Whole 30 Day 3

Breakfast:  scrambled eggs and sweet potato hash browns, green tea
Lunch:  Well Fed's chocolate chili over spaghetti squash with chopped avocado
Dinner:  Chocolate chili over cauliflower rice, green salad
Snacks:  apple, banana, 1T coconut butter

Today was challenging for me.  I felt hungry for most of the day but was determined not to get off track.  I also felt the strong need for a nap mid-afternoon but that was just a "day"dream because I had way too much work to do.

I started off the day with my usual 5:30 workout.  I thought I could catch a quick nap once I returned home and showered since it was only 6:45am and the rest of the family was still fast asleep.  However, my husband woke me up to tell me that my growling stomach was waking him up.  Oh well....

Breakfast included eggs scrambled in ghee and leftover sweet potato hash browns from last night's dinner.  I still felt hungry after breakfast so I had an apple and a tablespoon of organic almond butter mid-morning.

I ate lunch so quickly that I didn't take a picture however it made an encore appearance for dinner so you can check it out below.  Last night, I made a batch of chocolate chili from the Well Fed cookbook in anticipation of busy days this week.  It came in handy today because I barely had time to reheat the spaghetti squash and chili for a quick lunch.

About an hour and a half after lunch I was hungry - like I skipped lunch hungry.  I considered another small meal but opted for a banana instead.

For dinner, I decided to have more chili but instead of serving it over spaghetti squash (which was great), I thought I'd make a quick batch of cauliflower rice.  I didn't have high hopes for it but it actually turned out pretty good.  

Whole 30 Day 2

Breakfast:  Scrambled eggs, roasted tomatoes, avocado, red grapefruit
Lunch:  Leftover duck breast, green salad, roasted carrots
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, sweet potato hash browns, roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli

Day 2 was a good day.  It started off with a great workout and included a lot of good food.  I usually like to have some type of green veggies like sautéed spinach or kale with breakfast.  However, today I opted for diced avocado paired with grape tomatoes roasted in the oven with high quality olive oil and sea salt.  I added scrambled eggs and grapefruit for a filling breakfast.

I had some leftover roasted duck breast from dinner a couple of nights ago so I reheated it along with roasted carrots.  Added a quick green salad for the perfect lunch.

Dinner was fantastic.  I grilled chicken breasts after seasoning and placing a little grass-fed butter under the skin.  The result was grilled chicken with skin as brown and crispy as fried.  I pulled the skin off before I ate it and it still tasted phenomenal!  Sweet potato hasbrowns and roasted veggies rounded out a great dinner.

During the day, I had a couple of teaspoons of coconut butter when I started feeling a little hungry but was careful to keep those snacks to a minimum.  Overall, I was pretty happy with day 2.

Whole 30 - Day 1

Whole 30 - Day 1


I kicked off last year with my veggie detox which was slightly short of being an epic fail because I was sooooo hungry.  I did a mid-year juice cleanse which reset my taste buds but still left my stomach growling.  To kick of 2013, I've decided to try the Whole 30 which is essentially a nutritional reset focused on eating real food and cutting out sugars, artificial sweeteners, and processed junk.  This is just what I need after a few slips off the wagon during the holidays.

Today started off with a great Whole 30-ish breakfast of eggs, veggies, a small salad, grapefruit, and green tea (no honey!)  It was filling and satisfying.

However, lunch presented a challenge.  We were invited to a friend's house for a New Year's lunch/dinner get together.  I was starting to get a little hungry before we left the house so I had a couple of teaspoons of coconut butter so I would not be ravenous.  I thought we would only be there for an hour or two and I could eat when I returned home if necessary.

The first test came when I was asked to taste the punch and tea for sweetness.  Since I don't typically make those drinks, I was able to ask a good friend to step in as the taste tester and she was nice enough to oblige.

We ended up visiting with my friend for several hours so I survived the day by eating grilled meat and greens.  Since I did not marinate the meat or season the greens, I cannot be sure they were fully Whole 30 compliant but I did the best I could.

When we came home at around 7pm, I wasn't craving a full dinner but wanted a snack before bed so I ate an apple, organic almond butter, and another small salad.  Day 1 done!

Quick omelets

I typically try to steer my kids away from sugary treats for breakfast.  They typically eat oatmeal, yogurt and granola, or eggs.  They've gotten to the point where they can actually cook eggs on their own (yay independence!!!)  Right now, they really love omelets.  To make it even easier, I bought a cool little omelet pan for them to use.

I must admit that the omelet pan looks a little gimmicky (one of my Bed Bath & Beyond impulse buys) but it is super easy to use.  You simply put the eggs in the pan, close it, flip it over about about a minute and cook for another minute or two.

The resulting omelet is not your typical half moon shape but it cooks perfectly and the kids love it!  And I love that they get some protein and veggies in their breakfast.  Fuel for straight A's!

Salmon cakes/burgers/patties

A couple of weeks ago, I made some of the best salmon cakes ever! I named this post "salmon cakes/burgers/patties" because my son was immediately expecting dessert when he heard the term "cake". Even though I can't imagine that a salmon-based dessert would be good.

The salmon cakes are great served with a tropical fruit salsa. My mango was gross when I cut it so we ended up with papaya pineapple salsa which was equally awesome! Anyhoo...here's the recipe:

For Salmon Cakes:
1 lb salmon fillet (skinless, with bones removed)  - I use wild salmon
2 eggs
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 Tbs coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
coconut oil

For Mango and Cilantro Salsa:
1 large ripe mango
4 Tbs chopped cilantro
1/2 cup red onion, minced
olive oil
sea salt

1. Check salmon carefully to be sure all bones have been removed. Chop into a fine dice and set aside. 2. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Mix in coconut flour, salt and pepper.
3. Mince jalapeno and add to the egg mixture. Add the salmon and combine completely.
4. Warm a skillet over medium-high heat, and add coconut oil when pan is hot. Test the pan to be sure it is hot by dropping a tiny portion of salmon mixture in the pan-- it should sizzle immediately.
5. Add the salmon mixture to the coconut oil in small (3") cakes and fry until they are golden brown on the outside, and cooked pink on the inside (a minute or two on each side). Let the cakes rest on paper towels when taken out of the pan to absorb any extra coconut oil.
6. Meanwhile, prepare salsa by combining diced mango, red onion and cilantro in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and add sea salt to taste. Serve on top of salmon cakes.

I am always looking for quick and healthy recipes for the weekend, especially since we are usually outdoors a lot during this time of year. I don't have time to be stuck in the kitchen however there are not a lot of healthy eating out options nearby so I prefer to prepare most of my family's meals. Yesterday, I found a quick and easy recipe on the back of the Near East couscous box.

Notice that the prep time is 10 minutes. Luckily, I had all of the ingredients on hand.

The dish was quick and easy from start to finish. I served it with sweet potato wedges. Thumbs up from hubby and kiddos!

Being Grateful for Friends

One of the great things about traveling for work is that I have the opportunity to meet a lot of awesome people. Rachel of One Day At a Time is one of those peeps and she just happens to be my current caffeine pusher and also another working mom with whom I can connect during my busy days on the road. During one of our conversations, we realized that we both enjoy blogging and exchanged site addresses. As I was reading her blogs on gratitude, I started thinking about all of the things for which I am thankful. So, I decided to copy borrow her idea and write about gratitude. I am extremely, beyond belief, can’t even express, ever so thankful for my friends. I know people who have great friends and others who have no close friends. I have been blessed with friends from all stages of life. My triple G (Good Good Girlfriend) from undergrad used to pick at me because I did not make friends easily. It’s not that I’m not friendly. It’s just that I have very high standards for people I call friends. My triple G from grad school said that she knew we were friends when I hugged her since she never saw me hug anyone. And my local bestie knows that anything she tells me in confidence will never resurface in another conversation – not even to my hubby. I am loyal to my friends* because I love them and I know they will be there for me.

So, this post on gratitude is about my friends and why I am grateful for them: • They will listen and provide advice (if I ask) without judging; • They will pick up my kids from school not once, not twice, but countless times and never complain about it or expect anything in return (thanks Kendra!); • They will never remind me of the time I called them crying in the middle of the night unless I want to talk about it (and vice versa); • We can fundamentally disagree on a topic, have a heated debate, and then go shopping; • We can go “radio silent” for days/weeks (we never make it to months, thank God!), and pick up like we were in the middle of a conversation; • We can sit in silence and be happy in each other’s company; • We can beat spank discipline each other’s kids with no hard feelings; • We can hang out with each other’s spouses and never have to wonder about improprieties (this pertains to only a small as in ”I can count them one one hand” group of friends); • We feel each other’s pain; • We are genuinely happy (not fake “let me talk about you later” phony) for each other’s accomplishments; • We learn from each other, mentor each other, and nurture each other; • And on and on…

Though I have never been and probably never will be a touchy-feely, super sentimental type of person, I can say that I have immense gratitude for my friends. Thanks to my triple G’s and BFF’s! *My sister is one of my best friends but that relationship is so unique that I will have to blog about it later.