“What I Got” Soup…

I’m here with a yummy soup recipe that is, you guessed it, made of “what I got” in the kitchen, which is not very much at this point; a trip to the grocery is in my very near future. So, here it is, a thrown together lunch that has our belly’s happy and full on this THIRD snow day …

“What I Got” Soup
____________________
(all measurements are estimations, which is how I roll)

***A few cups (maybe 3-4) of homemade chicken broth (I added a cup of water to a whole roasting chicken, which I cooked on low in the crock for 3-4 hours, or until 165* internal temp. I removed the meat and set it aside, then added the bones, fat, and cartilage to the water, as well as another 2c of water then cooked on low overnight. Voila! Chicken Stock/Brothe, whatever…)
***1 large yam, cubed then steamed in the microwave with 2tsp coconut oil, a few dashes each of cinnamon & ginger, pinch salt
***1/2 onion, chopped and sauteed with garlic powder & coconut oil
***about a cup of almond milk
***1 tsp ginger powder
***1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a food processor, puree onion and sweet potato. Add spices, then broth and almond milk slowly, being sure to integrate thoroughly. DONE! So easy and so good! Even the hubby thinks so. ENJOY!

The Hunger Within

If you were to sneak into my home and see what I’ve been up to the past two days you’d most likely find me snacking. I’ve been insatiable and thank heavens I’m on the restrictive diet or else I’d rationalize eating the whole container of dark chocolate covered almonds…and all the cheese…and the frozen birthday cake. Yes, I froze some of Little Girl’s birthday cake so that I may enjoy it once the Whole30 days are up. I have to see what all the ‘mmm’ing and ‘ahhh’ing’ were all about at the party this past weekend.

Speaking of which, I prepared a nice little spread of  ”safe” foods  myself and the 4 or 5 other guests who happen to be participating in either a cleanse of the Whole30 program. Of course, I had to make a dish to please the Man and his men friends. And then there was the aforementioned cake, each of which (yes, there were two) were beautifully decorated and generously frosted. Despite the overwhelming amount of temptation, I was able to stick to my plan, and (somehow) successfully avoided shoving my face full of dip and cake. How I managed to do so still baffles me…

Healthy (and crowd pleasing) Party Food

Baba Ganoush aka Roasted Eggplant dip
Mango and Tomato Salsa
Chicken Salad w/ homemade mayo
Roasted Beet Chips
Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
Fresh Veggie Platter (broccoli, carrot sticks, zucchini sticks, turnip chips)
Vanilla-Cinnamon-Banana “Ice Cream”
Vanilla-Almond-Coconut-Date “Granola” (I call it faux-nola)
Not-So-Healthy (but equally if not more crowd pleasing) Party Food
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Fritos, Tostitos and Triscuits
Birthday Cake

Also, last week I downloaded the PDF version of Well Fed, Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat by Melissa Joulwan. Seriously, if you only buy one cookbook this year this needs to be it. She’s really compiled an amazing set of recipes which, she says, were tried and tested until perfection. And I must say, the recipe titled “The Best Chicken You’ll Ever Eat” is doggone ridiculously good (don’t forget to make the Moroccan Sauce that accompanies it – seriously worth the extra 3 minutes). Last night was a dinner night with good friends and The Best Chicken was on the menu, along with roasted asparagus and creamy mashed cauliflower. Needless to say, we were all members of the Clean Plate Club. Now, go buy that book!

Winner, Winner, I made a yummy Dinner!

We had Moroccan Meatballs, a recipe from ’Well Fed’, a cookbook of Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat (http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/wellfed/) by Melissa Joulwan. No photos of the dish (it was a pretty one!) which I completely intended to do but Baby Girl had a different idea. The guys ate (Daddy O had a buddy over to watch NBA) while I tended to her. By the time I came down, my plate was cold and Daddy O had already packed up the leftovers. Good man I’ve got, by the way…just sayin’.

Anyways, here it is: my honest-to-goodness menu from the past two days. 

Menu for the past two days:

Tuesday
B: 1 mango jalapeno sausage (then to the grocery store to stock up)
Snack: 2 eggs cooked in coconut oil 
L: Small bowl of leftover “chili” 
Snacks: pieces of Baby Girl’s meals (throughout the day) banana, roasted sweet potato, clementine wedges, handful sunflower seeds
D: roughly 5oz grassfed sirloin, grilled with spices, coconut oil sauteed brussel sprouts w/ garlic
SS: 3/4 baked apple and raisins w/ cinnamon and coconut oil (I decided to save the last quarter for another night)

Wednesday
B: 2pc bacon, 2 eggs, 2 cups black coffee
Snack: 1 date, handfull roasted and salted almonds and sunflower seeds
L: Burger patty w/ 1.5pc bacon, saut mushrooms and garlic, sliced tomato, 1/2 clementine
Post Run Snack: small banana, small handful of coconut flakes 
D: Moroccan Meatballs w/ Cauliflower “rice” (3 or 4 meatballs w/ a healthy scoop of sauce and onions, and 5 steamed cauliflower florets microwave-steamed w/ coconut oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Also, I threw in a small handful of raisins into my sauce. Definitely a nice little sweet touch to the savory sauce.)

It’s strange how, as the day goes on, you don’t feel like you’ve eaten too much, but once it’s on paper (or the web as it were) it seems like so much more. I’m not one for counting calories on the regular, but I feel like today’s meal would come in pretty high. I guess I’ll never know unless I plug it in. Every once in awhile, though, I get super motivated and track everything through fitday.com, but it’s so much time and effort to keep track of it all. I guess the meatballs and sauce with cauliflower were just so rich it makes me feel guilty – like I’ve somehow cheated. Maybe that’s a sign of a good meal? Who knows… I definitely won’t be having a Sanity Snack tonight (aka sweet treat). 

A big thing happened for me today: I actually committed to and started training for my first 5k run! This is huge for me. I’ve always wanted to do a Run but haven’t had the courage before now. I can remember the last time I ran on purpose for fitness: Crossfit WOD March 2010! That was only 22 months ago…and I’m certain it was less than a mile, and not consecutive. Well, tonight I mustered up the willpower to start training. I bundled up and broke in my new LuLu pants as I ran aimlessly through our neighborhood. I had one plan, actually, run until my lungs hurt. My legs were actually good to go, but it was my lungs that did me in. I’m betting the cold temps didn’t help my situation. I set my phone to a tracking app and took off. Turns out I ran for exactly 10 minutes and covered 1.17 miles! I can confidently say I have never ever in my life run that far in one outing. That’s both exciting and a little sad. I’m surprised and excited to have 1.17 miles as my starting off point. It gives me hope that getting up to 5k won’t be as difficult as I had originally thought. You can definitely expect to hear about my journey up to running 5k. Who knows where I’ll go from there!

Well, I’m hoping to get a little light yoga in tonight before bed (Daddy O actually jumped in with me last night!). 

Til’ next time!

Peace out, cub scout…

I’m baaaaaaaaack! And ‘The Whole30′ Program … revisited!

Well, hello there! It’s only been 22 months since my last post. That kind of qualifies as falling off the blogging wagon, huh? I suppose it all started with a week-long trip to Seattle, followed by a week in Cancun, backed up with growing a little baby, having said baby, and now, regaining my sense of ‘ME’ and my body (a year after that little baby joined my life). So I suppose a few things have happened in the last 22 months. 

I’m here again, though, revisiting The Whole30 http://whole9life.com/2012/01/whole-30-v2012/, a ‘get back to what’s good and real’ approach to a healthy lifestyle. I’ve had some friends express interest in this next phase, so I thought I’d fire up the ole blog and put it out there for the whole world to see. (See former blog post on my first experience with The Whole30 http://imajinethat.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/the-whole30-challenge/).

My goal with this is to post some of my recipes and open the waves for communication, growth, and learning. In true Jamie form, I decided to do this on a whim (along with a friend who’s doing the same). I like challenging myself without warning – no time for preparation. Just do it. Now. This moment. And, here I am. Day two. Here goes nothing!

Day One:

B: 2 eggs cooked in coconut oil, 1 mango and jalapeno sausage link (no sugar added), black coffee

L: George Foreman grilled Chicken Breast (spice rub), 1/2 a pear (shared w/ MJ and Daddy), 40 or so salted pistachios.

D: Chili 

SS (sanity snack): Baked apple topped with Banana “ice cream”

Recipes (or a rough outline of one):

- Chili –  

Sautee and carmelize 1/2 Yellow Onion, 1 Red pepper. Keep warm in separate sauce pan.
Deglaze skillet with a few ounces red wine. Add and brown 1# ground beef. Drain grease. Return to pan and spice with taco seasoning mix (no sugar added, no msg). Add in 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 handful each of chopped cilantro and basil. Stir in 1 can stewed tomatoes and one small can tomato paste. Add in onions and red pepper, simmer til you’re ready to eat! Hubby had it over angel hair pasta, topped with cheese. If I had some zucchini or spaghetti squash, I’d have had it over that, but I just ate it out of the bowl with a spoon, but like I said, I started on a whim with whatever I had in the house – no prep first!!

- Almond Apple Crumble – I made these the night before I started, so they have honey in them. 

5 peeled, seeded and halved apples, laid in a glass baking dish. In mixing bowl, combine 1 c almond flour, 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg (allspice works as well). In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 c melted coconut oil, 1/4c honey or agave nectar, 1 tsp vanilla. Add oil mixture to dry mixture. Spread almond mix over apples and bake @ 350* for 60 mins (30 mins for crisper apples). I scooped the honey crumble mix off and enjoyed this as a Sanity Snack topped with Banana “Ice Cream”. I will make a honey-free version from now on, maybe even mix in some banana or raisins into the almond mix to sweeten. 

- Banana “Ice Cream” - 

Chop bananas into small piece and place in  freezer. Once frozen, or nearly frozen if you’re impatient like I am, place in food processor and blend. This will get you a nice Dip’n'Dots texture. For a creamier texture, let bananas thaw for a few minutes before blending. 

*option* spice it up with vanilla extract, almond extract, raisins, cinnamon, etc.

Day Two Menu to come!

Thanks for tuning in. I hope to have a renewed sense of health (and willpower!) by the end of the 30 days, and I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with you. And if a slimmer body happens along the way I guess I’ll take that, too.

 

The Whole30 Program

The Whole30 Program

I’ve got a big stick…

Crossfit wasn’t in the stars today b/c of work obligations so I settled for a day at the park. This was no ordinary trip though. After reading Tom Greenwald’s blog on Natural Fitness (natural movement, natural training, etc), I’ve been looking for ways to incorporate a little “non-traditional” exercise into my routine.

Well, this afternoon could not have been a more perfect day to hit the nature fitness trail over at Broad Ripple Park. The roughly 1/4 mile dirt and gravel trail has several fitness stations along the way, with coordinating instruction plaques. You can find a rope climb, different bars for sit ups, pullups, pushups, and general monkeying around among the 15 or so stations. While warming up I spotted a fantastic 12 foot-ish fallen branch, and it was screaming at me to please pick it up and play… Who am I to turn down a good branch? We had the best time, the branch and I. We did power cleans, snatches, push jerks, front squats, over head squats, back squats, sprints, push presses…oh, the joys!

I’ll be honest, that while I sweated and panted, I really did have fun carrying around my big stick. The strange looks had to be the best part though. I’d say people were generally confused and curious; it’s not every day you see a girl sprinting around with a large branch.

On the nutrition front, I’m still chugging along with the 30 day Paleo challenge. I think I’m in day 5 now, but would have to refer back to my blog post to be sure. For breakfast, I’ve been eating eggs and either un-cured, nitrate free, low sodium bacon or sausage, usually with a piece of fruit, some nuts and a fish oil capsule. I like to get a big meal in to last me through the afternoon hours. Lunch and dinner vary depending on my work/social/hobby schedule, but usually involve a salad (spinach, cilantro, mushrooms, carrots, nuts, chicken, balsamic & EVOO – or some variation), some home made guacamole, salsa & veggies, and fruit combo. I’m always eating nuts (or almond butter) and seeds for snacks too. And lots of water as well. Black coffee (maybe with some cinnamon) is making its way into my menu a few times a week as well.

I can definitely detect a slimming effect going on as well as a shift in the digits on the scale, so it’s a success even 5 days in.

It’s currently time for the third most important thing in my day…sleep!

Happy Spring, everyone!

The not-so-skinny on our legume friend, the Peanut.

Just a lil linkage on the feisty, elusive Peanut.

Found this sweet little “Peanut Manifesto” from my friends over at Whole 9 Life.

Are they nuts? Are they legumes? What’s a legume any damn way?

Will I ever be able to enjoy my beloved PB&J’s? In short, no. Primal/Paleo don’t do sandwiches at all (um, bread! and hello! jelly! <–can you say ‘sugar gel’?) *BUT* There’s a fabulous caveat to PB – get ready for this, it’s called ALMOND BUTTER and it’s fabulouso! I eat it a spoonful at a time for a snack, or even better, atop primal waffles/pancakes!!

+

= De-Freaking-Licious!!!

Enjoy, my P/P peeps!!!

The Whole30 Challenge.

What is this challenge I speak of? Here’s an excerpt from a Paleo/Fitness website, The Whole 9 Life, written by Melissa Urban, also of Urban Gets Diesel. (and yes, I realize she mentions in the following quote that this is not a 30-day challenge. I use the word ‘challenge’ for lack of a more suitable alternative.)

Start Here: The Whole30

In Part II of our Guide to Eating Dirty, I recommend cheating smart – indulging in those foods that aren’t going to knock you out of energy, wellness and performance commission for days on end. The concept sounds pretty easy, and it is… as long as you know how various food groups like gluten, dairy and legumes affect you. So how do you figure out what foods are okay to cheat with, and what foods will never be worth it?

I can tell you where it STARTS… strip out all the crap from your diet and let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be provoking. What, exactly, does that mean? Super strict, no cheat, by-the-book Paleo for the next 30 days. Cut all the foods that could be kicking you in the crotch without you even knowing it for the next 30 days, and see how that feels. (To be clear – this is NOT a “30 Day Challenge”. This is so much bigger than that. And it’s not really even about cheating. I kind of tricked you there. I’m not sorry. Read on, please.)

As you can see, Melissa is one tough chic and I admire that in her. I especially like her “Tough Love” portion of the full-length post (read on) as well as the “This.Is.Not.Hard” attitude, because really, it isn’t, people. It’s food. It’s not meth. It’s rethinking food as “fuel” instead of “comfort”. Find comfort in meditation or exercise. Food keeps you going so that you can enjoy the comforts of life. Now this is not to say you shouldn’t genuinely enjoy what you’re eating because you should, and I do. But I’d love to get down to business and really find out what is best for my body. You only get one of these bodies, make it last, really LAST for as long as you’re here. You can’t do this over again. Love yourself, because if you don’t no one will do it for you.

So I’ll be quite honest, I had set out to take this challenge a few weeks ago but fell way short of the 30 day goal. Ok, to be real with you, I failed. I gave up. I broke down. I think failing to achieve a goal has more mental repercussions than the loss of the potential outcome itself. I know I beat myself up mentally for being weak more than anything. So, as you all as my witness, I am taking on this challenge FOR REAL. Today. Right now. And my goal is to blog about my progress and be accountable for myself in writing, for proof. And I’m hoping to post photos along the way. Let’s start with a few “before” pics.

This first one is from September of 2007, when I weighed my heaviest @ 151 pounds. I am 5’4″ and I can safely say that 151 pounds is NOT a healthy weight for me. Excuse the underwear (they’re long gone – I’ve traded them in for something a little more flattering!), my bathing suits didn’t exactly fit at the time.

This one is from this past summer, sometime in July, probably about 146 pounds.

And here’s a relatively recent one, after 6 months of moderate dedication to Crossfit (2-3 days per week) and 2 good, solid months of 90% clean eating. 138 pounds. See any difference?

I will do my part, I will seek out delicious recipes, cook for myself, exercise to the best of my ability and do this. I’d love to be a source of encouragement and information if you need it. I’ll count on you for feedback, too. Let’s do this…together.

If you’re still lost on the who/WHAT/when/where/WHY’s of Paleo/Primal, please do not hesitate to ask. I have great friends who are full of information as well as loads of websites that provide great resources.

I’ll leave you with this quote from her post:

Start now. Today. This minute. Count out thirty days, go immediately to your grocery store and stock up on things you can eat, and begin. Cold turkey, just start. It’s the only way to do it. Give yourself excuses, reasons to put it off, and you may never begin. Do it now.

A reply to Zach … Primal, eating out…?

Zach, welcome to the challenge of healthy eating in a modern society, where eating absolute garbage is much more available and affordable than real, whole foods.

Honestly, it’s always best to plan ahead and bring a meal whenever possible of course, but that’s not always an option, I know. I love having an insulated lunchbox so that my food can stay cool on the go (esp in the winter months as the outside temps make it ok to bring things w/ you).

As far as eating out goes, I usually stick to salads. For me, the big problem is not that it’s not organic, because you’ll rarely find that eating out and I’ve learned to expect that, but with all the salt (and a lot more now than ever, MSG!) and other additives they’re mixing in there. The dressing is what kills it. IF it’s not laden with HFCS, which is almost always the case with pre-made dressings, then it’s been made with unhealthy oils, namely Corn, Canola & Soybean (for a definitive guide to oils, check out this link from Mark’sDailyApple.com, my go-to source for all things primal). Also, it sounds cheesy and cheap, but bring your own dressing! I’ve been keeping a bottle of my own home made dressing on hand…and it doesn’t go bad. Vinegar and oil dressing does not require refrigeration – bonus! Spice it up a little. I like this recipe from my primal interweb friend, SoG (Son of Grok). That dude has a TON of incredible primal recipes. They’re so good you won’t believe they’re healthy for you…seriously.

Jimmy John’s put out a nice “un-wich”, or lettuce wrap sub, but be careful with the insane amounts of cheese they add to that. It’s something like 6 slices per sandwich…wow. Also, with the mayo, which will most likely contain one of those yucky oils mentioned above. I have found a pretty great website for making your own mayo as well, formerly one of my favorite condiments. I don’t really need mayo a lot anymore though, because I’ve pretty much eliminated deli meats (no fun w/o bread, loaded with nitrates, and just strange, if you ask me…check this link and this one for a great guide to meats).

Meat is just plain difficult when you’re eating out as it’s most likely been injected with crazy chemicals, sorry, preservatives and flavors. Then you start to think about where the meat came from and how humanely that animal was permitted to live it’s life while it waited to be slaughtered. Now I’m not getting all feel-good about slaughtering, it’s how that animal becomes my meal, I get that, but if that animal is cooped up in a space too small to even walk, or if it’s been fed a food that promotes harmful bacterial growth in it’s body or forces the muscle to develop at a rate much faster than the supporting bones causing it to be practically immobile, then yeah, I have a problem with THAT. It’s about being humane. Ok…I could walk that tangent all night… Back on point.

Try your hardest to eat IN more than OUT, but when IN is NOT an option, just keep to meat & veggies. And, for the Love, don’t do drive thru. It’s a first class ticket to a boat load of badness.

Hope this Helps! Happy Eating!

Let’s get to cookin’!

Well, well, well…Guess I’m not too diligent in the blogging world, huh? Once a week seems to be a challenge for me. Let’s try this again!

So, lately I’ve been getting a lot of questions about my diet, mainly, ”What EXACTLY is it that you eat? Aren’t you STARVING? What’s a sample of your daily menu?”. Well, I’ve decided to dedicate a little portion of my next few blogs to recipes, including a few photos as well. I think people are overwhelmed/intimidated by making a big switch in their diets, namely, WHAT CAN I ACTUALLY EAT? It takes research, and research takes time. Modern people want quick and simple – a no brainer meal, not something difficult and complicated. I won’t lie, I spend a decent chunk of my time shopping, organizing and preparing my meals but, in the end, it’s 150% worth it. I know EXACTLY what’s in my food because I MADE IT; There aren’t any secret ingredients/chemicals/additives that are harmful/unhealthy because I MADE IT; my meals are tasty, not so-so.

I have to say, there’s a certain feeling of accomplishment that comes with preparing your own meals, like, “yeah, I did that…and it was freaking DELICIOUS!”. And, what I think is especially neat (<-yep, I said that), is you’re removing that veil that’s so often removed you from what you’re eating. You become more aware of what must happen for you to eat. Food shouldn’t be wrapped in plastic, tucked in a box, then bagged before you eat. Buy the food, cook the food, eat the food. The end.

Ok, so tonight I spent nearly three hours cooking (I mixed in a few loads of laundry as well as some phone time, too). In the end, I baked: a whole chicken (& de-boned it), summer squash (roasted the seeds for a snack as well), sweet potato chips and two small meatloafs. I now have plenty of food to last me for the better part of a week. Cooking a whole chicken has proven to be the best $7.42 I’ve ever spent on food. I can eat on the 3.25 pound chicken for more than a week. The meat will be added to salads, dressed with salsa and guacamole, served with home made marinara sauce over al dente steamed cauliflower (in place of rice or pasta) ; the fat from the chicken will be tasty treats for my sweet kitties; the grease will be made into an all-primal gravy (sub arrowroot powder for flour); and I’ve frozen the bones which will be used in a delicious soup (still looking for the perfect recipe!). Seriously? That’s AT LEAST 12 meals! And, I have to say, I have SO MUCH FUN cooking that bad boy. I name my chickens every week. First was Wally, then Roofus, and most recently, with the help of my Facebook friends, Sir Walter Archibald Percy (nicknamed Archie). First, I rub the chick w/ butter, which strangely reminds me of lotion’ing down an infant – lift the lil arms and get in the nooks n crannies! (Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, had the desire to eat a baby…just sayin’).

The rest of the baked chicken recipe is incredibly simple, almost ridiculously so. After slicking the lil bugger up w/ delicious organic butter (you can pretty much assume anything I mention is organic – more on that in another post), I rub him w/ a mixture of S&P, garlic powder, onion powder and dried rosemary sprigs. Once it’s baking, the smell is unbelievable – like Thanksgiving but better because it won’t take you 14 hours to cook. I set the temp for 350 degrees & the timer for 25 minutes. Flip at the ding, then reset for an additional 25 minutes. Be sure to temp that baby out to at least 165 degrees at the thickest area…we don’t want anyone getting chicken flu (PS I made the chicken flu part up, but check it anyway). If you so desire, throw in some thick chopped veggies at the first 25 minute interval. I like broccoli, carrots & onions…but whatever you fancy will be perfect. If you like your veggies w/ a little more crisp then I’d suggest you wait 5-10 more minutes. BTW, I do not cover this while it bakes.

Here’s Archie fresh out of the oven:

And once I’ve separated the meat, fat, bones and juices:

What you’ll find most in my fridge/pantry are things that go bad in a week (save for spices and teas). I definitely stick to the whole ‘perimeter shopping’ rule. What you see is what you get with most of these items. I urge you to find out what’s actually IN the foods you eat, just for knowledge sake. When I buy lettuce/oranges/chicken/eggs I know what’s in there because I’ve researched, especially because it’s organic (which is WAY different from ALL Natural, btw) and the standards are high for items labeled as such. When you purchase something out of a box/can it’s easier to be mislead as to what’s actually in there. Check the label, kids – If you can’t pronounce the first 5 words in the ingredients list, put it back (please?!). I’ll go into more detail why you should know what you’re eating in a later post, but for now, just become more aware of what you’re putting in your body (or watch the film Food Inc. like I did).

Here’s an inside look at what’s up in my kitchen:

Typical grocery shopping checkout view…

Refrigerator-Raider!!!

Fruit n’ stuff…

Nuts, saved bacon grease, home made dressing, TEA!, natural sweetener (yet to try it)…

The spices of my life…

The spices are SO important. A few shakes here and there and you’ve just enhanced/changed the entire taste profile – so simple! These are absolutely key to delicious eating.

Here’s the butternut squash, made w a little butter and sprinkled with all spice.

Oh-so-tasty-meatloaf* (there were two):

And lastly, Sweeties* (my affectionate name for Sweet Potatoes) & Roasted Squash Seeds:

*Recipes for the above to follow…

Stay tuned and Get cookin’ people – you won’t be sorry!