Portion Control. According to Whole30

Just so you know this is coming out of the Whole30 program. Check out their handy printout on how to plan your meal or even plate it: Meal Planning Template,

Basically 3 meals daily unless you work out, than you get a bonus meal.

Plate your meal with 1-2 "Palm Sized" Proteins than fill the remainder of the plate with your veggies. Occasionally eat some fruit. Cook with a touch of fat.

They do not want you to snack. Stick only to your 3-4 meals daily. I am clearly not there. I snack on a few berries in-between.

Here is a link to a really great can I have list: http://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/

Whole30 Day 2 June 3rd 2014

Breakfast: Kale Salad with Lemon Tahini, tuna, and hard boiled eggs

Lunch: Leftover Curry mixed with leftover Carne Asada with snap peas, zucchini, mushrooms.

Dinner: Green Chili Carne Asada with avocado over cabbage topped with Green Chili and Salsa.

According to my Fit Bit I have walked 5,473 Steps. My energy level is normal/steady.

Whole30 Day 1 "Again" June 2nd 2014

Breakfast: I'll be honest. I don't remember. I know it had two eggs.

Lunch: Avocado sliced with sauteed mushrooms in ghee with carne asada and zucchini (I know there is too much fat in this meal. But baby steps)

Dinner: Kale mix salad with Tahini lemon dressing, homemade curry with shrimp, pineapple and carrots, served on top sweet potatoes.

I did a-lot of cooking today to make lunches and breakfasts easier. I'll try and throw in recipes when I can. I typically just mix and add and taste and add again. I'll give some of my basics.

I really like this video. She is qwirky with a fun accent. The video is in good quality as well as quick.

Whole30 Day 1 June 1st 2014

DAY ONE.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with garlic leaks and salmon.

Went to a farmer's market. Sampled a great raw kale and thahni salad. And I don't even like raw kale.

Lunch/BBQ: kale salad with thahni, hot dogs and grilled avocado mashed with roasted corn and onions.

I didn't even think about the hot-dogs having sugar I'm still not even sure if I can have corn...guess what. Now I have to start over! Which blows considering I didn't drink any beer although tempted.  I missed out.

Dinner: Sweet potatoes topped with two poached eggs.

Snacks: (guess I should be only doing 3 meals a day with no snacking. Hey, I'm trying here) Strawberries,  zucchini, strips of carne asada.

Whole30

I have decided to make another step to getting healthy. Not sure if this will work but along with my bones aching, overall body stiffness, I am a pre-diabetic. The doctor has me on metform to help my body process the sugars. A co-worker had recently finished the Whole30 program. (Whole30.com) and her results were noticeable. So why not.

I'm still learning things about the diet and what I can and cannot eat.

Cannot.

No dairy. I'm sorry no cheese, yogurt, or milk. These are staples to my life. Cheese alone is in practically every meal I eat.

White potatoes. Ok, I can live with this because yams and sweet potatoes are a go.

No grains. Bye bye bread, rice, oatmeal and everything else that is good in this world.

Sugars. Yup, all of the sugars. Sugar, coconut sugar, raw sugar, stevia, and even honey. Crazy thing is sugar is in everything we eat. Including sausage, bacon, curry, spaghetti sauce, even canned foods! Now I have to start reading lables and watch for those sneaky ones. My love was nice enough to tell me if it has an "ose"on the end its sugar. Like dextrose, fructose, and more.

Beans. All beans are a no no...refried beans, black beans, hummus, and even the soy bean. But good news there is an EXCEPTION on this. Green beans and snap peas of such. They are good to go!

Now what can you have. =) here is the good to go.

Meat, fish, eggs, poultry. Go for lean as possible. If you can choose organic, grass fed, hocus pocus stuff. Eggs are cheap protein.

Veggies, galore. Any green leaf veggie, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and much more.

Fruit. Yes you can eat fruit on this one. Apples, pears, even the banana, exotic fruits as well. Spice and even cook with all the citus!

Fats. Yes you can. Coconut oil,EVOO, sesame oils. Nuts, avocado, seeds. Some you need to limit. But not bad.

List to download here: Whole30 shopping list

Now back to me. I'm an early 30's female. Let's face it I'm fat. I'm 205 pounds and man do I hate who I see in the mirror.

Follow me to see my progress as well as my daily food and exercise if any. Posts may be lumped together but there will be all days. Struggles in all.

Keeping with frugalness

Big batch of soup! You know that cabbage soup diet. So I took that and made a batch.

I froze the servings in 2 cup freezer bags. I ended up with 14 bags. 5 of which were chicken tortilla style. The recipe called for chicken broth so rather than purchasing several cans I save money by making my own and than also using the chicken for my other soup. Pretty excited about the end results.

While total for tonight's meals $22. Ends up being $1.47 each serving. Not to mention the leftovers that didn't go into the soup.

Here is my leftovers.
1/2 head of cabbage
1.5 pounds of carrots which will be dehydrated
1/2 head of celery which is getting dehydrated now
And 10oz of spinach.

Overall I win and if I lose any weight in the mean time. Double win. Weight 201.

Marinated Caprese Salad

Are you a fan of Tomatoes? Cause I am not! I do like tomato by-produces such as sauces and what have you. Well this is one of those exceptions!!

Marinated Caprese Salad!

INGREDIENTS:
6-8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, diced or sliced
4-5 tomatoes, diced or sliced (this is an heirloom)
8-10 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
Basalmic vinegar
Olive oil
generous dash fresh ground black pepper and salt
(opt Dill as a quick topping)

DIRECTIONS:
Cover the tomatoes in a few drizzles of Balsamic enough to coat all of them, Let sit up to an hour. Tossing them up ever so often

Than assemble all ingredients into a dish and top with pepper, salt or what ever you come up with!

Please get creative! Use a whole tomato that is pitted out and stuffed with ingredients, Slice and serve, add mustard for a tang! Please let me know your comments and suggestions, this salad id a clean easy fun salad... Make em think you slaved over it!

Home made vanilla syrup

Add to coffee or ice cream, waffles, whatever your heart desires!

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

In a medium sauce pan dissolve sugar in water

Bring to a boil over med high heat

cook until thick (about 3 min)

Remove from heat, add flavor, let cool until room temp.

Also excited to try different flavors like peppermint, hazelnut, and many more!

Lunch: scalloped bacon alfredo pasta

Simply delightful

Recipe: Tzatziki Sauce

Tzatziki Sauce

Prep Time: 20 Min | Cook Time: --- | Servings: 8 servings | Difficulty: ---

Ingredients:

• 2 (8 ounce) containers plain yogurt
• 2 cucumbers - peeled, seeded and diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled

Directions:

In a food processor or blender, combine yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Process until well-combined. Transfer to a separate dish, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor.

Nutritional Info:

Amount Per Serving Calories: 75 | Total Fat: 4.4g | Cholesterol: 3mg Powered by ESHA Nutrient Database

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/tzatziki-sauce/detail.aspx

Sent from Paprika Recipe Manager.

Greek / gyro burgers

I spent the day with my cousin baking. We had no set recipe for the burgers. We just added what we wanted. I really wanted to make a gyro tasting burger. Mission accomplished. What I had really wanted to do was half lamb half beef. Sadly the lamb was 12$ a pound.

For those who know me know I never follow any set recipe nor do I measure all that often. I add and smell. This is about what we did:

1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground beef
1/2c bread crumbs
1 egg
1 cucumber diced and peeled
1 - 1 1/2c feta
5-6 mint leaves diced
Basil
Rosemary

Mixed together cooked and enjoyed on 100 cal thin sandwich bread, with home made taziki sauce and cucumber slices. 

Sent from my iPad

Extreme Couponist Day out number one!

Day 1 of becoming an EXTREME COUPONIST!!!

So I sit down on Sunday and clip them coupons!! I sure so! Its quite the process if I do say so! But since I have been on the budget and can not really afford a whole lot right now I am going to go forward on this and see how well I can do.

So Day 1 I go to Walmart since they price match and take competor coupons. So it means one several trips avoided. But they only take bogo if there is a price listed. And they do not take double coupon coupons either.

That being said i made 2 trips one to Walmart where i spent 28 Dollars and ended up saving 11 dollars, with a total percent savings of 28.37%

Trip 2 was off to Albertsons had to ring it up in two transactions in order to get the double coupon coupon! first transaction i save 43% and the second 46%

Total days worth i ended up with saving approximately 37% in my whole endeavor! The best deal I got was at Walmart. And A1. it was on sale for 2.16 and with the $1.00 coupon that made it 1.16 with the sale price and coupon I ended up saving about 92% on that one item!

So overall hi five to me!

My summer goals

I make news years resolutions just like everyone else! But I also make small goals to help me achieve the things I want, this summer I only have two goals, one become an extreme couponist, and a runner.

Becoming the couponist is easy, clip coupons stock up and save! Planning is the hard thing and keeping organized. But today I will make my first trip in with this in goal. So we shall she the outcome!

As for becoming a runner, I'm lazy and I'm not sure if that's actually going to happen, but I want it to. So I shall see what I can do!

Sent from my iPad

Belby delight!

Leftover spanish rice.
Can of cheese soup.
Can of corn,
Half of smoked sausage.
Diced cliantro
Shredded cheese
Topped with cheddar cheese.

Bake until warm and.cheese is chrispy

left Over Avocado Salad

Simply tossed left over mushroom, onion, radish, green pepper, celery,
cilantro, cheese, and pita bread all together and tossed it with half
of a lime. Flavor was amazing!! I think it would be well paired with
a glass of merlot.....now i wish i had my glass with it!

My baking day!!

I baked my butt off!! I made pita pockets but i used it as personal
pizza. Once the pockets came out of the oven and puffed down. we
topped it with the home made sauce. made it with an awesome array of
toppings!!

Just baked in oven on broil until the cheese crisped and melted!!!

Pita Pockets!!!

made a super delish pockets and was made for personal pizzas!! I highly recommend you try this one!!

Pita Bread (pockets)

Prep Time: 30 Min
Cook Time: 15 Min
Servings: 8 pitas
Difficulty: ---

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions:

Place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select Dough
setting and start. When dough has risen long enough, machine will
beep.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch
dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8
pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each
ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured
countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until
slightly puffy.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a
wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to
5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and
immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with
a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in
half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in
a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer
for 1 or 2 months.

Sent from my iPad

Ultimate Pizza Sauce Recipe

Ultimate Pizza Sauce

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 1/2 hrs
Servings:  4
Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 small bay leaf
1 teaspoon fennel seed

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, melt butter with the oil. Add the onion, celery
and garlic and saute until soft and transparent.

2. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir until smooth.

3. Add remaining ingredients and bring to slow simmer.

4. Simmer for 30-60 minutes (or not at all depending on your taste and
time frame).

5. Remove the bay leaf and spread the sauce on your prepared pizza dough.

FOOOOOOD!!!

Today I cooked several meals to freeze for lunches. Lean Burger Patties, Soup, Chicken, And Chicken Spinach Bake. I got to play with Phylo dough which is way way fun!

Todays main focus is on this Cheesey Spinach Bake. Which was a HARD recipe to follow the ingredients were whack. So I didn't get to all of the stuff to make it properly. So I started to do what I want. AND I LOVE how it turned out!

Ingredients: (give or take)
2 small containers of Feta
1 Large container or ricotta
Some Ground nutmeg
1 Egg
1 Bag or Spinach (chopped)
1 Bunch of Spring Onions (chopped)
Handful of Parmesan Cheese
Small handful of Mozzarella Cheese
Several Sheets of Phylo dough

1. Mix Feta, Ricotta, nutmeg, egg, both cheeses, spinach and onions until smooth!
2. Layer 4-6 sheets with a light coat of oil between each sheet.
3. add the Cheese mix to it
4. The top layer is another 4-6 layers of the dough
5. Bake at 350 until the dough is a pretty Brown.

With the left over cheese mix  add them  to the extra sheets of dough for pocket type treat.

Add Chicken or ham or whatever meat you feel like!

Bacon Cheese Soup

Dinner is served.

I am trying to be frugal and make more of my lunches and dinners. So I picked up a couple of soups added the recommended milk and chopped bacon and added it grease included.

It Made several lunches and was quick and easy!