Do you want to Party?

Back in my day, we didn't play this game with jingle bells...

In 2012, I became something most people I'm friends with still don't know much about...a parent of an elementary school aged child.  Now, this seems easy enough to those who have not started their career yet, but I'm here to crush your dreams and give you a swift dose of reality of what I dread the most during the school year:  CLASS PARTIES.

Class parties fall into the same realm as participation ribbons for me - totally unnecessary, but yet apparently required. I know I sound like a total Scrooge, and I am, but I know I'm not alone in thinking they are usually way too much work (thanks, Pinterest) and oftentimes like the Hunger Games when you have more than one crafty mom involved.  You do not mess with the vision of the crafty mom.  I have had crafts taken out of my hands and been shunned to the drink station (i.e. where parents go who didn't get an unused art degree) before.  I'm not gonna lie, I probably deserved to be at the drink station, because I can't make a reindeer out of apples and sticks.  This is a skill that is totally not in my wheelhouse.  Can I open a Capri-Sun like a boss, though?  Hell yes, I can.  I don't even need two pokes with the straw.

I have found the up front approach to my party-phobia and general attendance at school functions has served me well these last few years.  Instead of actually physically attending these parties (because, 1. I work and 2. I'd rather shoot myself in the face), I've found that if you send money to the Head Pinterest Mom, they tend to leave you out of most planning activities.  I feel as if that's really doing them a favor, honestly.  If you send them an extra fiver on top of what you are paying to get out of helping, they tend to leave you alone entirely.  I am not above bribery, and/or wine delivery.  Help me help you, said the great Jerry Maguire.  #showmethemoney  

So, while I totally sound like a jerk, here's the part where I redeem myself.  I truly, really, 100% honestly adore the momma's that serve as my kiddo's room mother's.  I couldn't do it, and they know it and love me anyway. (What's not to love?)  Everyone of them has/have loved on my boys in ways they wouldn't receive from me (crafts, homemade goodies, actually hanging out at their schools), and they also take a lot of time to shower our awesome teachers with love and treats that I would love to send myself but never quite do.  They plan fundraising events, compassionately deal with over-reacting other parents (I mean, sometimes items go missing), handle field trips and always send me cute pics of the boys having fun with their friends.  They also can put down the hammer on the boys in my absence if they are acting crazy, so in a way - we are a darn good team.  I am thankful for them, and grateful for their service in the trenches of Elementary School.  I could not do it without them.

Come to think of it, I should probably give them a ribbon.  It's really the least I can do.

2 Years

If you guys only knew how many times I tried to write this blog.

I tried to write it immediately, but it was so raw.

I tried to write it after the funeral, but I was so sad.

I tried to write it at the new year, but it still didn't seem real.

I'm trying to write it now, but I am not sure how well it will go.

I'm actually on my fifth (now, 6th) attempt to write this, and it's freaking HARD.

August 16th, 2014 was a gorgeous day, it really was.  Sean and I got to celebrate our anniversary, our 12th, with drinks and a lovely dinner out in Dallas.  We were able to see some friends, enjoy great food and wine and celebrate yet another year of hard work and love.  In the back of my mind I did wonder why I didn't have my normal barrage of pictures from the always awesome ranch party Courtney attended every year, but I didn't think too much about it.  Turns out there is a lot of weird instances from that day.  Hindsight sure is 20/20.

I don't remember life without Courtney in it.  She was truly my first ever friend in life.  I think when you know someone THAT long, time just takes over most anything else.  I have no idea how we met, or what made us like each other.  She lived on a court I was allowed to ride my bike down to, so I guess that's all that it took.  We had so much fun together playing dress up, and talking about boys we thought were cute.  We did different things (I was into soccer, she was into dance), so really no competition there.  We would drive her older brother crazy, and my little brother would, in turn, drive us crazy, too.  We rode bikes, talked about very important things and lived life in a perfect little world.  When her parents decided to move her to Wichita Falls, I felt like a piece of me was lost.  We stayed in touch the best we knew how to, but in the late 80s and early 90s - that was hard to do.  The bi-weekly letters and monthly phone calls slowly trickled to a halt...I'd see a picture or two every Christmas via family cards, but nothing too exciting.  We survived junior high and then high school.  We both were going off to college in the Fall of 1999, and reconnected a little bit before doing so.  Court did call me to tell me she was going to Texas Tech, her dream school since she was a little kid.  I told her I chickened out of pursuing UT after becoming completely overwhelmed by its campus size, and would instead be attending SFA in Nacogdoches.  She gave me a hard time, asking me what in the hell I was going to do in the woods, but we wished each other luck and promised to write emails about our collegiate adventures.  I had no idea what was in store for me, but I had enough material to write a few books so we had plenty to write back and forth about.

During college, her parents decided to move back to Arlington and Court excitedly called me and told me the awesome news.  It happened the summer I was getting married, and she also happened to be home with them the weekend of my bachelorette party, so I quickly invited her to join us in the debauchery.  I'm so glad she did.  I had the most fun that night with her!  We had dinner at Dick's Last Resort, and then we all went back to the hotel room we rented where she made us her new "signature shot", who's name I refuse to type out.  It was quite inappropriate, but she was so proud of this shot and we (ok, they) were all newly 21 so it was fun for us all.  All I know was that it contained blue curacao and bailey's irish cream and it was disgusting!  We didn't have a way to hit the clubs, but thanks to Court's quick thinking we scored an unused limousine and cruised the streets of Dallas all night long.  We luckily found a bar where they didn't check my ID too closely and we danced our hearts out.  I remember wishing this reunion had happened months prior, and how sad I was that she wasn't in my wedding party.  I loved how we literally picked up right where we left off, not letting the years get in the way of our bond.

My wedding came and went, and we settled into married and college life while she returned to Lubbock to finish school.  I had the opportunity to meet some of her best college friends during this time, and I loved them immediately!  I'm not quite sure they knew where to fit me into things at time (me being an "old" friend...married friend...attending another college friend...it's a weird dynamic), but they always made me feel at home with the crew.  I knew they loved her, too, and I loved seeing pictures of their adventures through the years.  They loved the travel!  I always wished I had been able to go (or well...been invited to go hahah), but when you get married at 20 frivolous traveling was out of the question.  One of my greatest regrets is never traveling anywhere with Court, and I hate that we never got to go anywhere together.  She was always going somewhere, I could never keep it straight!

When Court took an internship with the Byron Nelson, I had the chance to see her all of the time.  There wasn't too many weeks that we missed going to Sherlock's or No Frills Grill.  She was a hell of a drinkin buddy.  Never any girl drama, always in for having a good time.  She was the perfect party pal.  She could dance, she could chill, she always had someone new with her to keep the dynamics interesting.  Again, we just had such a good time.  That's what I miss most about Courtney, how fun it was to be her friend.  We kept up these antics until Sean and I finally graduated, and then the adulting started for us.  Having to get up and be somewhere by 8 a.m. was hard, and didn't leave us with many opportunities to hang out with anyone.  We started to see less and less of all of our friends, but with the invention of text messaging and social media, things became a lot easier to stay "in touch".

When I told Courtney I was expecting Sawyer, she was so over the moon excited.  I was pretty much, if not, the first of the friends to have a child, and Courtney loved kids.  She loved Sawyer before she even met him, and made me feel special picking out funny onesies for him to wear and finding the perfect highchair for him to use (which we still have).  She partied down at my baby shower, having the most fun with everyone and the keg, and I remember thinking then what a fun Aunt she will be.  She was one of our first visitors after he arrived and even bought the kid Longhorn gear, gagging the whole time I'm sure.  She also made sure he had equal amounts of Tech "just so he would know her favorite".  As time went on, she would come and pick us up in her convertible Mustang to take us for a spin.  One of my favorite moments in life was driving around in The Oreo (it really wasn't an Oreo, but it was totally pimped out with custom red leather interior) with Sawyer strapped in the back.  The look of pure joy on his face was contagious, and we had so much fun cruising around.  I miss the small moments the most.  When you are the only young mom you know, and life can seem so overwhelming...Court had an uncanny ability to call/text/show up just at the right time and make you laugh.

When I woke up on August 17th, 2014, I was so happy.  It was our special day and I was excited to spend it with my little family.  We headed to church and our traditional lunch afterwards and as proper Methodists - we were waiting for the restaurant (Flying Fish) to open.  My Facebook messenger dinged, which caught me a little off guard on a Sunday morning.  The following message changed my life:

"Sorry to pass this information on a text.  Courtney and her parents died in a plane crash coming home last night." 

It was like the world stopped and all I could hear was the blood rushing to my head.

I asked if they were serious.  Like anyone would joke about something of this magnitude, but it was so surreal to receive this news.  I started shaking and crying and we had to leave the parking lot.  I said there was no way, Debi posted pictures just that morning.  I panicked and spastically called Courtney's cell, willing her to answer me just one last time and crying at the voice telling me to leave a message.

My heart broke into a million and one pieces.

I could barely contain myself to get to Granbury, where I was met by a stunned Stephen and tearful Julie.  I think we said we didn't understand how this could happen approximately 300 times.  I offered my help, which looking back was not helpful at all since I was swiftly on my way to hot mess express, and somehow made the hour long drive back.  I do not know how I made that drive back safely.  I was crying so hard I couldn't see, and shaking so hard I was probably swerving all over the place.  I knew enough to know I couldn't go home because I was in such bad shape, and so I called my friend in a panic and said I need to go there, instead.  I was met with open arms and a water bottle of vodka.  I could've asked for nothing better.  I don't really remember what we talked about, or how long I was actually there.  I was just grateful I had someone listen to me.  She fed me the only food I'd had to eat all day, and I replayed the last 8 hours over and over in my head and rambled about it with an epic amount of word vomit.  If only I knew how painful the next few days would truly be, I probably would have never left that porch.

August 18-22 was so full of confusion, pain, frustration, a need for hugs, and a need for quiet.  When you lose your friend's parent, you are sad.  It, however, feels somewhat natural - it's kind of the circle of life.  You don't really expect to be burying your friends parents at 33, but it's not the weirdest thing to do.  When you are burying your oldest friend PLUS her parents AT THE SAME TIME - there is no guidebook for those uncharted waters.  Never in our long friendship had we ever had the "if I die, this is what I want" conversation, either.  I couldn't even tell you one single thing she for sure would have wanted.  It was so frustrating not to know these things, and it was too late to ask.  We all were grasping at straws, trying to figure out what would be the best way to honor our friend while also trying to make sense of what had happened.  We each had such an unique friendship with Courtney, and everyone loved her the most and wanted only the best.  Somehow I managed to get it together and make it to Friday, thanks to loving friends pitching in with dinners, wine deliveries and love bombing me.  I could not have done it without them.  I braced myself for the inevitable, and woke up Friday with a sense of "Let's do this" and "We can do hard things" (thanks, Glennon).

I didn't really know what to think about meeting up with everyone at No Frills before the viewing.  It was almost impossible to keep a cohesive thought in my brain, let alone make small talk with those whom I hadn't seen in various lengths of time.  I was the "old friend" again - possibly the one they could've shoved out of the circle and my insecurities began to swirl about.  Luckily, I had nothing to worry about.  Turns out this crew has been a support system like no other, beautifully understanding the ups and downs that comes with losing loved ones.  I was enveloped into the group like I had always been there, and we laughed and laughed telling story after story.  I still laugh about the one I contributed, which happened shortly before the accident, and involved a few people I won't name on this blog.  If that's my last memory of Court, it was a good one.  She always made me laugh, and I was and am so grateful to have her friends to continue the laughter with.

So, here we are two years later.  So many things have changed in my life, I can hardly keep track.  I do feel like I'm finally at peace, though, which is a good feeling after feeling so overwhelmed for so long.  Someone described grief to me as a storm, and it is so true.  At first, it's like a hurricane with 60ft waves coming at you one after another.  You feel like you are drowning, and you can never catch your breath.  It calms down after awhile, but will stir up again at the weirdest moments over the most random things.  You will melt down over the stupidest of things, and your only excuse is that you miss your friend.   You will hit rough waters again on milestones, but your new normal becomes just the way.  Those waves become ripples in the water, but are still profound enough to make you stop and pay attention.  I don't wish this experience on anyone, but I've learned a lot from it and don't take days and friendships for granted.  It's been one of the most intense moments of my life, and I hope I've become a better person because of it.  I became a Tech fan at the very least, which I know makes everyone laugh as they watch the pigs fly by.  I guess anything can happen if you let it.

I miss ya, Court.  You were the best friend.  Thank you.  

Crockpot Taco Soup (and maybe a slight breakdown)

Since I'm riding the bench for the foreseeable future thanks to a super awesome bulging disc (more about this later), I'm having to be super careful about my caloric intake.  I'm not slaying it in the gym 5-6 times a week, so I can't eat like I was earlier this year (all good foods, but a little more volume to support my working out).  This.sucks.a lot.  So, to the kitchen I go, and in my world - the easier the better!  I made this on a whim today, and we may have a new addition to the Hutcherson Menu!

All I did was brown a pound of beef, and seasoned it with 1/2tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1tsp garlic powder,1tsp chili powder, and S&P.   I didn't cook it all the way, and dumped it and the juice into my crockpot.  I then added a whole (chopped) orange and yellow bell pepper (I can't eat green and red, we do not get along), a chopped onion and a whole bag of shredded carrots (I may have overbought carrots when trying to make a cake this weekend...this overpurchase may have prompted this recipe).  The last addition was three cans of fire-roasted tomatoes.  Set on low and let simmer all day.  Top with avocado, a squeeze of lime - perfection!   The big kid also liked this, so that was an added bonus! **If you like a lot of flavor, which I do, I would add the above spices again and stir in before cooking.  It needed more punch, I thought!**

I won't win any photography awards with this picture, but it was super yummy!

Back to my back.  I am about to head to the pool so I won't stay on here to complain too long, but it effing SUCKS to have this issue.  Like, I'm full on wanting to throw a huge temper tantrum about it.  I already deal with chronic back pain due to my crooked back, but this is a whole other level that I was and am truly not prepared to deal with.  It's so hard to have my workout plan for Hawaii completely wiped out, and for me to swallow the "it will be a 6-8 month recovery" news.  Seriously?  I'm trying to not totally lose my shit over all of this, and I know in the grand scheme of things it will be ok, but right now I just want to kick and scream.  It's already hard enough to keep from blowing up to 400 lbs, and now I have to be hyper vigilant about what goes in my mouth because I'm not able to do much more than walk in the water.  Some days...life ain't fair.  Whomp Whomp.

Another great recipe!

**This recipe is from The Frugal Paleo Cookbook - I highly recommend purchasing this book!!!**

This is a recipe I've made several times, and every.single.time we end up with none left over.  I even DOUBLED the recipe, and Sean ate it all.  As in, like 9 thighs, plus veggies.  How he is not 500 lbs, I will never know.  I just pray my boys got his metabolism, and not mine.

Crispy Chicken with Lemon and Capers

2 lbs of chicken thighs

2 tbs of House Seasoning (2 tsp garlic, 2 tsp of onion powder, 1 tsp of cayenne (or paprika if cayenne is too spicy), and 1 tsp black pepper)

1 tsp kosher salt

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp capers

1 lemon (or lime - both work)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Trim excess fat/hanging skin off of thighs.  Season the skin side with the House Seasoning and salt and set aside

Heat cast iron pan to medium-high and add olive oil.  If there won't be about an inch or so in between each thigh, work in batches.  Attempting to squish them all in there will steam them instead of sear them.  

Sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes, and then I place them in a glass baking dish.  I am always working in batches, so one big dish works for me.  I sear all the chicken and then add the olive oil/cooking juice to the pan, season the other side and roast for 30 minutes.  

After the 30 minutes is up, remove the chicken, add the capers and squeeze a big lemon or lime all over.  Serve and enjoy!  We like baked cauliflower (I season it with the House Seasoning, EVOO and salt) or sauteed zucchini and squash with it!  

Make sure to pour some of the juice over the chicken - it's the best part!!!

Aloha Sliders

*Disclaimer - this is not my recipe.  I copied it verbatim from The Frugal Paleo Cookbook.  If you have not purchased this cookbook, well...you are crazy and you should go to Amazon and do so right now.  That is all.

I am trying really hard to continue my good eating habits I (re)established during my last Whole 30.  Meal planning is key for this, because if I don't have a plan I just grab something and it is usually not good for me.  I did not plan as well as I normally do this weekend because it's been full of birthday craziness, so I'll try and scrounge up the energy hopefully tomorrow.  If not...it will be a lot of eggs.  And chicken.  Because, #chickeniseasy.

I made these sliders tonight for us (not the kids - they wanted pizza and I'm here to please), and I'm glad I ate mine first because Sean ate the rest at an alarming rate.  The prep time was totally doable during the week, and cooking was even easier since Sean fired up the grill for me.  Fact about me - I don't grill.  I'm afraid of it, it's not a controllable thing, it's not gonna happen probably in this lifetime.  Another thing to note about this recipe - if you want leftovers, go ahead and double this recipe.  I'm already pissed that Sean ate my lunch for tomorrow.

Aloha Sliders with Pineapple Relish

For the relish:

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 small red onion finely diced (or, buy the already diced onion if you hate prepping)

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced (wear gloves and don't touch your face.  I may know this by experience)

zest from a lime (I just used lime juice.  I don't get the zesting..seemed hard)

1/4 tsp sea salt (or salt.  I mean...whatever)

1 1/2 cups of pineapple (so I used a can of chunks.  I refuse to cut up a pineapple.  Ain't nobody got time fo' that.)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I just ripped it up.  Sean didn't complain)

Grab your large pan, turn your stove top to medium heat and melt the coconut oil.  Then add the diced onion, jalapeno, lime zest and salt.  Sautee until the onions are almost translucent.  Next, add the diced pineapple (if you are awesome like me and use a can, make sure to drain the juice first).  Take your time, and keep the temp around medium, or you will burn it.  It takes about 30 mins, so make sure you check frequently and stir often.  When it's nice and saucy, remove from heat, add cilantro, cover and wait for the sliders to be ready.

For the sliders:

Ground Pork - 1lb

1 garlic clove - minced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt 

While the sauce is cooking, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mush together.  Form your slider patties, beg your husband to make sure the grill is ready and hand him the plate and tell him it's his turn.  Oh wait...that was me.  I mean, if you can handle this part just take them to the grill, cook on one side for 5-6 mins, and flip.  Cook that other side for 4-6 minutes and they should be perfect.  Bring them inside, top with the amazing relish and start eating.  I would go ahead and make your leftover lunch tupperware first so your husband doesn't know there is extra available.   We didn't have a side with this, and didn't really need it.  The flavors were super fresh and the relish had just a hint of spice, but nothing this spice hating girl couldn't handle.  

I hope y'all enjoy this recipe as much as I did this evening!  

So, now what?

So, you've finished your Whole 30.  Now what?

Well...there are a few options, and all of them I've explored.  Let's discuss.

1.  Go wheels off back to where you started.  Trust me.  This is sooooo easy to do, and I would never judge anyone that this happens to.  Whole 30 is the most strict food plan (refuse to say diet) I've ever followed.  It's tough to read labels, prep menus, cook all the food, never have a drink, be a poster W30'er.  I have NEVER completed a perfect (by the books, that is) Whole 30, and it's a personal goal of mine to.  However, just like with anything worth doing, if it were easy it would just be "the way".  I went back to my old ways quicker than lightning after my 2nd W30, and I paid the price.  I screwed up my digestive system big time.

2.  Continue the Whole 30 plan for an extended stretch.  I did this after my first go around, and I almost guarantee I was able to recover from surgery (two, actually) at a much faster rate because of all the good foods I was eating.  It was hard, but so worth the sacrifice to let my body heal.  I got to the lowest weight I've been since college during this time, and was lifting and training at an all time high.  However, I got burnt out and let old habits creep in.  Before I knew it, I was back to my old ways.  It truly happened without me even realizing it.

3.  Find a happy medium. This is the current place I'm living in right now.  Since I am once AGAIN out of the workout game (thanks, bulging disc), I have to be careful about what foods I'm consuming because I have the superpower of being able gain weight at an extremely rapid rate and I can't do much to counteract it at the moment.  I also just feel better when I don't consume the dairy/sugary things.  I had a tall flat white from Starbucks today as a "treat", and my body all but rejected it immediately.  I just need to listen to these cues and realize that I can't just shove whatever I want in and expect it to be ok.  It's a hard lesson to learn, and one I feel will be a life battle.  Some days I just don't care, but then I pay the price.  I mean, I'll get it some day, right?

How I stay motivated during and afterwards:

I buy myself presents.  I know, it's ridiculous.  I'm not above a toddler sticker chart, either.  I'm very visual, so if I can see cumulative awesomeness, it helps push me to continue building good habits.  I always buy myself a "mid" present (this year it was a cookbook and a spiralizer) and an end present (new necklace), with manicures and such thrown in between to keep it fun.  This time I gave myself an extra challenge of hitting a certain amount of workouts during, and the weeks just flew by.  I would say this was my most successful one yet!  I lost 7 lbs and lots of inches (I need to tally those up).

When I've been most successful with Whole 30, I've also surrounded myself with people that are participating and/or understand my goals.  I've joined Facebook groups, and have group texts with people who can understand my "I just want a glass of wine" text really means "I just need to complain for just a minute, but that's it" haha!  I love talking about it because it can truly be fun and you learn so much!  I mean, I'm eating brussels sprouts now after this W30 - that's CRAZY!  I hated those nasty little things before, and now I can't get enough.  I post pictures of my food, and let my social media platforms keep me accountable.  Before you know it, the 30 days will be up!

I hope that these posts are helpful.  If you have any questions, please ask!!

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?