Wednesday, August 31, 2011

I found a great polish market. It smelled so good. And yummy. And tempting. I love culture, travel and food. So out went primal for a meal to feel as if I were travelling through Poland, like I did so many years ago. My tummy is heavy, so full, I'm drowsy, but oh the experience!

-- Sent from my Palm Pixi


my challenge started before this month. i knew i had to do something and in july, i decided i would begin something in august. i saw that you were doing a challenge, and i hadn't really followed wellness mama too much; however, i did really like your homemade recipes for toothpaste, deodorant, etc.
 i decided to do your wellness challenge.
 i had no clue what it would entail. i had never heard of paleo or primal before a month ago. i've always lacked protein. and i love bread, pasta and all those other grainy foods. but i decided to go for it, see what it would be like to give up the grains and sugar. 
typically, my attention span is short, 
so a month is usually too long. i decided to see what i could do and just go from there. 
some of my major 'health' problems have been a major lack of energy, being tired, not feeling rested in the mornings, stress, and wanting to tone up/lose some weight. my family history is rich with bad health and i have always said that i did not want to have such problems, so i have focused on my health for a while. 

i started off the month with carb flu. it passed pretty quickly, but i did feel the effects of it for sure. but on the first sunday of the month, i fasted for 24 hours, from saturday night until dinner on sunday. and for the first time in my life (i'm a regular faster), it was easy, i wasn't starving and
 i didn't scarf down food as fast as i could get it. 
i made crepes and chocolate decadent dip for my family. i realized how family and kid friendly a lot of the food was. i also realized how many carbs are in a banana, and putting two of them in a smoothie is probably too much. i watched fathead over the course of a week, as i cooked paleo. 
i researched more paleo and found tons of recipes. i bought my first coconut flour. and my second. but i'm only half way through my first pound. after all that i baked, the cookies, brownies, crepes, pancakes, fruit dip, pizza crust, cheddar biscuits and who knows what else. 
i made mayonnaise and realized that there is a major learning curve. i haven't given up and i'm going to try it again. slowly this time. which is hard since i'm so impatient. 
i made meatza. again and again. and have requests for it again. so i learned that 
our family's tradition of pizza friday night can continue, 
and i can participate. 
for the first time in my life, i bought 10 lbs of ground beef at one time. i'm more or less, meat retarded. i barely know how to cook it and typically have a lot of problems. but i'm learning and didn't screw up anything this month. i made the grain-free one pan spaghetti. and got to eat the leftovers, which was the best part. 
i refrained from bread all month long! and i felt the difference. it felt good. and i never, not once, craved sugar. i did want chocolate or i had the munchies, but no sugar cravings. 
i had already cleaned out most of the chemicals in my house, but i did a few more, made my own non-poo, have some vinegar infusing in the sun and my own "organic sea mist" for my hair, which i love. i use lavender in some water for the "smell good stuff" to help my kids go to sleep. 
i typically get enough sleep, and am in bed by 10 or 10:30 at the latest, on almost every night. 
i made the yummy probiotic lemonade. i am getting another scoby for kombucha from a friend, but i have my roobios tea to make with it. and i can't wait. i made whey for the first time. how cool was that! 
my stress hasn't gone down. but i guess that is because of my job. 
i have had energy problems still, but for the most part they are better. 
i know when i need to eat some fat and protein though and can listen to my body.
i know i don't have any major problems, such as gluten or dairy intolerance or any other allergies. 
i still wake up and could take a nap within an hour or two. i know its a problem. i like sleep. 
i lost some weight, but also stopped checking after the mini challenge. but it's still in my mind.

one other odd thing, that i'm going to have checked again though, is that my blood pressure was very high for me towards the end of the month. higher that it ever has been. i'm going to see if it was a fluke or what. 
i have made some good friends. i really like writing and checking in the forum. i started posting more on my blog... you still need to get a button so we can put them on our blogs to link to you.... and i have talked to so many people about how i feel. people i work with know that i'm the health guru/nut/freak/genius and i have been able to share my knowledge with others around me. 
this wellness challenge has turned from being something i thought would be fun to try, to a whole new way of living. it is my wellness challenge so i can be in control of my body and life. 

Tuesday, August 30, 2011


school has started. 
i'm behind at work. 
crazy stuff going on with my family and a motorcycle that is giving us just enough grief to top everything off. 
but it seems like i am still eating healthy. 
my energy can definitely be better. but it is more than it was a month ago. I will admit  i am lacking a lot of voglia/want to do some of the more mundane parts of my life. i love the walks I go on with my princess and the talks with my big one. through it all, i have been grain free and sugar free all month. i have learned how to have some healthy and yummy foods. 
stress will come and go, but my body will be with me forever and i need to love it and give it more attention than all those other external problems.


-- Sent from my Palm Pixi

Friday, August 26, 2011

it's been a rough day. and what is a lazy unrested girl to do for dinner and such. 
out comes the frozen pizza (it's pizza friday night and i just make a meatza tonight or anything else. so my not-so-perfectly-paleo answer is to just eat the toppings off of the pizza. which i like to do anything.
and instead of wasting using my energy on the meatza, i decided i needed cookies and sweets. healthy of course. i figure i've gone 26 days without any grains (27 days ago i thought that was impossible) or sugar or processed foods. this is what facebook shared with me today and i am now waiting for them to come out of the oven!

2 T coconut flour (plus a bit extra if you need the dough thicker)
1/4 t. salt (i used Himalayan)
1/4 t. baking soda
3-4 T. organic cane sugar (i used turbinado, not sure if that is paleo approved, but i know it is way less processed and good for you and tonight that is the best that i'm coming to eating well!)
2T. unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (cool though)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup dark dark chocolate chips

Combine all the dry stuff and mix. Combine the eggs and coconut oil in a separate smaller bowl and whisk. Then mix dry and wet together. Let set for several minutes and thicken up, then add in some chocolate chips. 
Place spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper (i forgot this and my cookies were flat). bake for 10 minutes or so on 350. 

mine just finished and i have had one already. they are so yummy and unique. mmm. enjoy!!!


UPDATE:
these are good. perhaps too good. i ate 11 of the 12 of them.
and i'm going to make them again!
i checked out the nutritional value per cookie.
98 calories with 72 calories from fat
5.63 g. of carbs (can't beat that!)
8.09 g. of fat
1.54 g of protein
thats about 70% fat, 23% carbs, 6% protein
not too shabby for some yummy cookies!!!



Monday, August 22, 2011

i had some ground beef and had no clue what i was going to make, so i googled "paleo ground beef recipes" and i found this gem, that i touched up 


brown and crumble 1lb ground beef with chopped onions and garlic and mushrooms. 
add in some cooked quinoa (only about 1/2 cup or so)
stir in a package of chopped spinach, cooked and well drained (or a frozen package).
stir in 3 or 4 beaten eggs, and stir until eggs are set. add salt and pepper
top with cheddar cheese

YUMMY!!!

it doesn't look the prettiest, but it is good and makes a lot!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

i just made some "sea mist".
i always loved how my hair was after i was in the ocean and i have been looking for something great for my hair. so i finally made this spray that i found.
i haven't tried it yet (because it's breakfast)
but in less than an hour, this super easy, super cheap, and super yummy smelling spray is going on my unwashed hair luscious locks.

i might take pics and show you later... if i remember. this will also be going on little princess's hair too. 

i'll post the recipe for my non-shampoo later. i loved it, but i put in a tad bit too much of one ingredient, so i'm working on that. 

here is the super easy recipe for an expensive spray!

1 cup water
1 tbls sea salt
1 tbls aloe juice (optional)
1/8 tsp argan oil (optional)
5 drops essential oil or your fave perfume (optional)
Put all the ingredients in your spray bottle and shake well.  Use on damp hair for best results.  I find the spray gets clogged every now and then-if this happens, just run it under hot water.  Shake before every use. 


Wednesday, August 17, 2011


i made a crockpot dinner today that turned out really yummy
here are the ingredients, with rough approximate of measurements

chicken, enough to serve your family (or whoever), i used about 5 breasts that i had to use up
celery tops (leftovers from my bunch)
zucchini (i used two)
garlic (i used dry and a lot of it)
chicken broth (8 ounces or so)
mushrooms (4 ounces)
butter (2 -4 T)
salt
pepper
celery seed or salt
bay leaves
onion (if you remember to)

put all of that in a crock pot, let cook all day on low.
shred up the chicken, mix in some sour cream and serve on cauliflower or broccoli. 

Monday, August 15, 2011

i found a recipe on fast paleo that i tried out tonight. i had some scallops and had no clue what to do with them. so here goes!

Ingredients (with my adaptations)
1 bag scallops (500g)
1 large chopped onion
3 chopped garlic cloves
2 rashers of bacon chopped (except i had no clue what a rasher was, so i just took about 7-8 strips or so and chopped it up)
1 can diced/chopped tomato
1 large field mushroom (i used 8 oz of baby bella mushrooms, once again, clueless about a field mushroom)
1 heaped dollop of double cream (if i would have used cream, it would have been sour cream, not sure what double cream is, but i forgot... oops!)
1 T ghee (i used butter b/c i still don't know what ghee is, i'm somewhat slow here)
1 t basil, 1 t parsley
3/4 t chili flakes, salt, pepper

1. Melt the ghee/butter in the pot, add onions, garlic and cook until it begins to turn translucent. Add bacon and cook for a few minutes
2. Add tomatoes, herbs and spices and cook for about 10 minutes on low
3. Stir in scallops and cook for 2 minutes
4. Take off heat and DON"T FORGET to add in the cream.
Put on a bed of cauliflower (i used diced up zucchini) and then top with parmesan

it was super good! my husband had 2 or 3 servings!!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Coconut Flour Cupcakes

i made these super yummy Coconut Flour Cupcakes, but i didn't make them as cupcakes, but more like brownies. oh yeah, and i added cocoa. so good.
however, my lil curlz decided that it was missing something. she said it was sugar, however, she did just come back from not being home for a while. she ate out all the time and ate tons of processed and sugary foods. i'm sure she'll love it soon enough!

here is the recipe


6 eggs 
                                                                      1/2 cup honey 
1/2 cup melted coconut oil  
1 Tbl pure vanilla 
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour  
1/2 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup cocoa (about, i didn't measure) 

Heat oven to 350.  Mix wet ingredients in a blender. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl and mash with fork so all the coconut flour chunks come out. Blend together in a blender. This is the tricky part. I find that I have to blend it on medium/high to get it to a good cake like consistency. The batter should be thick. If it's not, add a little more coconut flour until it is. Butter a 8x8 pan and pour in mixture. Bake for 18-20 minutes. and enjoy!! 


i just made this grain free one pan "spaghetti" for dinner last night, when we had company over, the LDS missionaries. it was super yummy. no one knew it was "healthy". i cut up strawberries and we had the decadent fruit dip too. mmmm, good!!!
you should try it. 

Saturday, August 6, 2011

i had planned on having a super yummy breakfast tomorrow, but since i will be fasting, i decided to make coconut crepes and this Decadent Fruit Dip for lunch.
let me know what you think! add in all sorts of yummy fruit!
i've had a good day with the kids, saturdays are always fun. for breakfast, we had leftover meatza and pizza. before that, i went and did a horizontal boot camp. total killer and i've been tired all day from that, but otherwise, had a lot of energy. i took my vitamin, vitamin d, bio astin and chlorella with ashwaganda. came home and made the coconut crepes (made with coconut flour)  with the chocolate and vanilla cream sauce. so yummy and sweet.
and so good for you!
we had lots of fruit, including a plumcot (plum and apricot) that came in our bountiful basket today.
for dinner i'm making quinoa (i know, it's not on the challenge, but i have guests over that wanted it), roasted potatoes (request from one of my sons), roasted asparagus (another request from other son) and honey dijon onion crusted catfish.

here is the catfish recipe
1 onion finely chopped
1/4 cup (or so) of honey dijon mustard
garlic salt and pepper
catfish fillets (or nuggets like i used)
parsley flakes (which i forgot)

mix onion, mustard and some salt, pepper, garlic powder and i added some crushed garlic
lay catfish on a baking sheet and cover with garlic salt and pepper. then spoon on the mustard/onion mix. sprinkle on parsley flakes
bake in oven at 350* for 20 minutes, then on broil for 4-5 minutes

oven roasted potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup butter melted
2t beef bouillon paste
1 t thyme
1 t marjoram (which i didn't use)
3 T dried onion flakes
1/4 t celery salt or seed
2 lbs potatoes

chop up potatoes small and put on baking sheet. mix everything else and drizzle over potatoes and coat with the mixture. bake for about 30 minutes on 450*. turn potatoes while baking. bake until tender and golden brown

cheese roasted asparagus
1 t olive oil
asparagus, ends trimmed off
2 T green onions (i only had dried onion flakes)
2T celery, chopped
2 T grated parmesan
1/4 c. bread crumbs (i did not use this to keep it more with wellness mama's challenge)
1/4 c. melted butter
1/4 t. salt (i put more on than this)

oil baking sheet. layer asparagus on. mix all other ingredients and spoon over asparagus.
bake at 375* for 45 min or until tender. serve on a white platter to bring out the green, vibrant color. top with more parmesan!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

i just whipped this up and it is tasty. i didn't add in the chili peppers and used lemon instead of lime (my lime was rock hard after only a couple days!!!) i used a white onion, but next time, i would probably use a different, sweeter type. i added in some more water too, to mellow out the onion. finally, i added some cinnamon, maybe a teaspoon. it is yummy and chilling right now

SPICY MANGO GINGER SOUP

Ingredients:
1 large mango, peeled and destoned
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup cold water
1-2 small chilli peppers, minced (or to taste)
juice from 1 lime
1/2 tsp grated or minced ginger
Preparation:
Process all ingredients together in a blender until smooth and creamy, adding a bit more or less water as needed. Chill before serving. Makes two servings.

linked from raw recipe a day on facebook

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

i am a health freak. health nut. green smoothie queen. whatever. most of the time anyway. so when i saw wellness mama doing a wellness challenge, i got super excited. i really like a lot of her recipes and ideas. so i'm doing it. i took the plunge. i've had more energy today and for the most part yesterday. yes, i'm on day two. it's great. yesterday, she posted a bunch of mini-challenges. #1... grain free. all grains. i've never done this, never wanted to yet i'm curious to see how much of my tiredness will go away with going grain free. by the end of the day, it will be two days, which is amazing. i'm already seeing a difference with my body and detox symptoms. i'll let you know how it goes. i'm keeping it simple! 
see those recipes
s.i.m.p.l.e.
i just made two yummy meals with mushrooms!

spinach and mushroom frittata
spinach (i used half bag of frozen)
Portobello mushrooms, one - two, or some sliced ones, or whatever else
palf an onion
6 eggs
salt, pepper, garlic powder
your favorite cheese (cheddar)

whisk up the eggs, salt, pepper and garlic powder, then i threw in a splash of almond milk. then a couple T (a small handful) of grated cheese.
in a skillet, get some olive oil going, about 2 T, saute the onions, then the mushrooms. add the spinach and saute until the spinach is either wilted or not frozen. pour the egg mixture on top of the veggies, then cover and turn heat to medium high, cook for about 5-6 minutes. put on another 2T of cheese, then put in the broiler for 1-2 minutes, until the middle is firm.
ENJOY!

while trying to figure out what i wanted for dinner and what DH would eat, i stumbled upon a very simple recipe on allrecipes, so i decided to make both and then i'd know i'd have something to eat tomorrow too. i doctored it up to make it healthy!

half head cabbage, shredded
chopped portobello mushrooms
olive oil
half onion, chopped
salt, pepper, garlic powder

saute onion. add in shredded cabbage. salt, pepper and garlic powder. let it cook down for a bit, then add in the mushrooms. cook for about 5 minutes or so, on medium-medium high heat.
yumminess.

now both of these recipes are super easy to make at the exact same time! what a way to save time and energy!!! i haven't tried the frittata, just yet, but the cabbage is sooo good. i will definitely be making it a lot!!!