Whole30: My Post-Whole30 Life...so far

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It's been 4 weeks since my Hubby and I completed the Whole30 Program. Hubby has lost 20 pounds so far, and I've lost about 12! We are more energetic, less "puffy", and we both sleep way better! Life has been pretty awesome, I can't even lie :)

We have reintroduced dairy into our regular diet (mostly just cheese and butter). We have also added chocolate and Paleo-Approved sweets. On occasion, we eat non-paleo foods, but we have learned a lot about what our bodies can and cannot handle on those occasions.

For starters, my body does NOT like wheat. Wheat does really awful things to my tummy, and it wrecks my sleep. It also gives be the loathed sugar high and crash. I am, however, tolerant of the occasional rice dish! That makes me happy because I love rice. I won't be eating it all the time because I'm still on a weight loss journey, but I'm glad it won't make me feel sick!  I don't crave sweets the same way I used to. I still like to have a piece of chocolate after a meal, but that usually does the trick!

~ Side Note: I bought Enjoy Life's Soft Baked Double Chocolate Cookies at Whole Foods last night (they are on sale!) and they are DELICIOUS! And be proud of me, I only ate one :) ~

The biggest challenge I have experienced so far is being prepared. I need to make sure I have protein-packed choices ready for lunches and snacks at work, and my dinners when Hubby works nights. Protein is expensive, so I'm learning how to keep good meal and snack solutions around without breaking the bank. My CSA had stewing chickens for sale last week, so I prepared one over the weekend and shred the meat for different meal applications. I also tried my hand at baking last weekend with some Coconut Flour Muffins, which turned out really well! That weekend I also made Apple Butter, which is amazing! (I honestly want to eat it straight of the jar with a spoon...but I won't...) Both of these recipes are inexpensive, simple, and very satisfying for breakfast or a snack.

My other challenge is saying "No". Saying "No" to the lady at the food court Chinese food stand asking if I want rice with my meal.  I didn't, but I said "Yes" anyway.  Saying "No" to people offering me candy, or treats.  I don't want to be rude, but in all honesty I'm not!  I can refuse junk food and still be considered polite. Saying "No" is something I've been working on for a while now, but I can say that I'm better than I used to be.

What surprised me most about the last month is how forgiving the body is. Even with all my cheats and adjusting, I still kept losing weight! Those off-days certainly slowed my weight-loss down, but I was expecting it to stop all together. I guess cutting wheat, legumes, (most) grains and refined sugars have really changed the way my body burns fat, just like the research said it would!

(I should mention, too, that I have only exercised ONCE in the last 2 months. I'm not proud of this, but the fact that I have still lost weight shows how effective cutting grains, legumes, and refined sugars can be to in a weight loss journey.)

So the goal for next month is to BE PREPARED! I want to have meats and veggies on standby at all times for lunches, snacks, and dinners when Hubby is at work.  I want to pack lunches the night before because Lord knows I hate getting out of bed earlier than I absolutely have to.  I want to batch cook on the weekends in preparation for the week. I'm so excited to check in again next month with my goals completed!

Recipe: Mushroom and Snap Peas Stir-Fry with Glass Noodles

Hey, bloggy friends!! I'm sorry I've been MIA lately... It's been one of those low energy weeks.  But I'm back with a DELICIOUS stir-fry recipe inspired by The Parsley Thief's version from a couple years back. I made a few tweaks (as I always do) to match my tastes and the ingredients I had on hand. I also want to share an awesome noodle that has become my saving grace on the Paleo Diet so far:

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Korean Glass Noodles, or Japchae, are made from sweet potato starch, making them a great way to satisfy a persistant noodle craving such as mine.  It's definitely not an every day thing - they are very high in carbohydrates - but it's an awesome treat! These noodles about the same thickness as spaghetti, but are much longer and are traditionally cut up a bit before serving. Also, they have a very slippery, springy texture, making them lots of fun to slurp! Finally, you must cook your glass noodles thoroughly. Al Dente will mean very chewy pasta. You can find these noodles at any Asian market, or at an extremely well stocked (and perhaps high-end) supermarket.

Mushroom and Snap Peas Stir Fry with Glass Noodles

Ingredients:

2 tbsp coconut oil, separated

1 tsp of sesame oil

1 lb ground beef

1/2 lb chicken livers (optional, I just like to sneak them in wherever I can)

Sesame seeds

1 onion, diced

1 16oz pkg of mushrooms, quartered

1 12oz pkg of snap peas, sliced

1 bunch of green onions, sliced and separated

2 tbsp of tamari sauce

1 tbsp of Sriracha sauce

1 tsp honey

1 tsp rice vinegar

1/2 lb of korean glass noodles

Water for boiling noodles

Directions

1. Fill pot with water and a couple tablespoons of salt and set on stove to boil.
2. Add one tablespoon of coconut oil to a deep skillet or wok on medium high heat. When oil is hot, drop in ground beef and livers and cook until browned. Make sure livers are chopped up well and mixed in with beef if you have any leery eaters. Remove meat from pan and set aside.
3. When water is boiling, add noodles. Will cook for about 10 minutes, but taste noodles often to check texture and doneness.
4. Add 2nd tablespoon of coconut oil in your hot pan, along with the sesame oil, and add your onions and mushrooms. Cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms have shrunken. Next add in your snap peas and 1/2 of your green onions. Cook for a couple minutes more.
5. When noodles are done, drain and set colander over empty pot. With kitchen shears, cut noodles roughly until they are easier to manage.
6. Add meat back in your pan, along with the remaining ingredients. Cook for a couple more minutes, until all seasonings are mixed well.
7. To serve, place noodles down first, then stir-fry. Top stir fry with green onions, sesame seeds, and more sriracha, if preferred.

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chili

(This recipe is a contribution to Nourishing Gourmet's Pennywise Thursday Link-Up. Please click the link to find more great inexpensive whole food recipes and other homesteading tips)

This Butternut Squash Chili recipe is probably one of the easiest and most satisfying recipes I came up with while on the Whole30 program. There are many variations on this dish you can find on the Internet, but this combo best suited my budget and time restrictions. I can prepare this chili before I go to work in the morning, and its ready to eat by the time I get home. I recently added chicken livers to this recipe because it stretches the meal a bit, and it also adds nutritional value. Feel free to adjust this recipe to your own palate by changing spices, meats, or vegetables.

Ingredients:
1 lbs ground beef (I prefer 80/20)
1/2 lbs chicken livers
1 16oz bag of frozen butternut squash
1 10oz bag of frozen onion and pepper blend
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tbsp chili sauce
2 tbsp hot sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cheese, Avocados, Chopped Onions, or whatever else you like to dress your chili with

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef and livers with salt and pepper in slow cooker (if you have a "brown" setting), or in a skillet over medium-high heat
2. If browned in a skillet, return meat to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients to slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on low setting.
3. Taste chili and adjust seasoning as desired. Serve with preferred toppings and eat up!

Whole30 Update: Day #30 ~ The Beginning and The End

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     I can hardly believe that this is the very last day of my Whole30 Experience. It's bittersweet...mainly because my mind is literally putting the taste of dark chocolate in my mouth in anticipation for the real thing :)

     Honestly, I have learned so much about myself and my body over the last 30 days... 

1. I have learned that I probably have some moderate intolerance to wheat. I remember when my Mom would give me cereal as a kid, my stomach would hurt SO BAD afterwards. I didn't think a lot of it, but it was definitely a sign that I didn't need to be eating that stuff. I'm glad to know that, if I avoid wheat, I will avoid those uncomfortable moments. 
2. I have learned that sleeping is not hard when tons of sugar isn't coursing through my veins!  I've never been a good sleeper...ever. It would be anything from stomach trouble, to nightmares, to going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, to random thoughts racing through my head at a neck-breaking pace. Learning how to eat better (cutting out that pesky refined sugar and wheat), and also learning to de-stress WITHOUT food, I have been sleeping wonderfully!!!  It's been a great discovery and I'm forever indebted to Dallas and Melissa Hartwig for that.
3. I have learned that I can start something and finish it strong. I can say "No!" to my cravings, no matter how loudly the scream, in order to encourage health in my body. I believe that living a holistic life demands this ability, because wellness must be more important than convenience. But I also feel like I have a stronger resolve now. I have shown my body who's boss. "No" means "no" again!
4. I have learned that I really like to blog!! Sharing this experience through my blog has added joy and value to it. The friends I have made along the way encouraged me to the end. I'm so grateful to Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving for her inspiring words! (and I CAN'T WAIT to make your yummy cookies!)

     And so begins a new month and a new way of life. My Hubby and I will be "one of those paleo couples" from now on!  I have learned to cook nourishing, delicious, and inexpensive meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am ready to start working out again (yay for Zumba on Saturday!!). I am ready to prepare this body to house little ones! I'm so excited about the future and all the changes it will bring. And I'm excited about sharing the future with you here on my blog!

     I love you, bloggy family! Have a GREAT weekend!! And GO RAVENS!

One Bad Apple

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     Veganism or vegetarianism has never been a temptation to me. I love....LOVE meat! But there are many people who see these lifestyles as superior to other diets including meat and animal byproducts. My goal for this blog isn't to share my opinion on everything under the sun, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to share some shocking articles that have been published recently about this subject.

     Steve Jobs was a famous vegan. Some, including Dr. John McDougall, believe that is vegan diet is to credit for Jobs living as long as he did with pancreatic cancer. There are others, like Dr. Kaayla Daniel, who believe that vegan diet (particularly Job's excessive consumption of fruit), may have worsened or even caused the cancer.

     Both of these positions are quite intriguing, but then this story pops up in the news...

Technology

Steve Jobs’ Fruitarian Diet Lands Ashton Kutcher in the Hospital

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/29/steve-jobs-fruitarian-diet-lands-ashton-kutcher-in-the-hospital/#ixzz2JUZSUnV3

     According to Kutcher, his steady diet of apples resulted in him being "...doubled over in pain...", being rushed to the hospital and learning that his "...pancreas levels were completely out of whack...". 

WAIT...WHAT?????

     Yes, you read correctly. Apples were wreaking havoc on Kutcher's pancreas as he worked to become the man who died from pancreatic cancer not two years ago.

     So this is where I must give my opinion:

     Do I believe eating fruit will lead to cancer? No. 

     Do I believe eating meat will lead to cancer? No.

     Do I believe eating wheat will lead to cancer? No.

     What I believe is the human was created to live on a variety of whole foods.  No one food will harm you...unless it's poisonous. The real problem isn't the food, it's the volume and variety of those foods that are, or aren't, being consumed on a regular basis. The unfortunate thing is that Conventional Wisdom does not teach variety very well. It tells us that the majority of our plate should be grains, with some vegetables OR fruits (because they're all the same, right?), and a bit of LEAN meat protein thrown in for satisfaction sake. They don't take into account what state any of those parts of the plate are in (they could be covered in cheese, or a sugary sweet glaze, or plain...that doesn't matter). It doesn't matter where those components come from (they could come from a can, a garden, or pieced together molecule-by-molecule by some food chemist). All that matters is the "pyramid". 

     That's right. The USDA and the FDA are just a big pyramid scheme.

     I wanted to share this because I want people to have research at their disposal, not just my opinion. Yes, I will choose research that usually supports the choices I have made. But if I find a really thought-provoking article that tells of the dangers of cutting out grains and refined sugars from my diet, I will share that as well. But I wouldn't hold your breath :)

What did you think about the Ashton Kutcher story?