Weekend trip to California...

While we still have our companion pass, we decided to take a quick trip to LA over the weekend! It was great to escape the snow for t-shirt weather, and we had a lot of fun around the city.

Day 1 we hit up Knott's Berry Farm! It was actually a really fun little theme park, and the lines were so so short, making it a great day :)



Day 2 we crammed in a lot of fun - we started with the Grammy Museum downtown, then we headed out to the old (abandoned) LA Zoo. After, we saw Moana (loved), swooned over a cupcake ATM, then headed up to the Griffith Observatory so Kip could geek out about space :)









Not pictured - the amazing Indian food, pizza, and tacos that we stuffed our faces with. Let's be honest - food is the main reason I travel :)

Florida vacation...

Little vacations are so needed.... and this was a good one!! :)

Scuba diving at Devil's Den, cajun boil, Wizarding World of Harry Potter (squeeeeeee!), and Magic Kingdom!!

Eat all the things!

All this cardio got me eating like



For example, yesterday I woke up, ate a honey stinger waffle and sipped some gatorade (water in the morning makes me sick... is that weird?), and then headed out to my workout.

I biked 40 minutes and ran (jogged, I don't run haha) 40 minutes, and I had a gu and water along the way.

When I got home, I made an omelette (egg, frozen veggie mix of potatoes, onions, and peppers that is the best invention ever... I keep it in the freezer at all time) and ate a funfetti waffle (yes, that's a thing).

For first lunch, I had a southwest salad (spring mix, sweet peppers, crockpot chicken, black beans) and grapes.

For second lunch, I had an apple, chocolate hazelnut butter, and oatmeal with fruit and nuts.

For first dinner, I had a hamburger patty (I buy them frozen and pre-cooked for convenience), quinoa (half with hot sauce, other half with honey. this is delicious), and freeze dried bananas.

I swam some laps in the evening, and then for second dinner once I got home (see my problem? haha) I ate some peanut butter on toast and some greek yogurt. I was still hungry, but I didn't know what I wanted, so instead I went to bed :)



Because I'm so hungry all the time, I'm trying to eat higher-quality foods (instead of the doughnuts I'd rather be eating) to fuel my body. And I'm trying to hold back a little haha.

It's a rough life ;)

Whole30: Days 14-16 (where we cheated)

So, on Thursday we headed down to the always-wonderful St. George for a little anniversary getaway... and immediately realized how hard it was going to be to stick to the Whole30. I called ahead to several restaurants and determined that there would be very little we could actually eat (if anything at all). Depressing.

We tried to stick it out though, eating apples and almonds in the car, grabbing dinner at a Thai restaurant (after pestering the waiter... no sugar, no soy, no MSG, no gluten) and settling on curry: no brown sugar, no peas, no rice... basically curry soup. It was kind of disheartening, actually, since eating is one of our favorite parts of going on vacation.

The next morning, we woke up, and were pretty much dreading breakfast. Our hotel offered a big breakfast, but of course we couldn't eat any of it but the orange slices. We were gearing up to try and find a place that would cook us up some eggs and veggies in the right kind of oil, and we decided that we'd had enough. While we've loved what the program has done for us so far, it wasn't worth ruining our vacation over.

So, it was decided. We were going to skip these 3 days, eating at our favorite places down in St. George, and actually enjoy our vacation.
It was such a good decision.

We rode our bikes through Zion, we hung out at the pool, we enjoyed the scenery, and we ate amazing food. It was a great trip.

Now that we're back home again, we're going to pick up again with our diet tomorrow. We know it goes against the rules of the program, but we're just going to do what's best for us. I definitely don't regret it (we got to eat sooo many delicious things, and we didn't go too crazy), and I'm excited for the next two weeks of eating Whole30-approved foods again!


Terrible picture, but we got to eat at the Anasazi Steakhouse, where you cook your own meat/seafood on a hot stone!
Soooo worth cheating for.



St. George Temple!

Days 10-12 of the Whole30!

Well things keep on getting more and more delicious! Thank goodness, right??

On Monday we had mini burgers (beef, egg, seasonings) with a fried egg and mustard on top, wrapped in lettuce. So so good.



Yesterday was our anniversary (3 years! best ever!) and we wanted something extra delicious....so we did a crab boil!
Crab, shrimp, potatoes... heaven.



Tonight we did beef-stuffed bell peppers (last week was a lot of chicken, this week is beef... I buy and cook in bulk these days haha)



aaaand my new favorite breakfast/treat:
sweet potatoes, coconut, pineapple, and cinnamon.
I could seriously eat this all day.




Sweet potato deliciousness:
-Nuke some sweet potatoes for 5 minutes, allow to cool
-peel them and chop them into chunks
-sprinkle with ghee, cinnamon, and coconut flakes
-top with pineapple rings
-cover with foil, bake at 350 for 25ish minutes, die of happiness

Coconut Shrimp! Days 7-9 of the Whole30

9 days in! Whoo hoo!!

First thing's first: The most delicious, Whole30 compliant coconut shrimp.
Yes, yes, and yes.

We could eat this every day. I got the recipe here.



Coconut Shrimp with Piña Colada Dipping Sauce,
• 1 lb peeled & deveined shrimp, rinsed and DRY (the bigger the better)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Coconut oil, to fry
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
Mix together coconut cream and pineapple until you get a smooth sauce. Refrigerate for one hour, or while the shrimp cookSet up a dredging station with your flour, eggs and shredded coconut in separate containers. Dip the shrimp in the flour, then in the egg, and then in the shredded coconut. Set on a plate until you’ve finished all of them. Once they’re all coated, heat up a couple tablespoons of coconut oil. Add shrimp a few at a time and flip when the tails turn pink. The shrimp should be golden brown. Cook for another minute or so and serve with sauce.



not the best picture, but it smelled too good to wait. and it didn't disappoint.




In other news, yesterday was the Harry Potter 5k! Always a good time!

Bellatrix Lestrange... if she spent more time in the sun and took up running.



I also hit up the farm store for chicken bones (because bone broth is my new favorite thing), went on a bike ride with some friends up in Park City, and went to a beautiful wedding (where we couldn't eat anything haha)! A great day overall.


--------


So, confession, I almost quit the Whole30 today. I've been feeling super sick and puking my guts up, and I just about threw in the towel. I reallllllly wanted saltine crackers and ginger ale. Really really badly. Luckily I was too sick to get up from the couch to get some, and after several hours, I decided not to call it quits. But just barely.

Oh well, 21 days to go! :) :)

Whole30: Days 2-4

Well, 4 days down.

In a lot of ways, it hasn't been as difficult as I expected: the hardest part (for me) of the Whole30 is saying no to things that are right in front of my face. At home, we got rid of most everything that isn't compliant, but in other places, people show up with WHOLE PIES. Jerks. :)



I try to be super-over-prepared, since I know that I make all my bad decisions when I'm hungry. So I cooked up some bone broth, bought and chopped a ton of veggies, cooked up a bunch of chicken in the crock pot and shredded it, and made sure we had tons of stuff we could just grab (like dried fruit, nuts, almond butter, etc. for snacks plus lots of meat, eggs, and produce in the fridge and freezer). I also pre-make salads (with leafy greens on top to prevent sogginess) that are ready to eat whenever. It's been sooooo nice, not having to spend a ton of time cooking each day (because helloooo ms. hangry!!). Hopefully I can stay on top of that each week.

For breakfasts I've been sticking to omelets or just finding stuff around the kitchen (this morning was a hard boiled egg, celery with almond butter, applesauce, and a mug of bone broth).

For lunches, I generally do salads or soups (chicken and vegetables in that broth) with various sides, and dinners I've been cooking at home.

Sunday, we did some superrrr delicious lemon salmon (recipe at the bottom) and had leftovers the next day.

On Monday we did steak (my husband about lost it when he found out his steak seasonings had sugar and he couldn't use them).

And tonight we did tuna salad (recipe at the bottom) inside of mini peppers.

We pretty much always have lots of raw vegetables as sides, plus whatever else we feel like adding. Tonight it was this concoction that looks disgusting but tastes delicious: sliced banana, unsweetened coconut flakes, and almond butter. So so good.

We've honestly enjoyed everything enough so far that we don't really feel like we're missing out. Except that dang pie. Sigh.

:)






Lemon Salmon:
You'll need:
1 salmon filet
olive oil (mine is lemon infused but you don't need it)
juice from 1/2 lemon (or to taste)
salt, pepper, dried parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning

Directions:
rinse the salmon, pat dry
drizzle olive oil in a glass baking pan, put the salmon on top
drizzle more oil on top, squeeze juice over the whole thing, add seasonings
cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35ish mins (depending on size)
you can make this more delicious by baking ultra thin lemon slices on top of the salmon




Tuna Salad Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers:
this is my version of this recipe:
You'll need:
mini bell peppers, seeded and cut in half
1 can of compliant tuna, drained
olive oil
1 hard-boiled egg, roughly chopped
1 tbsp green onions, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
mix everything but peppers and scoop it into the hollowed bells. Eat and be happy.

Yum.

The struggle to eat healthfully is real, y'all.

I'm not trying to lose weight or anything right now, but I am trying to eat a little more mindfully. I want to fuel my body so that during and after this recovery process, I will be able to accomplish the things I want.

And when there are doughnuts, snickers bars, and pumpkin cookies available, that is quite difficult, let me tell you.

So, a few of the little things I'm taking joy in.





Remember my little mint plant? Adding some leaves and a squeeze of lemon... delicious way to drink more water :)




Quinoa. Weird, and delicious. I just make it in water, no seasonings, and then drizzle it with some of that infused olive oil. I can make it on the weekend, divide it into containers, and take them with me for lunch. Perfect :)

Peach, Strawberry, and Coconut Smoothie

Summer is (mostly) here, and you know what that means....

Smoothies!

I love me some smoothies. Mmm mmm mmm. I whip em up, drink em till I die from happiness, and freeze the rest. It's a perfect system. And so so easy.

I came up with this one the other day, and it was too good not to share.

-frozen peaches (probably 1.5 cups)
-frozen strawberries (same)
-handful spinach leaves
-a few Tbs of chia seeds
-a few spoonfuls of coconut milk
-coconut water to get the right consistency
-(I also added peach protein, but it would be perfectly delicious without it)



I pretty much just blend until there are no more chunks. Then I pour myself a cup and portion the rest into mini mason jars. I freeze them and stick them in my lunch box to take to work. About halfway through the day, they are no longer frozen solid - so I drink them straight from the jar! It's like a gift that keeps on giving! :)



Do you have a favorite healthy smoothie recipe? I love getting so many nutrients in a delicious dessert-like form!

I love me some olive oil!

So while in St. George this weekend (more on that later)... we found an olive oil store!!! Score!



For those who know me well, you know that I'm OBSESSED with good olive oil. I love it plain, but I especially love it infused. So I pretty much wandered around, sampled to my little heart's content, and bought lots of mini bottles to try.

I love using olive oil in cooking (especially fish and chicken) and dipping (mmmm bread) and on pretty much anything else I can think of. I'm especially excited about the meyer lemon on salmon, the tuscan herb on tilapia, the butter one for popcorn, and allllll of them for dipping! I love the flavors, I love the heart-healthy fats, and I love all those cute little bottles! ;)


like my ghetto dipping dish? :) me too. this basil is delicious.