Thankful

Obviously I'm thankful for Jesus, my family, friends, home, etc, but on a more shallow note... 

I'm thankful after spending 5 days at my inlaws eating super delicious unhealthy dinners I didn't gain a pound. 

I'm also thankful that this dress from 3 years ago fits again! Great success. (Ignore my filthy bathroom lol)

Happy Thanksgiving Friends! 

Junk Food Substitute

Yesterday for lunch I pulled some leftover paleo chili with pumpkin and spaghetti squash out of the fridge and immediately had a strong craving for mustard and pickles. I thought it was gonna be weird but I went with it. Holy cow. The same flavor combo as a chili dog only totally guilt free. I may be eating mustard and pickles on my chili from now on. What weird combos have you discovered since you started eating clean? 

We Survived Whole 30

For the last 30 days any time someone asked about our diet, I felt like this: 

But in all honesty, it wasn't bad at all. There were a few days that the recipes sucked, but more times than not they were amazing! I was never hungry. I didn't have cravings or feel deprived. I did have dreams of fro yo on more than one occasion. Don't judge me. 

We've been finished with whole 30 for about 5 days. This wrap up post would be great if I had thought to take actual before pictures, but of course I didn't. I was able to find this picture of me from B's birthday party the weekend before we started. Yikes. 

What makes me sad about this picture is the day I uploaded his party pictures I deleted all the "bad" ones, which makes this unflattering picture of my big butt chilling on the floor a "good" one. I'll work  on getting a decent progress picture. 😉

Nonscale Victories

1. My clothes fit again! Since I've become a SAHM I've purchased significantly less clothes than I did when I was a single lady. I rarely get dressed these days, it's easy to stay in leggings and a tshirt when you don't have to see other adults. Getting dressed once a week for church and realizing nothing fits sucks. For now, that isn't a problem anymore and it feels great. Maybe next month my clothes will be too big? 

2. My taste have changed a lot. Before whole 30 I could suck down a giant Jamocha Almond Fudge Dunkin Iced Coffee either cream and sugar in 30 seconds and crave more. Now I prefer iced coffee with a splash of almond milk and no sweetener. I no longer crave sweets! 

Now that we're done with our first 30 days we're allowing ourselves cheat meals- 3 a week, either spread out or all on one day depending on our schedule. 

Even our cheating looks different, I used to prefer a little fro yo with my toppings (specifically Reese's, Oreos, cookie dough and Butterfingers... Lots of them, all at the same time), but now I struggled to pick a flavor (I chose sweet cream and have no regrets) and stood dumbfounded at the topping bar. I really didn't want candy. I got a few strawberries, a couple chocolate covered raisins (which are my new favorite) and a few sprinkles. I would have been okay with just the sprinkles. 

The week leading up to cheat day I began to fantasize about my chipotle order. When we got there, I ordered something totally different. No beans, no cheese, no sour cream, no corn salsa. It just didn't sound good, I could have eaten it but I didn't want it.  All I needed was carnitas, rice, guacamole, and extra EXTRA pico. Did you know I don't like tomatoes? But now, I want ALL of the pico. It was all I hoped it would be. 

3. I feel awesome. What I thought were seasonal allergies have cleared up, my skin looks pretty great, I'm sleeping so great, and wake up alert and ready to go everyday (sometimes even before B!)

Scale Victories

Drumroll please, the hubby is down 20 lbs with another 50 to go and I have lost 22lbs! 

I spoke with my health coach and I am only required to lose 10 more and then my BMI will be where they want it, I do have to lose about 10 inches off my waist 😁 and that scares me. My goal is really to lose another 40lbs which should take 10 inches off, but I guess we'll see! Stay tuned for my recipes, thoughts, and results. I'll get some progress pics up this week. 

Delicata Squash

Great Oden's beard... If you haven't tried a delicata squash, track one down. I bought one on a whim yesterday and cooked it up for brunch today. My husband said it was the best paleo meal so far. It's pretty hard to cut, but much more managable than a butternut. Today I stuffed them with sausage, onions, raisins, and pecans then brushed them with a little ghee and maple syrup. Roasted at 400 for about 35 minutes. These little guys will be my potato replacement from now on. So rich and creamy, they might even make an appearance in a pie. If B would allow it, I'd enjoy a great food coma about now. Happy Saturday! 

My Paleo Do's & Don't's

Do be super prepared. Not only does this mean carrying snacks and water with you at all times it means have a game plan. Know where you can get food if you are in a pinch. For us this means Rotiserre Chickens or grilled nuggets from Chic Fila. This also means meal planning for your schedule. Find meals that are easy for busy days and stick with what works. We're currently loving burgers on Monday nights. We buy either the Chili Lime Chicken Burgers or Grassfed Angus   Burgers both from Trader Joes. 

Do try new things. As a penny pincher I have always been quick to put beans in everything to stretch a meal, so when it was time to make chili (which normally has like 6 different cans of beans in it) I knew the paleo version would never taste right to my family. Oh a whim, I threw in some pumpkin purée that was leftover in my fridge and a big spoonful of almond butter. I think this was the best chili I've ever made. We stirred in a spaghetti squash right before we ate and it was perfect. Ugly but sooo delicious. 

Don't be afraid to not eat something. We ordered some veggies at a restaurant the other day and both immediately knew we shouldn't be eating them. So we didn't. I threw them in the freezer for another day. If you try a new recipe and it repulsed you, don't force yourself to eat it. Cauliflower breadsticks were a fail in this house, they were so bad I may never eat cauliflower again. Last week I made a spaghetti squash with shrimp and pesto, however in a moment of laziness I bought a pesto paste from the store. NEVER AGAIN. My husband ate it, but after to gaggy bites mine went down the garbage disposal. I ended scarfing some smoked turkey from the local BBQ place after Trick or Treating. 

Don't reinvent the wheel. Some new recipes will be amazing, others will flop trying new things can be great, but working with what your family already loves is so much easier. We love breakfast and we love Mexican food.for us this often looks like "eggs &____" or "taco meat stuffed into _____" 

If all else fails, add broth and make soup 😉 what are your favorite new recipes? Leave a comment below. 

DIY Lärabars

Ready to save some money? Since we've started this paleo journey I've discovered and love Lärabars. They do have lots of sugar in them( so pace yourself), but it's all from the Medjiool dates. Whoever said rasins were "nature's candy" obviously never had one of these bad boys, but I digress. If you have a good food processor you can have Lärabars knock offs in a few minutes. 

Basically you need one part dates and one part nuts. This package of dates turned out to be about 2 cups.

Take the pits out of the dates, trash 'em then throw the super sticky dates in the food processor with whatever nuts float your goat. Add whatever dried fruits, spices, etc and let 'er rip! 

I ended up with Pumpkin Spice Bars and Cashew Cookie Bars. Try my recipes below or create your own. Share your creations in the comments. 

Small Victories!

Yesterday we visited a pumpkin patch for pictures. B was in heaven. He touched literally evey pumpkin he saw and picked up as many as his tiny 24lb body could. Needless to say, he was exhausted, hangry, and parched (thanks Texas for the 91 degree "fall" day). Even though he failed to perform for the camera, I decided to hook him up with some Sonic Happy Hour! A lemon slushee and order of tots later I finally got a smile! Check out this cutie 😉

Today I celebrate that even though I may have sniffed his tater tots (more than once) I did not eat a single one! I contemplated how many extra calories I was consuming daily finishing his meals, sharing his snack, and licking the peanut butter spoon. This is a habit that has been hard to break. More than once I've busted myself absent mindedly putting a goldfish in my mouth. The toddler mom struggle is real! 

I did learn they now serve club soda at Sonic, a large "sparkly water" with lemons and Sonic ice will set ya back 99 cents during Happy Hour. Hooray for a healthy cheat!