Less Stress!! Have Fun!!

November was good!  I have been working towards less stress and more sleep, and it is really making a difference.  None of our circumstances have changed, it's just the way we are reacting to them.  And we are making a point of having FUN together - something that got neglected as my health was in decline. So today's post is about having fun!  And this really isn't off-topic, as stress affects the hormones in our body, which affect how we lose/gain weight!

Sometimes we play games at home but I LOVE to go sit at a restaurant or coffee house and have someone refilling my coffee cup while we play.  Obviously, we are selective about what restaurants we would do that at but, so far, our waiters and waitresses have never gotten upset about it.  They usually ask if they can join us!  Of course, we also make sure to tip VERY WELL and would never stay if the tables were starting to fill up around us.  Hopefully that all goes without saying but I'll say it anyway, just so no one comes and yells at me.  

Here are some of our favorite games to play out and about:

Guillotine: The Revolutionary Card Game Where You Win By Getting a Head!:
This one is new to us and very simple to learn but we really enjoyed it.  You can't plan ahead, as things change with every turn!  You do need room to set up a row of 12 cards, so a 2-person table will get very crowded.

Sequence: This is a combination of a board game and a card game.  It is simple to learn but strategy definitely comes into play!  Using the cards in your hand (which each correspond to 2 spots on the board), you try to form a sequence of five chips in a row.  But some jacks can be used to remove the other person's chip, so until it is finished, nothing is certain!

Phase 10: Probably my favorite card game (unless you are getting a group together to play Nertz!!), this is 10 mini-challenges.  For one hand, you'll need to collect a run of 5 cards, for another you'll collect two sets of three, etc.  Everyone who completes the challenge before someone goes out, moves on to the next challenge.  But if you don't make it, you have to try that challenge again while the others move on.

Bananagrams: Similar to Scrabble but you are each building your own crossword grid, in a race against the other players.  As you get more tiles, you have to rearrange what is already there to fit them in.

We also usually have SKIP BO or Uno in the car, just in case we find ourselves with time to kill.

Another way we are having fun is with a "mystery date night."  It seemed like we would play the "I don't know. What do YOU want to do?" game until neither of us wanted to do ANYTHING.  So I came up with several mystery date night packages.  I ordered stuff (Black Friday sales on Amazon for the win!) and wrapped them in brown paper, with red lipstick kisses rubber stamped all over.  Each one got a number and any important information on the outside of the package.  For example, #4 needs advance notice and involves a day out.  Unfortunately, I can't tell you all the ideas yet, since I want them to stay a mystery until we do them!  My BabyLove IS one of my only readers, after all! ;)  But the one we opened and did so far was White Mountain Puzzles Beer Bottle Caps - 550 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.  We had a nice, relaxing evening together and got it finished before bed (um, don't ask what TIME we ended up going to bed, ok?)  Now he wants me to Mod Podge it so he can hang it in the man cave.  Well, sure!  I didn't know I was picking out decor when I started this but I'm glad I know what my BabyLove likes!

Oh, and the "more sleep" part?  I'm getting that with my new hammock in the living room! Having support along my entire spine lets me sleep well and wake up pain free.  It's amazing!! Yeah, not the solution for everyone, I know, but it sure works for me!  And that is another of my main messages: when it comes to YOUR health and YOUR weight, you need to do what works for YOU!



Just so you know, yes, those are affiliate links.  That means that you pay the exact same price but I make a very small percentage of your purchase in commission. But I promise that if I EVER post a link to something that I don't already use and LOVE, I will let you know up front!!  For example, if there is a piece of workout equipment I want to try but can't afford yet, I may link to it for you to see but I'll let you know I don't use it/haven't tried it yet.  I will never, ever post something just for the sake of a sale!

Granola bars

These are NOT, I repeat NOT, a "diet" food.  We don't do diet food here (well, other than using stevia in place of sugar in my drinks.)   We do whole food and eat sweets in moderation.  But my BabyLove works a job that has him gone 14 hours a day and only gives him one meal break.  So I need to pack "extras" to hold him over.  My granola bars have been a favorite way to do this (as well as nuts, raw veggies, fruits, "hippie popcorn", etc.)  I typically do a "granola bar blast" every 2 or 3 months and make enough to carry him through.  For one thing, this gives him a variety of flavors at all times.  Secondly, and just as important, I can use the same bowl, measuring cups, etc, over and over.  So I get 5 to 7 batches of granola bars for just ONE mess.  These don't need to be refrigerated if they will be eaten within a week but if you are making a bunch, I would recommend keeping them in the fridge or freezer (especially if they have banana, pumpkin or applesauce.)  Since I'm baking for 2 months or more, I freeze mine.  When I pack them in his lunch, they have defrosted by the time he is ready to eat them.  This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Kitchen Stewardship.  Here is her recipe:  http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/06/16/recipe-connection-homemade-granola-and-granola-bars/  But I realized I've changed enough of it that it is easier to post my recipe than to post hers and tell you all my changes.

Remember those "Chose Your Own Adventure" books?  I loved them!!  This is a "Chose Your Own Ingredients" recipe! There is a "base" recipe - but even that has options - and then you add whatever you want!

1 cup oil
1 cup liquid sweetener
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups of add-ins

First, put 1 cup of oil and 1 cup of liquid sweetener in a bowl and mix well.  For the oil, I use 1 cup of coconut oil OR 1/2 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce, pumpkin puree, mashed banana or even peanut butter.  You could also use softened butter.  For the sweetener, I typically use honey (not my expensive local raw honey because hey, this is going to be COOKED!) but will sometimes replace part or all with maple syrup (grade B) or blackstrap molasses, depending on what flavor I am trying. And when I am using applesauce or banana, I'll often go just under a cup of sweetener.  I've started using my immersion blender to mix this together and it works really well.

Next, I mix in 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp of baking soda.  Up next, 4 1/2 cups of rolled oats (not quick) and 1 1/2 cups of flour (whole wheat is best but do NOT try to use "alternative" flours: brown rice, coconut, etc.  Also, don't try to use less flour.  The bars will NOT hold together.)  Stir it all together.  Next is the fun part: add-ins!  Add a total of 2 cups of whatever fun stuff you want to put in.  My husband LOVES the ones with chocolate chips, so pretty much every batch has a cup of chocolate chips and a cup of something else.  After you have the add-ins stirred in, put it all in a well greased 9x13 pan.  You need to press it in really, really well.  I grease my hands and use them but then I'll also take the back of a spoon and beat it down.  Make sure to push the edges down so they don't burn.  Bake it at 325 for 18 to 25 minutes (mine take the full 25) and then let them cool in the pan before cutting into squares (or any other shape, if that floats your boat!)

Because I'm doing multiple batches, I  use two 9x13 pans.  I make room in my fridge so I can put one in there to cool before removing them from the pan.  So once I get going, I have one pan in the oven, one cooling in the fridge and the next batch mixed in the bowl, ready to go in the pan when it comes out of the fridge.  The cooler the bars are when you remove them from the pan, the better they will stay together.  

So now, the fun part!  Some flavors I have done:

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip: pumpkin puree in place of half the oil,  nutmeg, cinnamon, 1 cup soft/stale cinnamon apple chips (just cinnamon and apple!) and one cup chocolate chips (because husband,)

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip:  1 banana (equaled half a cup) in place of half the oil, 1 cup broken up walnuts, 1 cup chocolate chips

Banana Raisin Chocolate Chip: 1 banana (equaled half a cup) in place of half the oil, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup chocolate chips

Cinnamon Apple Chocolate Chip: applesauce in place of half the oil, cinnamon, 1 cup soft/stale cinnamon apple chips (just cinnamon and apple!) and one cup chocolate chips.

Coconut Mac Chocolate Chip: 3/4 cup of chopped macadamia nuts, 3/4 cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (I get mine from Amazon)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip: unsweetened, creamy peanut butter in place of half the oil, 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup peanuts

Pecan Maple Chocolate Chip: use maple syrup as liquid sweetener, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 cup chocolate chips

Toffee Butterscotch Chocolate:  we had some leftover/slightly melted/going stale Heath bars after Halloween last year.  I chopped up 1 cup of them and also added 1 cup of butterscotch chips.  They were, needless to say, a HUGE hit and the guys at work wanted Dan to share any time he had them in his lunch!  At least this is healthier than eating plain Heath bars, right???

Whole 30 - the rest of the days ;)

Turns out that I'm better at meal planning than blogging!  So here is a post with all the recipes that we used.  Dan did a FABULOUS job sticking with it.  Even when we got unexpectedly stuck in town (because of a really bad accident blocking the ONLY road home), he managed to find appropriate food at the restaurant.

I'm posting these recipes in the order I made them, so if it seems random that's because it is!  For most recipes, I made large batches and froze individual servings to send with him to work later in the month.  Main dishes he had 3-4 times during the 30 days.  Secondary proteins (see Day One to understand our system) showed up much more frequently.  Many morning meals consisted of egg and veggie scrambles (which is what we usually do even when not doing Whole 30.)  Each of the last two weeks, Dan grilled up a TON of compliant brats, sausages, pork chops, steaks, burgers and chicken.  So that was pretty much what we ate for the second half.

Buffalo Chicken - Combine 1 cup Frank's hot sauce and 6 Tbsp coconut oil, mix it with shredded chicken
Scotch Eggs - boil eggs, peel, encase in homemade sausage, bake at 350 for 20 minutes or see linked recipe
Homemade sausage patties
Tuna Salad*
Asian Meatballs
Rosemary Turkey - Whole turkey, rub dried rosemary, salt and pepper UNDER the skin, rub coconut oil ON the skin, then roasted turkey as normal
Broiled Sesame Cod - remember to use ghee or coconut oil in place of butter!
Pot Roast - did my own thing but here is a Whole 30 compliant recipe
Egg Salad*
Chicken Curry - curry paste, coconut milk, lots of veggies: green beans, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, etc (no peas!)
Deviled Eggs*
Turkey Salad* - http://paleoperiodical.com/2011/11/03/recipe-chicken-salad-w-pecans-and-grapes/
Taco Lettuce Wraps - taco seasoned (check for sugar!  I had to make my own!) hamburger, chopped tomatoes, onions, red pepper, etc served in romaine lettuce leaves (sorry, no cheese or sour cream!)
Zucchini Pizza Boats
Coconut Chicken - cook bite size pieces of chicken in a skillet, then add unsweetened coconut (I get mine from Amazon) and salt.  Let the extra coconut in the skillet brown up but be careful, as it quickly goes from perfect to burnt!
Garlic Chicken -  cook bite size pieces of chicken in a skillet, then add minced garlic (I use pre-minced and pour in some of the juice, too.)
Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti - use the spaghetti squash as the noodles and make sure your sauce doesn't have sugar
Grilled meats (Applewood Bratwurst, pork chops, steaks, burgers, Aidell Chicken and Apple Sausage)
*used homemade mayo made with avocado oil and kombucha vinegar, using this method


We loaded up on both fresh and frozen fruits and veggies at Costco, so he would have a variety.  Think outside of your usual veggies!  We splurged on things like snap peas and Japanese cucumbers, even though they were more than we would usually pay.  You want foods that will keep you from getting bored. There were even some fruit cups that didn't have sugar (look for ones packed in ONLY fruit juice.) And we had several types of nuts (just NO PEANUTS, as they are a legume.) Some "easy day" foods we purchased were the sausages and brats.  MOST BRANDS HAVE SUGAR!  Applewood and Aidell both have options without sugar but make sure you are also getting ones without cheese while you are doing Whole 30.  Another easy option was smoked salmon but, again, check for sugar!  Costco had 3 brands and only one didn't have sugar.

Another recipe I really wanted to try but never quite got to was Sausage and Spinach Breakfast Casserole.

Whole30 - Day Four

I'm pretty excited about today's menu! Since I am not a fish person, Dan usually handles any fish meals. But I found a recipe I want to try, so I'm going for it today. Because I anticipate Dan sleeping in again, I planned a decent Meal One (M1) and light M2.

Day Four
Meal One: Beef, potato and onion skillet, strawberries
Meal Two: Egg salad (with homemade paleo mayo), salad (spinach, kale, chard, romaine lettuce) with homemade kombucha/avocado oil dressing
Meal Three: Broiled Sesame Cod, roasted zucchini, steamed carrots

Whole30 - Day Three

It was Dan's first day off since we started and we were kind-of winging it. I thought Dan had to fast before his medical appointment - so there was NO menu for meal one (M1) and I planned on taking stuff to eat in the car after the appointment for M2. Turns out, that wasn't the case! Fortunately, I found out the night before, so I had M1 ready for him when he got up. Since he slept in and we didn't want to eat M2 so soon after M1, we did still end up "snacking" for M2. (Remember the disclaimer that we're not perfect?) But we came home to the scent of a lovely rosemary turkey in the oven! He was quite happy to feast on turkey after feeling rather deprived on Day Two. I actually made potatoes to go with dinner but we were both full from the turkey and veggies.

Day Three
Meal One: Beef, mushrooms and onion, half banana
Meal Two: Scotch egg and roasted almonds
Meal Three: Rosemary Turkey (rosemary, salt and pepper rubbed under the skin, coconut oil rubbed on the skin), Normandy veggies (cooked broccoli, cauliflower and carrots)
Evening snack (yeah, not supposed to do that but dinner was early because lunch was so small): cherry tomatoes

Whole30 - Day Two

After telling you that I don't do recipes that require a lot of time, I spent about an hour mincing stuff for those darn Asian Meatballs!  When I mention that to Dan, he reminded me that we recently bought a food processor.  Oops!  He tried a couple last night and likes them, so at least they were worth the work.  He also approved of the mayo but we agreed that I should use a little less vinegar next time.  Fortunately, this was a pretty small batch so it will be used up quickly.

Today, I'm defrosting a turkey to cook tomorrow.  I will also make curry chicken and veggies.  It isn't on Dan's menu until Saturday but I don't do my batch cooking on his days off, so I need to get it done.  I simply add curry paste and/or curry powder to coconut milk and let it simmer down for a while.  Then I add bite-size pieces of chicken and LOTS of veggies (I always add frozen peas and green beans, and sometimes include carrots or potatoes.)  Since I love curry, and don't mind eating the same thing over and over, I'll make a HUGE batch.  Some will be frozen for Dan's work meals and the rest will stay in the fridge for me to eat the next several days.

Day Two:
Meal One: Egg scramble with onions, homemade sausage, strawberry grape lemon water*
Packed for work:
Tuna Salad (with homemade paleo mayo)
Power greens (romaine lettuce, kale, chard and spinach)
Kombucha vinegar/avocado oil dressing (added dried onions and seasonings to the vinegar/oil blend)
Asian Meatballs
Red bell pepper strips
Canned green beans
Banana
Macadamia nuts

*We typically drink a lot of homemade lemonade but use stevia in it.  Since Whole30 doesn't allow sweeteners, we are experimenting with different ways to flavor water.  This batch was 3 strawberries, 6 grapes and some water blended together, then added to a 64 oz cup with 1/2 cup lemon juice and enough water and ice to fill the cup.  I don't usually measure the lemon juice, I just do a 3 second squeeze of the bottle.  I only measured it today to give you a general idea but we are used to drinking that much at a time. I'd probably recommend starting out with less!  Especially since this wasn't sweet, even with the fruit.
Tip: do NOT add the lemon juice to the blender!  It foams up like crazy.

Whole30 - Day One

I've decided to share our Whole30 journey this time through but first I need to explain why we do it a little differently.  Whole30 frowns (heavily) on snacking, even if the snacks are Whole30 foods.  But when Dan works, he is gone for 14 hours a day and he only gets ONE meal break.  So I absolutely have to pack "snacks" that he can grab and eat while he is working.  I pack a main protein (usually needs to be heated, this is what he eats when he actually sits down for a meal), secondary protein (grab and go option), frozen or canned veggie (for his sit down meal), fresh veggies, a fruit and nuts.  When he leaves work, he'll let me know if he is hungry and needs me to have something ready for him when he gets home.

As for me, I did Whole30 diligently our first time through (early this year) and while I did benefit from it some, I did not lose a single pound, nor did I sleep better or have more energy.  I do have a medical issue (with my adrenals) that affects my ability to lose weight right now.  So I've decided that I'll eat Whole30 compliant with Dan when he is home and I'll eat "clean" for the month but I'm not doing a strict Whole30 this time around.  My reason for sharing our journey is not to hold us up as a perfect example of Whole30.  There is no perfection here, just plenty of reality! Besides sharing some recipes, I want to be able to encourage people that it isn't as hard as it seems and you can adapt things to work for your lifestyle. For example, I do batch cooking so that I'm not spending so much time in the kitchen. Many of the entrees Dan takes to work will be on the menu 3 or 4 times during the month.  The first time it is on the menu, I make enough for the month and freeze the rest in individual servings.  I also do very, very simple recipes!  With my own health issues, I just don't have it in me to spend tons of time chopping, mixing, sauteing, cooking, etc.  If it was just me, I'd throw a huge batch of something in the crockpot and eat it until it was gone.  But my BabyLove happens to like variety, so batch cooking/freezing simple recipes is our compromise.

I'm glad I did it 100% the first time and I would strongly encourage everyone to give it a shot. Even though I didn't lose weight, it was helpful to learn some foods that I don't tolerate as well.  And a short time of disciplined eating is never a bad thing!  It is good to periodically be reminded that we do NOT need to indulge every "craving" or desire.  With that being said, however, I want to also point out that we have no intention of going paleo long term.  I don't believe that eliminating major food groups is the healthiest option in the long run.  I also have a tendency to become obsessive with food tracking and planning, which is not how I want to live my life!

Let's get started!

Yesterday, I boiled up a bunch of boneless chicken thighs.  Today, I mixed up Buffalo Sauce (1 cup Frank's hot sauce and 6 Tbsp coconut oil) and mixed it with shredded chicken.  One serving went into Dan's lunch today and three servings were individually frozen for later in the month.  Since I am sending tuna salad tomorrow, I needed to make paleo mayo today.  This was my first time doing it with a stick blender.  I used this recipe, with avocado oil and used kombucha vinegar in place of white vinegar. The directions for using the stick blender are here. I'm not a mayo person, so I'll let Dan taste it and give input before I make changes to the next batch.  But I felt it was too tangy, so probably less lemon juice/vinegar.  A lot of other mayo recipes had other spices (paprika, pepper, garlic, etc.)  I may add some in next time but since this batch was specifically to go in tuna salad and turkey salad, I didn't worry about it.  But if we were doing sandwiches with it, it would probably be nice to add some other flavors.  It was super quick and easy to make, and turned out very creamy!  The other thing I'll make today is Asian meatballs (a new recipe for me.)  You'll see the meatballs show up as secondary protein some days and breakfast Meal One on other days.

Day One

Meal One: egg scramble with red bell peppers and sauteed greens (chard, kale and spinach) and fresh lilikoi (passion fruit - we have access to a massive vine for free, so you'll see it on our menu quite a bit!)

Packed for work:

Buffalo Chicken 

Scotch Eggs (boiled egg encased in homemade sausage, then baked at 350 degress for 20 minutes.) 

Frozen mixed veggies

Fresh sugar snap peas

Fresh baby carrots and cauliflower mix

Banana

Pistachios