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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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Category Archives: Paleo
Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs + Paleo BBQ Sauce
Fall officially begins on Saturday and for me that means it is time to bust out the crock pot. (You KNOW how much I love the crock pot, right?) I’ve been doing a little experimenting and revisiting some old stand-bys and I have to say I think this season should be full of yummy (convenient) eats! When it starts getting dark early I all of a sudden crave the Blue Plate Special served promptly at 5pm at my favorite bbq restaurant. The crock pot always helps make that happen.
But it’s also great on the weekends when you are dying for comfort food but don’t want to be standing over the stove — and you can file this recipe in that category. Recently around these parts there was a huge sale on Baby Backs at Whole Foods and I decided I needed some ribs!
Legit need.
You know the kind, right? Tender meat, falling off the bone, covered in saucy deliciousness? I wanted exactly that, except we were in the middle of our Whole 30 and rocking the super strictly Paleo! A good (completely) sugar free BBQ sauce is the El Chupacabra of the Paleo world. You always here that it exists, but up until recently I had never actually had success tasting one.
Luckily I found a recipe for BBQ Sauce in the back of It Starts With Food that was a sugar free riff on a Cooks Illustrated Quick BBQ Sauce and it’s official I HAVE SEEN (AND TASTED) EL CHUPACABRA. So I took to making a huge batch and slathering it all over some ribs!
May I suggest you do the same?
| Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs + Paleo BBQ Sauce |
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 6 hours
Total time: 6 hours 45 mins
Makes 2 cups of BBQ Sauce and 2-3 lbs of ribs.
Ingredients
-
- 2 Cups Tomato Sauce
-
- 2/3 Cups Unsweetened Apple Sauce
-
- 4 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
-
- 4 Tablespoons Coconut Aminos
-
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
-
- 2 teaspoons Hot Pepper Sauce (I like Trader Joe’s Chili Pepper Sauce)
-
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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- 1 Tablespoon Ghee or GrassFed Butter
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- 2 Cloves of Garlic, finely minced
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- 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
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- 1 teaspoon Paprika
-
- 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne (use more for extra SPICE!)
-
- 1 yellow onion, medium dice
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- 2-3 lbs Pork Baby Back Ribs
- Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder to taste
Instructions
-
- Mix tomato sauce, apple sauce vinegar, aminos, mustard, hot pepper sauce and black pepper until they are combined
-
- In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat and add garlic, chili powder, paprika and cayenne, stirring until fragrant
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- Stir in your tomato sauce mixture and bring to a boil
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- Simmer gently uncovered for 25-30 minutes
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- Cool to room temperature in mason jar or other refrigerator safe container
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- Meanwhile prep your crockpot by dicing one yellow onion and spreading it on the bottom of your slow cooker
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- Liberally season your racks of ribs with salt, pepper and garlic powder
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- Cut your racks to fit into slow cooker then stack a rack of ribs, coat with BBQ sauce and repeat until it’s full.
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- Cook on low for 6-8 hours until the meat is falling off the bones
- Serve with a dipper of BBQ sauce on the side
There are lots of different ways to make ribs, and I love experimenting with all cooking methods. But something tells me that with football season coming up and Sundays spent lounging on the couch staying warm that this recipe will be the perfect fit.
Paleo Raspberry Almond Muffins
Make these, please. Would you? It’s a simple request really and will only cost you about 30 minutes of your time. I’m not a super huge muffin fan — I mean, I like them just fine, but I don’t dream about them. And I’m going to be honest with you and tell you that these muffins were mostly born from the need to use up some raspberries in the fridge and to find something for breakfast the following day. Last week the groceries around our here were slim pickins!
So I mixed them up, sprinkled some almonds on top, walked away and hoped for the best. The good news? Holy YUM — these were amazing! The bad news? They didn’t make it to breakfast the next day if you know what I’m saying. I think these may be my favorite paleo muffins yet. They have a fluffy egg base so they pack a protein punch, but the sweetness of the honey and raspberries really make you feel like you’re having a treat. Maybe that’s why we treated them like dessert, ahem.
I wouldn’t make them for breakfast every day, but for a treat — they are SCRUMPTIOUS!
Ok, find, we’ve made them 3 times since. (So much for treats, eh?)
| Paleo Raspberry Almond Muffins |
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup melted and slightly cooled grassfed butter or ghee
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 banana, chopped finely
- 1 pint of raspberries
- handful of sliced almonds to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mix eggs, honey and vanilla together until mostly combined
- Add in cooled but still melted butter
- Add coconut flour and baking soda to your wet mixture
- Add diced banana and whole raspberries to mixture
- Pour into silicone baking cups or greased muffin tin
- Sprinkle tops with sliced almonds
- Bake 20-25 min.
Do you have a muffin recipe that rocks your world? Extra credit if you leave me a link to that recipe. 🙂
10 Tips to Make Your Whole 30 A Success
As you know we recently finished our first Whole 30 Program and it was as exciting as it was challenging! There is so much to learn about food and how your body works, and if you are interested in any of that (or just looking and feeling better) I highly recommend considering it. What I don’t recommend, is going into it without a plan. It is 30 days (IN A ROW) of super clean eating, and that kind of endeavor takes a good mix of desire, discipline and determination. But it can TOTALLY be done!
After our experience, I wanted to share my Top Ten Tips that will help you have success if you are contemplating or in the middle of embarking on this experience. Stalking the Whole 9 archives and reading It Starts With Food would be my first most basic recommendations, but once you have that in the bag, my best bullet-pointed advice (complete with all sorts of helpful links) should get you going!
If Garrett + I can be successful at this, anyone can.
1. Get Your Mind Right
My dad had a lot of advice for me growing up, but one of the things he said most often was this:
What the mind can conceive and you can believe, you can achieve.
Cheesy? Yes.
True? Also Yes.
So you’ve already conceived of this Whole 30, right? You know what it entails and requires — so the only thing standing in the way of you achieving it is working on that BELIEVING part. And that, requires getting your mind right. Think about some of your doubts and then find some good mantras to counteract those doubts.
Yeah, I just recommended mantras…what of it? They work. Here were the two I used most commonly:
“It’s only 30 Days. I can do anything for 30 Days.”
“I am committed to following through. The journey can’t unfold if I don’t take it.”
2. Just Focus on the First Two Weeks
Yes, it is only 30 days (and remember you can do anything for 30 days) but for me, everything became physically and emotionally ingrained by around day 16. Right about at two weeks in. If you get started and feel like you are struggling (which is pretty common in the first few days) just keep your eye on that summit. It really *will* be all downhill from there. And I KNOW you can do anything for two weeks!
Plus when you finish up two weeks, you’ll then only have two weeks left. And at that point you will already KNOW that you can get through two weeks, so no excuses! 🙂 That’s my kind of mental math/rationalizing.
3. Purge Your House of Non-Compliant Food + Find Alternatives
I’m talking your dark chocolate chip supply, your crappy dressings full of soybean oil, those sneaky ingredients that are harboring sugar. Just ditch them. Or freeze them if you must (True Story: I did that with shredded cheese.) Or give it to someone else who can use them. It sounds a little drastic, but then again the Whole 30 is an exercise in being subtle.
It will be SO MUCH EASIER to resist the temptation if it is not physically there looking right at you and singing its siren song. If that is not realistic for you (spouse or kids not participating?) then perhaps try and contain most of the off limits food to a certain shelf in the fridge or section of your pantry and just DON’T EVEN GO THERE unless absolutely necessary.
Once that’s under control, make a plan of attack to replace all that stuff you just threw out. Need to make some homemade mayo now? Get on that. Next time you are at the grocery store, pick up a dijon mustard that doesn’t have wine and sugar in it (Whole Foods has a good one.) What are you going to put on your salads now? How about some easy homemade vinaigrettes? Find your alternatives BEFORE you get started. That way there will be no mid-meal panic or feelings of deprivation.
My fear was what I would put on my burgers since my old habit was to smother it with cheese. I decided to try some smoked jalapeno sauerkraut and it was basically love at first bite. But if you’re not into kraut? Check out these Paleo Burger Toppings. Seriously. Pesto on a Turkey Burger? WHO THE HELL EVEN NEEDS CHEESE?
4. Actively Plan Your Meals in a Way That Works For Your Life
For me this meant creating a “uniform” for breakfast and lunch, and having dinner be our creative meal. I chose this because I like to cook in the evenings (aaaaah, vegetable chopping after a long day!) and I always enjoy cooking up meals on the weekends. Also, I don’t mind having some variation of the same breakfast everyday.
Dinner leftovers? Sweet.
Frittatas? Make one and have breakfast prepared for days!
Hard boiled eggs? Chicken and veggies? Box that stuff up and take it to work!
I vary my spices and combinations enough that it doesn’t feel repetitious at all, but is still super simple. The Lunch Uniform is usually a salad with meat or leftovers. Obviously I make WAY MORE FOOD THAN NECESSARY when preparing dinner because I count on using my leftovers. It’s all part of this plan I keep talking about.
Maybe that exact breakdown doesn’t work for you. Maybe you aren’t into eggs for breakfast or maybe you work nights. You know your schedule best and what is realistic, so figure out a routine that meshes well your life and commit to that for 30 days.
5. Mix up Exciting Complicated Recipes with Simple + Easy Food
All things considered, this is probably the strictest month of eating many of you will experience — so may I recommend picking out some DAMN GOOD RECIPES so that you don’t feel the hand of limitation hovering over you? Here are a few that knocked our socks off, and would have on any night of the week, but as a bonus they were totally Whole 30 compliant:
Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash and Walnut Pesto
Merguez Meatballs
Baked Mustard Lime Chicken
But let’s be honest, every single night can’t be a gastronomical discovery suited for Top Chef Masters. Sometimes dinner needs to just get on the table. These were some simple recipes that totally delivered on flavor but also were able to be assembled fairly quickly:
Taco Salad (though I used a vinaigrette as dressing)
Grilled Santa Maria Style Steaks
Coconut Lime Shrimp Skewers
It’s worth taking a minute and browsing Pinterest for good Whole 30 recipes or checking out Chowstalker’s Whole 30 section. You are going to be doing this for an entire month. You deserve good eats!
6. Set Aside One Day Per Week to Plan/Prep
I’m a big proponent of Meal Planning and I just don’t think you will have success on the Whole 30 without it. Whether you plan 1-week at a time, 2 weeks at a time, or an entire Month of Whole 30 meals, just make sure you are thinking about what you are going to eat.
Also, do yourself a favor and set aside a couple of hours to do food prep one day a week. I recommend this in life, but it is PARAMOUNT for the Whole 30. This may not be something that you are used to, but it will be IMMENSELY helpful to adopt this strategy for 30 days, and in the end is only 4 separate Sundays — or whatever days you choose. Don’t skip it!
Don’t know what to do during your food prep? Mel has a great post about all the stuff you can cook in only 60 minutes. Read it. Live it. Love it. 🙂
7. Keep Dining Out + Food-Related Socializing to a Minimum
Listen, I don’t mean to get Debbie Downer on you, but food-related socializing while doing the Whole 30 is like planning Pub Crawls during a month where you are trying not to drink. It’s just…not going to be quite the same experience.
Now, I’m not saying you won’t have success on your Whole 30 if you still socialize — I found myself traveling for 2 days for work, I went to a happy hour/reunion with friends, and attended a book club dinner hosted by friends all in the month we did our Whole 30. You can definitely survive. But I will tell you with 100% certainty that those were BY FAR the most challenging days. The days where I felt the most like throwing in the towel. “Man, I should just give this up,” I thought. “What’s the harm in one glass of wine?” “Life is too short for restricted eating”
But we are not talking about Life. We are talking about 30 days. It so easy to rationalize quitting in these situations. The righteousness of quitting will be palpable. So don’t fall into that trap if you can help it. And I’m willing to bet you can. Don’t put yourself in a situation where you will feel so sorry for yourself that you talk yourself out of all the benefits of this Whole 30 experiment.
I’m not saying hole up in your house, that is not fun and certainly not realistic. I’m just saying — for one month — be conscious of the fact that every time you do go out, or hit a restaurant, or meet friends at a bar — you are putting your success at risk. So choose wisely. Next month will be right there waiting for you when you complete your Whole 30!
8. Find Motivating Resources
The wonderful part of the Whole 30 is that it is a large community of people. Tons have people have paved the way before you, and tons will go after you. Take as much advice and motivation from the experienced ones as you can. There are Whole 30 Forums for you to peruse. Check out My Favorite Clean Eating Food Blogs (almost all of them have Whole 30 sections). Consider subscribing to the Whole 30 Daily if you like to wake up to motivation in your inbox. Do what you can to seek out some inspiration — for now, but also for later. No doubt there will come a point when you’ll need it.
9. Become a Pro at Distracting Yourself
I read something in It Starts With Food that helped numerous times with my cravings — If you feel hungry for a particular food: It’s a craving. If you have just eaten some food and still feel hungry: It’s a craving. If you are not hungry enough that you would eat plain steamed fish and steamed broccoli: It’s a craving.
Cravings take, on average, 5 minutes to dissipate.
(I set a stop watch more than once over my 30 days. I’m embarrassed to say that, but THESE ARE MY CONFESSIONS. :))
If you’re having a craving, leave the kitchen. Flip through a magazine (maybe not a food one though, ok.) Go outside and get some sun for a minute. Fold your laundry. DO SOMETHING for that five minutes, and chances are that craving will go away eventually. It’s worth a try.
And if all else fails? Have a piece of fruit that is extra delicious, or a handful of macadamia nuts. Hell, have a scoop of sunbutter straight out of the jar. But make yourself aware of that response that you are having, and try to manage it better next time. This exercise isn’t about torture, in fact it’s the opposite. It’s about finding awareness. You are giving yourself 30 days to eat in a way that is nourishing to your body. Each successful day that passes will get easier and easier.
10. When The Going Gets Tough, Keep It In Perspective
Times WILL get tough, believe me. But nothing worth doing is easy. Kathleen mentioned something about her experience doing a Whole 30 that really resonated with me though and maybe it will help keep things in perspective for you:
I’m really lucky that I can take such consideration into what I’m eating. A lot of people don’t have that opportunity – so to complain about having to eat really healthy, nice food for 30 whole days would be pretty shitty.
How true is that? I’m not saying that you that you will not be reduced to feeling irritable about your broccoli at any time during your 30 days. You will. It is certain. It’s nice to remember though, that your annoyance at broccoli during those 30 days? It is a privilege. When you start feeling pissed, maybe find a way to muster up some gratitude and just carry on.
*****
Also, don’t forget: YOU CAN DO THIS. You’ve already done the conceiving. It’s time to get to the believing.
Fellow Whole 30-ers — have some advice you want to share? Help someone out by leaving it in the comments!
Want to Read about My Experience with the Whole 30:
Whole 30 – The First 5 Days
Whole 30 – Days 6-12
Whole 30 – The Summit
Whole 30 – Days 16-21
Whole 30 – Days 22-30
Whole 30: Days 22-30 — WE DID IT!
Ladies and (perhaps one or two) Gentelmen — we did it. We completed our first Whole 30 without a single deviation!!!
Holy Guacamole.
Well, actually we still have to finish out today but since lunch and dinner are already prepared I have no question that we will finish with flying colors. I feel sort of proud of us, is that lame? It was a big challenge with many ups and downs and now that it is over I feel pretty empowered.
Surprisingly, I don’t want to run out and have a cocktail. Or even make Paleo Chocolate Chip cookies. I don’t really have any desire to eat any differently than I have been, which is a relief since I did not feel that way on Day 15. This has been an awesome journey and one that I am excited to recommend — to anyone really. Even if you are not really “interested” in Paleo at the moment. It is a pretty great cleansing exercise and I have no doubts that you’ll feel amazing.
Besides the fact that I feel great and have fallen in love with clean eating all over again I also ended up losing 12 lbs in the last 30 days. The tweaks were so tiny that I am actually pretty shocked at that loss. But if you want to see faster results, you may consider liposuction treatment such as laser lipo to get rid of those unwanted fats. I have been in Plateau City for months when it comes to weight loss so I’m not gonna lie — THAT SHIT IS MOTIVATING. I guess boozing regularly on the weekends does really make a difference, eh? (I didn’t *really* think it didn’t, but I also didn’t *really* want to change my behavior.) Another fun fact — we spent over $200 LESS on groceries this month. Whole 30 as a budgeting tool…WHAT?????
Everything isn’t absolutely perfect though. The Whole 30 didn’t fix all my problems. My laundry is still piled up and there are dust bunnies on my floor. (I thought Dallas and Melissa said this would CHANGE MY LIFE…HAHA) My sleep is still a work in progress and I don’t get enough of it. Also: my skin is still a hot mess. In the last 30 days I have had my worst breakouts in 2012. I’m talking serious, awful, cystic ridiculous acne. Out of nowhere. I might need to consult the experienced dermatologists at Liniaskin. [Sidebar: Giving up eggs for 10 days didn’t make a difference (it actually got worse) so they are back on the menu for now.] I didn’t put a lot of stock in the idea of detoxing and that causing it, but Garrett also had like 2 weeks of SERIOUS breakouts and that guy has flawless skin 24-7, so who knows?
The biggest bummer is that right now my skin is not showing signs of improvement. That part sucks, but after listening to the recent Balanced Bites Beauty Podcast (episode # 49) I feel pretty comfortable knowing that skin problems usually don’t have short and sweet fixes. I have a long history with bad skin and if nothing else I’m moving in the right direction and will continue to just try and improve my overall health and see what happens from there. What I’m doing certainly isn’t hurting the situation, but I am totally making some changes too, and I’ll be sure to tell you all about those because I know this is a pretty common problem. I’ll get there, I’m sure of it. In the meantime I will just buy stock in Bare Minerals foundation. 🙂
Next week I’m going to do a wrap up that includes all of my favorite strategies. Foods that got me through, plans that worked and plans that didn’t. Real Life Advice. And I want to do this because I’ve heard from so many of you that you are starting YOUR Whole 30’s soon and you guys I reeeeeeeeeeeeally want you to have success. It is not effortless, but I have to tell you (and I would be honest) it was A LOT easier than I thought. So if I can share some of my strategies with ya, I’m glad to. So if you have a question I can answer, or something that you foresee being a challenge, let me know and I will make sure I address it.
Best of luck to all of you who decide to go for it, and for those of you who could care less about the Whole 30 — thanks for going along for the ride this past month!
Life Snapshot: In The Kitchen
I cooked A LOT this weekend, which is perfect as far as I’m concerned. (Super Duper AMAZEBALLS Baby Back Ribs + BBQ Sauce Recipe coming soon that is totally Whole 30 compliant and delicious!) One day I want to have Ina Garten’s “barn” to cook in, although I’m almost positive that her barn is larger than my *actual* house (and also in the Hamptons), so that may be aiming high. (I love that House Beautiful Magazine can’t even say “barn” without quotation marks. Ha!)
Wow, I just fell down a major Ina Garten rabbit hole. Even the shiny parts of my life now seem so dull. 🙂
Seriously though, a separate space on your property to cook, entertain, write your cookbooks, clean the vegetables from your garden? SIGN ME UP. Which reminds me, we need to talk about the Paleo Cookbook I would like to write. Yes they are a dime a dozen and a lot of them are just recycled recipes for proscuitto wrapped asparagus and whatnot, but I have an idea that WOULD NOT BE THAT. It is a cookbook that I would like to buy but is not available yet. I think this is a good place to start, but that is another blog post altogether. And a whole other project. OY!
What I wanted to tell you though, was in that picture above? I was making meatballs. These meatballs specifically, and man were they awesome. So great that I made them 2 nights later as an appetizer for our Book Club Dinner. A couple weeks ago I also made these meatballs and AGAIN, so enjoyable.
Meatballs are the best comfort food! Every year for my birthday my mom would ask me what I wanted for dinner, and without fail I would always request her Rice Meatballs with Gravy. (Especially in those years when I was living out of town and on my own but still not that great of a cook. OMG, those years, when I would get to come home and eat those meatballs? Practically life changing.) It sounds like such a weird dish and I’m always a bit leery of “gravy” but these were THE BOMB. It can be made easily if you have a fat separator handy, just make sure you check online for fat separator reviews before you purchase one. Because of all the Dawson’s Creek I’ve been watching I now spell leery “leary” on the regular.
ANYWAY. All these meatballs lately have made me so ready for fall to show up. Are you feeling it too? I’m excited mostly because fall is when it becomes acceptable to roast vegetables in my kitchen again without it being miserable. And when one-pot meals seem to make so much sense. When I walk in the door from a long day of work and it is almost dark but my house smells amazing because of something sitting in the crockpot. I’ll be sad to see Eating Outdoors Season come to an end, but I am really ready to get my crispiness from the weather and not the grill.
Good food and good times ahead, I think.
*****
Psssst…like the spice jars? I talk all about them here.
Coconut Lime Shrimp Skewers
In our house shrimp is always a welcomed weeknight dish. By the time we get home from the gym it is usually after 6pm and our appetites are ravenous. If I haven’t prepared something on the weekend, I need our post-gym dinners to get on the table quick! This recipe goes from skewering to eating all in under a half an hour.
I love citrus based shrimp marinades (this one is a fave!) but shrimp is so delicate that you can’t let it sit in citrus too long or it begins to cook. While Melissa’s Ginger Lime Shrimp recipe is my go-to when I have an 40 minutes to prep/marinate, I wanted to find something that I could let sit overnight without risking the shrimp getting chewy and cooked by the citrus. This way I could prep it on a Sunday and have Post-Gym protein ready to go on the grill right when we got home on Monday — no waiting required. Then I found this recipe — similar flavors, but a slightly more forgiving marinade. Yay, coconut milk! Totally awesome in a weeknight pinch!
Check it out:
| Coconut Lime Shrimp Skewers |
Author:
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon grated lime zest
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 (14 oz.) can Coconut Milke
- 2 lbs shrimp (21-26 ct) peeled and deveined
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine first five ingredients. Add shrimp, tossing to coat and chill, covered, at least one hour but up to 24.
- Meanwhile, soak skewers if using wood for up to an hour.
- When you are ready to cook, prepare a grill on high heat (450-550 degrees) and place 3-5 shrimp on skewers.
- Grill, turning once, until flesh has turned pink and is slightly charred. About 3 minutes each side.
- Serve garnished with salt, a squeeze of lime juice and extra lime wedges on the side.
- Enjoy!
;
The flavors almost had me convinced I was enjoying a tropical vacation on a Monday night. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalmost. 🙂
Whole 30 – Day 16-21
The food’s still good. The menu planning is still working. My pants continue to get baggier, and by Day 21 I was shouting to anyone who would listen, “The Whole 30 FREAKING RULES.” It hasn’t been easy every single step — both Garrett and I have each had an anxiety dream about accidentally eating something “off limits” (mine was an Iced Mocha with whipped cream, his was Chicken Wings and Beer) which is sort of hilarious and very demonstrative of our level of commitment to this project — but overall it has been really eye opening.
One of the things that the Whole 9 folks are famous for — their tag line, if you will — is “Let us change your life.” Listen, that sounds lovely and all, but since I went into this little experiment already understanding the nuts and bolts of Paleo, feeling pretty confident in my choices, and not really needing to be convinced of anything, I wasn’t really expecting my life to be changed. I mean WOO WOO — if it changes someone else’s life, great. Prooooooobably isn’t going to change mine much.
You see where this is going don’t you?
God I’m such a smug, stubborn ass sometimes.
Twenty One days has changed my life. And there are still 9 days to go! And I’m actually excited about it. What a nut job, I am. I’m trying to figure out how to succinctly sum things up but it’s hard. It’s an entire experience and it’s not black and white. I’m not having one specific light bulb moment that I can share in a soundbite, but if I had to force myself to say one it would be this:
Managing Little Things Has Made Such A Big Difference.
It’s very easy to ignore the little things. To say, “Oh a few cocktails with friends, a handful of chocolate chips every night — those things are just small, they don’t matter in the long run.” But it’s also very easy to get SO caught up in the little things. “How many carbs are in these carrots? Maybe I should be eating less fruit. Maybe I should fast. Maybe I should eat 5 meals. Maybe I should try…” But doing an overwhelming amount of either of those things can really get you off course over time. It didn’t happen to me over night, but the combination of not thinking/overthinking allowed me to meander a bit while still feeling productive instead of moving directly and progressively towards my goal.
The goal for me has always been to get healthy, lose body fat, prime my body physically and hormonally so I can have a cute little baby with my very adorable partner in crime. It’s been amazing how freeing this experience has been from both of those thinking connundrums, and it is remarkable the amount of progress that I’ve made towards all of my goals. The commitment to go for 30 days without consuming booze, dairy or any sort of added sugar (in addition to the regular Paleo parameters) is tough. No honey, no molasses, no maple syrup. No glass of wine on Saturday night. No making technically Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies. It’s a little bit Draconian at first. But along the way, there was a tipping point where it became freeing. No need to manage the moderation.
And in the meantime, because I was already adhering to the Whole 30 guidelines, I allowed myself to spend a month on just “Eating food that makes me healthier” with no focus on macronutrient ratios or specific timing or combinations. That meant sweet potatoes if I felt like it, without wondering if I had worked out hard enough. Fruit if I wanted a little touch of something sweet, or to feel like I’m having a treat. More chicken at lunch if I wanted it. A little slab of ghee on my broccoli. Just consuming food that does good work. Not overthinking it.
I gave myself a 30 day window for my brain to be off the hook. The only requirement was to listen to what my body wanted. And what do you know, without giving your body little hits of disruptive things like sugar and booze and cheese here and there that confuse its innate signals — your body tells you pretty clearly what it wants. It is really freaking smart, actually, and works with an alarming amount of efficiency that can totally be trusted. I’m humbled by it, and have really felt in awe of how the body works when you give it good, real food and don’t try to outsmart it. It is recalibration in it’s truest form, with no need to only drink liquids, feel hungry, or eat during specific windows. It’s been 21 days of eating with my heart and not my head.
And IT’S AWESOME.
Now…is this feasible in the long run forever? No, frankly. Not for me, at least. Because life happens, and no matter how flowery and happy I feel about this whole experience right now, I don’t plan to live the rest of my life without sugar or booze or the occasional nose dive into a bowl of corn chips (WITH SALSA!). I plan to see friends and socialize freely and make the best decisions I can in the moment.
In September I plan to BBQ with my family, pick up my wine shipment with Garrett and enjoy some tasting. I plan to make a Paleo Apple Crumble when the air starts to get crisper and the tree branches in the foothills get heavy. All of that is going to happen, and that is okay. But now I have the muscle memory of what consistent, good food decisions feel like. And when you’ve got that, it’s hard to let it go.
What I’m sure of, is that for a while, something is reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally going to have to be worth it to derail me from all this goodness. I imagined myself penciling in Mexican food and feeling relief at being able to drink again, but honestly I don’t feel like any of that right now. EVEN MY GLASS OF WINE…I’M NOT EVEN COUNTING THE MINUTES. I swear. I would not lie to you about wine. I love wine.
I’m sure that I will get to a point again where I will feel the need for my body to reset. Life is long, I don’t have any desire to get through it perfectly and without deviation. I will not always make the best decisions all of the time. But now I know that I am only 30 days away from inspiration. 21 days, even at the most. From feeling like my best self. And I can do all that without to much grumbling really. And knowing that, has given me confidence and a security blanket that I didn’t even know I needed.
And it has definitely changed the game.
So Here’s Some Fun News
You may already be aware of this (I mentioned it on Facebook and my partners in crime have mentioned it too) but I think it is worth sharing again because I am just THAT DARN EXCITED!
On September 29 The Clothes Make the Girl, Nom Nom Paleo and I are combining forces to bring you A Day of Bad-Assery in Gorgeous Colorado. Well, ok so the event is not actually called that, but don’t you think I didn’t suggest it! The event is actually called Do It Better — A Practical Guide to Paleo and it will be a day of information, stories, good fun and lots of informative tips. We are three Paleo-loving chicks who like to chat. And there’s no one we’d rather chat with than you!
We’re coming together in beautiful Estes Park, Colorado to share with you some real life tips to mastering the Paleo lifestyle, and how you can use it to live your best life. I can’t think of a better location, and I’d love it if you’d join us.
Here is the scoop:
Whether you live in Colorado, or are just looking for an excuse for a weekend away to learn something new and see a new place, I would love to see you there.
For more information, check out the event listing. For questions or to register by phone contact Cami at 888-691-9622 or via email at paleoevents@ymcarockies.org.
If you don’t think you can make it but would like to support the event, I’d love it if you shared this post with anyone you think would benefit. Thanks for all of your support!
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!
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!
