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Hey there! I'm Holly. A 40+ year old insurance-nerd wife, mom, beauty lover, and about a million other things in between.
This is the place where I share about our lives, what I'm currently loving, books I'm reading, plus-size style, beauty recommendations, health + fitness endeavors and anything else I'm finding interesting at the moment.
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Monthly Archives: August 2012
Blackened Grilled Chicken
Blackened is a word where the more you type it, the more it doesn’t look like a real word. I assure you it is. And speaking of real, this blackened chicken is REAL-ly DELICIOUS.
In my arsenal of super simple recipes, this one ranks close to the top. I’ve made this chicken every week since we’ve been doing the Whole 30 because I can prep and grill it quickly on Sunday and it’s perfect to have laying around as Post-workout protein, a salad topping for a quick lunch, or to chop into chunks and mix up with some homemade mayo and celery for a spicy Cajun chicken salad.
Simplicity, for the win.
Blackening is a cooking technique that involves butter, spices and a hot cast iron skillet, and is traditionally used for fish. But if you mix up a blackening rub and use it on grilled chicken, you evoke all the fun and flavor of blackening, but without having to stand in front of a hot stove during the summer.
So let’s talk about essential steps. There are three. You ready?
| 3 Step Blackened Grilled Chicken |
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Salt
- 1 Quart Water
- 4-6 Large Chicken Breasts
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon ground dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Oil for your grill
Instructions
- Brine Your Chicken Breasts — This sounds very fancy but it is actually really easy. Ever since I learned how to do this, I won’t grill chicken breasts without brining. It makes THAT big of a difference. All you do is throw your chicken breasts in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Then in a pyrex mix 1/4 Cup of Salt into 1 Quart of water until it is mostly dissolved. Pour the mixture into your bag of chicken and let it sit for an hour or two. Note: I keep my ziploc bag inside another bowl just in case it decides to leak or something. Chicken juice leaking in the fridge is No Bueno.
- Liberally Sprinkle Your Rub Onto The Chicken. Then, um…Rub. Get a good coating on each side so it can get all up in your chicken. The brine gives you moisture and flavor from the inside, the rub is giving you a little FLAVA for the outside.
- Oil Up Your Grill and Grill Out! Make sure to oil the grates of your grill so there is no sticking (pour a little on a paper towel, turn the heat down for a quick second, rub your grates, presto!) Grill your chicken breasts until they are full cooked inside (depends on the size and thickness of your breast, but I usually find it to be somewhere between 5 minutes each side with the grill open, and a few minutes with grill closed.)
See? I told you it was easy!
Organize-A-Palooza!
I got bit by the organizing bug this weekend. Does that ever happen to you? After getting a bathroom remodeling and doing some cleaning like grout cleaning, I thought my bathroom drawers have been driving me nuts for quite some time and I just finally decided I just couldn’t take them anymore and set out to get things in order. Things look nice on the outside, but inside they are kind of a hot mess, kind of like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
My side is the right side, Garrett’s is the left and we “share” the middle drawers. Wanna know a secret though? Nothing is really in the middle drawers, so obviously I decided that meant I could take at least one of those over too.
The reason I need to do some expanding is because my drawers just are not cutting it right now. I have three main ones and they are just overflowing with crap.
You see? Hot mess on the inside.
The first thing I decided was that my makeup is now going to have a permanent home. It’s been all crowded together in that pink stripey bag since Garrett and I started dating. Having to lug all of my crap back and forth between houses I just threw it all in a bag and never looked back. Well guess what: I LIVE HERE NOW AND HAVE FOR THREE YEARS. It’s time for my makeup to get a permanent home. And that home is the top middle drawer of our bathroom.
Bam!
I was going to by some cheap plastic-y containers at Target, but they were $12 each and I’d need at least two, which isn’t that cheap in my opinion. Then I came across this hot pink baby for $6.28. Now thaaaaaaaaaat’s more like it. In went the makeup, and all was right in the world.
Then I tackled the Everyday Drawer. You have this drawer, right? Where all of the stuff is that you use every day?
Well here is mine AFTER:
Lastly I straightened up my hair stuff, and what was left in the overflow drawer (which was not much) which included axing a flat iron that had been around since the early 90s and some other stuff that I just didn’t use EVER. And I was left with these two sparkly spaces:
And by then, all of my bathroom dreams had come true! But I wasn’t done yet. I wanted to tackle my junk drawer that hides out in the top dresser drawer in my closet. OHMAHGAWD, just look at it:
Let’s play a rousing game of What The EFF Is In Here?
Very important things, I’m sure.
Things like:
The valentine I bought to give to Garrett this year and then promptly forgot about. WHOOPS. (What DID I give him, then???)
Guess we know what he’s getting NEXT year.
Oh, or how about a cell phone charger for a phone I don’t even own anymore?
A Jefferson Starship cassette tape?
Or perhaps that reminder about my dental appointment.
FROM 2004!
Ummmmm, clearly it was time to get out the trash bags. So trash I did (for most of it) and in the end I have some useful things and of course some nostalgic things — like my container with every card and letter Garrett has ever written me. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
In the end it looked a lot more manageable, and I felt about ten pounds lighter getting rid of all of that Very Important Stuff I had been saving.
******
Even though nothing in the bathroom looks different on the outside and my closet still looks exactly the same, at least *I* know it is cleaner on the inside. And sometimes that’s all you need to have a happy Sunday!
Things I’ve Worn Lately & Where To Find Them
Starting tomorrow and for the next six weeks I get to wear jeans to work. Hooray for casual dress! You may remember this inspired last year’s 30 Days of Denim, but this year I don’t have the energy for that (hoooooooooo boy did that take some time!) While I’m not documenting what I wear every day on the blog, I still like popping in on occasion and talking about clothes. I’m still posting my Outfit of the Day almost daily on Instagram (follow_holly) so if you are jonesing for some denim, you will get it over the next 6 weeks.
I’m feeling a little uninspired with respect to style lately mostly because my mind is ready for fall but it is still 100 degrees out. There are actual coats hanging in stores. I mean, it’s gross to look at, but I still want to wear it all! So in the meantime, here’s what I’ve been wearing, and where I got it.
Shirt: Banana Republic Outlet (old) Skirt: New York & Co. Bracelet: Target Shoes: Target (old)
Funny story about this outfit. One: I hate ruffles and this shirt has ruffles. Why do I buy ruffles? I’m thinking on getting rid of this. It annoys me every time I wear it. Two: This skirt. I am in love with it. I walked into the mall and saw it recently in every size but mine. Boo. Then I tried to buy it online and it said sold out. Then I looked at 2 other NY & Company shops with no luck. Then I gave up. But then! Then! I had to go to Reno for work, and just happened to drive by a NY & Co with 30 minutes to spare before a meeting and VOILA! Said skirt became mine. This shit was hard earned. I may just wear it every day. No bigs, since it totally blends in.
Sweater: Nordstrom Rack (old) Necklace: Target (old) Skirt: Costco Tank: Target Mossimo Tanks, which are the bomb, btw, and $5 right now. Shoes: Missoni for Target
You really need to do yourself a favor and buy this skirt at Costco because it feels like yoga pants. And I’m going to keep telling you this until you buy it. YOU GUYS, IT IS SO COMFY. Which is why I wore it on a day when I had to sit through a Negotiating Seminar, which was not comfy at all.
Shirt: Gap Necklace: Banana Republic Outlet (old) Pants: Gap Wedges: Target (old) Bracelet: Target
We need to discuss these pants. They are “Linen” and I love them. Well, they look like linen, feel like linen but they actually aren’t linen so you know what they don’t do? Wrinkle the second you exhale. I’m in love! Also, I have worn this shirt a million times. I wish I would have bought every style! It’s so light and awesome to wear when it is hot, but it still looks professional.
Shirt: Banana Republic Outlet (old) Jeans: Gap Sexy Boyfriend Belt: Target Shoes: Target (suuuuuper old) Bangles: Target (so old)
I don’t understand why Gap calls these sexy. They aren’t sexy at all. Just SUPER comfy. It’s probably the same reason they call those other pants linen when they are really some rayon blend. Whatever. Oh, if you are a belt beginner, I highly recommend this belt from Target. It’s really versatile. And this post, of course.
Shirt: Old Navy (old) Skirt: Gap Outlet (old) Shoes: Target (old) Necklace: Target (can’t find it online but it’s on clearance in the stores.)
This is CLEARLY why I’m not a style blogger. I wear a lot of old stuff.
Oh wait — the watch — that I can actually link to. Woot!
Now I’m just getting desperate. 🙂 Who wants to go shopping for fall clothes?????
Startling Expenses: Splurging vs. Saving
Swistle wrote a fun post a while back about Startling Expenses that I just loved. The jist was that sometimes you just can’t fathom why people spend their money the way that they do, but that everyone makes financial decisions and wealth management planning based on the things they value. It’s not a radical idea or anything, but I just loved the way she worded it (as usual.)
Anyway, it was fun to think about my own. The things we spend crazy money on and our reasons. But also, where we do not splurge at all. I thought it might be a fun little peek into the medicine cabinet of our budget, be sure to be using payroll software for scalability in your business.
Where We Splurge
*Our gym membership – So it’s $200 a month and the thought of paying that for a gym membership makes some people’s eyes roll back in their heads. I get it. But it’s totally worth it to us because A) Hi, results B) These people are like family and I never could say that about 24 hour fitness C) Personal Training style attention and guidance without the fees (when was the last time you saw a personal trainer being available to you 5 workouts per week for less than $25. Oh right, NEVER.) and D) Again, just because it’s worth repeating: results. Those things are important to me. But man, it’s a load of cash. I don’t fault anyone who wouldn’t prioritize that, but it works so well I’d give up cable before I gave up CrossFit. (Wait…no more Real Housewives? WHAT???)
*Groceries – I’ve mentioned a million times that our monthly grocery bill can sometimes hit $1000. CRAZY TOWN for just the two of us, I get it. But its not only 21 meals per week/84 meals per month, but it is also a huge part of our life: cooking is my favorite hobby. So is blogging and writing about food and my adventures with it. So it’s totally worth the price of admission.
*Fancy Coffee – I will not buy crappy coffee. Ever. Sorry. And while we’re at it, Sorry I’m Not Sorry. I am a Peet’s Coffee & Tea addict and at $17 a pound (and 2 lbs per week) it’s a pricey habit. Even with Garrett’s employee discount it’s expensive. But I will never ever ever EVER EVER change. I spent over 10 years working in coffee, I drink my coffee black, it’s got to be great. Period. Full Stop.
*Nice Bras – Ok, so truth be told Garrett doesn’t splurge on nice bras. 🙂 But I just cannot buy cheap bras. I sort of hate spending loads of dough on nice bras (especially because they aren’t even always all that fabulous) but I spent too many years wearing crappy bras and I have the embarrassing photo evidence to prove it. Sports bras, pretty bras, daily bras — I will shill out the cashola with no questions.
*Travel – Doing things, having experiences, seeing new places are all a major priority. I will find a way to finance and excursion even if it means having less stuff.
Where We Save
*Most Media – I have a serious library addiction. I’ve spent less than $75 on books, music, and general media in probably the last 3 years. I read A LOT but I get books almost exclusively at the library. Itunes? I never use it to buy music. If I am looking for a song I totally request the whole cd (I know — can you believe they still make cds?) And since Garrett and I go there about once a week together I always have time to thumb through magazines I might have previously splurged on. FOR FREE. I haven’t bought a dvd in maybe 5 years. If I can’t get request it at the library or stream it on netflix, I probably don’t want to watch it *THAT* bad. And we never go to the movie theater. I like doing that but I just feel like we never really have time, and it’s not something I try to *make* time for. I’ll just catch it on dvd.
*Dining Out – We just rarely do it. I love food and restaurants and chefs just as much as the next person, but (toot my own horn alert!) I cook pretty good food. No need to go out that often. When we do, it is usually because we are traveling, when it’s really inconvenient to cook at home, or when we want need Mexican food. This ends up being probably once every other month.
*We drive OOOOOOOLD completely paid for cars – Like really old. Mine is a 1999 with 150K miles. Garrett’s is a 1991 with 90K miles (it was his grandma’s and grandmas don’t drive anywhere OBVS) and it doesn’t even have air conditioning. What? But Holly, hasn’t it has been over 100 degrees for the last week in Sacramento? Yep, and we don’t even care. We just work around it, because did I mention: THEY ARE FREE. Also, the combined car insurance is less than $100 per month for crazy coverage and you c an pay with cash or check, and the deal is way better, as there are surprising facts about checks when paying with them.
Even though there have been times where we have had to fix things that seemed pricey at the time, they have cost us less money than a new car out right and WAAAAAAY less money than financing a car. We are looking into new cars for the future because they won’t last forever but right now and for the past 5 years, we’ve been super content to drive our old (FREE) cars. I like the feeling of all that cash in my pocket way more than all that Mad Baller Status that driving a Honda Accord would give me. 🙂
*Clothes on sale – First, you know me, I rarely buy clothes from stores fancier than Target/Gap etc. But more importantly I just don’t buy anything for full price really. There has to be a coupon, sale, deal or I will probably talk myself out of it. I spill things, my weight is changing, my style is fickle so expensive clothes just aren’t on my agenda. This could change in the future as our finances change (because I certainly ENJOY expensive clothes and shopping and expensive jewelry and all of it) but right now I am happy dressing myself up bargain basement style.
*Fancy Technology – Our TVs are small and not high tech. Our “nice” computer is 5 years old. I don’t own a Kindle, iPad or eReader. My laptop is TEN years old and hardly works. I’ve had an iPhone less than a year. Upgrading these things would all be super convenient, technology is a large part of my life and having fancy gadgets or better systems would totally be awesome. But it’s also a lot of cash and to us, right now, totally not worth it.
*****
Have you ever thought about your startling expenses? What do you splurge/save on? Do you consider starting wealth management planning for you and your family?
Whole 30 — The Summit
So yesterday marked the halfway point in the Whole 30. Also coincidentally, the 2 year anniversary of us “trying” Paleo. When it comes to the Whole 30, I swear my opinion changes daily – heck sometimes hourly. But it always generally circles back to “I’m so glad we are doing this.” Of course Garrett and I don’t always feel the same way at the same time, so it has definitely made for continuous conversation.
The Good
I really can’t underscore how good it feels physically to focus on eating foods that make you healthier. And feeling good begets more healthy eating for me. When I have tons of energy and zero cravings, it’s so much easier to say no office treats and frappucinos on hot days, you know? It boils down to this: making healthy food choices is just SO MUCH EASIER when I’m not eating sugar or marginal foods. It’s harder when I’m not. I enjoy life being easy. The end.
This sounds like a tiny thing and a HELLO HOLLY THIS ISN’T ROCKET SCIENCE MOMENT but it is really enormous actually, and I am a person who needs physical proof to stay motivated. Stable blood sugar, zero cravings, constantly feeling satiated, never needing to snack: all of that is pretty damn awesome when you look at the big picture.
The Bad
But life is not only about the big picture. There are lots of little micro moments. While I’m still getting really creative in the kitchen, my passion is feeling a little bit confined by the limits of the Whole 30. I was inspired to try a new recipe for pancakes the other day with completely Paleo ingredients, but then I remembered “Oh, I’m not supposed to be Paleo-ifying junk food.” Right.
On these crazy hot nights I’ve been really wanting to mix up some frozen banana berry ice cream, but running up against the same limits. I don’t really have a particularly alarming “psychological response” to pancakes or fruit-based ice cream, and I know this is the concern and the reasoning behind not paleo-ifying junk food, but I’m still feeling annoyed about those limits. I don’t like how that feels. YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME, WHOLE 30. 🙂
The Ugly
Also, while I totally love cooking at home — LOVE IT — I miss socializing freely, and can you believe that this sentiment has nothing to do with the booze anymore? I can hardly believe it. The halfway point is where my desire for a GOD DAMN GLASS OF WINE completely dissipated. I’ll have it when I have it. Whatever. Self-control, regained in two weeks or less. There you have it.
HOWEVER. Every time we get a social invitation lately I look to the calendar with panic. Will we still be doing this Whole 30? Will we be able to find something to eat? Should I just turn it down? Should I push it back to September? And I reeeeeeeeeeeeally don’t like living my life like that. Socializing and seeing friends and family is an important part of my life. And it should be fun and really have nothing to do with food panic. So that’s definitely where some of the negative feelings come from.
What I’m Learning
Ultimately though, it is making me feel super grateful for how flexible our regular lifestyle is. Two years into this paleo gig, I have found sticking to a regular paleo framework is not difficult at all. Like AT ALL. Man it’s amazing to actually think how far we’ve come and how many changes we’ve made in such a short amount of time. Living a normal life where I feel fantastic yet also get socialize and indulge in rituals that really do make me happy (my weekend wine) are really awesome. I’m so happy we made the switch! But getting super strict for the past two weeks has me really look forward to getting back to the old normal.
One of the main reasons I’m looking forward to the old normal is because thus far for the amount of thinking about food and talking about what I am eating, and meticulously monitoring ingredients — I don’t feel that drastically from when I’m staying within the normal paleo framework. Sure I feel better than when we are attending food truck festivals and going out of town every weekend and boozing, and eating mexican food more than once per month — but that’s not my “regular life.” And recalibrating will be worth it, as ugly as it feels at times.
But I have actually found some great takeaways and improvements from this experiment already, and these alone make it worth it:
1) I depend on cheese because I’m lazy and it’s yummy. But the truth is, I haven’t really missed it. I will absolutely go back to eating good cheese by itself (mmmm, triple cream mushroom cheese and stilton!) and I will never give up the occasional gorgonzola. But I don’t need cheese in every salad I make or on all my burgers or in all of my egg dishes. So hey, win!
2) Fermented foods are pretty easy to incorporate into my life. They really kind of scared me before, but man there is such an availability of high quality stuff where I live. That has LITERALLY spiced up my food life! I would not have even explored that if it weren’t for my need to find new burger toppings to replace my cheese. 🙂
3) Fruit is a completely awesome and satisfying dessert. When you make sure the house isn’t filled with dark chocolate, coconut milk ice cream and chocolate chips. For me, keeping that kind of food in the house just makes me lazy. I LOVE coconut milk ice cream, but honestly it’s not any better than the freaking amazing plums and apricots we’ve been eating. I promise. But you know I’ll pick the ice cream every time. So I’m going to try and keep that stuff as treats only. Whole Foods is 2 minutes from my house in case of emergency, no need to just “have some chocolate chips on hand just in case.”
4) Sleep continues to be an area that I need to focus on. But hot damn, that is a pretty fun goal to work on! And keeping working on it I will.
*****
So I’m continuing to chug away at this 30 days. There are times when I am so happy that my body feels fueled and satisfied with such simple, delicious food! But my environments have to be so controlled and that limits my life. Also, I really, really, REALLY do not want food to be taking up so much space in my mind.
Enjoyment of your life is just as important as fueling your body in a healthful way. The two have definitely overlapped some in the last two weeks, but not enough for me to be fully satisfied. But that is the cool thing about this: IT’S ONLY 30 DAYS. And I can do anything for 30 days. I’m hoping the next 15 days open up that venn diagram overlap area even more. And if not, I will certainly have such an awesome appreciation for my regular life, and more importantly for how far I have come in the last two years. Heck, the slope is all downhill from here!
10 Things You Might Not Know About Garrett
Well you know he has a salty sense of humor and a high tolerance for crazy (hello — he’s dating ME!) but there may be some things you don’t know about the boy behind the blog. Today I thought it might be fun to pull back the curtain a little on my favorite dude ever.
1. His name isn’t really Garrett.
No, this isn’t some blogger pseudonym, he does actually go by Garrett in real life too, but his parents actually named him Charles. So on paper he is really Charles Garrett Franklin even though has always gone by the Garrett. You know when he’s not answering to G-Unit, G-Money or G-Funk. Charles is a family name and they liked the way Charles Garrett sounded rather than Garrett Charles so that’s what they named him. After a lifetime of telling teachers that he doesn’t go by Charles, he definitely won’t do that to our own kids.
2. The word “Husky” gives him PTSD.
Oh the awkward years. During Garrett’s (Late 80s/Early 90s) he had to buy “husky” sized pants but not everyone carried them back then. Since pants were such a booty-licious drama, and Garrett’s grandma was skilled enough to sew him pants, he used to pick out fabric from the store, send it to her and she would mail back his own couture Hammer Pants.
COUTURE HAMMER PANTS, you guys.
3. He is obsessed with all motorsports. Well, except Nascar.
Formula One, Moto GP, World Super Bike, V8 Super Cars, Indy Car, World Rally, OMG the list goes on and on. If it has wheels, he will probably watch it race all while nail biting, yelling at the television, and pre-empting the announcers. I think his dream career is basically to be Will Buxton. If you want to know why he doesn’t love Nascar you’ll have to ask him. The answer is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long and thought out for one bullet point.
4. He is also an only child.
Yep. We’re both lonely onlies. Well, except neither of us is lonely. That said, we are both completely comfortable with the idea of having an only child. Or of having 10,000 babies. We’ll just have to see what happens. It makes both of our extended families super small, but we are lucky that we both have awesome cousins who are similar ages that make up for the lack of siblings.
5. He is basically fearless – unless you want to stick a needle in him or touch his eye, take a picture of him or blog about him.
Garrett will only have blood drawn in life or death situations. Oddly enough, he was in an EMT/Paramedic program for awhile and was around needles all the time with no problem. Just don’t bring the needles around his arm. Similarly, he will avoid cameras like the plague. He hates having his picture taken and whenever I talk about blogging about him he gets a little itchy. Today’s post was collaborative, and he only agreed to it because so many of you requested “More Garrett!” on my recent survey. I’m sure after this post he’ll probably go underground or something. 🙂
6. The eye ball fear is inconvenient since he is almost completely blind without his glasses.
I mean like Bliiiiiiiiiiiii-ind. But he refuses to even think about lasik because he is sure there is needles and eye balls involved and that is a No-Go.
7. His Bachelor Decor when we met left a lot to be desired
All I will say about this is when we met he had a Lindsay Lohan poster hanging in his living room. Sure this was pre-coke-head Lindsay who was darling, but oh has he never lived that down. Speaking of things he’ll never live down, he used to have a Laser Tag blanket on his bed.
“What? It’s a blanket. And it still works!” This was his 22 year old excuse for terrible bedding, and literally the next day I took him to the mall and made him buy a legit duvet. Bachelor men, man.
8. He is an encyclopedia of random BBC programming
Inspectory Lynley, Ballykiss Angel, Luther, Prime Suspect, Torchwood, Keeping Up Appearances — all shows Garrett has turned me onto. He is a veritable Anglophile when it comes to TV and Mini Series’ but oddly enough he was a hard sell on Downton Abbey at first. Obviously he totally came around.
9. He has a serious mayonnaise aversion, but beyond that he will eat almost anything. And 10 times more of it than you would expect.
Even amazing homemade mayo hasn’t converted him. And he can practically spidey-sense it if it’s in his food. He should bottle that skill and sell it. But instead he just refuses to eat mayonnaise based dishes. That said, he doesn’t refuse to eat much else. He can be a really impressive glutton when he puts his mind to it. 🙂
10. One of his major life regrets is sitting next to Suge Knight in the airport once and not talking to him.
I mean, I can’t really blame him. I probably wouldn’t have talked to him either. Garrett doesn’t live his life with many regrets though, and that’s one of the many things that I just love about him!
******
Hope you learned something new about my Partner in Crazy!
Spicy Taco Brunch Skillet
Ole!
I woke up last Saturday morning wanting to have a fun brunch with Garrett and specifically thinking about Juli’s recipe for a Mexican Hash Egg Bake.
I wanted to make something that would look pretty (I love the way baked eggs look!) but also be seriously delicious since we were skipping the bacon with all of this Whole 30 business going on. I was too lazy to actually look up Juli’s recipe and follow it, but since I make up a huge batch of sweet potato hash just about every week, I used that as inspiration and got to work.
The result was completely satisfying nutritionally, but it also seemed decadent which made it feel a little special.
| Spicy Taco Brunch Skillet |
Ingredients
- 1 TBS Coconut Oil
- 1 Yellow Onion, diced
- 1 Bell Pepper (any color), diced
- 2 Medium Sweet Potatoes, diced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (more if you’re SPICY!)
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1-2 Tablespoons of Taco Seasoning (to taste)
- 8 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a large heavy bottomed oven proof skillet, melt coconut oil over medium/medium high heat.
- Add diced yellow onions and bell pepper. Saute for 5-10 minutes until softened.
- Add diced sweet potatoes and all seasonings through cayenne pepper and saute until those are softened as well, about another 15 minutes. Be careful to stir often so nothing burns, but the potatoes get some color.
- In the meantime, in a separate pan, crumble up and brown at least 1/2 lb ground beef (I usually cook up a big batch and use the leftovers for Taco Salad!
- Add 1-2 Tablespoons of Taco Seasoning per 1/2 lb, or to taste.
- When Sweet Potatoes are mostly cooked, add your taco meat into the oven-proof skilled.
- Crack 8 eggs over the top of the potato/onion/meat mixture
- Bake for 6-9 minutes, depending on desired egg done-ness. Keep in mind there will be some carryover cooking once you pull it out of the oven.
- Salt and Pepper your eggs to taste once the baking is finished, garnish with an avocado and enjoy!
Whole 30 – Days 6-12
1. Dinner is in color!, 2. Who needs cheese? #whole30, 3. Burgers + Fries, 4. Smoked Jalapeno Kraut, 5. Berries + Coconut, 6. When can we have honey again?, 7. Grapefrut Fizzy Water (aka NOT wine), 8. Meat + Veg, 9. Steak Salad, 10. Spicy Taco Breakfast Skilled, 11. Chicken + Brussels, 12. Food Prep Sunday has begun!
Well we’re still here and we’re still rocking this Whole 30! I can not tell you how helpful it has been to plan + prep meals. It does take a little extra work but always being able to reach into the fridge and have *something* to eat when you’re hungry really ensures that things go smoothly. Also helpful, not having ANYTHING in the house that is a temptation, because let me tell you — this would have been the week I cracked.
Travel
Along with regular life, I ended up finding out on Tuesday that I would have to go to Los Angeles for work for the day on Thursday. I’m usually pretty flexible about traveling but after Reno last week I just wanted to get into my stupid rhythm and not have to worry about eating on the go. But hey — life happens, right?
I made sure to eat a pretty big breakfast that morning before my 8am flight and when it came time to grab lunch, I wasn’t ravenous so I happily grabbed a simple salad with steak with oil/vinegar. It was not that great, no exciting culinary discovery, but I was just happy to put a little something in my tummy and then it was back on a plane by 2pm heading home.
I had also packed a little backup snack just in case there wasn’t time for lunch or I ended up in the airport and it was complicated to find something decent to eat and um…I do NOT recommend packing blueberries in a ziplock and throwing them in your travel tote. It only would have been helpful if I wanted blueberry jam for a snack. So. Next time I travel, I will be more prepared with portable snacks. But in the end, it worked out because I didn’t need it anyway.
When I got home that night I was completely NOT in the mood to cook. On a normal night I would have listened to Chipotle’s Siren Song and just grabbed takeout, so it was super clutch to have some already cooked chicken and sauteed brussels sprouts in the fridge. Add a few more raw veggies and dinner is served!
Workouts
We also got back to the gym with a vengeance this week which was nice. Actually, let me be real for a second — it was not nice at all because it was 100+ degrees all week and we ended up working out at 5pm which is basically the heat of the day. By day 3 we started calling it Bikram CrossFit.
The workouts were brutal (yay! running 2 miles when it’s 102 out!) and so was the heat, but the upside was that post workout neither of us wanted to even THINK about protein shakes so we ended up just having coconut water while we assembled dinner. Because I had prepped so many meals in advance we were just able to get dinner on the table fairly quickly instead of eating a specific post-workout combo of foods and then prepping dinner separately. This week there will definitely be some morning workouts since the heat is just being stubborn and sticking around. It will be nice to see my favorite morning peeps and get a little break workout in NORMAL weather. I can’t wait!
Socializing
We also had a social event this past Saturday and it was one that I was a little worried about beforehand, but honestly it ended up being no big deal. We had a fun reunion with all of our friends who we used to work with at Peet’s Coffee & Tea at the old sushi bar where we all used to have cocktails after work. Very nostalgic! In fact, random trivia, it is the sushi bar where Garrett and I decided we were going to do this relationship thing! Over gin and tonics, Yum! We both ended up eating kind of a late lunch which worked out for the best because we weren’t super hungry for sushi when we got there. But really, does sushi ever seem like a BAD idea? No, no it doesn’t.
The biggest challenge was managing well-meaning comments in a group like that. I honestly didn’t want to talk about what we were or weren’t eating, or to be told that there were good things to eat on the menu, I just wanted to see good friends, you know? But it’s fairly impossible to do that when most people are eating and drinking and you’re not, and it raised some questions, so there was some conversation about our crazy Whole 30. I hate being the person not going with flow, and it always makes me a little uncomfortable when people really want to talk about what you’re doing about food (because people inevitably feel the need to defend their own position or get down on themselves and what they’re eating, which: NOT NECESSARY) but who cares in the long run? It was fun to see friends. We have some good eggs, I tell ya. That was a great job!
There were definitely things on the menu that were fine to order, but in the end I didn’t really want any of them and decided to just opt out completely. Why go to a restaurant that serves your FAVORITE THING EVER and then order something that you don’t like quite as much? Quality of life, man. Don’t go to a BBQ restaurant and order tofu, you know? 🙂 I just didn’t feel like a substitute that night, I wasn’t that hungry and so skipped it altogether. But I did miss the gin and tonic 🙂 Club soda with lime worked just fine as a replacement though actually. It was 106 out, so it was refreshing and hydrating and really in your hand it looks and feels exactly the same. THAT, was a good substitute for me.
For Garrett, however, this was BY FAR the toughest moment he has had all 12 days though. He had a great time with our friends but on the way home he was saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. Sad that he couldn’t have a beer. Sad that he had to pass up sushi. Sad because ALL HE WANTED WAS TO EAT WAS EVERYTHING AND WE CAN’T EAT ANYTHING AND…WAAAAAAAAAAAH. It was like Boy-PMS. But then we got home and I cooked him a little something delicious and all was right in the world. So you know, I think it is definitely important to not get super ravenous and then go somewhere you will want to chow down on everything and then eat nothing. It might have been good for Garrett to grab a little bite just for sustenance. Hungry=Cranky=WHY CAN’T I DRINK ALL THE BEER AND EAT CHOCOLATE COVERED EVERYTHING ALWAYS?
Cravings
So. There have definitely been some cravings. Friday night wine cravings are not going away. 🙂 But knowing that we would have no ceremonious unwinding with a glass on Friday night, we decided to replace our wine ritual (since that’s really what it is we are craving) and stop at Whole Foods on the way home from the gym last Friday and get whatever overpriced organic crazy town fruit we could find and ceremoniously enjoy THAT as a treat after dinner. It was no glass of wine but it worked! I opted for super ripe apricots and Garrett went with Pluots. Both were AMAZING. The best part of completely avoiding sugar and really not eating much fruit is that when you do have it, it tastes like candy.
We tortured ourselves a little bit on Saturday at Costco during our weekly shop by going down a lot of crap food aisles. Both of us were just dying over stupid things we never buy like Peanut Butter Cups or Chocolate Covered Caramels. It was kind of humorous, but it also made me realize that we are totally out of the physical craving stage.
Now all of my cravings come from my inner-6 year old who thinks that when someone tells me I can’t have something, I want like ten of THOSE EXACT THINGS IMMEDIATELY! But it’s kind of refreshing to realize that because it’s a lot easier to distract my inner-6 year old than it is to deal with actual physical sugar cravings. We just laughed about our cartoon-eyed junk food desires and then bought our groceries. Ok and then maybe went home and finished off the apricots and pluots. 🙂
******
So the second week is down and I’m feeling good. No doubts we’ll make it through the 30 days at this point since we’ve had a number of challenges already and been just fine, but I am still counting the days until wine.
This coming week I’m actually doing some experiment and eliminating eggs. The fact that we are 12 days into squeaky clean eating (completely dairy free) and my face is breaking out more than ever and I’m still having some weird allergy symptoms, mostly after breakfast, which is basically always eggs, has made me want to try that to see if it makes a difference. I’ll let ya know next week!
How are you all doing?
2012 Summer Garden Notes
It’s about DAMN time.
The garden this year has been…well, nothing to write home about. This is my 3rd year actively gardening and I can honestly say I have no idea what I am doing any more now than I did three years ago. However, a home garden won’t be very perfect unless assisted by professionals like Peters’ Patio & Landscape. That said, I have experienced three completely different summer yields, so I will just count that as experience and tell myself that true green thumbs don’t have all the answers, they have just seen many things in their years. Um…sure that sounds good.
It’s not like we went about it willy nilly this year. We had a plan:
We knew what we wanted to grow and we stuck to it religiously. We decided early on that we were going to grow our tomatoes from seed this year instead of depending on Elizabeth to sprinkle her tomato fairy dust over our yard like she did last year. It seemed feasible, so we bought some seeds and planted them:
Somewhere along the line, they just…didn’t make it. They died a pretty spectacular death actually, ALL SEVENTY TWO OF THEM, despite many attempts at resuscitation. Elizabeth had been nice enough to offer us some seedlings again, but it was during one of the more promising phases of resuscitation so I declined. When it was clear that none of them were going to make it, I made a panicked run down to the hardware store and just bought up some random tomatoes.
I had been looking forward to some fun heirloom varieties again, but Home Depot Romas were going to have to do.
And for a while this was fine. Things seemed to be alive. Nothing was OBVIOUSLY dying, but I just didn’t have a great feeling about the whole thing, despite doing a lot of soil testing and fertilizing and general tending. Finally at the end of June some things started to pop up, and I felt a glimmer of hope.
But then the squash started growing and being tough and bumpy on the outside and dry on the inside. It didn’t matter if we picked it early or late, it was gross and kind of inedible. Then the cucumber plants just died. Like, with no production at all really. Womp Womp.
The zucchini went through a phase where it was super prolific, but after producing about 24 squash it’s just sort of gone kaput.
And then, nothing happened. Sure there were green tomatoes lurking in cages but literally for weeks, there was NOTHING. One little yellow watermelon out of the blue that was amazing, but then back to NOTHING.
At the end of July the overall yield beyond what I’ve listed had been two tomatoes. They were delicious tomatoes, but still only two measly tomatoes:
And the irony of all ironies is that they came from a resurrected tomato plant that survived from last year because it was one of Elizabeth’s Original Seedlings from 2011. I mean FOR REAL?
I was starting to feel like the entire garden situation had been a waste this year. And then today, I just thought I saw a little bit of red out there in the garden beds and I came back inside with all this:
Despite the fact that we will be eating tomatoes until our mouths are raw this week (gladly, though!) my faith in gardening has been completely restored. This may be the only good thing to come out of the last week over 100+ degree temperatures.
I forgive you now, Mother Nature. But you are on notice.
Santa Maria Style Steak Rub
Oh friends, we need to talk about meat. You see, I enjoy it obviously — it is a staple in our diet — and finding creative ways to prepare it are basically always on my mind. What? Your brain isn’t a hamster wheel of meat prep ideas? Huh. Weird.
As a person with a full schedule, I am somemwhat partial to marinades because they always impart good flavor, can gussy up a tough cut of meat and they do all the seasoning work just sitting there in the fridge while you are out living life and GETTING THINGS DONE! As such, one of the chinks in my clean-eating armor is store bought marinade. Listen, we just can’t all be perfect all the time.
I love a good store bought marinade, alright. CONFESSED. I will take my lashings. But first, to add insult to injury, do you know what my favorite one is? Here is where you will really just let me have it: The pre-marinated Guy Fieri (OMG! I KNOW!) Santa Maria Style Tri-Tip they sell at Costco. I mean we all vote with our dollars when we buy are food, and I am voting (loudly) for irresponsible bleaching, hair gel, and sunglasses worn ON THE BACKS OF HEADS! My dollars shouldn’t even have the right to vote when I make decisions like that. But it is so convenient. So delicious. Oh, Guy I wish I knew how to quit you!
Oh hey wait, now I do.
You see when we started the Whole 30, I knew that this little habit would have to come to an end for at least 30 days (seed oils, preservatives, yada yada — Guy Fieri is not on the approved list. ha.) I was kind of hoping I could find a few good staple preparations that would leave my store bought marinade habit (along with my store bought dressing habit) in the dust, but it’s not like I hadn’t tried before. If you google Santa Maria style seasoning a million recipes pop up, and I promise I’ve tried many. But none really made my heart sing the way Guy Fieri did, until I read this post over on Simply Recipes.
But wait, that’s a recipe for how to cook Pork Shoulder on a gas grill, Holly. Are you crazy?
Nestled in that discussion of pork is a tiny little hint of a Santa Maria style seasoning. And one that I hadn’t tried! So I omitted the sugar and tested it out one night and HOLY HECK I broke up with Guy Fieri that very same night! My life? Instantly bleach-free! Well, until the next episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I have a soft spot for that show. Ok, ok and a soft spot for Guy Fieri — stupid sunglasses and all. He’s a Nor-Cal celebrity. I can’t help it. Can we still be friends?
Anyway, speaking of Nor-Cal celebrities — Elise and Simply Recipes has changed my life. The rub was amazing, and is now a staple in our house, and full of so many easy ingredients that I insist you mix up your own batch! Heck, it would probably be great on chicken or grilled vegetables too. So darn delicious! And even better — clean as a whistle, and completely Whole 30 compliant.
| Santa Maria Style Steak Rub |
Author:
Makes enough to rub on 4-5 lbs of meat. Prep it in a container and it’ll keep for weeks!
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp finely ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne (or more if you like more heat)
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
Instructions
- Mix everything together
- Sprinkle liberally on steaks
- Massage into meat (ah! meat hands!)
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes
- Spray steaks with a little olive oil or grease your grill
- Grill those suckers!
- Enjoy life with out preservatives, weird stuff, or the judging looks of others considering how much money you spend supporting the Guy Fieri empire.
Check it out already, would ya?
