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.

Homemade Lara Bars

One of my favorite go-to snacks are Lara Bars. However, at $1.25 per bar, I can't justify the expense with buying them all the time. So, I have been making homemade ones for months! They are cost-efficient, healthy, and delicious.

Here is a ingredient list with prices: 

Pitted Dates (2 Bags): $2.25 per bag

Dark Chocolate Chips: $2.25 per bag , I only use half of a bag. 

Cashews: $3.00 per bag, again I only use half of a bag. 

----------------------------------------

Total price: $7.50 for ingredients

Out of this batch, I was able to make 13 bars ($0.58/bar). However, if I were to buy 13 bars it would cost me $16.25 total. Seriously, if that doesn't convince you that buying these things are a waste, tell me where you got the seeds for your money tree. 

Pour one bag of dates into the food processor. Pulse until they form a ball. Put the ball of dates into a mixing bowl. Then do the same for the second bag. I like to do them separate because they chop more consistently. 

Next put in your cashews. I pulse until they are in small pieces. Be careful not to pulse too long or you will have cashew butter. Remove the cashews and place them in the mixing bowl with the dates. 

Finally, add the chocolate into the food processor and pulse until the chocolate is chopped. Add to the mixing bowl. Mix all of the ingredients together. I like to use my hands because it is just easier. 

Mix until it looks like a giant Lara bar. Then take small chunks and wrap in cling wrap. 

Freeze or refrigerate. 

Note: The flavor I made was chocolate chip cookie dough but you can easily make any flavor. To decipher the ingredients needed, I usually buy a Lara Bar at the store and see what is in it. Otherwise, you can experiment by adding dried fruit and different nuts such as almonds or peanuts.

Enjoy! Let me know what recipe is your favorite!

Sunday- Day 1

What happens when your cat decides to sniff a candle?

Singed whiskers :( I actually laughed for quite a while because he looks very funny now.

This post serves as a little update on my weekend meals and my Sunday cooking extravaganza -- I wanted to use Sunday to prep my food for the week. I chopped veggies, made lara bars, breakfast chili and jerky.

Meals:

Breakfast: Veggie Egg Scramble

Lunch: Non-Paleo but Gluten Free Pizza

Dinner: BEST Roasted Cauliflower

TRX, Kale Chips, & Tracking Progress

As stated previously, yesterday was my first date with TRX. TRX is suspension training that uses your own body weight as resistance. It is a small group training atmosphere that my gym is promoting. Since I work at my gym and like to try new things, I decided to sign up for an 8 week class. Since I actually had to pay for this class (despite working there), I am really hoping it makes me more accountable for my workouts.
Here is a picture to get you an idea  of what TRX is:

It was very interesting and I hope to discuss it a little more once I get into it. But let me tell you, I was a little sore last night. I am a whole lot of sore today. My next session is on Monday and I hope I can move my arms by then. My goal with TRX is to have a commitment to a strength training program and see results.

Results...I am totally on this whole foods eating Paleo train, but I am really struggling with positive thoughts about the results. I am not going to go on a rant about how I feel; instead, I am going to track 30 days of eating and feeling (mental and physical). This is so that I can look back and see if there are any triggers or patterns. This really helped with gluten free eating which resulted in turning more Paleo.

Last night for dinner I had kale chips. I love kale chips and how easy they are to make.

Start with tearing off large bits of kale. You want them to be bigger than a chip because they will cook down. Put a head of kale torn up into a gallon sized bag.

Add 1 to 2 TBS of Olive Oil. Massage the kale until coated. Notice the big stem in the picture. You can just cook the leaves if you want. I was lazy and left it in.

Place on a cookie sheet or parchment lined baking stone.

Sprinkle brewer's yeast on the Kale. WTF is brewers yeast? It is a yeast that is used to brew beer but  it has lots of B vitamin and chromium in it. It also gives the kale a cheesy taste. I got it at my local nutrition store.

Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes. This is the hard part for me because they look done but you really have to leave them in there so they can dehydrate into a chip form. 

Take out and enjoy!

Note: BBQ sauce not Paleo. Lay off -- I am only human.