Southwest Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

I've posted recipes on here a good bit in the past but none of them are really healthy. I want to start posting some healthy recipes hopefully once a week or so. 

We have really changed our eating lifestyle over the last 6+ months and my recipes should probably reflect that. ;) 

Carry on... 

Southwest Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

For the dressing: 

1 C cilantro, stems removed

1/2 C plain Greek yogurt

2 cloves of garlic

Juice of 1 lime

Salt

1/4 C olive oil

2 TBS of apple cider vinegar

- Add ingredients to blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Salad: 

(I didn't measure any of these ingredients, I just added how much I wanted of each according to my preference) 

Organic romaine lettuce, chopped

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Canned corn kernels, drained 

Canned black beans, drained

Fresh cilantro 

1 avocado (I actually used a couple TBS of the spicy wholly guacamole dip) 

Enjoy! 

Original recipe found here.

Whole30: Week Two

I'm done with week 2 of the Whole30. If you missed my blog post on week one you can read about it here.

Week 2 didn't go quite as planned. We met a friend for pizza one night, had crawfish etouffee one afternoon, and had crawfish pasta while my mother in law was in town. I will say that those 3 "cheats", though I'm not proud of them (LOL), I did eat in moderation and was quick to get back to eat my whole foods immediately after. And might I add how horrible I felt after eating all of that. After the pizza I had a killer headache and went to bed as soon as we got home, and after both crawfish dishes, I was tired and bloated. 

But overall I have felt so good and full of energy! I haven't had any headaches at all, except for the night I ate pizza...
I'm sleeping better and have no 3pm wall! Yay! ;)

I ate a several of the same meals, mainly breakfast, that I did during week one. For week 3, I plan on getting a little more creative with my food.

Here's a look at what I ate during week 2!

Sweet potato hash browns, fried eggs, and bacon.

Flounder, baked broccoli, and pineapple.

Cauliflower rice with a little lime juice and pepper and sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, and onion.

Salmon, roasted mushrooms and asparagus. 

These Larabars are a lifesaver! They're the perfect thing to grab on the go or just as a special treat!

Wild hog sausage with onion, mashed cauliflower, pineapple and strawberries.

And this has by far been my favorite thing that I have eaten on the Whole30!

Chicken and spaghetti squash with a bacon, mushroom, and garlic cream sauce! You can find the recipe 

here.

Whole30: Week One

I started the Whole30 plan on Monday (5/5/14) not necessarily to lose weight, but because I don't always eat the best that I should and have been feeling really bad for months. I am constantly bloated, have headaches, nausea, and just exhausted. All.the.time. So I went into this challenge hoping to learn more about the foods that I consume and to also feel so much better!

 There are so many chemicals that we our eating and drinking these days it's really scary. Have you ever read the label on a lot of the foods we eat?! I mean, I can't even pronounce some of them! 

So not only do I love a challenge, but I wanted to take away all of the things that aren't "whole foods". Now this isn't really a diet but more of eating whole foods for 30 days to reset your body to food allergies. At the end of the 30 days as you slowly introduce dairy, gluten, etc into your body, you can see what causes your body to react negatively to, and what makes you feel bad.



What you can NOT have on the Whole30:

• no added sugar, real or artificial
• alcohol, not even for cooking
• no legumes, which includes beans of all kinds
• no dairy whatsoever 
• no white potatoes
• no MSG 
• no "paleo-ifying baked goods, desserts, or junk foods.

and you are not allowed to step on the scale for the entire 30 days

Now I know that sounds extreme to most, but I can tell you it is VERY doable. 



Exceptions to the rule:

• clarified butter or ghee
• fruit juice as sweetener. (some products use orange or apple juice as sweeteners)
• certain legumes such as, green beans, snap peas, and snow peas. They're more of a "pod" than a bean.
• vinegar. including, white, balsamic, apple cider, red wine, and rice.

What you CAN have on the Whole30:

• meat
• seafood
• eggs
• tons of vegetables
• some fruit
• good fat from fruits, oils, nuts, and seeds

Eat foods with few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or no ingredients. 

You can click here for a list of everything you can have. 

I'm one week in and I have lost my bloat and have so much energy! Usually around 3-4pm everyday I would hit a wall. I would be trying to keep my eyes open and would have a killer headache. The wall slowly went away over the week. I noticed that I had more energy withing the first 2 days, and my headaches seemed to get better every single day. By Friday I didn't have a headache at all. :) Yay!

My best advice is just to prepare.Prepare your food for the week, or just meal plan. Try to have an idea of what you will be eating all week. And if you find something that you really love, eat that for several days in a row! Easy! 

Here is what I ate for week 1 in no particular order. Some may be snacks, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I'm sure you can figure out whats what! And these were eaten more than once :)

Chicken salad 

recipe can be found here

Portabello stuffed (and I mean really overflowing!) with sauteed mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, tomato, one egg, and chicken.

Mandarin and what I call a "birds nest".

Sweet potato hashbrowns in the bottom of a muffin pan, with egg, and bacon!

My favorite breakfast!  

Strawberries and Pineapple :)

Steamed carrot chips and sauteed veggies and cooked diced chicken. 

Broiled grapefruit.

Banana pancakes. Recipe can be found here

Sweet potato hashbrowns, poached eggs, and deer sausage.

Green beans, sweet potato chips, burger with sauteed onion.

I hope to encourage you to eat healthy! 

I'm on to week 2 now! :)

A week in pics

Meet Shelby the turtle. Shelby provided hours of entertainment for the kiddos! 

Kades new nap time routine consist of watching Toy Story for all of 5 minutes and then passes smooth out on the couch.
Love it and don't think I could ever get tired of watching him sleep.

Meet my child who will eat ANYTHING. He took my salad away from me and ate more than half of it!!

Aubrey and her "pet" Pauly the inter tube, swimming at Mimi's house! :)
Man, we have got to get a pool!! (hint hint Trey)

Me after doing day 2 of Insanity. KILLER!!! Praying that I will be able to accomplish doing this 60 Day challenge. 

Mr. Mowhawk himself. And how jealous are you of his tan?! Okay... maybe it's just me! ;)

Hope you have a great weekend! 

Linking up @ 

This and That

 

 

I'm so ready for Summer to get here.

I know most kids are out of school by now, but we got so behind during our few month

moving process. So we will be doing school for at least another month.

 

We are just trying to double up our math lessons and Aubrey finished her phonics, but

we are trying to read at least one chapter a day from our American Girl Kirsten books.

 

Yesterday we started a summer study on the planets.

If you follow me on Pinterest (I have a button to the right >>)

then you probably have seen all the stuff I've pinned for it :)

 

The kids and I have been going to the park at least once a week. We have one right by our house which I thought was really nice and then we found one by UL's campus, Girard Park.

It is by far the most fun park I..I mean the kids, have ever been to! ;)

If you are ever in the area I would have to suggest you go there. At least go look at the ducks!

 

I ran my first 5k at the end of April and since then I haven't really had the motivation to continue working out and running. So...I will be running another 5k this September. I think I need to have a goal ahead to keep me going. I went for my first run in a month last night. And guess who joined me? Some sweet little blond haired girl! :)

 

 

 

We jogged around the whole neighborhood. And the crazy thing is that she really liked it and asked if she could with me the next night.

That is something that I really want to show my kids, how important it is to live a healthy and active lifestyle. I hope that they watch Trey and I make healthy food choices and how I exercise to stay strong and that they will do the same as they get older.

 

Anyway, enough blabbing on. Have a great weekend!

 

Blessings,

Jenny

 



A Healthy Twist on Pancakes

 

 

My kids LOVE pancakes. And since Trey and I are on a pretty strict low carb diet, I figured this may be something we can splurge on too every now and then. I think 1 banana has 31 carbs in it, so it's not very low carb, but a lot healthier than regular pancakes with flour, sugar, etc.

 

 

What you will need:

1 banana

2 eggs

{optional: pecans and cinnamon}

 

 



 

Mash/mix your banana and eggs in bowl. If you are using cinnamon and pecans you can add these now too.

 

 

Spray your skillet with non-stick spray and turn heat on medium. Drop a spoon full of the mixture onto the hot skillet.

 

I don't put syrup on these, just a little bit of Earth Balance Butter Spread, cause you know, its 0 carb ;)

 

 

 Enjoy!

Veggie Shred

In an attempt to lose a few lbs, this has pretty much been my go to lunch for the last week or so.  It is super easy and taste delicious! You can also find this recipe here.

 

What you will need:

 

olive oil

minced garlic(you decide amount)

chopped onion(you decide amount)

shredded veggies of choice

(I buy the bag of broccoli slaw at Wal-Mart which is shredded broccoli, carrots, and red cabbage, and I add my own shredded zucchini)

black beans

cumin

salt

pepper

chili powder

 

 

Heat oil in skillet and saute your onion and garlic until translucent.

 

 

Next add your shredded veggies to the skillet. Let cook down a little before adding your beans.

 

 

 

Add beans, cumin, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Continue cooking till tender. (excuse the poor photo quality)

 

 

Serve up and enjoy! :)