1. I have been pretty much eating the very same meals that I've been revealing to you all, so I figured no need to continually be updating the same food. I do have one new recipe that you all may enjoy, so I'll share that. But bigger news!!!

    My husband measured me today and I am down 4.5 inches overall. We've only been tracking my waist and hips, so I'm sure more than that if I were to count bust and thighs.

    I have lost 1.5 inches on waist and 3 inches on hips!

    And I have been having the best sleep ever. I normally struggle with slight insomniatic nights, but I haven't lately and have been having deeper sleeps, waking much more rested, which is impacting my energy level throughout the day.
     
    Chocolate Chili- (KID APPROVED)

    Ingredients:
    2 tablespoons coconut oil
    2 medium onions, diced (about 2 cups)
    4 cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
    2 pounds ground beef
    1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
    2 tablespoons chili powder
    2 tablespoons ground cumin
    1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
    1 teaspoon ground allspice
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
    1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted, chopped tomatoes
    1 can (14.5 ounces) beef broth
    1 cup water

    Directions:
    1. Heat a large, deep pot over medium-high heat, then add the coconut oil. When the oil is melted, add onions, stir with a wooden spoon and cook until they’re translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and as soon as it’s fragrant, about 30 seconds, crumble the ground meat into the pan with your hands, mixing with the wooden spoon to combine. Continue to cook the meat, stirring often, until it’s no longer pink.
    2. In a small bowl, crush the oregano between your palms to release its flavor, then add the chili powder, cumin, cocoa, allspice, and salt. Combine with a fork, then add to the pot, stirring like you mean it. Add tomato paste and stir until combined, about 2 minutes.
    3. Add the tomatoes with their juice, beef broth, and water to the pot. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the chili enjoys a gentle simmer. Simmer uncovered for at least two hours. Do not skimp on the simmer! Serve in deep bowls with big spoons.


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  2. Well Folks, I can't believe it, but I'm actually planning my very first missions trip. I remember at eight years old receiving Jesus and getting baptized, I came up out of that water wanting to tell the world about Jesus; twenty-five years later I actually have a opportunity to do that in Haiti.
    My husband really encouraged me to take a risk and go, and he reminded me of all the Sundays that Missionaries would come and speak at church and how I'd be hanging on to the back of the church pew with tears streaming from my eyes. That was all I needed to re-spark the flame that I had quenched long ago.

    I thank you for equipping me financially, so I can go and share this love that I have abundant with those who have little!

    Visit my profile at YouCaring to see my goal and donate! Thanks, Friends! 
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  3. HALFWAY POINT

    I am so excited that this is the halfway mark, not just because I'm looking forward to some french toast or a big cinnamon roll, or maybe even a batch of french fries, but because...... actually that is the reason why I'm excited about this being halfway over.

    HA. I kid. But seriously, I'm excited that I've successfully made it halfway without cheating or quitting. It's been great to see me dedicate myself to something and follow through. I can tell I'm losing weight, but most importantly, I'm really starting to be super concious of my triggers that cause me to eat junk! I didn't know Whole30 would be helping me with this. 

    While I have been dedicated to the proper eating, I haven't been to blogging. Days 11-14 I've completely been busy and traveling. (but never used that as an excuse to eat poorly)  

    So here are a few pics of some of the food that I had enough withitness about myself to capture..


    Top Left: Leftover Meatball Soup! I made my favorite meatballs for dinner at my Momma's this weekend and she turned the left over sauce and meatballs into a killer soup. She added the chicken broth, zuchinni, spianch, my homemade sauce and the meatballs! YUM!

    Bottom Left: Taco Salad w/o the chips or cheese. Yum!!
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  4. Okay, so our family has been busy. I took no pictures of food, but it has been identicle to foods I've been consuming over the past week.

    But here is the truth:

    Yesterday was the first day I seriously thought about calling it quits. I guess my stress level was slightly elevated and as I've confessed to you all, I eat when I have any emotion, ha ha. It was interesting because I didn't catch it. I told my husband that I almost just went out and got a cheeseburger or some taco bell, but I wasn't really craving it. He said, "Yeah. You're stressed." I thought to myself and agreed that I was in fact unconsciously stressed. (part of my denial mode).

    But it's all good! I didn't break my 30 days of detox and I am learning how to become sensative to my modes of coping, which I had no clue that this detox would help me with!

    VICTORY!
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  5. Is it true that I have had cravings and suffered some mild withdrawls? Yes. But DUDE.. I'm eating some  amazing food.

    I don't know if I'm losing weight, but I do know I feel good.

    Breakfast: 1/3 of Ben's omalette, ham and couple slices of avacado
    Lunch: Left over Chicken & Kale soup
    Dinner: Pork chop, brussels sprouts and sweet potato.
    Snacks: Pickle, Almonds and raisins

    *when buying pickles and bacon- you must make sure they are WHOLE30  approved... there are whole30 forums about this stuff- google it.


    You need to know about this dinner:

    My porkchop- salt, pepper & garlic fried in coconut oil. AMAZING

    Brussels Sprouts- I cut the ends, quartered them and roasted them with chipped up 4 slices of bacon, 1/3 of a apple and salt. WHAA!! SO GOOD

    Sweet Potoato- served with ghee & cinnamon! OH MY!

    Dinner was so good. And I sat there and looked at Ben and said, "I thought we were detoxing? It feels like we are indulging."

    SUPERSTAR SIDE:  I found this recipe at nom nom paleo and of course.. altered it.

    Sprouts 'n Swine 'n Apple Divine

    1 package of Brussels Sprouts - quartered and toss the loose outer leaves and cut the ends off- drizzle with evoo and layer on pan
    4 slices of bacon chipped up
    1/3 of a red delicious apple chipped up
    salt & pepper


    Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes
    Toss at 10 minute intervals and take out once golden and crispy.






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  6. Breakfast: (not shown) egg & ham
    Lunch: carrots, strawberries & almonds.
    Dinner: Chicken& Kale soup
    snack: 1/2 avacado and palm size amount of raisins

    I made a new batch of soup (homemade broth)- I heart it and will probably have it for lunch tomorrow.

    I want to make a important mention:

    I, previously to whole30, had been eating strictly vegan/vegetarian, so you may think my meals are small and you'd be right! My body is getting full very quickly because of it not used to having the high amounts of protein.

    If you are considering doing this, you may find that your meals seem larger in portions than mine or that you may be "snacking" more throughout the day and I'd say to that listen to you body! Don't eat when you aren't hungry and eat when you are- Whole30 approved of course.

    I'm going to try to make an effort to add a little more fats into my day.
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  7. Today was Sunday and I usually never have time to eat. I literally ran out the door to church and never grabbed anything until 11:30 and I had a huge spinach salad with all the veggies you can imagine and olives with a side of orange.

    And then there was dinner.....

    OH MY GOSH!

    Paleo-Meatballs in my homemade sauce!!!

    You guys, I'm not playing, this is my new favorite recipe. I found a version on Paleo Diet, but of course I changed it just a bit. 

    YUMMO BALLOS - my name for them


    1 lb of ground turkey
    1/2 cup of almond meal (ground up almonds-fine)
    1/2 of a small diced yellow onion
    1 cup of shredded spinach - (finely processed)
    2 tbs of garlic
    2 eggs
    A bunch of italian seasons (i didn't measure- use your eyeball)
    Salt & Pepper to taste

    Form into balls
    place on lightly greased pan
    Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

    I turned them after they were done and broiled on high for just about 4 minutes to crisp up!
    AMAZE BALLS!



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  8. I was super busy today and I think I ate an assortment of eggs, almonds, oranges, bacon, spinach and probably some carrots.  No Pics! But I am feeling great, have good energy and feel like I could eat like this for the rest of my life.
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  9. I'm posting my Day6 on Day7 and I'm still full from last nights meal. As you can see, I had a 7 oz steak and more veggies than a human should.

    My cravings were out of control today. I wanted something sweet so terribly bad and even when I saw pictures of incredible cakes and cookies on Facebook, I thought I could smell them!

    Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg, bacon
    Lunch: 1/3 of a chicken breast with oranges
    Dinner: Steak & veggies

    Energy level - average



    Day 5-Whole30
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  10. Honorable Mention:
    Dinner- Chipotle Stir Fry

    Today my headache exited and a portion of my energy returned, enough to make this amazing dinner. I found a recipe at Ordinary Pen, but of course just bought the ingredients and went off on my own when it came to cooking this amazing concoction. It seriously made my mouth and belly happy. It's good. 

    Chipolte Stir Fy
    2 chicken breast
    3-4 slices of bacon
    1/2 red cabbage (sliced for stir fry)
    3 bell-peppers (any colors you want, I used green)
    4 stalks of Kale leaves (shredded - not too small)
    1/2 red onion
    2 tbs of garlic
    2 tbs of coconut oil
    *1 packet of chipotle seasoning. 

    *They have this in the seasoning section and it was called a chicken marinade, but it worked just fine and is the MVP of the meal. You can find a ingredient list for this seasoning at Ordinary Pen

    I cooked this like I would a stir- fry but did it much differently than the origianl recipe called. I hate boiled chicken breasts, so I threw them in a pan with a dab of oil, put a lid on it and cooked till just done (no-more).
    I removed my chicken, let rest and threw in a few slices of bacon and cooked till almost done- but still semi-raw (the chicken and the bacon will cook more in the skillet when stir-frying).

    I got a clean pan (I didn't want my fresh veggies in all that bacon grease), threw in my coconut oil and once it was hot and ready, I tossed in my garlic, onions and shredded up my bacon. I sauteed that for a couple mins and tossed in my peppers. 

    After a couple mins, I threw in my chicken, cabbage & my Kale and dumped 1/2 of my chipolte seasoning packet. Cooked until desire tenderness (we like ours in between crunchy and medium softness)

    Then plate and freak out at the goodness. The kids loved it! 

    Oh and I had a pinch of raisins and a pickle for snack. 



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