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It’s here! DAY 30!!!

We are quite a bit lighter, more rested, and a ton healthier than we were 30 days ago.

When I get some time this week I am going to write up a Whole30 Challenge review… look for that within the next week. For now, we are just continuing our new lifestyle and looking for even more ways to improve our health and eating. But I think we have a food splurge scheduled for this coming weekendMexican!

Been spending alot of time reading all of the resources on Mark’s Daily Apple as we continue with the Primal/Paleo lifestyle. It’s full of so much information and really explains things well. Go read up on the Primal life.

For us… we finished out our whole30 challenge with two new recipes. Both super good!

Breakfast – Zucchini and Sweet Potato Frittata

• 2 tbsp butter (Ghee) or coconut oil;
• 8 eggs;
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in slices;
• 2 sliced zucchinis;
• 1 sliced red bell pepper;
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley;
• Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Heat a pan over a medium-low heat;
2. Add the oil and sweet potato slices and cook until soft, about 8 minutes;
3. Add the zucchini and red bell pepper slices and cook for another 4 minutes;
4. While it cooks, whisk the eggs in a bowl, making sure to incorporate a lot of air in the mixture;
5. Season the egg mixture with salt and pepper and add to the cooking veggies;
6. Cook on low heat until just set, about 10 minutes;
7. Finish the frittata until golden under a heated broiler.
8. Cut the finished frittata into wedges and serve with fresh parsley.

Recipe found here.

Dinner – Meat & Veggie Stuffed Squash

Squash
Any squash will do if you have a favorite (halved and seeded).  I used acorn squash for this recipe.
1T. Coconut Oil
1/2tsp. Sea Salt
1tsp. Ground Cinnamon (optional, but this adds a surprisingly delicious flavor to the squash!)

Stuffing:
1T. Coconut Oil
1 lb Ground Meat (you can use any combination of meat – sausage, buffalo, lamb, chicken, tureky)
1/2 Small Onion, chopped finely
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 cup Finely Chopped Vegetables (I used 1 c cauliflower, 1/2 c green pepper, 1/2 kale and put them all through my food processor until finely diced)
1/4 cup fresh herbs like basil, thyme, marjoram…you can use what you like. If you use dried, cut amount in half.
Sea Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
1 egg lightly beaten
Bacon Slices, sliced into 1/2″ pieces (if at all possible, find natural, no nitrate bacon)

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Transfer squash to a baking sheet, coat with 1T. coconut oil, and season with cinnamon and salt (photo above).
Bake for 30-45 minutes, until soft.

While squash is roasting, make stuffing:
Heat a saute pan, over medium-high heat. Add coconut oil and meat. Cook meat until browned.
Add onion, garlic, and vegetables and toss to coat. Cook until all vegetables are softened, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  

Add fresh herbs and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set mixture aside to cool slightly. Add egg and stir to combine. Fill squash halves with mixture, top with bacon slices, and return to 400F oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until bacon is browned and mixture is cooked through. 

Recipe found here.

One more day. Can I be honest and say that I am shocked we made it to the end. Tomorrow will be day 30 on our Whole30 challenge. It has changed our family for the better. Never would have imagined my husband THANKING me for this. Never thought in a million years my children would eat veggies, salmon, grilled chicken at chickfila rather than the fried nuggets. No more french fries either. They get the side of fruit. And not one complaint from them.

Just blown away how in 30 days an entire family can change their eating habits. We no longer CRAVE sugars, caffeine, starchy carbs. I’m getting ahead of myself though… I’ll post a final blog about our whole30 challenge.

For now, lunch. Didn’t have much time for lunch today so we grilled up some hamburgers (grass fed ground beef, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper) and filled up the rest of our plate with grilled veggies on the kabob. Yummy and quick!

Dinner was a fun twist to our usual lettuce wraps. It is called an Asian Lettuce Cup. Except you’ll note in the photo below that there is nothing “cup” about it. We were at the end of the head of lettuce so there was not any large leaves to use as a cup for the beef. So we just made it more of a Asian Lettuce Salad

Asian Lettuce Cups

• 1 lb of ground meat (I used grass fed ground beef)
• 1 lb of thinly sliced mushrooms (I used cremini)
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons of lard
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 cups of broccoli slaw (I use the organic slaw from Trader Joe’s)
• ½ cup of shredded carrots (I use the ones from Trader Joe’s)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• a handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons of coconut aminos
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Recipe found here.

Love our Saturday mornings at home as a family. It’s our one day a week to relax and we take full advantage of it. Started off the morning with homemade blueberry muffins. We modified the recipe (did not add any honey) to make it Whole30 approved, which made it a bit dry but was still pretty good. I think the recipe will be amazing with the honey, like it calls for. After our Whole30 month is over we will try this again!

Paleo Blueberry Muffins

• 2 1/2 cups almond meal
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup honey (not if you are on the whole30)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 300°. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners (or grease each cup well with coconut oil).

In a large bowl, whisk together everything but the blueberries until fully combined. Gently fold in the blueberries to incorporate.

Fill each liner 3/4 full with batter and bake for 30-40 minutes. The top should be spongey but firm when pressed and your finger should not go through into the muffin. Cool for 5 minutes and remove from muffin pans.

Recipe found here.

Tonight may have been the best dinner we have ever had… ever. I didn’t have seconds. I had thirds. BLUSH. It was amazing. You must make this for dinner. NOW.

Paleo Chicken Enchiladas

Sauce:

• 1-2 small chipotle peppers, chopped (from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce), plus 1-2 tsp. adobo sauce
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. ground chili pepper
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• pinch sea salt (optional)
• 2 C organic chicken broth, low sodium
• 3 C (or 3 8oz. cans) organic tomato sauce, no added salt

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low/simmer while you prepare everything else.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees!

Chicken:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

• 1 head cauliflower, shredded with food processor until rice-like consistency
• Fresh cilantro, chopped

Boil chicken breasts in water for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from water, and with two forks shred chicken into pieces. Set aside. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute onion, until transparent, add garlic, bell pepper, and spices. Saute a little longer to combine flavors. Add shredded chicken to the skillet, and mix together. Now add sauce to the chicken skillet … RESERVING 1/4 C sauce for the cauliflower rice. Mix well.

Put cauliflower rice in the bottom of a baking dish. Add 1/4 C of the sauce. Mix well. This is the bottom layer of your enchilada bake. Now add the remaining chicken/sauce mixture over the cauliflower. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove foil, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with avocado slices, too!

Recipe found here.

Enjoyed a whole30 approved dinner at Logan’s Roadhouse tonight while on our date night. Choose a simple mesquite grilled salmon, side salad (lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, no dressing), and steamed broccoli. A far cry from our usual date night – stuffing ourselves so full that we feel awful. Love how I have learned what it means to enjoy food and be fully satisfied with the healthy option. Not craving the processed, sugary foods any longer. So thankful!