Fresh Veggies

OK, so maybe I'm a bit nerdy but I truly get excited on produce pick up days.  I belong to a Florida Fields to Forks co-op and every Thursday I pick up my produce share. This week's share included fresh organic kale, red-leaf lettuce, red chard, rainbow carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, avocados, cauliflower, and mangos.  

It takes a few days to get through all of the produce so I try to make sure it is properly stored so it remains fresh.  I discovered a great trick to keep lettuce fresh for over a week (seriously!)  Just wash it, spin it dry and store it, wrapped in paper towels, in an airtight container.  A week later, you'll still have fresh lettuce - no that slimy, funky smelling stuff that it usually turns into after a week.

I travel next week, so I will cook most of these veggies over the weekend so my family can enjoy fresh side dishes in my absence.  More on that later...

Plane Food (yep, that's what I meant to say!)

Weekly travel can wreak havoc on healthy eating habits.  I've found few favorite spots in the airport for dinner however I cannot seem to find a breakfast that's not heavy on gluten and/or grease.  Occasionally, I'll grab a veggie omelet but it always seems like I taste whatever was cooked on the griddle beforehand.  Lately, I've been packing my Lunchbots with filling and healthy snacks so I won't totally fall off the wagon while traveling.  Check it out:

Veggies and a 100-calorie packet of guacamole

Fresh organic fruit

Gluten-free morning glory muffins w/a side of papaya and blueberries 

Boiled eggs and chicken apple sausage 

Weekly Cookup: May 26th

As a management consultant, I travel a lot for work however I try to minimize disruption to my household.  When I am home, I enjoy cooking for my family because I think it is healthier and I like to try new things.  So, when I am away I don't want them to revert to takeout for dinner every night.  Not only would this be expensive, it would not be nearly as healthy as the organic farm fresh food I typically prepare.  This week, I will only be out of town for a couple of days so I prepared a couple of dishes.  I made lasagna roll-ups when essentially have the same ingredients as regular lasagna with a slightly different prep.

Rolling lasagna noodles filled with ricotta and shredded cheese

I also cooked curry chicken which I threw in the crockpot as we were on our way out the door to a Memorial Day cookout.

Though I cook a lot, I have a general rule that my time in the kitchen should not exceed 30 minutes for a meal unless it is a truly special occasion.  So the crockpot is a perfect solution.  My weekly cookup includes meals that reheat well and make good leftovers.  Let me know if you have any suggestions to add to my repertoire.

Lazy Sunday morning and iced coffee

I turned my Memorial Day weekend into 5 days of downtime thanks to vacation days on Thursday and Friday.  I've taken on additional leadership responsibilities at work so I really make an extra effort to be fully present during family time which means unplugging and relaxing.

I started if this morning with iced coffee and mango pancakes (my hubby is the Pancake King!)  Normally, I eat protein, fruit and veggies for breakfast but I could not resist these awesome pancakes.  The mango carmelized as they cooked....yum!

Then I spent some time on the patio with my daughter as she planted her taco and pizza gardens.  My hubby and son had a tee time at Turtle Creek so it turned out to be a Girls'' Day In.  We relaxed and gave ourselves pedicures on the patio.  It turned out to be a perfect holiday Sunday.  Feeling blessed!

Ending a Busy Week

As a management consultant, I often travel Monday – Thursday.  So yesterday, I headed home.  I left my client’s office a bit later than normal which means I arrived home a lot later than normal (11pm).  However, since I now know the Atlanta airport (my connecting point) like the back of my hand, I had already planned to treat myself to a decent meal during the long layover.  In my opinion, the best restaurant in the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport is One Flew South.  It has a wine bar feel and a fairly unique menu.  I enjoyed salmon bruschetta with a salad of mixed greens, pears, and goat cheese.  A nice oasis in the hustle and bustle of the world’s busiest airport.

This morning, I was up and at ‘em early for my 5:30am Crossfit Class.  As usual, the workout appeared fairly simple but still managed to leave us all flat on our backs.  But boy, what an awesome way to start the day!

The kick a$$ WOD (workout of the day) we did at 5:30am

My awesome post-workout breakfast!

The rest of the day was a blur of dropping off/picking up my kids at school and juggling conference calls and client deliverables.  I felt like I was operating in a haze of fatigue (because I was!) and was more than happy to end the day with drinks with my husband’s staff.  It was nice to finally exhale…

Whole 30: Days 8 -10

Whole 30:  Day 8
Breakfast:  Shredded chicken and sauteed spinach w/Sunshine sauce
Lunch:  Mixed green salad w/chicken burger
Dinner:  Mixed green salad w/Aidell's chicken-apple sausage link
Snacks:  Apple, walnut butter

Whole 30:  Day 9

Breakfast:  Egg, spinach, chicken-apple sausage, fruit
Lunch:  Mixed green salad w/shredded chicken
Dinner:  Grilled chicken thighs (marinated in coconut aminos, minced garlic, and Red Boat sauce), roasted beets and carrots, salad
Snacks: Coconut butter


Whole 30:  Day 10
Breakfast:  eggs, cantaloupe, Sunbutter
Lunch:  Salad w/apples and beets, chicken thigh
Dinner:  Salad w/3 chicken wings
Snacks: Mixed nuts (no peanuts)

Life got kind of busy this week and since blogging is definitely a hobby (not a source of income), my posts have fallen to the wayside.  That said, I still want to share my experience and what I'm eating on this journey.  Though I plan to be a little less strict on my sugar intake and indulge in the occasional glass of wine post-Whole 30, there are a lot of aspects of the program I plan to adopt long-term.

I found it very helpful to read about other people's journeys so I would know what to expect.  I especially like the blog post about the Whole 30 timeline.  Having read it, I wasn't as surprised by my overwhelming desire to nap during the first few days or my huge burst of energy over the past couple of days.

Below are a few of my favorite meals from the past couple of days:

Salad w/shredded chicken

Shredded chicken and sauteed spinach w/Sunshine sauce (not pictured)

Grilled chicken thighs, roasted beets and carrots, salad

Salad w/beets and apples, chicken thigh w/Sunshine sauce

Looking back on the past few days, I think I've eaten more than my share of chicken.  I will challenge myself to add a bit of variety in my protein sources for the next couple of days.

Whole 30: Day 7

Whole 30:  Day 7

Breakfast:  eggs, strawberries, coconut butter

Lunch:  salad w/Mexican shredded chicken

Dinner:  cranberry balsamic pork tendorloin, carrots, green beans, broccoli

Snacks:  pistachios, walnut butter (1 tbsp pre-workout)

First of all, I am amazed that I didn’t eat my body weight in food today after this morning’s WOD.  Sheer madness!  But I made it through.  My stomach was growling before I left the gym so when I got home I showered, dressed and cooked two eggs and sliced some strawberries.  I added a small scoop of coconut butter because I needed a little extra sumthin sumthin.

The morning was busy but not hectic.  I grabbed a handful of pistachios about halfway through because I felt a little hungry but not ravenous.  Around 2, I was able to break away from my laptop long enough to eat a salad with leftover Mexican shredded chicken on top along with a sprinkle of oil and vinegar.

I started to order in for dinner because I worked so late but didn't want to deal with unknown ingredients in my food so I threw a pork tenderloin in the crockpot (balsamic-cranberry pork tenderloin = YUM), roasted some carrots, and sautéed some broccoli and green beans.  It turned out to be an excellent meal!

My kids are huge fans of the roasted carrots!

Even though I have been doing a great job with my eating, I haven't done so well with my sleeping.  I didn't get to bed until 11pm and my alarm was set for 5am.  I plan to do better tomorrow (fingers crossed).