Category Archives: Jan ’12 | Whole30

Whole30 Monthly Meal Plan | Whole Family

On our last Whole30 I planned ahead each week with a meal plan. Making a meal plan made my life so much easier and 10x’s more organized. Of course, there were times where we deviated from the plan or we were lucky enough to have enough leftovers that meals got pushed back but overall my meal plans were a lifesaver.

If you’re in need of some meal planning, not sure where to start, or are like me and like to browse how other people plan, check these out.

I hope they serve you as much as they served me.

Week 1 Meal Plan

Week 2 Meal Plan

Week 3 Mexican Meal Plan

Week 4 SIMPLE Meal Plan

Last day at the beach… Goodbye Whole30

Even though our Whole30 is over we had one more full day left at the beach that we wanted to share. I share this to say that even though the Whole30 is over, we are still eating good food and even though I am no longer sharing our every move, we are still hanging out having a fun time as a family. I also share because we live in New Orleans and our families live everywhere but. Blogging about our fun experiences allows our families to feel closer and more connected to us. It’s wonderful all around. I hope you enjoy seeing pictures of our last day at the beach as much as we enjoyed being there.

For breakfast I made an egg casserole of acorn squash, salmon and eggs.

Continue reading →

Reflections at the Beach…..

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For a few years now I have come to the beach with a wonderful group of ladies. We make a purpose to get away for a couple of days, not to have a girl’s weekend, but to have time with God. Quiet, uninterrupted, massive time with God. I love it, I love the quiet, and I look forward to it every year.

These past few days, although not quite the same as my quiet beach trips, has reminded me of them. Why? Because it’s the beach. When I come to the beach and look in awe on God’s creation I can’t help but feel closer to Him. I stand in front of one of His many masterpieces and realize once again how big He is… and how little I am. Continue reading →

Day 28 Eats! Day 3 Beach!

We are nearing the end of our Whole30 and we are having a nice and relaxing time at the beach. When we first arrived we spotted a farmers market and our plan today is to go back.

First though, we started our day with a scrumptious yet SIMPLE meal of farm fresh eggs and acorn squash.

After breakfast we finally made it back to the farmers market. The kids were so excited, although I think I was more excited than they were. The market also included a bakery that they are hoping to return to on our way back to NOLA.

It felt so nice, so homey, to be at the Burris Market. To have so many clean fruits and veggies in one place, ripe for the picking, calling out to us, begging to be eaten… we were like kids in a candy store. Continue reading →

Day 27 Eats! Day 2 BEACH!!!

Our first full day at the beach and we are up and ready to get out there!

Of course, we started with a great breakfast….

Salmon, eggs, peppers and mango. A wonderful beach breakfast!

As we we getting ready I thought about the changes that we have had in our lives in the past few years. One of them being our physical appearance. Check out Shiloh and I from 3 years ago and then today.

Crazy, huh?!

I love that I now have the energy to run after the kids, play with them, and go until they tire out…not the other way around. What a difference eating right and exercising makes!

The kids could barely hold in their excitement about getting to the beach!

They had buckets and buckets of supplies!

Love them!!!

This is Levi’s first trip to the beach…can you tell?

The second we got off the boardwalk and his tiny toes touched the sand Levi FREAKED!

All he would say over and over and over was, “OW!!! OW!!!”  and he wouldn’t let his feet touch the ground. 

It was absolutely hilarious! We were all cracking up. He looked so cute!

I did finally get him on the beach and this is all I got. He was in a silent protest.

On the other side of the coin, Jeremiah and Shiloh were like fish who had come home.

Their smiles were plastered on their little faces.

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Day 26 Eats…on our way to the beach!!!

We’re going to the BEACH today!!!!! Are we’re so excited!!! Can you tell?!?!!!

But first…breakfast!

I had to take a picture of our farm fresh eggs and our lucky green one. Aren’t they just the prettiest things ever?!

For breakfast I was still trying to use up leftovers so I made a casserole of shredded pork, tomatoes, spinach and eggs.

It was totally off the cuff and totally delicious.

Can you tell Levi enjoyed his breakfast?

After breakfast Levi, his big belly, and the rest of us said bye-bye to Daddy. We finished packing the truck, picked up the keys to the condo, ran by guitar practice, and headed out to the BEACH!!!

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My kids love tuna salad. Jeremiah has even become really good at making it. Since tuna was on sale this week I bought a whole bunch of cans and made a huge bowl of tuna for lunch, and for many more lunches. They loved it.

On our way in guess what we spotted?! A wonderful, huge, year-round, daily, gorgeous Farmers Market!!!

The kids and I could barely pick our jaws up off the ground as we walked around goggly-eyed looking at all the fresh produce.

There were aisles and aisles of fresh beauty!

Talk about being tempted to buy one of everything!

We really only got a small bit but stay tuned…we will be going back soon!

Drumroll please….we made it to the BEACH!!!

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Whole Family | Sweet Potato Cinnamon Hashies

Our family loves sweet potatoes in all forms and fashions. We make sweet potato fries, sweet potato coins, mashed sweet potatoes, cubed sweet potatoes, baked sweet potatoes….you get the point. This morning I was looking for a new way to make sweet potatoes and WOW, did I come up with something spectacular.

Sweet Potato Cinnamon-Hashies! 

Check out my super easy and super tasty recipe. Make sure you make a whole bunch of these, your family won’t be able to get enough!

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Monday, Monday | Day 23 Eats!

Monday brings us back to work, back to school, back to routine. Does it bring us back to boring food? Um…NO! No matter how “routine” of a day, our food is never routine. We had a great day of eating wonderful food that was wonderful for us. 

We started our morning off wonderfully with the kid’s long awaited breakfast of breakfast pizza. Not only is it full of vitamins from the eggs, the protein, the veggies, and the fruit…but it tastes incredible too!

Check out the recipe here and go make it for your family. They will love it and love you for it!

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Lunch was leftovers of pork carnitas and it was just as yummy as the first day.

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Whole Family | Paleo Spicy Coconut Shrimp

I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for a while and finally the stars aligned, the kids cooperated, the kitchen was clean, and mama could make some shrimp.

And make some shrimp I did!!!

Let me tell you, these are the best darn shrimp you will ever have. They really are not spicy, just “well seasoned” as my kids say. If you wanted to spice them up, and what I will most likely do next time, is add a little bit of cayenne pepper. Yay for “well seasoned”!

This recipe is super SIMPLE, super fast, super easy, and super delicious.

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Whole Family | Paleo Breakfast Pizza

What a fun breakfast this is. And so SIMPLE!

You can fancy this up as much as you want or keep it simple. However you make it, you’re going to want to make this breakfast pizza again and again.

Here’s what you need (For 5 people): 

10 eggs

salt and pepper

1/4 pound of chorizo

half an onion, coarsely chopped

handful of grape tomatoes, halved

optional: 1 mango, diced

optional: 2 kiwis, diced Continue reading →

Whole Family | Week 4 SIMPLE Meal Plan

I am planning ahead of time to have a low-key week. I know already that Tuesday night is basketball, Wednesday night I am getting together with my small group women to help a friend unpack in her new house, Thursday is cheerleading and my bible study night, and Friday is an early bedtime because of an early basketball game Saturday morning. Our nights are full this week so I want to keep as much of our day as SIMPLE as possible. My only goal is to try some new meals from new places. I will be using a recipe from Nom Nom Paleo, Eat Love Run, Chowstalker, and hopefully more.

Bring on the week! 

Monday: 

Breakfast- breakfast pizza

Lunch- leftovers: carnitas

Dinner- Spicy coconut shrimp with spanish “rice”

Tuesday: 

Breakfast- Eggs and sweet potato hash

Lunch- Salmon patties, a knock-off of Nom Nom Paleo’s crabby patties. Sure to be great!

Dinner- leftovers: carne asada

Wednesday: 

Breakfast- Eggs and veggies

Lunch- chorizo and sweet potato coins

Dinner- Pork and cabbage stir fry from Eat Love Run

Thursday: 

Breakfast- Frittata

Lunch- Tuna salad on tomatoes

Dinner- Salmon from Chowstalker

Friday: 

Breakfast- leftovers: frittata

Lunch- homemade raw sushi

Dinner- leftover cabbage stir fry

I hope my SIMPLE meal plan inspires you to feed your family good, whole, SIMPLE foods this week as well. Eating well doesn’t have to be hard, it doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to take a long time with a lot of ingredients. It just has to be good. And it will be. Feed your “Whole Family” good food.

There will be “thank you’s” all around….

Whole Family | Carne Asada

Another new Mexican recipe that the “Whole Family” LOVES!!! 

Carne Asada!!!

This is such a SIMPLE, flavorful, comfort-foodie, kick up your senses kind of meal. You will want to make it again and again.

So let’s get started.

I started this recipe with a crock-pot pork roast that I seasoned with salt, pepper, comino, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and oregano. After 8 hours of cooking the pork in it’s own juices it was falling apart and was perfect to shred and use for my carne asada.

If you don’t have a roast you can always use the carne asada dressing on raw meat, marinade and then cook or grill. Turns out wonderful!

Here’s what you need: 

Dressing:

2 jalapeños, diced

3 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 limes, juiced

1 orange, juiced

3 tbsp olive oil

a dash of salt and pepper

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1 pound pork (or meat of your choice)

1 onion, sliced

1 bell pepper, sliced

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tomato, diced

1 avocado, sliced

lettuce leaves for tacos

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Continue reading →

Day 21 Eats!

Our day 21 started out really early as Jeremiah had an 8am basketball game and Shiloh had cheer duty.

Thankfully everyone loves chorizo and eggs and it is a really fast and easy breakfast to make. You can see by their faces they were still a little groggy as they enjoyed their breakfast.

After breakfast we rushed out to cheer on the Green Wave, Jeremiah’s upward team and to watch Shiloh cheer. They both did a wonderful job and were really cute doing it.

Levi “happily” sat on the sidelines cheering his big brother and sister on.

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Whole Family | Mexican “Rice”

In my house, growing up, spanish rice accompanied most every meal. Since getting on the healthy train rice has, unfortunately, fallen by the wayside. I am very happy to re-introduce my version of spanish “rice” and I must say, it works!

Here’s what you need:

1 head of cauliflower

1 tbsp olive oil

Half a small can of tomato sauce (with naturally derived citric acid and no added sugar)

1/2 tbsp comino

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper Continue reading →

Whole “Mexican” Family | Enchiladas

I made a goal this week of making some wonderful mexican meals and since we are now done with the week, I can officially say that it was a huge success. The biggest success of the week? My enchiladas and rice. This meal was packed full of amazing flavors, textures and spices. It was perfection on my paleo plate. And of course, the “Whole Family” loved it.

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Whole Family | Chocolate Cupcakes (no sugar added, grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free)

We don’t do a lot of sweets, obviously, in our house. It is a rare occasion that we bring sweets in, it’s more that we bring them out.

My kids know by now that when they eye that coveted birthday party invitation through the thin slot in our mailbox and they squeeze their tiny hands in the slot to barely pull it out, that it’s time, again, to pull out the mixing bowls. Birthday cupcakes are coming!

I’m all about getting out of the mode of food being the center of a celebration and for myself and Brandon we can handle that and we are doing well with it. We already don’t eat the birthday foods at a party and Jeremiah knows he’ll be checking his sugar half a dozen times in the hour and a half party. The kids already manage gracefully the changes we have implemented and do great with those changes. But what do I sometimes allow? Cake. Well, “healthy” cake. Actually cupcakes. Okay, let me clarify.

I allow homemade, whole food ingredient, no sugar added, chocolate cupcakes. And they are the BOMB. I found this recipe on Elana’s Pantry‘s website from a few years back and with a few tweaks and changes have made them my own.

I hesitate to say these are Whole30 approved because they are more on the line of how you see the cupcakes. If these are filling a sugar craving you have, if you would rather not go to the party than go and not eat cake, then I would suggest you steer clear of the cupcakes during your 30 days and wait until you have your sugar cravings under control. These would be more of a gluten-free or paleo dessert. 

We just went to a birthday party last weekend where we decorated sugar cookies, eyeballed a punch bowl of popcorn and a pitcher of white hot cocoa, and watched the other kids eat marshmallow topped cupcakes with vanilla ice cream. What did we have? Chicharrones, prunes, an apple and water. And we were fine. We were more than fine. We had a great time.

Dessert is not our driving force and we are okays without it. On some occasions, I want to treat the kids with these cupcakes and they are always excited to have them. Do we have them every time? No. But when we do we, we sure do like them!

Saying all that, the ingredients to these cupcakes are great ingredients that even the most allergic/sensitive member of your family should be able to enjoy. 

So, without further adieu, I present to you and yours…. chocolate cupcakes. Continue reading →

Whole Family | Day 20 “Mexican Train” Eats!

It seems we have been having some rather slow days lately but let me assure you, this was NOT one of those days! We ate GOOD today people!

Breakfast was your basic chorizo and egg. I say basic because it is the easiest and fastest thing in the world to make. I have been eating it for breakfast since my pediatrician released me to eat real food around the ripe old age of 1. Seriously. Chorizo and egg was a staple in my Mexican home growing up and I will say again how GLAD I am that it is such a basic food that I can enjoy it even while eating well. I am also very GLAD that my kids can’t get enough of chorizo and eggs like their momma. Must be the Mexican in em!

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I knew going in to lunch that I was taking a risk. A big risk. On many levels. What was the risk I was joyfully walking in to? Stuffed poblano peppers. Why is this a risk? Well, first of all I’ve never made them. Second of all, I’ve never eaten them! Yes, I know, it’s humiliating. I was not the most risky of an eater growing up. I was the kid who went to a mexican restaurant and ordered the chicken strips. Sad. Very sad. As I grew up and matured by leaps and bounds I began trying, and loving, new foods. One food I never did get around to trying was stuffed poblano peppers. Well, I guess I can’t say that anymore. I know not only have made them, I have EATEN them too!

Oh, to get back to my risks. The third reason this meal was a risk? The kids. I am blessed with non-picky-for-the-most-part kids but stuffed poblano peppers? I really was happily trudging along until I took a bit of one and realized DANG, these have a kick to them! Yeah, the kids...it was now an issue of would these be too hot for the kids?!

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The Whole “Grand” Family

I have to say, the best part about this Whole30 is that “grandpa” and “grandma” are doing it with our “Whole Family”. Grandpa and grandma are my parents and I can’t be more proud of them for taking on this challenge. So far, they are doing amazingly well, making new recipes that make me drool as I look at the pictures of their meals on my phone. My mom is cooking new foods daily in amazing new ways, they are making sure to add in good fats at every meal and they have “munchies” ready for when they need them.

They even are exercising every morning. How? I’m so glad you asked. They DANCE. They really do! Every morning they DANCE! After their morning quiet times with the Lord they flip on the tellie, put Just Dance in the wii, and get moving. Seriously! Well, it’s probably not very serious, it’s probably HILARIOUS! And I can say that ’cause they’re my parents! (love you, mommy!)

Seriously, though…what a great idea! Exercise can become so boring and repetitive. That’s why most people don’t stick with it for very long! So why not do something you love? Like dancing?! My parents dance for about 30 minutes a day, first thing in the morning, and they are seeing and feeling great results from it. Go grandma and grandpa! Dance your hearts out!

Both my parents are great chefs in the kitchen and can make up an extraordinary meal in minutes with ingredients I would never have thought would work well together. They have been so excited about the good, clean, real foods they’ve been eating that they’ve been sending me pictures of their meals. It’s so much fun to share ideas and encouragement. Makes this Whole30 all the more fun!

I thought I would share some of their meals, in the hope that it would inspire you and your whole family, as well as your “grand” family…. Continue reading →

Whole30 Day 16 | Crossfit & Eats!

Started my Monday off bright and early, actually dark and early, at the Crossfit gym. I am loving Crossfit and loving that I have a great group of girls to do it with. We’re learning all kinds of new moves and feeling stronger after every workout. I’ve got to say that the best part is how we are blowing our coach away. We came in being “newbies” just last week and now we are right in there with the rest of the pack and she can’t keep from telling us how great we’re doing. It’s really nice to know that all our hard work on the TRX has paid off and we can hang with the ‘big guns’.

Our WOD was “The Seven”. We did seven different exercises, 7 times each, for 7 rounds. Crazy intense and very cool. We warmed up with 1,000m row and cooled down with some planks and handstands. Dang.

I have never been a gymnast type person so a handstand kind of scares me. It just doesn’t seem natural to be hanging upside down. Be real people! My feet were meant to be planted firmly on the ground. I did give it a try although it was a very much failed attempt. I will definitely be working on it. My girls however were solid hand standers. Marcy kicked her legs up and held it for what seemed like half an hour! Well, maybe just a couple minutes, but dang! Pam and Melanie also rocked the handstand which only made me want to show them up next time even more. I’m not competitive at ALL, am I?! Check Melanie out:

I kept my feet on the ground for this workout but I still managed to rock my new Geaux Crossfit tank that I got from the Whole9 workshop. Can’t wait to have some massive weights on that bar!

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