Directions

-Mix together beef, almond meal, eggs, seasoning, and parm. 

-Pour pasta sauce into a crockpot.

-Form meat mixture into balls and drop into sauce in crockpot.

-Cook on low for 8 hours.

-One hour before meatballs are done preheat oven to 350.

-Rinse off spaghetti squash and place it whole on a parchment sheet lined baking sheet.

-Bake for 60-80 mins.

-Remove from oven, cut in half, de-seed, and scoop out the innards with a fork.  It will automatically form spaghetti strands.

-Serve meatballs and sauce over the squash.

Contagious Emotions

I'm taking a class online through Coursera.org called Inspiring Leadership Through Emotional Intelligence (if you're not familiar with this website definitely check it out).  Last week's topic was on contagious emotions and while I always knew how the emotions of others affected me I was surprised by the scientific studies that had been conducted on the subject.

A basic synopsis of the readings and the videos I watched was that people mimic the emotions of other people.  Everyone has had an experience where they subconsciously mimicked the emotions of another person. Think about a time where you interacted with someone who was miserable, did you leave feeling more miserable than when you had arrived?  On the flip side, a time when you had an interaction with someone who was friendly and upbeat.  You probably felt happy when you departed from their company.  Now think about how your emotions are affecting others.  When you snap at your co-worker because you are tired or when you smile at your co-worker and genuinely ask how their weekend was.  Both of those interactions carry a lot of emotion with them and can change the emotion of the other person.  I've tried to take this lesson into my everyday life and not only try to influence people's emotions positively but to recognize how the emotions of others are affecting me.  There is one very important part to this though and it is that your emotion must be genuine.  People are not stupid and can very easily pick up if you are being fake happy.  Take a moment before you walk into work tomorrow to take a deep breath and think about the emotions you want to spread to others, hopefully it will help put you in the right mindset for the rest of the day.

So what do you think?  Ever picked up a positive or negative emotion from someone else?  Ever changed the emotion of someone else?

Here is one of the articles if you would like to read it.

Paleo-ish Gluten Free Banana Bread

I love banana bread, it's my number one way of making old bananas into a delicious treat.  I've tried a number of Paleo Banana Bread recipes and wasn't super impressed, either the texture was off or it just tasted down right bland.  So I've decided to compromise with a Paleo-ish Gluten Free Banana Bread.  Enjoy!

Paleo-ish Gluten Free Banana Bread

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cup gluten free all purpose flour mix
-1 1/4 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 whole egg
-1 cup mashed bananas
-1/2 cup maple syrup
-1/4 cup melted coconut oil

Directions:
-Combine the maple syrup, oil, bananas, and vanilla.
-In a separate bowl (I usually just use a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup) combine the dry ingredients.
-Add egg to the wet ingredients then dry to wet.
-Mix till combined.
-Pour into a well greased 8-inch cake pan.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

(An extremely professional picture of ingredients.  I would love to be one of those people that takes beautiful food pictures but I'm like "I need to make food as quickly as possible so I can get down to the eating part".  Anyone want to come take pretty food pictures while I cook?)

On the exercise front yesterday I did an awesome workout through bodyrock.tv.  I don't know if anyone else is familiar with them but I love their workouts.  The workouts are usually only 12 minutes long and definitely kick my butt.  This is the workout if you want to check it out.  

Hope everybody is having a great Monday!! :)

Eggplant and Tomato Marinara Sauce

This recipe comes from a couple months ago when I had a plethora of eggplant and tomatoes in my CSA box.  I'm not a crazy tomato fan (although I do love tomato sauce and ketchup) and Jim isn't a big eggplant fan.  So as I was searching around Pinterest looking for recipes (like I do everyday) I stumbled upon a '100 no-processed crockpot meals' pin.  As I began searching around in the 100 recipes I found the perfect solution to my abundance of eggplant and tomatoes.  The solution was Eggplant and Tomato Marinara Sauce.  Plus as a bonus it is cooked in a slow cooker, basically a win all around.

Eggplant and Tomato Marinara Sauce
(Adapted from: http://www.stacymakescents.com/crock-pot-garden-marinara-sauce)

Ingredients:
-3 ½ lb of fresh garden tomatoes roughly chopped or 2 – 28-oz. cans.
-2 to 3 Tbsp of minced garlic
-1 onion, chopped into large chunks
-2 cups of chopped eggplant (I mostly peeled the eggplant but wasn't super concerned)
-1 ½ Tablespoons of brown sugar (to cut the acidity)
-1 ½ Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning
-2 bay leaves
-1 teaspoon salt (add more or less to taste)
-Freshly ground pepper, to taste

-1 lb of ground beef

Directions:

-Combine everything except for the meat in a crockpot.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

-When done process in batches in the food processor till a uniform sauce is formed.

-Now I would let this sauce sit in the fridge for a couple of days before eating.  I found that the flavor of the sauce was much better a few days after the initial cooking.  It's not terrible the first day but it's way better on the third.

-When ready to serve: brown meat and add sauce to combine.  Heat throughly and enjoy!

Also Tucker and I went for a walk at the town park today despite the dreary weather.  We clocked in 2.32 miles which is a good start to my 90 mile goal.  Plus I have a happy tired dog.  :)

I hope everyone had a nice relaxing Sunday!  Go Buffalo!

Let's do this

Hello Everybody!

I'm back and have a challenge for myself (and any of you that want to join) from tomorrow (November 17th) to the end of 2013.  Over the next 45 days I will eat healthy paleo friendly meals, I will walk a total of 90 miles, and I will do non-cardio exercise atleast 3 times a week.

Why am I setting this challenge up for myself?  Well my life has been crazy for the past 4 months and I want to take control over my food and health again.  It has been a whirlwind journey of moving to a new place and starting a new job but I feel like I'm starting to be more settled and want to get back into my healthy routine.  There has been a lot of pizza, wings over Albany, and beer over the past  4 months and my energy level and complexion are suffering.  Oddly enough I will admit that I have not gained much weight but I attribute this to having an office on the 2nd floor and having to constantly go up and down 3 flights of stairs.  (Old creaky elevators terrify me.)

Obviously exceptions to this are going to be Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinners because I love stuffing, pumpkin pie, christmas cookies of all kinds, and I'm not about depirving myself of these loves!

So join me if you want or just stop by for some more delicious recipes that I've been working on.  Either way thank you for reading and here's to the next 45 days!!

And now an adorable dog nose.  You're welcome!

This Is the End, My Only Friend, The End

Hey!  Sorry I didn't blog the last week.  It was a whirlwind of a week but I'm happy to say that I have a job and a place to live!  I hope everyone enjoyed the recipes and if I start having free time again I might start posting more recipes.  Until then thank you all for reading and I wish you the best with your healthy eating!

Love you!

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.