Sweet 17

17 Days left! Less than three weeks to go! This 90-Day Challenge has been a great experience. It's been exciting to see what my body can and will do if I take good care of it and expect a lot from it. I've added a couple of other things to my original list. I've already lost the ten pounds that I'd hoped, and since I still have a few more to go before my ideal weight/shape, I'm adding another five pounds. I have three weeks to go to lose three pounds, but I think that's reasonable. Also, I've joined in a "March Madness" mini contest at the gym, which includes posting videos of my workouts and I'm going to try out for the softball team. (Softball is a strength for me, but tryouts are not!)

I'll post all of my reached goals and everything in a few weeks, but until then, here's this week's menu. A little late. (That hasn't gotten any better!)


Remember, if I've just posted a main dish, we add fresh or cooked veggies or a green salad to the meal, too!
Day 1:
Breakfast - Berries and Coconut Whipped Cream, Bacon
Lunch - Tuna Salad
Dinner - Taco Salad (no chips or beans)

Day 2:
B - Broccoli Latkes
L - Sprouted Wheat "SB&J" (That's sunbutter and jam)
D - "Burritos" with Cabbage Tortillas, Quinoa Tabouleh (Reminded this week that quinoa is technically not a grain. It has some of the same anti-nutrient agents, but a good rinsing and not eating it too often are good options.)

Day 3:
B - Za'atar Omelette - substituted Greek seasoning
L - Lentil Soup
D - Corned Beef w/Cabbage, Carrots, and Potatoes, Ballemaloe Brown Bread - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Day 4:
B - Lamb Sausage w/ Artichokes - substituted beef sausage w/Greek seasoning again
L - Hard-Boiled Eggs w/Veggies and Sliced Turkey
D - Chicken Salad

Day 5:
B - Smoothies & Bacon
L - Turkey Rollups (with Avocado, Peppers, & Asparagus inside!)
D - Chicken Curry w/Cauliflower Rice

Day 6:
B - Eggs and Veggies
L - Pick-a-Snack (kind of like Hardboiled Eggs and Veggies, to be honest)
D - Beef Back Ribs and Brussels Sprouts (a new family favourite!)

Day 7:
B - Smoothies?/Eggs?
L - Leftovers
D - Bacon Encrusted Fish and Lemon Garlic Broccoli

Let me know if you try one of these and what you think!
Happy Eating!

More Yummy Food!

Time to post this week's menu for those who are interested:

Day 1:
Breakfast - Smoothies & Bacon
Lunch - Egg Salad & Veggies
Dinner - Taco Salad

Day 2:
B - Scrambled Eggs w/ Veggies & Turkey
L - Tuna Salad & Veggies
D - Meatza

Day 3:
B - Fried Eggs & Bacon, Grapefruit
L - Leftover Turkey & Veggies
D - Lentil Soup w/ Sausage for Church's Lenten Soup Supper

Day 4:
B - Smoothies & Bacon
L - Hard-Boiled Eggs, Cheese, Veggies
D - Asian Slaw

Day 5:
B - Gingered Apple Crumble
L - Turkey/Green Bean Rollups
D - Green Ginger Soup

Day 6:
B - Eggs or Bacon or Turkey w/ Lemon Muffins
L - ?? Sometimes inspiration just doesn't come. We'll call this Spontaneous Day!
D - Sausage & Brussels Sprouts w/Ginger and Almonds (The kids love these sprouts!)

Day 7:
B - Green Eggs
L - Leftovers
D - Burgers, Fries, Veggies & Birthday Cake for the 5 year old!! We'll keep it as clean as we can!

45 down and 45 to go!

Halfway done with this 90-Day challenge and things are going well. My weight loss is levelling, but my strength is not, and except for a couple of spectacular failures, our family's nutrition is excellent! It has been encouraging to help others along the journey and to be cheered on by new friends. I'm looking forward to this last half and then continuing in these new habits.

Back by popular demand (okay, two people have asked), here is this week's menu. As always, make substitutions and tweak as necessary. And let me know if you want more info on something!

Day 1:
Breakfast - Smoothies & Bacon
Lunch - Fruit, Cheese, Turkey, and Veggies
Dinner - Fish Salad - layer baked whitefish, avocado, tomato, red onion, and cilantro in glass dishes/glasses, drizzle with a lime juice, cumin, olive oil dressing

Day 2:
B - Freezer Bag Omelets
L - Tuna Fish w/Lettuce
D - Nutty Peachy Salad (scroll down on linked page for recipe)

Day 3:
B - No Oat Oatmeal
L - Hard Boiled Eggs, Veggies, Fruit
D - Roast Turkey (to be used for later recipes, also), Sweet Potato Fries, Veggies

Day 4:
B - Scrambled Eggs and Carrot Raisin Muffins
L - Lentil Soup w/ Sausage
D - Fish (not sure how I'll prepare it, yet)

Day 5:
B - Smoothies & Bacon (It's our easiest breakfast, so we do it twice)
L - Grilled Cheese (on sprouted bread, but it's still a treat and not technically paleo) and Tomato Soup
D - Paleo Chili (Kathryn's request)

Day 6:
B - Sweet Potato Bacon Salad
L - Turkey Rollups w/ Veggies
D - Fish (probably baked with lemon juice and dill, pretty traditional) & yep, more veggies

Day 7:
B - Eggs w/ veggies (sensing a theme here) and Bacon
L - Leftovers
D - Turkey Tacos (lettuce leaves instead of shells), yum!

Happy Eating!

Week Four

So, with family here, weeks two and three were tough. I'm grateful to my parents for supporting us as we eat this new diet and helping us keep on track. I'm looking forward to Week Four. I've lost 7 1/2 pounds so far (may have to adjust that goal) and I'm enjoying how I look and feel after working out. I've also joined a women's Bible study during the kids AWANA club. We're looking at Elizabeth George's "Loving God With All Your Mind." It's helping to round out this fresh start and I'm grateful for the continuing renewal of my mind. My prayer for you all is that you, too, will meet God's fresh mercies every morning!

Here's what this week's menu looks like. (By the way, anyone try any of the last post's recipes?)

Day 1:
Breakfast - Crepes made from eggs (filled with sausage and veggies)
Lunch - Tuna Salad & Veggies
Dinner - Best Salad Ever

Day 2:
B - No-Oat Oatmeal
L - BLT Salad
D - Roasted Whole Chicken w/Veggies

Day 3:
B - Broccoli Frittata
L - Sunbutter and Honey Sandwiches w/Paleo Bread
D - Sweet Potato Soup w/ Sausage (it's from a book called Simply in Season; let me know if you want the recipe)

Day 4:
B - Smoothies (anyone have one they want to share?)
L - Salami Cream Cheese Rollups w/Fresh Veggies
D - Steak and Mushrooms w/MORE VEGGIES

Day 5 -
B - Gingered Apple Crumble
L - Hardboiled Eggs, Lunchmeat, Avocado, & Veggies
D - Chicken Drumsticks - not sure how I'm going to cook these, yet
Veggies

Day 6:
B - Beet Smoothies and Bacon
L - Leftovers
D - Taco Salad

Day 7:
B - Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Veggies
L - Chicken Waldorf Salad (I've got the recipe for you, if you need it)
D - Sausage and Apples (Simply in Season again)

Happy Eating!

Hey Friends, it's been a while since I've blogged here. I have a motivation for the next couple of months, however. My Crossfit gym is going through a 90-Day Challenge to meet some health and fitness goals. I thought this would be a good opportunity to post here again. I'm hoping it will encourage some of my teammates and maybe inspire some of the rest of you!

So here goes. My goals are as follows:
Do a real pullup - no jumping.
200 lb Deadlift (currently at 155)
See my benchmark WOD's (Workouts of the Day) improve by 25%.
Lose 10lbs.
Stick to Paleo/Maker's Diet for 75% of all meals.

For those of you who are interested, Rob and I think that eating a Paleo diet is about the most awesome thing in the world (except for God's love for us of course!) and, with a few exceptions, we're trying to follow it pretty strictly. If you click the link on the word "Paleo" above you can read about it at the blog of the leading expert in this diet. I'm also including my meal plans for the week here so that my fellow teammates can use them if they want. We've used a lot of recipes from www.paleoplan.com this week, but we use other resources, too. The main exception that our family follows is that we don't completely cut out dairy products. We're certainly using less and we drink raw milk. (Most people with milk allergies can drink raw milk.) Oh, and we don't eat pork (yay turkey bacon!) or shellfish, or any processed sugar, so there are actually more options than you'll see here. So, if some of the recipes have stuff that you're not using, just modify it! Happy Eating!

To any dinners that only have a main dish listed, we add fresh or frozen veggies.

Day 1:
Breakfast - Bacon & Egg Muffins (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)
Lunch - Egg Drop Soup (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)
Dinner - "Cream" of Mushroom Soup (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)
Baked Fish
Day 2:
B - No-Oat Oatmeal (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)
L - Salad Nicoise (w/sweet potatoes)
D - Chicken Satay w/ "Peanut" Sauce (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)

Day 3:
B - Crepes (from sprouted flour; yes this is a cheat meal) w/sausage, eggs, or berries
L - Chicken Waldorf Salad (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)
D - Almond Crusted Fish (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)

Day 4:
B - Veggies and Eggies (Eggs with onions and spinach and bacon!) (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)
L - Sprouted Bread AB&J (That's almond butter and Jelly) w/Crudites
D - Bunless burgers

Day 5:
B - Sausage Stir Fry (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)
L - Hard-Boiled Eggs, Veggies w/Hummus, Lunch Meat
D - Meatza (Pizza with the crust made from ground beef)

Day 6:
B - Smoothies and Bacon (Smoothies consist of frozen fruit, a green leafy, coconut milk or almonds, and anything else we want to throw in!)
L - Roast beef/Turkey-wrapped avocado slices with lettuce and fruit
D - Taco Salad (no chips or beans, but everything else!)

Day 7:
B - Carrot Banana Muffins (www.paleoplan.com/recipes/)
L - Tuna Salad w/ Lettuce and Fruit
D - Meatballs and Salad

I'm making a lemon custard one day, too... :)

Let me know if you try any of these and what you think!