Whole 30

For several months now I have been doing a lot of research on the paleo lifestyle and I have several friends who swear by it. Since I am a huge advocate of clean eating, I always like to learn other people's perspective and insight into nutrition and the paleo lifestyle is in fact clean eating...just different. So, I ended up reading The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf and really liked what he had to say and the research that backed his opinions. So, I decided that after the holidays I would give the paleo diet a try and see if it improved any of my current issues or if I felt a big difference in my energy levels and fitness. So, while I was in Boston my brother and Kjersten were talking about doing the Whole 30 program, which was exactly what I was going to start in January. I was so excited that they too wanted to do it...nothing like a support group:) By some miracle I even convinced Brett to do it because anyone can do something for 30 days, right?!:) So, what is the Whole30? I pulled this summary from the Whole 30 website: "Certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes) could be having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it. Are your energy levels inconsistent or non-existent? Do you have aches and pains that can’t be explained by over-use or injury? Are you having a hard time losing weight no matter how hard you try? Do you have some sort of condition (like skin issues, digestive ailments, seasonal allergies or fertility issues) that medication hasn’t helped? These symptoms may be directly related to the foods you eat – even the “healthy” stuff. So how do you know if (and how) these foods are affecting you? Strip them from your diet completely. Cut out all the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be causing. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health. The most important reason to keep reading? This will change your life. Eat real food – meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed." We have about 1 week left and to be honest it hasn't really been that difficult. I had a little nut binge a few times that I had to get control of fast, but other than that I have really enjoyed eating completely whole foods. It has been a little different not using any natural sweeteners, but you start to really like food for what it is and I love eating the food that mother earth provides...nothing processed, no artificial ingredients or added chemicals, food in its purest form. I am not totally sure I have given up oatmeal and beans for life, but I do see myself eating more of a paleo diet the majority of the time. Either way I have really loved some of the fun recipes I have come up with lately and will definitely keep these as part of our regular meals.

Spinach egg scramble, cinnamon sweet potato hash and sliced tomatoes. 

Asparagus and mushroom omelet, chicken and apple sausage and cinnamon sweet potato cubes. 

Elk meat spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash with a side of roasted veggies. 

Sliced turkey and cinnamon pumpkin and apple. 

Avocado and nitrate-free uncured bacon turkey burger on top of a portabello "bun" with roasted veggies and cinnamon sweet potato cubes.

Pulled pork and roasted veggie salad.

Paleo bread with homeade fruit jam.

 Skip that row of jelly at the store and as tempting as regular homemade jam is it is chalk full of sugar. This is a much healthier alternative...1c fruit (we like strawberries, blueberries and a little bit of banana) and 2T chia seeds. That's it...2 ingredients. You can use honey or stevia for added sweetness but I promise the fruit is enough. I just blend the fruit in magic bullet and then stir in the chia seeds. Put in the fridge for 15min and the chia seeds set like a gel making it great for pb&js, toast or on top of pancakes. My kids love it and request it everyday:) 

Egg white-coconut flour-banana pancakes with fruit and chicken and apple sausage.

Paleo Zucchini Banana Bread with ghee (organic clarified butter)

Chicken salsa stuffed chile poblano with a side of spinach and onion cauliflower "rice"

Red chicken curry with veggies on top of kelp noodles.

Chicken/Elk steak fajita salad.

Can't get enough of these paleo pancakes...great post workout meal.

Food prep for my elk and broccoli stir fry.

While I Was Away

I guess I wasn't the only one freezing while in Boston because Payson took a temperature nose dive and got dumped with snow. Of course, Brett and the kids took full advantage and played in it for a few days straight over the weekend and New Years holiday. B-dog even got a little snowboarding practice.

Boston: A Trip I Will Never Forget

On Saturday morning, Dec. 29th, I boarded a plane for Boston. I had been so excited for this day to finally arrive. I couldn't wait to hang out with my brother, finally meet his friend, Kjersten, and get to see the sights of a city I had never been to. I had one layover in Salt Lake City and then arrived in Boston around 11:30p with the 2hr time change. Of course, Justin and Kjersten were all ready to hit the Boston night life, so off we went to a local bar/dance club. We had a good time and didn't get home until around 3am, so I was exhausted when I finally hit my pillow.

The next day we drove up to Salem, MA which was about an hour away and visited the famous Salem Witch Museum. I don't know what it is about witch craft and sourcery that I just find so fascinating, but it was a really cool experience.

We ended up driving by this cool looking Psychic shop and just had to stop and check it out. I'm kind of bummed we didn't end up getting our readings done, but it was still a really cool/creepy shop. 

The trip was just flying by and on Monday afternoon (New Year's Eve)  Kjersten, Justin and I walked from Kjersten's house to the train that then took us to the bus stop. We boarded our bus for good old New York City! We were so pumped and couldn't wait to get there. It was so hard trying to decide what to wear that night because we wanted to dress cute for partying in NYC, but then needed to totally bundle up because we knew we would be walking quite a bit and it was FREEZING. 

When we arrived in NYC (around 6p), Justin suggested we go and pick up our tickets from will call first. Our tickets were for the Bowlmor NYE party in Times Square. We knew we would have to be in Times Square by 8:30p or NYPD wouldn't let you through. So, in the freezing cold we made our way to the will call building only to find the longest line I had ever seen. I mean it literally went for blocks and blocks...it was insane how many people there were. So, Justin decided to get a spot at the end of the line while Kjersten suggested I try and finaggle my way into a closer spot. So, I walked up to a group of guys that were near the front and asked them if I could stand with them. They told me they had been in line almost 4 hours already and that they couldn't feel their fingers or toes. I said "Well you wouldn't want that to happen to me, would you?" They weren't to keen on letting me in because of everyone else in line, but I didn't budge and they didn't say anything so within 15min Kjersten and I had our tickets in hand and we said adios to all the suckers in line:) We were so lucky, otherwise we would have never gotten the tickets in time to be in Times Square. Since we got the tickets so fast we had time to meet up with Justin's old college roomate, Mike, and his girlfriend and Kjersten's friend and husband for dinner. We decided on the Shake Shack and it was perfect...quick and delish. We said goodbye to the friends and then headed to the our allotted Times Square entrance. We then had to wait in line outside our party for about an hour...I was so darn cold my feet and toes were going numb. I was so glad we decided to find a party to ring in the new year instead of standing outside watching the ball drop...I never would have made it.

The party was a blast and we ended up meeting so many people. I can't remember his name, but this guy was from Scotland and was totally wearing a kilt. We were joking around with him about what Scottish guys wear underneath and welp we got a front row view...NADA!!! Kjersten sure was quick to get this shot:) 

Seriously, Kjersten is my long lost best friend. No wonder my brother loves her so much...her and I are so alike:) We both love traveling, reading, working out, dancing, music, and well we are both about 6ft tall...love having tall girlfriends. She is one of the kindest, sweetest, funniest people and we are sad we didn't know each other years ago when we could have had some real fun together. Her birthday is also in March so we have decided to meet somewhere every year to celebrate...hopefully we really make that happen. Well after partying to the wee hours of the morning we lucked out and walked to Kjersten's friend's hotel room where we crashed on the floor til 7am. We had to get up to make our 7:40a bus departure. It made for a very exhausting New Years, but one I will never ever forget. 

After recovering from our NYC adventures, the next day Justin and I decided to go tour Boston while Kjersten was working. We did the whole Freedom Trail and it was so fun and amazing. I absolutely love American history and Boston is just full of of it. I would love to go back when it isn't so cold and really enjoy some of the historical sites more. 

My last night in Boston we decided celebrate at a local Thai restaurant. Thai food has been a winter staple for me...nothing like a good curry to warm up the body:) Well it was a fabulous trip with good company, fun adventure and lots of laughs and memories made. Can't wait for the next one. 

Some people think my dedication to clean eating is a little crazy, but I find nothing better than knowing that I am putting good, healthy food in my body. So, instead of having a purse as my carry-on I used my fridge-to-go. Eating clean while traveling can be done:)

Flaherty Family Pics