Oh Dear…

Well, let me just start by saying yesterday had to be the hardest day since I started my paleo lifestyle. The absolute hardest. Since I did so well in the beginning and then started actin’ all the way up for August, going into the Whole 30 for September has been the ultimate challenge! I believe it is worse than when I originally went paleo. Not that I don’t feel AMAZING, it is just weening yourself off of sugar all over again. I know that since I got through yesterday I will be smooth sailing going forward.

Now about yesterday… I would be wrong not to share this and it is quite embarrassing. So I was craving sweets. I mean really really wanting some sugar!!! Adrian and I had tossed around with it talking about how we could just do it, nobody would know. We stayed strong. I cooked dinner, we ate some baked chicken and green beans, had a plum to help with the sweet tooth etc.. Well, then at around 10:30 we were really craving something sweet. To be specific some Sheridan’s Frozen Custard. I talked Adrian into going, which wasn’t hard, and we were off! In the car ready to break the deal, rollin’ down Mill Plain we approach Sheridan’s and it is DARK. Lights out. Doors closed. Sheridan’s was CLOSED. I’m not gonna lie I was pissed. Completely pissed. The car ride home was silent. The rest of the night really was silent. The good thing is we both realized what a sign it was. We didn’t try and go somewhere else to get something different, just chalked it up to being a HUGE sign to take our asses home! Deal with it. We would have to start all the way over, and really, who wants  to do that?  My motto now…                                                              

Today is a new day! Glad I got that off of my chest, going forward I know we got this!!! It’s 30 days for crying out loud. This should be fine. We have done it before and we both are always happy with the way we feel, look and eat. Had we gotten that delicious frozen custard yesterday we would have felt horrible after the fact. It would have meant we failed. I am ready to bust through this month! I am doing an ab challenge with a really good work out every other day for the next 30 days and I am really feeling it! I am sore, but a good sore! The kind where you know you are gettin’ somewhere. This is what I am doing. Join me!                                                                                             

Below I will include some pictures from the last few days meals! I have a TON of fresh garden tomatoes and green onions that taste amazing! I will be making a tomato sauce today to try and use them before they go bad. Stay tuned! If you think of me, say a prayer for my strength.

Chicken “tacos” My go to meat. So versatile.

Basic scramble with mushroom, garnished with green onion and jalapeno pepper sauce.

One of the only broths w/ no sugar!

This amazing paleo chilli! One of the best things i have made!

Chilli!!! YUMMY! Recipe http://paleoforkids.net/paleo-chili/

Grilled chicken and riblets seasoned amazing! No bbq sauce and I didn’t miss it!

Chicken salad topped with hard boiled eggs! Again, I used the chicken taco meat. Dressing was my home made pico de gayo

Scramble made with my chicken taco meat.

One harvest from my tomato garden!

Chicken taco meat! In a blender I put about 12 cloves garlic, 2 bunches of cilantro, about 5 jalapenos, lime juice, cumin, Chile powder, garlic powder, onion powder and puree it then put all over the chicken and pan fry it in coconut oil. Mind you this is for like 5 pounds of chicken. The best meat ever!

Hello! I Am Still Alive.

Whoa now! It’s been a while I know. All has been well and I have been one busy chick! I am not even going to go over everything we have been eating over the last month, but I will say that August was tough. I can also say that starting just yesterday, September 1, we are doing the Whole30 challenge with Health and Effectivity! SO excited. With our less than stellar performance the last few weeks I can’t wait to get back to CLEAN, FRESH eating! My weight has maintained no major gains, so that’s a huge plus!

I am starting the challenge at 195.8 lbs and Adrian is starting at 222.8 lbs. The scale is put up and away until the end of this challenge and that in itself will be a challenge! I am used to keeping track of my progress at the very least weekly. What it does do is make us realize it is about so much more than just weight loss! Eating good, clean food makes you feel at the top of your game. You feel energized, you have a clear mind, you will want to work out and the food tastes delicious. With the whole 30 we also have to clear out the alcohol. Now, I am a wine-O I love red wine with my dinner quite often. Going into this challenge I believe this will be my biggest challenge. Wish me luck! I know I got this!!!

In other news we are just 10 weeks away from our wedding day!!! Final dress fitting is on September 14th! It is so surreal. I am just ecstatic, nervous, excited, nervous, thrilled and nervous again. I know it will go by so fast! We had the privilege of attending one of my best friend’s weddings and Adrian did video for the whole function. I was a bridesmaid and just watching her go through it all made it all the more real. She was stunning. Absolutely beautiful wedding.

I will blog as much as possible as we take this lovely 30 day journey! Say a prayer for us, after coming off a month of eating junk it can be tough to retrain your body to not crave the junk. I know we can do it! Below is our before pics, can’t wait to get to the end and do the afters! Stay tuned! (excuse the school supplies, it is back to school tomorrow!)

Chocolate Cake, AKA The Devil Himself

This past week has been crazy and today I gave in to a delicious piece of chocolate cake w/ fudge icing. It was so good. As I was eating it I loved every bite. It was moist, soft, sweet, chocolatey amazingness. I literally ate it just 30 minutes ago. Now, as I sit here, I am so stuffed, I feel disgusting and I wish I never ate it! Damn it. It will forever be known as the devil himself from now on.

There has been a lot going on. For instance my beautiful niece Kylie Christine has graduated high school! Not only has she graduated she graduated with honors! I cannot even begin to tell you how proud I am of her. She had a rough start in high school and really turned it around. Off to college she goes in the fall and I can’t wait to continue to see her flourish. Father’s Day was also last week and I always love a day to celebrate my fiance and my own Father. I love them both dearly and they need to know they are appreciated. Too often they can really be overlooked. My fiance’s son is also in town for the summer and we are all so happy to have him. Especially my daughter. She loves her big brother and really is attached at his hip at times. It’s really quite cute. I will say that because he’s here to visit it has been easy to use him as an excuse to not eat “all” the way paleo. For instance, last weekend we HAD to let him taste Little Big Burger. I mean we HAD to. That is a decision I do not regret like the cake.

My paleo journey has really been going quite well with the exception of craving attacks every now and then. I think this past week has been the most difficult for some reason! It was like all of a sudden I started slacking. I haven’t worked out as much as I have been and since it’s been this way I have stayed away from blogging. Then I started thinking… I know I can’t be the only one that has times that are tough, and everyday is not always peachy. Oh the struggle. So after my cake, I decided to come on in and write about it. Time to tell it. This will hold me accountable! That is in fact the reason I started to write about my journey. Accountability.  I am DONE acting up!!! That is it!!! Tomorrow is a new day! I will pick back up on my jogging, exercising and eating paleo. I honestly do feel the BEST when I am keeping to it 100%.

Luckily for me I have not gained my weight that I’ve lost back. Even though I haven’t done as much as I was I am still at 197.4 pounds. I credit this to my fat-burning coffee without a doubt. My goal of 185 may not happen this month, but next month I am doing a weight loss challenge with Health and Effectivity and I think this will be just what I need. From what it sounds like you will have a team of support and people sharing their journey. I am really excited!

The other day I was craving a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich. I made an amazing paleo version. I bought romaine leaves at Trader Joe’s for the “bread” and made some fresh guacamole that I spread on the lettuce, fried up some delicious paleo friendly bacon, sliced some ripe juicy tomatoes and added just a touch of kosher salt and fresh black pepper to them, then sprinkled just enough goat cheese on it to give it just the right flavor! Honestly, I prefer this version to bread. It was absolutely amazing and I’m sure I will make it again. I think I will also try it with different meat. Chicken salad sounds amazing! I have been eating melon of all kinds like it is candy. It is so good and fresh! I love it fresh out of the fridge when it is ice cold! One of my favorite fruits.

All in all even though I have had a few slip ups, I still enjoy my paleo lifestyle and I am definitely in no way giving it up. Can I just say that my stomach is literally turning from this cake. That will teach me. I will definitely remember this feeling next time I have the thought. Ugh.

Boresha Fat-Burning Organic coffee. AMAZING. This is what started my journey. http://www.drinkitshrinkit.com

These are a problem and somewhat of an addiction. Smoked salmon and goat cheese stuffed jalapeno’s wrapped in bacon.

The amazing bacon lettuce and tomato!

Me and my Niece Kylie

Cheese!!! I think she was just as happy and proud of herself as all of us!

THis is one of my closest friends Rosaunda and I at my nieces graduation party. It is absolutely normal for me to act up when in her presence.

Just beautiful!!!

 

Fresh Produce LIKE WHOA!

I am loving everything in season right now!!! So much to choose from. Trips to the produce store have been so fun! I finally made a paleo lasagna! It was delicious. I used portobello mushrooms and zucchini with grass fed beef. It was AMAZING. I will have to admit I did not omit the cheese… I couldn’t! I tried, but it is not lasagna with out cheese! It was seriously one of the best things I have ever made. Delicious. My only complaint is that I only made two portions. One for me and one for Adrian. I should have made like twelve.

I have been making fruit salads lately and they are satisfying any sweet craving I have. My latest had melon, strawberry, kiwi, grapes and pineapple. Divine. I also bought a whole flat of strawberries, chopped and cleaned them all and have them ready in a bowl for salads. Strawberry season is my favorite but so short lived! I am the most excited for berry season, summer fruit is the best. I have really scored with blueberries lately! Chucks Produce and Street Market had a huge sale on them last week! I’m talkin’ a dollar for a pint! I bought like five of them in two days. My children love them.

I have been grilling like crazy!!! Another reason I love when the weather is nice! My bestie came over this weekend and we grilled carne asada, chicken, pork riblets and some beef hot dogs for the kids. Everything was amazing! As an appetizer I made these little stuffed jalapenos. I stuffed them with dates and feta cheese and then wrapped them with BACON! OMG. Delicious! I made a paleo friendly version with out the feta as well. I suggest everyone make these. Well worth it! We also had shots of tequila, and lets be honest.. Tequila makes everything better!

My garden is flourishing! I have snap peas now coming and I was able to harvest another batch of collard greens. I will be harvesting a ton of lettuce today since when I originally planted it I thought I put the seeds too deep so I planted more… Well let us just say that there’s plenty now. My carrots are looking fabulous! I cannot wait to harvest them! I am so excited that my garden has done so well! I’m telling you I never thought I would be able to plant something and actually take care of it. It is quite fulfilling. My daughter ate snap peas right off of the plant which she would never eat. It’s because we planted and grew them together. I love it.

I have been pushing myself in my work out and feel amazing! I jogged with my nephew this weekend and we went probably a total of 2.5-3 miles. Part of which was straight up hill! I walked that part. It was a wonderful work out though. And it was along the water which is always nice. I really need to download a jogging app to track how far I go when I’m not on the track. Yesterday I went 2 miles at the school up the street, then did some high knees, jumping jacks, arm circles, squats, crunches, leg lifts, lunges and side bends. I love that I am able to get all of this done. BUT not with out my Codebreaker! I tell ya what, this stuff is amazing. I feel great when I drink it and I love that it helps improve my circulation and also enhances blood flow to the heart which makes jogging a lot easier! Not to mention it burns fat at a much faster rate then when exercising alone. Read all about it here! I love working hard and getting results! This has been a life changing experience. I am down another pound! 198.4 which is amazing! Loving life more than ever right now!

Just another day! #ootd denim on denim

Found these little gems!

Best thing ever! Portobello mushroom lasagna with zucchini, grass fed beef, and parmesan/mozzarella cheese

My version of Natures skittles! YUMMMY!

snap peas and collards

Little pockets of treasure! YUM! Bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeno with dates and feta.

Me and the neph!

Me, about to jog. Procrastinating. And no I don’t usually have on make up, just was right after church.

Zucchini flower

Peas up close and personal!

Carrots almost ready!

Lettuce, peas, tomatoes, zucchini. Maybe should give more space next year. =)

Goin’ great what can I say… Day 10-12

So the past few days have been going really good. We are sticking to our new paleo lifestyle with flying colors! The one thing I find hard is when we are out for extended periods of time. If I am not prepared it makes for a cranky day. Just have to learn to be prepared! I’m such a spontaneous person, I literally never plan a thing. It’s a problem. Seriously.

Salads. I feel like I can live off of them! With a good vinaigrette and a good variety of veggies! I find it being my go to when I want something quick. I am never disappointed. I tried one with apples and it was amazing as well. Strawberries are still my favorite! We got up the other morning and Davonni and Xavier, my twins, went outside to check on the garden and found that two strawberries were red and ripe! Their faces were priceless. They were so excited. Xavier also made a comment that he is “starting” to enjoy vegetables… YES!!!! Are you kidding me??? That’s amazing. My kids are so anti anything vegetable! This goes to show that what you offer they will eventually eat and enjoy. Give choices, but healthy ones. Even if you aren’t practicing a paleo lifestyle.

My garden is growing like crazy! These past few days have been really warm and have   really kicked everything up a notch. My spinach has just flourished out of no where and my collard greens are getting huge. I am, however, getting really pissed off with these white butterflies that are eating them! We are seriously about to battle it out. I was given a tip to get some mason bees that help get rid of them. Now I just have to find some. Where the hell do you find mason bees? And how do I get them to stay and fight off white butterflies? I went through and removed all of their eggs that were on the back of the leaves. I only found a few but damn it find someone else’s collards! This gardening thing is somethin’ else. Any tips on organic ways to rid pests would be appreciated! My tomato plants doubled in size as well as my carrot tops. I cannot wait until they are ready to harvest! 

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. My family made it an amazing day for me! They basically took on my chores for the day and I didn’t have to do a thing. Adrian cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast was a little shaky. We both laughed about it for the remainder of the day. He made scrambled eggs, bacon and what was supposed to be zucchini hash but was actually cucumber… Word of advice. DO NOT EAT COOKED CUCUMBER. It’s not very good. At all. Lunch was some yummy roasted brussel sprouts which I find to be another “go to” food. They are amazing and simple to make. Topped with some of that delicious chipotle habanero hot sauce I told you guys about!! YUMMMY! Also paired with a salad. Last but certainly not least: Dinner! We did our first round of “Chopped”. It was so fun and I can’t wait until it is my turn next week. I gave him boneless pork chops, sweet potatoes, jalapeno, zucchini and portobello mushrooms! Dinner was amazing! He did a wonderful job! He made a braised pork chop with portobello mushroom sauce, sweet potato zucchini hash with onion, garlic and jalapeno, and a delicious spinach salad! Way to go!!! I was surprised! We all loved it! I craved the hell out of some cake at the end of the night! I’m not even gonna lie. I wanted something sweet more than I have this entire month. I kept thinking it is Mother’s Day so I could get away with it… I settled with some pineapple. It was definitely NOT cake.

I’m seriously loving our new paleo lifestyle! It just adds an element of surprise to our lives. We are trying so many new things that keep our meals exciting and give us a lot to discuss. We are also seeing changes in our bodies for the better which is also a huge plus! Exercising is becoming habit and enjoyable. The other night I had 110 squats to do for my challenge in addition to my daily work out. Adrian and I had been gone for most of the day in Eugene and we didn’t get home until late evening. At 10:30 I jumped up and did my whole work out. This is after I had enjoyed about four glasses of Merlot. Definitely made for an interesting work out, but hey, I did it. I feel AWESOME and my body loves me right now. My muscles that are sore, however, do not.

Day 6

Today was better than yesterday. I am in love with fresh kale and spinach salad! It is soooo good. I find myself craving it. I ate it twice today with grilled chicken. I’m sure it has a lot to do with my delicious dressing! Evoo, vinegar, kosher salt, cracked black pepper, raw honey, fresh finely chopped garlic and finely chopped cilantro. OMG absolutely delicious. I will worn you, your breath will have a bite for the following few hours. I recommend brushing your teeth, gum will not take it away. It’s worth every minute.

Today was 75 squats! I was able to do 30 in a row with no break which was a HUGE accomplishment. When I started this challenge I was barely able to get through 10. I always do the sets all in one sitting, but have to stop and shake my legs out every now and then. I am not sore anymore the next day and I can feel my legs getting stronger and stronger. I am also adding a few additional exercises to my squat challenge thanks to Health and Effectivity. Yesterday it was 10 push ups, 1 minute plank, 10 curls, and 30 crunches. I couldn’t last for a full minute on the plank so I did two 30 second planks with in a minute of each other. I’m not to sore today either.

I have to say I feel the best I have felt in a very long time. It’s amazing what a cup of fat-burning coffee, diet change and a little exercise will do for you. I am almost to the one week mark and I am so happy I have made it! I really thought this would be much harder, however, I feel like it has been really satisfying. I do miss certain things, but overall I feel so much better without them that I now realize they are not necessary.

Below you will find my breakfast and lunch/dinner from today. Enjoy!

Breakfast: Three organic eggs, seasoned with kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and cayenne.  Two baby avocados with pico and approx 1/4 cup raw almonds.

Lunch/Dinner: Evoo, red wine vinegar, kosher salt, cracked black pepper, raw honey minced garlic and finely chopped cilantro over baby kale, spinach, chard, beet tips and grilled chicken.

Cinco de Mayo… CAKE damn it. I want some CAKE.

Today was ROUGH! My son not only had an ice cream cake for his birthday, but there was some confusion as to what day his party actually would be which resulted in another huge chocolate cake delivered on Sunday. This is separate from the ice cream cake that was here Friday for his party. This is pure BULLSHIT. Adrian and I literally opened the box of the cake together like little kids trying to sneak some while their parents aren’t looking! We just stared at it and smelled it.  We both started laughing because how ridiculous is this? We are adults, ultimately if we wanted to eat it we could. No questions asked. Thankfully we were strong enough to continue our night cake free! We opted for some watermelon instead.

Before the demon chocolate cake arrived, our day was really good. I was able to get up and cook breakfast for everyone. A very satisfying healthy breakfast! I had my yummy Boresha fat-burning coffee and I got in my SQUATS which were surprisingly much easier today! We went to church and enjoyed a nice service and decided we would fire up the grill! YUM! One thing I absolutely love about the summer is the grill. Definitely my favorite way to cook meat among other things. I got some carne asada and chicken seasoned it with some amazing seasoning and grilled it up! I was so upset because while at the store I forgot to get cilantro. Now, cilantro is my all time favorite herb. I love it on just about everything. Then I got the brightest idea… Get some out of my own garden! DUH. It wasn’t ready until now, so for the first time I was able to use cilantro out of my own garden! It was so fragrant and delicious! Seriously can’t  wait until everything else I’m growing can be harvested.

I’ve never gardened a day in my life. Then all of a sudden last year when I started really looking into all that was in our food from the supermarket I thought to myself I will grow my own. Well, I thought about it, talked about it, but never did it. This year I was determined to get this garden started! So I did. I have two beds with tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, carrots, string peas, string beans, lettuce, collard greens, spinach, purple carrots and green onion. I also have two planters containing strawberries and three blueberry bushes. Anyone who knows me is probably cracking up and waiting for me to f*ck it up somehow I’m sure. I never would have done this a couple years ago. In fact every place I’ve ever lived I have successfully killed every plant in site including the grass. I will have you know everything is healthy at this time. So eat that suckers.

Collard Greens

 My beds

Herbs

Strawberry Planter from Waddell Woodworking LLC (bestplace in Vancouver to get beds and planters in my opinion! Discount for repeat customers!) Everything is bigger now, but you get the idea. As you can tell I am very proud of my garden.

I have gotten a lot of feedback about starting a paleo lifestyle. Several of my friends and relatives wanted to know what got me into it or why did I decide to? I was introduced to paleo by a couple good friends of mine. They were always posting pictures of their food to a page on Facebook. Me being the nosey person I am started looking into the page they were posting to and decided to follow it as well. That page was Health and Effectivity. That month, April, he was doing a “sexy food” challenge. You post pictures of your paleo meals to the page and then a winner is determined. This page is so cool! Gives a lot of great challenges monthly. Even offers a work out regimen to follow if you are interested. The other website that I absolutely adore and is excellent is Paleo Cupboard. This website offers a shopping list and a lot of good starting recipes. There’s also a Facebook page and blog that you can get to from the website. Hope this helps those interested! Below you will find meals from today. Lunch was late and kinda led into dinner, so no pic for that. Hope you all enjoy!

Breakfast! Organic Broccoli- brussel sprout- jalapeno- onion “hash” cooked in coconut oil w/ kosher salt and pepper. 3 organic eggs w/ cumin kosher salt and pepper, turkey and bacon! YUM

Lunch/Dinner Grilled carne asada seasoned with olive oil, kosher salt, garlic, cayenne and black pepper. Grilled chicken thighs seasoned with turmeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, black pepper and clove. And and amazing salad of organic baby kale, beet tips, baby spinach and chards dressed with vinaigrette (evoo, vinegar, kosher salt, black pepper, raw honey, minced garlic and chopped cilantro from my garden!!! ) BEST dressing ever! And a glass of red wine, had to celebrate Cinco De Mayo…