Two Kitchens, One Passion

It really doesn't feel like 30 days have already gone by, but our last day of Whole30 is actually here!  I wanted to wrap the month up with a great Whole30 dinner and I even lucked out with a surprise day off work.  I showed up at the middle school this morning and the teacher I was supposed to sub for was in the main office as well..turns out there was some confusion with the online system, but I secured 4 days of work in February at this school as a result! So what did I choose to spend my day doing?  Cooking of course! I also can't forget to mention that I ordered my bridesmaid dress for Lindsay's wedding today!  Next on my to-do list: Find gold shoes!

It's definitely hard to believe that we only have 1 day left of our Whole30!  This month flew by, but I enjoyed the changes that I made to my diet.  I look and feel much leaner and stronger than I did one month ago.  My overall health has also improved as a result of the Whole30 program.  I've enjoyed it so much that there isn't any non-Whole30 food I've been craving to have after the 30 days are officially over!  My plan is to stay Paleo and continue experimenting with new ways to prepare food, so that I can keep variety in my diet.  However, I won't be following the strictness of the Whole30 program on a daily basis.  I will probably incorporate some paleo foods that were not okay on Whole30, such as paleo desserts every once in a while, paleo pancakes, paleo muffins, etc.  Another important thing I have learned from completing the Whole30 is that additives, such as preservatives, sugar, and salt are not necessary and foods taste much better without them. On to

I've been substitute teaching for a few weeks now and here is what I have learned: 1) I definitely like middle school more than high school.  It took me a while to realize this, but now I know for sure. 2) I love subbing for science classes! Today, I got to play another  Bill Nye video! :) This time it was on nutrition...and sorry Bill Nye but this video is NOT correct with a lot of the statements on nutrition (at least not in my mind, especially after being paleo!).  However, we are all aware of the when the Bill Nye videos were filmed, so I'll give him some leeway for not necessarily knowing any different. Now on to food...dinner today was the first time that I have had swordfish and I liked it!  I have learned this month that I really enjoy seafood and I've had fun trying different fish.  The swordfish was much meatier than other fish I have had.  Unfortunately, I did some research on seafood after dinner and discovered that swordfish contains high levels of mercur

So today I was in another creative and experimental mood.  The turkey sweet potato meatballs below are my OWN recipe, and not to toot my own horn, but they turned out spectacular!  They had a delicate sweet flavor from the sweet potatoes that was nicely complemented by the addition of sage and onion.  They tasted great for dinner, and I am thinking about enjoying the leftovers for breakfast this week as well.  A little side note: The pumpkin curry dipping sauce that I made for the meatballs is very tasty, but I thought that the meatballs had plenty of flavor themselves and enjoyed them more without any sauce.  Feel free to try them with any sauce though if that's how you enjoy meatballs! BREAKFAST Chicken Asparagus 1/2 avocado POST WORKOUT Larabar LUNCH Leftover sesame chicken and cabbage 1 beet Handful cashews 1 clementine 1/2 avocado DINNER Turkey sweet potato meatballs Pumpkin curry dipping sauce Garlic & chive mashed cauliflower Kal

Hello Alumni Day!  It was great to see everybody that traveled for this annual UMBC swimming & diving team event, hosted by our head coach, Chad.  I was amazed at the number of alumni/family that showed up this year..the house was way more crowded than last year!   Chad always has TONS of delicious food at these events, but unfortunately it is 99% NOT paleo.  Since Dan and I are still going strong with Whole30, we felt it would be best to cook dinner ourselves before  going to Chad's and being surrounded with those foods!  The coconut thai basil curry chicken we made was excellent!!!  The spicy paprika rice Dan had made the previous night also tasted great with the curry.  I don't have the specific recipe, but it was basically a mix of garlic, onion, red curry paste, coconut milk, fresh basil, and a couple other spices. BREAKFAST

It's Friday, AND we got an early dismissal for (the threat of..) snow!  How could the day be any better :)  It's also alumni weekend for UMBC's swimming & diving team, so I'm looking forward to seeing everybody tomorrow at the swim meet and our coach's house.  I had somewhat contemplated going out with everyone tonight, but that turned into an epic fail when I fell asleep at 8:30.  Oops! :) BREAKFAST

You know it is going to be a good day when it starts with a 2 hour delay!  It still amazes me the amount of snow that schools in Maryland will close for in comparison to upstate New York.  Not that I'm complaining about this fact because it allowed me to get some extra sleep.  I also got to substitute for my mentor teacher from the high school today.  It was nice getting to see some of the students and other teachers there again!  After work, I went to try on bridesmaids dresses for Lindsay's wedding that's coming up in June...It was an easy decision to pick out the one I will be getting (it also happened to be the first one that I tried on).  Now I just need to order the dress and find shoes! For the wedding, the colors will be Maize & Blue! BREAKFAST

How many of you miss being able to enjoy a big bowl of cold cereal in the morning??  I know that I definitely do sometimes.  This morning I found a healthy Whole30 fix for that!  It may sound weird, since it is made from raw vegetables, but trust me...the crunch of the vegetables and the addition of cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla really made it seem like true cereal.  You could try it with different mixtures of spices as well!  I'm sure apple pie spice would taste delicious! BREAKFAST Raw cereal with coconut milk

It's hard believe that we only have 8 more days left of the Whole30!  I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far and have had a lot of fun experimenting with new recipes.  So what am I going to do after this month is over?  I plan on staying Paleo, for the most part at least.  I also plan on incorporating 1-2 "cheat" meals each week and not worrying about being super strict 24/7.  I say "cheat" because I have intolerances to both gluten and dairy as it is, so these meals will most likely include something along the lines of rice or oatmeal (which in my mind isn't straying too far off the Paleo diet).  To celebrate the end of these 30 days though I do plan on enjoying some wine (Dan bought my favorite one for my birthday! We've just been waiting to open it!), and maybe making some kind of Paleo dessert. BREAKFAST

I have been spending some time looking up breakfast ideas that are Whole30 approved and also don't involve eggs.  I had been having some stomach issues which I think are from increasing my egg intake.  To test out that theory, I am going to cut eggs out of my diet for a couple of week and see if things improve.  I came across a recipe for cauliflower grits that looked good enough to try out!  I haven't had real grits in a long time, but the cauliflower version seemed very comparable!  I also mixed in some turkey breakfast sausage (homemade as well) and some fresh blueberries.  Compared to some of the other breakfasts I have been having while doing Whole30, this one really felt like I was eating a real  breakfast (as opposed to just meat and vegetables!). BREAKFAST Cauliflower grits with blueberries and paleo breakfast sausage Black coffee (Organic french roast from David's Natural Market) Cauliflower Grits Adapted from  Paleo Effect Yield: 2 servings

In case you couldn't tell from my other posts, I love grocery shopping.  Today, I checked out an organic grocery store in Columbia that I hadn't ventured to yet called David's Natural Market.  Although they were a bit pricey, they had a HUGE selection of awesome and interesting looking items.  Unfortunately, a lot of the items weren't 100% Whole30 approved, so I will have to save a big grocery trip here for February!  However, I was impressed with their selection of Larabars.  It looked like they had every flavor possible!!  I picked up a few new ones to try: Carrot Cake, Pecan Pie, and Tropical Fruit Tart.  I had the Carrot Cake flavor as a snack before going out on a run and it was excellent!!  I'll let you know how the other flavors are after I try them as well! BREAKFAST 1 banana 1/2 avocado Mixed nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts) Grape tomatoes LUNCH Leftover mahi mahi Chicken Orange-banana salsa Carrots SNACKS Carrot cake Larabar (AWESOME!!!!!

After Crossfit this morning I definitely learned that I need to work on dropping under the bar in snatch. Trying to get a PR without doing this is so frustrating!  I think I spent a full hour working on my 1RM just because I got stuck at 95 lbs (which I KNOW I can get, I just need to actually drop!). Besides that, I had a nice and relaxing birthday :) Dan and I were looking up places to possibly go out to eat, but going out to eat can be difficult on Whole30.  And of course the one place we found that looked awesome was only open til 5:00!  So, we decided to go to Wegmans (which was a great birthday present in itself, seeing as how I love Wegmans so much) and we came home with some scallops, zucchini, and ingredients for a sun dried tomato pesto.  Check out my dinner below for the recipes!  We wouldn't have been able to get a meal this good going out to a restaurant anyway!! BREAKFAST 1 banana Piece of chicken Black tea POST WORKOUT Steamed chicken tender 4 dates LUN

When I came across a recipe for coconut-cashew crusted mahi mahi with an orange-banana salsa it was way too intriguing not to try.  To my (somewhat) surprise, orange-banana salsa is soooo good!!!  I had eaten mango salsa before, but using bananas in a salsa made me somewhat skeptical at the start.  However, all the flavors went together perfectly and the simplicity of it all seemed to make it even more enjoyable as well.  Definitely try out this Whole30 recipe! BREAKFAST Scrambled eggs Carrots/celery with almond butter Black coffee LUNCH Beef enchilada cabbage rolls Coconut cauliflower rice Kiwi 2 dates PRE/POST WORKOUT Walnuts Carrots 1 steamed chicken tender 2 hard boiled egg whites DINNER Cashew-coconut crusted Mahi Mahi with orange banana salsa Steamed spinach

Today was an easy day for me as far as cooking food went (Thanks for dinner Dan!).  It was also a good day substituting.  I got to sub for a middle school science class and the sub plans included a Bill Nye video on earthquakes!  I may be turning 24 in 2 days, but I still enjoy Bill Nye.  :) Dan and I also went out with a group of friends for "drinks" for the first time since starting the Whole30.  Surprisingly, it wasn't as awkward only drinking water as I thought it could be.  It also may have helped that we were out with some friends from Crossfit who are fully aware of what eating Paleo involves. BREAKFAST

I had some pastured ground beef to use up and found a recipe for beef enchilada cabbage rolls that looked awesome and were entirely Paleo.  Why not try it out right??  The result was delicious, just a bit messy to eat.  But that's half the fun of trying new foods.  :) BREAKFAST Leftover coconut crusted salmon Coconut cauliflower rice Clementine LUNCH Steamed chicken 1/2 avocado Cooked cabbage/spinach Carrots PRE/POST WORKOUT 1/4 cup cashews 4 dates 1 steamed chicken tender 2 hard boiled egg whites Dried mango DINNER Beef enchilada cabbage rolls Avocado

So today I started trying out the Outlaw Crossfit programming.  After just one workout, I already really like the snatch and clean work that is involved.  I can see myself improving these lifts pretty quickly with this program.  The conditioning WOD was also a tough one, but pretty fun!  We modified it a little bit because of time issues, but it still did its job. :) WOD : 3 RFT, 1 minute rest between rounds 3 muscle ups (I did ALL of them unbroken!) 5 ring dips (Again, ALL unbroken!) 15 KBS - 16 kg 50 Double unders (These, as usual, were what slowed me down...but the practice is what I need!) BREAKFAST 2 fried eggs 1 banana Black coffee Handful of trail mix LUNCH Coconut crusted salmon Steamed kale 1 avocado 1 clementine

2 Weeks into the Whole30 and I finally feel like I can really pay attention to how I'm feeling based around the clean eating, without having the side effects of being sick getting in the way!  Today I felt GREAT.  Lots of energy and no trouble waking up in the morning.  Unfortunately, I did not get a substitute job today.  Instead, I spent a large chunk of the day messing around with making my own fresh coconut milk.  Let me tell you, this was definitely an experience!  However, the end result is some  creamy and very fresh tasting coconut milk that is better than what you can buy canned at a grocery store.  If you ever have the extra time to waste, I would recommend trying this out.  Just be aware that it is definitely a time-consuming process! BREAKFAST Chicken Clementine Cashews Black coffee LUNCH Steamed chicken breast Cooked cabbage with spinach and onions Carrots Steamed Chicken Breast

Well it's the day after competition and my body actually is not feeling too sore!  In fact, the only soreness I have is in my upper back, which I'm assuming is from kettlebell snatches.  Despite the lack of soreness, I am still taking today as a rest day to relax and prepare some food for the week. :) BREAKFAST 2 hard boiled eggs Handful of cashews Orange LUNCH Leftover roasted chicken thigh Roasted beets and brussel sprouts SNACKS Cashews/almonds Olives DINNER Bison steaks Toasted coconut and sesame sauteed kale Lime and rosemary roasted buttercup squash

I had a fun day in Philadelphia competing against some very strong and impressive athletes!  For how I'd felt being sick the last couple of weeks, I am very happy with how I performed today.  Finished 59th out of close to 80 female athletes and beat my goal on the first WOD.  Can't do much better than that!  Deb also did AWESOME and it was great being able to watch her compete as well. Now I know what I need to do to be fully prepared for the Capital Games in April!  I definitely will be practicing double unders A LOT since that is the skill which really slowed me down in both this competition and the Capital Games back in October.  This also happens to be perfect timing for me to really focus on training because I no longer have school work or lesson planning with substitute teaching! Picture Courtesy of  Philadelphia Winter Warmer

I had my first day of substitute teaching today!  I ended up having some awesome classes of students and things went very smoothly! I'm also finishing getting prepared for the Philadelphia Winter Warmer tomorrow!  It'll be an early morning, but I'm looking forward to a fun day with my coach Deb.  :) BREAKFAST Chicken Orange 1 hard boiled egg LUNCH Leftover curry chicken and cauliflower rice 1 avocado Carrots DINNER Orange chicken Avocado coleslaw Roasted carrots

After successfully completing the first 10 days of this January Whole30, I'd like to share how my mind and body have been influenced by this experience so far. First of all, I have learned to appreciate the simplicity of foods.  Instead of craving processed or sugary foods, I now just want some good, fresh vegetables or a plain piece of chicken.  Yes, spices and herbs are good and I definitely use them in my cooking, but I have learned that I enjoy the simple flavors of foods more than I had in the past.  My body has also become accustomed to not snacking in between meals.  Before, I used to snack on and off most of the day (my planning periods at school would almost always include some type of snack).  Now, by eating a decent-sized portion of animal meat at each meal, I am left feeling satisfied until the next meal.   I also haven't felt stuffed or bloated after eating a meal, despite eating a lot of food at meals!  It is a much more satisfying feeling of being full fr

Today Dan and I got to experience eating out, while staying strict with the Whole30!  Jason's Deli was definitely a great choice for lunch.  Their awesome salad bar made it easy to create a meal that was perfectly Paleo.  They have lots of options for fresh vegetables, you can go back for seconds, and you can get a side of natural grilled chicken breast to get that added protein.  For my salad, I stacked it high with romaine and spinach, baby carrots, red onions, bell peppers, broccoli, beets, a hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, and apple slices.  I also ordered a side of chicken and simply drizzled some olive oil on top instead of dressing. **Update 4/13/14 on Jason's Deli Chicken--> If you are doing a Whole30, their chicken breast does  contain soybean oil so be aware of that.  However, when I am just eating a mostly Paleo diet I will still order their chicken to add some protein to my salads. BREAKFAST

I decided to ask Lindsay how she's been feeling on the Whole30 yesterday, and was a little surprised by her response that she actually doesn't feel the need to drink coffee anymore...Well guess what I didn't need when I woke up this morning?? No coffee! Instead, I made some black tea (moreso just because I still like drinking something hot with breakfast when it's cold outside). To share some insight on part of my breakfast...when I was at Trader Joe's the other day I saw a bag of oranges called Cara Cara which I had never heard of before.  They looked better than the navel oranges so I figured I'd give them a try.  They're awesome!  They definitely look like a mix between a grapefruit and an orange.  The outside looks like a regular orange, but the inside is pink!  I also liked the taste a little bit more than navel oranges, and I love oranges.  I decided to look them up, and it turns out they are more vitamin-packed than navel oranges...so go pick up a

Maybe it's just the fact that I'm still a little sick, or I'm following along with the timeline for the Whole30...But I did feel pretty exhausted today.  I had orientation for student teaching (I can start working on Friday!) and I had my portfolio review, so I am OFFICIALLY finished with my M.A.T. program and ready to be a certified teacher! :) I made these sweet potatoes on Sunday and they are DELICIOUS!  The sweet potatoes and onions really soaked up the coconut oil and there's just enough cinnamon to add some extra flavor.  The recipe was also super easy because you just throw a few ingredients in a crockpot and let it cook! BREAKFAST 1/2 chicken breast Crockpot cinnamon sweet potatoes and onions Leftover fruit salad Black coffee

I finally feel like I'm getting over this cold!  I at least made it back to Crossfit today.  Even though I didn't finish the full WOD, it felt good to get back to doing something.  And I'm also more confident in this upcoming competition.  I'm just hoping I continue to get better the next couple of days.  I guess I'll be nice and rested up for competing :) Here are some more of my suggestions for food to keep on hand during the Whole30 (and after!) If I haven't mentioned before how much I love Trader Joe's, I LOVE Trader Joe's....they have great, healthy food options (organic and not) at prices that are generally cheaper than I find at other grocery stores.

Still getting over this cold...why do they always seem to just never go away???  I've at least been getting plenty of sleep and rest, so hopefully I'll be better and ready to compete next Saturday! BREAKFAST 2 eggs 1/2 avocado Orange and banana slices LUNCH Finally finished the last of the cauliflower rice! (With some pulled chicken, cashews, and olives) 1/2 avocado SNACKS Olives Cashews DINNER Blackened salmon Mashed buttercup squash Roasted zucchini and yellow squash

Still trying to get over this cold...but sticking strong with the Whole30 in the meantime! I found another great website today for Whole30 Approved recipes (And again, with pictures!). Chowstalker So check it out if you're looking for some other recipes to try! BREAKFAST Scrambled eggs Bacon LUNCH Cauliflower Rice Bowl (with pulled chicken, olives, diced tomatoes, and coconut flakes) Apple

Day 3 and I'm still feeling pretty good!  Well, besides this cold and nasty cough I had to get 2 nights ago...But I'm doing what I can to get rid of that.  I was also a lot more hungry today than the first 2 days, making me want to snack a lot more in between meals.  I put together a quick and easy breakfast using some leftover chicken and homemade cashew butter.  This was my first experiment making my own nut butter and it actually was really easy.  I was a little skeptical about how my food processor would handle it (it's a little guy), but it came out nice and creamy! I came across this website yesterday and have probably been on it more in the past day than I should..but it's awesome!!!! They have a huge selection of Whole 30 approved recipe, which makes it really convenient when trying to think of things to cook!  And did I mention they have pictures of every dish? :) The Foodee Project BREAKFAST Leftover coconut lime chicken 2 beets, semi-cooked in

Some news to start off Day 2...I just received an open spot in the Philadelphia Winter Warmer on January 12th!  This will be my second Crossfit competition and first individual competition.  The WODs look like they should be good ones and I have one of our awesome coaches Deb to go with! Before going into food for Day 2, I'm going to share some of my favorite pantry items, all of which work for the Whole 30.

Well, I'm partway into day 2 of the Whole 30 and things are going well!  To get prepared for this month, I cleared out my pantry and refrigerator to store away any of the food items that are not allowed for these 30 days.  For my pantry, this was mostly various rices and condiments that aren't approved.  I  ended up taking 4 large bags to store in our basement for now!  I also went on a couple grocery shopping trips yesterday to get stocked up with meats, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats.  On the Whole 30, these are pretty much the staple foods in your diet. To sum up my shopping, and the best places to get certain items:

It's official...The Whole 30 has began (I decided to start this a few days after the group from Crossfit 10-10 began so I could start after New Year's Eve!).  Dan and myself will be eating strictly Paleo for the month of January, and Lindsay and Andy have also chosen to join us in this adventure (Just several states away!).  I'll try to update this on a daily basis to share the meals I'll be making that are  Whole 30  approved. But before embarking on this month of very strict Paleo, I'll share my delicious New Year's Eve recipes.  All of these recipes are technically Paleo, but only the Coconut Chicken Nuggets are acceptable with the Whole 30 (No sweeteners can be used, including honey or maple syrup, during the Whole 30 which means I will not be making these desserts again for at least the next 30 days).