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Archives for February 2014

whole 30 approved broiled grapefruit

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I made broiled grapefruit this past weekend and threw it up on instagram and even got some love from Whole30. Since I posted my week one review I have had multiple comments about the grapefruit so I want to share what I did.

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I first saw broiled grapefruit on The Corner Kitchen. I wanted to try broiled grapefruit since I saw that post. She has some great recipes but her grapefruit has vanilla sugar and that is no good during the Whole 30 Challenge. I found another recipe from Alisa Burke that has basil and coconut in the ingredients. Unfortunately this one called for honey and brown sugar. So I rolled the dice and tried broiled grapefruit with basil and coconut sans sugar.

The quick steps to a broiled grapefruit

  • turn broiler on high
  • slice grapefruit and place on cookie sheet
  • broil for 2 minutes
  • sprinkle with basil and coconut
  • broil for another minute or two

That is it! I would recommend a grapefruit spoon to make eating this easier. My favorite part about this was how juicy it got. After the sugars heated up and got juicy I didn’t miss the added sugar one bit.

Want to see more of my meals check me out on instagram and follow along with the remaining 22 days of my Whole 30 Challenge and whatever I get into beyond that.

Week One

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week one

What I learned during my first week of the Whole 30 Challenge

  • I hate calling it a diet. That makes it sound like I am trying to lose weight. The reality is I am doing this to improve my eating habits. I want to create a healthy daily lifestyle.
  • I like poached eggs over all other kinds. Until two years ago I had never had a poached egg. The beauty of a simple poached egg was lost in the hollandaise sauce that was poured on top. We tried poached eggs this week and they stand on their own quite well.
  • Sweet potato hash will always be made at our house. Sweet potatoes are a staple at our house right now and this is a delicious way to eat them.
  • I will never skip a good protein breakfast again. I had finally started eating before lunch recently and I felt better. Then I started eating a high protein breakfast and I can’t believe how much more alert I feel early in the morning. I don’t even need coffee to help me feel more awake
  • I like kombucha. Yet another thing I poo-pooed and said I would never drink that I now really enjoy. When you change your diet as drastically it can reek havoc on your insides. The probiotics in kombucha have definitely helped. The tasty flavors haven’t hurt either.
  • I feel more even keeled emotionally. I feel less effected by the outside world. Things happen and I feel like right now it is much easier to roll with the punches in a much calmer way.
  • Food is never boring if you have a good spice collection. I am convinced that spices make all the difference in shaving a satisfying Whole 30 challenge. Luckily I am stocked up and ready to make some tasty food.

What I learned from my first week of couch to 5k

  • I like running. I never thought I would run much less enjoy it. I find I am looking forward to the next run.
  • Exercising before starting the rest of the day makes me more productive. I have read over and over that this would be the case. I was sure they were right but I just couldn’t imagine it was so drastic that it would keep you motivated to get up early every morning. It is impressive the effect that exercising in the morning can have on your day.
  • I am proud of myself. I would have never imagined myself taking on an exercise program and sticking with it. Sure it has only been a week but that is longer than I thought I would make it.
  • I need to learn more about stretching. I am quickly understanding how important it is to stretch after running and during off days. I need to look into hip stretches the most. I am on my feet 10 hours a day at work so I have always had challenges with lower back and hip muscles but I never did much about it. That really needs to change now.
  • I am excited about running a 5k or more. I am focused on just making it through the 5k but the idea of challenging myself to a 10k and to run the Indianapolis mini marathon are out there as stretch goals. Growing up in Indiana the mini has a special place for me. Running around the Brickyard would a lot of fun. There are a few Disney runs I would love to do as well.
  • I am embarrassed to talk about running because I made fun of it for so long. I feel silly talking about running. How long do you have to run before you can call yourself a runner? Is a week a bit soon? How about two? A co-worker wanted to talk about it the other day and it felt awkward. I don’t have much to add to that conversation but I have a lot of questions about running. Thanks in advance to everyone that is patient enough to answer them for me.

It has been a great first week. I don’t doubt that the next 3 weeks will offer their own special challenges but I feel up to the task.

Have you tried any tough challenges? Why do you love running?

Fish en Papillote

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Fish en Papillote just a fancy french way of saying cooking your fish in parchment is delicious. When I bought the groceries to start the Whole 30 program I bought every protein that looked interesting. We had varieties of beef, chicken and turkey but started with fish. We don’t eat a lot of fish and because of that I don’t have a long list of recipes on hand. Cooking in parchment always sounded intriguing though so it seemed a good place to start.

Had I known how fast and delicious this would be we would have been eating it a long time ago. I think I spent 15 minutes preparing this. I am a slow methodical preparer so you could probably get this ready quicker. Once it is put together it is 15 minutes in the oven. Microwaving a sweet potato only takes 5 minutes which gives you a healthy Whole 30 dinner in 30 minutes.

Start with a piece of parchment large enough to wrap your fish in. Lay the fish in the middle of the parchment and pile the other ingredients on top.

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Wrap up the fish so that it is air tight.

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Bake in the oven. Carefully open the pouch and admire your work.

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Serve and enjoy

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Print
Whole 30 Fish en Papillote

15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

1

Ingredients

  • tilapia fillet, or other white fish
  • 1/4 cup diced zucchini
  • 1/4 cup summer squash
  • 2 Tablespoons finely diced onion
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • dash of seasonings (Penzeys Tuscan Sunset or Trader Joe's 21 Salute)
  • salt
  • drizzle of olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Grease cookie sheet with coconut oil spray or brush with melted coconut oil
  3. Lay the fish down on a piece of parchment paper
  4. Pile veggies and garlic on top of fish
  5. Add a dash of seasoning, salt and drizzle with olive oil
  6. Fold parchment to make an airtight pouch
  7. Place pouch on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes depending on oven
http://www.witwisdomandfood.com/2014/02/fish-en-papillote.html

my partner in crime

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I got really lucky when I met My Valentine. I really am married to my best friend. I enjoy things more when he is around. He makes me a better version of myself even when he isn’t around. I am excited to be starting 30 days of eating well and exercising with him.

If I was doing this by myself I am sure I would be biting off more than I can chew. Loading too much on my plate and not finishing most of it is one of my worst habits. I really want to make it to the end of the Whole 30 and through the 8 weeks of couch to 5k. Luckily, my partner in crime is joining me on this journey. It will help me keep pushing on because I won’t want to let him down. I started this for me but I am going to make it through because of him.

Yesterday we got up and went did our first day of couch to 5k. I am sure getting up and exercising is going to take some getting used to and I know I would have stayed in bed if Tom wasn’t getting up to do it too. I was pretty impressed with myself when we finished. I felt completely like jello but it got the day started right. I felt like I had more energy all day and that is a big change for me.

Tomorrow will be our first day of doing the Whole 30 program and I have had so much fun thinking about the foods I will get to cook in the next few weeks. It is going to take a lot of planning to get all our meals made during the work week. I am hoping to make a few meals on Saturday that will be easy to reheat during the week and take some of the pressure off during the work week. Cooking after I get home at 7pm is my biggest downfall. I just want to sit and relax, not make a mess in the kitchen.

I think a bonus of the Whole 30 program will be that it will force me to get creative in the kitchen. I bought a lot of groceries after work last night. I am most excited about the different ways I can make eggs. I really want to learn to poach them and have them with asparagus and proscuitto. This recipe for meatloaf also sounds amazing and fits in the whole 30 program. We gutted the entire fridge of tempting items so we could fit all the groceries I bought. As we were going through the items in the fridge we couldn’t’ believe the items that have added sugar! They really do put that stuff in everything.

It should be a very exciting month and I am looking forward to feeling even better than I do now.

If you want to follow along on our journey you can follow on Instagram or Facebook.

What is the best thing about your Valentine? Have you done the Whole 30 program or thought about it? What about running a 5k?

mexican pizza

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Sometimes and idea comes to you and you just have to go with it. I was leaving work one day, tired as usual but needed a quick dinner. We recently got these new pre-baked pizza crusts and we loved them the first time so it was my starting point. When I remembered I had leftover beans in the freezer the rest came together quickly. I bought a backup plan meal though in case Tom wasn’t as enthusiastic about my new creation. The mexican pizza turned out amazing though and will be made itself a spot in our regular rotation.

mexican-pizza

Here is what we used:

  • Pre-baked pizza crust, something like boboli
  • refried beans
  • pre-cooked meat; chicken, carnitas
  • cheese
  • avocado
  • cilantro

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to package instructions
  2. put a layer of beans on top of crust and top with your favorite toppings
  3. bake in oven until cheese is melted
  4. Enjoy

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This make for a great use of leftovers if you just had tacos a few nights before or just grab all the ingredients at the store and you can have dinner on the table 20 minutes after you get home. Everyone can even make their own. That is what we did and mine was of course declared the winner!

What easy dinners have you created that surprised you?

 

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