We Did It! We Did It!!!

So tonight is the night that we complete our Whole30! Oh boy was it full of ups and downs. Times that were easy breezy and times that were just plain hard. Sure, we had cravings. We had nights where we just wanted a dessert, even a “paleo” dessert. Almost every night I wanted wine, however, we stuck it out. It feels really good to come back and tell everyone that we did it. We did it together.

I am having wine at midnight. Yes I know, a little ridiculous, but no not really. I can’t wait to taste it!!! I miss it with my dinner. I just love a good red wine. I’m really excited to get to reintroduce some things I have been missing such as goat cheese, raw honey and dried fruit. I stayed away from dried fruit for my Whole30 as well.

Now for the super cool, really awesome amazingness… I started day 1 at 195.8 lbs and today when I weighed I am now at 181 lbs!!!! That is 14.8 lbs this past 30 days. I feel on top of the world! I don’t want to stop. Watching the transformation is kind of addicting. Adrian also weighed in today and he started this month at 222.8 lbs and is now 211.2 lbs! That is 11.6 lbs this month for him! He looks phenomenal. It’s funny when we hug each other we actually feel closer. I guess that would seem obvious but it’s funny to notice it.

Yesterday it was so hilarious when I showed my twins a picture of me way back when I started paleo at over 200 lbs. I kept a progressional picture in just bra and panties. The beginning is quite disturbing. Anywho, Xavier, pats me on the shoulder and says “Mom, you were real chubby.” All I could do was laugh! What a sweet way to say what a fat ass I was! Sure made me happy for them to realize. Davonni was like “Wow, I didn’t even know you were that big.” Not as sweet as chubby, but I’ll take it. Gotta love the brutal honesty in kids. Having your kids cheer you on and having conversations with them about staying healthy and watching what they eat is crucial. Ever since I just started making them aware of what is in the food we eat they make better choices. It is really cool to watch. Now, I’m not saying they never eat candy or if I’m not around they won’t except soda from a family member, but just making them aware will help them make better decisions.

I feel like I should have a ton more to say but I don’t so here are our before and after’s from the beginning of this month. If you have thought about doing the Whole30 but are nervous or don’t think you can just go for it! Prepare yourself and jump right in. If we can do it so can you!

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!!!

 

We Did IT!!!! (29-33)

Woo HOO!!!! We successfully completed 30 whole days paleo! That was awesome! We decided to continue on going. We have both had such amazing results how could we stop? We feel amazing, the food is great and the exercise is needed.

Now for the cheat day… or days. Adrian and I decided on day 31 to have a small cheat. He got a delightful piece of cheesecake with a layer of chocolate on top and I had an amazing mini chocolate cream pie. They were delicious! We also added feta to our greek salad this same night. Day 32 went well and we were back at eating paleo. We took the kids to the Starlight Parade which is one of the largest parades in Portland next to The Grand Floral Parade. We packed up sandwiches for the kids and we stopped at a delicious paleo food cart called Cultured Caveman in Portland that offers some amazing food!!! We got the chili and chicken strips and they did not disappoint. The chili was definitely my favorite thing! We also tried a salted chocolate, honey, coconut milk popsicle that was pretty spectacular. Then we headed to the parade.

There is this lovely doughnut shop right in downtown Portland, you may have heard of it, called Voodoo Doughnut. Now, if you live in Portland or close you definitely should have tried it. At least once. My oldest son Jason advised me that he had never had Voodoo and neither had his brothers and sister. So off to Voodoo we went. The line was as long as always. 45 minute wait to be exact. You could smell the sweet decadence outside. This was torture. I wanted some so bad. We got inside and purchased four doughnuts for my children and headed on our way back to our spot at the parade. I am happy to say that Adrian and I survived that temptation and carried on with our night. We found another cart later in the evening that offered lamb and chicken kabobs. They were probably not 100% paleo but they were delicious nonetheless.

Which brings us to Day 33. Now in our defense, we were running around quite a bit this day and we were not prepared with food. We skipped breakfast and headed out shopping because we had our engagement photo shoot. Finally at around two o’clock we caved and got chinese  food. I had a cashew chicken and an egg roll, I did skip the rice. Adrian had my rice, his rice, BBQ pork and fried shrimp. Hey, go big or go home! After that we didn’t stop there. This chinese place was directly across the street from our absolute favorite bakery. Larson’s Bakery. Oh Em Gee is all I have to say. Their desserts are divine. Adrian got an apple critter and I had some kind of amazing chocolate cake with whipped filling. It was all kinds of amazing. We decided to head home and get ready for our shoot. We headed downtown to meet with our photographer and our photo shoot was so much fun! We really had a blast. I would honestly recommend couples do this for fun. It was such a great way to spend time together, be silly and feel sexy all at the same damn time! Great night. We ended it at McMenamins on the Columbia River. We sat outside on the deck with a beautiful sunset and a bottle of red wine. And some chicken wings. And some french fries. And some blue cheese. And some ranch. So, I guess you can say we definitely had our cheat day.

Today is a new day! We are back at it. I’m really looking forward to June. I have a goal to hit 185 pounds by June 30. That is 15.8 pounds. I lost just shy of 10 last month so why not reach a little higher. Last weigh in I was 200.8 pounds! Seriously .8 pound you suck. I got a new fitness plan for June from Health and Effectivity that I am so excited to start. Wish me luck! Below are some fun pictures from the last few days of food and fun!

What a milestone! So close to under 200 for the first time since 2005-06 ish. Unbelievable!

Greek Salad with tomato, cucumber, red onion, olive and feta dressed with balsamic, garlic, olive oil, sea salt, cracked pepper and italian seasoning.

Fresh organic strawberries and blueberries from Chuck’s Produce! Excellent deal. 2lbs of strawberries at $2.99 and the blueberries were only $.99 each! STEAL!

My mini chocolate cream pie!

The line at the infamous Voodoo Doughnut

Jason getting his doughnut

Adrian, Xavier and Davonni holding up their doughnuts.

The sunset at our dinner!

And breakfast this morning! Eggs, zucchini and a grapefruit. YUM.

 

 

Garlic Spears? Heck Yes!

I have to say so far my favorite thing about my paleo journey is trying all sorts of new vegetables and foods. This time I feel like I struck GOLD with garlic spears! They are amazing. A nice cross between asparagus and artichoke with a bite. All I did was pan fry them in some olive oil with sea salt and fresh black pepper. To die for. Well to me anyway. My family…. Not so much, but hey you can’t win them all.

I also experimented with paleo brownies, those were a huge hit! Even with the kids. Now, there was one tablespoon of baking powder in the recipe which I know is not 100% paleo, but as I described in my previous blog, I needed some sweet, succulent, deliciousness in my life and before I headed to get something completely off the charts I settled for these delicious brownies! I went on a hunt for a good recipe when I came across BakerGal. She went ahead and did the work for me by trying out five different varieties in her blog called “Paleo Brownies: Comparing 5 Recipes” and then creating The Perfect Paleo Brownie! Perfect it was! I did the no egg version. I also, shame on me but not so much, added Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips, they are 63% cacao mass and I decided to go for it. These brownies were the real deal! Absolutely amazing. If you are having a serious craving, I’m talking the ones that have you pacing around the kitchen huffing and puffing ready to give up all of your hard work, make these brownies instead. Delicious and kid approved.

Now, after my brownie expedition I thought for sure that even though it was honey instead of sugar and no flour I would have gained a pound back or something. NOPE! Next morning I had still dropped another pound! BOOM! And as of this morning my ass is 201.8 pounds! OMG! This is EPIC. I have not been under 200 pounds since having my daughter in 2006. I am beyond excited and this helps me push push push. I even went on a jog with my daughter… In the rain. It was quite amazing actually. I love jogging in the rain and might actually prefer it to dry weather. Call me crazy. I did not finish my squat challenge sadly, I stopped at 180 squats. I do, however, still do 100-150 per day which works great for me. I am sticking to my other exercise plan given to me by Health and Effectivity which I love and I have added lots of cardio to that.

So happy I have stuck through this. I was talking to Adrian last night about how when we eat we are feeling satisfied and not overly full and hung over from a food attack! At first I had to get used to this because I kept thinking that I had to still be hungry. I am just now starting to realize that I am still full. I am just full of delicious, healthy food. Food that is not processed into crap. Food that is real. Food that my body is happy with. Food that gives me energy instead of putting me in a food coma. I have been looking so forward to the end of the month to “cheat” and yesterday my cheat idea was sushi and salad rolls. Still a healthy choice just with a few things that I no longer eat. I will probably still have a slice of heavenly cake. That I just have to do. My point is, my body enjoys our new found way of eating! I love it actually. It was much easier than I expected and I am so happy I jumped on this lifestyle!

My daughter and I after our rainy day jog.

Garlic Spears! DELICIOUS!

Paleo brownie! YUM!

Garlic spears tossed and pan fried in olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. Butternut squash in a honey, almond butter, cinnamon and cayenne pepper sauce and a chicken breast seasoned w/ turmeric, coriander, sea salt and pepper.

Fresh herb salad with mushroom and apple dressed w/ balsamic garlic jalapeno and cilantro dressing.

Sanka Ya Dead Mon? (20-21)

YES! I am dead damn it. My legs are out of commission! I went ahead and walked the I-205 bridge with my Mom yesterday. We had an amazing time and I wouldn’t trade it for the world but I would say I need to invest in a better pair of running and walking shoes! I’m proud to say that it didn’t stop me from my work out today! YES! It hurt so good. I’m not gonna lie, I love the soreness from working out. I just always feel like when I’m a little sore I really put it in!!! So, now I am dead. My squat challenge was 180 squats today. Along with that I did 65 leg lifts, 65 crunches, 60 side crunches 30 on each side, jogged in place for five minutes, 150 jumping jacks, 40 arm circles front and backwards, 10 each arm curls and I planked four separate times for 30 sec each set. OUT OF COMMISSION.

Thankfully I had a delicious breakfast! A chicken, asparagus and mushroom scramble! I love a good scramble to get my morning started. Feel like I can conquer the world… Well not really, but close.

In recent news, I found a partner to go walking/running with me every morning!!! Exciting! It’s always good to have a partner for accountability and something to look forward to. We start on Thursday.

Now for the disappointing not so great news… Excuse the language that is about to happen. I fucking cheated! UGH. It was a very minor cheat but still. Last night my lovely, bright, thoughtful son Jason went to a good friends birthday dinner at Famous Dave’s BBQ. My son decided to bring us home a bunch of food including chicken, ribs, pulled pork, corn bread muffin, potatoes, cole slaw and baked beans. I had just returned from my long extensive walk with my mother and I could not resist the damn chicken. Or the rib. Or the little bit of pulled pork. OOPS. At least I only ate meat, and it was so freaking good. Damn Damn Damn. I should have resisted and just grilled my own! Oh well. I fight on. 20 days with zero cheats is quite amazing if I do say so myself. Cheat justified. Over and out.

Short but sweet! (13-14)

The past two days I have really pushed myself in my work out. I have still been doing my squat challenge and my daily fitness calendar from Health and Effectivity faithfully. It has not been easy. I honestly feel like I just don’t want to at first but then I push myself to not only do my challenges but also add in even more exercise! Today was my best so far! I did 135 squats, 17 push ups, 1 min 30 second plank (split this up to 1min 10 second, and then 20 second), 15 each forearms, 50 leg lifts and then a jog in place for 5 min! This may not seem like much but it was for me. I feel amazing and I have to say today was the first day I added in Boresha’s Codebreaker before my work out this month and the difference was amazing! I felt like I had so much more energy and stamina. I will not be doing my work outs with out it from now on! And I’m not gonna lie Jay-Z Had something to do with it too! This song came on and my work out got kicked up 10 notches!

I feel like my paleo journey has been one of the best decisions I have made for myself and my family in life! I am changing in so many areas of my life and it all started with a cup of skinny coffee and paying attention to what I am putting in my body! I truly feel like if I can do it ANYONE can. I was absolutely out of control when it came to eating. I had no self control. I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted often with an attitude like I didn’t care if I was fat. Truth is I definitely did. I now see that I was more than likely depressed and eating for comfort. Too bad I didn’t realize it is much more “comfortable” to eat HEALTHY!!! That’s all for my preaching today. I am just beyond excited for my progress thus far.

I was able to eat my first meal out of my garden yesterday for lunch! Braised collard greens with clean spicy italian sausage, garlic, ginger, onion, very little kosher salt and pepper.

Then for dinner I made some amazing jerk seasoned boneless skinless chicken thighs! OMG. I got the recipe from Eclectic Recipes. I swapped out the soy sauce for raw coconut aminos and the brown sugar for a touch of raw honey. Delicious. One of the best so far. I paired it with some butternut squash from Paleo Cupboard and roasted asparagus with evoo, kosher, and pepper. Simple and AMAZING! 

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.

What a wonderful day! #9

Yesterday was one of the best days so far! I didn’t get a chance to write last night so I’m doing it now. I am feeling energetic and I’m doing more exercise than I have in a very long time! I had 100 squats to do and while doing them I could feel my legs getting stronger and stronger. I even got my sister to start them! On my fitness calendar from Health and Effectivity, I had 13 pushups, a one minute plank, 10 ea forearms, and 35 leg lifts. In addition to this I went ahead and did side leg lifts as well (35 each side) 35 sit ups and 50 jumping jacks! It felt incredible!!! Today I am sore, I’m not gonna lie. BUT it’s a good sore.

Cravings have been almost non existent! I thought for sure this would take longer to go away. I have even been around different sugars and such and don’t have the want for them. I know this could just be my strong will and fat-burning coffee but either way it is a great feeling.

I finally made my turkey soup! The whole thing from scratch! Basically a turkey noodle soup but with cabbage instead of noodles. I have always loved this. I did it even before being paleo. One of my best childhood friends made it first and brought it to work and ever since I have been HOOKED! I paired it with an awesome spinach salad with balsamic dressing. Cooking is getting easier and easier. I cannot wait to try a paleo lasagna with zucchini in place of the noodles. That is sure to be amazing!

I have found that my children are eating a lot of the same things with us. They have been doing awesome trying new things out. It’s funny because they always say “oh no I don’t like that.” I have to challenge them by asking “Oh yeah? When did you have it? ” Most of the time they never have and then they try it. Sometimes they like it, other times not so much. All I ask is they try it. I love making good healthy meal decisions for us. I do not believe in making two full separate dinners. I did offer white rice in place of the kelp noodles the other night with the curry and will give them the option of crackers for their soup etc. When you only offer healthy choices, eventually they come around. It is a fact. No kid wants to starve.  I honestly thought this was going to be a lot harder. This may be the biggest challenge for some of you that are on the fence. Don’t let it hold you back! You are making a good choice for yourself and your family. They will one day thank you i’m sure.

I planted peppers this week. Two varieties of red bell peppers, green bell peppers, black krim tomatoes, sweet basil, chocolate mint, peppermint, oregano and hot peppers. Can’t wait until everything is ready! So exciting. Gardening is amazing. I don’t know why I waited so long to start one!

I have new discoveries once again! I found this amazing new hot sauce, two kinds by the same brand Arizona Pepper’s Organic Harvest Foods. Jalapeno Pepper Sauce and Chipotle Habanero Sauce! Absolutely AMAZING! Best hot sauce right now and there’s NO sugar added to it. There is salt, but it is the last ingredient and I say it’s ok! =) 

I also got some Ghee, which I know is ok for some not for others. I got it to use in moderation, really hardly at all, but nice to have on hand. 

I also got some coconut aminos to try in place of soy sauce for marinades etc. I’m excited about this one. I am going to try to make a cauliflower fried rice so it should be perfect! 

To end my day Adrian and I headed out together with our cameras to catch the sunset on the Interstate Bridge which connects Oregon and Washington. It’s an amazing view and the second time I have shot the sunset from there. We both love photography and it sure is an awesome activity to do together. We got there just in time and even caught a couple boats. The sky, nature, sunset and sunrise are some of the most beautiful things in life. Especially  here in the Pacific Northwest!

Below you will find meals from my ninth day! I did eat soup pretty much all day because I make a HUGE pot of it and I love it! Please know that in between my meals, I often snack on raw almonds, cashews and two select trail mixes from Whole Foods. I also do snap peas in between as well as other raw veggies and occasionally fruit. Enjoy!

Turkey soup with green, orange, and yellow pepper, mushroom, garlic, onion, zucchini and turkey. Seasoned with kosher salt, pepper, chile & garlic powder and cheyenne. 

Spinach salad with yellow carrots, cucumber, avocado, strawberry and turkey with balsamic vinegar dressing with garlic jalapeno kosher salt and pepper. 

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…

Day Number Three! (May 3)

Day three has been the hardest so far. Tonight we celebrated Jason’s birthday. With ice cream CAKE. With PIZZA. With a lot of things that sounded and smelled so good. 

The day started out great! I woke up and drank a pint of water and my fat burning coffee and immediately did my squat challenge. Oh Em Gee! My legs were literally on fire. I was having trouble and then the most amazingly cute thing happened! My beautiful six year old daughter Adrian comes walking in the room that I’m in and asks “What are you doing?” I reply “I am doing squats and they are tough!” She says “Is this exercise?” Me “yes it is and I have 35 more to go!” She then looks at me with the biggest eyes and the most excitement says “Come on Mom, you got this!” It was the most motivation I have had in YEARS! She stood with me, counted for me and even tried a couple! How could you not finish with something this cute in your face?

It was the best feeling ever and made my squat challenge the easiest day so far. 

 

After my squat challenge I put a nice big free range turkey in the oven so that I have a good source of meat for the week. I seasoned it beautifully and cooked it low and slow. The result was amazing!

 

Now it came time for my oldest son’s birthday party =/ What I have been dreading all day, not the “birthday” part of it… It is always a blessing and immediately uplifting to see your kids excited and happy! Now, this isn’t just any birthday this is his 13TH birthday! This is a milestone, he is now an adolescent! What I dreaded was smelling the pizza, seeing the ICE CREAM cake or what I like to now refer to as the devil. I knew I was up for a challenge and I did it. I FREAKING did it! I did NOT eat a single slice of pizza or cake! Not even a taste! NOTHING. I instead made sure all of the boys had what they needed and then made myself a paleo dinner with my turkey. It wasn’t my prettiest meal so far because I was kind of rushing so that I could eat and eat right! I know it was a challenge, but it was amazing to know that I had self control! To be able to not eat these things that were once a comfort to me feels amazing! This is just a prime example of MIND OVER MATTER! If you think it you can do it. You just have to have will power and believe in yourself. I told myself all day I was not eating that pizza or cake. I knew it would be a challenge but I prepared myself for it, and it made it that much easier. What a day! I still feel good from it! 

 

On a side note, Facebook decided to suspend me because I reposted a “naked gardening day” picture. Of all the negative inappropriate things I see on Facebook! The NERVE of them! Oh well. Guess it serves me right, the man’s penis on the front of the picture was kind of disturbing. Anywho… below you will find meals from the day! Enjoy! 

 

Best Breakfast this week!!! Everything on my plate today was organic! 3 eggs over medium, beet kale onion pan fried, avocado and raw baby yellow carrots. Everything except the carrots seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, cumin and cayenne.

 

My Lunch! Soooo good! Made a “SuperMix Superfood salad” (baby kale, spinach, chards and beet tips) topped with 2 fried eggs in evoo. Dressing was homemade vinaigrette (red wine vinegar, evoo, cracked black pepper, raw honey, and kosher salt) avocado and yellow baby carrots on the side. Amazing! Not pictured, 2 meatballs leftover from dinner.

 

Kinda messy, but dinner! Turkey on bed of kale and spinach with avocado and yellow carrot. Same vinaigrette from lunch. Quite delicious!

 

And you know I have to show you the TURKEY!!! Looks gorgeous! You can just see the Sage leaves under the skin!!! YUMMMMMY!