Oh, hey...

Hi Friends!

It's been a long time since I wrote anything, and I've felt bad about that.  I hate editing myself, and I struggle with what to put out there vs. what not to.  So, this post will be pretty surface material type of things.  I have had a lot of requests for menus/menu planning/how I do Whole 30s, etc - so here ya go!

I completed my third Whole 30 this past week, and just like the previous two times it was very successful for me.  The holidays are always like a sprint for me, full of family and friends and fun.  I love it, but it's exhausting and full of questionable food and drink choices.  By the end of December, I looked like a bloated train wreck and I knew it was time to clean up my act.  My skin was out of control, I had dark circles for days and I just looked poofy.  I hadn't really worked out much, either, and I was ready to recommit myself to a solid routine.  Some advice I have about Whole 30 is that there will NEVER be a 30 day period that is perfectly perfect for you to do this, so you just need to suck it up, buttercup.

I also always start my Whole 30s with a 10 Day Cleanse from Advocare.  I don't sell it, it's not a "thing" for me - but I do love this cleanse and I always feel better afterwards.  It's easy to have success because I'm already eating clean, too.  I just think giving yourself a chance to have really great results in the first ten days is just a great way to motivate yourself for the next 20.

I started on a Monday, and so that Sunday I meal planned and cooked as much as possible.  This is what my weekends look like, and how I am able to achieve good food choices for the week:

Saturday/Sunday - I do a lot of preplanning for these two days.  I love to look for recipes during the week (I often email the links to myself), and so over the weekends I show them to Sean and have him pick a few that he likes (and possibly cook for us).  If I need a big protein run, I typically head to Costco. Besides the normal items, they also have things I love like the 505 Hatch Green Chilies, and big things of strawberries so a trip there every other week becomes a necessity.  If I am not shopping there, I am at Kroger.  I write everything down, and also list what recipes I want to cook.  I can.not.cook.on.the.fly.  I just can't.  It stresses me out, I get overwhelmed, I shut down.  I can, however, follow a recipe like a champ, so to have all of this planned out works great for me.

It's all about me...I hope you are following that.  ;)

Anyhoo, once I get my stuff home the fun begins.  I use Whole 30 as a way to try new things, but I ALWAYS have staples ready to go.  I eat a lot of eggs, avocado, chili, and soups.  I am so lucky to work close to my home, so going home for lunch is really easy and keeps temptation at a minimum.  My meal plan for the week usually looks like this:

• Egg Cups - I love to make these with lots and lots of veggies and ground beef.  If I am feeling fancy, I will wrap prosciutto around the cups.  I just scramble 8-10 eggs and set aside.  I will sautee bells, mushrooms, spinach and add that to the bottom of the cupcake tin.  If I'm adding beef, I spoon a little on top, and then pour the egg in.  I like to use Sean's taco seasoned meat for extra flavor.  We don't use packaged seasoning packets EVER.  There is typically so much gross stuff in them, and they always make me sick.  Sean is my seasoning master.  I just let him do his thing
• Turkey Blueberry Meatballs - this is a new favorite, and something I will probably eat forever.  Two meatballs is more than filling with two fried eggs (current obsession), and a great post workout breakfast or a snack.  One recipe usually makes enough for the entire week, and they freeze really well, too.  I substituted onion powder for actual onion and I think the consistency was a little better. I also used blackberries and they were awesome.  Go heavier on the sage and thyme.
• Soups and Chili's - This is usually my go-to lunch, and I don't get that mid-day carb crash that I typically would after a normal lunch.  It's easy to cook a big batch of these recipes, and I can get lots of meals from one pot.  I loved this new Buffalo Chicken Soup (I would add more chicken next time, and I didn't shred it, I cut it in chunks), and I also liked this Sweet Potato Chili  because you can make it in your crock pot!!  This is usually something I make just for me because the boys don't like casseroles/soups and Sean thinks the only good chili is the one he makes (which is sorta true - again, he can throw down in the kitchen, too).
• Crock Pot meals - Really a must for any mom.  Again, my boys hate casseroles and things that touch (lord help me) so I have to get creative.  I also don't short order cook too much, so if Sawyer wants something else he's welcome to make a sandwich.  Independance.  It's a beautiful thing.  Some meals that we enjoyed this past W30 were the Chili Lime Roast and Kippy's Pork Carnitas.  

Something that I wish I had purchased months ago is The Frugal Paleo Cookbook and Paderno Veggie Spiralizer.  I absolutely love these two things and urge everyone to purchase them immediately.

So, here is the dirty about me and Whole 30.  I'm never perfect on them.  There is a book (It Starts with Food - very informative) and it says if you intentionally choose to go off plan that you should start over.  I never do, and I don't care.  If I have two bad meals in 30 days, I figure that's good enough for me and I don't stress.  I'm not saying to break the rules intentionally, but don't beat yourself up, either.  My first W30 I had sugared coconut almost every day without even realizing it.  I chalked it up to a lesson about reading labels and moved on.  Its hard enough being a woman/mom/working person - I don't need to beat myself up over this, too.

Plan, plan and plan.  Always have an emergency Larabar ready.  Learn to socialize without a drink in hand.  Eat before events or bring your own food.  If you are lucky enough to have friends as badass as mine are, you are lucky enough to have people who accommodate your weird eating issues anyway so this shouldn't really rock their world too much.  Don't make it a big issue and it won't be.  Have fun with it and you can learn a lot of new things about food and about yourself.  

So, what should I write about next?