If you want it…Work for it

My head is in the game and I am feeling great again.
My meals have been mostly planned out and when they are not I do my hardest to stay on target. I have been working out daily for the past week with Jillian and loving… well hating and loving every minute of it. LMAO
I like most have wished that one day I would wake up and just be happy, successful and fit. I wished that I was not “the one” that always had to work so hard to get it. I learned along the way, you don’t get what you want in life, relationship, fitness or career unless you WORK YOUR ASS OFF to do so. We are the makers of our life. Therefore we, ourselves have to do the work. Well I am a constant work in progress that is for sure. But this girl will not give up. I am fortunate to have so much good in my life, I need to take care of me so that I am around forever to enjoy it.

Happy Rainy Friday from Beantown. We are expecting torrential rains all weekend.

On a side note: My oldest sister is in the hospital with intestinal issues and it is a wait and see game whether she needs to have surgery. This is not what we want as surgery is scary enough but she does not handle anesthesia well and it causes complications. So please take a moment to say well wishes for her to recover without it.

Feeling Good

Just checking in with you all so you know I am still on track.
It’s been a couple of weeks now and I am feeling so much better about myself. I started eating pretty strict again. I feel like my anxiety has definitely eased up and I am so thankful for that. I haven’t varied off my eating plan at all. The worst I do is have my tequila and soda water on the weekends if we go out. I added the tiniest kerrygold cheese to my burger this week and my steak bomb filled peppers tonight. My belly doesn’t feel as bloated from the gluten and crap which I was eating before. I have a lot of making up to do, but I am moving in the right direction so I am super happy. 🙂
Monday started day one of exercising again!!! YAY me for not giving up and moving forward. I had some serious back spasms last week that I had to work on with some massage therapy and it has definitely improved. I have a few recipes I will be posting this weekend for you. Good Night for now.

Sweet Potato & Bacon Meatloaf

  
Pre-heat oven 400

• 3 lbs ground beef
• 2 small sweet potato, shredded
• 1 sweet vidalia onion, chopped
• 1lb nitrate free bacon
• 1 cup almond meal
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbl Coconut Amino’s 
• 1 tsp roasted ground cumin
• 1 Tbl garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp organic mustard
• 2 Tbl parsley 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

1. Chop ½lb of bacon and fry in a pan until almost done, add the chopped onion and cook with the bacon until onion is translucent .
2. Shred your sweet potato, I used my cheese grater its quick and easy. 
3. Place remainder of ingredients, beef, sweet potatoes, almond meal, eggs, and all seasonings in a large mixing bowl 
4. With a slotted spoon scoop onion and bacon out and add to beef
5. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are together
6. Form a loaf into a 9 x 11 pan.
7. Place the remaining bacon slices on top of loaf

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy!~Kelli

Fruits & Veggies

Are you like me in that it drives me crazy when I purchase $50-$60 dollars of produce weekly and I don’t get to consume every last bit of it before some of it gets spoiled. Well,  I have been on the hunt to find out what the perfect methods are to keep them fresh.  And this is what I have come up with.

I found this great chart that shows you which should be refrigerated and which should be left out on counter. 

I learned a few great tips from this chart.  First, I need to stop placing my onions in the same basket as my potato’s.  Second you should; 

Know Which Fruits and Veggies Produce Gas

Fruits and veggies naturally emit an odorless, harmless, and tasteless gas called ethylene, and some produce it in greater quantities than others. When ethylene-producing foods are stored next to ethylene-sensitive foods, the gas will speed up the ripening process of the other produce. This is great if you need to ripen a piece of produce, for example, pair an apple with an unripe avocado. However, if you don’t want to speed up the ripening (or decay) process, store or keep the following fruits and veggies separate.

Produce That Creates Ethylene Gas: Apples, apricots, avocados, ripening bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, citrus fruit (not grapefruit), figs, grapes, green onions, honeydew, ripe kiwi fruit, mangoes, melons, mushrooms, nectarines, papayas, passion fruit, peaches, pears, peppers, pineapple, plums, prunes, tomatoes and watermelon.

Produce That Is Damaged by Ethylene Gas: Asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, kale, kiwi fruit, leafy greens, lettuce, parsley, peas, peppers, potatoes, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, watercress and yams.

Next you should know the life expectancy timelines;

Follow These Food Storage Guidelines

Produce	Storage	Life Expectancy
Apples	refrigerator (loose, not in bag)	up to 1 month
Apricots, Nectarines, Peaches, Plums	counter until ripe, then refrigerate in a bag	2-4 days
Artichokes	refrigerator, in a bag	1-2 weeks
Asparagus	refrigerator, trim stems, upright in a jar of water	3-4 days
Avocados	counter, store uneaten portion with the pit intact in a bag in the fridge	3-4 days
Bananas	counter	2 days
Berries & Cherries	covered in the fridge. Don’t wash until you use them (too much moisture in the package speeds spoilage).	1-2 days
Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower	refrigerator, bag in the crisper	4-7 days
Carrots	refrigerator, take tops off	2 weeks
Celery	refrigerator, wrapped in aluminum foil	1-2 weeks
Citrus	room temperature of 60-70 degrees	1-2 weeks
Cucumber	refrigerator, bag in the crisper	4-5 days
Eggplant	cool, dry, dark place (counter, cupboard, basket)	3-4 days
Garlic	unpeeled – cool, dry, dark place; peeled – sealed container in refrigerator or freezer	unpeeled – several months; peeled – several weeks in refrigerator, months in freezer
Ginger	store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, then freeze remainder	if refrigerated – 2-3 weeks; if frozen – 2 months
Grapes	refrigerator, in a bag	1 week
Green Beans & Peas	refrigerator, in bag or container	3-5 days
Greens (lettuce, kale, spinach, cabbage)	refrigerator, bag in the crisper	1-2 weeks
Herbs (fresh)	refrigerator, trim stems, upright in a jar of water	1 week
Kiwis	counter until ripe, then refrigerate in a bag	3-4 days
Mangoes, Melons	counter until ripe, then refrigerate in a bag	4 – 7 days
Mushrooms	cool, dry dark place (counter, cupboard, basket) in a bag	2-3 days
Onions	cool, dry dark place (counter, cupboard, basket)	2 months
Pears	counter until ripe, then refrigerate in a bag	3-4 days
Peppers	refrigerator, bag in the crisper	4-5 days
Potatoes	cool, dry dark place (counter, cupboard, basket)	1-2 weeks
Root vegetables (radishes, beets, turnips)	refrigerator, leave greens on	1-2 weeks
Squash	cool, dry dark place (counter, cupboard, basket)	4-5 days
Tomatoes	counter, uncovered; refrigerate if very ripe	2-3 days

Paleo grocery list

Thought I would repost this because it is super helpful. So here you go.
How do I shop for Paleo ? What do I buy? How Do I prepare the food? Isn’t it a lot of work?

With everything else in life to succeed at something we need to have some plan to get us started as well as a little bit of knowledge as to what it is about. Then we can move forward .

First you need to know what Paleo is. Robb Wolf is the man and he will give you what you need to know.

Then just to get you started Caveman Strong offers a starter grocery list. Many times people will ask me to write one up for them, this is a great starter list. Of course switch up the items you don’t like for something similar, we all have different tastes.

More references and lists are available at Paleo on a Budget

Paleo Plan also has a great meal plan guide and suggestions to also help you get started.

Take what they offer and put into something that works for you. Just follow the principles of the a Paleo lifestyle and you will be fine.

Eat and buy the following
Grass-produced meats are best (but the best cut in your grocery store is fine)
Fish/seafood
Fresh fruits and veggies
Eggs (lots of them)
Nuts and seeds
Healthful oils (Olive, walnut, flaxseed, macadamia, avocado, coconut)

Remember do not eat
Cereal grains
Legumes (including peanuts)
Dairy
Refined sugar
Potatoes (sweet potatoes are optional)
Processed foods
Salt
Refined vegetable oils

It’s time to be healthy and take control of your body!

Keeping me accountable

This is me after not being true to Paleo the last couple of months.  Seriously friends gluten is so bad for your body and health. I look at these photos and I am so disappointed I did this.  I am super glad I made a positive decision last week to get back Paleo and loose this spare tire I gained. 

   
 
Just keeping me real!  Do you have any crazy gluten pics?

Time-out

Please don’t think I have abandon you.  I have been out of control health wise lately.  My anxiety/emotions have been a bit crazy since April 20th! I have been trying to regain a sense of normalcy again and it is taking me a bit longer than I even expected. Some days just trying not to have a full-blown panic attack is a chore. For those of you who don’t know I have battled with anxiety and depression for my whole adult life. Hence my eating issues as well.  I have had it under control with minimal issues for the last 7 years, and then of course eating Paleo the past 2 years, has been amazing for me.  I haven’t had to take any anti anxiety or anti depressant daily for 7 years.

Well, April 20th, my 22 yr old son was in a really scary accident that could have taken his life.  Thankfully we were blessed with a miracle because he came out of it just scared and with scars from broken glass.  On 7/18 guess what…yes he was in another stupid car accident, this time just a fender bender.   I need to be honest…  he was playing with his stupid phone adjusting his music and this is what caused both accidents.  Thankfully now he is on foot and not behind a wheel (well maybe just a ten speed) for a while!  You can imagine how this has affected me as a parent. I am so happy he is alive and well and that Nobody else was hurt from it. And then of course I just want to slap him silly.   I relive the night of the first accident in my head over and over. I have the accident scene and his burning car stuck in my brain because I drove up onto it, luckily he was out of the car at that time.  Weeks went by and I thought I was ok. Then I realized my anxiety would hit me like a ton of bricks out of no where. Then I realized I was food soothing and I still am.  I am working very hard to get back on track and working really hard to stay off anti anything pills.

I guess I am telling you my story because this helps me to work on me. I am not perfect, I am human and just like anyone else out there.  I know what I need to do, it’s just getting there to do it.

I know some may want to judge my son and I would understand if they did, but he is one of soooo many people who have and still do get distracted by their phone, radio, eating, smoking, talking etc.  I believe he knows how luckily and blessed he is now.  He is suffering the consequences  without a car and having to take classes and possible lose his license for a while.  He will learn by his own mistakes and I am sure it will make him a better person in the long run. As his mom I can only hope he does right???

I’ve just needed a time out for me.

Please I encourage you all to keep drilling into your children’s heads to NOT use their cell phones while they are driving. I encourage you as adults to put your phone down and drive your car. It only takes a second…a split second.

We are what we eat!

What’s for dinnah?

Its was a hot one out there yesterday, I don’t know about you all but I am so tired of the grill already.  I made stuffed peppers last night.  One with shaved steak and mushrooms and one with ground beef and tomato sauce.

 Definitely a mouthwatering delicious meal.

The Ground beef one consisted of, ground beef,  organic fire roasted tomato, onion, broccoli slaw mix, garlic, cauliflower, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper some had Kerrygold cheddar cheese shredded and some without, which makes it Whole30.

The Steak and Cheese had, mushrooms, spinach, onion, shaved steak, salt, pepper, Worcestershire and Kerrygold cheddar cheese.

I have been trying desperately to be good lately.  Do you all find it is hard in the summer?  I sure do, then there is the holiday times and special occasions too.  There are more times I find hard than I would like too.  I find that when I go off for a second it’s like a crazy steam train,  I go so far in the other direction that I hate myself by the end of the night.  My fear is gaining all the weight I lost back. Then I am really on target again and it starts all over.  Ugh

Starting out fresh

Wow it’s been a long time friends! I have neglected you all.  Life just has a way of getting in the way sometimes.  With that,  some not so great choices happened as well with my eating.  Slowly over a few months I started eating poorly, pizza, bread lots of chocolate and snacks and even snuck a bite of Macaroni and cheese one night. Ugh…this was like a train wreck. I started feeling like shit to be blunt. I noticed a ton of body aches, my body rejected bread immediately, I got a tingly mouth and itchy face. That was fun.

Hubby and I  went on vacation end of June, we spent out 5th Wedding Anniversary on a Boston to Bermuda Cruise! The best vacation of my life!  We had a magical time and loved every minute of it. But if you have every cruised too, you know there is a lot of food!!! Oh boy was there a LOT of food!  Which is why I needed a restart. So here I am Day 3 no sugar, and as close to Whole 30 as I can this week.  Today I am wondering if my headache is related to NO sugar or my period. Who knows at this point, but I am glad I am doing this.  Sometimes we just need a re-start….

Take a look at some of our photos, if you haven’t gone you should, you won’t regret it.