Time to Celebrate!

Why are we celebrating?

My bro and I.

Today is not only our 10th day on the Whole30 program (1/3 of the way done!), but it's also my little brother's birthday! He's 25 today! 

My family throws birthday parties for everyone, no matter if they are 3 or 93. It's just an excuse to get together and celebrate usually, but why not celebrate your birth and your life? You deserve it! The only problem is that these parties are usually a weakness for me and I end up eating things I know I should not be eating. So I am already starting to figure out what kind of foods I'm going to bring to his party for hubby and I to snack on while everyone else enjoys the cake and whatever else is prepared. 

My bro, his girlfriend, me, and hubby.

This will really be the first big test for us too. Up to this point we've managed to use our meal plan and haven't had to deal with dining out or dining with other people much. When hubby went kayaking they stopped at a Fricker's, but he didn't get anything and we had dinner together when he got home. I know that if we go to a party and don't have anything to eat, saying no will be harder. So it's just kind of a good idea to have something available that is a better choice. 

Normally my family doesn't have too many things to say about me bringing my own food or not eating certain things. I started doing that back in 2008 when I joined Weight Watchers. Occasionally I get a comment about how their pizza tastes and looks so much better than whatever is in my bowl or they'll say one bite won't hurt. But now I've got my husband on my side to help me, and vice versa, so we can stick to our Whole30 plan. I think the guilt I would feel of letting myself down and not completing the Whole30 without cheats would greatly outweigh the pleasure of a bite of cake. At this point I don't even know that I could enjoy it because I would think of how hard I've worked these first couple of weeks to stay on track. 

If your friends or family are a little less than supportive or maybe they're even going out of their way to try to sabotage your change of lifestyle, Whole30 has a great article on how to handle it, called "With Friends Like These...".

So, I'm not sure what we'll be taking with us, but I know it will be delicious and healthy and guilt-free!

Speaking of guilt-free and delicious and healthy ... 

I need to share my new favorite recipe. Not just any favorite recipe. THE most delicious recipe ever... if you like shrimp... which I do! : ) 

This is a recipe from Eat Live Grow Paleo, called Slow Cooker Jambalaya. I had a craving for some shrimp and found this recipe, so we decided to give it a try. I could not believe how tasty it was! I'll have to double the batch next time because it definitely did not last long enough! It has the perfect amount of hear and the cauliflower instead of the rice really wasn't an issue for us; we love cauliflower! It wasn't very hard to make either. Peeling the shrimp was probably the most time consuming. I know you won't be disappointed with this one.

Jambalaya:

Ingredients:

credit: eatlivegrowpaleo.com

-  1 lb. of spicy smoked sausage, sliced
-  1 lb. of chicken meat.  Can be breast, leg or 

    thigh, but cut it off the bone to make it easier 

    to eat.
-  1 large cauliflower, cut into small pieces

-  28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
-  1 chopped onion
-  1 chopped pepper (green or red)
-  1 cup of chicken stock
-  2 teaspoons of dried oregano
-  2 teaspoons of dried parsley
-  2 teaspoons of Cajun Seasoning (recipe below)
-  1 teaspoon of cayenne
-  1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme

-  1 lb. shrimp

Directions:

• Put the cauliflower, chicken and sausage into your slow cooker.  
• In a large bowl mix together all the rest of the ingredients (except the shrimp). 
• Pour this over your chicken and sausage, cover, and cook for 7 to 8 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high.
• 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, stir in the shrimp.

Cajun Seasoning: 

Ingredients: 

-  2 1/2 tablespoons of salt
-  1 tablespoon of dried oregano
-  1 tablespoon of paprika
-  1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
-  1 tablespoon of ground black pepper

Directions:

• Mix all the ingredients together and store in a small jar with the rest of your spice mixes until needed.