Been a While

It has been a while and that is because I started a new blog called Chasing Brew. It has kept me busy lately but I have still been trying to make healthy choices and I am starting to incorporate the gym. I got permission from work to leave early on Tuesdays and Thursdays and do the gym after work. This will work out great because then my husband I will arrive home around the same time.

Today I tried out a Paleo banana bread recipe that turned out well.  I probably could have taken it out of the oven a little sooner.  The recipe said 55-65 minutes but I may check it at 45 mins next time.  It uses almond flour and instead of palm shortening I used coconut oil.  I might also add some additional honey to make it a little sweeter next time.

Some other recipes I have made is roasted veggies and cauliflower mash.  For the cauliflower mash I used my homemade overnight chicken stock to cook the cauliflower and also left some in to make it creamy.

  

And here is what we have been doing for breakfast lately.  We have tried to cut down on the bacon and breakfast sausage and incorporate spinach cooked in coconut oil.

We smoked some pork loin this weekend so I plan on scrambling up some eggs with that for breakfasts.  I need to get more spinach at the store when I go tomorrow.  Eat well everyone!

My Go to Breakfast when I am Busy

I recently discovered that Chic fil a has a healthy breakfast option which is not part of their regular menu.  You can order sides of eggs with either sausage or bacon.  Also my friend turned me on to their new superfood salad that tastes a lot like my moms broccoli salad.  There is probably some sugar in it but all in all it has lots of greens and you can request it for breakfast!

 

Keeping at it!

Since my last post I have been doing more cooking at home so I thought I would share my successes.

To use up the lettuce that I bought from my coworker, I decided to make fish tacos one work evening using some frozen flounder that I had purchased at Costco.  We did have some sour cream (splurge!) but I didn’t use much.  This salad spinner has been a great tool for when I need to clean lettuce and veggies bought from my coworker or the farmers market.

My husband and I also made healthy pasta for friends by making zoodles and our own homemade sauce.  The sauce was made using local sausage, organic canned tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, mushrooms and onions.   Then to make the zoodles, we used this julienne peeler which works great. The noodles come out perfect every time.  I even bought this tool for my mom because she wanted to try it.

I finally made the time to visit the farmers market the other weekend and got some farm fresh eggs along with some pork loin, bacon and grassfed ground meat from Orchard Pond. I made bacon wrapped garlic dijon pork loin using the pork loin and bacon.  For sides I made roasted some potatoes and veggies and it was a great Sunday dinner.

 

Two kitchen tools I love

Today I made a smoothie using my nutribullet. The smoothie is made of some Trader Joe’s organic fruit (mangoes, pineapple, strawberry), a frozen banana, an avocado and some rosemary. I love rosemary so it may be a little weird for some but I like the earthiness of the smoothie.

Another kitchen tool that I got for my birthday this year from my mom is an electric pressure cooker. Thanks Mom! It works great and I have already made a lot of yummy meals. Last night I made pork and sauerkraut. Trying to get more probiotics in my diet. It turned out so good.  It’s what’s for lunch!

Monday Lunch

I am grateful to have a coworker whose parents have an organic farm!  Today for lunch is a salad made with bibb lettuce, trader joes end pieces bacon, bradleys sausage, broccoli, leftover cooked brussel sprouts, avocado, dried organic frozen berries (used my dehydrator) and this new awesome dressing from Trader Joes.  This is the only dressing I found that they carry that does not have a bunch of junk added.  It is a great balance of balsamic and olive oil too, not too acidic.  Have a great week everyone!

2 Years, 2 Months Later

I have been looking though my posts and ask myself why did I stop? Why didn’t I splurge some but not just give up entirely? Who knows. I am my heaviest I have ever been and I am ready to gain control of my health again. The scale is not going to be my enemy. I am going to take small steps this time and try to make good choices when I can.

So far so good for a couple of weeks. Cooking has been a lot of fun lately. I try to plan ahead and make a lot of food in the evenings and weekends so that work stress does not get the best of me this time.

For lunch, bibb lettuce from my coworkers parents farm and homemade chicken salad (does have some mayo) but the best store bought mayo I have found! Stricter is not always better. This is a lifestyle we want to adopt forever. It is not something I only want to do until I hit a goal weight. I really believe in Paleo and whole foods. I am doing this for health.

Tonight I am bringing a healthy snack over to play board games with friends. Store bought Wholly Guacamole, Salsa, snow peas and some tostones fried up in some coconut oil. There will also be some beer but I have incentive to not overdo it because I have to get up for work tomorrow. I really just enjoy the tasting and sharing thoughts and opinions of the beer. It is a social activity so why not bring a healthy dish and then take small tastes and not worry! I think I will take my own advice 🙂

Almost a year later…again…

Cooking is fun. I have been enjoying it lately. Sometimes cooking feels like a chore but I can make more healthier and tasty meals at home rather than spending the money, calories and health eating out.

When I cook I make a lot so we can freeze leftovers or share with family and friends. I put the leftovers in the back of the freezer so we forget about them and don’t get sick of them 🙂

Plan for 2016 – Paleo/Whole 30 – 95% of the time. Gym will happen soon but it is the busy season at work so I am not going to stress about that. Diet is the most important right now. Let’s do this…

Breakfast the other day. Greens, Bradley’s sausage and scrambled eggs.

Gym + Paleo = Success!

I have found that going to the gym 2 or 3 times a week has kept me motivated to continue to eat healthy and not cheat.  I also feel like I have more energy and I am getting stronger.  The number in the scale is going down slowly but surely.  I have also been cooking a lot but have failed to take pictures.

This week I have made beef stew (4 lunch leftovers in the freezer), Cinco De Mayo taco salads (lunch taco salad for lunch tomorrow-maybe I will remember to snap a photo?!), Stuffed peppers with the leftover taco meat (2 leftovers still left) and tonight we had stir fry chicken and veggies.  I cooked the bone in chicken from Trader Joes all day in the crockpot and then stir fried chicken with broccoli slaw, broccoli, mushrooms, kolrabe and the sauce was a mixture of my sunbutter, coconut milk and coconut aminos. Mmm yummy… I am on a roll!

Almost a third of the year is over

Moderation, balance, choices….

I like tasting good beer
I like spending time with family and friends
I like tasting new food
I want to be healthy
I want to be stronger
I want to live for a long time
I want to have energy
I want to be driven

How can I still do all the things I love but also accomplish some of my wants?  I think it is one step and choice at a time.

Why is this so tough?

Life happens..you get sick, you want to celebrate, work stress, life stress…on and on and on… Back on it again! I was out of town for fun a couple weekends ago then out of town for work and then I got sick so haven’t been doing a lot of cooking.  I am planning on going to costco after work and did a trader joes run yesterday so ready to get back on track.  Weigh in in the AM?  I am nervous…