W30 D4

Today, W30 says you will be grouchy. I am not. I had mild nausea this morning followed by fatigue so I took an afternoon nap. Before W30, I was nauseous, headachy, and itchy every day from food. That all still continues. Especially itchy on my back, legs, and arms. I remember it taking awhile on GAPS before the itching went away.

I went to Kroger today and bought W30 compliantApplegate Hot Dogs and Aidell's Apple n Chicken Sausage. Yum! The whole family ate them up so fast. My goal is to mostly cook but I'm happy to know there is PFC and convenient W30 foods if needed so I don't stray. I bought a ton of veggies at Aldi to cook up tomorrow!

Breakfast: Eggs and salsa
Lunch: Shrimp, cashews, spinach, lemon & garlic Tessemae's Dressing, apple, banana.
Dinner: Aidell's Apple Chicken Sausage

W30 D3

Today was so much better. No headaches or nausea. A little tired in the morning but lots of pep in the afternoon. I even cleaned my house!
I added salsa to my eggs at breakfast. So tasty! Lunch was lime chili pork roast from PFC with avocado and picante, half an apple, and carrots. Dinner was a baked potato with PFC Buffalo Ranch Meatballs.

It probably also helped that I worked 4 hours today so I was thinking about other things, not just Whole 30. So far I've had no cravings which is surprising but I'll take it! It's so much easier to stay the course without sugar cravings.

Whole 30 Day 2 The Hangover

Day 2 is labeled The Hangover. It's no joke. Major nausea and headaches all day. I typically feel nauseous and headachy from food but today was much worse.

Breakfast: Slept in.
Lunch: 2 cans tuna, primal kitchen mayo (tasty!), Avocado
Dinner: PFC Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings (Yum!)
Snack: Banana, Chia Strawberry Banana from Aldi

I definitely want to make the lemon pepper seasoning again!

Whole 30 Day 1 1/2/17

I learned about Whole 30 last year and now own the books: Whole 30, Whole 30 Cookbook, and Food Freedom Forever! Whole 30 is like strict Paleo. Meats, veggies, fruit, nuts. No soy, legumes, dairy, grains, sugar (even honey). I'm starting this way of eating for 30 days with friends. I've done elimination diets in the past. I always feel better when I eliminate sugar. Cheers to the next 30 days!

Day 1: Excitement!
Breakfast: 3 eggs, orange

Lunch: Shrimp, Spinach, Tessemae's Balsamic Dressing, Cashews

Dinner: Lime Chili Pork Roast, Cholula, Sugar-free Salsa (from Kroger), Banana, Green Beans, Carrots

Update: Today felt easy. I had no cravings at bedtime which surprised me.

Eggnog

Tis the season for eggnog! It is plentiful in the stores this time of year. 

My friends gave me the recipe and I decided to make it at home. 

My littlest one (the picky eater) said, "YUMMM! Delicious!"

Here is what you do:

One dozen eggs

One pint heavy cream

One pint milk

1/2 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

Nutmeg

Put it in the blender.

 (You can dissolve the sugar in the milk if you want but I was too lazy to do this.)

Enjoy!

Thanks Craig and Kristin for the recipe!

Ranch Dressing

I am always trying to get my kids to eat healthier. One goal was to get them off store bought Ranch Dressing since it is not healthy (in my opinion). I've been wanting to try a homemade ranch dressing for many months now. Here are two recipes I found.

Click here or here.  (You will have to scroll down a bit on both links since both links have multiple recipes posted.)

Here is what I did:

Combine 1/2 cup milk kefir or yogurt (I used homemade) with 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp ground pepper,

2 tsp parsley, 1 tsp dill (Dried from my garden!), sea salt to taste.

Stir and refrigerate.  

My little one didn't even notice the difference in taste when I served it to him with his carrots.  And he is the picky eater. Score!

My next step is to make homemade mayo...

Lacto-Fermented Dehydrated Applesauce Fruit Leather

I recently did an experiment. I dehydrated homemade lacto-fermented applesauce and store bought applesauce to see which my family would like better.  Results below.  I got the recipe from here.

Here is how I made Lacto-Fermented Applesauce Fruit Leather:

Peel 7 medium sized organic apples. 

Cut apples into sections.

Add 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon and 2 Tablespoons whey to your apples.

 In a Vitamix or blender, blend until applesauce consistency.

Put the applesauce in a airlock quart size canning jar.

Let it sit on the shelf for 1-3 days. I let it sit for one day only. It ferments really fast.

Pour the lacto-fermented applesauce on a dehydrator tray (I cover my tray with parchment paper).  Dehydrate for 12 hours.

Peel the fruit leather off the parchment paper and cut in strips. The store bought applesauce is the lighter colored fruit leather. The lacto-fermented fruit leather is darker because I added cinnamon.  Enjoy!

Results of my experiment:

My husband and oldest son preferred the homemade applesauce fruit leather over the store bought applesauce fruit leather. They said it was less tart and more sweet.  My youngest son wouldn't even try it and he LOVES applesauce.