Whole 30 Reintroduction

As I wrapped up my Whole30, I have realized that even though it was difficult at times to complete I was way more nervous about the reintroduction period. I felt like there was some confusing information as far as added sugar and slow roll versus fast track. 

Specifically this statement, "First, to give yourself a little breathing room, relax on the “no added sugar” rule. This doesn’t mean you’re eating cupcakes washed down with energy drinks, but if you want some maple chicken sausage, bacon with your eggs, ketchup on your burger, or the vinaigrette dressing that comes with your restaurant salad, go right ahead. Note that we’re not actually changing your diet much here—you were already eating meat, condiments, and salads with dressing on the Whole30. We’re just broadening your choices a bit, in a way that is unlikely to send you running for the nearest donut shop."

This was on the Whole30 website but I also read it in It Starts With Food. For me, I actually felt (and slept) so well that I was hesitant to start really reintroducing troublesome items. BUT I was interested in adding pre-made salad dressings and condiments back in. The amount of time needed to make these every week was enough to make me want to reintroduce those. Sure I would love to eat clean dressings but so far they are very hard to find or pretty expensive. 

BTW, the answer I got to this question was, "Big picture-wise, salad dressing is a bad example for Whole30 to use for the "relax on the no added sugar" tip, because you can pretty much guarantee that any dressing in a restaurant is going to use soybean oil."

So my take away is that if I want convenience I may be consuming more additives than I would like. For me, this is worth it though because I can't spare the extra time. Maybe one day, but not in my current juncture in life. 


So back to the reintroduction: 

Day 31 Legumes -

I got some gluten free soy sauce and had stir fry veggies with breakfast and lunch. (no issues) For dinner I made pinto beans in the Instapot.

There are beans in there I promise. :)

Result: Delicious (and I wasn't even missing beans) and no issues. Not a grumble nothing. 

Day 34 Dairy -

I realize this is technically out of order but I rationalized what I was doing that day and it made more since because the restaurant my family was eating lunch at has home-made ranch! So dairy it was. I had cheese in my eggs (actually feel like I liked them better without). For dinner we had beef tip stroganoff. I ate mine over veggies. 
Result: Tummy audibly grumbled all afternoon. In retrospect the ranch was very spicy (jalapeno ranch) so probably not the best idea. I think I will do a second reintroduction and be more careful. 

Day 37 Non gluten grains- 

This is today! I made some gluten free oatmeal. It was disgusting and I threw most of it away. I had one tortilla chip as I was packing my lunch (Skinnytaste.com Chili Popper Chili with corn chips), and it was GLORIOUS!! A couple of things, today was probably not the best day to start a reintroduction because our house is showing and we spent last night cleaning so no elaborate healthy meal. We grilled some compliant sausage and leftover veggies. I think the sausage messed up my stomach because it is NOT ok. But I really wanted corn chips. ;) The corn chips I got were organic Kirkland brand. 

I will update with the continued Non gluten grains in my next post. 

Whole30 part 3

Today is day 29 of my Whole30. Let's talk about some NSV since I can't technically weigh my self (although I feel like I am much less bloated so I am hopeful for some kind of decrease there).

NSV:

• Less bloated
• Skin/complexion looks amazing
• Sleeping through the night (I just don't do this and it has been amazing)
• No stomach problems (minus one that I think was food poisoning because the whole family got it)
• WAY fewer headaches
• I have kicked my soda habit (this is huge and I love that I am not a slave to acquiring a Diet Dr. Pepper all the time)
• Overall feeling better
• More energy, but I still wouldn't say "Tigerblood" (although one day I had a ton and it felt like Tigerblood on that day)

My whole family is also eating better. My toddler and husband have been getting down on sweet potatoes, lean cooked meat, veggies and fruit for snacks. We have been doing so well that I am starting to really look at moving to a more Paleo lifestyle. I just bought this book:

I haven't finished reading it, but it is a fun read and she has lots of different recipes for easy cooking paleo ideas.

Here is what I have been eating:

Roasted chicken. I baked it in the oven, veggies in the pan with it, sweet potatoes on the side. Easy clean-up and easy prep. 

G eating her Whole30 meal. :)

This looks gross but was actually really good. Banger sausage from book. Then I scrambled the eggs in the same pan with some onions and peppers. 

Shrimp salad again. I love seafood in the summer and shrimp are quick to cook. 

I seriously have been forcing myself to only eat this every few days. I would eat it everyday if not. 

InstaPot Deal!!! For Amazon Prime Day!!!

Since I started Whole30 I keep reading about the Instapot. It is a one stop shop for cooking healthy meals in minutes. It is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, saute' cooker (so you can only have to use one pan), rice cooker, yogurt maker etc. There are whole facebook groups devoted to how many things you can do with it. 

I have really been wanting one but for $130 I couldn't bite the bullet. Today on Amazon Prime day it is $69!!! For the Duo (the newer module with high and low pressure). I got the 6 quart. 

This is also a good deal if you are wanting a bigger size. All three sizes are onsale on the link below. 



InstaPot Deal

You do have to be an Amazon Prime member to access the deal, but if you aren't here is the link for the free trail: Prime Free Trial.  Trust me once you go prime you won't be able to go back. 

If you already have an InstaPot let me know what your favorite recipes are. I can't wait to try it out!!!

Whole 30 Part 2

I am now on day 25 and the end is in site. 

Some General Thoughts:

- I still miss cheese but not as much
- I feel amazing
- I have slept through the night twice since I started this and haven't done that in years. And just in general I feel more well rested. 
- I have only had a few headaches and NO migraines
- I feel like I have a little more energy but not "tigerblood"
- I miss Chinese food.
- I have only had one stomach issue this whole time and I think it might have been food poisoning because the entire family was ill


Overall that is a lot of positives. Looking ahead to next week I have made a reintroduction plan that may or may not be edited. I haven't finalized but I liked laying it out so I know. 

I ate out once so far during this and it was at Chipotle with all approved ingredients. We are currently selling our house and had to leave last night at dinner time to let the house get shown and we seriously debated about going to the local Mexican place. Well I am glad that I did some research because the manager let me know they cook everything in some kind of soybean oil. I would have been so mad if I messed up this close to the finish line. My other inquiries have determined that you can eat at Chuy's (grilled chicken salad with salsa dressing) and Pita Pit (Philly steak salad no dressing) but I haven't tried those. 

My eyes have been opened to the amount of preservatives, fillers and crap that is in our food. I am seriously considering making a lifestyle change for my family and doing Paleo after I wrap this up. 

This has been a lot of work (especially while trying to sell a house) but it has definitely been something I would recommend. 

Here are some of my favorite eats from the past two weeks:

A play off of bang bang shrimp from Skinnytaste.com. I used Franks red hot mixed with a little dump ranch. 

Sweet potatoes taste sweeter now. This is with clarified butter that I made.

Leftover roasted chicken with compliant salsa from Whole Foods and Guac. 

Steak! Grilled potatoes and green beans. 

Banger sausage patties that I made from Whole30 book over spinach, onion and a fried egg on top. 

Crispy skin grilled chicken. 

Roasted potatoes, Premade turkey burgers from Costco and green salad with dump ranch. 

This was a game changer. Bananas with a drizzle of Almond butter and some cinnamon. It was like a real dessert after all this time with no sugar. (I ate this with and without green apples)

Crockpot Chuckroast, with carrots and potatoes and green beans. 

Fresh Blackend Red fish we caught over a green salad with dump ranch. 

Grilled Chicken salad with dump ranch and Tessamae's Zesty ranch. I added boiled egg and some leftover compliant bacon. 

My two favorite dressings. I added paprika to the dump ranch. Yum! Also, I was not a fan of the Tessamae's Ceasar. It tasted like straight up horseradish. I was pissed that I wasted $6. 

Scrambled veggie eggs with my favorite banana mix. 

Who knew butternut squash with cinnamon was so good. Everyone in the house approved. 

Same salad as above this time with grilled shrimp. 

Bone broth turned out to be super easy and I used it in everything from gravy to mashed potatoes. 

Whole30

So as of June 14th I am officially on Whole30. It has been super helpful and motivating for me to read about other people's experiences with it so I figured I would post about mine.

I will tell you so far it has been hard but as of today (10 days in) I feel like I have turned a corner. I think the first week was so brutal because I am a Diet Dr. Pepper junkie, I was eating WAY more sugar and junk than usual (part of the reason I decided to do this), and most importantly I did not properly plan.

Sure I read the book and even went to Costco and loaded up on meat and fresh veggies, but I am a dip person. I didn't realize that every sauce and condiment in my stash weren't Whole30 friendly. No soy sauce, ketchup, bbq, mustard sauce, salad dressing etc. This was a problem.

I will also tell you that I have never been a huge grilled chicken fan and that mixed with the soda withdraw and overall tiredness were enough to almost do me in.

But fast forward a week and I am great! I seriously haven't had the digestive issues that I normally do (I see a specialist), no headaches and I swear I think that I am thinking more clearly. I buckled down somewhere in the week and decided to plan better and get busy. It seriously made a huge difference.

One of the most helpful things I did was to make a pot of Slow Cooker Paleo Jalepeno Chili from SkinnyTaste.com (I just love her). I am a soup girl and this one was seriously good and I had lunch ready for the next two days and had one to put into the freezer. I will probably double this next time. She also has a ton of recipes for paleo (very similar to Whole30) just check the ingredients for complacency.


I also roasted a chicken in the oven. This recipe was delicious. You can throw in some carrots, potatoes or whatever with it and dinner is done. But wait there's more! The leftover chicken can be used in some soup, or Mexican taco salads the next night (I found some compliant salsa and Whole Foods aka Whole Pay Check). Then I took the whole carcass and threw it in the crock pot with some water, celery and carrots to make bone broth (so I didn't have to buy and organic non-gluten stuff).

So I will continue to update about my progress as I work through the 30 days. I can't wait for the Tigerblood phase if I feel this good already.

Cravings:

CHEESE!!!

Diary of How I felt:

Day 1: Fine. Hungry.

Day 2: Headache. Might die. Realized I should have prepped more. Came home and made dressing.

Day 3: Dying. Headache for days. Found the joy of guacamole and felt better. More prep cutting up stuff and making stuff. Sigh.

Day 4: Woke up feeling pretty good. Lasted all day until about 3 p.m. Then a proverbial bus hit me. Lack of caffeine was serious today. Found the joy of NutPods (I'm sorry I can't drink coffee black. I am not that strong). They give you the creaminess back. Still not sweet but not bad. Realized I hadn't had a bm since day one.

Day 5: Woke up make coffee. Sat on couch. Felt like a truck hit me. "Might Kill All The Things." Also this is TMI so don't read the next line if you are squeamish, I had the biggest bm I have ever seen. (Gut healing???)

Day 6-7: Extremely tired. Didn't want to come home and cook. Just wanted cheese. Damnit I am a grown woman I can have cheese (I didn't). Soooo tired of meat. No headaches. BM at every meal (WHAT? Totally not like me.)

Day 8: Pretty good mood. Good energy. Still tired of meat. Still regular.

Day 9-10: Felt great. No headaches. No tummy trouble. Hubs cooked for me (all compliant ingredients).

Memorial Day Sales Round-up

With a what looks to be a lovely three day weekend approaching the marketing teams at our favorite stores are doing their best to keep us inside and shopping. Here is a sales round up that I have done so far. (I plan on updating this throughout the rest of the week so check back).

Calvin Klein 35% with code Memorial35: click here

Tom's up to 75% off: click here

Loft 40% off New Arrivals and 60% off sale: click here

Kate Spade Suprise Sale up to 75% off (you have to enter email): click here

Gap everything 50% off: click here

Father's Day Gift Ideas

Well Father's Day is quickly approaching and this one is just dang hard for me. I normally have an idea of what to get the hubby, but my dad and his dad allude me. My dad just buys himself items that he wants and Jason's dad pretty much does the same. Not to mention that the things I think they would want are expensive! So I rounded up some options in various price ranges and personalities to help you (click the links in picture captions).

Armani Cologne

Vineyard Vines Baseball Cap

Atlanta Braves Baseball Cap

Leather Shoulder Bag

Leather Padfolio

Tag Heuer Watch

Under Armour Shirt

Under Armour Cold Gear (Hubby got this for Christmas and LOVED it)

Of course if you are still confused like me Amazon has set up a site for Father's Day ideas just like Mother's Day. You can search by category or price range. Plus many of these are free shipping (SCORE)!

Let me know what you decide to get in the comments below. I struggle with the Dad's at Christmas time too so any brilliant ideas I will share on here. Thanks!!!

Summer Look by H&M OOTD

Who doesn't love H&M for stylish, trendy pieces. I love this summer look by UniqueImage on Polyvore, that any mom or trendinista could wear and be casual but put together. I put in my choices for interepretations of the look that you can get for a fraction of the price on H&M. Let me know what you think! (Click on the image for the pieces)

Game of Thrones Oathbreaker

Obviously the name of this episode refers to Jon Snow peacing out at Castle Black, but lets talk for a minute about some foreshadowing that may be happening...

Ned Stark's Valerian Steel sword was melted by Tyrion Lannister and turned into two swords after he lost his head. If what I am remembering and reading is correct one of them is now Jamie Lannister's and the other is Bryanne of Tarthe's. Bryanne's is called Oathkeeper. Not sure what this has to do with the price of beans, but Sansa is on her way to Castle Black with Bryanne (and Oathkeeper) where Jon Snow just left (Oathbreaker- is he really an Oath-breaker though since he technically served until he died?). Also, did anyone notice he left the cloak with his appointed new leader but definitely dipped off with the sword. 

Also this week was the return of Rickon Stark. Several fan theories here. We see the head of Shaggydog but was it really him? The Lord Umber was fiercely loyal to the Starks so it doesn't make sense that he is betraying them now. Also he would pledge allegiance to Ramsey Bolton (silent cheering). This could be a trick to over-through the Bolton's. 

Finally, did anyone catch the foreshadowing that Arya threw out. She definitely said that The Hound was alive when she left him and that she no longer wanted him dead. Could this be setting up an attack on The Mountain and House Lannister???

All Time Beauty Favorites Holy Grail

Summer months mean that my beauty routine changes a little. And while I love a good beauty sale and trying new items there are a few that I would consider to be staples or holy grail items. These are a few of my favorites. 


Anastasia Brow Whiz           

Mac Lipstick in Brave

GHD Hair Straightener

A new favorite Mac Prowear Concealer

Urban Decay Naked Palette - any of them are good, I like number 1 the best

Urban Decay Naked Basics

Essie Nail Polish the smooth texture really does make the extra few bucks worth it. 


Laura Mercier Translucent Powder

Summer months = time to break this one out Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer 

I haven't met a Tarte blush that I haven't enjoyed either. The pigment payoff in these are amazing!

Audible???

So I am looking for your experiences with Audible...I am thinking of signing up. I have recently started to listen to books on my Kindle App for I phone on the way to and from work. I have a long commute and this has actually been helping (I LOATHE driving).

I have always been an avid reader but have found that after having a baby (now toddler) it isn't as easy to have time. I am currently reading The Life Changing Magic of Tiding Up. It is a best seller and so I have decided to see what the hype was about (my thoughts on this later).

Anyway if you are interested here is the link and if you have already tried let me know what you think below:

Urban Decay Revolution Lippys for $11

I just saw that the Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks are on sale all over for $11!!! That is almost 50% off. I haven't tried these personally but have heard lots of good things and for $11 I finally decided to try them. I got the color Native from the Macy's Link below (free shipping with all beauty orders). 

I am a crazy person and refuse to pay shipping (I blame Amazon Prime) s (also check in-store, if you live near an Ulta, Macy's, Sephora, or Belk):

• $11 Revolution Lipsticks at Macy's (free shipping on all beauty orders)
• $11 Revolution Lipsticks at Sephora (free shipping on all orders with Flash)

Game of Thrones Jon Snow!!! Season 6 Episode 2

If you haven't watched this week's episode stop now! Seriously I am about to spoil everything and this was a good one...Are you still reading? Ok good you must have already watched it. I woke up super early on Sunday for a beach trip (which was amazing) so I conked out early and missed it, and thus had to avoid all social media and co-workers all day Monday. I seriously started our staff meeting by telling my team that I hadn't watched it yet and no one better ruin it. 

So now I can say JON SNOW IS ALIVE!!!! What is up with the GOT writers in season 6 making the absolute last 10 seconds of the show the most exciting of all!!! I knew that it wasn't coincidence that Melisandre was at Castle Black. So now that Jon Snow is back in the game, how about he is probably the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna (Bran also had a dream/trance where we got to see Lyanna for the first time). R + L = J so Rhaegar Targaryen would be fire for dragons and Lyanna Stark would be Ice as a ward of the North. Coincidence that the dang theme song is A Dance of Fire and Ice, I think not. 


Also, who also saw Ollie almost get chopped?!!

Similarly, I think there is no way that it is a coincidence that Tyrion is setting the other two dragons free...Could he be the third head of the dragon? He definitely was able to calm them unlike many others. There is also a lot of foreshadowing going on in previous seasons (to see what I mean click here). 

We also learned that Houdor's real name is Wylis and he used to speak. Clearly there is more to this story. I was recently reading a theory about how he may have been a warg like Bran and he was in the trance to long and couldn't come all the way out. It also said that he warged into Lyanna's horse. Not sure where all that was coming from but an interesting spin, no less. 

Game of Thrones Season 6 - The Red Woman

I am totally hooked on Game of Thrones and how good was last nights episode. WARNING THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT YET!!!

I hate when someone spoils a show for me. So now that we have warned you lets talk The Red Woman (Melisandre). We left off season 5 hating her as she had convinced Stannis to burn his daughter. I had a really hard time watching that and when the repeats were playing yesterday leading up to last nights episode I actually changed the channel for that part. However in Season 6 we have turned over a new leaf! There is no way those writers have her at Castle Black for no reason. Surely she is there because of Jon Snow!!

and what about this!!!!

I'm telling you something is about to happen with that one. Let's move on the Sansa story-line. Love him or hate him Reek aka Theon Grayjoy proved that he is on the good side again. I just don't think he can be trusted. But how about ole Brienne of Tarth! I audibly let out a cheer when she came galloping in to save Sansa and Theon. She is really beginning to grow on me. 

Also, does anyone understand what is happening with Arya Stark? Obviously, I have been routing for her because she is a fighter and has endured so much. I mean almost making it to the Red Wedding saved her, but dang she almost made it to her family. *sniff sniff. I'm am totally lost on what is going on with this whole faceless man thing though.   Which also means they will probably kill her off in typical GOT style. 

Tyrion is also one my favorites - hey "he drinks and knows things!" I love that him and Daenerys are in the same story-line. Mormont is also a fav but not that he has been touched by the Stonemen he probably won't last much longer. I will tell you Dany is set up between Mormont, Tyrion, Grey Worm and the boy toy protecting/advising her. I am waiting to see how the whole Khal Widow thing works. Maybe this is a chance for her to reconvene with the horse people. 

Many GOT fans have been speculating on the whole 3 headed dragon theory. Here is my take...so 3 Targaryens (the dragon people). So, if Daenerys is the first head of the dragon, who are the other two? One could obviously guess from conversations that Ned Stark and then Peter and Sansa in the crypt that Jon Snow is actually the son of Ryaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Which would make sense why Ned Stark (who was so wholesome) mysteriously ended up with a bastard son. This would also obviously play into my theory that he will be brought back by The Red Woman. 

There is also some confusion as to who Tyrion's real father might be Tywin never accepted him as a son so that kind of makes sense as well. (See chart below.)

We are also still missing Brandon Stark and there are some theories out there about Meera possibly being Targaryen as well. 

I don't think this plays into the dragon theroy but also remember that Robert Baratheon's son (who helped Arya escape) is out there somewhere...

There is a more in depth one below that shows the relationships also. I am visual and like to see what is happening. So if you are like me you are starting to get the houses confused so I am including some helpful charts for you!

I'd love to hear your predictions and fan theories, comment below!

Credit: www.chartgeek.com

credit: www.gamesofthrones.com