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!

Whole30 Day 19 Ceviche

Another one of my downfalls is snacking. Like I've said those chips and blue cheese dip are my weakness work snack and sour gummies are my undoing. However, the grocery store the other day had a sale on shrimp and Hess wanted to try his hand at some ceviche. These were the small cocktail shrimp so they were cooked but traditionally ceviche is made with raw shrimp that is poached in citrus juice.

Recipe:
1 pound shrimp
Juice from lemon
Juice from lime
1/2 jalapeno
1/2 bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
1 medium roma tomato, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small white onion, small diced
Extra virgin olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together in bowl. Cover and refrigerate over night.

It is now a yummy easy snack! We ate ceviche for breakfast with a fried egg, if we needed a quick bite on the way out the door and when I could get home from work. A completely paleo meal and Whole30! And since it's a little chilly and supposed to be winter, this was a nice refreshing treat that makes me look forward to summer.

Tip for the Day: Think outside the box. Granted this was not my idea, but we never really thought that something like this could curb a craving. It's surprising what new foods you can add to your meals!

Whole30 Day 18 Beachbody Coach

At the advice of my cousin and because I have had so many inquiries to my daily workouts, I recently made the decision to become a Beachboy Coach! I am so excited to work with people and help them achieve their nutritional and fitness goals.

After using these products for almost 9 years, I joined several Challenge groups (because we know I love Challenges) and had more than just myself holding me accountable. There are people supporting me and each other, we all share advice and find information to help one another. And for the first time, I am visually seeing results since I entered the Beachbody Challenge that has you take your before and after pictures. Being able to actually see what I am accomplishing and sharing it with others is an amazing feeling.

As I complete each workout and stick with my nutrition plan of primal/paleo I feel more energized and accomplished. Even if I am able to help only one person each month reach their goals, that is a huge thing for me! Fitness should be fun and never a chore, which is something that took me a little time to realize and this is one thing I hope other realize as well.

On Monday February 9th I am starting my very first Challenge group for 21 Day Fix. Since I am also a huge PiYo lover, I will be continuing a Challenge group for anyone interested! If you would like more information or would like to find a program that works for you check out my Beachbody Coach site. If you're interested in joining one of these groups let me know- comment below, message me on Facebook or send me your information on the Beachbody site!

Whole30 Day 18 Saving!

A lot of people steer away from certain lifestyles or diets because they think that it costs a lot of money. Truthfully, paleo and Whole30 can be pretty pricy. If you stick to the clean and dirty list of foods it can save you some money since not everything needs to be purchased organic.

I have found several things that help me save for a Whole30 or for a little extra cash for me to spend on some high end items that I like to have in my pantry like arrowroot powder and avocado oil (these run close to $10-$15 depending on where you get them but not necessary for your pantry essentials). I also try and purchase one new item to cook with to help expand my cooking arsenal.

One of my prep week to dos is also a huge money saver. I plan out all my snacks and make a batch and store in air tight containers or zip locks that are all portioned out. This helps me to not buy snacks and to not snack on things at work since I just bring the portioned out goodies with me. Those banana muffins are seriously delicious and easy to cart around and they only take about 10 minutes to prep before popping them in the oven. If kale is in season I will make a batch of crispy kale chips to have in the kitchen for when I find myself seeking out a hand full of chips. My new vice of a snack are the Smokehouse Almonds from Blue Diamond.

I could seriously eat an entire bag of them in a sitting. Of course that is not healthy nor is financially reasonable since I would be buying bags of these all the time! Each serving is 28 nuts and I portion about 3/4 of a serving into the snack size zip loc bags. Perfect for a mid morning snack!

I have three big ticket items that I want to get and be able to use forever- a new cast iron skillet with a lid, a set of Copper Core All-Clad and a meat grinder. For me these are huge expenses, especially the All-Clad set. I have sometimes been financially irresponsible and spend money on things I know I shouldn’t like shoes or going out to eat. So how am I saving now? As you know I am huge fan of lists and challenges and things that I can visually attain. Pinterest surprisingly has several ideas for saving. At the beginning of the year I started the 52 Week Money Challenge- each week you put money into a large jar. The first week you put in $1, the second week $2, the third week $3 and so on. At the end of the year you have somewhere near $1,300 saved! At the end of the year I am going to buy that All-Clad Set. There is a spot for any extra money you can put in- I use a separate jar for that money and use that money to buy spendy pantry items or for some great finds that the butcher. This also helps with my impulse buying because I have a goal!

Tip of the Day: Here is a link for the 52 Week Money Challenge for print offs and information. And if you don’t want to use it for big ticket items and want to use it for a trip or something else do it! There are so many ways to save and use the money to achieve your nutritional and fitness goals.

Whole30 Day 17 Eating Out Part 2

As I get older I find that get togethers with friends are more food centered and relaxed than the old party hard. Usually this means potluck and sometimes we do themed meals or sometimes one person cooks all the meals. This eating out is a little different than going to a restaurant and being able to ask for substitutions or to create your own meal. Working in hospitality, we make substitutions all the time no matter how irritating- it’s our job.

Eating at other people’s house is not like eating at a restaurant or at least for me anyway. I don’t like going to someone’s house and seeing a magnificent meal they have prepared and then asking for my own separate meal made because I can’t or don’t eat certain things. My friends’ places are not a restaurant! This doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy your time out with your close friends and still eat delicious food.

Over this past Christmas, my family and I had several pot lucks appetizer style and my parents cooked dinner most every night and are not paleo. The pot lucks are great because there are so many options and it’s of course not mandatory for you to eat everything. There is always tons of yummy foods that I want to eat but know that I shouldn’t and that’s where your self control comes in. With all of the appetizer options that we had (30 people cooking and bringing in goodies=so many options). I ate my fill of vegetables with dips and hummus, lamb meatballs, cured meats, fruit and tastes of a few appetizers with bread but all in moderation.

With my parents cooking it was a little difficult since I did not want a separate meal made for me and some of the food was made with flour and I of course could not pass up my grandma’s potato dinner rolls. This just meant everything in moderation! I would share a roll with my brother or take smaller portions. I knew when I felt full and did not over indulge but taking another helping just because and it was actually a satisfying feeling knowing that my self control had increased. Instead of feeling overly full and sleepy, I felt satisfied and energized- energized enough to do the dishes and play endless games of Bananagrams. 

Eating out doesn’t have to be a hard thing and there are always options. Even though I do not ask for separate meals, I still stick pretty close to my meal needs and do come prepared with some medicine to help my insides digest some of the foods that are tough on my body.

Tip of the Day: Don’t over indulge. Get recipes so that you can modify snacks and meals to fit your meals or just take a taste of something. Potluck and appetizer parties are supposed to be just that, a taste of everything!