Paleo Challenge

I have talked about it a little, but not a lot. My trainer, Abby, suggested I look into eating clean and while doing so I came across lots of information on Paleo. One stood out to me more than the others, so I messaged her the link and coincidentally, it was the link she was preparing to send me! ;) Abby and her sister used this blog's guide to eat clean. I have completed 2 weeks of the 30 day challenge. Not sure if I will do the whole 30 days, but I wanted to see how far I could go with it. My plan is to be able to continue clean eating 80%, but allowing myself to have a few favorites every now and again. I miss Mexican food (it's not like I ate it everyday, but I am craving it lately)!!

Eating paleo is NOT what I thought it would be. For one thing, I feel satisfied. Secondly, for the first time in forever, I am not counting calories or points. It's liberating! ha I have tagged some of my favorite recipes from the paleo blog. I have been trying all sorts of new things and for the most part have enjoyed everything.

My challenge to you is to try 1 new healthy food/meal this week! My suggestion would be acorn squash! YUMMY!!!! It's my new fave, but side note...she tells you in the comments section to use 6 oz of the leanest ground beef you can find. Just a heads up if you decide to make it. :)

Paleo Acorn Squash

Spaghetti Squash

Gluten Free/Paleo Blueberry Muffins

Tuna Patties (have also swapped out salmon - both were delish!)

Pinterest Recipes For the Win!

In my quest to eat better, I went to Pinterest to look for some new recipes for fixing turkey and cauliflower. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint! YUMMMMMM!

First up, I had purchased some organic turkey cutlets. It had been a long time since I had bought any and thought it might be nice to change it up from eating chicken all the time. My mom had cauliflower in the fridge that she hadn't used yet, so I chopped a chunk off to do something besides broccoli for my side. The girls are snowed in with us, but instead of eating their unhealthy hot dogs and ramen noodles lunch (ugh...I HATE ramen and that's not even a strong enough word for it!), I bit the bullet and made myself a healthy meal.

Here are the recipes I used:









Note, I did make a few changes...
- On the cauliflower, I pretty much followed what it called for. I used the extra virgin olive oil extremely sparingly. I also didn't do the second step of the smaller floret pieces. I just used bigger chunks. It definitely took 25 minutes to bake properly.
- On the turkey, instead of butter I used extra virgin olive oil in the pan. I didn't have any rosemary on hand (but will be getting some for future use!), so I used a Lemon Garlic rub that I had on hand from my Velata business. I didn't use any of the other ingredients either...ha I was trying to keep it a "less is more" and the flavor was phenomenal! The turkey really didn't take much EVOO to sear it. Next time I might just spray Pam in the pan instead to see how that works. Total time was probably under 5 minutes to cook.

You won't be disappointed if you test it out!

Pinterest: Recipe Success

I love trying new recipes, especially when needing some new healthy recipe ideas, or just for something to break the monotony of our "go to" meals. After 2 weeks of eating poached eggs and fruit for breakfast, I needed a change. I love eggs as much as the next person, but can't do it for a few days.

I found this recipe and figured I had nothing to lose. I had everything on hand already, so if no one in the house liked it, I figured the dogs would eat it. haha I was only hesitant because I really don't like oatmeal...unless it's oatmeal raisin cookies. ;)




Just made this recipe to have for breakfast this week, along with a banana and I think it's a winner! I had to taste test (duh!) and I really liked it. It's a different texture than I thought it would be, more like a cake than a gritty cookie. I did make a few adjustments with the recipe - I used skim milk and Jif peanut butter instead of what the recipe requested. We're a Jif house! I figured the recipe with MFP and the specific ingredients I used and it came up to 165 calories per serving, with the pan being split into 12 bars. I think it's a good size piece to help fill me up at breakfast. No point in having an itty bitty slice that leaves you craving more!

Pinterest Recipe WIN

I have to admit that most of the recipes I've tried from Pinterest have turned out really well. Tonight, we tried another new recipe and it will definitely remain a staple in our home!

I've been slacking far too long on my healthy lifestyle choices - both diet and exercise. After stepping on the scales this morning and seeing that I am almost 2 pounds shy of my highest weight ever...drastic measures have to be taken! I know it's a struggle to eat right and maintain an active lifestyle, but I'm going to focus on it one day at a time. Day 1 went very well. And I've got measures in place to make Day 2 go well tomorrow! #babysteps

Healthy Peach Frozen Yogurt

This recipe comes out to approximately 125 calories per serving depending on the brands of ingredients that you use. I plugged it into MFP (My Fitness Pal) to figure out the servings. To be honest, the recipe says it makes 4 servings, but it is 4 HUGE servings, so if you made plans for it to be more servings, you could lower the calorie amount. I think next time I make it, I will go ahead and scoop it into separate little bowls to put in the freezer (I already have small tupperware like containers) and then I won't have to think about portion size when I am ready to eat!

This recipe tastes like apricot yogurt (which was the first yogurt I ever tried and liked while on vacation in Australia/New Zealand - and which you cannot find in my little part of the world)....yummmmmm!