A few recipes and thoughts...

Hi all!

I felt that I needed to share a few recipes that I am in love with!First off, my mom posted a blueberry muffin recipe that is amazing! I did it in mini muffin tins because that's all I have and it made 22.  (Only cook them for 15 minutes.)

Paleo Blueberry MuffinsThese Paleo Blueberry Muffins are so moist they melt in your mouth.

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
⅛ tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 tbs honey
½ cup coconut milk, full fat
2 tbs coconut oil, melted
1 egg
¼ cup fresh blueberries

Instructions:preheat the oven at 350°Fin a mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients – almond flour, baking soda, saltin a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients – coconut milk, egg, honey and coconut oilcombine the two mixtures and mix to form a batterfold in the blueberries (I put the batter in the cups and then pushed 2 blueberries into each filled muffin tinpour batter into paper lined muffin pan cupsbake for 20-25 minutes or until tops turn golden brown. Wait until they are completely cool before removing them from the baking panRecipe makes 7 muffins

So awesome!The next one was homemade sour cream.  I am doing primal, not paleo, so I'm able to eat dairy! I found grass fed cottage cheese and knew I could make my own sour cream.

Put 8 oz cottage cheese in a blender, blend slowly at first and add 1 t. lemon juice and then crank the blender up until it's smooth.  Yum!

I whisked a little bit of honey in mine and then used it as a fruit dip for a snack.  (I know, not so low on the sugar content... but soooo worth it.)

The mushroom sauce from the "Everyday Paleo" book is awesome (even Ryan like it!) and the mayonnaise recipe is spot on.  I did use a different ratio of oil:egg for my mayo but it's based on personal preference for sure.  I did 1 yolk:1/2 cup oil.

I made a chicken soup in the crock pot on Sunday and used turnips instead of potatoes and no one could tell! Ryan and his sister, Sayna, thought they were potatoes.  Score!

It's bunless chili dogs with sour cream and cheese for lunch tomorrow.  Yummmm!

Week 3 Menu

Yeah! I know! Early!! I'm pleased to announce that all of the prep. work is done for the meals this week too.  Whisper (our new puppy) and I have been busy!!

Week 3: 8/4/13

Sunday

B: Green milk smoothie

L: Chicken soup
D: Chili & salad (freeze ½)

Monday

B: Eggs & bacon

L: ½ beef pot pie
D: Chicken breast w/cauliflower & broccoli

Tuesday

B: Green milk smoothie

L: Chili dog w/ leftover veggies
D: Ground turkey w/ spaghetti squash (Ryan: +Pasta)

Wednesday

B: Chocolate Green milk smoothie

L: ½ beef pot pie
D: Crock pot whole chicken

Thursday

B: Eggs & bacon

L: Chili dog w/ leftover veggies
D: Chicken taco salad (Ryan: +Nachos)

Friday

B: Green milk smoothie

L: Leftover spaghetti
D: Leftover chicken soup

Saturday

B: Eggs & bacon

L: Chicken salad (Ryan: Plain chicken for lunch)
D: Crock pot ginger top round (Ryan: +Rice)

Snacks

Blueberry muffins

Frozen grapes

Trail mix

Salt & vinegar almonds

I spiced up my smoothie the other day with some coco powder and it was amazing! I'm for sure going to do that again... and it gives me a little shot of caffeine. 

I put a few added notes on my menu this week for Ryan.  I am not going to subject him to spaghetti squash, so I added pasta and a few other things throughout the week.  He has been pretty tolerant of all the vegetables invading the house but come on... a guy can only take so much!

Ryan and I are off to party hard with the siblings and Momma Yung and of course we are bringing our cute little bundle of joy.  :) 

Until next time...!

Almost 1/2 Way!!

I was looking at the calendar today and I can't believe I'm almost 1/2 way to my 30 goal!! Here are a few things I have noticed... good things that have changed.

• Lost 7 pounds (and a lot of millimeters around my mid-section!!).  I know I didn't really need  to lose weight but I feel a lot better now that I have! When I started I was hovering around 130-132 pounds (TMI?) and now I'm 123 as of yesterday morning!! 

• Increased energy levels.  Not by a phenomenal amount but I have started exercising again! Something I couldn't even think about 2 weeks ago.

• Darker hair color.  I know, this one is a little weird, but my hair is quite a few shades darker now! I haven't changed hair products so I feel like maybe it's just not gunked up with yucky foods that I was eating before.  Sweet.

• No bumps under my arms yet... knock on wood...

• I don't feel sick when I eat/drink.  No nausea.  Ever.  Except when I skip meals. :/

• The best part yet, NO BACK PAIN! I had a little bit of pain the other day but it was because I was sore from running.  Moving around, running errands etc., loosened it up and no pain! Wah lah! Yahoooooooo!

After writing these down it's easier to think of reasons to stay strong.  Just going to jot down a few reasons I don't want to stay strong.

• Donuts
• Chips and salsa
• Doughnuts
• Chips and guacamole
• Donut holes
• Chips with salsa and guacamole

Yeah that's about it. 

That's all for now! Have a lovely rest of the week!

Week 2 Menu (Finally...)

Here is week 2 menu although, I don't know why I bothered to make it since I have hardly stuck with it! Some recipes are from "Everyday Paleo"... a good book to have!

I did it a little different, and instead of having a certain snack for each day, I just put a list of snack items that I had handy for this week.  I'll change it up for next week.

Cravings are still full swing but I just chalk it up as hunger and trudge through.  

P.S. The fish was DISGUSTING! Don't try it. Go ahead and put a :( on that one! I might try it again with a different fish... maybe trout.  Noooooo cod like the recipe says.

Week 2: 7/28/13

Sunday

B: Green milk smoothie (Green smoothie with coconut milk)

L: Chicken salad
D: Beef pot pie

Monday

B: Omelet w/ roast, onions, & spinach

L: Chef’s salad
D: Whole crock pot chicken & asparagus

Tuesday

B: Yam hash w/ eggs & bacon

L: Portobello BLT
D: Collard wrapped fish w/ squash & tomatoes

Wednesday

B: Green milk smoothie

L: Chef’s salad
D: Crock pot chili w/ salad

Thursday

B: Yam hash w/ eggs & bacon

L: Chicken w/ mushroom sauce
D: Beef pot pie

Friday

B: Scrambled eggs w/ salsa

L: Leftover chili & salad
D: Chicken salad

Saturday

B: Green milk smoothie

L: Chicken w/ mushroom sauce
D: Pumpkin soup

Snacks

Pumpkin muffins

Veggie sticks w/ nut butter

Trail mix

Salt & vinegar almonds

Day 6: Feeling the full force of CRAVINGS

Today is day 6 and I feel a need to post and get it off my chest.  I WANT PIZZA.  Nasty, carby, cheesy, preservative filled pizza.  Ahhhhhh that feels better.  

I had my "milk no milk shake" this morning and somehow, it just wasn't as delicious as I remember it being.  Lunch is supposed to be leftovers but, ummmm, I forgot the fact the since I'm not cramming useless grains into my diet to keep me full, I EAT LIKE A HORSE!! So, no such things as leftovers in this house anymore.  I think I'll have a lovely omelet instead.  (Ahem, raise your hand if you are sick of eggs because they are your go to snack.  :-/ I think my Dr. would be frowning at me right now.) Note to self: go easy on the eggs next week... and the bananas.

I read somewhere that when I am craving sugar, I'm not supposed to eat something sweet (like fruit) because then my brain thinks it can get away with craving those things.  (I read this while eating a lovely sweet banana with almond butter while craving sugars...) To remedy this horrible quick fix, I'm going to freeze all my bananas (except maybe one) and have plenty of already cut veggies to snack on when the sugar cravings come banging on my door.

Time to guzzle water like a fish until it's a decent time for lunch.  

Hasta Lasagna!

Week 1 Menu

As promised, I'm posting my menu.

B=Breakfast

L=Lunch

S=Snacks

D=Dinner

Week 1: 7/21/13

Sunday

B: Fruit smoothie

L: Chili’s (out to eat)
S: Cherries, plums
D: Roast w/ onions & kale salad

Monday

B: Eggs, bacon, & grapefruit

L: Leftover roast & salad
S: Trail mix
D: Chef’s salad w/ avocado

Tuesday

B: Green cocnut milk smoothie

L: Leftover chef’s salad w/ avocado
S: Veggie sticks w/ zucchini hummus
D: Pecan chicken w/ broccoli

Wednesday

B: Spinach, onion, & tomato omelet

L: Leftover pecan chicken w/ broccoli
S: Carrot sticks & trail mix
D: Pecan chicken salad w/ avocado

Thursday

B: Green smoothie & an apple muffin

L: Zucchini soup
S: Banana w/ nut butter
D: Steak, broccoli, & small salad

Friday

B: Milk not milk shake

L: Leftover steak & salad
S: Trail mix
D: Chicken stir-fry

Saturday

B: Hard boiled eggs, bacon, & grapefruit

L: Any leftovers
S: Apple muffins
D: Luque meat sauce w/ leftover veggies

So far I have made a few adjustments but I'll post a revised menu at the end of the week.  

My shopping list was a little off because I got so much of my produce from mom and dad's garden and the farmer's market so I'll start posting shopping lists next week. 

Enjoy!

The Interrogatives

Who

I suppose I'll start from the top! I'm a married, 21 year old, happy white female.  (You'll notice I didn't say healthy and that's because I'm not.)  I'm married to the most wonderful man, Ryan.  He isn't quite convinced to do the Paleo diet with me but he's my support team and I couldn't do it without him.  Thanks, Ryan. :) 

Why

For the last year I have been plagued with random symptom after random symptom and have been diagnosed several times with different things with no proof.  I have had bumps (hurties, as I refer to them) under my arms for this last year and this is what has concerned me the most.  Besides that, I feel tired almost all the time, I'm cranky (more than any female should be), have paralyzing back pain, and in general don't feel like a 21 year old should feel! 

So, for my biggest worry, my hurties were diagnosed as M.R.S.A., which is a little scary but OK, let's fix it! Fixing this meant going on antibiotics for 2 months.  

Yuck! 

When I was finished with the antibiotic regimen, they came back.  I felt so discouraged and they just wanted to put me on the antibiotics again! I will note that the doctors have not run any tests or even touched my armpits.  I walked out of the Dr.'s office empty handed and at a loss.

What

So, I called my mom.  It's what I always do when I need help! She suggested we go to Dr. Shawna Young, a naturopathic doctor in Durango, CO who has helped me before.  I agreed this was best and jetted off to NM to drive up with mom.  Shawna's diagnosis: Heavy metal toxins (from the aluminum in deodorant, causing my hurties), excess natural alcohol build up (causing my overall feeling of bleh), and kidneys on the brink of failing (the cause of my back pain)! I have been put on several supplements and it was suggested that I begin living the Paleo lifestyle.  

Challenge accepted!!

When and Where

Here and now of course! ASAP! Yesterday in fact! And for 30 days.  After that, I'll see if the results convince me to do it forever!

How

I have a game plan of course.  I'm going to create menus for each week to help me along the way and I hope this blog will help keep me honest! I'll be sure to post my menus, shopping lists, recipes, and how each week went as it goes along.

That's the story! Wish me luck!

Sincerely,

Lauren Yung