Hi all!  We need to get caught up! I feel like it’s been a while since we’ve chatted. Still going strong on the Whole30 train and I feel amazing!  And tired, oh so tired.  But we’ll talk about that later this week.

Ok, let’s get caught up.

Monday:

Once back from the gym I had some scrambled eggs and a baked sweet potato.  I put ghee on top of the sweet potato.  It’s not the same as butter but it gets the job done. Also frothy coffee with coconut oil + collagen.

Lunch was supposed to be a salad but my salad greens turned (grrrr!) so I had some chicken salad with peppers, cucumbers, and plantain chips.  Snack while at work was some clementines.

Dinner was some soup that I put in the slow cooker before leaving for work.  Kale, kielbasa, onion, cubed potatoes, and homemade chicken stock.  So good and so perfect!

I went to bed right after dinner and read for a bit then it was lights out at 9pm.

Tuesday:

Before hitting the gym I had three dried plums.

Once I got home, as I was waiting on my breakfast to heat up I had one slice of bacon.  Breakfast was scrambled eggs with a bit of sausage, peppers, and onions.  On the side was a baked sweet potato.  Frothy coffee, same as Monday.

Lunch was a smoothie.

GASP!

I know, but breakfast was filling and late so I didn’t feel like much lunch.  While I know that Whole30 does not want smoothies to be a part of the program and really doesn’t want one drinking their veggies and fruit, for me it’s a grey area. It helps me get in more greens and fruit for the day.  There’s no protein powder or anything weird in my smoothies so I feel comfortable including them.  I didn’t take a picture because we all know what smoothies look like.  This one was a basic smoothie for me:

• 2.5 C Water
• 2 Large Handfuls of Greens
• 1.5 Frozen Bananas
• 1/2C Frozen blueberries

Sometimes I’ll add in collagen if I haven’t had any in coffee.  This smoothie is enough for both Scott and I have to have some.  I also had a small handful of pork rinds. Mmmm.

Dinner was leftover soup from yesterday and it was delicious!

I placed an order with The Simple Grocer to get some Pederson’s meat products.  Their bacon, hams, and sausages are all sugar free and Whole30 friendly.  So far I’ve had the regular pork belly bacon, shoulder bacon, kielbasa, and breakfast sausage.  So freaking good!  The pork belly bacon is on the thin side and Scott and I smashed through a whole package in one sitting a few weeks back. Just a heads up if you’re used to thick center cut bacon.

The kielbasa is tasty and like the kielbasa that I’m used to.  The breakfast sausage is delicious!

If you’re doing Whole30 or looking to just cut back on added sugar, I would highly suggest checking out these products.

It’s Christmas week!  Ahhhh! I’m so excited for good eats, days off, and pajamas! I love the holidays and I’m looking forward to having some downtime with my main squeeze. No post yesterday because by the end of the day I was exhausted and could not look at the computer so you get a recap of two days instead.

Monday:

I almost didn’t make it to the gym but I hustled my butt out the door and made it to class.  Once home I had a handful of grapes and a slice of turkey bacon for post workout snack.  Showered, which was glorious. A super hot shower when the weather is chilly is one of the most amazing feelings.

Quick yogurt bowl with some frothy coffee for breakfast.

• 2% Fage
• Homemade Granola
• Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds
• Crushed Pecans

Unsweetened Califia Farms Vanilla Almond Milk + Kerrygold Butter in coffee x 2.

I had some recipe development work that I needed to do and some food prep for the week.  I prepped some more chicken breasts in the Instant Pot.  Gosh this makes life so much easier!  Four frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot for 15 minutes and then I shred them once they are cool enough to handle.  That gives me chicken ready to go for the whole week.  I also worked on meal plans for the holidays.  Time for special foods!  Plus with starting Whole 30 on January 2nd, I want to make sure we get some fun stuff in.  This will be my 2nd Whole 30 and quite honestly, I’m so looking forward to starting it.  So lunch is quick and easy when you’re doing meal prep, recipe development, and photos in the afternoon.

Ham + mayo + pepperjack cheese rolls (I had two and two were for Scott), shishito peppers, and a smoothie on the side. Pretty basic smoothie:

• 2C Water
• 4 Scoops Collagen
• Baby Greens
• 2 Frozen Bananas
• 1/2 C Frozen Blueberries

Makes enough for two smoothies.

After all that was done, I had two hours to kill before I needed to get started on dinner and I crashed on the couch watching Criminal Minds.  I was so exhausted!  So I kept dinner easy and simple:

Roasted asparagus (Olive oil + Flavor God Lemon Garlic), roasted shrimp (Lime juice + Flavor God Honey BBQ), and some rice (cooked in broth with butter and pink salt).  Easy, filling, and delicious!

I snuggled on the couch with Scott and we watched a little bit of TV before I hit the hay.

Tuesday:

Up and at ’em!  I hit the gym (wearing my jingle socks which I love.  I’m not sure how other people in class felt about them though!)

I had a slice of turkey bacon and a few grapes post workout.  The turkey bacon is Columbus brand that I get at Costco. It is delicious!  I won’t be able to eat it during Whole 30 because of the sugar but it doesn’t have any nitrates added and it’s a hefty slice of bacon.  I dig it!

Breakfast was half a baked sweet potato and some scrambled eggs.

I cleaned up the house a bit and did some blog work, then it was time for lunch.

Chicken salad on top of mixed greens.  The chicken salad is pulled chicken mixed with a bit of seasoning, chopped pickles, and Chosen Foods Avocado Mayo (so good! And I can snag it from Costco).

Dinner was another easy simple meal, tacos with sugar snap peas.

Ground bison seasoned with Flavor God Spicy Everything and mixed with some salsa from TJ’s and topped with queso because holidays. Snap peas quickly blanched, tossed with a pat of butter, and some Flavor God Lemon Garlic. Yes, I use this seasoning all the time. It’s fantastic!

Now it’s time to kick back and watch a bit of TV with Scott before calling it a night. We’re currently watching last season episodes of Arrow and The Flash.  Currently The Flash is tops. Arrow is just alright, a lot of the characters are annoying and oh. my. gawd. All the angst.  UGH.  I can handle at most two episodes before I need a break from all the unnecessary drama.

Night all! Catch you tomorrow!

I am all out of sorts! I keep getting the days wrong.  Even yesterday as I was telling Scott how I couldn’t remember what day it was, I had to stop and ask him what day it was.

Holy hell.

So here I am still trying to get my ducks in a row because I keep thinking it’s Thursday.

It is not Thursday. Not at all.

Miss Penny is doing much better and we get to take her bandage off on Friday. She’ll still have to wear some protective bootie when going outside but hopefully with the bandage off her nail can heal quickly.

I made it to the gym today and UMPH, it was a rough one.  Once home I snacked on a banana and a slice of turkey bacon before hitting the shower.  No picture though.  I’m trying to incorporate a post-workout “meal” into my routine. Most sources say to eat protein + carbs 15-30 minutes after working out.  I don’t do this, I usually wait until after I’m done showering before eating.

So I’m trying to do something small to see if it helps with recovery.

After my shower I made a yogurt bowl + some frothy coffee.

• 2% Fage
• Chocolate chips
• Homemade Granola
• Dried Cranberries
• Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds

The coffee had Califia Farms Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk plus some coconut oil in it.

Lunch was super simple today:

Reheated broccolini and a fried egg along with a smoothie.  I have been missing smoothies so I need to get back on that train.

• 2C Water
• 2 Scoops Collagen Peptides
• 3 Large Handfuls of mixed greens **
• 2 Frozen Bananas
• 1C Frozen Blueberries

The mixed greens are a bag of power greens that I picked up at Costco.  It has baby kale, baby chard, and baby spinach in it. These make smoothies taste green and intense. If you don’t really like “green” tasting smoothies, sticking with just baby spinach is probably the best.

This makes enough for two big smoothies.

After lunch I did some dinner prep and used my Instant Pot for the first time! I cooked up some frozen chicken breasts in a little bit of stock.  It takes about 20 minutes for the full cycle to run and then I had perfectly cooked chicken that shredded easily.

For dinner I used the shredded chicken, some broccoli, spaghetti squash and mixed that with some coconut milk (dairy aisle) and buffalo sauce.  Placed it in a casserole dish and heated that for about 1/2 an hour.

It doesn’t look like much but it was tasty! A little too spicy for me so I tapped out quickly. Scott will be able to have the leftovers for dinner tomorrow.

Such a super chilly night that it’s time for me to get snug for a bit with a big blanket and maybe some bourbon. Tis the season!

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Hi gang! Sorry I sort of went MIA for a few days. I was running errands and getting caught up on holiday shenanigans. Yesterday was spent dealing with Miss Penny and the vet.  Ugh.  But I’ll get to that in a second.

Monday:

Breakfast was super quick and not photogenic, a ham and egg in a gluten free wrap.  I love these wraps, they taste awesome but they aren’t really great for making things like burritos.  They break up and fall apart.

Super quick meal because I needed to get Penny to the vet.  While I was at work on Sunday, she was out running around and ripped a nail pretty badly.  Scott was able to get the bleeding to stop and bandaged up her foot. That was the best that could be done since the vet was closed on Sunday.

This morning I called and told them what happened and they wanted to see her as soon as possible.  I got her over there where I had to leave her so she could be sedated and her nail cleaned up and trimmed.

After I dropped her off, since I was out anyway, I decided to run a few errands.  I picked up a few gifts for people, did some light grocery shopping, and got a rib roast for Christmas dinner.  Plus some bubbly for kicks!

Lunch was easy and quick because I was waiting on the vet to call and let me know when I could pick up my girl.  Shrimp and avocado sushi with sriracha mayo and a few pork dumplings on the side.  I ate mostly the insides of those.

Finally was able to go and pick up Penny who was still pretty stoned and shaking off the effects of the sedative.   I got her settled on the couch and called my mom to chat for a bit.  Then I heated up dinner.

Leftover chili that has pork, beef, black beans, sweet potato, and pumpkin puree along with salsa for a base. I made this in the slow cooker on Sunday and made a big batch of it.

After dinner, I had a few cookies and some wine while watching TV with Scott.  We finished up Luke Cage which just left me frustrated at the show.  I like the show but the last two episodes definitely turned me off a bit.  After that I hit the hay and read for a bit.  I’m currently reading, The Paleo Athlete, by Stephanie Gaudreau.  It’s OK.  Have you read it?  I’m struggling with how to eat better to preform in the gym and for running so I’m trying to read as much as I can.  I’ll provide more thoughts once I finish the book but right now I’m just alright with it.

Tuesday:

GYM TIME!  Gah I have been missing the gym like crazy!  After the gym, I was starving so I made a jam packed yogurt bowl.

• 2% Fage
• Homemade Granola
• Chocolate Chips
• Dried Cranberries
• Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds
• Chia Seeds

And some black coffee on the side.  The rest of the morning I was on the couch with Penny.  We need to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t lick her bandage on her paw.  I did some blog stuff and some holiday shopping.  Then I went in the kitchen for a bit to do some food prep.

Lunch was an easy hodgepodge of stuff:

Leftover roasted potatoes, some chicken wantons, and blanched broccolini dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, and Flavor God Lemon Garlic seasoning.

The broccolini is an easy veggie to prep ahead and have ready to go when you need a quick veggie.  Costco will sometimes have large bags of them so I’ll blanch up the whole bag and dress it.  Then reheat it throughout the week for a quick side.

After lunch, I did some more holiday shopping online and then started dinner prep. Dinner hit the craving spot tonight!

Roasted asparagus, baked salmon with a chili garlic and soy sauce topping, plus cheddar cauliflower grits.  Mmmm!

Now it’s time to chill for a bit and watch some hockey. Till tomorrow!

Hi all!  I apologize that there was no post last night. I was running errands like a mad woman and by the time dinner was over I was exhausted.  Today you’ll get a recap of yesterday as well!

Tuesday:

I woke up and took care of the pups. Then since it wasn’t snowing, I hit the gym and got my workout done.  After my workout I came home and heated up breakfast.

I made a huge frittata for the week. This is so easy that I’m not sure why I don’t do this more often!  The frittata contained:

• 1 dozen eggs
• About 4 cups spinach, chopped
• 1/2 a red onion
• 6 mini peppers, chopped
• 1/2C Coconut Milk (From the dairy aisle, not canned)
• 1/2 lb of ground breakfast sausage

I sauteed up the sausage, spinach, peppers, and onions.  Then placed that in a greased casserole dish, poured the egg and coconut milk mixture on top and baked for half an hour.  This will provide breakfast for Scott and I all week!

Fort Collins is under a snow watch and since it wasn’t snowing at the time, after breakfast I headed out to grocery shop. I had to do a big shopping trip and hit two stores, one of those being Costco.

This took me all day and I didn’t have time for lunch. I should have had a bar or snack with me in my purse but I was unprepared.  I didn’t get home until going on 4pm and I quickly ate a pear as I was talking with my mom.

Since it was so late, I went ahead and heated up dinner.  It just looks like a brown plate but I promise it was good!

Leftover pork roast that was turned into pulled pork tacos with a side of cauliflower rice.  The tortilla is a Rudi’s gluten-free tortilla.  It’s not grain free but I was OK with this.  It’s actually a pretty good tortilla. It tasted fine and held up to be used as a taco.  The rice was some that I picked up at Costco (my store sometimes carries cauliflower rice in the produce section) seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I kept things super simple!

I also had some herbal tea and few Belgian style cookies (that I got from TJ’s) as a snack last night while I watched Martha and Snoop! Scott’s home so I was able to get caught up on the shows.

The Christmas Balls episode was fantastic!  The TJ’s cookies were just OK.  I’m going to give them another shot though because I hate wasting money on food I don’t like.  So we’ll see if they grow on me.

Wednesday:

We finally got the snow that the forecast was calling for and we ended up with about 5 inches.  The dogs are not happy!

I missed the gym this morning because I wasn’t sure if my little hobbit car would make it without getting stuck.

Breakfast frittata and frothy coffee (with coconut oil) to the rescue!

After breakfast, it was time to bundle up and start shoveling the walks and digging out the car.

Thankfully the snow wasn’t the wet heavy gross kind but the light fluffy kind which made things much easier!  After shoveling the snow, since I was already dressed I headed out for a quick run.

Mmmm I love running in the cold and snow so much!

Came home and made some lunch which ended up being all orange.

Quick butternut squash soup and a side of some chicken tossed in buffalo sauce.  The soup was very basic:

• 1 Bnut squash, cubed
• 1/2 Onion, chunked
• 3 Ribs Celery, chunked

Sauteed for about 5 minutes in olive oil then I added in about half a quart of turkey stock.  Let that simmer and then I blended it all with the immersion blender.  Seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  I also tossed in about 1 TBSP of chipotle pepper + sauce.

Scott got our new Echo set up, do you have one? We’ve already been using it like crazy. What a handy tech thing to have! We also got one tree up and the lights on it.  The rest of the decorations will probably go up this weekend.  I can’t wait! I love the holidays and have trees and lights all over the house!

Dinner tonight was also easy, zoodles with Italian sausage, peppers, onions, and grape tomatoes.  Everything got sauteed up in a skillet and I added a small splash of red wine to give a little bit of a sauce. Seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Now it’s time to hit the couch for a bit!

Hi, gang!  How was everyone’s night? I had a splash of bourbon last night and two peppermint chocolate squares while I watched more Criminal Minds.  I ran the pups out for a last potty run and then we headed to bed. I read a bit, I’m currently rereading The Whole 30 because I’m going to be doing that challenge again in January.

I did finish Food Freedom Forever a little while back, and the book was alright. It wasn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be. I thought that it was going to be more about Melissa’s story, background, her journey, and how she found food freedom.  Instead it’s a guide so that you can find food freedom.  It is basically doing a Whole 30 (without saying do a Whole 30) and then following reintroduction steps.

I feel like this book is maybe geared more towards people who haven’t done a Whole 30 and who need help getting started with incorporating whole foods into their diet.  It’s a nice ease into eating real food without the pressure of a challenge or a complete diet change.  But for those of us that are mostly there, I don’t really think this book is for us.

If you read the book I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Ok, earlier this week I have been in a funk.  It happens. I deal with anxiety and sometimes also get the blahs.  Truth time.  Exercising and eating well helps to keep those things in check but sometimes I just need to be quiet and alone for a bit.

That happened for a few days this week but thankfully I’m coming out of that and am feeling much more like myself.  Whew!  Being outside also helps and this morning it was sunny and the air was so crisp and refreshing. I needed that!

Breakfast was another yogurt bowl and some collagen coffee.

• 2% Fage
• Homemade Granola
• Crushed Pecans
• Coconut Flakes
• 60% Dark Chocolate Chips

It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and amazing blue skies.  The pups and I went shopping and then I did some chores around the house.  Lunch was sushi from Whole Foods and topped with sriracha mayo.

It’s shrimp with avocado and cucumber.  And yes topped with mayo which is my new favorite way to eat these rolls.  I ate lunch in the kitchen while I prepped stuff for dinner and washed dishes.

Dinner was pizza!  The last time I made a crust I forgot to write down the measurements for the ingredients.  Rookie mistake! The crust I tried to make this evening wasn’t as good but it did the job. It is a grain free curst using almond flour, coconut flour, rice flour, and tapioca.

The toppings were:

• Spinach and sundried tomato pesto
• Moz
• Italian sausage
• Red onion
• Pepperoncinis

Now I’m going to have a splash of red and keep watching Criminal Minds.  Yes I’m on vacation so that means relaxing and indulging.  Sorry not sorry!