30 Days and beyond!

Well, day 30 was yesterday.....but I will not stop there.....I feel too good to go back to the way I ate before. I LOVE eating clean and feeling great! I might sneek a bit of cheese with my wine now and then or have a whole grain muffin when I just have to....but those things and sugar will now be a treat, not an every day/week occurrance.

I haven't stepped on the scale yet, but my clothes are falling off my butt these days! I'm proud to say that this is the first time in my life that I have worked on getting healthier with just that in my mind set....GETTING HEALTHIER! The weight loss will come as well....I'm just not as focused on that as I am the bigger picture which is living out the rest of my life without chronic illness and pain, etc...

I'm enjoying a glass of wine and tonight I might have Sushi.....but it'll be the wild caught fish and veggies.....hold the rice please! Onward!

Medicine or Mayhem?

"The food we eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine OR the slowest form of poison!"

Powerful words, aren't they? In the past several weeks I have read so many articles, websites and asked a ton of questions about eating clean, Paleo, Organics, supplements, etc....and I've learned a ton of really great things! You could ask, "how do you know what you're reading is right?" Well, I can't confirm everythign I read, just like I can't confirm all I say, do or how I live....BUT it's that little intuition in the back of my head that says, this is good.....

When we're about to do something wrong, our conscience lets us know....right? It's no different with what I'm doing. I ask myself, is it wrong to eat fresh veggies, lean protiens, fruit, and healthy oils? NO it's not..... "Is it wrong to give up foods with ingredients I can't pronounce?" NO it's not...."Is it wrong to workout and/or walk 4 or 5 days a week?" NO it's not.

So,  I have almost finished my 30 day challenge. Next Tuesday is the last day.....but would it be wrong to just keep going? NO it wouldn't be. I have found that I can keep eating clean and natural and make a choice to not eat additives or preservitives any longer. I do not need refined sugar in my life...nor do I require grains or dairy....I do require food to live and to fuel my body, but I have decided that it's up to me what choices I make as to what foods I use for that purpose.

I beleive in my heart that everything I've done up to this point in my life, has led me to make this choice. The choice to rid my body of toxins, and become a healthier person both inside and out. I choose to make food a safe and pwerful form of medicine! How about you?

Mexican food without the chips?

This was a tough one....I'll admit....and had I not been in the midst of the "challenge" I'd have used a cheat on those tasty corn chips....LOL.....but none the less, I passed on my first Mexican food dining out experience.

I simply sliced up carrots put them in a snack bag and did carrot chips and salsa.....and it wasn't bad....then I ordered and split combo Fajitas with a frined and told them to hold the sour cream and tortillas....Whala! A perfect Paelo dining out experience.....

Dining out is easy but it's the Mexican and Italian that are the tough ones because of chips and salsa and then of course at Italian, it's the wonderful bread and oil they set in front of  you that is hard....but I want this worse than giving in to temptation!

Made mayo yesterday! I have to say, it was SO easy....then my friend and I tasted it and as much as I would make adjustments to it, it was kind of bland...so I went to the fridge and poulled out a jar of Best Foods I had in there and thought, what flavors am I missing?

Yuuuuuuccckkk.....first, it had every BAD oil listed along with additives and preservatives up the wazoo! But one thing that was listed that surprised me was sugar! In mayo? So you see, that added refined crap is everywhere......siiiggghhhhh......So part of going totally clean and natural is learning to taste food in it's REAL state....and many times it'll be the first time I've ever done that....SUGAR is everywhere......start reading your labels.....you'll find it in things you least expected it..

Happy Monday!

Chicken Salad with no mayo....really?

Really! It was good too....I used butter lettuce as my eating vessel. I am always up for a challenge. And taking any food, recipe or meal and revamping it Paleo is kind of fun.....here is what I made for lunch....

Chicken Salad

3 oz cooked chopped chicken breast
1/2 stalk chopped celery
1/4 chopped red bell pepper
1 boiled egg, chopped
1/4 avocado
a splash of my homeade lemon vinegarette
salt, pepper and dill weed
I'd put chopped dill pickles in it next time but didn't have any

Mix it all together and place in lettuce cups and chow down!

Sometime this weekend I will tackle homemade mayo.....but honestly since I'm not eating sandwiches, I have no need for mayo right now....avocado makes a great, creamy binder in my opinion. I also like to use Endive as eating vessels too....

BonAppetie!

Juicing my way into the day!

Wow, talk about an energy booster! I just juiced the following....1 red beet (raw) 3 carrots, one mango and one apple and 1/2 bunch of Kale.....it's bright red and very tasty.....and it's like I drank 4 cups of espresso! LOL.....but totally clean and natural!

I try to juice at least 3 days per week. For the Points Plus value I figured 5 because of how concentrated it is. But none of got here because we eat too many fruits and veggies, right? Ha!

Today is what I'd call a lean and mean day....lots of veggies, lean protien and juice. I might be bouncing off the walls but I'll take it! Onward!

So you're really sticking with this huh?

This is something someone said the other day, "So your'e really sticking with this huh?" Yeah, I really am. 17 days in now and I can't shout it from the rooftops loud enough....I FEEL FANTASTIC! I read about those who really struggle with weaning themselves off grains, sugars or dairy and while I miss cheese the most, I really haven't had the headaches, dizziness, etc., that some have experienced while their bodies get used to the transition.

As I've said before though, because I'm also a Weight Watchers junkie, I ate really good anyhow....so the big thing for me was was just an amped up "Simply Filling" plan. I'm averaging between 22 and 26 WW Points Plus values per day, which is in line with where I need to be.

I'm dropping weight but am not centering my success on that....(7 lbs now) as much as finding that my stomach & GI issues have cleared up....Bye Bye IBS! In addition to that, I can't beleive myself how well I'm sleeping! Like a teenager! And of course then there is the endless energy I am experiencing....this is primarily because my insulin levels aren't lowering and spiking during the day any longer.....they reamain more even throughout the day....seems simple enough....I wished it hadn't taken me so long to discover it....

I LOVE the challenge of going to the grocery store now and looking for a jarred or bottled product with just those coveted one or two organic ingedients.....there aren't many of them....but you can find them if you spend the time to look. If you center your search around the Gluten free and/or organic products it's easier to zone in on them.

Not everything I buy is natural, organic, range free, pastured or grass fed, but every week it is moving more and more that way.....I'm taking this in phases....when you start talking to people who eat Paleo, clean and natural, you'll be surprised at how many tips, tricks and sources you'll discover.

It's going to be a great day! Enjoy it.....ciao for now!

Paleo Meatloaf

I LOVE meatloaf.....and so I wanted to try my hand at a cleaned up version....

This is one of those recipes that I made and said, "It's a keeper!" This is a "clean" version of a meatloaf you'd find in most recipe books......it's tasty and made a pretty good sized loaf

Ingedients

Approx 1 pound of grass fed ground lean beef
1 med sized boiled red potato - mashed (for binding)
1 cage free egg
approx 1/4 cup of chopped mushrooms, squash and onion
1/4 cup of organic marinara sauce or homemade (I used my clean homemade version)
garlic salt and pepper to taste

Saute the veggies in a tad bit of EVOO
Mix all ingedients in a mixing bowl, leaving the egg for last after the mixing cools down the veggies so you don't cook the egg....mix well.
Form into a loaf in a pan sprayed with oil (easy cleanup)
Bake at 350 for approx 40-50 minutes, until no pink is left
At the end you could put more marinara on top and broil quickly to have that coating we know and love

Serve immediatley if eating right then, but I let it cool and sliced it up to use during the week for different recipes and meals.....

I plan on making Paleo mayo and having a lettuce wrap....I LOVE meatloaf sammies!

Bon Apetite!

Sweeeeeet Potatoes! Yum!

One of my favorite meals of the day is breakfast. I LOVE eggs and the fact that I can do SO many things with them. Of course there are tons of recipes on all the Clean and Paleo sites out there.....but I never limit what I eat with eggs....

Today I made a prize winner scramble....this is one I'll have again for sure....

1 organic egg & 1 egg white scrambled
1/2 organic chicken sausage
1/2 cup grated sweet potato
1/2 cup mixed fresh veggies-chopped
Sauté sausage, potato and veggies and  add in egg mixture and scramble...

Mmmmmmm....gave me that "comfort food" feeling when I ate it...13 days in on my challenge and I feel fantastic! Have a great weekend!!!

Holidays and eating clean

So yesterday was the 4th of July and I navigated through the buffet like a champ! Of course it helps that so many people are like minded and bring healthy dishes....and I know what NOT to eat, right? I brought a medly of mixed stir fried veggies with a nice balsamic sauce that I knew me and my "challenge" friends could eat.....my plate looked like it should.....lean protien, salad, veggies and fruit.

I have to say, I missed being able to eat the healthy spring rolls that were there, but the crackers, bread, etc....didn't call to me at all.....I missed having wine, but all in all....nothing made me do the "mind over matter" chant in my head.

I asked my other friends doing this challenge with me if they were carving or missing anything and they both said sugar.....they both ate a lot of sweets prior to the challenge but I didn't.....I am surprised I am not really craving anything like my trainers said I would.....but I ate pretty healthy before...but cheese is one thing I do miss....that creamy goodness that is SO great on eggs, etc....but like anything else, I'm just telling myself that 30 days to better health is worth it.....

Two weeks in and my digestion, stomach, GI issues are almost a thing of the past...pretty cool huh?? My energy level is much better....and I have almost no hip pain at night when I sleep anymore and don't wake up achy.... That's enough evidence to me to stick it out.....Onward!

When I grow up I wanna be like....

...Isabel Rizzo! She is 87 years young! She is one of those little old ladies we ALL strive to be. Don't get me wrong...although she still walks every day...she moves slower in her golden years, but YAY for her to get out and move daily! She looks like she's had lots of experience with life, kids, grandkids, etc....but the one thing about Isabel that stands out above all else, is how SHARP she is.

She and I struck up a conversation about "eating clean". She ate "clean" before people had even heard about it.....before it was a "pop culture" thing....She "got it" waaay before the rest of us did.....She navigated the aisles of "Health Food Stores" with the hippies and Naturalists....She knew the value of eating organic and natural food with no "Crap" in it.....and she is reaping the rewards of that today!

When I'm 87 years old, I want to walk every day, read to the kids at my local school, tend to my family and be able to carry on daily like Isabel Rizzo. Onward!

7 days down and feeling great!

Good morning!

We've had blistering heat out here....105, 109 yesterday and this week more of the same....I always ask myself, how did the pioneers do this??? No AC, fans and they still had to work in the heat regardless. They had no choice if they wanted to feed thier families....

So the Pioneers....they ate off the land, and worked hard....I'll bet they didn't have an obesity epidemic back then.....fresh food, cooked without any fillers, additives or preservatives....and hard work....reminds me of my life these days....LOL....clean eating and working hard at CrossFit.

7 complete days under my belt now and I feel great! Sleep is amazing....along with my stomach GI issues being 98% non-existant. YAY me! So, what is the culprit, dairy or grains? We'll find out in late July....

I didn't eat a lot of sugars and grains so that part hasn't been really tough....but cheese is my longing...no worries though, as I am so excited to complete this challenge and then I'll continue with small modifications. I've been averaging approx 22-25 Weight Watachers Points Plus values per day. Trust me when I say, I'm getting plenty of food.....haven't been hungry once....

As for CrossFit.....well, after 30 days (12 sessions) of OnRamp I doubled my reps for squats, push ups, ring rows and 2/200 meter runs and shaved a minute off my time....LOVE my trainers!

Have a great week everyone! Stay cool!