What I Ate Today

 

These were my carrot fries (recipe from paleoomg.com). 

   Today I ate very little due to my stomach and intestines waging war with each other. The past week I have had to miss work and school due to severe abdominal stress, throwing up, chills/fever, and just feeling crappy. I went to see my nurse practitioner Laura who was a God send!! Instead of telling me to go home, she took action. She had my blood drawn, stool samples taken, and went over my long list of symptoms. Laura thinks it might be irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease, etc. Personally, I find these options a bit comforting because it validates my symptoms and my gut instinct (could not resist). In a few days I should have answers and hopefully an easier time with my stomach troubles.

   In the interest of saving myself from doubling over, I refused pizza from my husband. Severe gastro symptoms have taken away any craving for junk food. While perusing my new cookbook +Michelle Tam Food for Humans , I found a recipe for baked carrot fries. My bountiful basket gave me lots of carrots and I have olive oil, Himalayan pink sea salt, and crushed red pepper. This recipe is so easy a girl sick as a dog can do it! Pre-heat the oven to 425 and slice up 6 carrots, spread them on a parchment lined baking sheet, pour olive oil over the carrots, add sea salt and spread mixture evenly over the carrots. I added crushed red pepper flakes for fun and because I live in Texas :). Bake for 15 minutes, flip over the carrots, and then bake for an additional 11 minutes. Viola! Easy, healthy, and very delicious. My fries did not upset my stomach in the slightest and I can't wait to make them again.   For dinner I made a beet smoothie that also played nice with my insides. The website www.paleomg.com gave me the recipe for the smoothie. This is a great website if you are curious about Crossfit or paleo. 

Stomach friendly beet smoothie.   

Here is the recipe from paleomg:

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1 large beet, peeled and diced (equivalent to 1 cup diced beets)
• 1 banana, peeled and diced
• ½ cup frozen berries (I used strawberries and raspberries)
• ½ cup canned coconut milk
• ½ cup water
• 1 scoop egg protein (or protein powder of your choice)
• 1 tablespoon raw honey (optional)

Instructions

1. First you gotta roast your beets. Try biting into one of those raw. No fun. So preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash and peel your beets and dice them up.
3. Arrange pieces on a baking sheet then drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil on top.
4. Bake in oven for about 45 minutes or until they are tender.
5. Let cool.
6. Once your beets are cooled, add all ingredients to a food processor and puree until smooth. Add more coconut milk or water if needed.
7. Drink up!

Day 8 of the 24 Day Challenge

   It is day 8 of my 24 Day Challenge and things are looking up. My energy levels have evened out and I feel less lethargic than I did on days 1-4. I started this whole process out of vanity, yep I can admit that when my "fat jeans" are snug I get desperate. Being from Texas I live in jeans and a great pair make my heart skip a beat. I could not ignore the fact that I allowed my hectic schedule and emotional eating packed on a few pounds. A few pounds amounted to around 18 on a 5 '2' frame which A) is not a good look for me and B) my knees were not appreciating the extra weight. Besides vanity reasons I also just wanted to feel good. You are what you eat unfortunately. Eating like a 16 year old boy made me feel like crap.

   Advocare came into the picture via my lovely classmate Ashley. At first, I was completely skeptical and tried out a few products before jumping in headfirst. I'm glad I did because I feel better which is important. My gut can be on the sensitive side and when I don't take proper care of her, she turns into a raging bull. The challenge has been a great tool that helped me to curb my bad eating which has made my stomach feel fantastic. I am no longer bloated or in pain because I am choosing to eat whole foods, even when my wonderful spouse gets pizza, I now abstain. In my opinion the Challenge is a great way for people to get back on track with eating well.

   Abs are made in the kitchen. The Challenge works by having people cook most of their own food. The kitchen can be a fun and happening place to be, with the exception of grease fires. I am not a professional cook but I can at times cook things that are edible and healthy. If I can do it, anybody can!

Kitchen Adventures

   Hey y'all! Yesterday kicked off the beginning of my +AdvoCare 24 day Challenge and today hasn't been half bad. This morning I mixed my fiber packet into my spark drink and the taste was phenomenal but the consistency was awful. Dear Sweet Baby Jesus I finished the drink off using my spoon due to the thickness. Then I drank a chocolate mocha meal replacement shake which was so good that even my husband had one. I am so happy that I listened to the wonderful Ashley Doran when she suggested the chocolate mocha. Hopefully, the next 23 days will go as smoothly as Day 1 did.

   The rest of my day was filled with grocery shopping, visiting with my mama, and cooking dinner. I hit it out of the ballpark with dinner! As I was perusing my kitchen cabinets and fridge I noticed that I had all the ingredients for chicken Florentine. Being the rebel that I am, of course I changed the recipe a little. I thawed out four chicken breasts, cut them into bite size chunks and threw them into a hot pan with olive oil. Salt, pepper, garlic, and crushed red pepper dressed the chicken as it cooked through. A 14 ounce can of tomato sauce went into the pan along with finely chopped brussel sprouts. This lovely concoction simmered for 15 minutes while I tried to work on my essay exam. I am a firm believer in hiding vegetables in most of the meals that I prepare for my husband. Steven likes to believe that man can exist on pizza and +Monster Energy drinks alone. That darling husband of mine ate his entire meal and never once noticed the brussel sprouts which he despises. Winning!

My version of Chicken Florentine

      Another winning moment came when I bought a very adorable octopus from +Bath and Body Works that holds hand sanitizer. This little beauty clips onto my new purse. This was a winning moment because I did not buy several chocolate chip cookies that looked equally delightful.

My new purse buddy. What should I name her?   

  Today has been both productive and satisfying in that I checked off several things on my to do list. Tonight we are taking mama out for her birthday at a nice Italian restaurant which will be so much fun! To top it off the weather has been glorious. Have a lovely evening everyone :).

Baby It's Cold Outside...Let's Make Stew!

     My darling +Steven Larizza told me over lunch today "I have a tip for your cooking. Stop using ingredients that I don't recognize". After I stopped laughing and being momentarily offended, I started considering his suggestion. My husband's palate isn't exactly grandiose and maybe he had a point with his suggestion. All I really want is to make cooking at home the new normal instead of eating out several times a week. So, tonight I decided to make a stew. A normal meat and vegetable stew that is loaded with amazing but recognizable ingredients. This way we both get what we want and need. It's flipping 16 degrees outside and stew sounded amazing when I began brainstorming about what to make for dinner. I get lots of yummy vegetables and mega protein while Steven gets a tasty home cooked meal with stuff he can name. Team Larizza for the win!

All my delicious ingredients: ground chuck, celery, carrots, red & yellow bell pepper, yellow onion, red potatoes, tomato paste, stewed tomatoes, oregano, garlic, red pepper, parsley, salt, and pepper.

I love a little color in my meals.

Simmering success :)

The final product, Team Larizza for the win!

Red potatoes.

Primal Cauliflower Casserole (not strict paleo)

 

    I found the blog @PaleOMG and fell in love with how easy and delicious Juli Bauer's recipes are. The recipe mentioned below is fantastic and super easy. Cleaning up my diet has not been easy but I feel better without processed crap in my system. Food blogs like +Michelle Tam, +Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations, and of course @PaleOMG have helped me on this paleo journey of mine. If only I can convince +Steven Larizza that most vegetables are not poisonous and that eating ice cream cannot be substituted for an entire meal, unless your knee is as swollen as a cantaloup.

 

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 2 heads of cauliflower
• 4-5 pieces of bacon
• 6 green onions
• 1- 1½ sticks of pastured butter
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 6 oz of chèvre (goat cheese)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Cut up cauliflower. Put in large stock pot and cover with water.
2. Bring to a boil on high heat. Continue boiling until cauliflower is very soft when stuck with a fork. Drain in colander.
3. While cauliflower is cooking, bake bacon in oven on 400 for 15 minutes or until crisp. Drain on paper towel and then crumble.
4. Chop up green onions. Melt butter in stock pot on low heat. Add green onions and sauté until soft. Turn off heat.
5. Return cauliflower to the pot and add heavy cream. Mash with a potato masher.
6. Add chèvre, crumbled bacon, sea salt and pepper to taste. Blend well.
7. Put in baking dish prepared with coconut oil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
8. Serve hot.