still chugging along...

No, I haven’t fallen off the wagon. I just have been watching the show, Breaking Bad instead of posting.. haha. Great show by the way- really fantastic. Anyway… to the left (sorry, it is flipped)  is a picture of the steak salad I made for lunch a few days ago. : ) It was great! I know it was super similar to the chicken salad, but on the 21 day thing there are only so many things I want to have. I really love romaine lettuce. It is probably my favorite because it is crispy and good for you. I got stir-fry steak a little bit ago and I cooked it in a wok with coconut oil and Mitchel’s seasoning from Penzeys! I just chopped it up really small so it was easier to eat on a salad. I cut up those little sweet peppers and tossed it with parmesan peppercorn dressing. Of course, I threw a bunch of chia seeds on there too! YUM!

The last couple of days have been good. I am happy that there are only 11 days left. I have experimented with cookies… I was craving but didn’t want to break the diet. I did make these ones sans sweetener- Almond shortbread cookies : ) they were satisfying! Otherwise, so far so good. Boring I know! But oh well. I did start a new board on pinterest. There are many ideas on there for meals and treats. Which is awesome. Lots of homemade ice creams and stuff using coconut milk. I do miss ice cream! Anyway, hope everyone has a great day! 

update and chicken salad : )

How am I doing? Pretty good I think! I am a little disappointed my skin doesn’t feel or look better yet, but there are still 15 days to go : ) I am not weighing myself because I really don’t care about a number, just how I feel about myself. Someday, I hope to post before and after pics of myself, but not now.

 I am now shopping a lot at the local healthy/organic foods store. I love it. I love seeing the variety of foods that are available. I love learning about new products. I do not love spending all my money there, some items are super expensive! I applied for a job though! And supposedly I would get 20% off my purchases!! Woohoo! I missed the famers market this morning. My next task then is to find where I can buy grass-fed meats and how much I will spend.

Foodwise, things have been going good. No ridiculous cravings- though around 3pm every day I get crazy for snacks. That is the usual time I would carb load. But now I have to decide if I am even hungry. If I am, then I grab veggies and if I am not, then I just drink water. That has been going well. Meals are pretty easy since I’ve been doing ‘low carb’ for such a long time, usually they are just meats and veggies and some fruit. I have been missing fruit still. Honey crisp apples are coming out and those are seriously to die for! Amazing! To help with other minor sweet cravings I bought cacao nibs : ) They are crisp and crunchy cacao bean pieces. They smell amazing and are a little bitter, but delicious! I did get some goji berries too! They are also on the approved foods 21 day list. In my opinion they taste a little licoricey. They are chewy but definitely sweet. And I guess you can add them to anything, teas, salads, muffins… you name it! So that is cool.

I finally purged all my old habit items. A friend graciously took them off my hands. All my white flour, refined sugar, organic cane sugar, whole wheat flour, oats and powdered sugar are no longer in the house. That felt good to get rid of that, knowing how terrible it really is for you- now I can’t even make something with it if I wanted. : ) My poor husband is worried he will never have homemade cookies again. I think he will be ok. I did buy coconut flour and made my mug cake a second time with it. It was very good. I’m sure later on in my life I will be able to make a chocolate chip cookie again following paleo rules, but not for a while if I want to lose any weight. I know for my body, just because honey, bananas and maple syrup are approved foods for the paleo life style, they are not good for me- they have too much sugar in them. I can’t just go and make a bunch of paleo cookies or cake and think that will get me where I want to be. Blah.

I’m not sure if there was anything else I wanted to say… I am looking forward to finishing the 15 days. I will probably come up with a new recipe in there. For now I will just leave you with the amazing chicken salad I had for lunch – sorry no pic, I ate it before I remembered to take a pic. (single serving size)

-1 small romaine lettuce head
-1/2 avocado sliced
-1 tablespoon fav dressing (I used parmesan peppercorn-very low sugar)
-1 chicken breast
-2 teaspoons chia seeds
-1 teaspoon coconut oil or other natural oil
-salt, pepper and seasoning (I used Sunny Paris and Fox Point from Penzeys- YUM)

First, to prepare the chicken, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan on medium. Season one side of the chicken with salt and pepper, place seasoned side down in oil. Season the other side with salt and pepper. Let sit for about 6-7 minutes. Then flip. Let sit for 6-7 minutes. Season one side with other seasoning. Flip and let sit for 1 minute and season other side, flip and let sit for 1 minute. While that is going on, wash and tear the lettuce into a big bowl. Pour dressing over top, add avocado and sprinkle chia seeds around. After chicken is done, slice or cube and add to salad. YAY! : ) 

so far so good!... / mug cake

Ok, I am on day 4 and so far so good!!!! The first day was by far the worst! I haven’t had any more headaches and overall, I feel great! I really feel like I could do this much longer than 21 days! – hahaha, we will see! I am really starting to crave fruit. I see my son eating berries or an apple and my mouth just waters. Shows me how much I love sugar though and would love to get a fix wherever.. ha. I have given in to my sweet tooth by making a no sugar added pumpkin mug cake. Don’t freak out though.. it was 21 day approved! Here is the original recipe… and it was interesting. Definitely gave me the feel of cake, but I didn’t finish it all. Tonight I modified that recipe and made a truly satisfying treat!!!!!!! Seriously, it was fantastic!!! According to the 21 day detox I am following, I am allowed to have ½ cup serving of yams (sweet potatoes) per day. They really satisfy and are very delicious. I used them in this new cake I made, and seriously, it was fantastic!!! Here is how I made it : ) (pic is to the right, I took it with my phone, I know I am not a food photographer! It was super moist and cakey!) 

-1/2 of small avocado
   -after mashed use 2 full Tablespoons
-1 small sweet potato (save the remainder for snack tomorrow)
   -after mashed use 2 full Tablespoons
-1/4 teas baking soda
-1/4 teas cinnamon (you can use more)
-1/4 teas ginger powder
-1/4 teas vanilla
-1 egg
-2 Tablespoons canned coconut milk (+ a splash extra for avocado)
-1 and ½ Tablespoons almond or coconut flour. (I used almond)
-optional – 1 teas shredded coconut
-1/2 Tablespoon unsweetened coco powder
-1 Tablespoon canned coconut milk

I first cubed up the sweet potato and microwaved it for about 6 mins. Our microwave is from the 50s, seriously, so the time may differ, just make it fork tender. I also added about a pat of butter- probably a no-no for 21 days, but def low carb so it is fine by me : ) While that is cooking away…

I put the ½ avocado into the Ninja with a tiny splash of coconut milk and pureed.

I put together the almond flour, baking soda, egg, vanilla, ginger, coconut milk, cinnamon and avocado puree.

After the sweet potato was done cooking I put all of that into the Ninja and pureed. I scooped out what I needed and added it to the mixture. (I don’t do wet and dry stuff, I just throw everything together- don’t judge)

I poured it into a mug and microwaved for 3:20. And remember, your micro may be different, but the usually mug cake time is 2-3 mins. BE CAREFUL, it comes out super hot!

While this is cooking, mix together the coco and coconut milk – add coconut if you want : ) You could also mix in some peanut butter at this point!- microwave the peanut butter first to make it more drizzly.
It should dump right out, so you can eat it in a bowl or on a plate. And top with the coco topping!

official first day completed...

Well, day one is complete and I am happy to say that I survived! Crazy though how much I actually thought about sweets. How easy it would be to sneak a shot of whipped cream or a bite of chocolate – heck, I’m home with my kid most of the day, I could have baked and ate an entire cake. But I didn’t. : ) I am feeling ok physically. I have had a headache – I cannot believe that withdrawal symptoms can begin so quickly, so I am attributing it to dehydration. It is hard when you can’t have fruit. However, considering the amount of time I actually spent thinking about sugar and sweets and literally trying not to eat them- makes this all the more important that I am doing this. 21 days, 20 more to go! I am excited for this weekend. The local farmers market is on Saturday morning and I really want to look into some grass-fed meats. I hear they are fantastic, but the price may be a little high. So we will see. And while I’m there I can stock up on some great fresh veggies! I love buying lettuce and spinach there because it lasts so much longer in the fridge, weeks longer than the prewashed bagged stuff. Tastes really good too! My bible study is tomorrow night. I will probably have to resist a treat, which is really difficult for me to do. I will probably bring a bag of nuts, deli meat and chopped veggies to keep me occupied. I will let you know how that goes! 

1 hour in...

Yes, really. I am one hour in with no sugar. I feel pretty good. Let’s keep this up. I can do this! Just 503 hours to go! And then also my whole life! Haha

I can tell you what I am excited about almost 100% of the people who have done the 21 day detox have said that they lost weight, had better skin and gained energy! That sounds appealing to me. I have been breaking out like a teenager. It is ridiculous. Energy will be great because my little one just started walking- no further explanation required… So those things are nice. : ) Oh and how convenient, 21 days from now is September 30^th. So a September without sugar. Cool. 

in the beginning....

Here I am today, wife and mom of one, currently unemployed and ready for a change. I thought that starting a blog would encourage me to stay committed to a diet change. I wanted to start by doing the 21 day sugar detox (while incorporating my transition into a paleo lifestyle) and then move on to what the heck I am doing with my life diet and weight wise.

I can tell you that I have been on many different diets- weightwatchers, slim fast, atkins, not eating... you name it I have probably tried it. I have found that low-carb works best for my body but I cannot stick to it long enough to kick my huge sugar addiction. Seriously, I am a sugar and carb addict. Weight has always been an issue for me. And I know saying that is weird. But even when I was in decent shape, I always thought I was a big girl. When I went to college, I definitely gained more than the usual freshman 15 and just keep gaining from there. I thought that a wedding would motivate me enough to lose weight- nope. Then when I became pregnant for the first time, I used that as an excuse to eat literally whatever I wanted. My highest weight when I was pregnant with my son was a huge 240. Not to mention I am only 5 feet tall. Yeah. Awesome. Since having my son I have been able to get some of the weight off but have landed not so comfortably at about 200 –give or take 5 pounds depending on the time of the month. So here I am.

I have researched a lot about different foods and diets and agriculture and government and sugar and body types and the biblical stand point to food…. Now it is time to put that into practice.

I love Jesus. I know he loves me and he made me- but he didn’t make me like this. There are greater plans for each of us and I believe that being healthy was his clear intention. In the beginning… when God first created people, he provided them with all the things they needed. Plants and animals. There was no corn syrup, no genetically modified foods, no mass wheat farms and no corn fed cows. The paleo diet is sometimes called the ‘caveman diet’ because you are eating like the hunters and gatherers way back when, but it is easier for me to grasp the truth in what God intended us to eat.
Sugar is a huge problem. Most people do not give it enough credit- or blame. Most people also don’t realize that breads, wheat, flours and simple starches like potatoes are processed in your body the exact same as sugar. These are called carbohydrates. There are many different types of them, some are good and some are very bad, but all should be eaten in moderation. If you say to the average American that you want to start eating healthy, what are some things that may be recommended to you? Low fat, low calorie, whole wheat foods, right? After doing research on my own, and with success on a low carb diet, it is just the opposite! (this may not apply to every person in the entire world, but those people could probably eat whatever the heck they wanted and still be fit) Diets in high saturated fats and low carbohydrate intake have been proven time and time again to be very effective in both weight loss and overall health- including cholesterol and diabetes. Though ‘eating healthy’ from the typical American point of view can include great things like fruits and veggies, it is still skewed. Paleo takes healthy eating to a whole new level. It incorporates all the healthy foods that were originally provided and intended for us to eat. Now, in the beginning of this fun new life long journey I am starting- I will limit fruits and sugars, even though paleo may use honey and a natural sweetener, I will not because I am starting with the 21 day sugar detox. 

I can promise you a few things through this journey. 1- There will be spelling errors, deal with it. 2- I won't be consistent in my posts because this my my first blog experience and I have no idea what I am doing. 3- You will learn about me and my struggles. 4- You will gain info into the paleo lifestyle.
Wish me luck!