Whole30: Week 3

I'm going to come right out and say it. I cheated this week. Actually, I cheated a lot. I had a chic fil a grilled chicken sandwich on Friday and then today we were invited to lunch with my family and dinner with Mark's family so I had spaghetti for lunch and a hot dog for dinner. And cookie dough. And also a brownie. Ha. Soooo.... What now?

Well first, I'm going to give reasons excuses for my cheats.

We've had a very depressing, stressful week. Reaghan had a fever and an ear infection that is still on going which means I'm getting next to no sleep and she is not the happiest tiny person to be around during the day. Mark and I also caught her cold so that has been adding to the general crankiness in the house right now. We spent $$$ at the vet on our dog who has a "suspicious" lump on her leg so she was put on medicine that is making her have to pee every 15 minutes and have accidents if left alone too long and has to go back to the vet in 2 weeks for a re-check. And worst of all my sister received the worstt news possible for her right now - that her baby had stopped growing and they couldn't find a heartbeat.

Why am I sharing? Honestly... it makes me feel better about cheating. I'm not really proud of my decision but when I think back on my week... well, I'm not holding myself to too high of a standard. I was stressed and sad and exhausted and didn't want to think about new recipes or cooking.

Soooo... What now?

I learned that I absolutely use food as a comforter; a way to check out of reality for a second or too and make me feel better for the few minutes that I consume delicious food. One of the things Whole30 is supposed to do is break you of these unhealthy relationships we have with food, so by giving in to the cravings for comfort food, I sort of defeated the purpose of the whole process.

I guess I have 2 options - just end the Whole30 now and be happy with the 20 days that I did complete, or jump back in and finish my LAST week strong. I'm going to go with the latter. I honestly just want to quit, but I don't want to let lousy decisions send me on a downward spiral.

Okay - with that out of the way - I did make it 5/7 days this week without cheating so here were some of my favorite meals of the week:

Banana Pancakes

(Again!)

These turned out a little prettier this time - again its 2 eggs, 1 banana, a dash of baking soda and 1/4 cup almond meal. The flipping part of the cooking is tricky, but doable. So yummy with a slice of banana with each bite.

Carne Asada:

Check out the recipe here. It was supposed to be paired with an Avocado/Tomatillo sauce and I bought the tomatillos only to find out that I had eaten all my avocados when I went to make the sauce. It tasted great just with the marinade and a side of steamed veggies.

Eggs, Apples with Almond Butter and Blueberries:

This has been a breakfast and a dinner for me! 

Chicken with Stir Fry Veggies:

Nothing about this is really "stir fry" except that the frozen bag of mixed veggies are supposed to be perfect for using in a stir fry. It had snap peas, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, red peppers and carrots. The chicken was pre-cooked so I just heated it up in coconut oil in a skillet and mixed with the veggies. This was a quick dinner because I was headed out to watch my lil bro and sis play basketball. Mark stayed home with the sickness. 

Taco Salad:

Ignore the cracker on my plate, that was gift from Reaghan. She loves to share her food with mommy.  This was pre-cheat so I didn't eat it, it just hid on my plate. ; )

If you want to make your own taco seasoning, check out my post here.

Banana "Bread":

One guideline of the Whole30 is that you're not supposed to try and find substitutes for your favorite things and just wholethirtyfy them because this just continues to feed your sweet cravings and doesn't help with re-wiring your brain. At this point in the week I was desperately looking for comfort food while trying to stay compliant so I found this recipe and went for it. It actually looks a lot better than it tasted. The recipe calls for coconut flour and I'm just not a big fan of the taste. However, with that being said, I consumed the entire loaf in 2 days. (I did not put butter on it.)

And I had some fun finds at TJMaxx...

All of these were Whole30 Compliant and a nice change of pace as far as snacking goes.

I'm a huge snacker.

And that was week 3. Praying for motivation to finish strong and to keep my eyes on Him as a source of comfort and not food. : ) Also praying for a healthy family and a healthy dog and more sleep for everyone!

 

(Also - weigh in - still at 148. I was 147.5 Saturday morning before my big Sunday cheat meals. I was only able to workout 3 times this week and didn't get a long run in.)

Grief and Hope

In my New Years post I shared that my sister Erin and her husband Adam were finally pregnant after 4 years of infertility struggles.

It was the very best news to start of the New Year and we were so excited to dream of all this year would bring - growing belly, gender reveals, baby showers, and a fresh new squishy baby to cuddle at the end of the summer.

I had been giving her progesterone shots every other day since they found out to help sustain the pregnancy. My poor sisters hips were tender and bruised from the multiple injections. But it was all going to be more than worth it. We just knew it.

It's with a severely broken heart that I share that they were unable to hear a heart beat at her last appointment and the ultrasound didn't show any growth of the gestational sack. They've instructed her to stop all medicine and return for another appointment on Thursday, as well as to prepare for her body to realize there is no longer a baby there.

I can't imagine the pain that Erin and Adam are experiencing right now. I could barely handle the news when she told me so I'm unable to comprehend how crushed they felt. How devastated they feel. What can you say to someone in that moment? There is nothing to say. I went and sat with her and cried with her and told her how beautiful and strong she was and how much we were going to miss baby Honeycutt. 

Of course in my own heart I cried out to God wanting to know why. Why would He allow them to experience this hope just to allow it to be taken away in a matter of weeks? There are few other things in my life that I've prayed so earnestly for - for my sister to carry this pregnancy to full term and deliver a healthy baby. Why did this prayer go unanswered? I'm sure you know... there often aren't answers for these sort of things.  In my head I know that God is sovereign, that He owes no explanation, and that He does love us deeply and in ways we could never imagine. I know He never promises we wouldn't have troubles in this world, and only promises that He has overcome the world. I know He brings beauty from ashes. But in times of hurt, its hard to translate that head knowledge to my heart. My sweet sister loves the Lord so much. She doesn't understand but she clings to the Lord. Do you know why? As a follower of Christ, in the midst of grief, there is always hope.

Heaven.

Where there will be no more pain or sadness.

Life hurts. Its hard. And it makes us long for heaven even more.

Heaven. 

Where we will hold baby Honeycutt one day. 

Would you please keep my sister and her husband and the rest of our family in your prayers over the next few weeks? This will be a hard season.

And would you also consider following Christ? So that you also may have the hope of heaven.

Whole30: Week 2

Week 2 came and went and I'm still pressing on. There were a few days this week where I was extremely aware of all of the things I'm choosing not to eat right now... Like on Friday night when my grandma was in town and we all went shopping and out to dinner. *sigh* I ended up having a salad at Panera with just some lemon juice squeezed on it. Surprisingly, it didn't taste bad with just the lemon juice so I'm tucking that little trick in the back of my mind. But I may have been drooling a bit watching everyone else eat their baguettes and scrumptious soups and sandwiches! I will always love bread. The end.

I only lost 1/2 a pound this week too! I weighed in at the end of the second week at 148. That was a bit discouraging. But they say on their website that the second week you might feel some bloating and other intestinal discomforts due to your gut healing... so if your jeans are feeling tighter not to be discouraged! Here's hoping Week 3 I start seeing a bit more magic.

I worked out 5 of 7 days this week too! Yay me! I did P90x workouts 3 days and then went on 2 runs, including a 7 miler at the end of the week. I ate a Lara Bar before my run and I felt much better this week than last. I'll test it out again this weekend for another long run.

Here are some of my favorite meals from the week:

Mango Chicken and Cauliflower Rice:

This was good but also it was sort of a disaster. My kitchen looked like a tornado had gone through it by the time I was done! I didn't have a few of the ingredients (Coconut aminos, habenero peppers and sesame seeds) so it didn't turn out exactly like the recipe and it could have used a bit more flavor but over all it was good and I really liked the cauliflower rice! My chicken isn't as orange and pretty as the original picture because I couldn't find 100% pure mango juice so I tried to make my own by just buying mangoes and juicing them with a food processor... aaaaaannnndd it didn't really work too well. But if I were you, I'd give this recipe a try because the potential was there! I just didn't execute it all that well!

Crispy Italian Chicken Thighs:

Favorite of the week! We actually had this on Monday and then again on Sunday! You just pat the chicken really dry so the skin gets nice and crispy, rub it down with a mix of seasoning (1tbs garlic powder, 1tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp of seas salt) and bake at 425 degrees on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. We have a convection oven so 20 minutes later, out popped crispy skin and juicy meat. I paired it with sweet potato chips but they weren't quite ready when I took the picture. I've been eating double meat portions on this Whole30 since I usually rely on some sort of carb to fill me up, like pasta or dinner rolls.

Sweet Potato Chips:

Thinly sliced sweet potatoes, soaked in water first for about 30 min to get rid of the starchiness, tossed with olive oil and then baked at 425. I can't get the timing just right, I always end up scorching some and they never turn out crispy all the way through, but I still like them. I read somewhere to salt afterwards to increase the crispiness but it doesn't seem to make a difference. 

Vegetable Soup:

Pretty self explanatory. I just made sure to use organic crushed tomatoes and veggie broth for the base and added in organic ground beef with whatever frozen veggies I had in my freezer. I made a huge pot of this and had leftovers for lunch for the next several days!

Pulled Pork Sliders with Sweet Potatoes:

Cooked a seasoned pork roast in the crockpot while I was at work and then made the sweet potato buns sort of like the chips when I got home and then topped with shredded lettuce. It was incredibly easy and delicious. The original recipe explains the process much better than I would. 

Snacks: 

Carrot Sticks and Apple Sauce

Okay, so not necessarily together all of the time, but I had a lot of each this week. I dipped the carrot sticks in guac (Wholly Guacamole that we picked up at Costco) and its sooo good! A lot healthier than dipping it in ranch, so this is something else I'll carry over into my post Whole30 life. And the apple sauce is of course unsweetened and organic.

Also, this picture is severely unappetizing. I get it. A lot of my pictures aren't pretty. But this is real life people. I don't always have time to fancy up my plates for a picture, I just throw it on there and eat! :)

Banana Pancakes:

I'll be honest, these sounded a lot better than they actually tasted. Its 2 eggs, 1 banana, 1/4 cup of almond flour and a pinch of baking soda mixed together. I had a really hard time flipping them without them falling apart and they didn't have the same texture as regular pancakes at all. Which I guess I shouldn't have been expecting but was sort of hoping for. I topped with almond butter for some bites and tried dipping others in my Whole30 compliant apple butter that I got last fall. (I knew I was planning a Whole30 so I picked it up at an apple orchard!) I liked it better with the almond butter for sure.

So that was week 2! I'm already 2 days into a week 3 and doing okay. Pretty excited that after this week I can start a count down to the finish line!!

Whole 30: Week 1

I made it through my first week of this Whole30 thing! It wasn't too bad, but then, I've done a week of clean eating before so I was never too worried about the first week, its the 3 weeks thereafter that concerns me. Haha But I'm feeling good and committed to finishing this so I'm just taking it one week at a time and not thinking about how many more days I have left. (*cough*23*cough*)

My family even came over to watch the Redskins lose the playoff game and Mark made everyone homemade pizza and I even whipped up some brownies for them and didn't have a bite of any of it! I just ate a sweet potato. Talk about self control.

At the close of the first week I weighed 148.5 - 4 pounds down! I can already tell a difference in the way my jeans are fitting and my stomach feels a bit flatter. Technically I'm not supposed to be weighing myself because this Whole30 thing isn't about weight loss as much as it is changing your eating habits, but lets me honest...Weight loss is good motivation! So I'm keeping track! I've also been being super consistent with a workout routine. I did 3 p90x workouts and ended the week with a 6 mile run on Saturday. Which is also the official kick off of my 2016 Shamrock 1/2 Marathon training.

The first couple of days I got a bad headache in the evenings, not sure if I just wasn't drinking enough water or if it was a side affect of not having any caffeine, but those have faded away now! I've had pretty good energy over all, my only other issue has been feeling a little blah during my run. I've got to find some good whole foods to fuel my body for long runs because I'm totally used to having a few slices of pizza the night before a run to "Carb load."

Here were some of my favorite meals of the week:

Shrimp Avocado Salad:

This once I kind of made up from a few different recipe inspirations. I just sauteed the shrimp in coconut oil and garlic which made them taste almost buttery, and then I mixed in some fresh salsa (chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, peppers, salt) and a mix of mashed and chunked avocados and it was soooo gooood! I couldn't finish it all.

Scrambled Eggs:

My breakfast staple - eggs. I usually had fruit and salsa or avocado to go along with it and alternated between scrambled and fried eggs.

Sweet Potatoes:

I've had a ton of sweet potatoes this last week! I had it once for dinner and then a couple of times for lunch in the "baked" sweet potato form. I always bake my sweet potatoes in the microwave. I just wash them, poke holes in the skin with a fork and then wrap them in a moist paper towel. Usually takes 7-8 minutes depending on the size of the potato. When its done I drizzle it with a little bit of olive oil and then sprinkle some salt and garlic powder on top. It's not butter and brown sugar but its good. I'm learning to love  appreciate savory more than sweet.

I also made sweet potato fries twice and plan to do some more this week!

Tuna Salad:

Can of Tuna, boiled egg, fresh salsa, organic pickles, and avocado mixed together and then a little bit of lemon juice squeezed on top. I'm a mayo lovin' girl, so tuna without mayo is sad, but this is pretty good with the avocado to smooth it out. 

Sweet Potato Hash Browns and Fried Egg:

I grated a sweet potato mid way through the week and had enough to use the "hash" it made to make this dish for 1 dinner and a couple of lunches. It was nice to have something "quick" to pull out of the fridge and whip up. I'm definitely going to be shredding some more this week to have on hand just in case.

I just put the shredded potatoes in a skillet with coconut oil over low heat and fried for a few minutes. I add some salt and garlic and mix it around and then let it cook for another minute, then I cracked the egg on top, cover until the egg was cooked and then used a spatula to lift the creation out of the pan and on to my plate. Yummy!

Banana Ice Cream:

1 1/2 Frozen bananas, half a can of coconut milk cream, and a few strawberries. Blended together in the ninja and then put in the freezer to firm up. I made this once before and it was better the first time. I'm going to have to work on my banana ice cream skills a bit.

"Faux"t meal:

Hands down my FAVORITE breakfast so far. 

1 banana mashed until almost liquid, add 1 egg and mix together, add a pinch of baking soda and you're ready to go.

Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in frying pan and pour mixture in, let it cook for about 1 minute and then take a fork and gently scramble it up as it cooks like you would scramble eggs.

Top with fruit and oh man is this heavenly. Its fluffy, sweet, and filling. 

I've even made it for night time snack a couple of times!

We also had taco salad, spaghetti squash and baked chicken for dinner that I forgot to take pictures of.

I already have my menu planned for this week and did my grocery shopping this morning to replenish the produce drawers in my fridge. Hoping for another solid week!

Happy 2016! {A belated post}

We spent this New Years Eve at my parents house having a family and friends game night that involved a new game called "Things..." and a dance off with the Wii Just Dance 2016. And of course when midnight hit I was right where I always want to be getting a kiss from this handsome guy.

...But sharing this picture isn't really why I'm writing a late blog post about New Years...

Some blog post themes I don't really care if I ever get back around to, but then there are some posts that I really do want to keep up on - like annual new year posts! In the midst of busy schedules and life I'm always like "ehhh... I don't really need to write one this year" but then when I actually do have a chance to sit and blog and I look back on last years post I'm all "Ahh! I need to write one. Why didn't I sit and do it sooner?!" Because its fun to document things and be able to go back and remember!!!

So without any more procrastination, and fingers crossed I finish this quickly as we're nearing the end of the afternoon nap time, here's a look back at our 2015!

Travels - We did a lot this past year, actually it was really just over the summer! We went to the OBX in May with Mark's family, flew to Texas in June for my cousins wedding, drove to Ohio in July with my family for a family reunion, drove to Blacksburg, VA in August for my best friends wedding in which Reaghan was a flower girl, and finished off the summer with quick trip to Charlottesville for a Labor Day canoe trip. :) This fall we also went to Massanutten with Mark's family for a long weekend and apple picking.

New Accomplishments - Keeping a tiny human alive for a full year! *high fives all around*. Also losing my baby weight and getting back in to semi regular running and workouts was a big deal for me! But its always a work in progress. ; )

Milestones Reached - We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! I got a special plaque for being at my job for 5 years this past July!

New House Updates - Mark tore down our old shed and built a new one. He re-stained our back deck and built a small arbor for our hammock swing and baby swing. We also finally tore out the overgrown bushes in our front flower bed!

New Things Tried - Mark is taking college classes again! He already holds a B.S. in business with an IT specialty but will have more opportunity for growth where he works if he obtains a certain number of credits in accounting classes. His work is actually partnering with the community college here to offer these classes so its been a great opportunity! He's finished one class and has a few more to go to reach the right hours and may have enough to get him an Associates Degree in accounting.

Races Run - Shamrock 1/2 marathon in March - my first big post baby race! The Step Up for the Up Center event where I climbed the tallest building in VA 3x, a doggy dash 5k, and a Surfin Santa 5 miler. Its harder to find time/money to run races these days.

New Scary Moments - One evening while I was on my way home from work, Mark called and said Reaghan was in such a crying fit that she was gasping for air and wouldn't settle down. When I got home I couldn't console her for a while either and when trying to feed her she couldn't catch her breath. She was only about 4 months old. I called my mom and then because of the way she was gasping I called the pediatrician... turns out she really had just worked herself up over something that we'll never know... Looking back I can definitely see a small over reaction on my part haha but I'll always remember it being the first moment that I was truly scared as a new mom that something might not be right. Another scary parenthood moment? Reaghan fell backwards on a patio at 10 months when trying to cruise along a table and hit the back of her head on the concrete. My stomach turns at the thought of hearing that "thud" sound. She was fine, but you guys... being a parent is hard in all sorts of little ways that you don't even realize. Like hurting when your baby hurts. So for new scary moments??? Yea, being a parent in and of itself is pretty scary.

Prayers Answered - Aside from the minor incidents above, Reaghan has had a healthy year! Only minor colds and rashes and no emergency situations! Thank you Lord! We are praying the same for 2016!

Also... *drum roll* My sister and her husband announced their pregnancy just shortly before the New Year! After 4 years of struggling through infertility God has answered their prayers! We are ecstatic!! I can't wait to watch her belly grow and I'm so excited about all of the goodness this year will bring because of this new life!


We are ready for you 2016!!!

Whole30: Day 1

I started a Whole30 today! Yikes! It was my New Years Resolution. I'm a little nervous about it. Remember when we did the 14 Day Clean Eating Challenge? I decided after that was over that I would do a full 30 days after New Years. I was totally on board and ready to go in the few months leading up to New Years, but now that it's here I'm not as excited about it. 

Nevertheless I had committed to myself to do it, I want to lose some weight and I'm training for a 1/2 marathon in March so I know cleaning up my diet will help me get stronger and faster. 

So I went grocery shopping today and spent about $200 in organic meats, produce, coconut oil, ghee, etc. Eating clean is expensive. But worth it...I'm guessing. 

I had eggs for breakfast, a salad with chicken and tomatoes and no dressing for lunch, Larabars and apples for snacks, an a tuna salad for dinner. 

It was good, but you guys, honestly I'm still hungry. I want something filling like pasta or bread. And I started to get a headache afterwards which is either a caffeine headache from all the soda I had over the holidays or a sugar headache from again, the soda and cookies etc, etc, from the holidays. Either way, I'm feeling not that stellar as I close out my first day. 

I'm not sure how much I'll blog about this process. Probably quite a bit if I have the time, but not daily. 

My starting weight today is 152.5. 

We'll see how this goes!