Another menu!

No excuses! You have a meal plan. Make a grocery list and go forth, my friends! Eat well and be happy.

Day 1

B: Zucchini, sweet potato frittata w/ sausage

L: Green salad w/ chicken thighs and homemade balsamic

D: Grilled garlic flank steak with peppers/onions, baked beets

Day 2

B: Leftovers

L: Canned tuna patties (as in NOTHING in the can except for tuna and maybe water/salt) mixed with probiotic pickles, onions, and tomato w/ homemade guac

D: Mini chicken pot pies w/ green beans

Day 3

B: Scrambled eggs with kale, bacon, berries

L: Left overs

D: Shrimp fried rice w/ asparagus 

*Use the recipe linked for fried rice as a guide. I’m subbing chicken for shrimp, coconut aminos for soy sauce, and sesame oil for coconut oil

Day 4

B: Pumpkin pancakes w/ sausage 

L: Ice tray "bento box" (one ice cube tray for Chase, one for me. Yes, I like being a kid too.)

D: Pepperoni pizza chicken w/ parsnips & carrot stir fry 

Day 5

B: Egg scramble with any left over veggies w/ breakfast sliders 

L: Fridge clean out! Eat any leftovers and anything that may be going bad

D: Sweet potato lasagne w/ broccoli 

A weekly plan

Yeah, yeah...You don't have to say it, I'm a failure. This is a reoccurring theme in my life. I've accepted it. Anywho...

This is a fairly selfish post. I need to meal plan and you guys get to reap the benefits of my parading about the internet for a week of ideas. You'll notice that some things are really simple or not linked to a particular recipe and that's because sometimes simple is better. Especially if you have a screaming, flailing baby standing underneath of you wanting to be picked up. You'll also notice that we eat a lot of eggs. Don't fear the egg. It's good for ya!

Day 1
B: Coconut banana pancakes w/ bacon and fruit
L: leftovers from day before/clear your fridge out!
D: Meatloaf, Brussels sprouts, rice cooked in bone broth

Day 2
B: Scrambled eggs w/ shredded kale (or whatever green you have) and cheese, fruit
L: Kale salad w/ any leftover meats & Cinnamon honey fried bananas
D: Apple and bacon rosemary burgers w/ asparagus and sweet potatoes

Day 3
B: Noatmeal and sausage
L: Frittata
D: Brushetta chicken w/ broccoli & butternut squash

Day 4
B: Eggs w/ shredded kale & fruit
L: Banana w/ almond butter & leftovers from the week
D: Pork tenderloin, maple acorn squash & green beans

Day 5
B: Pumpkin porridge (as seen in Practical Paleo) w/ bacon
L: Lettuce wraps w/ ground beef, avocado, etc.
D: Salmon cakes (as seen in Practical Paleo) w/ avocado, sweet potato, asparagus

Week 3 & Various other failures

If you know me (or have read ANY of my blogs), you know that I'm a notorious failure. Like I really. Really. Suck. It's no big deal and I've come to terms with it in a loving, self-conflicted sort of way.

I'm going to keep week 3 short and simple. If you have made week's 1 & 2 changes and you're staying strong, this should be an easy task for you. We're going to investigate labels in your kitchen again. We're just clearing that b out, aren't we? If you find anything that has sugar in it, it has to go. Yep. And I don't mean looking at the label and saying, "Nope. I don't see the word 'sugar' anywhere on this." Sugar is a deceptive little a-hole and you really have to know what you're looking for sometimes. Soooooo, if you look at your labels and you see any of the words below, so farewell junky food!

Instead of typing all the different forms out, here's a nifty little list for you: CLICK ME

With the exception of honey...you know what I'm going to say, right? It's gotta go. I'm sorry. We can cry over it together. Now, here's where I apply the, "I've gotta live my life" rule. I occasionally consume sugar. Not in the form of prepackaged, crappy middle aisle grocery store food...but from home made baked goods. But it's rare. I use organic Florida crystals pure cane sugar and brown sugar when I do. I would HIGHLY recommend doing a sugar detox for a couple of weeks, just to get the cravings to die down a bit and cleanse your system of all the crap you've been ingesting. I swear, I don't crave junk much anymore. And when I do eat, say a Krispy Kreme or DQ (I know, I know), I get sick. Like it's not pretty. Like my son who is normally underneath of me 24 hours a day won't even come near me. Haha!

On a semi-related, semi-unrelated note, I've decided to take on another challenge that I give myself a good week before I fail. Self fulling prophecy of failing much? What's the challenge, you ask? I have decided to not go to the grocery store anymore. Yep. No more. I used to love grocery shopping. Before the kid. Before I HAD to make three meals a day. When I had options like Whole Foods and Central Market. Big C is generally awesome at the grocery store, so that's not the issue. Give that kid a green smoothie and he's set for 30 minutes. I just feel like I'm spending way too much money on things that I could get for cheaper online and/or better quality.

So, this is my proposal to myself:
Meat will be ordered twice a month from US Wellness Meat
Veggies/Fruit/Dairy come weekly through Annie's
All additional items will be purchased through various online retailers such as Amazon, Vitacost, or Frontier.
Am I forgetting anything? Please remind me if I am!

I think it's feasible. But I've also had a couple of beers and when that happens I get super ambitious. Which is why I've made jello and a cauliflower pizza crust, while typing this out. I needed to meal plan to make sure all of my lovely fresh veggies that I picked up today don't go bad...but Downton Abbey is calling my name. I bid you good day. I SAY GOOD DAY!

Week Two - No more oil!!

Sorry I kind of missed week two. We've been on vacay to Niagara Falls and made a rule of limited technology. However, Steve is in the hotel lobby doing home work, Big C is napping, and I'm bored! Which means, you guys get a very late week two of paleo transition. It'll be late since I can't post until we get back home in a few days. 

Niagara Falls is quite the interesting group of people. Between the clash of the many different cultures and all the unnecessary spandex...yeah. It's also difficult to maintain a healthy way of eating and I was getting quite anxious about it. So, instead of stressing myself out, I'm just going with the flow and I'll detox when I get home. Steve is in pizza heaven, but his insides don't get turned inside out like mine do when he eats a shit ton of gluten. For the future, we'll be getting hotels with kitchens and preparing our food at the hotel. It sure beats the $100+ a day spent on crap food. Suck it, tourist trap crap food places!! 

This week's change/goal stays in line with last week's oil change. It's really simple, but you'll likely find it really frustrating too. All you have to do is completely get rid of crap oils. Last week, we knocked out condiments/cooking oils and this week, we'll finish it off. 

You thought you got rid of the oils already? You may have gotten rid of a significant portion, but the likelihood of you still having some lurking around is high. So, open your fridge/cabinets/pantry and take everything out (or just go through everything, whatever you prefer). I want you to read the ingredients on everything you have. Remember all those no-no oils we talked about last week? If you have anything with those oils in it, get rid of it. I bet you'll notice that it eliminates a lot of things (including bread, which is no bueno any way). That's it. That's all you have to do this week. You don't even have to buy anything! You should have gotten your coconut/olive/avocado oils, ghee, and REAL butter last week, so you're in the clear with cooking. 

Just make sure when you buy things at the store, you read the ingredients. You'll be incredibly surprised at the amount of shi-at in anything boxed. We'll get you out of the middle aisles soon enough though. Heck, I still go in the middle aisles occasionally - you need spices/seasoning, nuts, etc. It's all about knowing what you're putting in your belly. And if you have kids, what you're putting in their bellies to set them up for future success. 

Now if the Frenchie people next door would quit yelling, that would be great. It was quite strange being in the elevator with a French couple, a German couple, and an English family...awkward. Or maybe they're over it and I'm being the awkward one. Haha!

Want to order some paleo yummies? I like Wild Mtn paleo market. Everything is strictly paleo compliant, so no label reading (although I would still recommend doing so)! 

Now go get rid of some oils!! And floss your teeth!! 

No homework this week. Things will be getting real next week, so brace yourself. ;-)

I don't wannnnna!

Hi. My name is Ashley and I'm a quitter. Haha! Yes, it's true. If it's something hard, I'll likely give up. I'm not even sure how I've made it to 15 months of breast feeding, because that -ish was no joke in the beginning. I guess I had my priorities straight about that. Who knows.

But I'm not here to talk about breast feeding (although my friends know that I could talk about that subject for-ev-er), I'm here to talk about making the transition to a paleo/primal lifestyle. I have tried to do the Whole30 challenge once and epically failed. I'm mentally charging myself to take that beast on again, but I think I'm going to wait until my husband deploys to tame that animal again. That's yet another post though. I'm rambling and not really getting to the point of anything. Many apologies.

My point: I want to help my friends transition to a paleo lifestlye and I want to make it as easy on you as possible. Off the top of my head, I have two friends who are really interested in it, but with so much info out there, things can quickly get overwhelming and out of hand. Not to mention, the infamous paleo police and perfectionist that hinder every one else's results around them. I will not be your police and I am no where near a perfectionist. However, when I choose to eat a non-paleo food, I don't trick myself into thinking it's healthy because of x-y-z. I don't make excuses. I just eat it and move on...and likely blow my butt hole out. Man, I'm telling you. I just can't handle processed foods anymore. It got me earlier.

What I want to do is set up one thing to change per week. That way, there's no sticker shock (let's face it, canola oil is cheap and coconut oil is not) or aggression/depression about dropping certain foods. We treat food as comfort, when we should be treating food as nourishment and finding comfort in our loved ones. Let's move away from this and get healthy! (One reason why I get so angry at the infamous grandparents wanting to "spoil with food," but that's another story too.)

This week's goal: change your oils. That's it - and not even everything. We have a long way to go with oil, my little dears. Take all of your cooking oils/sprays/salad dressings/condiments out and sit them on the counter. Anything that says soybean, canola, vegetable, corn, sunflower, peanut, safflower, shortening, or grape seed needs to be tossed. Sorry. I know it seems expensive and a waste. It is. But these are a waste on your health too. I'm sure you can google something to do with all of your excess oils. The replacement is easy though; just use real fat. Bacon grease (if you save it or you can start saving it), real butter, unrefined coconut oil, and olive oil are a few simple things to start with. There's a few other oils you can play with, but those are an easy start. Please feel free to use avocado oil (for very low heat cooking) and walnut oil (NOT to be heated)...but I'm trying not to be overwhelming, remember? See this excellent guide to fats/oil by one of my favorite bloggers. 

Notes on your oil choices: olive oil should only be used as a dressing and never heated (or heated at a VERY low temp). I was guilty of this myself for a while, but now I know and you do too. Also, when buying butter you have to read the ingredient listing. It shouldn't contain anything other than milk or cream. Consider this your first lesson in ingredient reading. I personally love KerryGold and it seems to be the choice butter in the paleo world. However, it's kind of expensive and we're trying to be simple this week. So, just read the ingredients and get whatever you want (as long as the ingredients are acceptable). Now, a small caveat. Paleo followers typically do not consume dairy, which would omit butter. I know that my body (and my son's) can tolerate butter, which is why we continue to use it. We can't, however, handle ice cream and conventional milk. For now, use real butter. We'll talk more about this later.

Need an acceptable replacement for salad dressing? Try mixing some balsamic and olive oils or just plain olive oil with a few dried/fresh herbs. And know that if ordering a salad at a restaurant, it will contain vegetable oil if you order any dressing other than olive oil. I personally don't get salads when we're out, because I don't trust the oils. Or you can take your own. Who cares what people think? You're on the road to health and they aren't. Bam! Take that, judge-y people who make fun of all of my food quirks!

Recap
Week 1: Replace cooking oils and salad dressing oils
HW for next week: Start reading ingredients. You'll notice that oils are in pretty much everything processed. You don't have to make any additional changes other than what I've already asked. I just want you to start becoming aware of what's in your food and how to read the ingredients. Eventually, you won't even be buying processed crap, so it won't be as big of a deal. 

As the weeks progress, things will get a little harder and then it'll eventually be easy peasy. Oils are in EVERYTHING, but we're only going to focus on this small step for right now. Good luck and remember Gs up, hoes down!

Eat your rainbow!

Have you ever heard that expression? It doesn't mean go eat a literal rainbow in hopes of finding a pissy, little leprechaun whose pot of gold you can steal. I mean, that would be legit...but I'm 99% sure that's now how it would work out. Little people are angry. I know this, because I'm little.
Moving on. It simply means to eat a well rounded meal, with lost of bright colored REAL food. This can be a difficult thing for some, myself included, but is essential for variety and health.

I try to make dinner meal plans so that 1. I don't go all banana sandwich at the grocery store and 2. I can see an overview of a few days worth of meals to make sure I'm eating my rainbow. I tend not to do more than four or five days in advance which has it's ups and downs. Real food tends to spoil quicker than processed crap, but it's also a pain to go to the store so often. SOOOOOO, I try to eliminate all that drama by ordering my meat from US Wellness, my veggies from an organic buying club, and whatever else is left from VitaCost or Amazon. Somehow, I still find myself at the grocery store every Monday. I'm rambling. And about nothing. Who am I right now??

Ok, ok, ok. Here's the meal plan for the next four days. Eat and like it!
BTW, I'm watching Magic Mike right now. It sucks. I mean, sure half naked guys are legit...but it's a terrible movie.

Day 1
Paleo Meatloaf - this is choke full of veggies, so you really don't need a side dish. If you must, I suggest steamed, peeled, whole carrots or a sweet potato.

Day 2
Crock pot apricot chicken
*I personally prefer breast to thighs (Hahaha! Ok, I'm immature. YOU grow up!). It's your world though. Add a green and a veggie - yes, I distinguish a difference between greens and veggies - and BAM! There's your meal. (I promise never to say BAM! again. Maybe). You can sauté some kale and have steamed carrots, baked butternut, or baked sweet potato.

Day 3
Taco scramble with THIS seasoning

Day 4
Bacon apple crock pot chicken

And there ya have. Four days of Paleo dinners. Enjoy!

Lactation Cookies

So, this probably won't help my business, but I thought I would share my recipe for the lactation cookies that I make. I know a lot of people don't want to buy certain ingredients to only use occasionally, then have them go bad (flax, brewer's yeast) and that's where I come in. :-)

Annnnd! Here ya go!

1/4c - 1c sugar
1/4c - 1c brown sugar
1/2c butter 
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
2-4 tbsp flax seed meal
4-8 tbsp water
2c flour of choice (linked below)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1-4 tbsp brewer's yeast
1/2c - 1c oatmeal
1 - 2c chocolate chips

Mix the flax seed meal and water together. For every tbsp of flax, double the water. (EX: 2 tbsp flax mixed with 4 tbsp of water)

Blend the sugars and butter together

Continue blending while mixing in the eggs, vanilla, and flax/water combo

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and brewer's yeast

Slowly blend into the wet mix - I mix it in thirds

Stir in the oatmeal and chocolate chips - I do a 1/4 cup of each at a time and add until I'm happy with the mixture

Bake for 9-13 minutes at 350

*I linked all of the ingredients that I use so that you can get an idea of what you're eating and what products I use.
**I go between these three flours: einkorn, sprouted wheat, and almond - depending on your request and dietary restrictions. I personally do not consume grains (often) and use almond flour for myself. I do taste every batch of cookies that I make to ensure that they don't taste like a butthole. No one wants butthole cookies.
***If you're expecting a delicious Otis Spunkmeyer cookie...yeah...probably should just go get one of those, because lactation cookies do not taste like that. ;-)
****My eggs come from a local source, but if I run out, I used the above link.
*****Water isn't organic. Don't be ridiculous, people. It's freaking water.

Ok, so now that I've actually looked at/linked all of the things I use, I see that it's not all organic. With that being said, I do feel like KerryGold butter is the better option versus any organic store bought brand. It's grassfed and other brands (regardless of the organic label) can't guarantee that. The chocolate chips aren't organic, but they are the BEST on the market in regard to ingredients. Also, I use normal 'ol baking soda. If you want more info on the aluminum factor of baking soda/powder, feel free to ask me and I'll explain more in depth why I use regular baking soda.

That is all, my beautiful nursing mamas! I will continue to make you guys cookies, for as long as you need/want them. Happy, tingly boobies = happy, well-fed babies!

Happy nursing!

Please see my FB page: One Ugly Cookie to order these cookies and to see the other sweets I make. 

Days 1-3 Journal

I've decided to also post what I actually ate in the event you want some additional ideas of food. I'm staying fairly close to the meal plans, but as we all know, things can change.

Day 1
Breakfast: Eggs scrambled in butter, with sautéed red chard, seasoned with Herbs de Provence and apple fried in butter with cinnamon.
Lunch: Pulled pork lettuce wraps w/ orange, grapefruit, sauteed tomato, and a couple of sweet baby peppers
Dinner: Chicken w/ creamy sun-dried tomato sauce, baked potato

Snacks/etc:
Sipped on kombucha, water kefir, and regular 'ole H2O throughout the day
1 banana
End of the day had a giant glass of raw milk

After breakfast I really wanted a giant piece of chocolate. I don't know what it is about a challenge, but it makes you want what you can't have that much more. Fortunately, I have no chocolate in the house, other than baking chocolate. I may have to have Steve hide it, but I really want to prove to myself that I'm capable of saying NO!

Ok, so...it's the end of day one. I can say that I have never in my whole life wanted chocolate as badly as I do right now. I know 90% of it is in my head and the whole want what you can't have thing. The other 10% is my body craving sugar, because like 99.9% of Americans - I have a sugar addiction. Stay strong!!

Day 2
Breakfast: "Slept in," so I didn't eat. If by "sleep in," I mean, sleeping until 7:30. So sad. Steve and Big C had scrambled eggs.
Lunch: Leftovers from the past few days. I ended up eating leftover pulled pork w/ blueberries and sautéed up some zucchini and green pepper. Steve had a taco salad w/ left over taco meat, homemade taco sauce, kale, and home made cream cheese.
Dinner: Jerk chicken w/ green beans mixed into the recipe (Twas yummy!)

Today, I still was desperate for a piece of chocolate. Or a chocolate chip cookie. Or a piece of cake. ANYTHING sweet. However, I stayed strong. Steve reminded me that we're only on day two. I hope the craving goes away. That's exactly what I'm trying to kick, the sugar addiction. I felt like I was starving all day today. I know that grains are pretty filling, so I'm wondering if that has anything to do with being hungry. I thought meat was supposed to fill you up? (Am I the only one laughing here?) Anywho, back at it again tomorrow. If I can just make it past a week, I think I'll be over the mental hurdle.

Day 3
Breakfast: Zucchini & sweet potato frittata
Lunch: Mix of left overs from the week (trying to get rid of things)
Dinner: Beef stew

My head hurts. I'm tired. My kid refuses to sleep. The latter is probably the cause of the first two. However, I'm sure some of my headache is the lack of sugar. I'm craving everything. I almost went to krispy kreme today. I HATE krispy kreme! Almost went to McD. I NEVER eat there. Steve suggested having "an alibi" snack, but my theory is if you cheat/give yourself an out at any point, it defeats the whole purpose. Just got to stay strong. And ram my head into a brick wall in the process.

As of this morning, I weighed 107. I'm not trying to lose weight, but I said that I would post about that. I haven't had the opportunity to take a pic, but I'll throw it up next time. See you in three days...hopefully! ;-)

Food Challenge Menu Day 10-12

Hope everything is going well thus far! I just realized that I haven't been planning any seafood or international meals. The horror! We don't eat a lot of seafood, because Steve isn't a big fan. I personally LOVE it, but making two different meat dishes...yeah, not going to happen.

Here ya go!

Day 10
Breakfast: Sweet potato latkes w/ egg and bacon
Lunch: Left over chicken - chicken lettuce wraps OR chicken salad w/ THIS mayo
Dinner:  Out! Be careful!!!

Day 11
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs w/ kale, sausage, and grapefruit
Lunch: Kale salad  (skip the honey in the recipe)
Dinner: Meatloaf w/ ground lamb, asparagus, and butternut squash
*Can't use ketchup with your meatloaf, unless you make your own sugar free version

Day 12
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with salsa, banana (or your choice of fruit), and bacon/sausage
Lunch: Fridge clean out - use any leftover, fruits, veggies that will be coming bad soon
Dinner: Pakistani Kima

As always, the grocery list assumes that you have nothing in your kitchen

Groceries
Meat:
ground beef
ground meat of choice for Day 12 dinner
pork sausage (sugar free!)
bacon (sugar free)
ground lamb

Produce:
carrot
4 sweet potatoes
celery
grapes
2 avocado
2 apples
1 lemon
kale
asparagus
lettuce
2 roma tomatoes or a box of cherry/grape tomatoes
grapefruit
3 or 4 radishes
dried cranberries or cherries (sugar free)
onion
fresh or frozen green beans
butternut squash

Spices:
cumin
chili powder
onion powder
garlic powder
oregano
paprika
curry powder
cinnamon
ginger
turmeric
thyme

Etc:
dried cranberries (or fresh) read ingredients! Most dried have sugar added!
walnuts
eggs
mustard
lemon juice
olive oil
coconut oil
coconut flour
lime juice
baking powder
pecans
small container goat cheese
apple cider vinegar (Bragg's)
dijon mustard
jar/can of diced tomatoes (sugar free)
butter
salsa (Pace is ok, it doesn't have junk)
*Breadcrumbs - If you have coconut flour, you don't need breadcrumbs
1 can tomato paste

Food Challenge Menu Days 7-9

Moving right along!

Day 7
Breakfast: Caprese omelet
Lunch: BLT wrapped in lettuce or a Pure Wrap
Dinner: Apple and pork burgers w/ broccoli

Day 8
Breakfast: Eggs with avocado, salsa, and bacon
Lunch: Baked salmon (or buy a salmon burger) with sautéed eggplant and rainbow chard
Dinner: Pizza stir-fry

Day 9 (If you're following along, today is Saturday)
Breakfast: Green smoothie (if you're feeding a babe too, just make an egg for them and give him some of your smoothie too)
Lunch: Enjoy lunch out! Read the ingredients/nutritionally info and order carefully
Dinner: Roasted chicken and veggies Here's another recipe for roasted chicken (this sits up tomorrow's lunch!)

Snacks:
Blueberries
Strawberries
Grape tomatoes
Grapefruit
Bananas

As always, the grocery list assumes that you have NOTHING in your pantry/kitchen
Groceries
Meat:
bacon
4lb WHOLE chicken
salmon or salmon burger
nitrate free pepperoni
ground nitrate free italian sausage
ground pork

Produce:
2 tomatoes
lettuce
spinach
celery
pear
2-3 apples
orange
kiwi
banana
3 rutabagas
avocado
eggplant
rainbow chard
2 sweet potatoes
1 onion
carrots (not baby)
mushrooms
2 yellow squash OR zucchini or 1 of each
broccoli
Optional: Blueberries, strawberries, grape tomatoes, grapefruit, bananas

Herbs:
basil
olive oil
garlic (get a few actual cloves)
coriander
parsley
a few sprigs of thyme
rosemary
cinnamon
allspice
nutmeg
oregano
thyme
garlic powder

Etc:
eggs
butter
mozzarella
apple cider vinegar
salsa
coconut oil
pecans
full fat canned coconut milk

Food Challenge Menu Days 4-6

Here's the menu for day 4, 5, and 6 - along with the grocery list. As always, the grocery list assumes that you have nothing in your kitchen. I can't go back every time and see what items were used in the previous week to adjust accordingly. I've got a screaming kid to take care of.

Day 4
Breakfast: Egg omelet (3 eggs, spinach, bacon, & feta)
Lunch: Cucumber Caprese Salad
Dinner: Tacos

Day 5
*Put dinner in the crock pot!
Breakfast: Leftover taco omelet (scramble taco meat into 2 or 3 eggs, top with sour cream/salsa)
Lunch: Turkey/avocado wrap using Pure Wraps or lettuce leaves
Dinner: Creamy country chicken w/ veggies using THIS recipe for gravy

*Make bacon mashed sweet potatoes tonight for the morning!
Day 6
Breakfast: Bacon mashed sweet potatoes and scrambled eggs
Lunch: Leftovers from last night's dinner
Dinner: Shepherd's pie using sweet potatoes instead

Snack:
Squash fries (not included in grocery list)

Grocery List
Meat:
bone in (or in my case out) chicken breast
2 packages ground beef
bacon
turkey (preferably Applegate brand - no sugar added!)

Produce:
2 cucumbers
cherry or grape tomatoes
1 tomato
2 avocado
6 or 7 sweet potatoes
package of WHOLE carrots, NOT baby.
3 onions
garlic
spinach
2-3 parsnips
fresh ginger

Seasonings:
basil
garlic powder
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar (read the ingredients!)
thyme
sage
Italian seasoning (or just blend it yourself)
cumin
chili powder
oregano
paprika

Etc:
fresh mozzarella (the little balls. Haha!)
sour cream
chicken broth
coconut amnios
butter
eggs
lime juice
coconut flour
baking powder
feta
Optional: Salsa (read ingredients! No sugar or junk!)

Food Challenge Menu Days 1-3

I'm posting days 1-3 a little early, so that you can have time to go out and grocery shop. Also, so you can get an idea of the way you'll be eating and the staples you'll need on hand.

I'll also post a little blurp every three days about how the day went for me personally with food and all that jazz. I'll throw up a before pic, but I'm not really anticipating a great change in my appearance. I've already lost all of my baby weight plus some by eating this way majority of the time. I aiming for more of an internal change.

*Read the recipes before grocery shopping. There may be items that you don't need, because you don't like them. It also helps to see what you'll be making. A lot of the recipes have little tips about certain ingredients - like mandarin oranges can be purchased packages, but with no sugar/corn syrup/etc.

Day before day 1:
Season your pork tenderloin
Make your mayo

Day 1
Breakfast: Zucchini and sweet potato frittata
Lunch: Pulled pork lettuce wraps (Prepare the pork the night before!! Bonus points for ease!)
Dinner: Chicken with creamy sun-dried tomato sauce

Day 2
Breakfast: Leftover frittata from yesterday (I'll be having brussels sprouts with it)
Lunch: Asian chicken salad wrap
Dinner: Jerk chicken (I like to also sauté in green beans and whatever other veggie I have laying around that could possibly go bad soon. Skip the sugar required in the recipe!)

Day 3
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs w/ spinach, bacon, and cinnamon cooked apples
Lunch: Any leftovers, a salad, or go out...but be careful with what you order. Look at the nutrition guides of wherever you go! Hint: Salad dressing at most restaurants are a definite no-go.
Dinner: Beef Stew

Snack:
Fruit 'N Nut Bars (Not a part of the grocery list!!!)
LARABARS can be found in any grocery story on the supplement aisle, but stay away from peanuts
Blueberries
Bananas
Apples

*If you have leftovers from any meals, feel free to skip the suggested meal and eat your leftovers instead. Don't waste food. Smiley face.

This grocery list assumes that you have NOTHING in your kitchen in the way of food. Just copy/paste this into a word doc and delete the things that you already have.
Get some of THESE if you want to eat wraps for lunches.

Produce                                 Meat
Onion                                    Stewing Beef
Carrots                                  Pork tenderloin
Spinach                                Chicken breast
1 or 2 Sweet potatoes           Bacon (sugar free, nitrite free, read ingredients!)
2 zucchini
3 red (or color of choice) bell peppers
Lettuce of choice (romaine/bibb)
Sun dried tomatoes (possible canned, read ingredients!)
Mandarin oranges (can buy in a package)
Scallions
Celery
Pineapple
Optional: Brussels sprouts, blueberries, apples, bananas (these are snack items)

Herbs/Spices                     
Parsley
Salt/Pepper
Cinnamon
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Dried mustard
Paprika
Cumin
Mint
Allspice
Cloves
Nutmeg
Optional: Red pepper flakes

Etc.
Canned diced tomatoes (read ingredients!)
Olive oil
Beef stock (read ingredients!)
Chicken stock (read ingredients!)
Eggs
Lemon juice (100% lemon juice or buy a few lemons to squeeze)
Coconut oil (will use regularly!)
Butter/ghee
Pure wraps (have to buy online more than likely, but worth it!)

30 Day Challenge

Inspired by the Whole30 challenge, I decided to do my own challenge. Getting Big Benson on board is proving to be somewhat of a challenge in and of itself, but that's a whole different ball game - his biggest issue what the entire thing is giving up beer for 30 days. Go figure.

While I think that cleansing and giving up of sugar, grains, etc. for a small amount of time and reintroducing slowly is a great idea, it can be a bit of a process. I think that by simply allowing a small window of eliminating crap foods, better habits can be created for a lifetime of change. Woah...did all of that just come out of my mouth? Am I drunk? NO. High on coffee? YES. 

I'm on board with the entire Whole30 challenge with two concessions: I'm not giving up diary. I personally have zero problems with dairy. It doesn't make me gassy or bloated or any of these ugly symptoms. And I love butter. Like way too much. If you think that diary could be the culprit of some of your intestinal woes, I would suggest cutting it out for the first week of so of the 30 days and reintroducing it back very slowly. The other "allowance" is beer. For poor Steve's sake, I've decided to allow one beer. Every other night. Muhahaha! This is partially for me too - Woodchucks are so good. Redick. 

So. Here are the guidelines. I don't want to call them rules. Rules are too easy to break. Guidelines sounds far less intimidating. 

1. No sugar or sweeteners of any kind. This means honey, maple syrup, and agave. Eliminating sweeteners helps to cleanse the palate and hopefully at the end of this, sugar cravings will be gone or at least significantly diminished. If you aren't eating canned/boxed food, then you have no worries. If you're eating out, try to find the nutrition guide and be on the lookout for sugar in other forms. See this list of the many forms of sugar. 

2. No alcohol. If you must (and Steve Benson must), limit it to one beer/wine every other night. Most beer has grains (duh!) and part of this is eliminating grains. 

3. No grains. This includes wheat, barley, millet, quinoa, corn, cous cous, oats, you get the point. Here's a handy-dandy list of grains, just FYI.

4. No legumes. Beans, peas, SOY, peanut butter, etc. Green beans and sugar snap peas are ok, as these are more pod than pea. Here's a list of legumes.

5. No carrageenan, MSG, or sulfites. This is per the Whole30 plan and for obvious reasons additives/preservatives are harmful.  Be on the lookout for MSG to be labeled in it's full name: Monosodium glutamate. 

6. No white potatoes. This is per the Whole30 diet. 

7. No processed foods, which means nothing boxed or canned. Exceptions: coconut milk, apple sauce, tomato sauce, broths. However, READ THE LABELS! Many things will include sugar or the three additives listed above. 

8. Consume quality dairy. Believe it or not, ultra pasteurized is NOT healthy. If possible, check out your local health market (Whole Foods and the like) and see if they have low heat pasteurized/non-homogenized milk. It taste SO much better and it's not void of all nutrients. If you're up for the challenge, you can see if you can find raw milk (which is what I prefer), but some people aren't comfortable with this. Not a problem. As far as butter/cheese is concerned, look for KerryGold and quality cheese. I like Applegate farm cheeses. Above all, regardless of what type of milk/butter/cheese you eat, GET FULL FAT. Here's a mainstream article about full fat, just so you guys don't think it's another one of my crazy hippy things. And another article. 

Overall, this challenge isn't about organic or grass-fed, blah, blah, blah. If you can afford it and have access to it, then by all means, go for the best of the best. I would say to get quality meat over fruit/veggies first, because you can rinse off some of the crap on the veggies...you can't take away the junk the animals are fed to fatten them up and keep them alive in inhumane conditions. It's about eating REAL food. That's all. 

And that's all folks! Seem hard? I'm sure you THINK it's hard, but if you start anything thinking it's hard, you've already set yourself up for failure. I'm personally a little nervous, but if I know that I have people watching me, it helps. Having Steve do it with me is a maaaaaaaaaaaaajor bonus. So, find a partner. Convince your partner. Anything. After the 30 days, slowly reintroduce grains/legumes/etc. I would still be weary of sugar, but obviously it wouldn't be the end of the world to have a delicious treat or two occasionally. 

I'll post three days worth of recipes/grocery lists at a time. So, I'll always be three days ahead of anyone  who wishes to join me - although I've already conceded to the fact that I'll probably be alone in this journey. And that's ok too. This will be a nice little journal for me.

START DATE: FEBRUARY 1, 2013 

Meal Plan 3

After talking with a friend (Shandall! :-)) I've decided to put lunch in here too. Lunch is always difficult for me, since I'm typically running all over the place during lunch hours. However, now that Chase is eating a lot more, I need to figure something out.

Now that I'm finally starting on a Monday, I can be a little more scheduled. As always, I will probably deviated from the plan a few times and I'll probably eat at a restaurant more than just the two days in the plan. The important thing to take out of this, is to just have a plan. Any ingredient that you buy can be used somewhere else, so that you don't waste anything if you skip a particular meal.

Day 1 - Monday
Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ fruit and pork sausage

Lunch: Crockpot pie

Dinner: Spaghetti bites w/ asparagus

Day 2 - Tuesday
Breakfast: Pancakes w/ bacon and fruit

Lunch: Breakfast lasagna w/ a green added into the lasagna

Dinner: Chicken Enchiladas w/ sprouted rice and broccoli

Day 3 - Wednesday
Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ fruit and breakfast sausage

Lunch: OUT (Probably Panera or something of the like)

Dinner: Sausage spaghetti squash bake

Day 4 - Thursday
Breakfast: Spinach scrambled eggs, bacon, and available fruit

Lunch: Left over spaghetti squash bake

Dinner: Spiced chicken breast w/ asparagus and sweet potato
            (Chicken recipe is from Nourishing Traditions cookbook)

Day 5 - Friday
Breakfast: French toast, sausage, available fruit

Lunch: Sweet and creamy sweet potato (Recipe below)

Dinner: Jerk chicken w/ green beans

Day 6 - Saturday
Breakfast: OUT

Lunch: OUT (Breakfast and lunch are out, because I will be visiting a friend in Destin!)

Dinner: Burgers, sautéed rainbow chard, butternut squash fries

Snacks
Cheese and Broccoli Muffins

Sweet and Creamy Sweet Potatoes (this is more for Chase, but sounds good in general too)

1 medium sweet potato, peeled

2 tbsp cottage cheese
1 tbsp crushed pineapple, drained
pinch cinnamon (optional)
Wrap the sweet potato in foil and bake for around 1 hour, until tender
Cool completely.
Cut crosswise into 1 1/2 inch wedges, then turn them so they sit flat on the cut sides.
Scoop a hollow into the centre of each piece (you can mash the scooped out pieces together and use them for something else).
Mix the cottage cheese with the pineapple and spoon into each hollow.
Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and serve as dessert... mmm!

Nag of the week: BUTTER. Use real butter! :-) Not Country Crock (they are a load of crock) or Smart Balance. I prefer KerryGold, because it's real and it's from grass-fed, pastured cows. But who cares about that. It's f'in delicious. I cook everything in butter. And cinnamon. But we're not talking about that, we're talking about butter. Get it! This you will not regret! I could literally eat this butter out of the container. I may or may not have done this before. Judge not!