Getting back into the flow of normalcy again, I have SO much bursting from within that I want to share with you all. Before life of kind of took over I had SO many recipes planned to share with you all. And I will. I still have them. I just need to get organized and get them on here. One thing at a time.
Mr. Charming and I had embarked on a Whole 30 back in November, prior to Thanksgiving. And I SWORE I wrote a post on the recap of it. And maybe I did. Maybe its scratched in a notebook somewhere, in a sea of papers taking over my office of everything that needs tending too now that's it 2015. Or maybe it was all in my little head. My heartfelt recap explaining why we ended on Day 22. (Did I tell you all of this?) Wow. Seriously need to get back into my flow on here. Anyways, I spent a weekend celebrating the holidays with my record label CEO and label mates and they made me amazing gluten-free treats, that were not Whole 30 friendly, but Mr. Charming and I decided that the touching kindness and moments spent with them over good food was more important in that moment, and that was our personal decision. I applaud anyone that completes the thirty days. Heck, I applaud anyone that completes 2 days. 5 days. 10 days. This ish is hard. So, its January. And that means newness. And in the newness that God has blessed us with we are giving it another go. I am scheduled to be in L.A. for writing, recording and movie studio goodness, but this time I'm prepared and I whole-heartedly want to knock out the 30 days. It did such good for us once I got through the wretched detox period that I am hopeful for it to bring back those vibrant parts of me. I don't want to make this post a novel, so I will organize my thoughts and put up good posts, recipes and recaps of life and Christmas and such as I go along. I do have a couple things that are AWESOME to watch for though! I will be guest posting on one of my FAVORITE blogs and as soon as the first post is up I will share. I will also be blogging at my FAVORITE EXPO again, so watch for a post on that this week too. I even have FREE stuff for lucky people. WEE!
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Week 2 started out rough. Not going to lie. I don't think I've ever craved a donut that hard in my life. These donuts. (don't click if you're on Whole 30, it'll just make you cry.) As gluten-free, dairy-free and grain-free they may be, they still have the Whole 30 no-no's that are chocolate and honey. Mmmm. Chocolate & Honey. Lettuce is good too, I guess. For those of you that are just starting your Whole 30, or thinking of doing so, I will tell you IT DOES GET BETTER. I didn't believe any of the blogs I read that stated that when I was in my angry phase, craving phase or the I-just-want-to-sleep-until-Thanksgiving-phase. But now that I am coming out of the "detox-flu" tunnel, I can see a little light. I guess what shocks me most about this process so far is how hard it hit me when I already eat a mostly paleo diet. It goes to show that morning fruit smoothies, raw honey in my muffins and organic coconut sugar in my creamer really can accumulate in my body and detox in not-so-fun ways. For week two we made a lot more vegetable based dinners, and didn't focus as heavily on meats. We made "pasta" using the shredded broccoli and carrot method and topped with an organic, no sugar tomato-basil sauce. For a dessert one night we sauteed apples in a pan and sprinkle with cinnamon, shaved almonds and a little drizzle of full-fat coconut milk. Lunches consisted of chicken salad and soups mostly. As seen below, we tossed a shredded chicken with a little paleo mayo, grapes and avocado and served it with organic broccoli soup. And breakfasts were a lot of eggs and sweet potatoes to keep us full because it was a busy, busy couple of weeks that called for a lot of sustained energy. I am learning to love broccoli as a breakfast food though, which I never thought I would. Week Two Recap
I have to laugh. After reading so many Whole 30 Challenge Recap blogs I could almost cut & paste the emotional and physical challenges, and benefits, the others before me have experienced. Mr. Charming and I decided to do this together, in an effort to clean out grains and sugar for a while. To get healthier, a little more fit for the holidays and to ultimately help our fertility situation as I mentioned in my last post on Day 1 of our Whole 30 journey. It's funny how things happen, too. I had learned about Whole 30 months and months ago when recipe searching for gluten and dairy-free meal ideas and thought "another fad, I don't diet I just eat healthy." Then I started following some bloggers and instagrammers who were posting their yummy recipes, the info on the book "It Starts With Food" and I realized that even though it has a name, it isn't just another fad. It is just simply that, eating healthy. And though I believe I make good choices for myself and my family, sometimes it's good to clean up the diet, to eliminate the sugars (no matter how natural), detox & reset. Where I went wrong was believing that I would have a really easy time with the change and that it would be Mr. Charming that would need to adjust more. (He still consumes organic dairy and gluten on occasion, when not eating with me.) And boy, was I wrong. His willpower is insane and he is not experiencing this awesome "Detox Flu" or "Carb Flu" everyone talks about. The first few days were easy-breezy because it was mainly meals we eat anyways. Bunless grass-fed burgers, salads, green smoothies, eggs and veggies. Then around day 4, my body realized I wasn't enjoying my coconut milk cream splash in a mug of warm choffy. Or a helping of rice pasta with organic sauce. Our bodies tend to burn our sugars and carbs first for fuel, not that my body is void of those things it's using up all my energy to compensate. And, I. Am.Exhausted. Still on a journey to learn more about MTHFR (My genetic disorder that basically makes detoxing harder), I'm sure its one of the reasons why I feel more like I've been hit by a bus that my darling partner, but his inspiring willpower to keep going and not give in to the gluten-free donut I so badly want to bake because it's Fall now, is keeping me on track. Mr. Charming takes a great multi-vitamin, whereas I cannot because my body attacks folic acid as if it's an invading toxin. So I'm wondering if that's something that is helping him not feel as much fatigue. I know he's had some sinus issues too, but his energy is in tact. And my hormones right now. I'm just glad he loves me so, and I have hopes week two will get easier. Week One Recap
Overall, I will be honest, it's a hard diet to follow, but I am excited to see if week two brings less cravings and a renewed energy! Will keep you all posted. I would LOVE to hear your Whole 30 or Paleo challenges and triumphs! The encouragement would be good, especially now, since everything aches and I am craving a nap and a brownie.
Yesterday marked Day 1 of Mr. Charming and I's Whole 30. For you not familiar with the Whole 30, it's a 30 day nutritional program where you simply eat only whole foods. Vegetables, organic meats, eggs, and some fruits are the staples, while seeds and some nuts are ok. No legumes, no dairy, no grains and no sugar. We decided to do this together for a few reasons. 1. I want to eventually move to being fully grain free and I thought this would be a good cleanse and reset for my system to not rely so heavily on them as part of my meals, especially breakfast. 2. To do something together, and get back to enjoying the same meals like we did before. and 3. To help our fertility. For breakfast on day one, I prepared us baked sweet potatoes, topped with organic spinach, sea salt and an over-medium egg drizzled with olive oil. It was amazing and filling, and being able to have sweet potato every once in a while helps curb the sugar cravings that will inevitably come, because, it's me. And my sugar dragon is a beast. After breakfast we hopped in the car and went to the local pumpkin patch. I had never done a corn maze, and there were two, a small one and a large one, so we did the small one, took some photos and headed out to peruse the book store. (I could spend all day in a Barnes & Noble if you let me.) It's still neat to be able to see work I've done on the bookstore shelves. It's been a dream of mine since I was a little girl, (that and win a Grammy). And sometimes I have to pinch myself. I'm so blessed to do what I love and am glad I took the leap of faith to do it. Sometimes when we think we've got it all figured out, or know the path we're "supposed to be on", something happens, the road shifts, or gets blocked off, and we must detour, and though it can be scary, sometimes it can lead to such great blessings and other dreams coming true. After the bookstore we took Charlie, (our new baby schnauzer) to a local shopping centers Howl-O-Ween event. The event was for dogs who wanted to trick-or-treat the shops and get treats! Yes I have become that dog-mom. For now he is my baby. So he gets trick-or-treating. And treats. Late afternoon we returned home to meal two of our Whole 30 in which I made a "Burger Salad". Grass fed beef with peppers and garlic, cherry tomatoes and avocado topped romaine lettuce. It was delicious.
Tonight's dinner is pictured in the Eat Real Food photo I had made for Instagram, and it was delicious! Pork chops drizzled with a natural BBQ sauce, with a side of carrots and organic potato and leek soup. I'd love to hear who else is doing or has done a Whole 30 and what your favorite meal was? :) Here's to Happy & Healthy eating all season long! |
Welcome! My name is Mandi & I hope you stay in this happy little space a while. I'm a Christian, a wife to my Mr. Charming, mama to baby Greyson, healthy food-lover, traveler, professional journalist and Personal Nutritionist who hopes to inspire others with my story...
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October 2017
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