Checking In

I am just checking to say, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.


As you can imagine this month has been full of holiday celebrations and traveling. I have been fortunate enough to get a week off which allowed John and I to see both sides of the family.  But never fear, the blog will be back in full swing for the start of my 2013 Whole 30 Challenge!


What is a Whole 30?

It is based off of the book It Starts With Food and it is strict Paleo diet. Many people recommend you start your Paleo journey with a Whole 30. Then after you can introduce dairy and some grains. If you are already on the Paleo path it is a great way to cleanse yourself from sugar and get a fresh start.

Here is a brief intro to what you can and cannot have on the Whole 30:
(for full details please click here)

Allowed:
Fruits
Vegetables
Beef (preferably grass-fed)
Chicken
Fish
Almonds, Cashews, Pistachios
Coconut Oil
Coconut Milk


Not Allowed:
Peanuts
Legumes
Dairy
Grains
Rice
Sugar


So the next few days I will be planning my meals for the month and getting ready to prepare those meals. From there I will document each week using the blog and maybe doing some vlogging as well.


If you have any questions about the program please comment below.

Food Prep

This post is a day late and a dollar short (as my mom would say), the holiday season is in full swing so with all good intentions I am trying to keep up with my posts. This weekend I planned to use Sunday as my food prep day. Once again, John and I work opposite schedules so I knew meals needed to be ready to go for the week. I am discovering that Mason jars are my new best friend. They are environmentally friendly, easy to clean and keep your food nice and fresh.

The meals this week were a nice blend of savory winter flavors.
Salad in a Jar
Meatballs
Smoky Bacon Chili
Roasted Cauliflower
Roasted Broccoli
Shredded BBQ Chicken

note: Sandwich ingredients and chips and salsa are always stocked for an impromptu meal.

Salad in a Jar: as long as you have your meet and dressing at the bottom the greens stay fresh for a week!

Smoky Bacon Chili: Adapted from PaleOMG
Bacon, Grassfed Beef, Zucchini, Onions, Bell Peppers and Roasted Tomatoes. This is an easy one-pot recipe. I served it over the roasted cauliflower and it was divine.

This is by far my favorite non-local grassfed beef. I would prefer something local but it isn't always easy to find.

Super Easy Meatballs: Grassfed Beef, Red Pepper Flakes, Egg, & Seasoning

Roasted Cauliflower

While I was preparing the food, I looked out to my glorious front door view and saw...SNOW!

I hope your week is merry and bright! Also, to all of the Packer fans, Happy Aaron Rodgers Day! Only in Wisconsin do we have a state holiday for our quarterback.

French Toast Scramble

I can't take all of the credit for this one. I got the idea from Carrots N' Cake, I modified it a little and was very nervous to try it.

Verdict: AWESOME

Okay, I realize it looks revolting but trust me...it is delicious.

Ingredients:
1/2 Banana
2 Egg Whites
Cinnamon
Honey
Vanilla

-- Mash together.

Fry up an apple, then place mix in the pan and cook until the eggs are not runny. Top with almond butter.

A perfect source of sweet protein. I can see myself adding Justin's hazelnut butter to this and having it for dessert.

But as you know life is not all about sprinkles and rainbows. There has been some serious salad consumption going on.

Apple Rasin Salad

Shredded Beef Salad : Two days in a row that is how good it was. A great source of protein. 

In other news, I am hoping to join a Cross Fit gym. It is a big financial commitment but I think it will allow me to push myself and get started with some strength training. I am struggling to find my groove in Madison and so I want to explore as many options as possible. Plus, I wouldn't be a good "paleoee" if I didn't do Cross Fit. 

Pics From The Day

Found this gem for $35

Morning Glory Muffins

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Beautiful Warm December Run

Found this prize by our apartment ..some Pinterest thrifting is in order. 

Lesson Learned

I had such a wonderful night.

It was filled with laughter, love and friends.

We went to a great Irish restaurant. I stuck with hard cider before we left but accidentally ordered beer when we got there. (I get Harp and Strongbow confused)

I ordered Salmon on risotto and ate around the risotto. Then the bread pudding came. I don't even like bread pudding but by then my thoughts left me.

We got back to the hotel and had one more drink.

By then I could feel my stomach expanding. Not in a way that felt like it was too full but rather a feeling that something was not right.

I couldn't sleep. My mind was racing. My heart was racing. And then the first Charlie Horse came.

I was dehydrated.

I wouldn't change the night for anything.

Because, I was taught some valuable lessons. My body does not tolerate gluten well. I need to sacrifice old habits so I can have fun but still feel good in the morning.

Food Friday

I have not been doing a very good job journaling my food or trying new recipes. This week was a bit chaotic but it is Friday and I am very excited for the week ahead. My Mom and her friend are coming to visit this weekend. I can't wait to explore more of Madison with them and enjoy some new restaurants. Since moving to Madison I have established a rule for myself, never go to the same restaurant twice until you have tried all of them. Now this rule has been broken many times but any time my Mom comes we always try something new. We are slowly but surely eating our way through this amazing city. So far some of my favorite Madison food spots include, Old Fashioned, Alchemy and The Weary Traveler.

This weekend however we are going to try,
Bradbury's - they are known for their crepes. I saw on the website that they have a lemon and Door County cherry one...melt my heart.

Ha-Long-Bay Vietnamese- something new for me :)

Not sure where we are going tonight still so if you live in the area please give me some suggestions.


Now onto Food Friday:

Apple and Almond Butter

Tuna Salad

Pistachios 

Finding Peace

As I roam through the paleosphere of blogs and podcasts the same message keeps appearing, "love yourself". This is a concept that I have yet to master. It is easier to be critical than accepting. I have fully embraced clean eating, paleo etc. Whatever you want to call it. I love fueling my body with the proper fuel. End of story. What I need to accomplish next is feeling comfortable in that body.

Do I feel different, yes.

Is is it a better feeling than before, yes.

Am I still struggling to figure out what is best for me fitness and nutritionwise, yes.

It is the small steps forward that make the journey feel never ending, but looking back I have already come so far.

So, while 2012 comes to an end I can say with happiness that it has been a great year. I have accomplished many things, graduating, finding a job, getting married, moving to a new city and growing personally.

But in order to keep growing I need to set up goals for the next year and prepare for future success.

2013 Goals:
Begin Crossfit
Run a Half- Marathon (Madison Mini- May 26th)
Run a Full Marathon (Madison Full- November 10th)
Go on a honeymoon

I am excited for what is to come.

Cliff Notes

I had an extremely long day today. I was at school by 7:20 and there until 4:30. Not bad right...
Then I drove to my next job, went on the elliptical for a mile while I waited for the treadmills I like to open up. Ran 2.5 miles and got ready to teach H2O bootcamp. This is one of my FAVORITE classes to teach because the people there WANT to work. Finally, it is 8:00 and I am home and eating :) But I wouldn't change it for anything.

So, here is the cliff notes version of my food today. 

Egg scramble with sweet potatoes, turkey and onions. 

Orange, apple and almond butter for snacks through out the day. 

Lunch fail: acorn squash ... I got extremely sick after eating this.

Late but tasty dinner, Amy's Organic French Country Soup

Here We Go Again

Back at it after a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation. Today, I am going to post a few pictures of the food I have had over the past couple of days. Over the Thanksgiving break, I went to see a dietitian to talk about why I am not losing weight. (side note: I am not obese by any means but for the type of food I eat and exercise I do, I should not be gaining like I am) We looked over my blog since I use it as a food journal and talked about my lifestyle. After one hour, I was told that I am doing everything right and should keep on keeping on. As frustrating as that was to hear, it made me feel good that I am making the right choices.
We both agreed that I should be tracking my calories as well as food journaling so that I can see if I have any major deficiencies. She also expressed that I either need to cut calories or workout more to get the scale to budge. This is totally against the paleo mindset since not all calories are created equal but I am willing to give anything a try. So for the next couple of weeks I will continue to eat Paleo but track my calories with a goal of 1,200- 1,500 and the goal of working out for an hour.

After doing this for a couple of days I realized...I have been doing this all along. I digress... again, I am not doing this to become stick thin but rather to feel comfortable in my skin again. As a type A personality, it is very difficult for me to do everything right but not get the outcome I anticipate.

So folks for your viewing pleasure here is my food log from the past couple of days:

Thanksgiving Eve Date Night: Alchemy burger (no bun) with cheddar cheese, amazing onion/olive relish, aioli sauce, and sweet potato fries on the side. After dinner, we saw "Lincoln" (amazing!!). It was a much needed date. 

I got to spend a lot of time with these two :) 

A new found love! Synergy Kombucha which is a fermented tea that has a TON of health benefits. 

Some sort of salad concoction I made up. 

Kombucha, Apple and Justin's Hazelnut Butter with Cocoa

Thanksgiving Morning Frittata

Lunch for school: Turkey Salad

Brought this bad boy out for the holidays...we got it as a wedding present. Yes, it is a Nativity Cookie Jar; and yes, it did come with matching salt and pepper shakers. 

First Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, John and I decided to stay in Madison. We both had to work and it is too hard to drive to either family location just for one day. I was pretty bummed at first, but it turned out to be a perfect first Thanksgiving.

To prepare for the big day, I asked John what his favorite Thanksgiving day food is, as I only wanted to make what we WANTED to eat. It came down to turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and pie. I wanted to make it as paleo as possible. This was my first time making all of these things, so I was a little nervous. But I have to say, everything was super easy and SO DELICIOUS. I ended up making gluten free stuffing instead of "paleo stuffing" and there was whole wheat flour in the gravy. But, for the first time in my life, I did not leave the meal feeling like my stomach was about to burst. So, let's walk through the steps of creating our first Thanksgiving.

The day before Thanksgiving, I brined the turkey. This was really easy and I would totally recommend it. We just got a bone in turkey breast so I cut the recipe in half. Now that I realize how easy it was, I would cut the salt down even more.  I got this brine recipe from allrecipes.com, and it consisted of 16 c. water, 1 c. canning salt, black pepper, 3/4 c. brown sugar and 3/4 c. Worcestershire sauce. You let the turkey soak for up to two days.

Fast forward to the next day. I knew it would take about 2 hours to cook the turkey so that went in first. I used a Reynolds turkey bag. This is great because there is minimal clean up and it stores all the juices needed to make the gravy. I seasoned the turkey with fresh ground pepper, rosemary and thyme. 

Next, I sautéed the veggies for the stuffing. I wish I would have cut the celery into smaller pieces because it was still a bit crunchy. I sauteed the veggies in butter and then placed them into a baking dish with the bread. The bread I cut into pieces the day before and let dry. Once you have all your ingredients in the dish, add cold butter and 1 cup of chicken stock. Bake for 30 minutes. 

The potatoes were a mix of Baby Reds and Yukon Gold. I boiled the potatoes then drained them and added butter and sour cream. If you can't tell already I used a lot of butter. Just call me Paula Dean. I used a hand mixer to blend together until mashed. 

Finally, the gravy. I was most worried about this because it is my favorite part. I used the drippings from the Turkey and Chicken stock. I mixed the liquid with 1/4 c. whole wheat flour. Once it is well mixed, I put it into the saucepan and stirred until it came to a boil. Verdict? IT WAS AWESOME. 

Me with the finished product. 

John carving the turkey. 

Ahhmazing. 

Now on to Christmas! 

Worth It

The last two months I have said no to a lot.

Cupcakes (birthday treat of choice in my classroom)
Brownies
Lemon Bars
Frosted Cookies
Halloween Candy/Cookies
Homemade meals
Beer
Donuts
Chips
Pasta
Bread
Etc.

But today, I got a Pot of Gold box of chocolates from a student for Thanksgiving.

 I am getting a chest cold and cannot stop drinking water. I really had no appetite. But you know what makes me feel better? Those little dark chocolate bites of heaven.

I might have had more than 1 or 2....or 7.

My stomach hurts... I will run tonight and do TRX. I will probably even have something very clean for dinner.

But some days... the chocolate is just worth it.

Day 1 & 2 Whole 30

I mentioned before that John agreed to go Paleo with me. In the paleo world, it is often recommended that you should go "strict paleo" for 30 days and then work your way back into introducing some dairy and grains like rice, quinoa and corn.

Breakfast: 2 Fried Eggs
I taught water aerobics so it is always hard to eat before that.

Lunch: Sweet Potato Pizza

Dinner: Salmon and Cauliflower

I wanted to go run but it gets dark so early and the gym is a little drive. So instead, I painted my nails and watched shameless chick flicks. I also stopped into Goodwill and found some AWESOME deals. Corduroys from GAP and Privo shoes for $8. Today, John and I both have the day off, which only happens when the moon is aligned with Saturn. I want to take advantage of this mild weather with a  run and then clean the house.

Breakfast: Apple sausage, onion and apple saute.

Lunch: A slice of deli turkey, hard salami, tomatoes, hummus and left over cauliflower.

Dinner: Spinach with tuna, celery, onion and pickles.

Paleo Grocery Shopping (under $100)

In the past, I have shown pictures of my grocery cart after grocery shopping, but that was before Johnny decided to go Paleo as well. :) This food was purchased without coupons and should feed us for 5-6 days (and was all less than $100! Go me!).

I've explained what food is in each picture. Below, you will also find the meals I have planned for the week (and links to some recipes).

Organic Rosemary, Organic Thyme, Celery, Broccoli, Mushrooms, 2 heads of Cauliflower, Alfalfa Sprouts and Organic Pink Lady Apples.

Eggs...do I really need to go in further detail? I usually buy the Full Circle brand but I couldn't pass up the $0.50 eggs.

Salmon Fillets (Dill and Hickory Smoked), Hummus (Chipotle and Eggplant), Hot Italian Sausage, Salami, Apple Chicken Sausage, Garlic Chicken Sausage, 100 Cal Guacamole.

Sweet Potatoes, Red Pears, Zucchini, and Acorn Squash

Turkey Breast (for Thanksgiving), Sushi, Gluten Free BBQ sauce, Olives and Pickles.


Meals:

Sweet Potato Pizza 
Roasted Cauliflower & BBQ Chicken
Nacho Salad
Apple Sausage, Onion, Apple Saute
Salmon and Broccoli
Acorn Squash
Hardboiled Eggs (with $0.50 eggs)

I try to plan out dinner for the week and then fill in the blanks with leftovers and creative meals. It is hard because John and I don't always eat together so I usually make something and then just leave it in the fridge.

If you want to see any other recipes from this list please let me know. I will be happy to post them for you!

Food Journal : Thursday, November 15

Wednesday: I didn't take any pictures because I was at a learning conference, and I didn't want to explain why I was taking pictures of my food. :)

Breakfast: ON THE RUN- LaraBar, Apple, Slice of Turkey
Lunch: AWESOME Chili (which had beans in it but it was a potluck and free)
Dinner: Chips and Salsa (last of the chips before Whole 30)

Thursday:
Breakfast: Starbucks and Almond Milk; Guac, Salsa, and Eggs

Lunch: Salad with Chicken, Sunflower Seeds, Raisins & Apples

Snacks: Apple & Lara Bar

Dinner: Sushi

(note: I did not eat all the sushi and those pieces of cream cheese are not paleo but it was sure good)

#paleoproblems

I just want to vent.

I am living a paleo lifestyle.

I work really hard to maintain that lifestyle, often bringing my own food places.

This happened this morning when I brought almond milk to Starbucks.

They do not carry almond milk and are now going to start charging for soy milk.

I asked the man to put the almond milk in with my coffee.

HE DUMPED IT OUT INSTEAD.

(disclaimer: not his fault for not understanding)

I SHOULDN'T BE THIS UPSET BUT IT REALLY BOTHERED ME.

Okay, thanks for listening. :)


Food journal post later along with how to shop Paleo at the grocery store.



"Keep your chin up Wilbur."

Food Journaling, Feelings and Results

I am writing this post quick before the kids come in from morning recess. I apologize if I ever refer to them as "my kids" but let's be serious....they are.
I have 17 students between 8-9 years old, and I love each and every one of them.

In this post, I want to give you a little insight into my food journal from yesterday and for today.

Monday: 11/12/12
Let me start off by wishing a big Happy Birthday to Phoebe Rae French (her actual day of birth)! Congrats to her wonderful parents Sarah and Ray, she is a perfect little girl.

Breakfast: Ham & Egg Roll Up

Fry two eggs. Lay out two pieces of deli sliced meat. Layer with spinach and top with egg. Roll.
Easy.

Lunch: Paleo Chili

Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Meat, Onions, Carrots and Beef Broth.

Snacks: Lara Bar, Jerky, Apple

Dinner: Salad - not pictured because by the time I got home I was so light headed from not eating and working out.

Last night I had my second TRX class, and let me tell you: I AM IN LOVE. It challenges me in new ways and I can feel myself getting stronger. So far, I have lost a half inch in my arms. Nothing around my waist or hips yet, but I am excited to see my progress.


Tuesday: 11/13/12
Breakfast: Egg Scramble (Eggs & Turkey)

I apologize for the horrible picture.

Lunch: Side Salad and Acorn Squash

Snacks: Lara Bar & Apple

Dinner: Not Sure

I have to teach again tonight and I am watching our nephew Henry, so we will see what the night brings. After stumbling upon the blog StupidEasyPaleo, I was again hit with the similarities between myself and other paleo followers, and so was John. So, today marks the start of the Lundquist family going totally Paleo. Hooray!

This morning, I looked in the mirror and saw one of the first results of the paleo lifestyle. My skin.

Before you look at this picture, realize that it is not something I would normally do, as I hate bathroom mirror shots. Yes, it is a bathroom selfie picture. Yes, it is a crappy iPhone picture. But, it still shows you how much my skin as improved.

This is only with eye make up, nothing else.
That's all for now! I'm excited for my hubby John to join me in the paleo adventure.