What's in my Paleo-ish kitchen?

I decided to share some of my favorite staples and some non photogenic shots of my kitchen pantry, cabinets, and refrigerator! This is just how it was today, nothing altered or bought special :-) I did straighten up a tiny bit, though. But as you can see from the fridge, I live life on the edge of disorganization :-)

PANTRY-
I got a steal on lightly sweetened organic sunbutter for the kids (okay, also sometimes adults) at Natural Grocers recently. Big win, because A, it's expensive and B, sunbutters are usually super sugary.
Homemade almond butter in reused container.
coconut butter, not as good as I had hoped, and the cause of the 6 stitches in my finger. (okay, not direct cause, but the immersion blender accident of 2015 was due to blending coconut butter)
a few 100% juice boxes for kids on super rare (less than once a month) occasions
a ton of organic BPA free diced tomatoes and tomato paste.
4 boxes of organic mac and cheese by Back to Nature
coconut oil. Hated coconut growing up, but apparently it's healthy, so I'm fond of it now. Just not the dried coconut. But I eat it in Lara Bars ;-)
coconut flour
tons of cereal boxes because I buy it on sale, but we go through it super slowly. The kids have cereal for breakfast maybe once a week. And I really only buy low sugar, gluten free, healthy kinds ;-)
organic coconut milk, clearanced can pumpkin from a year ago :-/ sooo about that
can of wild caught, sustainable practice, salmon
bag of organic onions
brown sprouts bag has several sweet potatoes and some organic brown potatoes
butternut squash

SECRET CABINET
a TON of lara bars also got on sale at natural grocers
kids alive vitamins, and out of photo, my super nutrition vitamins and real food calcium supplement

selected items from FREEZER
chicken, ground pork, fish, brats
frozen veggies, fruit
homemade jam, as seen on this blog
recent impulse buy for kids-gluten free sweetened with fruit Van's waffles
a ton of homemade broth

selected items from FRIDGE
organic dates, for emergency sweetness
paleo garden veggie and sausage egg casserole for breakfasts this week
grilled chicken for easy lunch prep
lettuce and spinach
tapioca flour
almond flour
chia seeds
gluten free oats for kids
green onions
kale
radishes
a tiny bit of bell pepper and mushroom chopped for salads left
lemons
apples
berries
carrots (organic, buy the 5 lb bag for 3.97)
applegate lunch meat, pepperoni (last night we had cauliflower crust paleo pizza and didn't use them all so for a bomb snack today I had some dipped in muir glen pizza sauce that we didn't use all of either)
a few brown cow greek yogurts for the kids from Whole Foods when they had $1 sale
almond milk
cashew milk
calcium added 100% not from concentrate OJ
cage free brown eggs

SNACK CABINET
cashews
almonds
walnuts
all bulk from sprouts and whole foods
organic raisins from target when they had a sale plus cartwheel
bitsy brain ABC veggie cookies from the kids' Easter baskets
happy family gluten free best friend cookies and yogurt melts--left over from an event so the kids can eat them
Annie's gluten free bars for the kids
Annie's snack crackers
nature's bakery fig bars, probably the least healthy thing in there but the kids love them so they are a nice treat when on sale at sprouts
horizon organic cinnamon animal crackers


lucky for me there aren't any chips anywhere to be found because I'm trying to resolve to break out post-whole30 habit of chips and spicy salsa.... super love them but it was becoming a real habit so since Sunday, they've been MIA ;-)

It's crazy that there isn't any dark chocolate or ice cream...because 2.5 years ago...that'd wouldn't have been the case. This photo would have looked much different. And I just want to encourage everyone out there to give clean eating a try because it is TOTALLY worth it. And then when you're ready, give a Whole30 a shot because it's life altering and health changing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm talking to you MOM and DAD!

Strawberry Jam - Paleo, Whole 30

I got a bunch of strawberries on sale the other day, it's barely their season in California, but I guess my local awesome produce grocer got some in bulk and marked them down. Regardless, I bought 3 2 pound packages! I ate some of them with the family and 2 of them I wanted to make jam with.

When I was younger, my nana made awesome peach jam and for our wedding she gave me many jars as part of our present. It was really the only kind of homemade jam I was exposed to as a kid that I liked.

After meeting my husband I decided to make some jam for us from scratch, but didn't (still don't) have canning supplies, so we made freezer jam. And it became my jam. In both ways.

Freezer strawberry jam is so easy and super delicious, but it's often full of sugar and pectin. Those two ingredients do not mix with paleo or whole 30. And honestly, I don't know if whole 30 allows jam, regardless of how it's made. I'm of the mind set that it is the same concept as a nut butter. Tread lightly and don't make it a staple of your diet. Although almond butter and macadamia nut butters do get eaten more than once a week around here....sooooooo. rules. :-S

Moving on, here is how I made some BOMB jam without pectin or added sugars (not even honey, it's not cool on a whole 30)

Strawberry Jam

Whole 30 Compliant, Paleo

4 pounds strawberries

2 tbsp water

1.5 apples, peeling on but cored

1 cup washed white grapes, taste them before using and get super sweet ones for the natural sweetness

1/4 cup washed frozen cranberries (although I used about 1/3 cup but you'd probably find it pretty tart) 

juice of one lemon

Wash, hull, quarter the strawberries -removing major bad spots. Place into large sauce pot with the water, turn on medium low heat. Grate the apple into the pot directly, stir. Using a blender or food processor, puree the grapes and cranberries until as smooth as can be. Pour into the pot, stir. Bring to boil, then let simmer, stiring often. Mash berries with potato masher as they start to burst, be sure to scrape down the sides of pot. Cook on low for about an hour or so, the longer it cooks, the thicker it will be. Once you've reached a still runny, but pretty gel-ing state, pour into the prepared (aka cleaned and dries) jars or containers. Let cool, then freeze for up to 6 months, refridgerator for up to a month.

mine batch made "this" much

Serve over paleo baked goods (not on whole 30), use as a dip (I dip bananas in it!), mix with nut butters as a dip, eat plain, or use in sauces. I think the whole 30-ness of it depends on how you use it. Even cocao is allowed on whole 30 in the proper context.....

Life Lately!

As per usual, I have done a poor job of keeping the blog updated. So prepare for some rambles.

easter morning

We've been super busy. A major factor was the wreck I was in about 6 weeks ago. The long story short of it is that I went through a yellow light, t-boned a car that was turning, and it totaled my car. Her insurance has accepted liability for the wreck but I haven't gotten money yet. We had to buy a new car because it was the only vehicle we had that the kids could ride in. We were not prepared for that kind of expense. We financed all of it. It's an 07 toyota with over 100000 miles on it, so the rates, regardless of my 800 credit score were terrible. So I started tutoring 4 nights a week to make some fast cash. It's helping, but it sucks to have to be away during the dinner hour. I know it's tough on my husband to have to come straight home from work and be thrown into only caretaker at home role (also making his work day much tougher because he literally can't stay late even if he wanted to because he has to get home to watch our kids). I know this is a middle class, stay at home mom problem, so I don't expect any pity. I am still working for Happy Family about 30 hours a month, and trying to make other cash as I can. My mom suggested I advertise that I would do other family's ironing....but ironically I'm like the only one that still irons. My friends joke about it.

If I could keep G this age forever, I would. She's pretty much perfect and I am super lucky. She's respectful, funny, sweet, caring, and smart. But she still does get selfish sometimes, and does throw some diva fits but it's really totally manageable.
She is doing great at her sight words and working on adding. I'm trying to help her practice saying the hard g and k sounds. She's not able to do it--she always sticks her tongue up like for a duh and tuh sound. If she hasn't figured it out by fall, I guess we'll do speech through the public school. We are going to start her in official kindergarten this fall (homeschool). I also taught her how to play the card game "war" this weekend. That's a subject in homeschool right? Part of socialization, right next to paper rock scissors. That's another thing we've taught both the kids. Life with a 4 and 2 year old is pretty fun.

J is a little less difficult than he was a month ago, so that's positive. He sometimes (versus rarely) stays in his bed--but naps are still tough initially. His vocabulary has exploded but his pronunciation and others' ability to understand him are still bad. He knows his colors about 90% of the time, and a few letters. They are proving to be challenging because he's less interested and I have less time to just sit around with him and casually play. Second child probs. I've considered putting him in 'gym school' like G goes to now in the fall, and using that time to hit some serious home school lessons with her. She'd be pretty jealous, I bet though, so obviously I'm looking for some enrichment program for her. Right now my top choice is a nature school once a week. J is also very sweet. Yesterday he shared the elmo snack cup with G, even though I gave it to him. She was having a diva moment about not getting it, and after he realized that she was sad, he handed it over to her. I melted. He also gives the best hugs and kisses. Sometimes if I snuggle him to tightly he says, "mush! mush!" (smushed!! smushed!) and it's really the most adorable thing ever. He is super bright (even if not interested in learning letters), and I caught him 'reading' brown bear brown bear to himself before nap today. He understands patterns, routines, and is getting quite good at puzzles. He plays pretend so well and takes turns better than any other 2 years old I've seen (aside from G).

After all of the baby shower sweets and foods in early March, we decided to do another Whole 30 to bounce back from the yucky feelings physically and mentally from so much junk. It's been a lot easier this time around, but we are both pretty much done with being so strict. Yesterday was Easter and I made us a paleo fudgy brownie for our 'treat.' It was made with whole 30 compliant foods, but the presentation of it as a brownie is really not allowed on the whole 30 program. I'm not sad about it, because it means we didn't eat like crap or have tons of Easter candy, as in years past. So if nothing else, the sweetened with dates treat gave us a sense of some kind of tradition.

The husband's job is keeping him quite stressed, but he's managing it well. I think not drinking (due to whole 30), has really helped him figure out that he doesn't need it to manage stress. I'm sure there are times when he really just wants a drink, but he deals with it and is stronger for it. So I'm proud of him there :-) We thought we might be moving back to California, but that doesn't look like it'll be happening anymore.

I'm feeling stronger than ever, and happy with myself (not really my abs, but I know that's vain so trying to ignore the nagging mental hang up about them). My faith is at an all time high, and there's no going back there. Far from perfect, it's a life long journey toward holiness.

Speaking of.. How crazy do you think we'd be if we went to Philadelphia in September for the Pope's visit?? I mean. He's so awesome, truly radiates God's good news, and we both would love to go see him in person and experience all of the faithful people there too. And we'd want to take the kids, because....how awesome is that for them!? But A) money and B) that's crazy.

Other things we've been up to;
home improvements
gym time
park time
bike rides
planning our future

see more easter photos below!

opening easter presents that grandma and grandpa sent

throwing easter grass while wearing tiara grandma sent

Dairy Free Fruit Dip

TI used to make a yummy clean fruit dip using yogurt, almond butter, and honey, but since I try to be mostly paleo....I don't eat or buy plain greek yogurt. (I do still buy some of the little cups for the kids, it's a great source of calcium and protein for them to eat occasionally) .... And the other day I was craving some fruit with dip and didn't just want to use plain almond butter. I used what I know about bananas and immersion blender to create a great fruit dip that is paleo!! I dare say it's Whole 30, but may be considered a SWYPO food....

Dairy Free Paleo Fruit Dip

2 ripe bananas
1/3 to 1/2 almond butter
shake of cacao (okay, I used a few shakes)

toss all ingredients into a bowl and let your immersion blender do the work!! (or regular blender / food processor if you haven't jumped on board the immersion blender train of awesomeness)

Makes enough for 2-3 big servings

Whole 30 end thoughts and 'results'

I came into the Whole 30 wanting to clean up our diet, feel less anxiety about what went into my mouth, and honestly I also wanted to lose some weight. I had gone from 153 ish in October to 161 after the holidays. It was a combination of inability to work out while trying to close my abs, finding out I shouldn't run, and also the lack of strict clean eating. My clothes were too tight and I felt crappy about myself. Whole 30 isn't about losing weight though, so the number on the scale should not have even been an interest in my heart, but it was. I'm just being honest. It's hard to forget about those goals.

I have done well at reminding myself that even thought I didn't lose more weight, I feel so SO SO much better mentally. I have to be happy and proud of that. I think it was a successful month for sure because we were never starving and never lacking for yummy food. We rid ourselves of a chocolate addiction and my husband didn't have a drink the whole time. So I mean, that's awesome since he even had a 3.5 day business trip in there (and his birthday)! Plus we both decided we can maintain a mostly paleo lifestyle moving forward.

It's been a week and a half since our 30 days were over; and we've each 'splurged' a bit on some things, but generally haven't had much grains or dairy. We've had a mild amount of sugar and the husband had two too many drinks last Friday night. I mean, considering he didn't have a drop for 37 days, then had like 4.... let's leave it with him not feeling great most of the next day. Love you honey :-)

We've both actually continued to lose a bit of weight since we've been eating well and working out still, so that's really nice to see. And the actual 30 day total was about 8 pounds for me and 12ish for the husband, but now we are both about 2 pounds more than that! I lost 2% body fat (more by now I bet) and I know my husband lost more than that. We have to be mindful with Valentines Day, Mardi Gras, G's birthday, 2 baby showers I am throwing, and St Patricks Day then Easter coming up. I half have it in my mind to do a whole 40 during Lent to keep some strictness to the sugar levels, but that's not what Lent is about, so I think we will just be mindful of it.

Today was MOPS and I had 2 chocolate cake donut holes. They were very yummy. And half of a homemade cinnamon roll. Also yummy. I feel a little guilty about it because we were trying to be paleo through the week and 'cheat' on the weekends only if we wanted to....but meh, really not that bad.

My final thoughts on the Whole 30 program is that it is wonderful. It's practical and logical. I guess some might call it crazy, but those would be the people who have not read up on the science behind food and our guts and minds. I can't recommend it enough. But I would say to see better results, try a whole45, but if that seems daunting, definitely do the whole 30 to get rid of the crap in your diet and the mental addition to food. And don't go back to eating the same crap afterwards, because then the whole 30 is merely an exercise in temperance (which I guess is still good) rather than a lifestyle adoption. Food is fuel. Give your body quality performance based options! :-)

More whole 30 meals

My goals and also a bit about halfway through whole 30

Half way into the whole 30, and I am just glad to be feeling happy about what's going into my body. If whole 30's goal is to lose weight, that's a bad goal. The way to loose weight is to have a calorie deficit, and no where in the whole 30 literature does it talk about counting calories. Basically, many people do lose weight because they are simply eating less calories based on the fact that veggies have way less calories than fast food options. But I think if you were already eating fairly clean, whole 30 won't really change that much. The main way I'm going to see the weight loss I wish I could achieve is if I start working out more. But that is so hard with my limitations. I did take a fitness pilates class this week and OMG I love it. I knew I would from the fact that I did it every week, twice a week, for months after G was born (until we moved). I really had missed it, and hated the fact that I'm no where near in pilates shape like I used to be. I mean. You guys. I used to take advanced reformer classes. It was no joke. But.... here I am. Two kids later. A torn up abdomen later. and busy mom life later....

Back to whole 30. So I was feeling super negative about my body at the end of last year. And just within the first week of whole 30 I was back down to the weight and body image I was before the holidays hit. So that's the best news out of the whole thing. And my kids are way less sugar dependent (honey counts as sugar, and seeing as how I no longer "have" to put it into their oatmeal...that's a win!) G also eats scrambled eggs without cheese in them, so also big win (they eat cheese other times of the day). I just wish they would eat unsweetened Greek yogurt...but tried that and failed (ended up having to squeeze in some honey before they'd finish their cups). Mostly they still eat ketchup with meat. I don't plan on fighting that battle yet, because I'll take some not-terrible ketchup over not-eating-meat any day.

My hubby hasn't had any alcohol in 16 days and that's a super awesome win (me too, but I wasn't a drink every night person like he was). We have not had late night unhealthy snacks (we had developed a 3-4 times a week chips and salsa habit) in 16 days and we have not had dark chocolate or anything sweet (aside from sweet potatoes or fruit) for that matter.

What a pride point!

But. I really want to start caring about pride so much less. I need to stop focusing on external. I always say out loud that I don't care...but I do. So I confessed it and we are moving on.

I feel like I've got this paleo thing on wrap, but I don't think after the whole 30 that I will keep it up AS strict. There will be wine sometimes and there will be weekly chocolate. I've said it before and I'll repeat, if I am happy with what goes in. I am happy with what is (size/shape/etc).

Now I need to focus on the things that matter. (body image does matter to me, though, because if I'm too hung up on my body I get anxiety and it leaves me strung out in every other area of life)

So. Thank you whole 30 for clearing my mind of the food and body woes. Here are my next goals.

1. Stop yelling at my kids. Sometimes I do better than others. I even went through a period of time where I was on a no yelling streak after I felt so guilty about yelling at G when she was 2.5. But then J's behavior got pretty bad and things escalated. I certainly wouldn't yell at my kids in front of Jesus....yet I do every day, since He lives in their souls. I must remember this and I must act on this. I ordered a book on amazon. I can't believe I paid 16 bucks for it. Thankfully I had a gift card balance. But anyways, it's called Yell Less, Love More. and I am hoping it's life changing. I bawled my eyes out last night after putting the kids to bed. Yesterday was the kind of day where I wished I had a job. And that's stupid because I know I WANT to raise them. I was just not a great mom yesterday. I guess we all have those days.
My yelling stems from resentment, impatience, perfectionism, and the fact that my son is SUPER defiant if he doesn't have 100% of your attention.
I don't need to yell at G. I guess I did enough of that for her when she was 2. So that's how I justify yelling at J...is that if I do it now, I won't have to in a year.....but that's a terrible excuse and I don't care what I did for G. I want to be better. I know I am a good mom and I know I show them crazy amounts of love. But I also know that yelling is damaging and does not set the Christ's love example I want to set.
I will surely always discipline my kids, but it is proven that fear is not an effective parenting tool. I thought it was. But it's not. I know this if I look back on my own childhood. Fear worked, but only until I figured out a way to undermine the fear. So the only way I got back on the right path was through self regulation that I learned NOT from the yelling part of my parents, but from the actual guidance part.

2. Stop living on my phone. I mean. I could be worse, but man I could be so much better. Deleting facebook was a huge step in the right direction. Next? instagram. I have to keep twitter for work, but I hate that platform, so it's not a time suck for me. The next step in operation not live on phone....email. But for work it is so so helpful to have on my phone....need to find a balance. Wish we could afford for me to quit that job. Then I'd really have no reason to be on my phone and I could even get a dumb phone again.... but we can't afford that so. Blah.

3. Stick to our budget. I take full responsibility for the fact that we have a good income but have to live so frugally and so budget conscious. I have more student loans (bills for that went up this month, we are paying almost as much on student loans as we do for our house, moral of that story, don't get student loans) and yet I don't work. Well. Not really any ways. I keep telling myself though, if we had more money to 'play' with, we'd have to donate more....because we aren't called to live lucratively as Christians. So maybe God knew that it would be harder for us to get to Heaven if we had more money....so here we sit. Nervously waiting for the other foot to drop that would land us in a terrible financial position. I hope that foot never lands. I have to stop being a martyr to organic food. But that's so hard knowing it's better for us. I can't unknow this fact. I get so conflicted finding a balance between feeding us healthy and better food versus having no money to do that. Life is so ironic. and cruel.

4. Trim the fat. In my life, that is. Certain acquaintances, groups, and positions have to be trimmed in order for me to be a better friend to those that I truly need and want in my life. So, I'm making the hard call on things to quit and say no to. Life is cruel again. Time is a big shortage in my life and I don't get enough sleep.

so, there you have it. pure and raw.

love to all.

Week one foods

10 years later...

I was one of those people who joined the facebook in 2004. I was in love with the concept. It was so hip and happening.

But then. It evolved into this monster roller coaster and I was along for the ride. 

So long story short. I deactivated my facebook and it's been great. Ten years was a good run.

I've been thinking about doing it for a while now and what better new year self love is there than to rid myself of the drama and self inflicted negativity that comes from seeing others best moments played out. And the desire to reciprocate that. But I think I got better about that over the past few months when I made a pact with myself to avoid posting statuses and photos except for big events. I also got myself into too much misrepresentation waters by not realizing how I come off not as intended with my opinions.

The straw that broke the camels back was my sister and mom thinking I had an eating disorder because of whole 30. Then they messaged me on facebook about it. Not cool. At all.

A. Not an eat disorder. Quite the opposite. I feel so great not caring about portions and about knowing what goes in my body is the best fuel I can offer it to live my life. I do not believe grains offer me nutritional value and any added sugars are unnecessary to the diet. Dairy is meant for cows babies. Alcohol isn't necessary. Jury is out on legumes but I'll play along for a month. As I mentioned before I highly doubt we stay paleo after this month but even if we did... You can't criticize that as an "eating disorder." Especially if you don't classify eating Arby's or Taco Bell on even a semi regular basis as an eating disorder. 

B. Messaging someone accusing them of needing a counselor via the Facebook is really impersonal. So if I take facebook out of the equation, problem solved on that issue.

C. I could make a whole post about how I feel about these allegations and how they made me bawl my eyes out from lack of supprt and understanding my intentions... But I won't. I usually don't care what people think. And I am who I am. But when it's people in my inner circle... Of course I take it personally because of I let you get that close to me... I trust you. If you hurt me in that manner... I get confused and cry and rationalize how this ever happened if my intentions were so pure. My husband says I have a hard personality to understand. Well. It sometimes sucks being green. Know what I mean? (Kermit yall.)

D. If you think I obsess about food. Sorry.  I don't. I plan. I prepare. If that's obsessing. You're wrong. I obsess about nothing anymore. At least not for long periods of time. 

E. If my last post mentioning that I had disordered thoughts about my body after my sons birth was too strong of a statement... Don't read my blog. It was honest. And I know only a tiny amount of moms who felt awesome about their post pregnancy body so I really don't think it was out of the realm of possibilities for me (who had just been through a traumatic c section) to feel like shit about myself. So when I was physically able I started working out and made nutritional changes for the better.  That's a POSITIVE change, not obsessive.

Do I cook a lot? Yes. But we'd never eat if I didn't! Do I spend all my time thinking about food? Not at all.

So back to facebook and negativity and opinions. I'm just going to keep my stuff here. Oh and on Instagram. Still like that one. Especially for whole 30 tags.

Love to you all.

Clean Eating to Whole 30, a journey

I'm not one to change my mind--until I do.

For instance, I said I would never run a marathon, because that's just too crazy! I really wanted to run a half marathon and thought that wasn't too crazy....but the full 26.2? Totally nuts. People who CHOOSE to run that many miles, especially PAYING to do so, are absolutely nuts.

Then I ran a half marathon and felt dissatisfied. It wasn't the whole thing. It was only 'half.' And I really don't like half-assing things. If you're going to do something, do it right, I pretty much try to live by that. Call it a perfectionist problem. I've discussed it here before. And as I've aged, I try to cut myself some slack and not be so perfect....and I think I'm winning that battle in many ways! Not in all areas though.

As you know, via this blog, I decided to clean up our families diet about a year and a half ago. I had heard of clean eating prior to that and thought, meh...not for me. Mostly because I didn't WANT to give up ice cream, Velveeta, or boxed convenient options. I also justified not jumping on the clean diet because I didn't think we ate 'that bad.' And we didn't eat a lot of crap (there were veggies at every meal and I did bake some from scratch), we just ate a lot of processed foods.

But then I just kept feeling more and more crappy about myself post-J's birth. After G's I bounced back so well (duh, natural med free birth versus traumatic emergency C section), but I was a wreck after J's. I felt eating disorder mental issues creeping back in my mind and the more I thought about it; the more it became obvious it was because I wasn't happy with the fuel I was giving my body. I determined if I was happy with what was going in my body, then I had to be happy with my body. Because, after all, if your body works for you, it does no good to vainly aspire for some model figure that isn't worth it. I am who I am, and I don't get paid to look a certain way, and I am a woman of faith, so vanity is definitely a sin (even if you are getting paid to look a certain way, if you claim God as your father....you probably should recheck your occupation/spiritual life compatibility. Just saying)

I have always considered myself a good cook, and it comes naturally to me (sewing, does not, so there's that). I was excited for the challenge that clean eating would entail, and I definitely over did it in the beginning because I was learning. I got too stressed out making more complicated items, but it taught me a lot about the basis of cooking and using clean ingredients. Once you find the staples of your families diet, and understand how to cook from scratch, it becomes second nature to cook off-recipe. I really consider myself the next food network star, but what home chef doesn't?,

But Paleo? Oh hell to the no. I was on board with clean eating, because it makes sense. Giving up artificial crap is a logical move in my book. But giving up grains? They are natural. Not eating cheese? Crazy pants! Paleo people seem elitist and idealist. We are not rich over here. Not at all. Our grocery bill is already astronomical. Take away cheap meal options via beans and pasta? Bah humbug!

The basic principals of paleo eating make historical sense though, lots of meat and vegetables....Hunter/gatherer. I get it. But wheat grows in the ground and it's cheap and it's yummy. I get that cows milk is for cows, but man alive I love cheese and greek yogurt and butter. While we were clean eaters, we made grassfed dairy a priority and choose whole wheat. I felt pretty solid about those choices. And I still kind of do.

Now my confession. The past month or so was fairly rough with clean eating. Starting with an unclean Thanksgiving. I mean, it was delicious, don't get me wrong, and I tried to make the smartest choices while there....but it started us on a downward spiral into sugar filled land. The mindset became more of 'when in Rome.' When I cooked for us at home, it was clean, but we didn't eat at home nearly as much, and I baked birthday goodies using more sugar in 1 week than I had bought in the entire 2 years prior. Sugar is highly processed and we much preferred honey and agave to white sugar (it's not clean, duh). But I was tired of people giving me crap for making clean foods.

I also haven't been able to work out much over the past 6 months because I've been trying to figure out why, two years later, my stomach still spasms and my diastis recti isn't healed. I've tried two physical therapists, who have each imparted a small bit of wisdom upon my situation (in two different directions, interestingly enough). But nothing has been cured. My DR has closed a lot, but is still there. My psoas muscle still spasms and my hip hurts (And as you may have read, I was diagnosed with hip dysplasia). Needless to say, if I want to treat my body right, there are limited exercises I can do and they counter each other out.
It's like "oh, do pilates, it's easy on your hip" .... but generally, it's really bad for a spasming psoas and diastis recti
"go swimming!" .... great but that also pulls your stomach muscles farther apart
"do these cross body moves that will help pull your muscles together" .... actually that hurts my hip
"go for a light jog" .... and end up with a fake hip in your 30's thanks to your already ticking time bomb of a misshapen right hip socket.
cross fit is out, boxing is out....etc....

CANT FREAKING WIN  I tell you....

So the other day it got to the point where I said screw it. We joined the gym (mega awesome gym, thanks to my husband's good discount via work) and I'm doing what I can. And I feel awesome about it.

But in the past 2 months I have gained 10 pounds. YAH and I'm not pregnant. Pretty horrible. I felt super bad about myself and no one deserves that.

I don't believe in supplements or magic cures. I don't even take birth control because my body should operate just as it was intended, thanks so much. I believe food should be as God intended it and we shouldn't screw around with chemical compounds to make food last longer at the cost of our gut's health.

I understand that without food scientists, most of the world would starve, and I certainly don't wish harm on anyone....but seriously?? The world is over populated if natural food and agriculture can't sustain us. Do I volunteer as tribute to die for one less person in the over populated world? Certainly not. Although, if God deemed it was my time, maybe I would go? Back to the paleo tale.

If I want to heal my gut, and fuel my body to be a healthy momma, and a happy wife....I must give myself the food that optimizes my time on earth. I even consulted a priest with if it was sinful to be 'picky' with food. And he said it was not! He said since vanity was not my reason, if I truly felt called to eat a certain way to maximize my vocation, then he agreed it was a smart choice.

HUZZAH!

So I found Whole 30 as a good introduction to the Paleo lifestyle. And I doubt after Whole 30 is over we maintain a 100% Paleo life. I mean, I imagine it to be an 80/20 balance unless being lacto-paleo counts, and in that case, I'm fine with being 100% lacto-paleo. Unless I go to Italy some day, because in that case, I'm eating pizza.

But back to Whole 30. If you aren't privy, it's a 30 day 'challenge' or 'detox' if you will to eat no grains, no legumes (even peanuts), no dairy, no sugar (not even honey), no artificial crap (obviously), no alcohol. The goal is to cut ties with emotional foods and eating. It's to retrain your body into looking at food as yummy and healthy and only that. Protein, fat, and vitamins/minerals are what your body needs. Certain veggies contain enough carbs to keep you going. Whole 30 and Paleo are not 'anti-carb' ways of life. They are anti grain because of how it affects the intestinal tract. It's really not a good fuel for your body. Fat is a much better option, as it leaves you satiated. Fat doesn't make you fat. Sugar does. Google it. It's gospel.

So I convinced, fairly easily, my sweet hubby to agree. My mom was all concerned about our kids...but just know I am not being nearly as strict with them. They are still having dairy and some grains. I'm really focusing on the sugar with them, and trying to boost their meat/veggie intake. But if you know my kids, you know they already eat healthy (veggies are not an issue, it's usually meat, sicne they always want ketchup with it. I curse they day I offered that), so this is not that hard. And I'm not pushing it on them. They haven't eaten anything different (though I tried to get G to eat avocado mixed with some chicken and grapes and boiled egg and she had a meltdown--J on the other hand had seconds). I've just cut the snacky unhealthy filler stuff and sweet treats.

I did SO much research about this Whole 30. I poured over the internet reading people's advice, stories, transformations, and meal plans. I determined it really was right for me, and I couldn't wait to get started. My husband was a bit reluctant, but hasn't said a negative word. I'm happy he's doing it with me, the family support makes a world of difference.

I read that people learn 'so much' about themselves during a Whole 30, but I really doubt that happens. I knew going in dairy would be the hardest for me, and alcohol for my husband...and it's day two, and guess what? We were right. I think that if you have clean eating principals in the forefront of your mind, a Whole 30 isn't hard. I mean, if you're going from eating Burger King weekly, to now uber Paleo, yes, that's hard. But I feel totally prepared for it, it just sucks when I'm cutting some cheese slices for my kids and know it's off plan to nibble on it. Maybe after day 30 I won't even want dairy anymore? Hopefully.

I really don't even miss grains or sweets. I guess I had enough of them in December, that I'm actually sick of them. They are yummy and convenient but I know I don't need them, so I'm like 'peace out!'

Over the next month I'll post some photos of our daily meals so you can see that we are thriving! It's all about what you should eat, not what you "can't" eat.

much love~