10 More

I woke up this morning to a minimal dusting of snow, mostly ice, and mostly just cold cold wind. I also woke up feeling the beginnings of a nice cold :(
So all the dreams and motivation of getting up and being productive flew out the window.

This sweet face and I cuddled up all morning instead.

When I finally crawled out of the comfort of my warm bed I made a late breakfast that was pretty yummy :)

The hashbrowns I of course had to make from scratch because all of the Frozen hashbrowns and forbidden preservatives or starches or sugars. They weren't as difficult as I imagined which was nice, and I'm getting pretty good at making sausage from scratch by now!

After my late breakfast Boyfriend and I ventured out to a funeral for Biffel's father. It was a very sad day, but we're so glad that all the weather cleared out so that everyone could be there.

A late breakfast meant just an early dinner before we headed out to the theatre for another show. I just threw together a quick stir fry with some veggies and chicken. My typical stir fry sauce has Siracha in it which we unfortunately can't have because it contains sugar, so I had to invent a new one with coconut aminos, hot sauce, ginger and garlic. It turned out pretty tasty for a quick meal.

I've really veered off course with the meal plan this week. Throwing chili in and even cooking stir fry today instead of the salmon. It's so much easier these days to deviate because I have a much better idea of what I can eat and how to throw it all together into a recipe/meal. Because of how much I've changed it up, though, I've really had to alter the plans for next week to accommodate what I bought this week but didn't use. I'll have to sort out the grocery list before I go tomorrow. It's our last full week!!!! It's gone by pretty quickly :) which is exciting but definitely leaves me wondering exactly how the reintegration process will go and especially what do I do after I find out what foods I react poorly to. The whole time it's definitely been the attitude that I can't wait until the end of this so I can have yogurt or pasta again, but I also need to start entertaining the idea that if I react badly to adding them back in, maybe I have to cut them out of my diet :/ oh well we'll deal with that if we come to it...

For now, I just need rest and will hopefully feel better tomorrow :)

<3 ME

Snow and Ice

The one Friday I finally decide to work and it's the snow day haha

So this was my view today for breakfast and lunch...

I've really been killing the LaraBars this week. They're just really convenient and easy, and I'm kind of over having to work so hard to come up with meals this week haha I'm really just ready to grab and go...
Luckily my day ended pretty early so we got home safe and sound out of the freezing rain.

Even the show was cancelled tonight resigning us to a night of leftover chili, warm socks, and movies :)

It was actually just what the doctor ordered! Even though this week was amazingly relaxing compared to last week, I'm definitely still running on a smaller tank. My energy levels throughout the day are amazing, but I absolutely run to the end of my tank by the end of the day.

A relaxing, warm night, doing a little crocheting (with the help of delilahcat of course) and an early bed time is the perfect way to spend this snow day! And obviously by "helpful" I mean the exact opposite of that... I really mean that she tried to destroy and unravel everything I did every five seconds.

Hopefully the ice won't negatively impact my productivity too much tomorrow. It's supposed to be grocery day, but I also have an unfortunately busy afternoon and then (fingers crossed) a show tomorrow night!!
Hope you're all tucked in safe and warm with the ones you loved and out of the snow and ice ;)

<3 ME

Quiet and Stormy

There are those days that you long for solitude. The days where you just need to be in the quiet to think and decompress, to relax and unwind. To have time to be productive or unproductive depending on your days. Days where rooms are too bright and too loud.

But there are also those days, that you might not want to be surrounded by people, but neither do you want to be alone. Because alone can also feel isolated. The quiet can feel oppressive. The solitude can feel cold and empty.

Today was one of the latter days for me. I didn't want to be surrounded by people, but the thought of a night alone was also kind of sad. I used to relish these days I had. Living alone, just my dog and me. But how quickly you adapt to a house that has other people to it.

--
I skipped breakfast again this morning. I know I know, I just said yesterday I wasn't going to get into the habit of it, but this morning was just so busy! I did have some LaraBar for a little sustenance.

I had the rest of the Thai Coconut Soup for lunch today during yet another meeting.

However, when your boyfriend likes mushrooms and you don't, this is what your soup bowl looks like after lunch haha

So, obviously tonight I came home to a house all by myself (I mean besides dooleydog and delilahcat). Tonight is supposed to be cold and rainy, and so I changed the meal plan up a bit. I ran to the grocery store after work and got supplies to make chili again. It was so yummy last time we made it, and my mom has definitely taught me that on a cold, winter night, there's nothing better than a bowl of chili.

And as an added bonus, I got to use my new dutch oven for the first time! It worked beautifully :)

A warm bowl of chili under a quilt with some puppy cuddles and reality tv is the best way to spend a cold night.

I'm sure tomorrow I'll be longing for the quiet solitude that this night brought ;)

<3 ME



A Night Out

I have been counting down to this day for weeks and weeks!
A short day at work, really crazy morning but slow afternoon and off early! I was so excited, I skipped breakfast today... not something I recommend, but a huge habit of mine was to trade breakfast for coffee and that's absolutely what I tried today. I coasted through easily, mostly because I was so busy so I didn't think about it, but it's not a habit I need to keep, Kick starting your metabolism in the morning is important, and I should start my day off with some good nutrition!

Lunch was had over a meeting. Leftover Thai coconut soup on this cold day was pretty perfect, followed up by these yummy treats :)

And then I was off!! Home to get ready and then off to the THEATER!!!!

We had dinner at Whole Foods and it was super fun and super sad at the same time haha It was so fun to get to read all the ingredients and find fun new things I could eat! Like potato salad with kale and sundried tomatoes, and some Indian spiced chicken :) The sad thing though was that I couldn't have any of their dressings because they all had sugar in them. This is what I was afraid of, but I thought certainly they would have plain vinegar and olive oil available. They did not... So I just bought a bottle of balsamic vinegar, because we needed some at the house anyway and used that.

I also found this fun, no sugar added, blood orange "soda"! I'm pretty certain that 2 weeks ago the sugar fiend in me would not have approved of this, but today I loved it!

Then we headed to the Fox to see Book of Mormon!!!!! It was my second time seeing the show, but it was Boyfriend and Roomie's first time seeing it on stage :) I love love love going to the Fox especially sitting in the balcony. It's so wonderful to feel like you're sitting under the stars enjoying some wonderful singing and dancing. And particularly in this show: laughing until we cry!

It felt so special after weeks of feeling chained to my house (especially my kitchen), to be able to go out and enjoy an evening relatively stress free :)

So thankful.

<3 ME

The Good with the Bad

It's definitely and up and down kind of week. It's been so cold the past few days and I've really been missing my hot drink in the mornings. So I read about how cold brewing coffee decreases some of the bitterness which is what I've been disliking the most during my journey of black decaffeinated coffee... so I decided I'd try it last night, I mean what's the loss right?

 

I put some coffee grounds in a paper towel and put it down in some water in a thermos and let it sit in the fridge overnight. I heated it up this morning (because with how cold it was outside I couldn't bear to drink it cold!) and it really wasn't bad! Definitely less bitter, so I'm going to try it again tomorrow and see if it was just a fluke ;)

Work was busy this afternoon so no lunch pic again, sorry ;)

BUT tonight was the night that Roomie and I were so excited about because we got to venture out to our first restaurant since starting this Whole30 journey!!!

And all to surprise and celebrate this wonderful friend's birthday!!!!

She was totally surprised and it was so amazing :)
Dinner was slightly challenging because it was a restaurant where we didn't prepare the food or see the ingredients :/ Also because it was such a special night the menu was preselected. But our waitress was so so nice and she brought us a salad without dressing with some olive oil and vinegar on the side

So Roomie and I chowed down and were pretty proud of navigating this first big challenge. I mean I'm not going to lie, the huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs and all the cannolis were pretty tough to resist, but we took a lot of free smells and passed it all by.

Entering our third full week, I can't say that I don't still crave the "bad" foods. I still wish I could have some yogurt for breakfast, or some cream in my coffee, or you know... a cupcake.... But it's definitely easier to walk away from them. They don't pull me as strongly. I'm getting quicker about knowing what I can and can't have, and guessing what things would be in recipes that we couldn't have. Baby steps. And we have only 2 full weeks left :)

We get to eat out again tomorrow before we go to see Book of Mormon at the Fox. It'll be so fun to have another night out. After feeling so anti-social all of a sudden we're social butterflies.

Just hoping to sprinkle in some good with all the sad lately.
<3 ME

Coldness

Today was definitely a cold day. Cold in temperature and cold in feelings.
I have been surrounded by so much loss lately. Not my own personal loss, but many people close to me. They are losses that have shocked and saddened me to the core. Losses for which I don't have good words to express my condolences to the people who have actually lost. There's nothing that I can do to fill the void that is left. All I can do is love them and pray for them and leave the rest of it to a God that is thankfully far more powerful and wise than myself.

On top of the emotionally trying day that today was, it was also a super busy day at work! I started off with my new Pumpkin Breakfast Custard that I made this weekend. It's basically like pumpkin pie filling, but without the sweetness haha It wasn't terrible, but I definitely needed to eat it with something to help the texture out a bit. I might try some sausage with it tomorrow perhaps.

Lunch was eaten in the car, so I didn't have time to snap a picture. But I had some of the leftover pork from the carnitas that we made last week, with some salsa in a taco salad of sorts.

When we finally made it in from the cold, I had some of the yummy ranch I made and some veggies.

 

I was so thankful that we had a soup planned for dinner tonight, because seriously it was so cold today! It was nice to sit down to something so warm and comforting. Thai coconut soup is probably one of my favorite types of soup. I used to order it when I lived in Atlanta anytime I was feeling sick because we had an amazing Thai restaurant down the street that would deliver it to us. The whole house would put in an order basically. Gosh it was so good! This one did not disappoint either :)

 

The recipe called for shrimp, but I used chicken instead. Mostly because I couldn't find any shrimp at the store this week that didn't contain added sulfates that are on our naughty list. Some of them have a sulfate preservative in them that is not recommended but not expressly forbidden, that's what I had to settle for last week, but this week there was no such luck. I'm used to eating this soup with chicken anyway, so I didn't miss the shrimp.

It was a glorious to end my day, snuggled up with a hot bowl of soup.

 

As this day closes, if I could ask you all, all you beautiful people that take the time out of your busy days to read my silly ramblings ;)

Could I ask you to take a minute and say a prayer or send a positive thought or vibe, whatever it is that you do, for these wonderful people in my life that are experiencing the deepest of losses this week. They need our courage and support even if they won't ask for it.

 

I love you all

 

<3 ME



Halfway!

Holy crap! Can you believe it's already been two weeks?!?! I'm so excited and proud that we've made it halfway through these 30 days! Of course I'm still having cravings, and still wishing things could be a bit simpler... I wish it was easier to go out to eat, or have a quick meal, or just have a cupcake sometimes haha but I'm feeling really great and I'm definitely ready to see this thing through!

Here's last week's recipes in review:
Crockpot Cashew Chicken
Crockpot Green Chicken Curry
Crockpot Shrimp Fra Diavolo
Crockpot Pork Carnitas
Crockpot Beef and Broccoli
Mediterranean Chicken Skillet
Breakfast Pumpkin Custard

Today,  ended up taking advantage of sleeping in. I was simply exhausted. It has been such an incredibly exhausting 8 days. Long long nights, and super busy days has just worn me out.
Since sleeping in gave me a bit of a break in my morning schedule, I took the time to make some poached eggs and spicy breakfast sausage. I had grand plans to make some hollandaise as well with my clarified butter that I made this weekend, but it just wasn't my day with that because I broke the sauce with both of my attempts :/ It did taste pretty good without it tho ;)

 

Then we had to run off for our Sunday matinee show. Since we had a late breakfast we skipped lunch and snacked on some of these that we were able to find a few Whole30 options :)

 

So, the meal plan called for us to have leftovers from the Mediterranean chicken skillet that we made yesterday, but.... we didn't end up with enough leftover for that because it was so yummy haha so I had to improvise a bit!

I settled on making gnocchi with some marinara sauce. I'm sure they weren't the best gnocchi ever made, but they were pretty yummy overall :)



I substituted regular flour for coconut flour, and I baked them instead of boiling them. One of the recipes that I read used tapioca flour and they complained that their gnocchi kept disintegrating in the water because of the substitute flour. In making this recipe again, I would add some more seasonings to the gnocchi base to cover up the coconut taste a little bit more. But it was a yummy treat, both to get to make something I'd never made before, and to get to eat something kind of like pasta haha

With more and more practice it's definitely getting easier to pick and choose meal options, and to come up with them on the fly. It's also easier to shop once you memorize what you can and can't have.

So we're entering week 3 and it seems pretty promising!

WEEK 3 JANUARY 18-24

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	pumpkin custard	pumpkin custard	pumpkin custard	pumpkin custard	pumpkin custard	hashbrowns sausage egg	hashbrowns sausage egg
Snack	banana	banana	banana	banana	banana	banana	banana
Lunch	chicken salad	leftovers	chicken salad	leftovers	chicken salad	leftovers	leftovers
Snack	apple/ veggies	apple/ veggies	apple/ veggies	apple/ veggies	apple/veggies	apple/ veggies	apple/ veggies
Dinner	thai chicken soup	OUT TO EAT!!!	BOOK OF MORMON!	salt and vinegar chicken	chicken and veggies	teriyaki salmon	nachos

 We get to eat out TWO TIMES this week!!! I'm so excited to test our skills and eat out in a restaurant! And, I'm even more excited that we get to see Book of Mormon :)

It's going to be such a fun week, I can't wait!
<3 ME