Whole30 Recap for Week 3

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21 days of Whole30 eating are behind us! This week has flown by and it’s already time to write the Whole30 recap for week 3. How did it go? Does it stay as easy as week 2? You are about to find out.

Whole30 Week 3 Recap! Great recipe ideas if you are doing a Whole30 or even are just trying to eat real food! She did it with a 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old too!

Reminder: Who exactly is doing this challenge?

My husband and myself and our 16 month old and 3 1/2 year old. The kids are eating what we eat for the most part but the 16 month old still eats oatmeal for breakfast (no dairy in it though) and on occasion a rice cake. The 3 year old has an option of oatmeal for breakfast, but she’s only had a couple of bites. She used to love oatmeal, but it just hasn’t been her thing lately.

How Did We Feel?

To some it up in one word: Great! Last week was one of the first weeks I’ve had in months where I felt like I was in a good routine – things went smoothly, I was extremely productive, exercised 5 days, and had more energy that normal. It was nice. Hopefully week 4 will be just as productive.

The last couple of days I haven’t cheated but I have noticed that I’ve thought about off plan foods a lot more, and how wonderful some of them sound. That hasn’t happened up until now. 8 more days. We can do it. I’m ready to bake again. 🙂

What Did We Eat?

Whole30 Week 3 Recap! Great recipe ideas if you are doing a Whole30 or even are just trying to eat real food! She did it with a 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old too!

Crispy baked chicken thighs, paleo breakfast casserole, tex mex paleo casserole, Moroccan chicken, and spinach and chicken topped sweet potatoes.

Breakfasts I like to keep simple. Who really wants to get up earlier to cook? Not me. We made sweet potato boats (okay), paleo breakfast casserole for the second time (my favorite – I’ll be posting the recipe on Friday), scrambled eggs, and sweet and white potato hash browns (sweet potato hash browns are my other favorite breakfast item).

Lunches were once again salads for Shaun and myself and leftover or sweet potatoes for the kids during the week. We also had guacamole and veggies one day. Sunday lunch was a whole roasted chicken served with acorn squash and carrots.

Suppers had some homeruns. The Tex Mex Paleo Casserole was loaded with veggies and had good flavor. The 16 month old inhaled it and even my husband who doesn’t like sweet potatoes said it was good. We had spinach and chicken topped sweet potatoes again, enchilada pasta (no one loved this except the 16 month old), crispy baked chicken thighs (recipes coming next week), and Moroccan chicken (this is the third time we’ve made the recipes – we all love it).

Snacks were kept simple. The easiest Whole30 snack options we’ve found have been dried fruit, nuts, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Frozen grapes make a fabulous treat.

If you want a sneak peak of what we are eating this week, be sure to check out my menu plan. You can also get ideas on my Pinterest account. If you have any favorite Whole30 recipes, be sure to let me know!

Linking up to these fun parties!

Whole30 Menu Plan and Goals

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It’s October this week and there’s less than 3 months into Christmas! Slightly scary. I’m ready for the highs to be in the 60s and 70s but it’s not going to happen in the 10 day forecast. Hopefully it doesn’t go from hot to cold. I’m hoping for a decent amount time of perfect fall weather. 🙂

We went to a new corn maze with the kids on Saturday. The liked wondering through the paths for the first half and then it got a little miserable when we were all red and hot with the sun beating down on us. Definitely more enjoyable when it’s 10 degrees cooler. They enjoyed playing in the dried corn pile, riding on the horse tire swings, and going down the slide. It was a fun place to go for little kids.

Whole30 Menu Plan and Goals for our family of 4! Great recipe ideas for anyone.

Last week we seemed to get into a really good rhythm for being productive, staying on top of things, and just over all having a good week. Hopefully it will carry over to this week. Sunday I baked sweet potatoes for the little guy’s lunches, prepped salad stuff for the week, and got the Paleo Breakfast Casserole put together to bake this morning (and we’ll have leftovers for the next several days). A little prep work can go a long ways for having a smooth week.

Whole30 Menu Plan and Goals for our family of 4! Great recipe ideas for anyone.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken

Suppers:

(There’s a lot of winging it when it comes to meals this week!)

  • Paleo Tex Mex Casserole x 2
  • Spinach and Chicken Stuffed/Topped Sweet Potatoes
  • Beef and Broccoli over Spaghetti Squash x 2
  • Chicken Curry over Spaghetti Squash x 2
  • If we run out of leftovers – chicken salad with homemade mayo

Lunches:

  • Whole roasted chicken with acorn squash and carrots
  • Leftover Moroccan chicken from last week
  • Leftovers and sweet potatoes for the kids
  • Salads for Shaun and myself

Breakfasts

Goals:

  • Continue with pilates and power walking with the double stroller Mon-Fri! (Did it all 5 days last week.) Thinking about signing up for this for extra accountability.
  • Read a couple more chapters in When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself and maybe start another book.
  • Write 3 more posts
  • Work on Bible memory (worked on a few verses last week, going to continue with them)
  • Clean/declutter/organize our bedroom
  • Work on ponytail holders and promotional items for the next craft show

What are you cooking? Any plans for the week?

Linking up to Menu Plan Monday

Frozen Grapes The Easiest Snack Ever

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Frozen Grapes! Such a genius idea and they make the easiest snack ever. Plus, they are Whole30 approved!

I can’t be the only one. I’m sure we’ve all had times we’ve tried to cut back on sweeteners (even honey and maple syrup). Other times wheat or dairy.  We are in the middle of a Whole30 right now, so that means we are doing without all of those.

Sure, things like ice cream and popcorn aren’t a necessary part of our diets but sometimes I just want something cold and refreshing or a snack I can sit down in front of a movie with to munch on. Dried fruit, fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts. All great options but none really have that special snack edge that ice cream does. 🙂

I remember discovering this super tasty way to eat grapes years ago when I was in high school and have used it every since. You need to try it! It might sound weird, but it’s sooo good and frozen grapes make the easiest snack ever. (Plus, they are Whole30 approved.)

Here’s your super easy instructions:

  1. When grapes go on sale, stock up! Buy pounds of them.
  2. Pick the grapes off the stem and place in a colander. Rinse well and then dump on a towel to dry.
  3. Then simply pour them onto rimmed baking sheets in a single layer and stick in the freezer.
  4. Once frozen, put in a zipped freezer bag and they’ll be sitting in the freezer waiting for you to fill up a bowl to munch on.

Unlike most fruit, you can eat these straight out of the freezer. No thawing necessary. They are the perfect texture. My husband says they taste like a slushy. 🙂

What’s your favorite frozen fruit? Have you had frozen grapes before?

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Frozen Grapes - The Easiest Snack Ever
 
Ingredients
  • Grapes
Instructions
  1. Pick grapes off the stem and put in colander.
  2. Rinse well and pour onto a towel to dry.
  3. Put grapes on rimmed baking sheets in a single layer and place in the freezer.
  4. Once frozen (give it several hours), transfer to zipped storage bags or containers.
  5. Eat directly out of the freezer.

 

Linking up to these fun parties!

 

The Secret to Financial Success

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The Secret to Financial Success! Sitting down and doing this as a couple and actually following through as made a world of difference. You'll want to start today!

I’m excited to be a part of the New American Dream Blog Tour along with hundreds of other bloggers! To learn more and join us, Click Here!

The secret to financial success?

Have a budget and stick to it! Sure, more money might be nice, but if you don’t know how to budget you’ll never have enough! (I speak from experience. When we’ve had a budget on paper, but not follow through we wasted money and spent more.) 

Why Budget?

Sometimes it can feel like a drag being limited by the cash in your envelope system when you really want to eat out instead of cook or buy the new piece of furniture for your house. It’s important to remember the big picture when you feel those thoughts of remorse and woe is me. You don’t have to say no forever to buying something for your house. Just wait until you have the money for it. You can go out for dinner sometimes, but when the money is gone, it’s gone!

Keep in mind the bigger picture – remember why you are doing what you do.

Budgeting reduces stress! It gives you a freedom you wouldn’t already have. Telling our money where to go and being able to put money aside in savings has been such a blessing over the 8 years of our marriage.Without budgeting and being careful with our money, we wouldn’t have an emergency fund built up. When life happens, as we know it will, we’d be sunk.

As I think back, our marriage started off with immediately paying off my husband’s school loans and car. After that we started saving for purchases and building the savings account for those unanticipated costs.

Over the past 8 years we’ve been thankful for a job with great health insurance. But still, without our savings my 9 day stay in the hospital with severe double pneumonia could have sunk us anyway. When our second car had officially fallen apart, we wouldn’t have been able to purchase a new (to us) vehicle. We had enough for a large down payment on our home and when the foundation needed piers, we were able to have them put in.

Being able to encounter most of what life throws at you without being stressed and worried about where the money is going to come from to pay for yet another thing is so worth it!

Start Today!

The Secret to Financial Success! Sitting down and doing this as a couple and actually following through as made a world of difference. You'll want to start today!

Even if you have debt and feel overwhelmed, today is the perfect time to start taking baby steps! You don’t have to stay burdened by money forever. Sit down and go over your expenses and your income. See where you can save, what you can eliminate entirely to free up even $10, $100, or $1,000 a month. Use that money to build an emergency fund and pay off the debts. It can be done!

Your stress will go down and your happiness will increase as you start living the New American Dream!

Does the idea of budgeting give you a sense of freedom or does it make you feel tied down? I’d love to know how budgeting has been a blessing to you over the years.

Whole30 Recap for Week 2

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Whole30 Week 2 Recap! Great ideas for what to eat on a Whole30 or Paleo diet. Some of my favorites!

Well, two complete weeks of Whole30 eating are now behind us. We are half way done!!! You can find the recap from Week 1 here. This last week definitely felt easy – more of just a way of life. It’s been nice. We didn’t have company or any out of town trips, so all our meals were eaten at home.

Who exactly is doing this challenge?

My husband and myself and our 16 month old and 3 1/2 year old. The kids are eating what we eat for the most part but the 16 month old still eats oatmeal for breakfast (no dairy in it though) and on occasion a rice cake. The 3 year old has an option of oatmeal for breakfast, but I think she’s only had it twice the last two weeks.

Whole30 Week 2 Recap! Great ideas for what to eat on a Whole30 or Paleo diet. Some of my favorites!

The majority of the groceries we bought  this weekend for the next couple of weeks. We need to run to the meat market for a couple of things and I’m sure we’ll be making another small trip to the store before 30 days is up but the majority of the shopping is behind us. 

How did we feel?

This week was awesome compared to the first! Food cravings were gone. I no longer felt the intense urge to eat sugar or dive into a bowl of chocolate. In fact, I have a box of chocolates on my desk at work that was given to me before the Whole30 and I can look at them and not have to fight thinking about how much I want to EAT THEM. 🙂

Shaun said that he’s had more energy, not felt as tired, and has not been as hungry. His body has adjusted to eating less and not eating all the carbs he did before. I think I might have had more energy that I otherwise would have, but it’s hard to tell when you are so exhausted from weeks of not sleeping. But I do know, my week felt quite productive and I had enough energy and desire to exercise 4 days.

The one off thing that happened to me during week 2. The kids and I get home around 3 and have a snack. That day I never felt hungry. We visited with a friend for a bit on the way home and arrived around 4. I suddenly felt horrible. My face felt like it was breaking out in a cold sweat and my legs got week. I’d had plenty of water that day, so it wasn’t dehydration. I ate plenty of snacks that afternoon even though I never felt hungry and it went away and hasn’t happened since. It was strange.

What did we eat?

Whole30 Week 2 Recap! Great ideas for what to eat on a Whole30 or Paleo diet. Some of my favorites!

Guacamole, Spaghetti Squash with Marinara, Zucchini Sweet Potato Cakes, Chili Verde, Paleo Breakfast Bowls, Thai Chicken Coconut Soup

Breakfasts consisted of more scrambled eggs, zucchini sweet potato cakes, paleo breakfast bowl (we all loved this recipe and the leftovers tasted great too. I left the bacon out since I couldn’t find any without sugar and I made the “sausage”), and sweet potato hash browns. Except for Friday and Saturdays, the breakfasts need to be something already cooked or that can be make in 10 minutes or fewer (such as scrambled eggs). I don’t want to get up early to make a labor intensive breakfast. We also all have apples or fruit of some kind.

Lunches looked a lot like last week. During the weekdays Shaun and I have big salads and the kids leftovers or sweet potatoes. One day the kids and I ate guacamole with veggies to dip in it. On the weekend we had Paleo Breakfast Bowls (the leftovers of which became breakfast) and leftover Chili Verde.

Suppers were pretty tasty! Thai Chicken Soup that I cooked in the Crockpot, Slow Cooker Chili Verde, Fajitas Whole30 style (sautéed onions and bell peppers and chicken slices topped with lettuce, salsa, and avocado), Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti, Baked Sweet Potatoes topped with shredded chicken, diced bell pepper, and spinach, and leftovers. Sides once again were fruit and roasted veggies.

My top three would have to be the Thai soup, fajitas, and stuffed sweet potatoes. Shaun loved the Chili Verde.

Snacks consisted of nuts, dried fruit, and fresh fruit and veggies

(Don’t forget, I share my menu every Monday! You can see some of what we’ll be eating the next week here.

The Next 7 Days

During days 7-14 I started to try and train myself to not mindlessly snack, even if it’s healthy. If I’m hungry, than consciously get something to eat. I’m going to continue to try and just have snack of nuts and dried fruits in the afternoon (that I put into a bowl instead of eating out the container) and otherwise only if I’m actually hungry.

We are half way done!!! If you have any favorite Paleo/Whole30 recipes, let me know so I can add them to my Pinterest. If you’ve done a Whole30, does it get harder again towards the end?

Linking up to these fun parties!