Crock Pot Magic!!!!

First of all, I'm going to start this post with a big ol' shout out to the hubby.  This man is really something.  Every day he wakes up before me (I'm not really a morning person), takes his shower, gets dressed and starts working on the morning duty of packing lunches for both girls and starting breakfasts for all three girls... including me.  Today, he really stepped up his game and made me a breakfast that I SO should have taken a picture of because it was INSANE.  It's a highlight of my morning to get served something so amazingly satisfying and nutritious without me having to lift a finger.  Today it was an omelette filled with some leftover diced up pork, spinach, and peppers.  On the side was some sliced avocado and tomato.  Then, in a small bowl was cut up strawberries with walnuts and some shredded unsweetened coconut sprinkled on top.  THEN... he had my cup of tea steeping (with a plate on top, as to keep it hot) at my spot at the table waiting for me when I came down.  Honestly, how did I win that lottery???  It was a gorgeous spread on a normal Tuesday morning.  In hindsight, it's a good thing he did it because I had to physically restrain one of my students for a good 30 minutes today while he kicked and thrashed to keep him from running out of the school into the neighborhood like he did last time.  I bet it was the extra blast of coconut at the end that kept the firm hold.  HAHAHA!  (It's not funny, I realize that... but seriously I have to keep a sense of humor or else I'll lose my mind.)  The joys of being a school-teacher.  So moving on...

So here you have it... crock pot magic.  I am having kind of a crazy/busy week so I knew easy dinners were going to be a must.  When I did my meal planning I planned on some form of taco salads/taco boats for tonight (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday).  Tonight was volleyball (WHOO HOO!) and tomorrow I offered to work for an hour at a local "fast food" place called Burgerville as a fundraiser for our school.  Now, truth be told... if I was like McTeacher Night or something like that, I probably wouldn't have gotten on board.  But of all the "fast food" places I know of, Burgerville is a little different.  They buy locally sourced food if possible and they have definitely made an effort to be a different kind of fast food.  Here is a quote from their website:  "Burgers here are made from pastured vegetarian-fed and antibiotic-free beef. The eggs on our breakfast biscuits are from cage-free hens that have never been treated with antibiotics. Salads offer mixed greens topped with smoked salmon and Oregon hazelnuts. Even desserts and sides rely on seasonal, local ingredients - blackberry milkshakes are only available in season, as are the hand-prepared buttermilk-battered onion rings made from Walla Walla sweet onions grown in Washington and Oregon."   I have to believe it.  Their food is better and I would feel pretty okay about my kids eating here as a treat.  (They also have pretty impressive employee benefits and put a heavy emphasis on being environmentally sound.  Anyway, enough about that... I'm busy.  I didn't get home till a bit later tonight and tomorrow I'll be even later.  Thursday will be late and then it'll blissfully be Friday.  So the plan was pork chops last night (check), today I planned on the crock pot salsa chicken.  I wanted there to be enough for lunches and dinners for two days.  This is honestly the BEST "recipe" in the world because you don't have to prepare ANYTHING ahead of time, and more often than not, you have EVERYTHING you need to throw in there without any planning.  Here's how it goes:

1. Take out as many chicken breasts from the freezer that you want.  I buy ours in bulk at Costco.  It's bonkers how much chicken we eat.  Anyway, today I took out five pretty good size chicken boobs and put them in... wait for it... FROZEN into the crock pot.  Seriously... frozen.  It's magical.  You don't even have to remember to take anything out of the freezer!
2. Then you cover the boobs with salsa.  Today I did a mix of verde and regular (whatever you have on hand!!!).  I probably did about 32 ounces?  I used Herdez salsa verde and mild Herdez regular salsa.  I went with neither spicy so the girls would eat it too.  You can always add spice in the form of fresh sliced jalapenos or hot sauce after the fact.
3. Then sprinkle (generously) with Cumin and coriander and I had some Goya "Adobo" seasoning with cumin added.  I put that on it too. 
4. Swoosh around the chicken so it mixes it all up a little bit and set it on low. 

It took about 4 minutes from start to finish including taking the crock pot out of the corner cupboard.  I came downstairs at 6:25 A.M., ate my beautiful breakfast, drank my tea, and as the hubby was plopping the chicken and salsa into the crock pot, I came in and seasoned with the cumin, coriander, garlic, and adobo... swooshed around, covered and VOILA... out the door by 6:55 A.M..  THAT'S ALL!!!!  Tonight at about 5:00 I came home and the hubby was sautee-ing some peppers and onions so I took off the lid of the crock pot, shredded up the chicken (which happens VERY easily), and then I left the lid off for a bit because it still had quite a bit of liquid, but it was FINE.  So our dinner was mini romaine boats with sauteed onions and peppers, shredded "dobi" (that's what my youngest daughter called it after hearing "adobo") chicken, diced tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.  They're pretty much like lettuce tacos and this mini romaine they're carrying at Costco right now has really stole my heart.  Taco night is one of my favorite regular meals.  I LOVE Mexican flavors and this one REALLY fits the bill.  I would probably devour quite a few tortilla chips if they were THERE... but if they're not, I really don't miss them.  I also love shrimp tacos in the romaine boats.  Well, I love all kinds of tacos... seriously... very equal opportunity here.  I even LOVE taco salad... I'm having visions of avocado dressing for tomorrow night, but chances are good I might have to let that go because I won't have time.  This particular round of shredded chicken tastes so much like Chipotle or something like that (their burrito bowls are FANTASMIC).  So try the crock pot magic.  And if you don't have a crock pot, WHY NOT???  They're absolutely incredible.  I have always loved the idea of a crock pot and have discovered some really exceptional recipes that work really well in here.  My aunt makes this macaroni and cheese in the crock pot that is PAINFULLY good.  Some day that I'm planning to really go "off the plan," I PLAN on eating that stuff.  I've made it a couple times for some school crock pot pot-lucks and everyone FREAKS for it.  There is absolutely NOTHING redeeming about it and it is sleazy and disgusting... and magical.  It is honestly something that my mac-n-cheese dreams are made of.  I don't care what people say, it doesn't matter how long you do this paleo gig, some things are just plain good and you just ignore the hell out of all the shitty processed stuff because sometimes, SOMETIMES you just want somethin' sleazy and ooey-gooey.  Until you get the urge to completely buck the common sense, try the shredded chicken, it's delicious and freaky-clean.  (Just make sure your salsa doesn't have added sugar... it's SHOCKING how many add sugar in some variety.)  

My belly was filled with:

Breakfast:  The incredible feast described above courtesy of my beau.

Lunch:  Leftover pork chop, brussel sprouts, and roasted carrots (I'll have to tell you more about these later... they're SO GOOD) and a grapefruit.

Dinner:  Shredded chicken crock pot magic taco boats.

One reason I'm loving this whole blogging thing... it keeps my hands and my mouth out the kitchen for after-dinner snacky-sweets.  Even fruit late in the evening is just kind of a sugar substitute.  I've also realized that... I would substitute one bad habit for another one.  Instead of having a little ice cream or cookie, I would have an apple with almond butter.  Is it the worst thing in the world for me?  No... Did I need it?  No... So I'm trying to stop with the after-dinner "splurging."  Not needed and if I can keep myself busy doing something else, I'm not hungry and I can go to bed excited about whatever breakfast wonder I have to look forward to on the following morning.  I can enjoy it that much more knowing I didn't have that "extra" thing the night before.  YAHOO for self-reflection.  hehe... Happy Tuesday... Hopefully Wednesday I won't have to hold anyone down unless I want to.

Ding dong...

Not like the Little Debbie thing... but like wedding bells.  No, the hubby and I aren't renewing our vows or anything, but my little sis got married last summer and I just got word that my eldest bro set the date for his upcoming nuptials... so it got me thinking about my wedding, weddings in general, and most of all the most recent wedding of my little sister.  So for those of you that already know me (who, let's face it, is pretty much everyone who's reading this), my sister is IT for me. I am blessed to have so many awesome friends, a great husband, etc. etc., but my sister is pretty much the peas to my carrots and the oatmeal to my raisin.  I kinda' thought it was the way it was for everybody, but evidently talking on the phone every single morning and maybe again later in the day to your sister isn't completely "normal."  When I'm driving to work, she calls me between 7:03 A.M. and 7:09 A.M. every morning.  She is in New York being amazing with her new husband and has the most ADORABLE apartment and crazy job where she sells like a gillion dollars worth of jewelry in New York City.  It's so weird to hear about her life.  I mean, we're about equi-distant from where we started in Kansas... but for some reason her amazing life that she's created seems unreal to me.  She's my little sister, for goodness sake!  How could she have possibly done all these amazing things without me!?  Apparently she's grown up and gotten married... and lives in New York.  She's crazy amazing.  

If it weren't for my sister, I don't think the changes in my life would have been possible.  She has been there every single step of the way and has made some pretty incredible changes in her life, too.  That girl is seriously freaking drop-dead gorgeous and kicks some ass in the healthy lifestyle category.  I mean, she didn't fall far from the tree in that she had some "battles" to fight, but she fought them and seriously took no prisoners.  I look at her and I'm constantly in awe.  She encouraged me and believed in me before I knew I could even do it.  When that switch flipped, she pulled me forward and kept me going.  We shared in triumphs and tribulations together all along the way and right now we're settling in to our lives and trying to figure out how to maintain it and feel great day in and day out.  Now she continues to push me and encourage me in that really freaking frustrating "maintenance" game.  Again, we're birds of a feather and we enjoy partaking in some of life's pleasures together (ice cream, beer, and pizza... oh... and burgers and fries), but we also have been seen doing a turkey trot over a family Thanksgiving in Malibu, jogs around Kansas, killer cardio/bootcamp classes in NYC, and even a couple trips to a resort gym in Vegas on a trip before she got married.  So yeah... shit's changed... a lot.  She has truly been a HUGE reason for me maintaining the changes I've made, and I'd like to think that I've been able to support her through this as well.  The funny thing about me starting to lose the weight, is that I knew she and her beau were going to be getting married sooner or later and the thing that totally got me started was that I wanted her to be able to have a bridesmaid dress that she loved... not one that she had to get because it came in my size.  I was completely terrified of being the big ol' big sis and so that got me started on step one.  I even remember telling Leah when I first got down to a size 14 (from 26), that she would indeed be able to pick any dress she wanted.  She has GORGEOUS friends, and I didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb... so I did it.  I kept going a little ways and ultimately, my sister got to pick whatever she wanted for us to wear and I felt good.  It was an incredible day and I definitely had a great time (ah hem... a REALLY great time... maybe? too great?... nah.)  But most of all it made me so proud that I was able to stand up with my sister, feeling good about myself, supporting her and her husband in the way that I knew I wanted.  She deserves it all and I know it probably wouldn't have mattered to her if I was a size 6 or 26, but given the road we've traveled together in the past couple years, it made it that much more special for me to be in that moment with her and I believe it's made us even more connected than we were before (if that's possible).  It made me feel great that I was able to help her feel good on her big day in a way that I don't think I would have been able to do prior to me becoming aware of how I was totally mutilating my body from the inside out.  We share recipes, talk about workouts, and convince each other to go to the gym (simply by knowing the other is going is reason enough).  We've been lucky enough to never feel threatened or competitive with one another and I believe that's helped us get so close and STAY close.  We thrive in each other's successes and I've only felt excitement about her accomplishments.  So when I sat and looked at how FREAKING UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL she looked in her wedding pics she just got back, it made me SO HAPPY to see her so happy.  And even though I'm the big sister... I know she was proud of me too, and that made me feel on top of the world on her special day.

Today's belly-fillers were:

Breakfast: sweet potato hash leftovers with two poached eggs

Lunch:  Spinach salad with shrimp, grapefruit

Snack:  Apple

Dinner:  Pork Chop with roasted spiced carrots and brussel sprouts

You're Just What I Needed!

In my head, the title of this post is sung... like that Cars song... "You're just what I needed!"  (This Song)  I have been feeling pretty sorry for myself lately.  Not like, "Oh, poor me" but more like, "Oh man, I have all this stuff I have to deal with in my life."  I guess that's pretty much "poor me," isn't it?  I'll admit I have been feeling pretty overwhelmed with life lately, but really it's just LIFE STUFF.  Everybody has something to shoulder, and the things I'm "saddled with" aren't really that big of a deal.  Anyway, today was a day that turned things around for me.

Today's post is kind of a two-parter.  I got super pissed last night because I tried to post and it lost all my shit, so I gave up and went to bed. So I will do an abbreviated post on what I was GOING to post yesterday.  What it boiled down to was that one of the things that keeps me going in this whole paleo gig is planning.  It DOES require a bit of planning and I do have to be aware of what I'm doing for food throughout the week.  My love affair with planning and organization started WAY before I got on the paleo train.  For example, when I was a kid I used to INSIST on organizing the pantry in our family's kitchen and my Mom's medicine/toiletries cabinet.  It used to make me totally unsettled when I would see canned goods mixed with peanut butter, mixed with sugar, mixed with rice.  There needs to be an order to things, for goodness sake.  My Mom's medicine cabinet was my FAVORITE because I used to use shoe boxes to put like items together and sort them and get rid of the stuff that looked funky.  I LOVED it. My Dad used to tease me because I seriously asked for Rubbermaid containers once for a birthday.  I know, kind of a weirdo, but I love order, I love routine, and I love to know what to expect... whether it be when I open a cupboard or when I get ready to make dinner.  Planning on paleo ensures that you have SOMETHING ready to be prepped or eaten every day so you're not having to sacrifice and default to something crappy.  I have always been a meal planer, and I have ALWAYS loved to make grocery lists.  I make my list according to the order of the store.  In fact, I make an initial list and then re-make the list crossing off things as I re-write them on the NEW list in the order of the store.  I'm freaking myself out saying this.  Wow, I'm nuts.  But seriously, it's unbelievably fulfilling.  If you've never tried it do it... you just might love it and it SERIOUSLY cuts down on impulse buys.  It's kind of like clothes shopping and you end up with all shirts and no pants or skirts.  It'll never happen with adequate planning.  It's no accident that on my team of teachers at school I'm in charge of scheduling out the year and planning for lessons so we teach all the topics we need to teach by certain deadlines.  Love it.  It's a sickness but it's wonderful. I also am realizing, as I watched my 3-year-old make it so her glasses were perfectly squared off to the table and totally even with her sister's... that POSSIBLY... that apple didn't fall far from the tree.  Sooooo... in an effort to keep myself and our family organized, this calendar is magic.  
 It makes me happy.  I scoured Barnes & Noble for the perfect calendar for our family to use to stay on top of things.  It's posted in our kitchen and this particular calendar fits EVERY bill I needed.  It actually has a SLOT built in for meals.  I love this thing and God help us all if they ever stop making it.  This is year four in the making of this bad boy.  I've sought it out over and over and it's never let me down.  So yesterday was meal planning, grocery shopping, and re-stocking the fridge.  I love when we have practically NOTHING in our fridge because we've used up EVERYTHING we bought and we've followed the meal plan to the point where we're not wasting bags and bags of produce.

On to part two.  I'm not going to say much here, but when you have a day like today... I look at what I have in my life and I feel so incredibly lucky and fulfilled.  I woke up and went for a crispy fall morning run, worked out doing some pull-ups (no, I can't do a real one... jumping ones), push-ups (but I CAN do a mean "real" push-up), and squats, and then came home to a DELICIOUS breakfast cooked up by my amazing hubby.  He keeps my belly happy.  He takes very good care of us and he makes me happy.  Things aren't always perfect and no-doubt will never be... but for now, things are good and he is a hell of a guy.

THEN... we frenzied and packed up our stuff to hit the pumpkin patch with our group of friends (read: family) that we built up here.  My family is all over the place, and there's no family like it.  I'm a crazy lucky person.  I have an incredible "real" family, and I have this one... this is a family that's grown and evolved and is ever-changing.  But right now, it's a family that I've chosen and had a privilege to be a part of for quite a few years now.  We all have kids (see the newest little wee babe... SO SWEET), we all love hanging out, and we all make it a point to laugh with and at each other as much as possible.  We pumpkin patched and then went one of the couple's houses and had soup and sammies and hung out.  We held babies, ate good food (I made a paleo soup to take just to be sure I didn't gorge on paninis. That's not to say I didn't sneak a few bites from one or two of other people's sammies.  But soup is about the EASIEST thing to make paleo and VERY satisfying, so I did manage to stay away from the beer, the no-bake cookies, and the potato chips.), and laughed... a lot.  Moments like today are unfortunately few and far between, but oh-so-necessary for the goodness of my life.  I am happy right now.  At  this moment I can say that all the "life shit" that I was feeling overwhelmed by is still there.  My car's heater is still jacked, we still have bills to pay, I still have to find a way to move forward and today... it seems like somehow it'll all work out... just like things have a way of doing.  I love days like today... full and happy.  I'm sitting here at the end of this wonderful fall day with a fire in the fireplace, watching some cheesey Live Well Network TV show, and I'll start the next week of my life happy and I'll try to ride this wave as long as I can.

I nourished this belly today with:
Breakfast:  Sweet potato, onion, pepper, and spinach hash with two poached eggs.
Snack:  2 apples from the pumpkin patch (they grow 'em there).
Lunch:  Super paleo soup with tomatoes, avocado, and basil.  (And a few nibbles of assorted sandwich crusts... not gonna' lie.)  Also took a grapefruit with me and had two clementines poppers.  These things were TINY!
Dinner:  Leftover soup and some cashews.

Holy Mayo...

So a SERIOUS treat while eating "paleo" is real deal, super delicious, crazy thick, creamy and divine mayonnaise.  There are so many things to say about my day today, but at this point, these are small matters is that tonight we had a dinner that included a mayo that is about as easy as it gets and all with "healthy fats" and four ingredients and it is SO G.D. GOOD.  Just 'cuz I was curious, I happened to look at the label on our light mayo, and sweet lord... there are a LOT of things in there.  Then I looked online at the "olive oil mayos" that are available out there and still... SO MANY INGREDIENTS!  If you're going by the rule of thumb of, "if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it" mayo would be off the list.  BUT NOT ANYMORE!  I have made two PERFECT batches of mayonnaise and both times were put to VERY good use.  The first time I made your standard plain mayo for a batch of chicken salad to have handy for the week just in case we didn't want to do any work at all for something good, filling, and relatively healthy to eat.  It pretty much fills all the gaps, your protein, we even put cucumber and carrots in ours along with the celery, so you got your veggies (and usually I'm eating it in a lettuce wrap or on top of a bed of spinach), and a healthy fat... INSERT MAYO HERE!!!!  The second batch was tonight.  I need a minute because I really want to go in the kitchen and find something else to dip in to the leftovers.  But I'm being very selfless and leaving it for the hubby to make himself a batch of tuna salad.  When he makes tuna salad, he makes it just for him (which he totally should since he is always providing everything for me without really considering himself).  Now, some of you are gonna' wince, but I HATE pickles.  And yes... I have tried pretty much every variety of pickle.  Not least of which was my Grandmother's homemade pickles which are like gold in my family.  I just don't like 'em.  I keep trying them thinking it'll change.  I mean, taste buds change, right?  But this hasn't changed.  When we go out to dinner at a restaurant where a pickle comes on the plate, my hubby SNATCHES the pickle before the plate hits the table because even pickle JUICE has the potential to completely ruin my dining experience.  Seriously, I am SO not a picky eater.  I will pretty much try anything and usually more often than not I like it.  My college roommate will tell you that my tastebuds must have exponentially multiplied since I met her.  Every time we see each other, she always laughs at the "exotic" foods I am now eating... like black beans, avocado, spice.  HA!  She likes to tell the story of a time we went out to dinner for some Thai food and I ordered Pad Thai and when they asked how spicy I wanted the sauce, I said I didn't even want the sauce, just the noodles and veggies.  HAHAHA!!!  Man, I was such a sheltered midwestern nerd.  But I still don't like pickles.  I mean, Kansas has some great "ethnic" food, but we were raised on serious home-cookin'... casseroles, pot pies, meat loaves, roasts, etc.  At dinner every night there would be a STACK of white bread as a side dish.  Accompanied of course with butter and some variety of my Grandmother's homemade jelly.  Oh boy, that jelly.  As you can see by the fact that my Grandma made pickles, jelly, and every delicious baked good known to man, it's no mystery that a girl with absolutely no "off" switch in the food category would balloon up like a freaking walrus.  But alas... it was comfort food at it's best and there will ALWAYS be a time and place for that in my life and the life of my family.

Wow... I got on a SERIOUSLY divergent tangent there, but so worth it (that jelly again... my mind is reeling from the memory of the "crab apple jelly" that used to appear on our dinner table so regularly).  SHEESH!  Okay... back.  MAYONNAISE!  There simply are a lot of things you "give up" on this 30 day challenge, and dipping sauces are one of them unless you take some serious time and create something great from scratch.  Honestly, I just don't have the time and when I do I usually spend my time baking something completely sinful for my friends or making a version of a breakfast "treat" that isn't so much like a "treat" but more like a trick.  (I made some pumpkin muffins for my kiddos that are shockingly healthy and pretty damn comprehensive on the nutrition front... and they're none the wiser.)

So.... I made the first batch of mayo for chicken salad... (I promise I always come back  around... it just takes some time.)  Tonight, the batch I made started in the same SUPER SIMPLE way, but then I added cayenne pepper, garlic, and a basic cajun seasoning mix.  SPICY MAYO!!!!  OH. MY. GOODNESS.  It seriously hit the spot and went PERFECTLY with our burgers, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and... wait for it... SWEET POTATO FRIES.  I've mentioned it before, but sweet potatoes are one of those controversial 30-day-challenge topics.  Some folks say not to have them, others say do it in moderation particularly after a hard workout for "recovery."  Now, tonight... I didn't have a hard workout and I wasn't recovering... but it sounded SO GOOD with the burger.  When I realized there would be no ketchup, I went with mayo and it literally takes 2 minutes... if that!  Burgers are on a regular rotation at our house because we bought a quarter cow last year and we are definitely still eating through that mo-fo.  I say that lovingly because it is AWESOME to be able to go out to the freezer and pull a few things out for the week and not have to buy it at the store every week.  NOT TO MENTION the fact that the product is super high quality and natural, organic, grass fed from start to finish beef.  I mean, seriously.... looking at the farm where this cow came from, I wouldn't mind being a cow on that farm (except for the being killed after living such a wonderfully leisurely life for a while).  But anyhow... burgers are a regular deal in all varieties, shapes, and sizes.  You can make anything in to a variety of burger and for me, that HAS to include some kind of topping: ketchup, mustard, pesto, bbq sauce, or... MAYO!  So here is what I did tonight and honestly, please try this.  It's unbelievably wonderful and tastes SO GOOD.  The possibilities are COMPLETELY endless.  You can add herbs, seasonings, etc.  You can literally add ANYTHING you can think of that it whips right up into the most wonderfully thick concoction.  Okay... back to it... here is what I did.

I have an immersion blender and if you don't... go get one.  You can buy them for relatively cheap and I use it for everything from soups, mashed squashes, cauliflowers, to making my own simmered tomato sauces with half the effort.  The EASIEST mayo is made with the immersion blender and I like the consistency of using the immersion blender better than a food processor or a regular blender.  I've also tried to just whip my own using plain old elbow grease and it just doesn't thicken up the way this stuff does.  So here goes:

1. Put one egg and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice (the juice from a jar that you buy in the store is totally perfect) in a jar or tall-ish container for a few minutes to just take the chill off both.  (My immersion blender actually came with a tall plastic container made specifically to prepare things and store them in the container... like this.)
2. Then I added one cup of oil and this is the part that I believe is the most important.  My Costco started carrying avocado oil and this is AWESOME for mayo. Actually, it's pretty awesome for everything.  However, a super light olive oil is good too... just NOT extra virgin oil because it gets a funky flavor for some reason.  Avocado oil is seriously SO GOOD and I highly recommend if you can get your hands on it without breaking the bank.  I splurge a little on this because it's that good.
3. This is where you can add ANY flavors you want.  I added powdered garlic (fresh would be awesome for a little extra spicy bite), salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and some cajun seasoning (make sure it's a blend with no sugar).  Let all that settle in so the egg settles back on the bottom of the container.
4. Put your immersion blender all the way on the bottom of the container and let 'er rip.  Hold it there without moving it for like 30 seconds.  It happens right in front of your eyes.  After 30 seconds, lift the blender up slowly and make sure all the oil is incorporated and everything is well blended.  
5. NOTHING!   That's it!  I refrigerate mine for a little while afterward just cuz I like that... but it's not necessary.  This mayo is good until the expiration of the egg you used.  

I realize that it uses raw egg, and I try to buy local cage free eggs from someone with chickens, but when I can't, I get as close to that as possible, whether at Trader Joe's or even Costco has some pretty good options (because we eat quite a bit of eggs around here).  

If you like mayo even a little bit, I seriously recommend this.  It's so incredibly good and it satisfies so many of those creamy cravings (that's what she said) that you don't get because of no dairy.  

One variety I'm dreaming of is using lime instead of lemon, then adding cilantro, avocado, jalapeno, and scallions.  That sounds so good, no?  I can see that in my very near future and when I do, I'll definitely let you know how it works out, but I have a feeling it'll be de-lightful.  

What else went in my belly today?  (besides mayo)

Breakfast: omelette with bacon, peppers, and mushrooms with a side bowl of raspberries, strawberries and shredded unsweetened coconut.

Lunch:  OH MY GOD I TOTALLY FORGOT HOW CRAPPY THIS WAS (the situation, not the food)!!!!  We had AWESOME leftover pork carnitas that I had prepared in a separate container from a great salad and then packed a side of an avocado salsa as a dressing and on teh way to the microwave to heat up the pork a little, I DROPPED IT!  It fell and went all over the industrial carpet at my school.  If I were home, no question... pick it up, eat it.  At school, where there are mice and about 10,000 little germ and poop footed infested people walking around... I just couldn't do it.  So I didn't.  So for lunch I had a pretty decent spinach and veggie salad topped with an avocado salsa, a grapefruit, and an apple.

Dinner:  Grass-fed quarter pound burger topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms with a side of sweet potato fries (dressed just with avocado oil, salt and pepper), and sweet, sweet spicy mayo.  Magic.  

Happy Hump Day... now go make some mayonnaise and figure out a way to thank me later.

Bump, Set, Spike...

Today was yet another reminder of just how FREAKING FAR my life has come since just a few years ago.  Today was our first 5th grade volleyball practice.  Now, before I get started, I completely realize that I'm talking about FIFTH GRADE volleyball.  That is not lost on me.  That is also why these moments are so profound. I would have NEVER agreed to do volleyball "before."  I would have never dreamed that I could take part in something that active.  Again... I realize that it's fifth grade.  The funny thing is that I wouldn't have thought I couldn't do it, I just would choose not to, subconsciously knowing that I would have been a totally crappy role model to those young ladies (and gents... though there are only 2 out of our 21 players that are male).  It's so hard to say what I would have done before or how I felt before because I think I used to try SO HARD to ignore the fact, or at least avoid at all costs, the fact that I would not have been able to perform any of the physical tasks that I would have expected those kiddos to do.  So how would I have possibly shown skills by example or even participated along side them?  I wouldn't have, so I opted out by not opting in.  Instead, what I was able to do today was kick a little fifth grade BOO-TAY.  I ran with them, did burpees with them, stretched and warmed up with them, and finally... participated and LED a group of kids that want to be active and are looking up to me because I am active and athletic.  Shit... I'm athletic!  I never thought I would say that... but even for someone that has never played volleyball seriously before, I'm not terrible!  It's pretty astounding to see how my life has changed.  It's not HUGE things all the time, but sometimes the smallest stuff.  I'm jogging and not dying with a bunch of 10-year-olds.  I am able to work out and talk (read: yell) at the same time and by the end of the practice every last one of those kids and myself were worked out, enjoying learning skills of a game that they can enjoy through their own lives.  I'm not trying to "make a mountain out of a mole-hill here," but sometimes it slaps me in the face that, "wow... this never would have happened before."  Before.  Before I was huge and opting out.  Now I'm not huge, and I am very much opting in.  I have done a lot of things and experienced a lot of things.  Geez, even the other day, one of my little friends in my class had "escaped" into a very confined litle space and before I wouldn't have even thought to try to get in there to talk to him to get him out of the place in his head that made him want to be so isolated.  Instead, I shimmied my not-so-tiny, but not-so-huge body into behind a wall to squat and quietly talk to a kiddo that needed some calming words from an adult they knew cared about them.  I am present.  I am present in a way that I didn't know I wasn't present before.  I don't know if that makes sense... but it's not like I was knowingly even NOT being present.  But now that I am actually there, and active, and excited, and happy... I come to realize those moments that would have gone down an entirely different way because my physical self inhibited my mental self from really getting "down and dirty" with the things that come up in my life.  I'm not running around every day from revelation to revelation... but seriously... do you think this girl could have done this?  I'm just so proud.  I'm proud to be where I am and I'm also just so proud of who I'm "allowed" to be now that I have more confidence, more awareness, and simply more ability to be.  The picture on the left was almost two years before to the day of the picture on the right.  The left was lounging, happily, I might add, in my parent's pool.  The one of the right is near the conclusion of my first, and hopefully not my last, Warrior Dash.  Not bad.... not bad at all.

Today food was sort of a "non-issue" because it was SO BUSY!  From school, to volleyball practice, to visiting a bestie with a new baby, to home, to dinner, to snuggles with a semi-sick kid, to bedtime to this... I'm wiped and food was whatever what was in front of me.  Thanks to my hubby today because he made sure I was well-nourished to do anything and everything I wanted to do.

I shoved into my belly:
Breakfast:  A DELICIOUS omlette of mushrooms, peppers, and spinach with a side of avocado.  Also, a bowl of sliced bananas, raspberries, and shredded unsweetened coconut.  Yummmmm!
Lunch:  I SNARFED some leftover chicken veggie soup and some carrots.
Snack:  Grapefruit.  Still yum.
Dinner:  Leftover pork carnitas on greens with peppers, avocado, carrots, beets, and some salsa "dressing."  Finished with some raspberries for "something sweet."

MUUUUUUUHN-day...

So, I'm gonna' start with a totally un-paleo approach to today and say... I AM SO FREAKING TIRED OF BEING WOKEN UP BY MY 3-YEAR-OLD TELLING ME SHE PEED HER BED.  Seriously... we have washed her sheets more in the last two weeks than I have washed my own sheets in the last year.  I'm annoyed.  I have NO IDEA what to do.  We've limited liquids, her bathroom is lit up like the Luxor in Vegas, and her route to the pot has never been more explicit.  She has even peed THROUGH her pull-up which we have resorted to on more than one occasion. I'm annoyed, and completely unclear on what the h-e-double hockey stick to do.  ARGH.  I guess I should be grateful because at least it wasn't her waking me up squishing her hands together telling me she needed to wash her hands... and being SLAMMED in the face with the smell of Baby Vick's Vapo-Rub.  At 2:00 in the morning, my daughter woke me up to inform me that she wasn't tired, so she rubbed herself down in Vicks Vapo Rub.  WHAAAAAAT????  God bless that child, but I sometimes wanna' just shove her in a closet and forget she was there.  She would probably be perfectly happy there and we'd just hear a little peep every now and then asking for an iPad or a snack or something.  Weirdo.

Today was so very much a Monday.  I'm tired, I wanted nothing but junk food, and I didn't have time to work out because of a quick after-school meeting that I didn't know I should be at.  But tomorrow I start coaching volleyball!  HA!  A whole bunch of fifth grade kiddos running around attempting to bump and set balls.  What am I getting myself into?  Ah well... Monday is soon behind me and I'm heading into Tuesday with "hopefully" a whole new attitude.  OH!  I almost forgot... I started today with a dance party dedicated to one of my co-teachers that left me the year before last.  We often found ourselves needing a quick pre-school-day dance party to change our outlook... so here is today's dance party. Hopefully it'll help you feel a little better.  :)

I filled my belly with:

Breakfast:  Leftover sweet potato hash and two eggs, sliced bananas mixed with unsweetened shredded coconut, raspberries, and slivered raw almonds.  (REALLY FILLING and probably a little much... but really needed for getting me out in to the world today... plus, I needed all the fuel I could get my hands on for that kickin' dance party.  Yes... I'm 34.)
Lunch:  Leftover spaghetti squash and ground turkey marinara, baby carrots, and a grapefruit.  (Have I mentioned I am OBSESSED with this citrus?  Sidenote: I have a grapefruit soul sister at school that picked me up a bag from Costco... it was like the sweetest little thoughtful gift and it was a bag of grapefruit... I love her.)
Dinner:  (TALK ABOUT A WEIRD MIX... The hubby was gone at a meeting, so I ate...) Half a leftover chicken thigh, part of an avocado, some applewood smoked bacon, pistachios, and an apple.  Weird?  yes.  Filling?  Yes.  Satisfying... not terribly.

Holla!!!!

Wowzers... here we are... almost exactly one year later and I'm finishing up my next 30-day challenge in Paleo-land.  It's gone pretty well all things considered, and albeit there were a couple pumpkin muffins consumed, it looks like it's going to "end" better than it did last time (in a vat of cinnamon roll ice cream).  Although I am not going to attempt to back-log ALL the meals I've eaten so far on this leg of the journey, I thought I would start here... at the "end" of the 30 days and see how things move forward... so here's to a step forward and perhaps something a little more positive than Tillamook ice cream.  However, I will admit that now that pumpkin season is among us, I am fully intending on some pumpkin froyo on Saturday night (the 31st day).  That being said, let's see where this takes me and how things are progressing from here.  Five days to go and a whole crapload of choices to make day-in and day-out.  Life isn't going to slow down, so let's see what I do with this.  Today I could feel a binge coming on, so I ate a few more fruits than I probably should, and I won't mention the pumpkin muffin batter... but all things considered... could have been WAY worse.  I'll take it.  Happy Fall ya'll!  You'll be hearing from me... AGAIN.

What I put in my belly today...
Breakfast: Sweet Potato "hash" with spinach and all-natural bacon topped with two poached eggs (my hubby bought me an egg poaching pan for my bday... AMAZE-BALLS.)
Snack:  Grapefruit (truly obsessed)
Lunch:  It was kind of a late breakfast, and unfortunately I opted to rock out some of the pumpkin muffin dough I was making "for the girls."
Snack:  Orange
Dinner:  REALLY GOOD chicken and veggie soup (secret: put a can of pumpkin in the soup and it'll thicken it up and make it seriously hearty and delicious-like.)
Dessert:  Grapefruit (I told you I was obsessed.)