Oh no, here she goes again...

Yawn! I just woke up from my nap, did I miss anything? hahahaha!

Funny how life takes over and you feel like you are driving through the obstacles in a video game and doing it so fast that you are not pausing to see if there are any special flowers that provide magical effects to make the game more interesting and fun, right? Yeah, life gets like that sometimes.

Some major things happened this year:
 

• My mother died in September, a story so depressing that involve toxic people that I don't even want to poison my blog about it.  

• My father remarried a lovely lady named Maria that union gave me an instant 9 year old sister named Vendi.A very smart and talented younger sister to have.  I will learn a lot from her.

• I completed my Master's Degree in Health and Wellness Education in October. FINALLY! I am still having mini panics (fewer now) where I am wondering did I finish writing my paper or take my quiz? It is amazing how a 15 month program with the work so intensely routine and difficult that when it's over, the routine is so ingrained that relaxing seems abnormal. Hopefully, that it will not take as long for me to figure out what to do with my new degree after teaching as it did to find what master's to pursue (10 years about).

What is JennyMac doing now that is blog worthy?

If you remember, in May 2016 I completed my Whole30 experience.  I was happy with how I was eating however, I allowed my end result of losing only 6 pounds to hit me too hard.

I was soooooo disappointed.

The Whole30 book author Melissa Hartwig, warned its readers about using the scale as a gauge, don't use it and just to keep going doing Whole30. I am sure in time it would have been a slow loss I needed but I want/need regular feedback. So, I transitioned into doing Paleo and was happy doing that THEN work stress hits you too hard and you always go back to eating the things that you forget only give you temporary pleasure but slowly undoes what you were doing and you just don't care. Focusing on doing what makes you happy to survive because you don't want the stress to cause overtly negative things and for me.

I AM THE POSTER CHILD FOR "WEIGHT STRUGGLES." I own it and have accepted that a long time ago. I have posted many a blog entry about my long litany of diets, plan, lifestyles, etc. I still look for that magical combination that works for me (my life, my body, my mind, my wallet, my husband, etc). So I doing something now that I had forgotten that has worked for me.

What do I know?

• From my Master's work, you always have to find evidence that supports your idea, plan or theory. Two times in my life I remember distinctly reducing CARBS worked.  I lost tremendous weight both times.  
• In my first low carb experience, I remember doing something under the guidance of my Mom's nursing expertise and was using ketosis strips to check my urine I had totally forgotten why I was doing that. 
• I read a posting on FB from another FACS teacher who was concerned about her teachings of nutrition when she had been doing a Ketogenic diet and was hugely successful and pondered about the hypocrisy/difference, etc.  That was when my head tilted in curiosity and I did more research.  
• My low carb eating occurred in high school and in my 30's and with my knowledge and know-how to eat more cleanly with grass-fed, pastured, organic, no refined sugars, no grains...it all came together. 
• K-man, who you know is an avid cyclist, pretty much ate whatever he wanted now realizes that despite having totally fit arms and legs from his thousands of miles he racks up over a year that his tummy area was indicative that he can't actually eat however he wants after all,  That was a game changer for me. I always felt that my "diets" somehow were harsh and cruel punishment for my husband because the delectable and tasty treats were scarce and breads were not at every meal. Even during those days, I was sometimes fixing two meals, one for me and one for him because he was always starving! 
• Carbs are an evil thing that always trick you thinking that you are starving when you aren't really!!!
• From a Book that I read awhile back made connections again. Fit2Fat2Fit where a personal trainer wanted to connect more with his clients struggles and purposely gained 75 pounds and got fit again and his enlightening struggle= He does Ketogenic eating.
• I am fat I need to lose the FAT, I need my body to learn again how to burn fat.
• Research shows that LONG periods of exercise are not always the way to lose/maintain weight.
• My last problems that did not go away from my Whole30 experience was heel pain, which I found out that I had developed plantar fasciitis and one (of the many reasons that did not apply to me) was being overweight.  Losing 6 pounds was not enough for my heels to stop hurting and my body was "nicely" stopping me from hitting my worst ever weight (346) by giving me plantar fasciitis in hopes that I would do something about it.
• Losing weight by exercise isn't successful when you have plantar fasciitis.

 What am I doing to prepare and get rolling?

1. Purchased ketone strips
2.  Purchased Ketogenic diet for beginners 
3. Researched the similarities and differences between Paleo and Whole30 and Paleo and Keto. There is a lot of overlap but like trying on shoes that are truly comfortable and work for the function of your needs you have walk around a bit to find the best fit, Right?
4. Find a website or app that you can use as a tool to be an assistant in tracking what you are doing for you. Carb Counter site lowcarbfriends.com for finding that quick answer if a food is allowable or an App such as Loseit.com. Shown here is the web version, I have the app for free and so far I do not need to upgrade (that all apps who want to make money do) for functionality or avoid invasive ads.
   
   
5. Weigh yourself before you begin.  You may lose sleep the night before worrying about but you always need a good marker to use for growth and change.  The old excuse of I will just see how my clothes change on me is not good enough!
6. Communicate what you need for your partner/husband/friends to be a success. If they can't support that and only think of themselves and how this will effect them then you are with the wrong people. Your support system will do anything to help you reach your goals, being around the wrong foods at the start up will only make your difficult days more difficult.
7. Give up all the sodas, and sugary drinks (I accomplished that through whole30).  Black coffee, unsweetened tea, seltzer water and make sure you have plenty of safe snack around like nuts, beef jerky, pork rinds and cut and clean veggies ready at all times.

What have you made so far? 

Many things, considering we have only started this on Monday.

Monday- Keto PB smoothie from the cookbook, portobella pizzas and sirloin steaks from Butcherbox.com (I started my order on vacation and they were waiting for us when we arrived packed in dry ice-$129 got us, 2 filet mignons (sign up bonus), 2 strip steaks, 4 sirloins, 6 chicken breasts, 4 pork chops, 6 burgers (and a partridge in a pear tree!- just kidding) that is 5 bucks and some change for the cleanest, grass-fed, pastured meat delivered for free per meal per person.
Tuesday- hard boiled eggs and bacon and Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps and roasted veggies.
Wednesday- went out to lunch and ordered a Greek salad with grilled chicken and dinner was a grass-fed burgers with cheddar cheese, bacon, avocado lettuce wrapped with side of broccoli.
Thursday- hard boiled egged with 2 bacon and pepper fat bombs, grilled caprese chicken and sauteed swiss chard. Made today: Raspberry Cheesecake (I added some blueberries and some chopped macadamia nuts on top.too)

 Stay tuned and come back for my second weigh in next Monday July 10.

Busy Busy Summer

Hi JennyMac Fans!

Can you believe the summer is almost over? Those of you with kids I am sure are already celebrating in the south because your kids are back to school and those of you who are teachers like me may be on the spectrum of already back to school, prepping for classes to start or like me-- savoring the last few days before you are required to report back to school (August 25).
The county I work for starts the first day of school after Labor Day. Always, ever since I was kid and grew up/was educated in the same county where I teach now.  Have I told the story why we start so late? Skip down if you already know the story because you are my coworker and know the struggle is real.  We have an amusement park 2 hours away from here in Richmond, Va. called Kings Dominion and they appealed ("made a deal") to/with the state that since many students work for the park, to please open schools AFTER the biggest travel/last vacation weekend of the year (Really, it's not. That is Thanksgiving, but whatever.) So even though none of my students can work (middle schoolers) and none of the high schoolers are close enough to drive, we have to follow the same schedule.  I have a friend who works in a county about 30 minutes away and she starts school earlier and gets out earlier and clearly their county does NOT follow the "Kings Dominion Rule." So enough of my whining about something I cannot change yet everyone razzes me and says "whoa, you start school late" like I had something to do with it.

I know you haven't heard from me for awhile but life happens, you know....So let me catch you up to speed.

June 2015:
End of the year craziness. Keeping the kids educated and entertained (overly qualified babysitting services), keep myself sane wrapping up school while working through another Graduate Class, packing/cleaning up room, entertaining my "squad" after school, dealing with staff leaving our school for many reasons other than retirement and that is stressful and very sad.

July 2015:
Vacation to Virginia Beach (YAY!) and starting another Grad class on my vacation (BOO!). Yeah, K-man was NOT happy but the good thing is last year my very first Grad class started at the same place at the same time and that was new and daunting. However, now that I have the routine of online learning under my belt, it was not daunting because I became a better time manager of how to organize my work within the deadlines and still enjoy a vacation.  Online learning can be a beautiful thing once you get with the flow of how it all works. Started reading some fascinating books, they are so rich with information, you can stop reading however, you have to stop reading because it's too much to absorb.

The Book "Real Food Fake Food" I saw mentioned in an article that it was upcoming and I immediately pre-ordered it. I have been really obsessed in the past year with food science and the reality of the products we are eating that we believe is food. I am shocked and horrified how the government has much to do with it and as I go on in my little FACS world of teaching the MyPlate model to my students and how to eat a healthy diet, I really have to bite my tongue to go on a tirade. Some of my students find it fascinating, some shrug and some run home and make it dinner conversations and I get emails from parents how hard it is to get their kids to eat period and my education is causing issues.  My health education of our kids is a rough road.  Anyway if you care about fish, olive oil, kobe beef and other meats, cheese (mainly parmesan), wines, honey and coffee then READ THIS BOOK. If you don't care, (but you should) then try reading my other page turner.

I ran into Robert Lustig's work from a six degrees of separation thing. I was doing some article research for my class, found a very long article on The Sugar Conspiracy or Controversy (I can't remember which), which led to a reference to Dr. Lustig, which lead to my finding his lecture about sugar (The Bitter Truth) on youtube.com (it's over (90 minutes but fascinating) and there is a TED talk by him (The Elephant in the room), but if you want a short 8 minute version see my embedded ABC news segment of him below. Regardless, all of Lustig's work is based on another man's controversial and groundbreaking work on sugar who was swept under the rug- John Yudkin, "Pure, white and Deadly. I have that book too but will save it for another post. If you have been reading my past posts while I was on Whole30....the struggle is real and it is amusing to me how people have finally accepted that smoking is bad and that overeating is a problem but how people go "PHHHFFFTTTT" over how sugar is the underlying base to all our problems with eating and perhaps our health. I think our new food nutrition label this year is gonna shake up some things with sugar, hopefully. Fat Chance by Dr. Robert Lustig, proof if you need to digest this in smaller doses at your own pace. I highly recommend it. It's going on my whiteboard trough at school for kids to see and pick up and read out of curiosity, right next to the Real Food Fake Food.




August 2015:

This was not a good way to end the summer with a loss of our furry 4 year old boy Scooter.  You have seen some of my past pictures of his funny antics and goofiness which we adored. I am tearing up writing this and although all tragic ends have a story, going into all the detail will depress you and possibly electrocute me as I try to type it all out. So we are still grieving and focus on our other furry girl Bikini and keep her happy and watch her evolve in a different level of princess being the "only child" of sorts which has been interesting. Many people think that by saying "are you going to get another cat" is a good topic changer for such a devastating event in our lives but it is not. When people have a human death in the family such as a child or husband, no one should be saying right after, "are you going to have another baby?" or "are you going to get remarried?" Yeah, if you don't say that about a human, don't say it either about a cat or dog loss either. Okay?  Thanks.  I know that loss of any kind makes people awkward. Some people have finesse with saying the right thing or not saying anything at all but just hug. Others mean well and say things that only make the flood gates open for the mourner. No one knows what will trigger tears for one coping with loss. I think I am okay about Scooter and I wonder why I keep seeing a butterfly everyday around the dining room where I sit at my computer. Sometimes I think it is his spirit (since I never had so many butterfly visitations at one spot in a condensed amount of time (yeah, I am huge believer in departed souls and spirits, watch the Long Island Medium and see Teresa Caputo in action and you will be a believer too). Anyway, I have elaborated more than I intended here, sorry about that.

As I return back to school I will go back to posting my Whole30/Paleo adventures in cooking.  I warn you that since September will be a crazy month with my returning back to school routine AND finishing my Master Degree, I offer no guarantees when the next post will be but stay tuned.

Salted Caramel Cookies with Bacon Bites

I know I am slow on getting back to a regular schedule...but what is regular, right? Right now K-man is installing my back splash in the kitchen and I am so excited because it looks so nice! Don't worry pictures will come.

I am on class number 8 for grad school...pretty excited about that. The last two classes get done simultaneously.  I don't know how that will pan out but thank god it's over the summer! I should be done in September!

We had a little scare with our fur baby Bikini- one night we noticed she was slobbering like a Saint Bernard and knew that wasn't normal. K-man thought the worst because he had a kitty from his past that was slobbering and found mouth cancer was the issue.  However, we took her into the vet and she looked all over her mouth that she could see (looking into a wriggling cats mouth is no easy chore) and found no, sores, redness, oozing....anything.  She had not been outside for supervised play lately nor had any new plants been added in the house.  We could only speculate that perhaps her bug hunting got the best of her somehow and she was on 24 hour watch. Before any other invasive methods were going to be used next. Luckily it dissipated that night and she was back to normal by the next night. Phew! So now, she is all updated, weighing in at 13.8 lbs and on a "less treats" plan.  LOL. Yeah, me too. Next week Scooter's turn for his yearly visit....K-man and I have wagers on HIS weight...I say under 10, Kirk disagrees.

Onto my product review.  You may remember in my last post when I blogged about Primal Bake shop and their products? Today, I am trying out the Salted Caramel and adding bacon. I am going to use two types of bacon and test which tastes best.  I have noticed that when cooked bacon get added to something baked it loses it crispiness and/or bacon flavor disappears.  I noticed this phenomena when I made a frittata.  So I am adding to half of my cookies, chopped Paleo bacon and the other half with Epic Bites Bacon (both are uncured with no nitrites).

1.  First, this cookie rocks! For me being a chocolate lover. I am really surprised when I like a cookie better than a chocolate one.  

2. The salt on top REALLY makes a difference. Do NOT leave it off.

3.  The real Paleo chopped bacon tasted better and remained crispy. You can also see it.  The Epic Bites didn't add any smoky goodness as the paleo bacon did.  I did a taste test with K-man and gave him half a cookie of each and asked him if he tasted any difference. He tasted the Paleo bacon difference.

4. I did not conduct myself in a true scientist way and leave some cookies without bacon but oh well, I will have to order more to try them again!

5. The batch made roughly 18 cookies all that is needed to make the cookies is one stick of butter and 1 egg. You need to brown the butter first and you can make it with ghee but I will try the next batch with ghee. Although ghee doesn't really brown, it's the milk solids that brown and ghee has all milk solids removed. Then, I haven't tried to brown ghee, perhaps that is my next assignment?

6. You do have to chill the dough before you bake it and the 350 degrees for 9 minutes didn't seem long enough.  I don't know if my dough was too cold but I had to cook them more than 9 minutes because they didn't seem cooked enough. These were slightly crispy edges and VERY chewy.  Loved them. Although, they were "harder" the next day yet still chewy, let me explain why I LIKED this....Paleo cookies made with almond flour are very difficult to get that crispy chewy affect to last. After 24 hours all almond cookies tend to be soft, losing their crispy edges. I enjoy how these are staying firm.



7. Would I make these again and suggest you buy them too? Heck yes and yes.  These mixes are great to have on hand in the cabinet for when you want a quick treat and don't want the hassle of dragging tons of ingredients out. Especially when you find out that you thought you had tapioca flour and it was coconut....grrrrrr.

8. The ingredient list on this cookie bag was pretty simple: almond flour, tapioca starch, coconut nectar sugar, baking soda and Himalayan pink salt.  I would love to make more types of cookies with simple list of ingredients like this! Simple is better.

9. Be glad this mix only makes 18 cookies. More would be bad.  I ate 3 on the first night.

10. Here is the video of the Civilized Caveman-George making these cookies. Hence, who introduced primal bake shop to me. Thanks George!

#hugsandbacon
#primalbakeshop


You want a cookie?

Still Whole30 with Paleo Parts

Seems so long ago when I was starting Whole30 and it was such a struggle....Really? Maybe the first few shopping trips and all that reading of labels....

Eating "Whole30 with Paleo Parts" so let me explain what THAT means. If you are STRICTLY Whole30, you are not allowed to do things like make pancakes (the Paleo egg and banana ones) or make pizza crust (out of cauliflower and cheese) and slicing potatoes and frying them in oil (fries or chips). Taking Whole30 compliant foods and putting them together to make processed foods we are addicted to or should be avoiding are NOT Whole30 compliant (this being your first initial undertaking of it). Keeping with eating Whole30 all day is not difficult or a struggle anymore. But my Paleo parts consist of....making Paleo Banana Bread and eating that for breakfast. Making my favorite Chebe/Cheenies Bread and adding NO cheese. (It worked and I can't wait to post about THAT soon!) Made some Paleo Cookies and ate a small sliver of Against All Grain Pesto Pizza.
No sugars at all, ate a few GMO, GF tortilla chips...Very doable....very happy. Here's a chocolate bar I made:

Coconut Chocolate Bar

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup ghee
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp. vanilla (I make my own)
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup unsweetened organic shredded coconut.

Line pan with foil. Stir all of the above together, pour in lined pan and chill in fridge until set.  YUM!

Did some more research on Dairy....so I have been following the many FB live posts of Civilized Caveman and he talks a lot and eats only RAW dairy.  Now, "Paleo-purists" do not use dairy at all, other "Paleo-ists" do only raw dairy, and "dairy-don't-care  Paleos"....eat all dairy (that is what I used to do). As I did my research many states allow for the sale of raw dairy and many states like mine (dang you Virginia) do not allow the sale of raw dairy or milk. I can get raw cheese but not raw milk, cream or butter in VA. Some states sell raw dairy for "pet consumption only" and the people drink it.

The theory is when milk is pasteurized for the fear of bacteria, it kills about 90% of the nutrients like iron, calcium, and vitamin C from the milk leaving it relatively as good source of water and over 80% people who suffer from lactose intolerance do not have the symptoms anymore when they switch. Lastly raw dairy, boosts the immune system and protects again allergies. I ate some raw cheese on my burger and none of my allergies were triggered.

Here are some good sites to read about raw dairy:
http://www.drdeborahmd.com/health-benefits-raw-milk
http://draxe.com/raw-milk-benefits/
https://chriskresser.com/raw-milk-reality-benefits-of-raw-milk/ 

Of course, the CDC doesn't agree....lol-- but they don't want their butts in litigation if they said it was totally safe....there is a risk to everything...I could fall off my chair during this post and sue the furniture company who sold it to me....but somethings aren't worth it.


I am so very excited about my next products I am trying....
Again, Civilized Caveman George, made some cookies and spoke about this company Primal Bake Shop who makes a line of products called "Pread." Now, I am no newbie to baking Paleo products but sometimes you just don't want to bother making it from scratch, you want some convenience of less measuring, quicker but STILL WHOLESOME! and it's P-A-L-E-O!!!!!

When I went to buy the cookie mixes online, I VERY hesitantly purchased some pumpernickel bread. I ordered Paleo bread online from Julian's Bakery twice....hated it.  So dry. Used to make my own....meh....it was okay but it never rises very high for me. Got the pumpernickel because that was new...never seen it anywhere....risky Jenny....

Got my box today....Toasted a slice with my baked chicken and mixed green salad dinner and OMG...with some ghee on it....this is when you start singing a little song as you chew (inaudible) and wiggle in you chair as you eat it...nom, nom, nom...Winner!  So getting this again....Even K-man liked it. He was jealous that I had bread with dinner and he didn't....Bah....eat your potstickers K-man....you got your wheat in there somewheres...lol. Primal Bake Shop Sliced breads $13.00








Here is the ingredient list to the bread if you don't believe me....
















Me want....COOKIEEEEEEEEE!!!!
From left to right: Chocolate chip, Chocolate Brownie and Salted Caramel.  I have made plenty Paleo CCC and this I am excited about.  Then, when I make the salted caramel....I am gonna add BACON.  Just you watch. This was the Cookie Monster Mix $34 Order it online, fast delivery. Quality product!!

Thanks George for enlightening me about Primal Bake Shop!

Thanks Dana if that pumpernickel is that good...can't wait for these cookies to make me fall off my chair!

Paleo it's Good!

Whole30 -My evaluation

Was doing Whole30 possibly the best thing that I have ever done for a diet, eating plan or lifestyle change? HELL yeah! Lets go through my punch list...

-It all started when I was a 7 y.o child with a diet plan my mom made on a blue sheet of paper that was on my Grandmother's refrigerator door as I spent a few weeks in summer with her. Before I started 3rd grade my parents purchased their first home so being at Me-mom's was a good way to keep my eating in check and out of my parents hair during the move. All I remember was eating the Weight Watchers chocolate ice cream for dessert that was allowed on her plan. A child only focuses on what is really important.

-Scarsdale diet the whole family was on over my 7th grade year....can see a tremendous difference in my 7th grade to 8th grade yearbook picture. I remember big bowls of fruit salad on Tuesdays. Ham and Spinach lunch stained my favorite tote bag and making tons and tons of Mike's Bread (whole wheat whole grain bread) every weekend.

-Low carb in high school....Atkins was the rage, but not a name I heard because I remember it being an another idea from my mom because she was ALWAYS concerned with my eating and weight. I remember eating a lot of almonds and some weird shakes in the blender.

-Optifast (liquid diet) during my Junior year in college. My biggest weight loss yet.  Over 100 lbs. No food whatsoever, only shakes.  How the hell did I do that? But I did.  I remember my senior year, watching Oprah drag that wagon across the stage full of FAT in her skinny jeans screaming "Enjoy it girl! It AIN'T gonna last!!!" As I was slowly gaining my own weight loss back....

-Protein Power (again Low carb), my dad, his wife and I were all doing this with EXERCISE and we all lost a ton of weight. You were allowed to deduct the fiber carbs from the total carbs. We were obsessed with eating these 'crackers' that we thought were low carb...They were like almost negative carbs? We ate tons of them.  WE bought them by the case.  It started to because a craze with other people, then the company found out and looked into it and realized they were wrong  and changed the labeling. Have no idea what it changed to but I think the only thing that saved us was that we were exercising.  So we stopped eating the crackers...and the plan faded off because you miss eating crunchy stuff.

-Weight watchers group at my school with 10-ish staff members. All about attributing points to foods.  points to exercise, weighing in on a scale that only our leader looked at and commented on. It was great support and had great recipe ideas and it's just died because the staff stopped enrolling and the WW leader only came for an established group of 10. She didn't drive and only took cabs to all her locations.  She was petite and dressed like a flight attendant.  Energy like one too!

-Bariatric Surgery- back in the days when insurances were paying for all of this. Tremendous amount of drs appts, dr visits, lots of support group work, lots of pictures of change, 2 other friends at work did this.  We were so extremely helpful to one another with tips as each one of us did this.  I was #2 of the 3 who did surgery.  I lost over 160 lbs. (a whole person) and last remember weighing 185. My goal was 150 and my surgeon told me to be realistic, I would never see that number again. LOL, he's right. 2 of us developed an incisional hernia from it that had to be repaired.

-Paleo- got very much into it. I believe it was my co-worker Ginny who was on it...started talking about it...I looked into and got hooked. My husband wasn't into it but I bought lots of cookbooks and really enjoyed it.  Made my own bread, rolls, crackers, cakes. I stopped doing it because it was a hassle to make different things for my husband because he was not into it at all.

-Nutri-system- two years ago, lost over 40 lbs.  Very processed foods, some good, some gross. A lot of money. Another coworker was doing this and we stuck to it for awhile.  Loved the online tracking stuff. Again, it was a pain because now I was making whole entire meals separate for my  bike-fit husband because I was eating some processed meal and whatever vegetable I cooked for him with his meal. I couldn't even eat the proteins I made for hubby, I ate the protein only in their packages.

Then the Master Degree work started and those 40 NS lbs were gained and the pains started and I was turning 50....

-Whole30- by now, with all my combined health and nutrition knowledge that I have gained over the years- I felt like I was the parent smoking telling their young "this is bad habit, so never do it!" Talking to my students about health and nutrition whilst being overweight, yes made me a hypocrite.
But this whole program and it's special devotion to SUGAR, really works.  I also was a Diet Coke fiend and didn't think about all the warning about even drinking diet drinks contributed to obesity and I wasn't losing weight. Putting no sugar in any form in my foods really help kills the cravings and the extra snacking.  When I feel around 4 pm for a snack to hold me over until dinner, veggies and nuts really work. I really don't want bad stuff. And NOW, my husband has turned a corner. He wants eat better.  He had a few health issues and has been eating what I am eating and on occasion add bread to make a sandwich or eats his own treats in his man cave....

My future plans:
Eating whole foods will continue, I guess I need to say wholelife not whole30 now.  I will still avoid grains and refined sugars and processed foods. If we go out and I cannot determine if the tortilla chips have flour or the salsa has sugar. I will tough it out. I am planning on doing Paleo here and there. Because I do miss making Paleo bread, muffins and treats but I will do this now and then. 

Paleo Banana Bread
from Civilized Caveman 

4 super ripe bananas(yes, even the black ones you have in the freezer)
4 eggs
1/2 c. melted fat (ghee, butter, coconut oil, your pref)
1/2 c. nut butter (I used cashew because it was all I had)

Blend in food processor

1/2 c. coconut flour (or almond or tapioca flour)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch sea salt

Blend again in food processor

Bake in silicone baking pan (swear it's the best thing to not have to grease!) Otherwise you will have to line with parchment paper.
Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.
Great Stuff! K-man loved it....Thanks George!

I am still recovering from my new information about dairy in my life....Next time I see a bubbling pan of GF mac and cheese...I may have to pat myself down for allergy meds....otherwise, no thank you. 😭😥😭😥 😭😥 I may go through a period of mourning about this...

Whole30 Reintroduction Dairy Day 7 and shocking UPDATE

Before I get to the cheesy stuff.  I want to follow through on my non-gluten grains stuff.  So the point of the reintroduction is to isolate one type of food for a day while being compliant with meat and veggies, fruit and wait 3 days to see if it had any effect. I did, in an interesting way.  You are supposed to eat (new food) with a compliant breakfast, lunch and dinner, (if you want) and wait for 3 days.  I ate only one thing (GF stuffing) for dinner BUT for two nights in a row.  No other GF foods though.

After the first dinner, I just didn't feel right.  Not badly, but I just wasn't feeling my norm from the past whole30 days of "happy full." I know it's not very descriptive but "ugh" is all I can give you. I moved around after dinner and that ugh feeling went away.  I slept fine.  Dinner with stuffing day TWO....no 'ugh' feeling BUT I was having a fitful sleep.  Kept waking up and changing positions, was hot in bed even though the AC was on....we had the windows closed and when I woke up and my sinuses were all swollen as though I needed to take my decongestant. 😳 The past few days we've been sleeping with the windows open during this pollen season and I was not taking any meds for it.

Conclusion? Perhaps have something GF grains is not something I should be eating on a daily basis.  That is why doing Paleo makes so much sense now...Once in a while....but NOT definitely back to back. Make enough for just K-man and I .....no leftovers unless he is going to eat it all.  No, he has a two day limit on leftovers.

In preparation for dairy day.....I made Cloud Bread....made two batches, one with greek yogurt and the other with cream cheese.  Fluffy but too delicate for me. I am sticking with my cheenie, chebe breads...

Shaved Beef over sauteed asparagus, mushrooms and onions....Note to self: Shaved beef doesn't need a marinade....or don't add marinade while cooking....I moved too fast while I was thinking this and dumped into pan.  Dry beef, not wet beef next time. Yes, don't send me comments that it looks like a vomit pile.  I realize this, I have eyes. 😖 But I am human and not all my dinner or food pix turn out like a magazine layout, no one's do....except for those food stylist people. I am sure all their meals are photo ready and they look at food blogs to get their critique on....Move on...

All day I dream about cheese......I miss cheese.  The gooey, chewy-ness of it....I really miss cheesy goodness.  I am gonna get cheese wasted...

-The Reintroduction Day 7- Dairy

Breakfast: egg salad sandwich on cloud bread (link above)

Lunch: Roasted chicken and veggie salad with cheese chunks
Dinner: Sausage Spaghetti sauce on spaghetti squash topped with Parmesan.

Noteable Notes:

-I was so excited to eat cheese and it wasn't a thrilling as I thought it was.  Meh. No Angels going "ahhhhh!" around me....no eyes rolling in the back of my head. Then I got a cold.  Was eating dairy responsible?  UPDATE!!!! YES!... Here I sit Sunday suffering from what I think is a cold. I blow my nose....all clear.  I am congested yet can breath with difficulty. I am sneezing. I am coughing up gunk from my lungs and yet my nose stuff runs clear. I started taking my allergy meds then I start to feel better in the nasal area. 12 hours later....congested and blowing out clear stuff. Then I occurred to me...AM I SO STUPID TO NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COMMON COLD AND MY ALLERGIES COMING BACK? I am typing this after I took some allergy meds again and I feel absolutely fine.  I did NOT EAT DAIRY, one DAY....I did THREE DAYS in A ROW. I. AM. AN. IDIOT. So- did some research online about nasal allergies aggravated by dairy products and....BINGO! I told K-man I feel like I discovered the cure to cancer!(I wish) but I had no idea that my eating dairy was why I have suffered with allergies for SOOOOO long.  Just. WOW. Mind blown!!!

-I am going to to let you know that I am NOT going to do the gluten portion of the whole30.  Reintroduction is done to me. Why?  I just don't miss or need wheat.  And I was eating way too much bread.  Don't get me wrong but I love bread but I wasn't missing it like cheese. Wheat to me is just as bad as corn, GMO'ed to death. If I want a burger, I will ask for no bun if there is a GF option or just wrap it in lettuce if possible. These days restaurants are pretty used to all sorts of requests, "dressing on the side, can I get it without cheese?", etc. Burger places are pretty saavy now with GF buns or lettuce wraps. 

-BIGgest News?!?!?- Do you remember my disappointment with only losing 3 pounds from the original 30 days? AND ....that I said that I would devote my reintroduction week to eating less fruit, and nuts, nut butters and potatoes?  WELL I WAS RIGHT!!!!! I lost more in this week alone that those original 30 days! 6 FREAKIN' POUNDS! And I ate some grain foods for two days and a margarita and some cheese foods for two days and a homemade paleo Butterscotch coffee with a Tbsp of maple syrup!!!  😳 Yes, I know I overused the "ands" but I was happy for myself.

Tune in next time for my overall whole30 evaluation and future plans and recipes!

Whole30 Reintroduction GFG- Day 4

I get to incorporate into whole30 compliant day any NON gluten grain such as oatmeal, white rice, corn tortilla chips, gluten free bread. Not only do I want to keep being whole30 compliant with these foods but also making sure that if I eat oatmeal for breakfast and corn tortilla chips for lunch and a GF roll with dinner that they should all be organic and GMO free! Although, this day will be to have a splurge, I am more looking forward to the dairy day to eat me some CHHEEEEESSSEEEEE!

Sunday Dinner: Chili over zoodles, sliced avocado and mixed greens salad

-The Reintroduction Day 4- Non-Gluten Grains

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs and 2 bacon strips
Lunch: Leftover chili and zoodles, carrots
Dinner: Pork chops and GF stuffing and rainbow swiss chard and onions

 Here is the stuffing I got at MOM's

How am I off a day? I was thinking I was on for GF food tomorrow and my whole30 buddy Jessica asked me what I was eating today and I was like Huh, that is tomorrow and she corrected me that clearly I can't count. So, I will have only one boring non-gluten food instead of one each meal.  Oh well, I don't need those carbs anyway! Next post will inform you of any thing that develops....but I doubt it unless my body just doesn't like digesting the grain and I get gas?  Stay tuned. Dairy day 7!

I get cheesy very soon!

Whole30- Reintroduction and Legumes Day 1

So during the re-introduction, what am I looking for as I experiment with beans, non-gluten grains, dairy and wheat?

Issues with:
Digestion -(gas, bloating, pain, cramping)
Energy -(3 pm slump? dragging out of bed in the morning?)
Sleep- (restlessly, hard time falling asleep? waking up in middle of night or too early?)
Cravings- IS the sugar dragon back? Are you having a hard time resisting the pull of sugar and carbs?)
Mood- (are you cranky, moody or otherwise less happy? Depression, attention deficit, or compulsivity?)
Skin- (break out, rash, hives or reappearance of eczema, psoriasis or other skin conditions?)
Breathing- ( congested, sinus pain, seasonal allergies return? Shortness of breath or asthma?)
Pain and inflammation- ( migraines, tendinitis, arthritis? Sore joints, stiff or swollen?)
Medical conditions- (returned symptoms or getting worse?)

I am the control of this science experiment of food in my body, all clean and reset...as I bring back these foods....I look to the above and pay attention to what is happening to my body.

Reintroduce - Beans and Alcohol... checking it Day 2

After effects? Not that I can tell.  But yeah, I was probably taking a huge risk on this because you are supposed to ISOLATE each food. But I am less concerned with these two things even though I love beans although they do not appear regularly in my diet like they do with vegetarians or one of my Latina friends who eats beans daily. So maybe I eat them 2-4 times a MONTH? And alcohol is something I splurge on like a Friday or Saturday and never to excess really.  I never drink during the week and I know when to stop because I just do not enjoy not having control of my hands and feet.  Once out of college, who thinks that is fun anyway?
So now as I review the list the morning after my Mexican dinner with friends.  I feel good. I did wake up from a sound sleep really late but it's Saturday so who cares about sleeping in? I missed breakfast!

Brunch: Bacon, Onion and Pepper Hash and Eggs (even better with Tessemae's Ketchup!)

Dinner: Smothered Cube Steaks gravy thickened with tapioca flour, avocado slices and Mixed Greens Salad