Pork Chops

It is rather late to be cooking but I was sitting on my bed working and remembered I had pork chops that needed to be cooked.

I was going to look for a marinade when I bought them but obviously never got around to it. So if anybody has a good Whole30 pork marinade… or chicken recipe– please send them my way!

This is what I did instead.

Cut one medium onion in quarters and put them on the bottom of the crockpot. Added maybe 1.5 tbsp of granulated  garlic and 1 cup chicken stock plus 1 cup water to onions ( I only had 1 cup of stock left). Added 5 pork chops sprinkled with Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel Seasoning, added 2 dollops of Ghee and plugged her in. I have no idea if they will taste good and no idea why I added ghee… I will just have to wait and see when MY alarm to turn off the crockpot wakes me up at 3:30am.

I really need to get back to one prep day and not this crock potting at night business.

Food

Sometimes I feel like all I do is cook! But it has been such a blessing eating healthy and prepack food. Last week one of my employees called in sick and it was a RUSH to get out the door. If I had not had my food prepacked… I would have been in trouble. The extra time, work, and energy to be prepared really pays off.

Being with friends this weekend I did not prepack food. I instead threw a quick meal together of broccoli slaw, pineapple, spicy chicken sausage, garlic, and some coconut aminos at their home (while I made acorn squash covered in butter and brown sugar for Uncle Les). I think my “niece” and her boyfriend were shocked the healthy food could taste good too.

I also made lettuce cups with ground chicken, garlic, ginger, onions, water chestnuts and a sauce made from rice vinegar, coconut aminos, almond butter, sesame oil and chili sauce. I topped it with cilantro… because I love cilantro… and scooped it in Boston Lettuce cups.

Lately I have been craving pesto sauce. Most pesto sauce in the store has Parmesan cheese in it. Yesterday I took Paula grocery shopping and could not find basil. Today I went back to the store… to many stores… Carpinitos, Nature’s Market, Fred Meyer’s, Target, Safeway, Trader Joe’s. I was starting to think satisfying this craving was not worth the effort. Thank goodness Trader Joe’s delivered (And thank you Leslie for suggesting it!)

In my ninja I put a 4oz package of fresh basil (stems removed), 1/2 cup pine nuts, lemon juice from one lemon, a squirt of minced garlic, and some olive oil… and a little cilantro (because as I have already mentioned… I ❤️ it!). It tastes so good! I also baked a spaghetti squash, mixed 1/3 of the pesto sauce with it and topped it with fried chicken and pine nuts. My Chicken was easy to make and tasted pretty good… Paula will agree! I mixed 2 eggs with 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard and mixed it well. I twice dipped my chicken in the egg mixture and a mixture of coconut flour, dried parsley, dried oregano, dried basil, paprika, sea salt and garlic powder and browned it in the wok with a little olive oil. I then finished it off on the George Foreman Grill. Because I will be staying at Tracy’s house tomorrow night, I packed two days worth of lunch and dinner… and a chopped RX Bar for Thursday morning.

Downside to all this cooking… I still have to finish the dishes…and clean the kitchen…

Update

My health coach posted a very fitting article on her blog today that reminded me of an experience I had last week. The directors I work with went out to dinner to one of my absolutely favorite restaurants, The Cactus. On day 27 I was plagued the whole day with the biggest temptation I have had thus far. At this point I knew I could survive eating right for another 30 days if I allowed myself to order my favorite dish and snacked on chips and salsa. I could just start over and be able to enjoy my Chicken Fried Chicken. That morning I woke up and looked at the menu and found an alternative… but still thought about cheating. At lunch I looked at the menu again, and settled on a different alternative…. but still thought about cheating. The drive down I argued with myself… the walk to the restaurant I argued more. As I sat at the table I argued a little more until the waiter came up and asked what I would like to drink. This was the point I decided I made a commitment to myself and others and I needed to stick by it.

Instead of chips and salsa, I had sliced vegetables with guacamole and salsa.

Instead of chicken fried chicken I had this mess of grilled chicken, vegetables and a portobello mushroom. I am sure the waiter thought I was annoying as I asked him the ingredients in everything but I knew he understood because when I ordered my water in the beginning, he told me about how carefully he was trying to eat and how he was also not allowed dairy or sugar.

You know what really made it easy? Being able to text my health coach. Having that extra support makes a big difference. And I knew I was not alone because she was in Las Vegas saying “No!” to a buffet of desserts.

To see Emese’s vacation eating article, click below.

https://www.livelifehealthy.me/single-post/2017/10/03/Eating-on-VacationPlanned-LapseLOVE-for-Las-Vegas

Now for some delicious meals I have had lately:

I went to MANY stores to find ground chorizo that was compliant. Before I did, I found chorizo sausages from Whole Foods. This dish was beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, and parsnips sautéed in a little olive oil with lots of garlic. It was a great balance of sweet and spicy.

Tonight I retried to make coconut chicken. I chopped up one chicken breast, tossed it with coconut flour, chili powder, ground ginger, and sea salt, dipped it in a beaten egg, and rolled it in unsweetened coconut (a smaller grated coconut than I tried a couple weeks ago). Fried in a little olive oil until cooked… it really hit the spot. I put it on top of a cauliflower stir fry (cauliflower rice, red onions, green peppers, grated carrots, pineapple, garlic, coconut aminos, and sesame oil).

Now to come full circle. My Chicken Fried Chicken from Cactus is a breaded Chicken on top of mashed potatoes and a chorizo gravy. Using this coconut chicken recipe and changing up the spices to give it more of a Spanish flair, I can see making my own Chicken Fried Chicken Whole 30 compliant.

Moral of the story: Patience makes way for rewards later.

I can not wait to taste the reward of my own Chicken Fried Chicken…. that will probably taste better but also BE better for me.

Long Days!

The second half of this week has been long and hard! I am so glad it is over and I only have one more work day until a few days off… My president of the day experience got postponed until Thursday which means next week I will have 2 DAYS OFF IN A ROW! After the past couple days, I really need those two days!

This week was also a hard eating week. I got so tired of eating the same foods since last Friday when I cooked it. Sometimes I just didn’t eat because I was bored of the food. AND, I was massively craving french fries again. 

Making the large wok full or crock pot full recipes is not working for me right now. I need a variety so that is exactly what I did tonight. I really, honestly didn’t think I would even have time to cook this week so I am glad I had an extra hour tonight. I will still need to eat leftovers once a day to clear out the freezer a bit, but at least there will be a variety now!

I found a turkey breakfast sausage that had no added sugar or ingredients besides spices. YAH! It tastes pretty good and while it was cooking it even smelled like Thanksgiving. I just whipped up some eggs, added the sausage, and some of the Healthy 8 vegetable mix from Trader Joe’s and TA-DA, I have breakfast!

At the suggestion of Emese I coated some chicken in eggs, rolled it in unsweetened coconut and instead of frying it I used the George Foreman grill. Combined with brussels sprouts makes me super excited to eat this dish! I couldn’t find smaller shavings of coconut so I will try this again for appearance sake.

I also George Foreman’d some all pork chorizo sausage from Whole Foods. Once again  no added sugar or unnecessary ingredients. I then sauted some vegetables in the chorizo drippings.  See those extra brussel sprouts? Only had a few left so I included them here. To add a little sweetness, I threw in a plum.

Lastly, once again using my good ol’ friend George, I grilled up some steak and put it on top of green beans and a handful of the Healthy 8 Vegetable Mix.

So much more of a variety!!! It makes me incredibly happy.

I also found a really good seasoning mix at Trader Joe’s I used in the steak and vegetables. I will take a picture at another time to share it!

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The weather has definitely taken a turn. It was harder to sleep last night because it was so cold. I was cold when I went to bed and should have thrown my down comforter on but I didn’t. I was just too lazy!

This morning has been productive. I threw a spaghetti squash in the oven and made breakfast. The days I take time to make breakfast definitely turn out way better. I am still trying to find what storage tools work best while pre-packing food for the week. I don’t feel satisfied with the systems I have. I think I need to go to Ikea and get more of their lunch box containers because they feel the best. All my other Tupperware is going to have to go into storage. 

Here is what Ikea’s containers look like (photo should be linked to Ikea’s website):

They have a couple different sizes and I love the removable inserts. Part of my problem now is I am having to separate my hot and cold foods so I am preparing sooooo many containers. I want easy. I want to set myself up for success! What are your suggestions?

Well, time to get my next load of laundry in so I can go play with my family!

All through the night!

Last night I slept all through the night! I don’t remember the last time I did that! Even with sleeping pills I would wake up. I think the reason is because I was eating unhealthy foods in my sleep… and my brain just wanted to enjoy it.

I am kind of proud of myself this week. This has been a hard week! A busy week. A stressful week. And I stayed strong. I don’t think I was ever fully tempted to eat something I shouldn’t but I did have thoughts like, “Hmmm… I am stressed. Wouldn’t French fries be nice right now?” It was just a thought though and could easily be pushed out of mind.

The next four days will not quiet down for me. I will have tomorrow off to spend with family, have to go into work on Sunday, repair shop on Monday, and dental appointment on Tuesday. It doesn’t leave much time for cooking. So, I did my shopping after work and cooked  tonight.

I made a Whole30 chili and made a random recipe up.

Trader Joe’s did not have my bacon today so I omited the bacon in the chili and added squash I chopped and froze way in the beginning. I am thinking maybe I will throw it on top of a sweet potato and top it with cilantro and avocados.

I also made this random dish. It has a variety of spices, coconut aminos, ground turkey, red onions, green peppers, zuchinni, and cauliflower rice. It is good… tastes healthy, but is good.

Well, I should probably head to bed. My eyes are heavy and I am tired. I need to wake up early to do laundry and pack my food up for the week. Oh, and I am making breakfast for my roomie because I have food I need to cook or throw out.

Sweet Dreams World!

Sweet Potato Breakfast

Oh yum! This was a good breakfast. A sweet potato latke. I am so glad Emese suggested this. I didn’t follow a recipe (Just directions) but it is a no recipe needed meal. I mixed together a total of 1 cup grated sweet potato, onions and cilantro with  one well mixed egg and fried it until crispy with a small amount of olive oil. I did add a little salt and pepper to taste. Next time I will make it into two because one was too much. 

Best news ever: I get to pick my mom up at the airport in an hour and a half!!!

I notice a change.

I do feel better. After 9 days of Whole30 I notice a little difference. I can feel it in my joints and I haven’t had any migraines. There really is something to eating healthy!

For lunch  today I had crockpot chicken over a sweet potato. It was super tasty but I expected it to be spicier. I will for sure make it again and add more hot peppers for spice.

I also purchased the Primal Mayo to finish off my dill chicken salad recipe from the other day. (I really don’t think it is worth it to make my own mayo!) Primal will definitely be an acquired taste but it is also not something I expect to use often (especially at $9 a jar!).

I noticed the amount I am eating has decreased quite a bit. Before Whole30 I would have downed this salad and probably still had something else. I ate only half before I was full. I use to wake up hungry, now I don’t. I don’t think the past couple days I have felt hungry at all. I kind of like that!

Tomorrow for breakfast I am going to try a sweet potato latke… kind of excited to try something new again!

Sunday Funday

Yah! It is my Friday! Today was a good food day. At the beginning of the Whole30 I felt like I needed to snack in between meals. The past couple of days not so much. I packed pistachios and tomatoes today and didn’t touch them. I have noticed a big difference in the days I get up and cook versus the days I eat the RX Bar. (Confession: Apparently I didn’t finish my RX Bar yesterday, I found half the bag in my work bag! OOPS!)

Breakfast was DELICIOUS! I had an egg white omelette with raddichio, radishes, walnuts, dill, carrots, and red onions. I know it sounds like an odd combination but it tasted so good! I had one slice of Apple Smoked Uncured Bacon from Trader Joe’s and some fresh blueberries.

Lunch was the dill salad that I tried to make yesterday but failed miserably on the mayonnaise!! I just put the dill salad on top of kale. I decided I am not a fan of raw kale though and therefore ate around the kale.

Dinner was by far my favorite! A basil curry chicken… YUM! I ate this over steamed kale and cauliflower rice. It was so good, but once again I left most of the kale behind. This portion was too much. I will have to pack less next time! The recipe calls for this to be made in a crock pot but my crock pot was in dispose with another recipe.

Today I am feeling better about eating and food. And just because I can, I will even share a selfie from some glasses we found at work. I am kind of fond of them!! Only because they are rose gold and look at that hair sticking up!!

 

 

Two AM Wake-up Calls

Today was a tough day. If I had my brain on straight I would have washed my face before I cut garlic and jalapenos and onions instead of after…. My eyes are pretty red, but at least they aren’t burning anymore. I also tried making Whole30 approved mayo and I failed miserably. It was looking great and then it just went back to liquid…. I have a feeling I will be going through a lot of eggs and olive oil trying to perfect it!

Today was also tough eating day again… I think it is just stress but I really did not eat at all. I needed the extra rest so I tried another RX Bar. Chopping it into little pieces and eating it on the way to work is really the way to go. It lasted the whole commute. I drank my water, went on with my day and then as Saturdays at work go, it got crazy!! One of my coworkers had to leave for a couple hours and the care managers didn’t make it to relieve me in the dining room in time which meant no break for me. This also meant no lunch because the front desk was so busy after lunch. On my quick trip to get supplies for the residents I picked up some carrots and celery, cashews and La Croix. And that was all, until I came home and started cooking. Not good today but could have been way worse. A week ago if I was stressed I would probably have stopped and got French fries extra crispy for the drive home.

An awesome thing about dieting is that I am trying new recipes and foods I may or may not have tried (like radicchio, which I know I have probably had but not intentionally and planned). I have been craving Pad Thai and Mexican food so I made recipes reminiscent of both. I have to thank my health coach (who is also the Director of Life Enrichment at Aegis, who better to hold me accountable than a direct supervisor and someone I fear letting down?) for sharing yummy looking recipes with me.

In the crockpot, but not pictured is a Mexican style chicken. I should have written down where it came from, but I didn’t and now I can not find it…. It has chicken, Ro*tel, chicken broth, Whole30 homemade Worcestershire sauce, and a medley of spices… OH MAN! I just realized I forgot to put oregano in the crock pot, I need to go add that…. A similar recipe has it atop a sweet potato. I will keep looking for the recipe I used and make sure to update this post when I find it.

I also made two other recipes but I will spread them out as to not bore you all!

Because I started the crockpot at 7:00pm, I will be getting up at 2:00am to turn it off. I probably could have planned that better but because I am working tomorrow I will not have my normal meal plan day and I ran out of the food I cooked for this past week.