10 Days of Whole30 and Not So Chicken Soup

Sorry folks. If you came by today to see my newest eye opening, mouth watering, lip smacking good recipe, you are in for a disappointment. I do have a recipe to post, but it is just an easy to throw together old comfort food that is perfect for when you are sick... It's called...

Wait for it.... wait for it.... (can you feel the suspense building?)

Not So Chicken Soup

What, you were expecting something awe inspiring?

Well this was the best my tucked into bed, nose running, cotton stuffed brain could come up with. And I have my hubby to thank for it all (the sickness portion that is).  Click here for the rest

Coffee Lovers Rejoice!! And an Update

Summer has hit in Abu Dhabi and temps have soared to 47 degrees C (that's 116.6 degrees for all you US readers). Add these temps and my love for coffee together and what do you get?? A major craving for a frozen coffee drink Starbucks style. All you loyal readers know, though, that frappes are completely off limits for me right now due to Whole 30 (update on that later). Even if I wasn't strict Paleo right now, a regular frappe at any coffee joint probably eeks over the "not allowed" line even for 80/20 er's due to the unknown content of the syrups they add.

So I what did I do about my craving? Well lets just say Frappe challenge accepted.

And guess what? I so totally owned that challenge. And it was frickin dddeeelliicccious.

Now, did it taste like Starbucks? That is a big no. But who wants that overly sweet, leaves a funky film on your teeth and a bloated stomach behind drink from Starbucks when you can have my Paleo masterpiece??  Click for the deliciousness

My Journey to Whole30 (and a recipe)

It seems that everytime I take 2 steps forward I then sabatoge myself and end up takin one step back.  And, while this is very frustrating at times, I am proud of myself for getting right back on the Paleo wagon when I fall off.  As proud as I am of myself though, I don't want to keep getting into this cycle of Paleo, not Paleo, Paleo, not Paleo.  To me it feels a bit like a yo-yo diet cycle and we all know how unhealthy that is. 

So my next question that I pose to myself is why do I do this and how can I stop.

I think I figured out an answer to this question earlier this week.  I had been doing really well on Paleo for a week or more and then came a Cinco de Mayo celebration at a friends house.  While I could have made the decision to only eat the Paleo stuff (and yes I cooked a couple of paleo dishes but both were major failures... more on this later) I decided to just go with the flow and eat what everyone else was eating.  I figured I could just get right back up on Paleo the next meal and everything would be fine.  Well let me tell you, I was so totally wrong.  It took me two more days to get back on track.  Now, I didn't eat horibbly the other days, but it certainly wasn't Paleo approved.Continue Reading for the Island Chicken Salad

The Best Laid Plans and Coconutty Pumpkin Soup

 

(My foster dogs at the airport last night)

It has been a week now that I have been back to 80/20 Paleo. I must say that I feel great. I am even starting to not like the site of foods that I would have grab before if I was in a hurry and starving (aka nastiness). It is a great feeling to be in control of food and not have the food control me.

But, enough with the deep serious stuff.

This week has been a crazy one. I have started a new job and am in training right now. It is only suppose to be part time, but we have run over a couple days this week which has made for some long days. Then I had two dogs that I was preparing to put on a plane to send to the UK to a new foster home which included chasing all the needed paperwork. Lets just say that turned into an unplanned whole day affair with me going to the vet twice, the airport three times and then spending an hour at the KLM ticketing office down town buying the tickets. Needless to say, my well planned week was a fiasco. Read More