A Creative and Crafty Inspiration

Well - Whole30. I didn't finish it.

2014-08-16T09:53:00.004-07:00

One of the hardest things about the Whole30 program is it is either all or nothing. I felt, for sure, that this is what I needed to get me back on track after the summer splurges. HOWEVER, after 10 days I realized it was not. With the fear of failure, I set out to do this. And I failed this Whole30.

I made it to day 10. Days 2-4 were really tough - I was tired, I wasn't hungry, but I had the junk clearing my system and I knew what positives were coming. Day 7 and 8 I had the energy I wanted back! The aches and pains were beginning to subside and I didn't want to sleep all the time. This is what I wanted all along!! I knew I could do it again!

Then came Day 10. I made a choice to have a bit of wine with my friend and her extended family. I didn't eat crazy things, I didn't drink a whole bottle. I had a tasting and a few sips more. And socialized and it was fabulous.

I don't think I needed a Whole30 to get me where I needed to be. Instead I needed to commit myself to planning meals, food choices, not eating or drinking out of boredom or habit. I needed to know that those choices give me the good feeling and energy I needed. I needed to know that I can do this again without going crazy - that I'm not completely out of control.

So I came home, after being out with friend...and I made a healthy dinner. And the next day, I got up and made all healthy choices and I've continued that. It isn't that I won't be compliant or that I am a failure, but instead, I learned what lesson I needed to learn.

I failed at this Whole30, but I'm not a failure.

Zoodles!!

2014-08-05T18:52:00.001-07:00

One of the recipes I have read most about in this Paleo world is Zoodles! "Noodles" made from zucchini! I always had an excuse (I didn't buy the spiralizer, I didn't have the vegetti, I can't cut them thin enough)

Last week I saw an article about using them with a Julienne Peeler. BINGO! My mandolin (a $3.99 mandolin from Aldi) has a julienne attachment. I cut a medium size zucchini with this attachment and then boiled for just a few minutes in water and lemon juice.

Last night for dinner I had two pieces of cracklin chicken, zoodles with tomato basil sauce and shredded brussels sprouts and cabbage sauteed in coconut oil. Yum!

Whole 30 Again!

2014-08-03T07:40:00.002-07:00

So this summer, I really indulged in a lot of treats... I enjoyed myself, but between the lack-of-exercise and the treats, my clothes are tight again and I feel not-so-good. I am missing my endless energy and the feeling that I can accomplish anything! My joints are aching again (pretty sure that is from my occasional glutening and the loads of sugar I've had) and this is not where I want to be. I'm sleepy early in the evening and struggling to get out of bed each morning. This is how I used to feel all the time, but it's not ok with me. Now that I know HOW good I can feel, I want to feel that way again!

So I am in for another Whole30! Whole 30 is simple - eat real food (meat, veggies, fruit, nuts and other healthy fats), prepare it yourself as much as possible and avoid a few non-negotiables (gluten, legumes, sweeteners of all kinds, alcohol and dairy). Move daily and stay off the scale. Eat 3 full meals and don't snack!

I have a few goals I am setting for myself and I am adding them here as an extra bit of accountability!

Eat breakfast every day. This means planning ahead and getting out of bed. I hope this helps me get back on track in two ways...out of bed on time AND starting the day with a healthy breakfast which will lead to less snacking/poor choices later in the day.
No drinking - even though this is one of the rules, I want to state this as my own personal goal. We have been visiting lots of wineries and enjoying a lot of local Virginia wine, but that comes with a lot of empty calories AND leads me to snacking on things I know I shouldn't eat. :) So here it is. No drinking.
Plan meals and shop with a purpose - throwing all the things in my cart is when I throw in the junk. :) Adding a meal plan will help me make better choices too. This also means cooking in bulk/larger portions and having leftovers on other days. Today I am making NomNom Paleo's Cracklin Chicken to have some ready-to-go protein for a few meals this week. Also, it will be delicious during football tonight for dinner instead of going out for wings!

So there it is - stay tuned for lots of food photos as I move through the next 30 days!

Icy Fruit Pops!

2014-07-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I was at HomeGoods and found these ice pop molds on clearance for $6. I couldn't pass them up since they were so cute and there is so much yummy fruit that is local and ripe now!

First I chopped up some fresh fruit. Today I choose peaches, strawberries and blackberries. I tried to cut them into small, diced chunks of about the same size.

Next I added them to the ice pop molds - filling them up as full to the top as I could.

Next, I added some juice. I found this yummy Pom Hula on sale today at Aldi, so I filled them up right to the top of the container with Pom Hula. I read a recipe earlier this week that says to use coconut water for an icy delicious treat. I've also read about using coconut or almond milk for a creamy pop. Yum! So many choices!

Snap on the tops and let them freeze solid for a few hours.

To unmold, run under warm water for just about 3 seconds.

ENJOY!

These are fabulous ice pop molds. The base is larger than the ice pop and the "cone" is hollow to catch all drips. Yum! Perfect on a hot afternoon.

Woven Bacon Pizza

2014-07-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

I made the most delicious summer dinner tonight! The other night I saw this recipe for a bacon crust pizza. I couldn't wait to try it! My basil plant has been producing lots of basil - giant leaves! Yum! So it was a perfect evening, after the storm, for bacon crust margherita pizza!

First, I wove the bacon into a sheet and followed directions for the Ketogenic Pizza and baked it. While it was in the oven I made my sauce.

I used a pint of Tomato Basil sauce that I canned last year, added 2 cans of clean tomato paste and a handful of fresh basil plus a Tbsp of balsamic vinegar. I simmered it until it was thick. Yum!

Then I prepped my toppings. I tore the basil into medium chunks. I sliced tomatoes thin and chunked up the mozzarella.

After the bacon crust was finished baking, I transferred it to the pizza stone and added the toppings: first a layer of sauce, then the basil, then the tomatoes and finally the cheese. I stuck it in the oven under the broiler for just a few minutes until the cheese was starting to brown.

DELICIOUS!

I served it with a tomato, basil, mozzarella and balsamic salad. With Pom Hula Sun Tea and a Meritage from Cobbler Mountain Winery. Delicious dinner!

Flavors of Summer

2014-07-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite flavors of summer is sun tea. My mom used to make sun tea just about every day in the summer. We had a big, glass jug sitting out on the porch, brewing in the heat. It has a nicer, fuller flavor than hot brewed tea made into iced tea. And it's SOOO easy.

Honestly, the hardest part is finding a glass (not plastic) jug. I like black tea - no particular brand favorite here, usually whatever I can find without tags. If they have strings and tags (and tiny staples) I worry about that in my tea in the sun..

Put 8-10 tea bags in a glass jug of water. Cover (use a lid if you can, foil if you don't have a lid) and set it outside. Sun is optional, mine is usually in the sun a bit of the day, but shady on the porch the rest of the time. It's the heat, gradual heat that matters. Let it sit outside for 3-5 hours then bring it inside. Pour over ice, add mint or fruit if desired and enjoy!

I found this jug at World Market on Monday ON SALE!! It's blue glass, mason jar look-alike and has a metal lid. The only part I would change is the spout - I wish it were metal, it's plastic that looks like metal. :) However, I paid $13.35 for this 2.2 gal jar so I'm not complaining about the plastic spout! This glass jug is a perfect fit in my fridge, so every couple of days I will brew a new batch and drink fresh sun tea!

Second taste of the summer - fresh berries! I wanted a grain-free berry shortcake. One of our favorite restaurants around here has a fresh mixed berry shortcake with ice cream that is my boyfriend's favorite. However, I can't have the flour and I don't like the sugar and dairy necessarily. So I tried a new recipe.

Cook, Eat, Paleo has a recipe that I started with. I made a half batch of the shortcakes. I attempted to make the cream, but it didn't set up. I think it's the brand - unfortunately I didn't get the kind I like to work with since I went to a different grocery.

I also made a mix of berries (blueberries, blackberries and strawberries) that I mashed up last night with my pampered chef mix n chop and let them sit overnight in the fridge. The flavors blended perfectly!

While my cream was more of a liquid than a whipped cream, this was still delicious and tasted perfect!

Plus, the berries look perfectly patriotic with ice cream.... just a great USA treat to have while watching World Cup Soccer! I think I'm going to keep a container of smooshed berries ready all summer long!

Converting a halter swimsuit...to a two strap suit!

2014-05-26T09:31:00.001-07:00

So last year, at the end of the season, I found several tankini suit tops on sale...and they were fine, but they are all halter tops. These don't give me the support I need AND they hurt my neck. But with three suit tops...I can't justify spending money on another new suit.

So I decided to convert one of them to a two strap suit! Here's how it started.

I checked the suit straps....getting a good idea of how to far in fro the sides I needed to go and how tight the straps needed to be. I pinned them with safety pins so I could try this on without worrying about stabbing myself with straight pins or pulling them loose.

I tried two different widths to see if I liked one better than the other. In fact, I liked the one that was closer to the edge than the center. I measured with a ruler and pinned them both again, tried on once again to be sure.

I hand stitched these down - using a backstitch across the width of the strap. Then I used a whip stitch to secure the strap down against the top of the suit. I wasn't sure about whether the placement was perfect, so I wasn't ready to cut the last bits off the straps till I wear this a few times to be sure. I think you could machine stitch and be perfectly fine. Make sure you secure the ends and stitch this down tight - nobody wants an unfortunate swimsuit accident :)

I can't wait to convert the other two suits the same way now that I know this works!

Update: Patio Garden and my ON-GOING battle with the Squirrels!

2014-05-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

So I hate squirrels. I've wavered on this a bit, but the longer this battle continues, the more sure I am that I absolutely hate them!

After my plants were repeatedly knocked off that very cool pallet garden....knocked down, dug through and even eaten, I had to move them.

Remember this?

It happened OVER AND OVER AND OVER! These squirrels are finding joy in annoying me!

So I took my plants off the shelves. I happened to find these fabulous old apple crates at my parents' house, hiding in their garage. This was a perfect alternative.

The plants are in the center of the crates, making it harder to knock them down (though I'm sure these rodents will find a way) And I only stacked them two crates high to cut down on the temptation for the little pests.

And even with all that frustration, my plants are growing!

My tomato bloomed its first tiny yellow blossom this week. My lettuce is growing out of control. And the KALE! See the two kale plants on the top of the crates? Those were once tiny little kale plants with hardly any green leaves!

I think I'm MOST excited about my rosemary right now because this weekend I plan to make Rosemary Blueberry Ice Cream from The Paleo Kitchen, a new cookbook from PaleOMG and Civilized Caveman! The cookbook comes out in a couple of weeks, but this sneak peek recipe from PaleOMG has me convinced that I must have this book!

I've harvested lettuce and cilantro and rosemary and basil and mint more times than I can count! I can't wait to get some peppers and tomatoes and kale on my table!

The squirrels won the battle of the peppers (ate both my jalapeno plants), thai basil, one strawberry plant (and they have nearly killed the other), 5 of the 6 daffodil bulbs, one hosta. But I am winning this war!

I bought two 2-gallon pepper plants, hoping that a heartier plant would withstand the torment of these creatures. However, after the first day, this is what I found:

That little bugger was digging in my brand new pepper plant! He broke off one stem (that had a bloom already!) and exposed roots on the other, in addition to making quite a mess.

So far I've tried cayenne pepper, chili powder, human hair. All of them work for a day or two, but after watering they stopped keeping critters away.

Up next is some dog hair (luckily one of my friends has a really hairy dog that sheds a TON of hair) and dried blood (mixed reviews on this one, you buy it at lowes...so no worries about me butchering something).

I also found an ultrasonic noise machine that is supposed to keep them away...but I'm nervous about using it since I live in an apartment. I don't want to drive my neighbors dogs and cats nuts!

Wining Adventures!

2014-05-04T19:04:00.004-07:00

Northern Virginia has sooo many wineries! Lots of beautiful wineries, many delicious wines and lots of crazy experiences!

(Chester Gap)

Just over a year ago, two of my girlfriends and I started our Northern Virginia Wine Tasting Adventures. We picked up a map and set a goal to visit all of the Northern Virginia Wine Region.

http://www.virginiawine.org/

(Stone Tower)

We started out with the 2013 Virginia Wine Map and started planning our weekends. Usually on Sundays, we would visit 2 or 3 wineries. We'd pack snacks, enjoy a tasting, sometimes spend some time in the sunshine or near the fire (during the winter months!) and take some notes. We developed our wine tasting abilities. We refined our likes and dislikes and quickly figured out what kind of wineries we like!

(Pearmund Cellars)

We found wineries were opening and closing all the time! The map kept changing, just when we thought we were finished we found new ones! Plus we kept going back to some of our favorites over and over!

(Leaves of Grass)

Today was our last big planned weekend to finish our goal of the Northern Virginia wineries. We have a few individual wineries that have hours that are difficult to get to, open on an intermittent basis or appointment only or opening this spring/summer.

Where have we visited? * by some of our favorites!

(Otium)

Still trying to get to these this spring and summer:

Quievremont Wine - not sure if it's really open. We've had a hard time finding information!
Creeks Edge Winery - open now, Taylorsville
Berry Hill Vineyards - closed Sundays, Flint Hill, Appointment only
Two Twisted Posts - open every other weekend as of Spring 2014
Winery 32 - opening June 2014
Blue Valley Vineyard - Opening Summer 2014
Catoctin Creek Winery - appointment only
Catoctin Creek Distillery - closed on Sundays

(Morais)

What have we learned over this past year of wining adventures?

We like small, family owned wineries

We dislike most places that welcome buses and limos and cater to big groups.

We dislike places that feel "corporate" or too commercial.

We like drier wines rather than sweeter wines, with the occasional port-style as an exception!

We like quieter places - although sometimes listening to live music is a great way to spend an afternoon.

We like places where the people are nice, know about the winery and the wine, and where they really take the time to chat with us, not just recite a speech or read the tasting notes to us.

Most importantly we love hanging out with each other and spending time learning more about Virginia Wines!

(Greenhill Winery)

First food from my garden! Tomato-Basil-Mozzarella-Bacon Salad!

2014-04-26T12:33:00.002-07:00

Well, this might be an overly optimistic title (most of these basil leaves were ready to eat when I planted them) but it still makes me super happy to just pop out on the porch and get some basil when I want to cook with it!

I made a YUMMY salad for lunch this week.

Bacon Lardons - basically really crispy bacon bits that take the place of croutons (get it, crout-ons...lard-ons) These are from NomNomPaleo's cookbook and something I add to a lot of salads. I added them to my deviled eggs earlier this week!
Pearl Tomatoes on the vine (from Trader Joes) - quartered. I cut up about 8 or 10 tomatoes.
A small amount of Trader Joes Mozzarella - chopped into chunks. I probably used about 1/5th of the log of mozzarella.
BASIL! I tore up about 8 leaves for this. I like to tear instead of cutting since I think it bruises the leaf more and releases more scent and flavor.
Aged Balsamic Vinegar - this is from Aldis and is part of their private label collection. They don't carry it all the time but it comes in a beautiful little square bottle.

Add it all to a bowl with a lid and shake. For best results (if you can!) let it sit in the fridge together so the flavors all blend. I made this in the morning before I left for school and by lunch time (let's be real, I couldn't wait so I ate it mid-morning) but it was perfect!

This tastes like summer to me! I would eat this every day if I could! So fresh and so yummy!

Squirrels and my Garden!!

2014-04-26T12:22:00.001-07:00

When I lived in rural WV, we struggled with gardening because the deer would eat everything before it had a chance to grow and be harvested.

I thought planting a patio garden on my porch in this little suburban area would be much safer from the "wildlife."

I was wrong. Very wrong.

I am so mad at these squirrels! I caught one in the act! So, all of this happened THE FIRST DAY that I planted my garden. I came home from a relaxing night away with my ❤️ to find the devastation in the pictures above. LOOK at that jalepeno plant! BOTH plants were dug up and eaten off at the soil level. No peppers for this girl. My pots were knocked off the shelves and dumped all over my porch.

Those little rodents even dug up all the daffodil bulbs that I brought back from my mom's house in West Virginia AND TOOK THE BULBS WITH THEM!!!

I want to kill these squirrels - no lie. I looked into poisons (but don't want to endanger neighborhood dogs and cats) and if I was in WV I'd just shoot them. Hah, not an option in the neighborhood.

I cleaned them up...and I noticed that the only plants not touched were the lettuce, tomato and lavender. I've read that lavender could keep deer away, so I'm hoping it will keep squirrels away. I picked some sprigs of lavender and rubbed it on all the cleaned up and re-potted plants. I also put little bits of lavender in the soil.

I also read that cayenne pepper will keep the critters away so I dumped ground cayenne pepper on the top of the soil.

For three days this worked. On the third day I caught that little gray rodent at it red (gray??) handed!! The little thing tried to slink away like if he got really low to the ground I wouldn't see him. GRR! I yelled at him, but he didn't seem to care. He knocked the strawberry pot off the top shelf again!

I put more cayenne everywhere - all over that strawberry plant and even on the pallet itself. Hopefully that helps!

I honestly don't know what to do about this. One variety of hosta is completely destroyed, the other two have many damaged stalks. Peppers are all gone. I'm not sure my herbs are all going to make it. Daffodils are gone (all but one) and impatiens have been rooted around in so much, they might not make it either.

Anyone have any (safe) suggestions? Help!

Spring Break Porch Makeover - Part 2: Pallet Herb Garden

2014-04-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

Now it is time for step 2 of the porch makeover! A pallet project. I found inspiration for the project here at PinkWhen.com and I'm excited to see what I can do. Her directions are great - only I don't have a lot of the tools she mentioned (like a kreg jig) so I had to do some improvising. I'll explain that part as we go.

Need to see part 1 of the porch makeover?

I noticed a pile of pallets outside behind ACE hardware this morning on my way back from plant shopping. So I popped in and asked if I could have one. They told me to help myself to as many of the un-painted ones as I want. One for now...:) I picked what looked like a good one and loaded it up to haul it home.

Then it was on to youtube to find out how to break down a pallet. This was going to be harder than I thought! I wish I had a sawzall...that makes it look easy! There were a lot of great ideas, but I didn't have the tools. So I followed the directions on this video, but instead I used a large flat screwdriver (a stand in for a crowbar) and a hammer to pry up all the boards on the back and one of the middle boards on the front. Whew! It was a lot of work, but well worth it. I will say I worked my shoulders in a way that they aren't used to...as they were screaming the next morning! I am pretty sure I also pulled a muscle in my neck/right shoulder that is still hurty. Ouch! This was by far the hardest part of the job!

(looks like I need to clean up the floor again!)

After a quick trip to Lowes for some more

1 1x4x10' cut into 4 18" pieces (shelves) and 2 16.5" pieces (one side has a separate brace, so it makes it much shorter. The leftover piece was about 8 inches so I used it for a foot.
a pack of screws. I got #8 2.5 inch screws. I have no idea why...they looked like they were a good fit
a pair of bolt cutters (an expense I'm not proud of, but I'm done fighting with those nails!!) $13.50

Total spent at Lowes $25

I bought 12 plastic pots at the Dollar Tree. They came in 4 colors, so I picked up 3 of each to add a bit of color.

They needed a hole in the bottom for drainage, so I drilled the bottom. It was really easy. They have little indentations, but just needed to be drilled through.

AND I got a pair of work gloves. All that work yesterday without gloves. I ended up with one splinter (got it out!), two smashed fingernails (not from the hammer...but when I was prying, something came loose suddenly and I smashed my fingers into the board/nail), and one scraped up wrist. The $1 for work gloves was totally worth it.

Total spent at Dollar Tree $14

Next it was time to cut the nails - you have to use your muscles. I pulled and pulled and pried and tried to hammer them in but they won't budge. So I got the bolt cutter and cut them off as close as I could to the boards.

Attach the shelves. I used the level in the compass app for my iphone to make sure they were really level. You can see in the final pictures that they don't look level because the original boards on the pallet aren't square. It adds to the charm, right? :) I drilled the holes then put the long screws through. In PinkWhenJen's original planter she used a kreg jig to drill angled holes and that seems like it would be a great idea, but way beyond my ability. My shelves are also staggered a bit because once you put one in, you can't put another directly beside it. :) Do the best you can - they don't have to be perfect!

Attach feet - again, I used what I had. I had one leftover piece of wood from the long 1x4 I bought and it was about 7 or 8 inches. So I screwed that on one side. I had another piece from the wood I pried off that was in pretty good shape and about 9 or 10 inches, so that became my other foot. :) This step could be skipped if you want to lean the garden or attach it to a fence/wall.

Finally! Time to plant! One more trip to Lowes and Walmart to see if they got healthy little herbs and veggies after the frost. Success! Plus I found another pot in my storage closet AND bought two types of tomatoes.

1 more jalepeno pepper plant
rosemary
cilantro
spearmint
lemon balm
2 sweet basil plants
purple basil
thai basil
2 types of strawberries
4 tiny kale plants
2 types of cherry tomatoes
another bag of miracle gro potting soil

Total spent at Lowes (21) and Walmart this morning (33) = $54

After potting everything and sweeping up the porch, I am very excited about my Spring Break Porch Makeover! I think the only thing I need now are a couple of cute outdoor pillows for the porch chairs.

Now, fingers crossed that I can grow all of these plants!!

On the blue table: bibb lettuce, tomato plants (2) and lavender. On the floor: impatiens and daffodils (from my mom's house!) and 3 kinds of hostas. On the big table: jalapeno plants (2), a candle and a citronella candle holder.

Top row: Strawberries (2), Lemon Balm, Spearmint. Middle row: sweet basil (2), thai basil, purple basil. Bottom row: kale (2), rosemary, cilantro.

Spring Wreath!

2014-04-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

I came across this wreath idea on a blog linking to Create.Craft.Love. I was in LOVE immediately! I knew this would be a great wreath to put on my door (now that it's time to take down my pink floral wreath that's been up since Valentines Day!!)

Here is my version - I added a garden hose nozzle in purple and a longer bow, but other than that I followed the directions on the Garden Hose Spring Wreath linked above. :) What do you think?

Spring Break Porch Makeover!

2014-04-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

I love my patio...and that it faces the "trees" and not the parking lot like my last place...

But it was looking kind of junky. Even though I have gathered some new furniture lately, it still seemed mis-matched and without a direction or anything to pull it together.

On my patio I had

a beige gravity lounger
a patio table from my grandmother's house (with a solid metal base with a greenish color and a white tabletop)
two plastic Adirondack chairs (that I got from craigslist about 10 years ago!) and a small plastic table that I had spray painted royal blue. One of the chairs was broken...
an assortment of planters and pots stacked in the corner from plants that have died long ago.

Last week I picked up two beige and brown sling chairs for the table. They were on sale at Aldi for $15 each. They match my gravity lounger perfectly and are the right height for my table. I got rid of the blue plastic chairs that day.

Total at Aldi: $31

Today I went to Lowes and got a bag of potting soil some plants. My goal was to spend $50 or less:

32 qt potting mix
2 large hostas (different varieties)
1 small hosta
lavender
12 pack of impatiens

Total at Lowes was $45

Next I headed to Walmart to see if they had tomato plants available. I really wanted tomatoes too... but there was a hard freeze over the last two days so both Lowes and Walmart have lost all their tomato plants! :( In a few days I'll go back and get some more. I did however spend another $6 and got the following:

small bibb lettuce
small jalepeno plant

Total at Walmart was $6

I repotted and planted all of these in my existing pots and the back patio was looking better already!

Now it is time for step 2! A pallet project. I found inspiration for the project here at PinkWhen.com and I'm excited to see what I can do. I'm crafty, but I am not super handy with tools and construction. This should be an adventure! Stop back tomorrow to see how it turns out!

I finished the detox yesterday...so why don't I want to eat the junk?

2014-01-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I finished my 21 Day Sugar Detox. I am proud of myself...and I really wanted wine these last few days of the challenge.

Today, I decided to try some chocolates that a dear friend got me yesterday when we were out wining. They did a couple of truffle tastings these last few weeks and I haven't participated in them. When she got them for me, I was sure I'd want one for breakfast! Hehehe

But I did not have a chocolate truffle for breakfast.

Or for lunch.

Mid afternoon, before I left work I decided to try one - the salted caramel one. It was SOOOO sweet! I thought I wouldn't be able to finish it! I did eat it, but I sure didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. Whoa baby! What is going on here!??

For dinner tonight, this same dear friend came over for an impromptu dinner party. We talked about going out somewhere for something decadent, but I wanted to cook some of my favorites. We had mini mexi meatloaf with green bean bacon bundles. Yum!!

I did pour some yummy red wine... but here we are 3 hours later and I still have most of it in my glass! WHAT is happening!?? It sure tastes delicious, but I felt tipsy after just a few sips! We visited more and I sipped a little more...but here we are with all this in my glass still!

So I think this whole 21 Day Sugar Detox did all the things for me that it should have done! It reset my tastebuds, got me back on track with cravings and choices. Whew! And it really wasn't too difficult to stick to for the entire 21 days!

21 Day Sugar Detox - Week 3 Reflections and Tips for Success!

2014-01-26T19:34:00.003-08:00

So today is it...I'm at the end of my 21 Day Sugar Detox. I did it! And I feel such a sense of accomplishment. I made it through some distinct challenges (3 snow days!! Wining adventures!!) and I did this for myself. I felt the need to take on this challenge to straighten up my eating, my cravings and my body. I already knew how good I feel when I eat cleanly....and I just needed a structure to get back in the groove.

This week was a lot like last week - many of the same improvements continued! I did find that I struggled on day 18 and 19. I wanted a glass of wine and some chocolate like NOBODY'S business! But I didn't give in, because it seemed ridiculous to have worked so hard and not make it to the end.

Finally, today, one of the ladies at a winery visit tried quite a bit to get me to have some wine today. I explained what I was doing...and she said something like, "Oh! But you already made it to your last day...of course have some now!" and I told her how silly that was....that I'd worked hard to finish!

Do you want to try the 21 Day Sugar Detox? There were a few things that helped me get through this without too much struggle.

Buy Diane's book before you get started. . And read it. Really read it. Get an idea of what this will be like for you and pick out the recipes you are most likely to enjoy!
Plan your recipes and grocery shop wisely.
Always pack a snack. Even if you don't think you'll need it. That way you aren't tempted to swing through a drive through or pick up a snack when you're hungry.
Sign up here for the free 21 Day Sugar Detox emails. They were soo spot on to what I was feeling and very encouraging at exactly the right moment.
Find friends to do this with you! Email, text, call. Share recipes, encourage each other and know you are accountable to others.
Like the 21 Day Sugar Detox on Facebook - lots of encouragement and thoughtfully posed questions to help you think through the changes you are experiencing.

This week, my favorite recipe that I tried was the Shepherd's Pie from the 21 Day Sugar Detox book.

I would be lying if I said I'm not looking forward to a nice bold glass of wine tomorrow.

But moving forward, I plan to keep dairy out for a while. Definitely keep gluten out forever. And I want to limit my fruit. I think I can keep moving in this positive direction, improving how I feel! even more!

21 Day Sugar Detox: Week 2 (days 8-14) Reflections

2014-01-21T08:50:00.001-08:00

Wow! Talk about feeling better! My tummy issues are all gone, my sleep has leveled out and my energy is up! I'm also noticing that I'm eating better controlled portions and feeling more full.

Portions:

One of the worries I've always struggled with is that even when I eat good-for-me food, I tend to overeat. It's a bad habit from when I was younger, and I worked to break it (and did!) but then over the holidays I overindulged and fell back into the habit. I also find that I have trouble with this when I have more sugar or poor choices (especially gluten) like I did with my holiday eating. This makes sense when you look at the additives and processed grains and sugars that I had over that 2 weeks. Now that I am making food that is delicious AND healthy, I'm finding I need to eat less of it and then I feel better as well.

Sleep:

The first week I was so freaking tired. I wanted to come home and take a nap in the middle of the day - and usually vegged on the couch right after I got home from work! This second week was the opposite. I'm running around with lots of energy, staying up to a reasonable (but not late) hour and falling asleep almost immediately. The falling asleep immediately was the biggest improvement. I used to lie awake thinking (and overthinking) about everything! Now, I'm in bed and sleeping in about 10 or 15 minutes max! I'm also (most of the time) getting up easily right before or at my first alarm. Usually I set 3 alarms, 15 minutes apart and need to snooze the first two, sometimes all three!

Tummy issues:

Over winter break, I resorted to eating more gluten than I had in a long time. This brought me back to my terrible tummy issues. We used to not be able to go out to eat because I would have tummy problems before we could get home. I knew every (clean) bathroom along the way home and we frequently had to stop. I was experiencing terrible cramping as well as the other issues. These have completely cleared up again.

Skin and Complexion:

My skin was so broken out when I started this. This is another side effect of the gluten...but now that I've gone two weeks without the gluten, sugar and processed junk, I've seen drastic improvement. I struggled with these crazy cystic acne below the skin on my chin. They have gone completely. I have a couple of residual spots that are clearing up without chemical/medicinal treatments. I also have gotten compliments on my skin (when I wasn't wearing makeup!), especially the area around my eyes. This is traditionally an area I have not liked....I have had dark circles and puffiness under my eyes as long as I can remember. They look better now!

Anxiety and Nervousness:

I wish I could say that this is completely gone - but it's not. I've always been what you would call an extreme worrier. If something could possibly happen...I worry about it. I cancelled lots of plans I had with friends because I worried about how it would go, what would happen, etc. There were times I would worry myself "sick" when I had something important coming up (I would throw up and be sick to my stomach before and after job interviews and difficult conversations!) I was so nervous and worried about going to the dentist that I needed anxiety medication to go for even a cleaning! The extreme end of that has gone away...I'm not making myself sick with worry. But I'm still a worrier - and maybe I always will be. But it is more manageable.

Enjoying cooking and eating again:

Other than the mass quantity of dishes, I'm enjoying the cooking and baking! I'm planning meals better than I have ever done and I am trying new recipes from 21 Day Sugar Detox, Beyond Bacon and blogs that I follow. Yum!! There are some really good ones that I've found this week!

Cocoa Chili Roasted Cauliflower - from the 21 Day Sugar Detox
Guilt free Coconut Lime Mug Cake - from Paleo in Comparison
Almost 5 Ingredient Pizza Spaghetti Pie - from PaleOMG

Eating out at a restaurant:

During week 1 I didn't trust myself out at a restaurant. I really love corn chips! Nachos....salsa....queso! I knew if I went to a restaurant that first week I'd give in. This week I went out a couple times and felt very good about the choices I made! Basically - I ordered food as plain as I could (leave off sauces, grilled, steamed) and I still really enjoyed everything I had! Seared Ahi Tuna with asian style vegetables, Bacon wrapped shore dog with Broccolini, dinner out at Chima - a Brazilian Steakhouse, a fritata with no cheese. Delicious!

Socializing and Wining with friends:

I was most nervous about this part of the 21 days. My friends and I have been visiting our Northern Virginia Wineries and tasting lots of delicious wine. We pack snacks, hang out and enjoy the pretty wineries. I knew I would be able to say no to the drinking, but I was worried I would make my friends feel uncomfortable. I'm proud to say we have visited lots of wineries and I think only one of my friends felt badly drinking when I was saying no. Now, as for the ladies working in the tasting rooms....most have been lovely! There was one who seemed to make it her personal mission to try to get me take a drink of something or other, but thats ok. :) I feel proud of myself for not changing my mind to make someone else feel better. This is an investment in my health! And I'm happy to say that I stuck to it! :)

I'm really excited to see what incredible changes I see in Week 3!!

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The Paleo Parents: 3 Phase Paleo eBook Review

2014-01-21T06:38:00.001-08:00

So two of my favorite paleo authors and bloggers, The Paleo Parents, have just released a new eBook. 3 Phase Paleo: Transition Your Family in 3 Easy Steps is a great beginners guide to the Paleo lifestyle PLUS a collection of many favorite recipes from their previous cookbooks and website. I am beyond excited that they provided me with a copy of this eBook for my review here!

Matt and Stacy (and their 3 boys) have experienced an incredible health transformation since they adopted the Paleo lifestyle. A myriad of health problems for their family of 5 have all but disappeared, they have lost a ton of weight (200 lbs between the two parents!) and have given their oldest boys the most valuable gift: self control and healthy relationships with food.

I've always enjoyed the easy style in which Matt and Stacy write. They write as though they are talking with friends - making it easy to take advice from them and learn from their experiences. I follow these two on all sorts of social media and enjoy just about everything they post! I even stood in line at their Beyond Bacon book release party to meet them and have them sign my copy of their book!

This eBook is broken into three phases to make it easier to transition to this new way of life (not a diet, not an eating plan, but really and truly, a new way to live).

In the first phase - swap - we learn how to add more veggies into our diet and swap processed, chemically laden food for gluten-free and processed sugar free options. A shopping list, a going out guide and even a list of eat this instead of that swap list make this book different. It includes the theories of why - but focuses on the practicality of how to make it happen.

The second phase - remove - walks us through eliminating dairy, grains, legumes and processed seed oils. We learn about the Paleo Parents favorite products, what their pantry looks like and how it makes easy to prepare healthy and hearty meals.

Finally, the third phase is healing. We learn about the whole Paleo lifestyle (sleep, movement, sunlight and stress management) and the addition of nutrient dense foods.

Then over 75 easy to prepare recipes! Everything from main dishes, snacks and treats, veggies and sides and more. The recipes are not full of fancy ingredients, usually things you will find in your well-stocked Paleo pantry. And they are very approachable - ingredient list, easy directions, and even the boys make appearances in the recipe photos!

Each recipe is tagged with a small numbered circle to help readers choose recipes based on which phase of the transition to Paleo they have mastered.

The book is a full cover, 110 page fully-interactive eBook. I usually struggle with the decision to buy a cookbook in an eBook format - there is just something about marking pages and turning through when meal planning and seeing the notes and stains on pages. However, this book is so interactive - linked to many products, blog posts linked into the pages, referring to additional Paleo resources (both online and in print) plus all the ways to stay in touch with the Paleo Parents. There is no way to include all the interactive parts in a print book.

For the cost of $22.95 the book will be in a fully-printable 110 page, full color 8.5 x 11 format. If you would like to have a paper copy (say in a binder?) you will be able to easily print this. Stacy and Matt also include tips and tricks for easiest viewing on common devices (iOS, Android and Kindle).

If you are looking for a place to start in the transition to living the Paleo Lifestyle, this is it!

Download it today!

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21 Day Sugar Detox: Days 6 and 7

2014-01-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

If there was a theme to this weekend, it would be wining without wine!

Two groups of dear friends went wining both on Saturday and Sunday. We visited multiple wineries and I drank nothing but water. I packed my snacks and made my meals. It was a great weekend, and I'm very proud of my choices. Lots of enjoying the company, drinking lots of water and vegetable and nut snacks.

Again I eat most meals from what I had prepared earlier in the week - plus an omelette or skillet meal here and there.

The Coconut Lime Mug Cake was absolutely incredible. Easily the best dessert I've had in a long time - with no sweetener added. It has the best texture!

21 Day Sugar Detox - Day 5

2014-01-12T17:45:00.001-08:00

Day 5 was delicious - and my headaches are gone. I am still cooking for each meal - today though, I ate three meals that were prepared on Day 4 or earlier in the week. I had N'Oatmeal with a half banana and sliced almonds for breakfast, banola and coffee for a snack, chili, carrots and almonds for lunch. All of these were prepared ahead of time. :) Dinner was a stuffed vegetable bell pepper and bacon basil cauliflower rice.

Stuffed vegetable bell peppers (makes 4)

4 bell peppers
1/2 lb of ground beef
1 small zuchinni
1/2 pint of canned tomatoes
1 small (6 oz) can of tomato paste
spices to taste (I used a bit of chili powder, oregano and chili pepper flakes)

Preheat oven to 350
Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Discard any extra grease.
Cut the tops off the bell peppers. Remove the core from the pepper "bowls" and discard the cores and seeds. Place the three pepper "bowls" into a baking dish or pan.
Remove the stems from the tops and chop up the remaining pepper flesh from the tops. Add the chopped peppers to the ground beef pan and soften just a little.
Grate the zuchinni and squeeze the grated vegetable in a paper towel to remove excess water.
In a bowl, mix your spices, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, ground beef, grated zuchinni and chopped peppers.
Stuff into the peppers and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

21 Day Sugar Detox - Day 4

2014-01-10T13:47:00.001-08:00

I felt a lot better today, compared to yesterday. No headache, just a little fatigue. I can't wait for the big burst of energy that comes after the sugar clears my system. :)

Today was also the first time I ate out at a restaurant since I started the detox. I've found it easier (when I am beginning at least) to stay on track when I am cooking and controlling my own decisions, rather than getting sucked into a bite or two of this... or that.... or a drink. I chose to go out with one friend at a restaurant that had lots of healthy choices (and that I was SURE would accommodate my requests). It was easier than I thought!

Breakfast - The meatloaf I made was so delicious I had the leftover for breakfast with some green beans. Just as good the second day! Definitely making this again.

Lunch and snack - I had celery with almond butter and lettuce wraps with chili. Plus some carrots and almonds.

And for dinner I had a big bowl of Pho from my favorite Pho restaurant with a dear friend. They make it for me without noodles and instead add in steamed vegetables. It's delicious. This time though, I left out both of the sauces. I just didn't know what kind of sweetener they use (They are in refilled squeeze bottles so no labels) so I just ate it with the sprouts, jalapenos and basil. It was the perfect dinner on a cold night.

I really was craving something different - I've been soo happy with the recipes from the book that I've tried and I found a couple that looked good. Banola (a granola substitute) and N'Oatmeal (sort of a pudding or oatmeal consistency). There were two ingredients I didn't have for these recipes: Vanilla Beans and Chia Seeds. I knew Target had both - so off I went. Sold out of vanilla beans....three stores later I had my vanilla beans. And I was headed home to cook! So good!

Luckily a couple of great Paleo bloggers are sharing recipes from 21 Day Sugar Detox and 21 Day Sugar Detox Cookbook, so you can try these recipes before you buy the books!

Banola (from the 21 Day Sugar Detox) from Passion for Paleo

And the Banana Vanilla Bean N'Oatmeal (from the 21 Day Sugar Detox Cookbook) from Paleo Parents.

21 Day Sugar Detox: Day 3

2014-01-09T11:58:00.004-08:00

Well, it was back to work today. I was feeling lethargic and a bit headachey, but I honestly don't know if that's the sugar cravings leaving me or if I'm just off the couch and back to work!

The good news is I had a 2 hour delay so I had plenty of time to prepare a yummy breakfast and a delicious lunch.

Breakfast was 1.5 strips of bacon, 2 fried eggs and bell pepper, green beans and sliced brussels sprouts.

I was well prepared for lunch as well. Chili lettuce wraps, carrots, celery and almond butter and almonds.

However, one of our colleagues who likes to go out to get lunch, offered to get lunch for my co-worker and I. Luckily he was running out to Subway - so I ordered a Chicken Chopped Salad with lots of veggies and no dressing. And I snacked on my celery, carrots and almond butter through the work day.

I also had an extra cup of coffee this mid-day to push me through the headache and the hump of getting over Wednesday and day 3!

Dinner was incredible. I made a modified version of the mini-mexi meatloaves from 21 Day Sugar Detox. I didn't have any cilantro or some of the other spices it called for, but it was delicious with cayenne pepper and chili powder and bell peppers in there. I also used the other 1/2 lb of pork-beef mixture left over from my meatza yesterday. I made two of them out of this 1/2 lb of meat and ate one for dinner.

Served with sauteed green beans. (blanched them for about a minute or two in boiling water, then sauteed in coconut oil). and 2 leftover savory herb drop biscuits.

I'm not sure what is going on - but as much as I'm enjoying my food and really savoring my meals, I am not staying full. I'm not sure if I need to add more protein or fat, but I need to figure this out. I'm munchy. :)

For a non-sweet treat (and to add some more fat) last night I had 2 Lemon Vanilla Meltaways, also from the 21dsd book.

All in all it was a pretty good day - aside from the headache and the fact that I only had about 4-5 waters, I feel pretty good about the choices I made!

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21 Day Sugar Detox: Day 2

2014-01-07T18:32:00.001-08:00

Today was the coldest day on record at nearby Dulles Airport - we got down to 1 degree and high winds, so a very negative windchill (between 10-20 degrees below!) This meant school was cancelled and I was home...

I scrambled two eggs, two strips of bacon, a bell pepper and a few Brussels sprouts with black coffee. Yum! I had to head out to an appointment at 8 ....and it was a balmy 4 degrees at that point.

Lunch was amazing - since I was home in a cold house, I decided to cook a few recipes from the 21 Day Sugar Detox book. It would give me something to do, some delicious food and provide a little extra heat in the house.

I made the Meatza - seriously good! I made a half batch, and only cooked one of them. I plan to use the other half of the meat recipe to make into a meatloaf another night this week. You can see it in the oven on the top right. It's a pork and beef patty, pressed out nice and thin that serves as the crust. I topped it with bell pepper rings, zima tomatoes and olives.

I also made a half batch of the Savory Herb Drop Biscuits. I didn't have fresh herbs but instead I used dried rosemary. They are a little dry, but nice for a biscuit.

And for my third recipe - I made Chili-Cocoa Cauliflower. I don't understand how this is so good! It has chili powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper, plus coconut oil on cauliflower. SOOO good! I made a 1/4 of a head of this and enjoyed it all!

Lunch was absolutely amazing. It took quite a while to create this amazing meal, but it was so worth it! I ate around 2pm....and I wasn't really very hungry when it came to dinner time.

So for dinner, I just heated up a mug of the chili I cooked on Sunday.

For something sweet tonight I had a half a grapefruit, broiled just a bit to warm it up. Perfect!

I didn't drink enough water today - but I did control my snacking!

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Almond Milk! A mess and a half...

2014-01-07T18:13:00.001-08:00

I made my first batch of almond milk yesterday. It was a mess!! But really delicious. I will try again for sure...but not for a while. :)

First - soak 1 cup of almonds in the fridge. I put them in a glass measuring cup and covered them with water. Soak overnight. They will swell and get a little softer and the water will start to look cloudy over night.

Drain the water from your soaked almonds. Add the almonds and 2 cups of water to your blender (I tried this in the food processor first and it was a disaster. For some reason the water went everywhere. So do this in your blender). Run your blender on high for a few seconds to start to break them up, then run on medium for a minute or two. You'll see the water turn into milk right before your eyes!

Now it's time to strain it - this is where the mess came in. I didn't have cheesecloth so I decided to strain through the fine metal strainer I have. Press as much of the liquid out that you can.

And enjoy your milk! I think if I had cheesecloth I could have squeezed a bit more out of the almond mush. As it was, I got about a pint of delicious milk from the 1 cup of almonds.

And I had this dish full of almond "mush" leftover. I spread it on a cookie sheet and dried it in the oven at 175 for a couple of hours. I'll use this as almond meal in recipes (today I used it in the 21 Day Sugar Detox Meatza recipe).

I bought some cheese cloth today and I will figure out how to make this a less crazy process with (hopefully) less mess tomorrow!

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21 Day Sugar Detox: Day One

2014-01-06T17:07:00.001-08:00

Today started off really well. It was my first day back to work after a really long winter break. I actually was excited to start this challenge on the first day back into a routine.

I actually woke up when my alarm went off the first time. Nothing short of a miracle.

I got up and made breakfast (plus I drank the first bottle of water), and I packed my lunch before I settled down to enjoy breakfast with a nice hot cup of coffee. My days always go better when I start without rushing to get out the door!

Funny story about cravings at work - we had 3 little chocolate bears left over from the holiday party we had. Those little bears were staring me down this morning! Daring me to eat them!! When our 5th period boys came in, I asked them to do me a huge favor and eat those bears! Hehee. THey laughed (at me or with me?) when I told them the bears were begging me to eat them and I wasn't going to give in!

I ran a bunch of errands after school today - and I was definitely beginning to get a bit hungry and tempted when I passed yumminess on the shelves. I stayed strong and came home to make a yummy dinner.

I also made almond milk tonight - It was absolutely delicious. However, it's a lot of work (and a lot of mess) for just one little pint jar of milk! But it was really creamy and delicious.

Tomorrow we are off school for extreme cold - I'm a little nervous about the munchies setting in tomorrow.. I have prepped by getting the junk (leftover Christmas cookies and candy especially) out of this house!

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