Whole30 Day 22 Packed Lunches

I have talked about it before, but I cannot stress enough how making your own lunches or whatever meal you take with you on the go helps you stay on track! You know what's going into your meal and how much of everything you are eating.

I used to tell myself, I can't possibly pack myself a healthy lunch because there are so many components and that would mean bringing a ton of containers with me and geez it's so much work! Thank goodness for Pinterest and others who have felt my struggle! Ziplock has compartment containers but I am trying dwindle my plastic ware down and up my lightweight stainless steel or glass containers for easy travel.

Enter Ziplock's new glass compartment containers, my love of Pyrex and a find through Nom Nom Paleo- LunchBots. All BPA free, the stainless steel containers are non breakable. I find that the metal and glass containers are much easier to clean which is a huge thing for Hess and I- we usually flip a coin to see who empties the dishwasher. With the different compartments I find that I can bring a variety of food and don't have to worry about anything getting soggy before I'm ready to eat.

Packed lunches are a great way to cut your cravings and snacking habits during the work day. Pinterest has great ideas for mason jar to go salads and creative ways to pack foods if you don't have multiple compartment containers. And there are so many variations, it doesn't just have to be sandwiches and fruit. One of my favorite packed lunches (and it's an awesome picnic go to as well):

All paleo except the block of cheese and chocolate bars.

Curry Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps
4 roasted chicken thighs, seasoned
2 tbsp paleo mayo (you can always add more if needed)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 cup sugar-free crasins
1 celery stalk small diced
1/2 white onion small diced
1/2 green apple small diced
1/4 cup walnuts
Romaine lettuce washed and leaves intact

Pull roasted chicken a part into a bowl and add all the other ingredients except the lettuce. Mix it all together, adjusting the seasoning as necessary. Cover the bowl and let marinate for a couple of hours. When you're ready, take a spoonful and wrap it up with a piece of lettuce or just eat it by the spoonful!

For packed lunches, I usually take 2 servings worth of chicken salad, the lettuce leaves, carrot and celery sticks and some sliced kiwis or berries. Having so many options is great, especially since I cannot eat sandwiches with hearty delicious bread. My job also does not always allow me the time to take a full lunch so it's nice to be able to pack it back up if necessary. Then I know I still have some food rather than telling myself oh I'll just grab a snack from the restaurant, which may not always be the healthiest.

And as far as making food ahead of time and thinking to myself that making my own lunch was such a time consumer, it actually frees up part of my day. Knowing that I have my lunch and dinner ready and packed up rather than thinking about it minutes before heading out the door is a time saver. And being on paleo I do a lot of prepping at the beginning of the week so it's easy to incorporate each meal.

Tip for the Day: Don't get bored with your food! If you roast an entire pork shoulder there are so many different things you can make- tacos, use it as a pizza topping, salads, stir fry it up. When you get bored with your food you regress to what is easy and may not as healthy.

Whole30 Day 21, 21 Day Fix

One of the first things I am doing as a Team Beachbody Coach is a Challenge group. The groups are really what helped me continue with my workouts and added accountability for my Whole30. Everyone is the group is so supported and several people have the same questions you have so the information is sometimes new for everyone.

My first challenge group will be supporting the 21 Day Fix (and they just came out with a new one, 21 Day Fix Extreme!). The workouts and challenge packs are on sale for this month for both the regular and extreme versions. This fitness program is a quick way to lose weight or tone up before a vacation or big event, say a wedding or reunion. These quick workouts paired with portion containers help you reach your nutrition and fitness goals. I am really excited to see these results since I am just finishing my PiYo challenge!

The containers I think will be a great to keep my portions under control with paleo. Each container is color coded to help not over load on all carbohydrates (if you are eating those) and eat more vegetables with a balance of protein and fruit.
The 21 Day Fix Challenge Group beings Monday February 9th, let me know if you would like to join us! Check out my site as well for other fitness programs to do!

Tip of the Day: One of the areas that we fail is portion control. We think we're eating well with the bowlfuls of fruit when in reality it may not be the best thing because of all of the sugar, natural as it may be. I find that I tend to over load on my protein intake and do not balance well with the vegetables. Maybe this will help kick start me to better habits!

Whole30 Day20 Super Bowl XLIX (later post)

Here we are again with another paleo Super Bowl! Though this year I am calling it Super Boo since neither the Lions or Broncos made it very far. If we recall from last year I was trying my best to come to grips with the fact that I may have a problem with gluten. I made chocolate, almond and peppermint 'cookies' and ate tons of humus and cider. This year we're changing it up!

This year's menu includes Jimmy Schmidt's Rattlesnake Ribs- recipe that my dad has been using for years, paleo coleslaw, Fire on the Mountain and Frank's wings. If you're from Ptown you now Fire on the Mountain, if you visit, you must check them out! 12 different sauces, tons of awesome sides like fried pickles (not paleo) and sweet potato fries and they serve the wings (you can order up to 200

The ribs didn't make it through the wings cooking but everything
was delicious! And the guacamole, I have no idea what it tastes like  since
it was gone before I could sit down...

wings) on frisbees. Beanitos (a black bean based style chip) and homemade guac are also on the way.

Though neither one of my teams are playing, still rooting for a great game and some awesome company. An early morning for me means that I get all the prep done and Hess is in charge!

Tip of the Day: It's like the start to Whole30, it is always a good thing to prep ahead! You need time to trash talk with your guests and don't want to be hindered by getting everything together. Marinades and don't forget to defrost. The only thing you should need to do is throw everything in the oven or the grill and enjoy the company and game!