Wed ....

How about that for a blog post title......ha!

 

There's no denying how much I love flowers

they just make me smile

and I've been so committed to the Whole30 eating

that I treated myself to a bouquet of beautiful flowers

and I love the greenery as much as the flowers!

 

 

later.....

 

 



Clean eating ... day 14

I haven't posted daily updates because mostly, they are the same

I don't stray much from what I eat

I have my 2 boiled eggs and a bowl of watermelon every morning

unless I'm home, then I may make an omelet

and Lord help me when watermelon is out of season!

my lunch varies and depends on either what I have leftover from dinner

or what I was organized enough to cook in advance

if neither, I make a salad from the work salad bar making sure

that I add a protein. I love banana peppers on my salad and thought

I was pretty safe eating them. That is until I picked up a jar at

home and read the ingredients.......good grief! Why do they have to put

so much nasty stuff in just some pickled peppers!!

dinner is always good......it's either chicken, beef or seafood

and I'm learning so many different ways to cook things that

are just so much healthier. And usually 2 veggies with dinner

my update.......I wonder why this isn't more popular. And I wonder why no one told me about this years ago. Benefits.......the weight is just

falling off, the inches are melting away....my clothes are so loose

on me now that I'll def need a new wardrobe come fall

But the best thing .... I haven't felt this good

in probably 20 years. I never feel like I'm starving.... I eat 3 meals

because that's what you are supposed to do. Food taste so much better.

I feel satisfied after I eat, never feel stuffed and never feel bloated.

this is def the way you should eat.

Even after the 30 days are over, I will continue but I will

add a few things back into my diet after this.

that's it for now, I'll do some more updates at another time

later.......

Canning ...

On Saturday I did my annual tomato canning

One of my friends from work, Melissa, wanted to learn how

to can so she came over.

And my friend Cheryl, who already knows how to can

came over to just hang out with us!

 

So we had a good time

and now I have 18 quarts of yummy tomatoes canned

for this winter....this is from one bushel

last year I was able to get 22 quarts out of one bushel

Melissa did a 1/2 bushel and has 9 quarts

 

I might do some more again if I have time.

I know it's a time consuming thing to do but for some

reason, I just really love it!

 

 

I take everything off of my kitchen counters because I like

to have plenty of room and have an assembly line

 

later.........



Clean eating ... 12 days in.....

And all is going great!

 

My friend Lena has now started her Whole30 and gave me this

little recipe she did today.......

chop up fresh tomatoes, fresh basil and garlic

drizzle with olive oil and let sit to marinate the flavors

 

I fixed some tilapia like my friend Cheryl showed me

lay the fillet in aluminum foil, drizzle some olive oil

and then put whatever seasoning you like

Put in 400 degree oven for 25 minutes

I put Italian seasoning on them Sunday evening

and then we put the tomato mixture on top once out of the oven

oh my.....so good

and I meant to take a picture before I started eating...whoops!

 

 

later.....



Clean eating ....

you might be getting bored with my clean eating post

but I'm def not getting bored with my meals

 

For lunch today I had some leftover chicken breast so

shredded it up, added some salsa and chopped

black olives...yumm

 

Also made the sweet potato things I've been seeing on a lot

of the clean eating sites

 

shredded sweet potatoes, egg whites and cinnamon

 

I put some coconut oil in my cast iron skillet

just make little patties, then smash them down a little

once you drop them in the pan

 

omg.......loved them!!

 

carbonated water from my sodastream with some

fresh lemons and limes

very good lunch!

 

 

later.....



Clean eating, exercise and an update ....

It's pretty hot around here in Virginia.

the temps in the 90's but the humidity is awful.

First, we had tons of rain, all of the time

now we have the heat and humidity

which means we have lots of mosquitoes

So needless to say, we are not enjoying the outdoors very much

 

I stayed in all day today canning tomatoes with 2 of

my friends from work, Melissa and Cheryl.

we had a good time, lots of chatting and laughing

 

And because we're all doing the clean eating, lunch was clean!! 

I had fixed squash with onions the night before

Cheryl brought tilapia and seasoned it so perfect

we also had cut up tomatoes and a bowl of grapes and blueberries

a perfect lunch

 

I am finding out a few things about clean eating......you aren't hungry

very much but you have to eat your 3 meals a day regardless.

And each meal has to include a protein

I feel like I eat more now than when I was trying to lose weight

and I'm losing more weight now....isn't that ironic. It really is about

eating the right foods.

 

I haven't been posting the past few days because they would just look the same each day. I really do eat

a lot of the same things .... but I'm ok with that

For each meal I have either chicken, beef, fish or eggs

I always have one or two veggies. Some meals I might

include a fruit, like with breakfast and I usually have something

like a few cherries or watermelon at night.

I love making omelets and just coming up with different ways to season

my meats. And I've gotten to where I love roasting all veggies!

 

And I'm dropping a lot of weight. It just amazes me. I feel fantastic and

have great stamina when I work out at Jazzercise. My clothes are not

fitting anymore....so that is great except at this rate, I'm going to need

lots of new clothes for winter.

I feel really good about this way of eating and I'm almost sure

that I won't go back to the old way.

Now the best part will be when I have my physical at t he end of August

and have really good numbers on all of my labs, then I know

I won't go back to the old way of eating!

 

I have lots of recipes that I want to try out but have really

just been so busy I haven't tried them out yet!

 

later.....

 

Chalkboard ...

A few years ago I used to scrapbook

I loved it and it was a great way to be creative but I found I was

just getting too busy for it so gave it up. When I was scrapbooking, I used to take each month's family calendar, you know the one....on the frig with

all of the appts and events for everyone......I would always include that

in my scrapbook. It's a memory, a memory that one day someone might

love to see.

Now since I have given it up, I use my chalkboard in the kitchen to

highlight events for the month. I don't put everything that is on the frig calendar...like dr appts but include

parties and birthdays. And as I receive pictures or thank you cards

in the mail, I tape them up on the chalkboard. Then before I erase

I take a picture of it.....because maybe one day, it will be of interest

to someone in our family. And it's fun coming up with something

on each board!

here are my June and July boards..

 

later........

 



Clean eating ... day 8

I guess I should be posting some other stuff too

so here goes......

 

• Declan is just over 4 months old now and about the sweetest baby ever. He's also getting ready to cut his first tooth
• We are going to have another GRANDCHILD!! Our oldest daughter and her boyfriend are expecting a baby in January and we are thrilled. I am loving racking up grandchildren. And this is cool because he/she will be close in age to Declan so he'll have a cousin closer to his age!
• It's July and I haven't been to the beach yet .... I know, hard to believe!! This summer has been very busy!
• and speaking of summer....woo wee, the heat has arrived!!
• Jake is doing great with his job up in Charlottesville and he comes home right often so I love that.

and that's about it for now

 

this morning, you know it.......2 cups of black coffee

2 boiled eggs, some watermelon and blueberries

 

for lunch I had a big ole salad that was yummy and

actually filled me up before it was finished.

that's the thing about this Whole30, you start filling up fast

and you just don't ever really feel that hungry.

 

Dinner was sweet potato, roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli

with some cherry tomatoes.

I also cut up another watermelon so was taking quite a few bites

while doing that!

 

 

still feeling great and loving this new way of eating.

 

later.....



Clean eating ... day 7

wow...it's been a week!

and I say that because in just a week, I have seen so many changes

the biggest change is I'm not feeling so stiff in my hands in the morning

from my arthritis. That's huge.....

other changes, my hair is really soft, as is my skin

I'm sleeping good and having NO hot flashes at night.

still a few during the day but NONE at night!! That is amazing to me.

 

Also, after a meal, you just don't have that bloated feeling.

you feel satisfied but not stuffed....that is a really good feeling!

 

My only concern is the amount of eggs I'm eating. I sure as heck

hope it's not affecting my cholesterol. My physical is the end of August

so I'll find out then. And I have low iron so not sure I'm getting enough

of that but I do take an iron supplement so hopefully, that will be ok.

 

but enough of that....on to the eating. It's been surprising to me how good

everything is. You think things are good with lots of butter or loaded with cheese but really, food is good without all of the stuff.

 

So today was a huge EGG day!! haha

I had 2 cups of black coffee, 2 boiled eggs and watermelon

for my breakfast.

 

For lunch I had the leftover chicken from dinner last night

and a bowl of cherry tomatoes and cut up celery. I also had a small

bowl of "clean eating" soup that my friend made and it was

very yummy! Definitely know what I'll be making for this winter.

 

Now here's where the too many eggs comes in....I really, really

wanted an omelet for dinner. So I used coconut oil in the omelet

pan, added the eggs and then added drained salsa and chopped

black olives. This was so delicious!!

But I think I may need to lay low on the eggs tomorrow!

 

 

so there you go .... it's been a week and I'm loving it.

the food is good and I feel great. The only thing I noticed today

was my stamina has been great but tonight at Jazzercise, my legs gave

out of stamina! haha....but let's just chalk that up to a really

hard workout :)

 

later.....



Clean eating ... day 6

doing good on day 6

 

of course, 2 cups of black coffee

2 eggs and some watermelon

 

lunch was a big salad but I had not fixed any meat to go on it

and the chicken on the salad bar at work just kind of grosses

me out. So I put one boiled egg on my salad for my protein.

 

And supper......mmmm, supper was yummy

I put chicken in the crock pot this morning with the

homemade taco seasoning on it

 

After Jazzercise I shredded up the chicken, put the Trader Joes

salsa on top and then added sliced avocado

really, really good

and I had some leftover roasted carrots

 

 

later......



Clean eating ... day 5

sigh....I'm such a creature of habit

 

2 cups of black coffee

2 boiled eggs with a white peach and some tomatoes!

haha......I thought the weekend would come and I would make

myself an omelet but really, I just love boiled eggs.

maybe next weekend :)

 

 

for lunch I roasted up some veggies ... broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

so good

 

 

and for something sweet, cherries!!

they are everywhere for 7.99 lb but Trader Joes had

then for 4.99 lb...yay!!

 

 

dinner is going to be all leftover veggies...and some of the leftover

beef. I'll cook chicken tonight for my lunch and dinner tomorrow

 

still feeling great.......you're not supposed to weigh yourself during

the 30 days but I do. There's no way I'm letting my "no smoking" weight

creep back up on me again. But I'm not going to share my weight loss

yet......will wait until the end of the 30 days. But I will say this....I'm

pretty dang happy!!

 

later...



Clean eating ... day 4

So breakfast was different this day because I was trying

to get out of the house to run errands

so didn't really have time to fix anything

I had 2 cups of black coffee and a banana!!

 

But lunch sure was good

I went to Trader Joes while running errands and that turns out

to be a great place to shop while trying to do this clean eating.

 

I cooked zucchini and onions

then threw a grain fed hamburger in the pan with a little

bit of coconut oil

then topped it with some salsa that I bought at Trader Joes

yummmmm

for dinner I did a Martha Stewart recipe and it did not turn out

at all. It was spaghetti squash with lemon and parsley flavored shrimp.

 

the squash was good and the shrimp was good but

not combined.

 

 

Trader Joes had a good price on cherries so I had those

after I had my dinner.

 

another successful day and I'm really feeling good

later........

 

 



Clean eating ... day 3

I'm sure you can guess my breakfast......

2 cups of black coffee

2 boiled eggs

bowl of watermelon!!

I know most people would get tired of the same thing but I have

always been a creature of habit with my eating. Before this clean eating, I

had a bowl of grits every single work morning, with 3 tabs of butter

and then fruit salad. Sometimes, I would get an omelet.



But lunch was different....taco salad!! and it was yum!

I cooked the meat the  night before and brought to work meat, black olives,

avocado, tomatoes. So then at work from the salad bar all I had to buy was the lettuce and banana peppers.

and it was yum......yes, it would have been better with cheese all over but it would not have been better for me so I'm ok with that.

 

I had not cooked any meat in advance for dinner and I had gone to Jazzercise so I had a sweet potato for dinner. Of course that's also when I stabbed my hand with a knife cutting up an avocado so I didn't even eat all of my potato because I was just sick over the pain.

 

how's it going .... it's going really, really well. I'm enjoying this challenge. I admit it does take a lot of planning. I'm hoping to get a lot of cooking done this weekend for the upcoming week.

 

later.......

Clean eating ... day 2

well, if I don't eat something different, these post could get

very, very boring.....as if reading what I eat isn't boring enough

Started my day with 2 cups of black coffee and I liked it!

For breakfast I had the same thing as yesterday.....2 boiled eggs and

a bowl of watermelon.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I do drink tons of water all day long.

for lunch a big salad with chicken that I had cooked last night

I had been putting beets on my salad because they are on the approved

list of food but the beets on our salad bar are pickled and I think

they may have sugar in them so I won't be eating those anymore.

I also had a bunch of blueberries after my salad.

Two of my friends here at work are doing this with me

and one mentioned, we are going to get sick of salads!

So tonight I'm going to try and come up with something different

Dinner was the chicken I cooked last night, a tomato and
roasted string beans. String beans are the only bean allowed on the
Whole30 plan. And I had never roasted them before and wow, loved them and will continue to fix them this way.

 

how I'm feeling .... well, maybe it's all in my head but I'm really
feeling good. I normally drag out of bed and this morning I got right up
feeling great. Which is weird because I didn't sleep that well. Kept
waking up for no reason.
Also, I'm not hungry between meals.....which surprises me. I was going to eat another banana tonight before Jazzercise and I didn't even think about it.
so this is all good, so far! More tomorrow...

later........

Clean eating ... day 1

First day of clean eating

I had 2 cups of black coffee and to be honest, it was good

I gave up sugar in my coffee when I quit smoking 6 years ago

So I guess giving up the coffee creamer wasn't as hard

as I thought it would be

Breakfast was 2 boiled eggs and a bowl of watermelon

this isn't too different from what I normally eat but the difference

will be that between breakfast and lunch, I won't be snacking or

popping tic tacks in to my mouth ... haha!!

Lunch was a big, big salad

lettuce, green peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, asparagus, olives

celery, beets, chicken, and olive oil & vinegar for my dressing

all very good!

Dinner was a baked sweet potato, cut up tomato and avocado
I just drizzled olive oil, kosher salt & cracked pepper
and a little oregano

with going to exercise right after work, I did not have time to cook
a meat. But I did have protein for breakfast and lunch.

Once I got home, I baked some chicken so that I will have that for
lunch and dinner tomorrow. But really, I'm not that hungry after Jazzercise so this was fine for me and I was full afterward.

The only time I snacked today was a banana at 5:00 before Jazzercise.
with having nothing since lunch, I needed a bit of a boost to get
through my work out.

So day 1 done!

later......


Clean eating ....

I'm jumping on the band wagon today and starting

the Whole30 clean eating.

it's 30 days of no sugar, no dairy, no alcohol, no grains

pretty much.....no processed foods.

what I can eat is meat, fresh veggies and fruit.

And you can have olive oil so that's good.

I love everything on the approved list, well, except

for things like wild boar and buffalo meat! haha..

Tuesday evening we bought spaghetti squash, fresh string beans,

tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, brussel sprouts, broccoli,

peaches, blueberries, grapes, watermelon, bananas, avocados,

sweet potatoes....thanks goodness because you can't have

white potatoes during the 30 days. 

and I have plenty of chicken in the freezer

I already eat pretty healthy but the hardest part for me will

be no coffee mate in my coffee!! But it's only for 30 days, that's what

I keep telling myself......I can do anything for just 30 days!!

so wish me luck! And I'll try to update on here whenever I can.

later.......