Spring Clean Eats: Day 29, Steak Salad

April 15, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

Even though Sunday was miserable with dreary skies and wet heavy snow falling all day long, Monday was much more manageable. It was sunny, warmer and all the snow melted.

Thank goodness!

We need to get the heck out of April and into May because I’m not enjoying the spastic weather at all. More snow on the way Wednesday night. Good times.

Breakfast was a crumbled up paleo scone with sliced banana and drizzled with some coconut cream!

Lunch was a huge salad with leftover fake’em steak’um on top. This time when I heated up the roast beef, I added in some dijon, horseradish, and a little stock. This made a nice little sauce that I used as a dressing for the salad.

Since lunch was late (and hefty) we had a light dinner.

Fruit and veggie tray, some prosciutto, sliced cheddar, and some cooked sausage. The sausage ended up having a weird texture that neither of us liked so it sat on the side mostly untouched.

Today is the last day of the challenge! Hooray!

Spring Clean Eats: Days 26-28, Fake ‘Em Steak ‘Um

April 14, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

I needed a break from the computer last weekend but it was worth it because I got a chance to experiment with recipes!

The good: I experimented a lot in the kitchen and made some delicious things these past few days.

The bad: I totally forgot to take any pictures of food on Saturday. I spaced and was more into eating than I was taking pictures. Whoops!

BREAKFAST

Day 26: Scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, and chicken breakfast sausage. I really like the Al Fresco line of sausages. They are flavorful, minimal ingredients that I can pronounce, and are gluten free. If you see them out, give it a shot! Lots of flavors to choose from. The roasted red pepper and asiago sausage is great on pizza!

Day 27: Unpictured but much of the same. Replace the scramble with hard boiled eggs and add in a big bowl of mandarin oranges.

Day 28: Paleo scones with coconut cream sauce and some bacon. More mandarins on the side. I experimented making the scones and they turned out really well! I want to play around with the recipe a little more but I’m on the right track. Finally got some bacon! I’ve been meaning to make it for ages and had the chance on Sunday morning to cook up a huge batch.

Kitchen Tip: I make 2lbs of bacon at a time. I bake it in the oven for more even cooking and less mess. Cooked bacon also freezes really well and can be reheated quickly and easily! Once you have a stash of cooked bacon in the freezer, you can pull out as much or as little as you need.

No lunch on any of those days because breakfast was filling!

DINNER

Day 26: Paleo Chicken enchiladas! Recipe coming up once the challenge is over. This experiment I am very proud of! The benefit of using paleo tortillas is that it makes the dish way more satisfying. I couldn’t even finish two entire enchiladas and Scott was “very full” after eating his two. Definitely will have to make double batch next time!

Day 27: You know Saturday is Odell Day! We got a growler and some fries and sausages from Common Link.

Day 28: Fake ‘Em Steak ‘Ums with roasted asparagus! Applegate sliced roast beef, when cooked in a skillet tastes exactly like old school steak ‘ums to me. Of course, Applegate is much healthier than the questionable “beef” from the Steak ‘Um boxes. For me personally, thin steak with caramelized onions is one of the best combos. I rolled with that for Sunday dinner.

I caramelized some onions in ghee and some leftover bacon fat (hell yes), then I added in a pound of the roast beef that I also chopped. Cook for a bit and added a little Worcestershire sauce. Placed that on some romaine lettuce leaves with shredded carrot and a small sprinkle of shredded pepper jack cheese.

Dinner was filling and satisfied an old school craving.

Getting close to the end of the challenge! Two more days!

Spring Clean Eats: Day 25, Bad Choices, Interesting Results

April 11, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

We are in the home stretch! This is the last week of the challenge and I admit that I’m pretty excited about that. Not because I’m going to go crazy and have foods that were not allowed on the challenge (spoiler alert: I totally won’t) but because posting everyday takes a lot of planning!

I’ll be posting a follow up post about the challenge once it’s over. Then I will be posting all of the recipes that I developed during the challenge. If there’s a particular one you’d like to see first, let me know!

On to the eats!

Breakfast was one of my favorite combos, eggs with avocados. Two fried eggs topped with some quick and dirty guacamole and hot sauce. Two mandarin oranges on the side.

I spent most of yesterday in the kitchen developing a paleo tortilla recipe. I was getting frustrated with recipes I was finding online and decided to see if I could create my own. I’m proud to say that my experiment was a success! Here’s a sneak peek, recipe will be posted after the challenge.

After walking the dogs yesterday, we swung by Odell to pick up a growler of a pilot beer that just got tapped. It’s all kinds of barrel-aged and we couldn’t pass that up!

The Waffle Lab was there and we also decided to get some waffles. Now I didn’t swear off grains completely for this challenge. I said my goal was to limit them. Since I haven’t had any grains, save for some small tempura shrimp, I didn’t have a problem getting waffles. The Waffle Lab’s waffles are damn good!

Scott also came back with chicken and waffles. I also didn’t think much about this till I opened the container up.

Oh snap! I had no idea this dish would be covered in sausage gravy.

That’s a lot of food. A lot of heavy and very rich food.

I had a couple of bites and then had to call it quits. Don’t get me wrong, this dish is tasty and done very well. However that was just too much for me to handle for lunch.

Way too heavy.

That was the first time in almost a month that I’ve had that much grain and gluten. Again, didn’t think much about it but my body sure let me know that it was too much too soon. Interesting reaction! While I’m not a big carb eater normally, I really didn’t expect to have such a strong reaction to it when it got introduced again.

I ended up making a small salad because I needed some veggies STAT.

And then later I had a smoothie. Not the prettiest thing ever but it was tasty and did the trick.

1C Carrot Juice
1C Water
2 Large Handfuls of Spinach
1C Frozen Blueberries
1 Frozen Banana

Blend, makes 2 smoothies.

When I asked Scott if he also wanted a smoothie, he practically yelled, YES. So I know it was sitting a little heavy for him too. Which is also interesting because he’s not one to notice stuff like that. I did feel bloaty and blah the rest of the day.

5 more days left! Whoo!

Spring Clean Eats: Days 23-24, Eat Gorgeous Food

April 10, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

Yesterday I was out running errands most of the day and didn’t have a chance to write up a post before leaving. I had a big shopping trip to do and I was trying to make it as quick as possible.

That naturally didn’t happen. Which always seems to be the case when grocery shopping.

But let’s get started! We’ve got two days to cover!

BREAKFAST

Day 23: BBQ pulled pork with sauteed kale. I found some leftover pulled pork in the freezer so I served that up with some sauteed kale. It was delicious! Some sort of pulled pork is probably my favorite protein to have at breakfast.

Day 24: Grain free pancake topped with almond butter and drizzled with maple syrup. I used Elana’s recipe for almond meal based pancakes. This was an interesting experience for sure! The pancake turned out very well. Filling but not nearly as filling/satisfying as an animal based breakfast (for me anyway).

LUNCH

Day 23: I was still craving some shrimp (sushi wasn’t enough) so I made a big lunch featuring shrimp. Carrot, squash, and zucchini “noodles” coated in a peanut coconut sauce from this recipe. The shrimp was dusted with curry powder and then sautéed up in some ghee.

Day 24: No real lunch. I snacked on some leftover fries, a big apple, and some Applegate pepperoni while I was putting away all of the groceries.

DINNER

Day 23: There was still a tad bit of chili leftover so I turned that into chili cheese fries. Oven baked fries topped with chili, a little cheddar, and green onions. I really missed having some sour cream to dip them in!

Day 24: I had a meeting before dinner so by the time I got home, I was ready to eat my arm off. Thankfully dinner was substantial! Bone-in pork chop (from our hog share), roasted carrots, and parsnip mash.

I am in love with parsnip mash! I even love it more than the good old favorite paleo cauliflower mash. Don’t worry, I’ll be talking about it more after the challenge. I cannot get enough of it.

EXERCISE

Both days I got a chance to run! YES! And I can still bust through an entire mile without stopping. Hooray! I’m definitely on my way to being a runner again.

One take-away that I learned these past few days is that the more colors on the plate, the more I am excited to dig in and start eating. It’s not just about, “Eat The Rainbow”. We all know that we need variety but when you have lots of colors that pop on a plate, it makes you feel better about what you are about to eat. You know you’re getting something good.

And since we are headed into summer, I can’t wait to start exploring more colors and adding to our plates!

Spring Clean Eats: Day 22, Moar Sushi

April 8, 2014Andrea 1 Comment

After spending two days in a conference room this past weekend, I very much needed a “me day”. Or as I refer to them, Hermit Days.

Hermit Days mean the only person I’m talking to is Scott and sometimes the dogs. It also means that I sack out on the couch and either read all day or watch Law and Order.

Yesterday was a Law and Order day. I caught a few episodes of Criminal Intent and it’s like L&O from another planet. I don’t really care for that version at all. Thankfully SVU came on and was on for the rest of the day.

Mmm Stabler is much much better.

On Hermit Days I try to keep everything low key and as easy as possible. Breakfast was the last of the grain-free granola (already on my to-do list to make more) with blueberries and some almond milk.

I did some work and researched some blog stuff then it was couch time. The pups and I hung out all day.

Scott had to run out to mail some packages and when he came home, he came back with some sushi.

I did not complain. Easy late lunch early dinner and I still got to watch SVU while eating. Score!

Two rolls of tempura shrimp with avocado and one avocado and cucumber roll.

It was a perfect and much needed recharge day.

Today the sun is out and the weather is supposed to hit the 70s. The pups and I are going to hang outside all day long!

Spring Clean Eats: Days 19-21, Catching Up

April 7, 2014Andrea 1 Comment

I’m back! Thanks for being patient while I was squirreled away for the weekend. I was at the blogging conference put on by The Scoop Blogs this past weekend and when I got home in the evenings I was wiped out. Sitting down at the computer was the last thing I wanted to do!

So I sat on the couch with Scott and the pups instead.

Let’s get caught up on the past three days! I’m going to break this up by Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. A little easier that way.

BREAKFAST:

Day 19: Blueberries, grain free granola, and coconut cream.

Day 20: Scrambled eggs and mandarin oranges.

Day 21: Scrambled eggs and sausage

LUNCH:

Day 19: Turkey, golden beets, and asparagus. All sauteed in ghee then I added a little splash of stock, dijon mustard, and maple syrup to create a sauce. Delicious!

Day 20: Even though I was at the conference, I was still able to have Odell Day on Saturday! Pulled Duck poutine with a maple bourbon gravy (From Common Link) and a glass of 90 Shilling. Thanks to Kristin for being my lunch date! Both of us were not about to pass up some duck poutine!

Day 21: An unpictured (because I was too hungry to take one) salad from Avogadro’s Number. And a little side of sweet potato fries which were alright.

DINNER:

Day 19: Sushi! We tried out Jaws Sushi and loved it. I had an avocado roll with cucumber and a shrimp tempura roll with avocado. It wasn’t till after I ordered that I realized that the shrimp probably isn’t challenge friendly. Regardless it was delicious! And I’ll probably have more. Sorry I’m not sorry. If you’re curious Scott had their spicy tuna roll and The After Burn roll. He enjoyed both of those.

Day 20 & 21: Chili both nights! I put together some chili on Saturday before I left for the conference because I knew I wouldn’t want to have to cook when I got back in the evening. Thank goodness for prepping ahead and leftovers!

Spring Clean Eats: Day 18, Salmon Experiment

April 4, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

Not nearly as exciting as the previous day. There was some experimenting but only one dish. Spoiler alert, it worked!

As I was digging around in our freezer that’s attached to the fridge (it’s a drawer freezer and I hate the ever lovin’ crap out of it. Whoever thought that was a good design clearly didn’t cook actual food) and found some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.

Uh, yeah that needs to get used up.

I cubed some up added in collards (that I prepped the previous day!), sauteed it all in some ghee. Sprinkled with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Some hot sauce too for some kick!

Oh man, I love greens but collards are my absolute favorite.

It was a pretty crappy over cast and windy day yesterday but we still managed to get the pups to the park and on the trail for a walk.

Another two meal day with a really late lunch that I counted as dinner.

I made a salmon mousse and paired that with some veggies. The purple and yellow veggies are carrots. I was in love with this dip! Recipe will be posted once the challenge is over. It’s challenge and Paleo friendly!

I’m very ready for my house to look like this again:

Green grass surrounding it and trees that actually have leaves! Some things are starting to bud which makes me extremely giddy and I know that spring and summer are fully on the way. I’m itching for more sun, warmer days, and grilling!

Winter is going out kicking and screaming this year it seems.

Spring Clean Eats: Day 16, Run Done

April 2, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

You can expect to see this breakfast coming up a lot because it’s been a hit this week. Plus with the warmer weather slowly starting to creep in, I want something a little cooler for breakfast.

Grain-free granola with blueberries and coconut cream.

Exercise:

This was lovely post run fuel! Yesterday I ran my second full mile! Whooo! I’m going to start slowing increasing my mileage at this point and see how it goes. So stoked to be at a full, albeit slow as hell, mile again!

Yesterday was one of those days where the time goes by so fast and you can’t seem to catch up. After walking the dogs, working on a big project, and going to the grocery store, we finally got a chance to sit down and eat lunch.

But at this point it become dinner.

Big salad with purple carrot, cucumber, asparagus, and sliced almonds. Unpictured on the side I had some Canadian bacon and mandarin oranges.

Not the most exciting day of meals but all of it was filling and tasty!

Spring Clean Eats: Day 15, Little Change Up

April 1, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

I needed a little change up for breakfast yesterday. I didn’t feel like a protein heavy breakfast but everything else that I could have is not Spring Clean Eats friendly. Oatmeal, traditional granola, and yogurt were all out.

What to do?

I looked around for some paleo and grain-free granola recipes. I came across a few but most had way more ingredients than I want in granola. Some used things I didn’t have on hand so I decided to create my own.

I made a grain-free paleo friendly granola and I also made a coconut cream sauce to go with it. Added some fresh blueberries and this breakfast totally hit the spot! I would have licked that glass clean if I could have! Recipe coming up after the challenge is over.

I honestly didn’t think that this breakfast would keep me satisfied all that long and by lunch time I would be wanting to gnaw my arm off. It lasted me all day and I didn’t even think about food again until late afternoon. By that point I decided to heat up leftovers and make some fresh green beans.

I washed and trimmed the green beans, then I put them in a pot with an onion, some stock, and some water. I let that simmer until they were cooked through (I like softer green beans vs. crunchy). Drained the beans, put them back in the pot with some ghee, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Again, not the most flattering picture I know but styling my dinner isn’t really the main priority here.

Loved having leftovers ready to go for Monday’s dinner! It made Monday go a little smoother.

Spring Clean Eats: Day 14, Two Week Check-In

March 31, 2014Andrea Leave a comment

Started the day with a huge breakfast so I could fuel up for an afternoon spent at an event. The event was going to be through lunch and into the late afternoon so I knew I needed something hearty to get me through since I wouldn’t have time to eat during the event.

I had a large plate of chicken and spinach (one wee little slice of sausage left from the previous day). Unpictured is a large bowl of mandarin oranges that Scott and I split.

This did the trick and I didn’t get hungry until about 2ish. I packed a Luna bar to take with me and ate that. Not challenge friendly in the least but it was all I had. I meant to pack some fruit and nuts but didn’t get a chance to before I had to leave.

Spent the afternoon at Verboten Brewing down in Loveland chatting to folks about Animal House. It was a blast and such a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. While it was overcast, it was still warm and made for a nice spring day.

By the time I got home, I was starved and ready to eat my arm off. Thankfully I planned ahead and had something cooking in the crockpot!

Yes I realize this is not a flattering picture but in my defense, it’s hard to take a good picture of pork and sauerkraut. I’m sure I could take the time to try and style it but when you’re hungry that’s the last thing you care about.

Country ribs (local pork from Jodar farms) with sauerkraut on top of some mashed potatoes. The best thing I ate all damn week.

We have reached the halfway point of the challenge! I will say that the challenge is going faster than I anticipated. At the start I was feeling like 30 days would be so. damn. long. But really it’s not a big deal.

Both Scott and I feel great and are enjoying trying out this new lifestyle change. I feel like the meals are going well and since I am not a big pasta/bread person anyway, I don’t really miss that stuff at all. So far I’ve learned that:

I need to plan ahead more
I need to have more “friendly” snacks on hand
We have a lot of two meal days
I eat less when I include protein with meals

The exercise portion I’m still working through. Lately I’ve had a lot of stuff going on leaving me with not much time to fit in exercise. Not an excuse, just an observation. I need to be better about that obviously.

Only two more weeks and then we are at the end of the challenge!

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