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.

 

Meal Plans!

I said I'd post my meal plan, so here's Week 1. 

Meatloaf "Cake"

I haven't experimented too much with my own concoctions yet. I've just been taking a recipe here, one there, until I get enough to fill up a week. 

I've done a little bit with meal plans in the past, but never quite had enough recipes to last so we'd end up substituting with something not-so-great or we'd just go out to eat. Another problem I've had in the past was choosing a ton of crock pot recipes. These are fabulous ... when you're prepared for them. But when it's 4 PM and you're starting to figure out what you'll need to get the meal prepared, there just isn't enough time at that point. Some of the meals I was able to convert to stove-top recipes, but others were just not going to happen. So that would kind of throw everything out of balance and I'd fall back into old habits of last minute planning and eating bad foods. 

So this time I am prepared!

I am searching for simple recipes that do not include a bunch of ingredients that I would never have on hand. I am looking for quick recipes for days when we don't have much time. I also have a few crock pot recipes, but they aren't the bulk anymore and I try to write down on the previous day that I need to get that ready in the morning. One thing I do love about crock pot meals, though, is that you can prepare them the night before and just pull them out and plug them in the next day. So easy! 

My process:

First, it really helps that I am organized, probably more so than I need to be, but I like it, lol. I keep tabs at the top of my Mozilla window. As you can see, I have one for my blog, one for random weight loss resources, and a quick link to the Fitness Blender page (it's my favorite). Then I have a tab for Meal Planning. I have sub-categories in this tab. The first one is a tab dedicated to recipes. And, as you can see, I have them organized into different categories based on what they are. I may be slightly OCD, but it helps so much! I promise! 

Under the recipes folder, there is a folder for sources of recipes. These would be places like Nom Nom Paleo, Paleo On A Budget, Whole Family Strong, etc. That way I can just go to these places quickly and search for something if I need another recipe. 

There is a folder dedicated to the Whole30 process as well. Just quick links to pages in case I need some motivation or a reminder on what the rules are, etc. 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Sawsage N Peppas mixed together

And the bottom two folders are links to holiday foods, for when Thanksgiving rolls around, and then some local farms and farmer's markets in our area so I don't forget. Like I said, maybe a bit OCD. 

So, I add these recipes as I find them ... or I just go out and actively search for recipes. Then I start organizing them into the next folders "W:1" and "W:2" for each week. I label them according to which day we will be having them and what we are making with them. To be organized, you know. And then I just have to do a quick look to see what the day's meal is and what I will need. I usually write out the recipe on an index card and use that while I'm cooking. Then if I really love the recipe, I save the index card and put it in a photo album. I'd like to take pictures and print them some day of each of the recipes and include them in the album with the recipe, but I haven't gotten there yet. 

"Spaghetti" and Mamma's Meatballs & Marinara

Whole30 Week 1 Meal Plan

Breakfasts: Lagniappe Casserole (WFS)

Lunches: leftovers

Snack/filler: Paleo Crock Pot Turkey Chili (WFS)

Monday: Salmon Cakes (WFS) with baked sweet potato and

               mixed veggies

Tuesday: Beef Stir Fry (POAB)

Wednesday: Sawsage-n-Peppas (WFS) with Roasted Sweet

                    Potatoes (POAB) and veggies

Thursday: Spaghetti (squash) with Mamma's Meatballs and

                 Marinara Sauce (SLE)

Friday: Meatloaf "Cake" (WFS) with veggies and spaghetti

             squash

Saturday: Spicy Shred (WFS) with veggies

Sunday: Slow Cooker Jambalaya (ELGP)

So there you have it! 

Our first week on the Whole30 program. The breakfast casserole only lasted us about 4 or 5 days, but I was able to get up and cook on the weekend so it wasn't an issue. There was also plenty of leftover food for lunches and to add to a meal if we wanted. I don't think the Turkey Chili was really my favorite, but I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes and there are a lot in that recipe, so that's just my preference. I did really enjoy all the other recipes except for the salmon (I don't really care for it). But I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Jambalaya recipe. It's my favorite and I'll probably be doing a blog post on that one soon just to give it the spotlight. But the link is there if you'd like to try it.

I hope I gave you some good meal planning ideas or maybe just some good recipe ideas. There really isn't a wrong way to meal plan as long as it works for you and your family. So have fun with it, try new things. And keep it healthy! Or, as I like to say, Get Real! : )

Trying Something New

It's difficult to say, but I have gotten off track again. Between the stress of losing my job and doing a ton of overtime (odd combo, eh?),  my dad having surgery last week, and starting to interview for work... my desire to eat right has been hit or miss and my desire to workout has completely gone on vacation.

So my husband and I talked about it and have decided to do something we've never done before. We're going to try a program together. It's strict, but not scheduled. And I really think that having him do it with me will be a huge help. Something has got to change because last night I realized that I'm to the point of having to lie on the bed to pull on my boots and most of my pants don't fit anymore. If he does this program with me, it will help keep me on task because I won't want to let him down.

I know I have gotten to the point before where I had excellent will power, could turn down a free cookie even if it was just under my nose, refused to do anything else until I got my workout in ... but somehow I have lost that ability. For now. I know I can get it back. I think I just need a little extra help getting there. And it's time that I learned how to ask for that help. Luckily, my husband is super sweet and very involved in things that are important to me, so he was not hesitant to agree to do this with me when I asked.

Ok, so what is this program we're doing? 

I think you might have heard of it if you've been hanging around in the Paleo world for any length of time. It's called Whole30 from Whole9.  How do we do it? Well, this program happens to be free, so I can share the details. The program lasts 30 days. That's not bad, right? It is a combination of eating right and working out, but it's more of a guideline rather than a regimented schedule and list of recipes/workouts. So it allows for flexibility.

Credit: whole9life.com

As outlined on their website, here is what you do NOT eat for 30 days:

• added sugar
• alcohol
• grains
• legumes (except green beans, sugar snap peas, and snow peas)
• dairy (except clarified butter or ghee)
• carrageenan, MSG or sulfites
• white potatoes
  

You are also not allowed to Paleo-ify foods. That means no making "Paleo muffins" or "Paleo pancakes".  Instead, we'll will be eating foods like meat, seafood, eggs, veggies, fruit, and healthy fats. The real kind, not the stuff that is full of hormones or artificial additives. So it's pretty open to a lot of delicious meals ... you just have to find them! : )

And one more rule, they ask that you weigh yourself before starting and take measurements, but then you put the scale away. You don't weigh yourself during the actual program, just at the beginning and at the end.

They also ask that you do regular exercise, but I haven't seen where they are very detailed about the rules of that. They do include pre and post workout food options though.

Credit: whole9life.com

What's the Plan?

My plan is to follow what Whole Family Strong did, 2 days on and then 1 day off and repeat. I'll be doing the Fitness Blender workouts for this 30 day challenge. My husband has limitations due to a back injury but he'll be doing stationary bike and road biking  or swimming to get his workouts in.

Creators of Whole30 - Credit: nomnompaleo.com

My husband will be my partner in this, but if you're interested in joining in on the Whole30 Challenge, there is a whole forum available for support and tips or you can be a part of their Facebook and Twitter communities. And if you do better with more structure, they have included the option to sign up for a daily email, called The Whole30 Daily,with guidance and tips to keep you on track with an option to check in for accountability. It does come with a fee, but it's only $14.95 for the month so that is just .50 cents a day, which is not much when you think about how much you will save by not eating out for a month (or trying not to). We signed up for this option.

Want more info? 

If you'd like to see the real results of this program, they have a whole page full of testimonials. If you're still wondering what foods are good foods and which foods should be avoided, they have a book published that you could get as a reference. I have not read it, but if the book is anything like the site then I am sure it will be very helpful. It's called "It Starts with Food". They also recommend checking out the NomNomPaleo website for recipe ideas. Otherwise, we can get started on prepping before the start day. They happen to have a list of very helpful downloadable resources, including a Get Started list.

So ... that's the plan. 

We start on Monday. We got our Day 0 email yesterday when I signed up for it, and they should be sending another one soon to help us get everything set to get started. Today and tomorrow we'll work on cleaning out the fridge and cabinets of anything off-limits, although we don't really have too terribly much of that nowadays. Then we'll run to the grocery store and stock up on all of the things we will be eating for the next week. And tomorrow I'll post our starting weights and measurements. I want to make this a very open and public so you can all see my journey. I would really love to hear about experiences that you've had if you've tried Whole30 before and if you're interested in started the program with me, that would be great to hear your feedback too!

One more thing, I will be posting a new product review in the next day or two, so keep an eye out for that! : )