Eating a little differently.

Last week I mentioned the Paleo diet/Whole 30 and promised to talk more about it "next week." Well I'm a keeper of promises and it's next week. So here we go!

Late last year I was getting VERY frustrated with my progress to be a fitter and healthier me. I had hit a wall (figuratively!) and I began getting very frustrated. I was working out HARD and I thought I was eating healthy. But my scale wasn't moving and my clothes weren't getting looser. Nothing was changing except for my frustration level.

Then my friend Susan started sharing her experience and success with Whole 30. I was intrigued and inspired. I read more about it and started slowly (read: baby steps) adjusting my eating habits in the Whole 30 direction. I finally started seeing some changes. So I decided to go full boar and I started my first Whole 30 on January 6, 2012.  When I completed it I was surprised by the results. I had HUGE successes mentally and physically. No more cravings for sugars. No more emotional eating. Discovered a will power I didn't know existed. Lost over 10" off my body. Lost over 7 pounds. Gained a shit ton (isn't that the technical term?) of muscle mass. Increased endurance and performance during my work outs. I was sleeping better. I started having more energy. I simply felt BETTER.

So what is this "Whole 30" you speak of?

First, let me explain what the Paleolithic diet is. It isn't a "diet" like a meal replacements, or some crazy ass lemonade cleanse. It's really more of a lifestyle change with the added benefit of losing weight (if there is weight to be lost). The thought is that our optimum health can be reached by eating like our ancestors did during the Paleolithic era (eating lean meat, fish, vegetables, root vegetables, fruits, and nuts). It excludes processed foods, grains, legumes, dairy, refined sugars, and some people cut out salt. There is a lot of debate over the premise of the diet (mimicking our ancestors, etc.) but I'm not getting into that. I'm just summarizing the basics.

Now, Whole 30 is something a little different. It's similar to Paleo but it's more strict.  It's a 30 day program designed by the nice folks at Whole 9. They explain it best as a "short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food." Basically, during the 30 days you do not consume under any circumstances: added sugar of any kind, alcohol, grains, legumes, dairy, white potatoes, processed foods, and certain types of oil.  The idea is that all of the aforementioned food is inflammatory to our systems. So by removing it, you allow your body to heal and start working properly again. Plus, all the added benefits of putting an end to cravings, bad habits, etc. Sounds like voodoo, I know! But it just works.

Since I ended my Whole 30 in February I've been trying to stick to a Paleo/Whole 30 lifestyle. I've been trying to keep my ratio to about 80% on, 20% off. Lately, I feel like I've been more 60/50. Not really where I want to be in order to reach my goals. That's why on April 1st I'm starting my next Whole 30. And no this is not a bad April Fool's joke. har har.

And that, ladies and gents, is why majority of the food/recipes posted on this website will follow the paleo, and or, Whole 30 guidelines. Whew, sorry if that was long!

Now onto food!

One thing I've had a hard time finding is a decent Stuffed Bell Peppers recipe. I've tried a couple and they were all lacking one way, or the other, and were just...gross. So I created my own. Here it is.

Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Bell Peppers 

Ingredients

1-2 tbsp Coconut oil
1.5 lbs Italian Sausage (removed from casings)
4 (or more) Bell Peppers, tops removed, seeds and membrane removed
10 oz Baby Spinach (or chopped Kale)
1 medium Onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced (use the tops)
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
*2 tbsp Tomato Paste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
   
2. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 30 secs then add the diced bell peppers and spinach. Sauté mixture until spinach is wilted. Let mixture slightly cool.
4. In a large bowl combine sausage, egg, and spinach mixture.
5. Stuff the peppers!
6. Place peppers in a casserole dish and bake in the oven 45-60 mins (until cooked through and peppers have softened).

 *This is an after thought. I felt the stuffing could have used a little more flavour and moisture. So next time I will try adding the tomato paste and see if it improves things.
 

Don't call it a come back. I've been here for years.

I'm Canadian. And if there is one thing we are known for it's being polite. So let me apologize for neglecting my blog for almost...sweet mother! Has it really been almost THREE (3) YEARS?! I sincerely apologize for my laziness and neglect. I'm back and I promise to do better. And by better, I do not mean one post per year (because that is better then my current record).

If you don't know me personally, you're probably wondering what the hell happened. Well short version is I got back from Vegas and found out I was pregnant. I then suffered through the next 7 months. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed being pregnant. But during those 7 months I had some issues that made either eating totally unappealing and cooking totally painful and unpleasant. Can't really have a food blog if you're not eating anything good and don't really feel like cooking! How boring would that have been? Then January 2010 my daughter, we'll call her C, was born. And I've spent all the time since then doting on her and using my camera to document her growing up.

It wasn't until recently that I really started to miss food photography. I've also embarked on a new cooking...adventure. So I figured maybe now was a good time as any to resurrect my blog.

So here I am.

I'll go into this more in my next post. But majority of the recipes I'm going to be posting follow the Paleo diet guidelines, or the Whole 30 guidelines. When applicable, I'll make substitution suggestions for items that are not likely to be in a non-paleo eating house hold. Don't want to exclude anyone from enjoying some good, healthy food!

And this post wouldn't be complete without a recipe... :)

Cottage Flower Pie



This is the first Whole 30/Paleo recipe I made. It was delicious! It's from the website The Clothes Make the Girl. <-- Follow that link to the recipe and many other great recipes by Melissa.

As for substitutions... Feel free to use Olive Oil in place of Coconut Oil (or buy some and give it a try! I LOVE it). Coconut Aminos is a soy/gluten/dairy free seasoning sauce. Looks and tastes similar to soy sauce. The point of the Coconut Aminos (in my opinion) is to add savoriness to the dish. So you can sub in low sodium Soy Sauce, or Worcestershire sauce in this recipe. Enjoy!