Category Archives: Healthy Living

Whole30 – Take Two! Days 4-7

Leave a reply

I give up spacer Work has been a little too crazy to keep track of what I’m eating in a blog post every single day. So I’m going to keep posting when I can, and not stress out about the rest of the time.

I’ve been eating reasonably well, and sticking to the plan for the most part. An ongoing challenge for me is snacking–seems like every evening I just “need” a snack of some sort, and usually resort to a Larabar or some macadamia nuts. Both are technically alright for me to have, but I worry that I’m snacking when I’m not really hungry. It’s rarely an issue during the day at work. Last night when I felt the urge for a snack, despite being quite full from dinner (and a Larabar “dessert”) I drank some water and it seemed to help.

Another issue I’ve found is that I’m pretty much addicted to the scale. I still haven’t been able to stop hopping on it every day, and that needs to stop! I think I’m going to ask my boyfriend to hide it spacer

This weekend I ate leftovers (chocolate chili, pot roast with balsamic onion gravy, and a few others), and made a few fresh dishes:

  • Bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken - I left out the pecans and added some cranberries instead.
  • Chorizo and carrot hash – This is basically the chorizo and sweet potato hash I usually make, but with carrots and fresh baby bell peppers instead. I also chopped up some kale and threw it into the mix. It turned out great.

My weekly meat delivery comes in on Wednesday, so I’ll be cooking up some more goodies Thursday and Friday. Once I get the giant freezer in the basement cleaned out, I’m going to try to do some once-a-month cooking.

This entry was posted in Healthy Living on by chrissy.

Whole30 – Take Two! Day 3

Leave a reply

spacer

That bit of yumminess above was my lunch, which was some Pot Roast with Balsamic Onion Gravy (plus some carrots and grape tomatoes thrown in). I also had some Chorizo and Sweet Potato Hash for breakfast. Dinner was corned beef and sauerkraut, which was delivered by South Mountain Creamery that very morning.

Wednesday is one of the yoga days at work, so that was my exercise for the day.

Despite breaking free from most of the junk I previously ate, I am still very much an emotional eater, and I saw that coming out big-time on Wednesday. My daughter had a total meltdown just before we were supposed to leave for school. It left us both in tears, and I have a tendency to eat when I’m upset. I was actually pretty good at work, and my only slip-up was a Larabar. But then when I got home, in addition to my dinner, which actually filled me up, I ate some macadamia nuts, a banana, and a Kit’s Organic bar (which tastes like a brownie). Granted, everything I ate was “good food,” but I shouldn’t have been eating any of it when I was already full. Plus I think the Larabar and Kit’s Organic bar mean I have to push a few extra days on Whole30.

 

This entry was posted in Healthy Living and tagged whole30 on by chrissy.

Whole30 – Take Two! Day 2

Leave a reply

Yoga and belly dance yesterday were great, but I’m a bit sore today! I’m also doing a couch-to-5K program (today was week 1, day 2) and my legs just weren’t particularly happy about all of the abuse. I know over the weeks and months, after my body has gotten used to the increase in physical activity again, I won’t be so sore, but right now I’d like to just go soak in a tub, or get a massage.

Since I didn’t leave enough time to eat and digest my dinner before belly dance class last night (belly dance on a full stomach is NOT a good idea) I had to eat a snack, in the form of handful of macadamia nuts and a Kit’s Organic bar on my way there. I don’t think I’ll call the bar a cheat, since everything in it is alright for Whole30, and I had to eat something so I could make it through class. Even after having those things, I was famished after class.

So what’s on the menu for today?

  • Chorizo and Sweet Potato Hash
  • Carnitas and raw baby carrots – I meant to take a picture of this before I ate it, because blogs need pictures, but I was kinda hungry after my run…
  • I’m planning to have some of my leftover Pot Roast for dinner while my daughter and her friend play at IKEA.

As for exercise, I did 30 minutes of the couch-to-5k program. Today was 90 seconds of walking (2.5MPH) alternating with 1 minute of jogging (3-3.5 MPH). I wasn’t fast, but managed to make it through the whole 30 minutes.

This entry was posted in Healthy Living and tagged whole30 on by chrissy.

Whole30 – Take Two! Day 1

Leave a reply

I started my first Whole30 Program on January 28, 2013. Just 30 days later, I was 10 pounds lighter, and 2 sizes smaller. It really helped me shift my focus a bit when it comes to eating, and it certainly didn’t hurt that I’ve had tons of compliments about how great I look since changing the way I eat.

Since completing those 30 days, I’ve stayed on paleo (mostly still Whole30) with a few exceptions during a recent trip to Disney World for a conference. I should mention that I probably could have stayed more or less Whole30-compliant during the trip, because the folks at Disney are super helpful about accommodating everyone, but I found myself drinking a few Diet Cokes (because I was exhausted) and I ate some cheesecake (twice… learned my lesson because both times made me sick!!).

Today I’m starting another round of Whole30, which means for the next 30 days I’m not going to have any sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, carrageenan, MSG, sulfites, or white potatoes. I’m also going to skip my daily Larabars, because “Paleo-ified” junk is still junk. The hardest thing for me is going to be not stepping on the scale for the next 30 days. I did it this morning so I could get a starting point, but won’t do it again until day 31.

So what am I going to eat for the next 30 days? Real food! I pre-cooked a few things to make my life a little easier:

  • Pot Roast with Balsamic Onion Gravy - I got a little lazy, threw everything into the slow cooker this time, and I didn’t use the immersion blender for the gravy this time. Plus I added some grape tomatoes and carrots, so no need to cook a veggie on the side.
  • Chocolate Chili - I also added some bacon from US Wellness Meats this time. YUM!!
  • Scotch Eggs
  • Paleo Pad Thai - My version had thinly sliced red cabbage and red bell pepper instead of the spaghetti squash and snap peas, and for my Sunshine Sauce, I left out the vinegar and doubled up on the coconut aminos

I’m going to cook up a few more things this week, including:

  • Chorizo and Sweet Potato Hash
  • Carnitas - Made some last week, but they were so good they didn’t last long enough to end up in the freezer
  • Something with chicken and bacon… Not sure what yet spacer

That just leaves a few veggies that I have to make over the course of the week, to supplement the more protein-and-fat-heavy dishes.

Day 1 Summary

I thought it would be helpful to just keep track of the food I’m eating (not calories, carbs, etc… just the actual food), and the exercise I’m doing during the next 30 days. Here’s day 1:

Food

  • Scotch Egg (1) with some dijon mustard
  • Chocolate Chili
  • Pot Roast with Balsamic Onion Gravy

Exercise

  • About 1 hour of yoga – we have lunchtime yoga twice a week at Pongos spacer
  • 1 hour of belly dance
This entry was posted in Healthy Living on by chrissy.

Steak and Cucumber Salad

Leave a reply

spacer

We got home pretty late tonight, so I had to make a quick dinner. I threw a couple of sirloin steaks in a skillet with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and topped with a tiny bit of ghee. The result was so good that me daughter asked for seconds.

spacer

The salad on my plate contains some of the veggies from my Washington’s Green Grocer order, and took only a few minutes to make. Unfortunately it doesn’t freeze well, so I’m going to have to take it to the office to share with everyone there.

Ingredients

  • 2 cucumbers
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
  • 1 cup ripe kalamata olives, pitted
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Chop and mix! It’s that simple.

This entry was posted in Healthy Living, Recipes on by chrissy.

Chocolate Chili

Leave a reply

I went to a Super Bowl Party/Chili Extravaganza on Sunday, so wanted to find a great Paleo-friendly chili recipe for my entry into the “chili bowl.” The Chocolate Chili recipe from Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat by Melissa Joulwan, with some modifications based on my own tastes, was a big winner. My changes were:

  • Increased the cocoa powder to 1/2 cup (instead of 1.5 tablespoons)
  • Added 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
  • Used a large (28 oz) can of tomatoes, instead of the 14.5 oz can

My Washington’s Green Grocer box will include 4 pounds of grass-fed ground beef, so I’m going to make another batch (maybe a double!) tonight.

This entry was posted in Healthy Living, Recipes on by chrissy.

Chorizo and Sweet Potato Hash

Leave a reply

spacer

Chorizo and sweet potatoes are two of my favorite foods, and I thought it might be fun to try combining them. The resulting hash was very yummy. Serve this for breakfast, topped with an egg and some avocado, or eat by itself for a delicious lunch.

Ingredients

Make sure your ingredients are Paleo-friendly. I do most of my grocery shopping through MOMs Organic Market or Washington’s Green Grocery, so that’s pretty easy for me, but you still need to check the labels, especially on the chorizo.

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 package chorizo (4 links)
  • 1 package (10 oz) diced sweet potatoes, or 2 fresh sweet potatoes cut into bit-sized pieces
  • 1 package (10 oz) tri-color bell peppers, or 1-2 fresh bell peppers, sliced
  • 2-4 cloves garlic
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • salt and pepper to tast

Directions

  1. Cut the chorizo into small pieces. I cut each link into quarters, and then chopped into smaller pieces.
  2. Brown the ground pork in a large skillet or pot. When it’s no longer pink, add the chorizo and cook over medium heat for a few minutes.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix will.
  4. Cover and allow to cook on low heat for about 10-15 minutes, until the veggies are cooked through.

Note: I used a 12-inch skillet, and it was pretty full before the veggies cooked down a bit, so if you don’t have a skillet that large, use a stock pot.

This entry was posted in Healthy Living, Recipes on by chrissy.

Pot Roast with Balsamic Onion Gravy

Leave a reply

If you’re doing Paleo and/or Whole30, you have to check out The Foodee Project. It’s a collection of Paleo recipes from other sites, and includes a handy shopping list generator. One of the recipes I found, and tried, from the site was Pot Roast with Balsamic Onion Gravy, from the She Cooks He Cleans blog.

Since I’m a big tweaker-of-recipes, I have to list the changes I made to the recipe to make it my own:

  • Omitted the shallot
  • Used a whole 6-oz can of tomato paste, instead of 3 tablespoons
  • Used 1 cup of balsamic vinegar, instead of 1/2 cup
  • Used 8 cloves of garlic, instead of 4-5
  • Omitted the beef broth, and instead used 1 cup of water 
This entry was posted in Healthy Living, Recipes on by chrissy.

Meat Sauce

Leave a reply

This is just so I can remember what I used in the delicious meat sauce I cooked the other night. Forgot to take a picture, but it was darn tasty served over spaghetti squash spacer

2 pounds ground beef
1 zucchini
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 small yellow onion
8 cloves garlic
2 28-oz cans chunky tomato sauce
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1-1/2 tsp black pepper

This entry was posted in Healthy Living, Recipes on by chrissy.

Egg Salad Sandwich

Leave a reply

spacer

This was pretty yummy! I used Almond Paleo Bread, baby spinach, and chopped hardboiled eggs with some avocado and olive oil.

 

This entry was posted in Healthy Living on by chrissy.