Day 6: Feeling good in the kitchen

So I know I've been kind of obnoxious about my sugar cravings and blah blah blah. So today I'm getting back to what I do best: Cooking! (Oh and I made it through Day 2 with no sugar...go me!)

This morning I has some free time before heading to work, so I dug through the cabinets and thew together dinner in the crock-pot. I always have various types of canned tomatoes (puree, paste, diced) so when I saw a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes and tomato paste in the cabinet I thought, "Spaghetti!"
I don't think this counts as a recipe since spaghetti is too easy to make but I'll include it anyways in case someone really doesn't know how to make any type of spaghetti sauce...which is a little crazy.

Whatever you have in the cabinet Spaghetti
1 lbs grass fed ground beef
1 large can of fire roasted tomatoes (or tomato puree or regular diced tomatoes..just not tomato sauce because they usually have sugar and other processed ingredients in it)

1 small can tomato paste
14 oz of broth (I made my own chicken bone broth a few weeks ago and still have it in my freezer so I used that)
                                                1 tsp red pepper flakes
                                                1 Tbl oregino
                                                1 Tbl. basil
                                                1/2 Tbl. garlic powder
                                                1/4 Tbl. onion powder

*all measurements are made up, as I just toss in what looks like a good amount...but this should be about close for anyone who needs more specific measurements)

Throw it all in the crock-pot and set on low until you are ready for dinner.

Pet Peeve: Recipes that say you should cook something in the crock-pot for like 6 hours...who only works for 6 hours!!!???? I always cook everything in the pot on low for about 10 hours because that's how long it takes me to get to work, work all day, and drive home from work. It seems to never really be a problem...except that one time...

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I don't want to hear any "I don't like Brussels sprouts!" You just haven't eaten my sprouts! I quarter mine (Don't throw away the leaves that come loose, that's the best part!) I actually try to pull off a bunch of leaves while I'm cutting them. I toss them all in a roasting pan (leaves and all) and drizzle them with Olive Oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast them in the oven at 400 degrees until they are brown and delicious! I usually stir them after 10-15 mins to get them to crisp up on multiple sides. Seriously, people give Brussels Sprouts a bad wrap but they are delicious. On a side note, do you know it's Brussels sprouts (with an "s" at the end)? No "s"= not spelled correctly. I checked the package to make sure... I don't believe you squiggly red line under my word!

Breakfast: Quiche again! A little salmon, 1/4 acorn squash left over from last night and Jello again.
Lunch: Canned Salmon (mixed with olive oil and southwestern spice mix I picked up at the store the other day) an avocado, baby carrots and half a cucumber.
Dinner: Spaghetti squash and sauce with roasted sprouts.

Day 5: Put a bird on it

Sleep: 6.5 hours
Exercise: 5:30 Morning boot camp! Today was a rough shoulder day. Body killers suck and make it difficult for me to wash my hair properly when I can't hold my arms up that long! The downside to morning workouts is that I end up WAY hungrier then usual on boot camp days. So I spent all afternoon thinking about food...but that could be a sugar craving.

Tomorrow Amanda (my bootcamp trainer) is going to do a caliper body fat measurements of me. I'm not really excited about doing this after my terrible two weeks of eating...I'm also not excited about this because I'm really really really ticklish. Like inhumanly ticklish. I'm going to be giggling like a fool tomorrow morning.

Random: So in between the rain storms today a bird landed on the tree right outside our office window and I thought,"put a bird on it" and started cracking up. We recently starting watching Portlandia on Netflix and that show's hilarious! If you haven't watched it, it's basically strange sketches making fun of hipsters (which is apparently all of Portland). One of their first sketches is aptly titled "Put a bird on it" and they make fun of all the things people put birds on (if you don't know what I'm referring to, you're obviously one of those crazy people who don't waste time on Pintrest). So I'm cracking up at this sketch because I would totally put a bird on everything and husband turns to me and says, "You must love this show since it's like watching your life." I told him he was being ridiculous, everyone knows I prefer owls.

Put a Bird on it

Now I want to move to Portland... or Seattle.

ANYWAY!

Day 1 of Sugar Detox...since I've been a bust on the "healthy living" front, I started 21 day sugar restriction to get back in balance. In case anyone wonders: Sugar detox means no added sugar. I can have small amounts of fruit. Also no dried fruit or Paleoized treats. (Not that I know how to make three different versions of paleo chocolate cake in a mug...of course not). I'm not going to lie, I have a sugar withdrawal headache. But that's to be expected since I have been eating chocolate like a fat kid at Halloween. But I packed a good snack today so I can make it through without sticking my face in the candy dish.

Breakfast: Quiche, a little leftover chicken, saute spinach, and jello.
Lunch: Chili and veggies.
Snack: Green apple with 1 Tbl. cashew butter and left over chicken
Dinner: Lazy me made Pad Thai again with the rest of my leftover chicken and cabbage with Pad Thai sauce from a previous post. I also made cinnamon roasted acorn squash for dessert!

I just cut an acorn squash into pieces, rub with coconut oil and then sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Roast in the oven at 450 for about 45 min! It's so good and looks pretty too!

Day 3: Murderous Chocolate Cravings!

Sleep: 6.5 hours
Exercise: Bootcamp at Barkes Fitness! http://www.facebook.com/barkesfitness?fref=ts
You would think waking up at 5:10 most mornings to go workout would suck, but it's actually my favorite part of the day! Today was shoulders and arms? (I'm never good at remembering body parts.) It was my first time doing bench on an incline...turns out I suck at it. The second set of 15 my arms gave out and I required mucho assistance to finish the set. But I always feel accomplished after working out.

Rant of the Day: I do not know what it is about this office, but I spent the past two days with no cravings. Well, I did dream about chocolate cheesecake Saturday night. You know the one from the Cheesecake Factory with the chocolate frosting and chocolate chips in the crust and the giant cookie on top. Oh yeah.  But here I am, on my first day at the office with my "no sugar" rule and I spent most of my morning calculating a way to justify eating a cupcake. In fact, if a serpent appeared to me right now and said he would trade me a lifetime of eating chocolate with no weight gain in exchange for eternal damnation, I would take him up on it. I like warm climates anyways.

See, this is my problem. I have spent ALL DAY thinking about chocolate at work.  It doesn't help that I have to keep this bowl of candy sitting on my desk. So I cheated a little today. I had a small amount of dark chocolate out of the bowl, then I moved the bowl across the entryway. I thought that would help. But then I ate one more piece of dark chocolate. I guess I can't win today. I would like to add that dark chocolate is allowed in the world of Paleo, but seeing as I am trying to get back to an existence not ruled by sweet cravings, I am trying to avoid any kind of added sugar for the first 30 days. We already found out that I cannot control even a small deviation from my healthy eating plan or disaster ensues (see first blog post). So Day 3 was a bust for "no added sugar" but a plus as I stopped myself from eating the entire bowl like last week. See, I do have some self control! Now, if anyone has some ingenious way I can get over my sugar cravings without resorting to murdering for a cupcake, please post in the comment section!

Breakfast: 1/4 of the quiche I made Sunday with about 2 oz. leftover steak from last night
Lunch: 2 cups of Chili, 1 cup baby carrots, 1/2 avacado, and then a little later a banana with 1 Tb. cashew butter... and dark chocolate
Dinner: The rest of my leftover steak seared with Southwestern spices (bought a spice mix at the store today...and I think it's my new favorite!). Served with kale chips and reheated roasted veggies from yesterday.

Dessert: Raspberry Gelatin  (not raspberry Jello= Sugar). Gelatin, made from animal collagen...yummy. Bone products are good for "gut healing." and are recommended a lot in the Paleo sphere. Instead of using Jello which is sugar and more sugar. I purchase unsweetened gelatin and add in flavors like herbal teas or raspberries! It's delicious. I was out of coconut milk so I used Chamomile tea instead. This is the recipe I got from Mark's Daily Apple Blog:

Raspberry Coconut Gelatin Dessert

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened, powdered gelatin
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 can of coconut milk (13.5 ounces)
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Soften the powdered gelatin by pouring it into the cold water.
Heat 1/2 cup of coconut milk.
Add the hot coconut milk to the gelatin and stir until the gelatin dissolves.

In a blender, blend the remaining coconut milk with the raspberries and vanilla. Pour into the bowl with the gelatin. Stir.
Chill in an ice bath first to speed up the thickening process (like in the salmon recipe) or just pour into small dishes or ring molds. Refrigerate until firm

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/salmon-mousse-gelatin-ring-and-raspberry-coconut-gelatin-dessert/#ixzz2JJBRJSbP

Anyone know how to get over sugar cravings related to stress eating?

Day 2: Cooking up a storm

Sleep: 8 hours

Exercise: None...unless extreme cooking counts!

So I set off the fire alarm in our apartment again. It doesn't help that they installed the fire alarm about three feet away from the oven. So every time I do something like say, roast a chicken, I probably piss off the neighbors. But as husband says as he stands on the couch and waves smoke away from the fire alarm with a kitchen towel, "It sounds like Sunday"

The most inconvenient part of only eating non-processed foods is that you cant really just grab and go meals. No more cereal in the morning or lunch on the go. This means I need a lot of food ready to eat or else it's too easy to cheat after a rough day. Enter in Weekly Sunday Cook-up. Every Sunday I spend an obscene amount of time in the kitchen (which also doubles as the living room since our place is so small) and I cook...a lot. Today's cook-up is the following:

1. Chili in the crock-pot (this will be lunch for most of the week)
2. Roasted Squash (zucchini and yellow squash with coconut oil and thyme...taste very pizza like)
3. Roasted carrots and parsnips (Olive Oil, garlic powder and ginger)
4. Crustless Quiche
5. Roast Chicken

Chili: Everyone has their favorite Chili recipe, but when you switch over to paleo and realize that you can't have beans then it takes a little creativity to get a good hearty chili recipe (that's not just tomatoy meat). I'm still experimenting with mine. Today's version
1 lb beef
1 onion (diced)
1 acorn squash (cubed)
1 red bell pepper
2 carrots
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
chili powder
salt
paprika
melted bakers chocolate (I threw in one square of unsweetened chocolate, I love it in chili!)

I just throw it all in the crock-pot on low and let it cook all day. I can pack this for lunch with half an avocado for topping and raw veggies on the side. I hope it turns out ok (not that I've ever eaten bad chili)

Roast Veggies: I prefer veggies to be cooked, so I drizzle them with olive oil or coconut oil, add some seasoning and then throw them in the oven at 450 degrees until they look done. Then I just reheat them for dinners for the next couple of day.

Crustless Quiche: I got the basic recipe from the BalancedBites site by Diane Sanfilippo. Her cook book Practical Paleo has great recipes and food plans for someone starting out on paleo. Here is the link to her recipe:
http://balancedbites.com/2010/06/easy-recipe-crustless-quiche-with-summer-squash.html

I tend to use whatever veggies I have on hand for quiche.
Today's mix:
1 large zucchini (shredded and squeezed dry)
1 large sweet potato (for added carbs I need after Bootcamp class)
2 carrots (shredded)
I mix this with 12 beaten eggs
throw in some sage and garlic powder
bake at 350 until it starts to brown on top.

I cover this pan and cut out a piece each morning for breakfast and reheat it. Super fast and easy way to have eggs and veggies for breakfast.

Roast Chicken:
I read this recipe on yahoo Friday afternoon but now I can't find it on the website. Oh well. It was super easy so I'll wing it.
4 whole cloves of garlic
1 lemon cut in half
thyme and rosemary
Stuff these all in the cavity of the chicken and then roast in the oven at 500 degrees (yes, that's 500!) Cook for 15 min. per lb of chicken! So it should only take an hour or so and then I'll have a crispy roasted chicken! Oh, and if you can you might want to remove the batteries out of your fire alarm while making this chicken. Unless you have someone who is skilled at fanning a fire alarm.

Breakfast: eggs, roasted acorn squash with cinnamon and sauteed spinach with cinnamon topped with walnuts and apricots.

Lunch: Roast chicken with roasted carrots and parsnips. Also had a banana with cashew butter for desert.

Dinner: Chili with avocado.

Snack: In honor of our new TV/ cold weather, we stayed in an watched bad horror movies all day which means Kale Chips again! Salty snacks and gore go so well together. I love it when the blonde dies first :)

Day 1: Smells like cabbage

Day 1                                                                                          

Sleep: 8 hours (gotta love the weekends!)

Exercise: 30 min. fast walk on inclined treadmill (easing back into it)

Breakfast: Coffee (black of course... and strong). Herring Snacks (that explains the fish smell) two eggs cooked in coconut oil and reheated butternut squash sprinkled (or covered... because I'm a little heavy handed) with Cumin.  Cumin is my favorite spice and if you have never tried in on squash or sweet potatoes, you are missing out. Also, don't tell husband I ate Herring in the apt. He hates that I eat "smelly" foods. But he was still sleeping, so maybe he wont notice...the cats sure did. "No kitty, my Herring Snack!" 

Lunch: Pad Thai and banana with sunbutter! So I love love love Pad Thai but sadly it's made with noodles and peanuts and soy sauce, "Oh my!" so it's a no go. Until, that is, I found my savior of interesting Paleo foods, Melissa Joulwan, author of Well Fed and one of my favorite Paleo bloggers. She has a recipe in her book for "Sunshine Sauce". I hate her for it. I wish I'd never heard of Sunshine Sauce. Now I eat Pad Thai weekly...maybe more then that. Her book is amazing because she has all these great Moroccan and Middle Eastern spice mixes that make me not miss non-paleo foods. Seriously. The Pad Thai is so amazing, I don't miss that old stuff. Damn her and her delicious sauces! Anyway... here is the link to the recipe on her page: 

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2009/07/21/sunshine-sauce/

It turns out that I like my Pad Thai on the lazy side of things. So here is my cheat/lazy version of Pad Thai sauce.  

1 T. of Sesame Butter (you can buy this at a regular grocery store, but I get mine at Whole Foods. Make sure there is no added sugar!)

Pour in some Coconut Aminos (Better then Soy Sauce, I promise...and also bought at Whole Foods)

add a pinch of ginger

sprinkle in some garlic powder

crush in some red pepper flakes

Mix.

Call it a day.

Yeah, I don't usually measure the sesame butter either. I just spoon some into a bowl. I don't measure because I enjoy the added suspense of maybe adding too many pepper flakes and making it too spicy. What can I say, I walk on the wild side.

I love to mix the sauce with cabbage cooked until tender in coconut oil and shrimp. For the record, pre-shredded cabbage or broccoli slaw that you can buy in the produce section save my sanity. I go threw a few bags a week. No washing, cutting or shredding makes cooking fast dinners so much less messy and faster!   Maybe throw in a few handfuls of spinach into the pan while when you add the shrimp in until it wilts. And you end up with this lovely creation:

Oh yeah, looking good! See, I don't even miss peanuts...or delicious creamy Skippy peanut butter... eaten right out of the....ummm.... that was awkward. I might have lied when I said I didn't miss peanut butter.

Well, this afternoon husband and I traveled down to Best Buy since he has been hording gift cards for a year from there. We went to peruse the Blue Ray collection and I suggested that we go glance at new TVs since he has been wanting a new one forever. I figured we would just price some TVs and get and idea of what we might want down the line.  TRANSLATION: We bought a 60" LED TV. IT'S HUGE! I mean our apartment is only two rooms. The couch is literally four feet in front of this giant wall of a TV! And as we're setting it up husband says, "See, we have more room. We could have gotten the 80 inch."  (insert my deadpan stare)

Moral of the story is, we now have life sized people on the TV in our living room.

Dinner: We had dinner with my parents in Greenwood at our favorite sushi place. I had sushimi (raw fish). No rice.

In honor of our first movie night with our personal at home movie screen I made my favorite movie snack: Kale chips. Delicious and good for you too! I think he owes me watching a chick flick tonight.

Tomorrow is weekly cook-up Sunday so stay tuned for some cooking madness!

Christmas Tree Trash Brownies

My inner fat kid is judging me.

So I'm sitting at my desk eating a bagel and thinking this has got to stop. Anyone who knows me knows that I do not eat bagels. I don't eat any "non" foods. I'm the obnoxious person who asks for the Gluten Free menu at restaurants and "hold the dairy" and "can I substitute the potatoes for a veggie?" My husband rolls his eyes, my friends poke fun at me for being difficult, I'm pretty sure the waiter spits in my food, but I just ignore it and keep eating Paleo (google it if you don't know what this is...or keep following and you'll eventually figure it out :) ). So like I said, I never eat popcorn until this week hit me. I've been stressed. Very, very stressed. And then all bets were off.

It all started with one dark chocolate hershey's nugget.

Just one nugget.
Then maybe just two.
Then two more
and then I ate:

6 full sized Peanut Butter Cups
4 Kit Kat bars
Skittles
more chocolate nuggets
Vanilla Wafers

Pub Mix (if you don't know what this is you are better off for it...cheesy crunchy goodness)

about 40 animal crackers
The sugar headache came on, but I kept strong.

I went home and realized that I threw the last of our junk food out the night before. See, there was a box of Little Debbie Brownies. You know the ones with the waxy delicious frosting (shaped like Christmas Trees) I had received them as a present from a lady at work and I didn't eat even one Christmas Tree! These have been sitting around m house since before Christmas and no one ate them! So I put them in the trash can the night before. Well that night, I picked the box out of the trash and ate all three Christmas Tree brownies. You heard me right, I ate Christmas Tree Trash Brownies! Out of the trash can. "Hello Low Point, lets be friends"

See the problem is that I have great will power until I make one little error and then I'm not just off the wagon, I killed the horse that pulled the wagon and used the wagon wood to make a fire pit with which to toast marshmallows. So my out of control binge chocolate eating has spread across three days (and may or may not have included Chinese Pot Stickers and Shrimp Fried Rice last night and four cookies at work today...oh wait, that was five cookies because I bought a Oatmeal Raisin Cookie at Zoup today as well).

So the moral of my story is that I'm starting over again. A re-boot of my nutrition and exercise plan. Not because I want to be skinny or perfect but because I want to be happy. I want to be healthy. I want to be content. So that is what this blog is, my musing, my recipes, my trials and my failures as I find a path to content. Oh and I love to cook. So look for some great recipies and photos as I invent in the kitchen! Here's to a Sanguine life.

P.S. I can't spell. Do not message me with spelling or typing errors. I do not care. If it bothers you, don't read my blog.