Tip of the Day

Save small glass containers such as herb/seasoning containers
and baby food jars to store single servings of dressing for salads!

This week's menu is simple and requires very little cooking. We're having a lot of salads.

I bought iceberg lettuce, organic spring mix and organic baby spinach for the greens.

We've chopped up radishes, bell pepper, red onion, cucumbers & tomatoes for veggie toppings.

And we've got taco seasoned ground beef, tuna mixed with homemade mayo, nitrate-free ham cold cuts from the farm,  grilled or buffalo chicken & hard boiled eggs for protein.

And most importantly, we've got dressings!  I've made a fresh batch of ranch dressing and bottled them in baby food jars and glass herb jars. I've also got a bottle of Tessamae's Italian Dressing!  

Whole30 January 1!

I'm really excited to be doing another Whole30 in January!  In fact, I feel like I NEED to do it!  Husband is on board and so are some friends.  It's gonna be great!  You should join us!  In fact, I've started a FaceBook group for us!  See you there!

Tips for a successful Whole30:

1. Plan, plan, plan!  Plan your menu at least a week in advance.
2. Pre-cook as much as you can over the weekend (or whenever you have the most free time).
3. Make dishes that have meat & veggies all in one so that you don't have to plan to make a veggie with every meal.
4. Start stocking up on seasonings now (to avoid a high grocery bill in week 1).
5. Start stocking up on kitchen basics now (to avoid a high grocery bill in week 1).

I have compiled a list of compliant Whole30 Recipes that I have personally  made and enjoyed.  The list has hyperlinks to each recipe.  Please keep in mind that some minor modifications may be needed in order to be Whole30 compliant (such as using ghee or clarified butter in place of butter...etc.)  Also, some things may be SWYPO for you, such as the banana ice cream.  If that's the case, please don't use those recipes!  If anyone has any recipes that they would like to add to the list, please let me know.  There are a ton of resources on the web for Whole30 recipes including the Recipe Sharing portion Whole9 forum, which I strongly suggest that EVERYONE use!  I browsed that forum every single day of my first Whole30 and I still browse it at least once a week.

I always do a lot of prepping & cooking on Sunday for the following week.  I strongly suggest you make a menu plan each week and do as much of the cooking as possible on one day so that there is always healthy, compliant food available with little or no work required.  Below is a typical sample week that I would do.  This * symbol represents what I will be cooking up ahead over the weekend.  

Week 1 Menu

*BBQ Crockpot Chicken with steamed mixed veggies

*Crockpot Shredded Beef (add lots of onions & peppers to pot or make additional on the side)

*Ground Beef & Cabbage 

*Beef/Turkey Cabbage Soup

Ribeye Steaks with Sweet Potato Fries & homemade mayo

Baked Lemon Pepper Cod with sauteed Asparagus
Shredded Beef with Fried Eggs

*Sausage & Egg Scramble

*Hard Boiled Eggs

Week 1 Shopping List

Whole Chicken

Beef Roast

3lb Ground Beef (or turkey or venison...)

Ribeyes (you can grill extras and use it for lunch the next day)

Pork Sausage (be sure there is no sugar or nitrites/nitrates)

Fresh Wild Caught Cod - I watch for this to be marked down at the grocery store and then buy it and cook it  within a day or two

Mixed Veggies (fresh or frozen)

Onions

Bell Peppers
Cabbage

Broth & Stock (I make my own)
Soup Veggies - celery, onion, carrots, zucchini, green beans, whatever you like
Tomato Paste 6oz

Eggs (I buy 4-5 dozen per week!)

Sweet Potatoes

Asparagus

Whole Life Approach to Health

Thanks to the Whole30 program, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what I need to do nutritionally to for optimum health.  I still have some tweaks to make and few experiments to run, but for the most part I know now what DOESN'T make me healthy.

During my first Whole30 I spent a portion of those 30 days concentrating on improving my sleep by putting my phone and the television off limits at 8:00pm every night and being in bed no later than 9:00pm (I get up at 5am).  However, I didn't stick with those habits very long (maybe a week?).  I know I got better sleep while I was doing that, so it's just a matter of getting back into that swing.

But... there are 7 other factors that make up the Whole9 approach to optimal health:

1. nutrition
2. sleep
3. stress management
4. active recovery
5. injury rehab
6. fun & play
7. personal growth
8. temperance
9. exercise

I would like to work on all 9 of these for the rest of 2012 so that instead of making New Years resolutions, I will have my Health Balance in check for the new year! Here's my plan for the rest of the year:

NUTRITION - Continue eating grain-free, dairy-free, legume-free and (mostly) sugar-free.  I will have occasional paleo treats when I am attending Holiday dinners that require me to bring a dish.  I also will be alcohol free for the next 30 days, but may indulge occasionally after that.  I plan to do another Whole30 on January 1st.

SLEEP - I will go back to my "no electronics after 8:00pm" rule and be in bed by 9:00pm (or 8 hours before the alarm will be ringing).  7 days a week.  Until it is ingrained habit.  At the very least, for the next 30 days.  After that, there may be an occasion which doesn't allow for a full 8 hours in bed, but for the next 30 days, I'm there!

STRESS MANAGEMENT - Three main causes of stress for me tend to be; procrastination, not asking for help when I need it and taking on too many tasks that are not priority.  I will work on being prepared and not procrastinating as well as asking for help when I need it and getting my priorities straight (ie. having dinner prepared and the laundry done over decorating for the holidays).

ACTIVE RECOVERY & INJURY REHAB - I think my exercise routine already has some active recovery built into it (I typically alternate a CrossFit type workout day with an easy running day and sometimes throw in a pilates/yoga day depending on how I feel).

FUN & PLAY - This is really a tough one for me.  I tend to take myself too seriously and often feel "too busy" for having fun.  I will really have to make an effort to take time for fun & play every day!

PERSONAL GROWTH - I'm not sure what this means in the Whole9 world, but I take it to mean continuing to become a better me.  My plan for this involves continuing to try new foods and learn about improving my health through nutrition and exercise, but also to continue to become a better wife, friend, employee...etc. to others so that I may have more positive influence on those around me.

TEMPERANCE - I actually had to look this one up. I can only assume that Dallas & Melissa are referring to the virtue of temperance, which according to wikipedia is control over excess.  So, where do I lose control over excess?  My iphone, sweetened paleo treats and coffee.  There's probably more, but that's all I can think of right now.  So... when I make a batch of paleo pumpkin muffins for an upcoming gathering, I will limit myself to one a day.  I will eliminate the use of my iphone while in any social situation and while driving (gasp!) and between the hours of 8pm and 5am.  Also, I will only drink 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning.

EXERCISE - My exercise schedule includes 6 days of planned exercise, which is nearly always achieved.  I really don't feel like I have much to work on here other than sticking with it.  I do intend to join my local CrossFit gym once some other life goals have been met and I look forward to it!   


I think the most important thing to keep in mind here is balance.  If exercising a 6th day this week means only getting 6 hours of sleep, I need to consider what I am in more need of, the sleep or the exercise.  This methodology can be applied to all 9 factors.

Why Paleo?

This is a great post from Paleo/NonPaleo about staying motivated in a Paleo lifestyle.  It suggests that you do 3 things:

Make a list of why you're paleo.  
Put the list where you can see it.  
And read it at least twice a day. 

I made my list.  I hand-wrote it on a 8-1/2 x 11 piece of paper and put it in my desk drawer at work.  I hand-wrote it again on a note card to keep in my purse.  And I typed it out real pretty to tape to my bathroom mirror at home.  Here it is:

Please refer to the original post to get the full benefit of this action.  If you're already paleo or paleo-ish, why are YOU paleo?  If you're not, but you want to be, why do you want to be?  If you think paleo is crazy nonsense, I wouldn't mind hearing from you too! :)

Tip of the Day #7

Today's tip:

Waste not, want not.

Coffee is expensive.  Organic coffee is even more expensive.  So, it drives me crazy when there's coffee left in the pot.  I found a way to use that coffee.  I pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it.  When the tray is full of frozen coffee cubes, I put them in a bag in the freezer.  Then, on the days that I want iced coffee rather than hot, I use them in my coffee!

Doesn't that coconut milk look dreamy?

Tip of the Day #6

Today's tip:

Find new ways to enjoy old favorites.  I'm not talking about SWYPO here.  I'm not talking about paleo-izing your pizza.  I mean, if you love coffee (and you aren't nixing caffeine as part of your Whole30), try new ways to make your coffee exciting.  Today, I made Pumpkin Spice Coconut Cream for my coffee.  I whipped up some of my  super thick (chilled) canned coconut milk with some cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice.  It's delicious!  Here's another great recipe for cappuccino!  Enjoy yourselves!  You may just find that you like this version of coffee better than the old cream & sugar version that you used to drink.  These are great alternatives to dairy and artificial sweeteners.

Tip of the Day #5

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I have a few recipes to share, but just no time for that right now.  Hopefully later this week!  So here's a tip:

Save all glass jars, large or small and everything in between.  I get my freeze dried dill and chives in these little 0.3oz jars:

Image credit: Lighthouse Foods
http://litehousefoods.stores.yahoo.net/freezdriedhe.html 

I've saved the jars because when I clarify one half pound of Kerry Gold pastured butter, it fits perfectly in this little jar.  I keep it next to the stove with the lid closed.  I also keep pickle jars, sun dried tomato jars, jam jars, salsa jars and their lids.  The salsa jars work great for portioning out my homemade chicken soup for lunches!  Also, when I open a can of coconut milk, I pour it into a glass jar with a lid and keep it in fridge to use in our coffee...etc.  When I make a batch of mayo or ranch... you guess it.  I keep it in a jar.  I recycle any plastic jars that I have, but the glass ones are great for reusing over and over!

Tip of the Day #4

There are some great apps for your mobil device that you can use to come up with great Paleo/Whole30 meals/snacks.  My favorite one right now is My Kitchen fromThe Food Lovers' Primal Palate!  Here's what the app looks like on your iPhone:

This app allows you to search for recipes by type (appetizers, beverages, breakfast, entrees, salads, sauces & dressings, side dishes, soups, treats & cheats).  It also allows you to build your own weekly menu and shopping list.  I haven't played with the menu building/shopping list portion of the app yet, but I have made a few recipes that I found there recently which I will feature in another blog post(s) later this week!                       

Tip of the Day #3

Get your friends to join you! 

Of course, most of our friends thought we were crazy when we started our first Whole30, but after seeing our results (which I think were not what they expected, because they thought it was going to so difficult and we really found it to be easy), they all want to do one too!  The best part about this, is sharing Whole30 meals together!  Our friends that started their first W30 yesterday came over for dinner last night and we'll have dinner at their place one night this week.  I also had the pleasure of shopping for and preparing some basics (mayo, ranch...etc) with my friend this weekend!  

We also shared some samples of our Whole30 meals with some other friends that are starting their first W30 next week.  They raved about the food and it made them even more exciting about starting their first W30.  I look forward to having Paleo/Whole30 dinner parties soon!  

Image from visitshoremagazine.com

Tip of the Day #2

Today's Tip:

Get yourself some Larabars.  Check the ingredients if you are doing the Whole30 because some of them have peanuts, honey or other non-compliant ingredients.  I buy a lot of the apple pie, blueberry muffin, pecan pie and key lime pie bars.  My favorite is the Pecan Pie.  These bars taste like you're cheating.  Seriously, they are delicious. The ingredients are: Dates, Pecans & Almonds.  That's it!  But, don't go hog wild and eat several of them a day.  That would be stupid.  Just keep them around for when you want something sweet or "dessert" (be careful of enabling old habits during your Whole30 though!).  I like to keep one in my desk or purse for days when I get stuck at work late or just have hard time making it from breakfast to lunch without snacking. 

Paleo/Whole30 Tip of the Day

Today's Tip: Purchase and use a slow cooker!  

These are brilliant appliances.  They allow you to cook meat and veggies together for delicious "one pot" meals with very little effort.  Just put your meat, veggies & seasonings/sauces in the slow cooker in the morning before work/school/whateveryoudoallday and then when it's time for dinner... VOILA!  You have a healthy delicious meal!  Here are some slow cooker meals that I cook on a regular basis.

I actually have 2 slow cookers and sometimes on Sundays, I have food cooking in both of them at the same time!  You can pick one up for under $20 at wal-mart or other department stores.