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Inspiration And Motivation

Hey you guuuyyyssss!  Happy Tuesday!  I have been feeling a little stressed the past week or so which has sent my anxiety through the freaking roof.  Ugh. Thankfully I’ve still been sleeping OK (knock on wood) but today I’m finally feeling much calmer.

I’ve been juggling a lot of things and some things have been in limbo but I have reached a place of solutions.  I know all of this is cryptic and obnoxious but until I get the ball rolling on a few things, this is as good as it gets.  Ok, so let’s talk about eats!

After an awesome gym sesh where I threw some heavy stuff around, I came home to a yogurt bowl.

With chocolate chips because that’s how I rolled today.  Grain-free granola from TJ’s because I am out of homemade, fresh blueberries, and the aforementioned chocolate chips.

Frothy coffee was coconut oil + collagen.

After doing laundry, doing some business work, but before a business call, it was time for lunch.

Scott and I have been getting down with some chicken thighs and legs for lunch but we’re ready for a new protein thrown in rotation.  Any suggestions?

Lunch today was some thighs seasoned with Flavor God’s new Buffalo Seasoning, leftover green beans, and some cut up mini peppers.  Dipped in Buffalo Sauce + Mayo and a smoothie on the side.

Smoothie was a basic one for me:

  • 3C Water
  • 3 Huge handfuls of greens
  • 1.5 Frozen bananas
  • 1/2C Frozen Blueberries

Makes 2 big smoothies.

Finished up laundry, had my business call, planned an event, AND talked on the phone to my mom for a bit. WHEW. Y’all today was a big exciting day.

Dinner was awesome and a lil fancy for a Tuesday.

Pork blade steaks (think pork shoulder sliced) seasoned with Flavor God Garlic Lovers and a bit of poultry seasoning.  Smashed crispy duck fat and ghee potatoes, and some roasted asparagus (olive oil + salt + garlic powder).

Pork was from this month’s Butcher Box shipment. (<– $10 off your first box )

YUM.

Now my pretties, I’m going to sit on the couch with my loves, a splash of bourbon, and some TV. Normally I don’t have bourbon on a Tuesday but oh man, I had such a great day I need to celebrate a wee bit.

PS: Yesterday I talked about my mission to start using safer skincare products. Today in my FB group, I shared some new products just released by Beautycounter. Feel free to join the group to learn more! I’ll also be hosting an event next week and all the details will be in the group, you don’t want to miss that!

 

Disclaimer: Some links in this post are affiliate links. This doesn’t change the cost for you ( and in some cases, saves you money!)  but goes towards supporting the site.

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Moving and Grooving

Hey gang! We have so much to chat about!

First of all, I have made it to the gym three days in a row for the 7am workout. YES!  My goal is to get back to working out at 7am and then working on skills and strength during 8am open gym. It’s been hard to make that transition but so worth it.  Hooray for 7am!

After class today (which was rough), I wanted ALL THE FOOD. So I made a big breakfast and dived in head first.

Scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, and some turkey bacon.  The roasted potatoes were seasoned with a New-To-Me seasoning from Flavor God called Fiesta Sweet and Tangy. It’s so good! But it has honey in it so it can burn quickly which I didn’t realize when I put the potatoes in the oven. I set off the fire alarm and had to come running out of the shower to turn it off.  Scott and the punks were still sleeping. Not a nice way to wake up, sorry guys!

I went out to run errands today and sweet lord this zapped all my energy.  I forgot about some of the construction that’s going on around town and it took me ages to where I needed to go. There is so much construction. So. Much.

By the time I got back home, I was starving and since it was late decided to just make dinner. Then if I get hungry later and want a snack (let’s be honest, of course I’m going to have a snack), I can do that.

Linner today was pork chops, side salad, and some mashed cauliflower.

The pork chops were seasoned with Flavor God Jerk seasoning.  I set the fire alarm off again cooking up the pork chops.  I was going to make bacon today but nope to the nope. That is not happening because I cannot take that stupid alarm anymore.

Light balsamic dressing on the greens and a little bit of butter added to the mash.  Delicious!

Pork chops are from Butcher Box. (Referral link, which will give you a discount off your first purchase!)

Now I’m calling it a day. I’m in my jammies and I’m done-zo.

 

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Satisified

Yesterday was an eat-all-the-things kind of day and today I’m completely satisfied with my meals. I love that everything balances out. It can be hard learning to trust your body and what it’s telling you but it definitely knows best!

I made it to the 7am class again today! After class I came home and heated up some egg patties.

No picture because it didn’t come out looking appetizing at all.  But, I promise these guys are tasty and easy to pop in the toaster oven to reheat. They also freeze like a charm making it easy to have a fast breakfast on hand.  I’m still fiddling with the recipe and I’ll share that as soon as I have it set.  These contain:

  • Eggs
  • Sausage
  • Spinach
  • Peppers
  • Onions

Frothy coffee to go with it.  I changed things up a bit this morning and used vanilla ghee + collagen in the coffee.  The ghee I got from Thrive Market.  It’s OK, I thought it would have a more pronounced vanilla flavor but it’s very subtle.

Salad and chicken thighs

Lunch was a salad with some chicken thighs that I dipped in Sir Kensington Special Sauce.  This salad is what I like to call a “base salad”, I make a huge batch of it and then it’s ready to go all week.  All I have to do is add some toppings and part of lunch is done and ready to go!

This base had:

  • Kale
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots

And I dressed it in a balsamic dressing made from balsamic + olive oil + dijon + honey.  The longer this salad sits, the better it gets! Easy to put together, I just get some bags of kale and shredded cabbage from TJ’s.  The kale I pulse in the food processor for a bit so that the pieces are on the smaller side.

The toppings today were grape tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.

Dinner was leftovers from Sunday.

Crispy pork with potatoes and carrots.

Pork roast with carrots, potatoes, and gravy.  I shredded the pork and made crispy pork for dinner today!  I heated the shredded pork in a skillet with some ghee and olive oil to get some crispy edges.  The potatoes and carrots just got heated up in the toaster oven.  Dinner was quick to put on the table today!

Now it’s time to chill with my guy and watch to see if we get any snow or nasty weather. Forecast is different on every site, the most extreme is calling for 4-8 inches of snow from tonight till Friday morning.  Good bye spring like weather, winter is on its way back!

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Eat Everything

Hey gang! It’s been a while!  I needed to take some time to enjoy life for a bit.  Last week was Scotty’s birthday and it was a BIG ONE so we had to celebrate. We took time off, enjoyed some libations, and some delicious goodies.  It was awesome!

Since we’ve last chatted I have reintroduced a new item into the diet and am doing a pass.  I tried rice and it was a’right.  YOU GUYS, it was just a’right.  It left me feeling not fully satisfied and made my heart race a bit.  Then later I crashed hard, like whoa.  So did Scott.  I was at work but Scott totally fell asleep and took a nap.

A few days later I tried it again and had some sushi.  The sushi left me feeling bloated and like a fake “full”.  I was full but still hungry.  It was so strange.  So rice is on the outs for me.  Scott said he could do without rice as well which is major because dude loves his rice.

So yeah, corn and rice are no goes.  So is gluten (except for beer on occasion).  Scott can handle gluten a little better than I can but it just causes me to bloat, feel tired, and crave sugar.  Not cool.

Dairy I can do in small amounts. Butter and yogurt being what I gravitate towards with cheese on occasion.

That’s where I’m at for reintroduction.  Beans I’ve been kind of avoiding but at some point I’ll test them out and see.

Back on track this week and I kicked off the day with an awesome big breakfast after working out (early, I got to the gym at 7am! BOOM!).

Eggs, potatoes, and sausage

Scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, and some chicken sausage from TJ’s.  I’m not a huge fan of this chicken sausage. :/ It was OK at first but then it turned weird. Like each bite started tasting like it was made from pellets.

Lunch could not come soon enough today. About an hour and a half after breakfast I was hungry and ready to eat!  Unfortunately, Scott said that since it was not even 11am that lunched had to wait.

GAH! What?!

So I had two clementines to hold me over.  Except they didn’t so I got busy making lunch.  I’ve been craving a big plate of greens lately so today I finally got to face plant into some.

Chicken thighs and kale

Sauteed kale with chicken thighs and half a leftover brat.  I dipped the thighs in Sir Kensington Special Sauce for some extra saucy goodness.  I also had a smoothie on the side, standard smoothie:

  • 2.5C Water
  • 3 Large Handfuls of greens
  • 1.5 Frozen Bananas
  • 1C Blueberries

Makes enough for two large smoothies.

Midafternoon snack I had some dried mango slices and a few pork rinds. I am a bottomless pit today!

Taco bowls

Dinner this evening was taco bowls.

Ground grassfed beef that I got from Butcher Box (See a recipe and review here) with peppers, onions, and placed on top of some cauliflower rice.  I added some lettuce and tomatoes on top.

Easy peasy and delicious!

Now I’m off to have some tea and get comfy watching some hockey. There may be some dark chocolate in my future.

 

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Reintroduction: Corn

Today is the first day for my post Whole30 journey.  I’m going slowly through the reintroduction phase so I can fully assess what is causing inflammation and if I need to eliminate it entirely or just cut back to only having that item on occasion.

I hit the gym up at 7am this morning!  YESSS bring back the early morning workouts!  Once home I had some eggs and roasted potatoes for breakfast.  This was actually a Whole30 compliant breakfast.

Eggs and potatoes

I’m introducing corn today and almost, almost, had some tortilla chips to snack on while breakfast was heating up but I passed.  The thing with reintroduction is to have a lot of whatever the item is that you’re introducing.  By a lot, I mean, with each meal that day.  And I can understand that but I’m going to try to stick with eating the food item how I normally would.  Normally I don’t snack on tortilla chips first thing so I passed.

I also passed on ketchup today with my potatoes.  I wanted some and figured that the sugar wouldn’t be that significant but when I checked the stats, it came out to 4g of sugar for 1TBSP of ketchup.

That’s freaking ridiculous.  So I skipped it and that’s how breakfast stayed compliant.

Lunch was super easy to put together.

Smoked salmon and broccolini

I heated up some Honey Smoked Salmon and some broccolini.  There was also a smoothie and some pork rinds on the side.  Mmmm pork rinds.

The smoothie was a basic one:

  • 2C Water
  • 3 Large Handfuls of greens
  • 1.5 Frozen Bananas
  • 1/2C Frozen Blueberries

This makes enough for two smoothies.

Dinner was TACOS!  And you guys, I’m kind of over tacos.

Tacos and slaw

I KNOW.  I’m now questioning the meaning of life and wondering who I am.  I snacked on a few tortilla chips with salsa while I was cooking dinner.  I only had about 5ish total before I passed them over.  I was looking forward to that moment for days.  It was my plan to introduce corn first and tacos with chips and salsa was the meal. I had been dreaming about this moment and could not wait for dinner today.  I was so excited!

And it was eh.

I seriously could not even believe that was possible.  I thought I would love them and want to inhale them.  But I didn’t.  I stopped once I realized they weren’t really doing it for me and I snacked on a few Siete grain-free tortilla chips instead.

The tacos were bison tacos and I had those in regular corn tortilla shells.  Topped with a dairy-free “Not ‘Cho” sauce that I’m working on (it is so good!).  Again, the tacos were just OK.  I honestly would have rather had a pile of the taco meat with some of the sauce and chopped romaine instead of the shell.

Who am I?  This is so weird!  I totally did not expect this outcome and it’s kind of blowing my mind right now.  I need to tuck this experience away and ponder on it for a bit.

The other thing I introduced today was sugar sources in a few things.  The salmon had honey but it was a very minor amount.  The mayo for the slaw had honey as well, again, very minor amount.  I felt comfortable adding this in with the corn today because the amount was so small and it would be more similar to how I’d eat on a daily basis.  And since I didn’t end up eating all that much corn, I’m not really concerned about the wee amount of sugar.

Now I’m wondering how other reintros are going to go and what other discoveries are going to pop up.

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January Whole30 Days 29 -30

Today is the last day of the Whole30 challenge!  WHOO!  I’m so proud of this challenge because I did it 100%! No slips and no cheats.  BOOM!

I also made it through the whole month without any alcohol, not even a sip at work to test new beers.  I feel awesome about that!  I will be doing a full wrapup and recap post soon.  This time around was much different and I’m pretty stoked to talk about it.  But let’s check in with the last few days of eats!

MONDAY:

Chia seed pudding with TJ’s grainless granola and a sprinkle of dried coconut on top for breakfast after working out.  That I totally forgot to take a picture of! Sorry about that. Derp.

I was so hungry for lunch (Thanks, PMS) and could not wait to get some food in my bellah.

Burger, crab cakes, snap peas

I had a burger, crab cakes, and some snow peas.  The burger and crab cakes had homemade tartar sauce top.  Super easy, it was made with:

  • Mayo
  • Whole Grain Mustard
  • Pickles
  • Dried Dill

Dinner was leftovers heated up when I got home from work.

Chicken, broccolini, parsnip mash

Roast chicken, broccolini, and some parsnip mash.  There was also leftover gravy as well.  Then I went straight to bed.  My work days aren’t terribly exciting because I’m tired when I get home and am so ready for jammies and bed.

TUESDAY:

Banana before working out.  Once home, I was starving and needed a bigger breakfast.

Sausage, kale, butternut squash bowl

Sausage with kale, peppers, onions, and I also added in some roasted butternut squash.  The sausage and kale mix I made on Saturday and so that was ready to go and I also roasted the squash that day as well.  This came together in minutes because all I had to do was heat everything up.  Check out that steam action!

I wasn’t super hungry at lunch and decided to just throw together some random items.

Tuna salad, random snack plate

Tuna salad hiding out in the back.  Cucumbers, peppers, and tostones along with random leftover protein; crab cake, chicken breast, and a slice of pork tenderloin.  Those goodies along with some kombucha made up lunch.

Dinner was another easy meal featuring some beef stew that I pulled out of the freezer.  I made this in the Instant Pot last month and knowing that I was heading into the Whole30, I was sure to make it compliant.

Beef stew

Today is the first day during this challenge where I’m actually pretty tired and worn out.  I also just started my cycle (I have no fucks to give if you feel that’s TMI. Sorry.) and I think that’s more the culprit than the challenge.

The theme for today was to keep things simple. I could have ended the challenge with a big bang but my goal was to stay on track and go with the flow.  I did that pretty well today!

I’m going to have some tea and maybe some pistachios, then it’s an early bedtime for me.  I’m trying to hit the gym earlier in the mornings so we’ll see how that goes!

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January Whole30 Day 24

Hi all!  Thankfully the weather cleared enough that I was able to get to the gym this morning.  Though my car was super iced over and it took me a while to get that all scraped off.  The passenger door was frozen shut and was not budging.

After the gym and a long steamy shower, it was time for some eats.  Easy peasy breakfast this morning of eggs, sweet potato, and a few leftover sausage pieces.

Eggs, Sweet Potato, Sausage

I had to run some errands today during lunch. I got my eyebrows defuzzed and looking purty again, then I hit the grocery stores for a few things.  Mama needed some more TJ’s grainless granola!  That stuff is so expensive but it’s very tasty.

When I got back home, lunch was quick and easy. I heated up some leftover soup from yesterday and had that with a few pork rinds.  No picture because it looks exactly the same as yesterday.

Dinner tonight was creamy shrimp curry with sweet potatoes and kale.  So freaking good and very easy to make.

Yellow Curry Shrimp

I sautéed up some onions and peppers and garlic in a bit of olive oil.  Added in some chopped kale (prepacked from TJ’s, I just picked out the stems) and cubed sweet potatoes.  I boiled the sweet potato cubes first so that they were already cooked through.  Then I added in some chicken stock and brought it up to a simmer.  Simmered for about 10 minutes for the kale to wilt down then I added in a can of coconut milk, and stirred.  Then the shrimp and simmered for a bit more to let the shrimp cook through. Served up and done!

If you wanted to bump this up even more, you could serve this over cauliflower rice.

It hit the spot and was very comforting on this chilly Colorado day.  Now it’s time for some hockey and a mug of herbal tea!

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January Whole 30: Day 22 – 23

Hey all! We are cruising right along kicking butt during our Whole30.  We have one full week left of the program!  We are at the point where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Scott handles this phase a lot better than I do. I’m at the point where I’m ready to have some things back in my life (Dear Bacon, I miss you.) and ready to be a bit more relaxed. Scott just goes with the flow and is cool as a cucumber.

So let’s recap Monday and Tuesday!

MONDAY:

Up and hit the gym first thing.  Bam! I did have a banana once I got to the gym (I brought it with me) before starting the workout.  Back home I had some chia seed pudding topped with fresh blueberries and some grainless granola that I purchased at TJ’s.  The chia seed pudding was made with 2C Almond Milk + 1/4C Chia Seeds.

I blended them together and let it sit for a few hours.  Then I mixed it together again so the seeds mixed a little more throughly and let it sit until the next day.  It’s a pretty gelatinous mixture but goes well with faux-nola and berries.  I forgot to take a picture, sorry about that!

Salad and turkey slices

Lunch before heading to work was a quick salad with:

  • Mixed Greens
  • Cucumber
  • Beets
  • Pumpkin Seeds

Topped with Balsamic + Compliant Dijon + Olive Oil

On the side was some turkey breast + mayo rolls.  I found that my local Whole Foods deli counter has smoked turkey breast that doesn’t have any weird thickeners or sugar added.  Score!

After work, dinner was super easy.  I already had some slaw made so that was paired with some pulled pork.

Pulled pork and slaw

A big pork shoulder went in the slow cooker with some peppers, onions, and salsa and cooked all day.  Nothing fancy about this dinner but it was perfect and hit the spot at the end of the day.

After work I went straight to bed.  Yeah, that’s about as exciting as my work days get.

TUESDAY:

We got some surprise snow and ice Monday evening so I wasn’t able to hit the gym this morning thanks to icy roads.  Instead I made a huge pot of coffee and settled in to get some work and maintenance stuff done.

Once Scott got up, I made us a big breakfast.

Eggs, potatoes, sausage

 

Scrambled eggs, a few roasted potatoes, and some chicken Italian sausage.  The sausage is from Braut Haus, it’s organic, and it’s Whole30 compliant! Score!  It’s pretty tasty too. I found it at my local Whole Foods.

It’s cold and snowy icy gross day, so I decided to experiment and make soup in my Instant Pot.  First I sauteed some chopped onion for a few minutes then I added in garlic, celery, carrot, and chopped chicken thighs (that I already cooked on Saturday).  Added in a can of diced tomatoes and some stock then set the “soup” function for 15 minutes.  Boom! Soup is done!

Chicken Soup

Dinner tonight was easy with leftovers from Monday.  Pulled pork with slaw. No picture because it looks the same as yesterday.

Now it’s time to get comfy, have a warm drink, and watch some hockey.  I have some herbal “coffee” that I purchased from Delicious Obsessions before she stopped selling it.  It’s awesome and makes for a wonderful thick and creamy evening treat.  I’m going to cry a bit when I don’t have any left.

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January Whole30 Day 17

Hey all!  It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve chatted.  Sorry about that! We’ve had some house drama to deal with (UGH) and that’s been eating up a lot of time.  Yesterday was a big shopping day at Costco for me and when I got home it was time to start dinner.  Once that was done I was wiped out and needed to crash on the couch.

We’ve been displaced from our bedroom and are currently sleeping in the guest room.  Which is fine but it’s not my bedroom nor my bed.  So my sleep the past few days hasn’t been the amazing sleep that I was getting and it’s catching up to me.  My gym performance tanked.  Good times, good times.

This morning because of poor sleep, I missed the gym. I would have gone to a later class but I had a hair appointment.  Which sounds really superficial but sometimes sleep (at least for me) needs to be a priority.

Eggs and roasted potatoes

Breakfast before going to get my hair dids was scrambled eggs and some roasted potatoes.

I tried out a new salon and stylist today and derp.  It wasn’t the best of experiences. My hair is fine but I’m not one to stress about haircuts anyway.  Hair grows back, I’m not that girl that cries over a haircut.  However the appointment was weird and so awkward. I’ve never experienced that before!

Anyway, once I got back home I made lunch and prepped stuff for dinner.

Chicken thighs and broccolini

Lunch was baked chicken thighs and some broccolini.  Broccolini is a veggie that I like to make big batches of so that it’s on hand and easy to heat up.  I quickly blanch it and then toss it with some olive oil and seasoning.  Usually Flavor God Lemon Garlic.  Then when I need a quick veggie side, it’s ready to go and only needs a fast reheat.

Dinner today was stuffed peppers!

Stuffed peppers

Chorizo stuffed peppers! With some spinach and a special sauce that I’m testing out. It’s so. freaking. good. And there’s no dairy either! Boom!  The chorizo was from Pederson’s Farms.  So far I have loved all the products that I’ve tried out.

Along with the stuffed peppers was leftovers from yesterday’s dinner, snap peas and parsnip mash plus some crispy plantains for extra starchy goodness.

Still going strong on the Whole30 train and digging the challenge so far.  Yeah, there are some things I miss and am looking forward to reintroducing but so far so good!

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Whole 30 Day 10

Last night kicking it on the couch, I had some herbal tea and some pistachios while finishing up the first season of Legends of Tomorrow.  SPOILERS so avoid if you aren’t watching it or don’t care.

  1. I’m pissed that they killed off Captain Cold. He was awesome and it was unnecessary to get rid of him.
  2. I’m so happy that Kendra and Carter are gone. Man I haven’t been as annoyed by a couple since the freaking Ponds from Doctor Who. They were horrible.

I’m curious to see what season two has in store and where the storyline will go.

The end.

Before I hit the gym today I had three dried plums.

Frittata and Coffee

I did not even remotely eat enough yesterday for workouts today.  Ugh.  It was a struggle!  Back home, I heated up a slice of frittata.  This one had peppers, onions, carrot, and some breakfast sausage from Pederson’s Farms.  Always frothy coffee on the side.

Roasted shrimp, asparagus, soup

Lunch was some lime and chili roasted shrimp, roasted asparagus, and some butternut squash soup on the side.  This was so filling and exactly what I needed today.

Crab cakes, potatoes, squash

Dinner tonight was crab cakes (that I previously made a few weeks ago and froze), roasted yellow squash and zucchini, and some easy boiled potatoes on the side. The potatoes were mixed with ghee, Flavor God Lemon Garlic, chopped parsley, and some green onion.

I also made a quick sauce for the crab cakes (unpictured):

  • Mayo
  • Whole Grain Mustard
  • Chopped Pickles
  • Chopped Parsley
  • Chopped Green Onion
  • Dill
  • Salt and Pepper

I was feel super tired today and I wanted dinner to be something easy, this meal came together quickly. The crab cakes took the longest to heat up. And there was minimal clean up, one pot for the potatoes and one bowl for the sauce for the crab cakes.  Easy and done!

I’m going to have some herbal tea and maybe some pistachios.  Then it’s an early bedtime for me because I am exhausted today.