Going Whole30 Up in Here

Gooooood morning!

This is more of an accountability post than anything. Cali and I are starting a Whole30 on Monday and I wanted to record our goals, meals, and results. You can follow along on our journey with our  Instagram account, @framingcali. You can also visit my "Recipes" page and a lot of those are Whole30 approved.

Ever since T and I got to Connecticut, we've had difficulty finding somewhere to live. Apparently this is a huge vacation spot and people want $10,000 a month for rentals.

Yes. You read that right.

Sooooo this means we've been living out of a hotel which subsequently means we're eating out 3 meals a day and I'm stress eating on way too much candy.

This is what our car has looked like for over a month now.

There are a few things I'm hoping to improve through this and I  thought I'd touch on these really fast.


1. Figuring out Cali's issue
I've written about her issues before here and how we found out she's sensitive to gluten, dairy, and soy.  I'm still not convinced that we have it 100% figured out because of some lingering side effects. I'm still nursing her and the last time I did the Whole30 I was nursing her exclusively. This time, she'll join me in the program and I'm hoping that we can figure out exactly what's going on with her.

2. Kicking the sweet tooth
I have a HUGE sweet tooth. If it has sugar, I'll eat it. But my main issue is fruity, gummy, candies. Gummy bears, sour patch kids, chewy sprees, etc. I love them. And I've been eating way too many as of late. Also, I've gotten into the habit of putting stevia in my morning coffee and I'd like that to go too.

3. My skin
I don't have horrible skin but it could definitely use more glow. It's been looking a little paltry lately (which is probably due to the eating out and copious amounts of hotel bacon) so I'm looking forward to seeing that improve with the Whole30

This kid wears me out! Hopefully I'll find more energy on Whole30

4. Chuck the gum
I'm not sure how it happened but somewhere over the last several years I've become seriously addicted to... gum. Most of it has soy in it so I can only chew a few kinds now but before we found out Cali was allergic, I was guaranteed to have at least 5 different kinds of gum in my purse at all times. Gum isn't allowed on the Whole30 so I'm looking forward to getting rid of the habit.

5. Hydration
This isn't necessarily part of the Whole30 program but I am also hoping to improve my hydration while doing it. I'm HORRIBLE at remembering to drink water. Sometimes before bed I'll realize that the only liquids I've had to drink all day were my 2 cups of morning coffee. Oops.

6. Trigger Foods
Yes. Like an addict, I have certain "trigger foods" that I'm looking forward to getting a hold on. These are foods that, even if they're Whole30 compliant, when I eat one I want 100 (I'm looking at you, Larabars). So I'm hoping that by following the program strictly, they'll fail to be an issue.

This has nothing to do with this post. I just thought I'd add a cute picture to make it more enjoyable.

So those are my main goals. Numero Uno is Cali. She's still waking up quite often in the night and crying in what sounds like pain. Some nights are worse than others and I'm thinking that there's still something that her sensitive little GI tract is having trouble digesting. Hopefully this will fix the problem. I'll be reporting in on a (hopefully) regular basis to share recipes, tips on how we manage with so much travel, and updates on our expected progress.

Is anyone else starting Whole30 in June? Let me know and we'll keep each other accountable!!!

Follow along with our family on Instagram and Twitter!

Paleo Pumpkin Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Whew. That's a long title. 

Oh well.

It's also a strange combination but trust me when I say "They're delicious". Because that's what I'm saying. 

Don't knock it 'till you try it.

I'm gearing up for my second Whole30 and am trying out some new recipes to get ready. I looooove tacos but since tortillas aren't on the list of approved foods, I substituted some lettuce.

Now, I know pumpkin isn't your usual taco ingredient but paired with a bit of spice and ground chicken, it turns ordinary into extraordinary.

Geez. That was cheesy. Ignore I said it.

Except, don't. Because it's true.

Moving along...

To be honest, I originally mixed the pumpkin in so that the meat would be soft enough for Cali to eat but I ended up liking it so much, I made my own batch.

Here we go.

Ingredients

1 lb. ground chicken

1/2 can PURE pumpkin

1 small cooked sweet potato

1/2 tbs. coconut oil  (or other compliant cooking oil)

1tbs. garlic

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tbs. Mrs. Dash original

1 tsp. onion powder

Salt to taste

Iceberg lettuce leaves

Avocado (optional)

Instructions

Heat oil in large skillet and add in garlic. Once garlic is soft, add the ground chicken. While chicken is still raw add in pumpkin and cooked sweet potato (this ensures that meat stays nice and soft). Cook until the meat is slightly brown.

*Just a note: with the pumpkin and sweet potato added it makes it hard to tell when the chicken is fully cooked. Be sure to check carefully!*

When the chicken is fully cooked, simply wrap in the lettuce leaves and top with avocado (if desired) and EAT. 

It's really such a simple recipe but oh, so good! If you try it, let me know how you like it!

I hope you enjoy!

Easiest Pot Roast Ever

Cali and I made it to Georgia! Today was sunny and 65 and we spent the majority of the day outside. 

It was gloooorious. 

But before we were here, we were in Massachusetts. And there? Well, it's not so sunny and warm. There, it is cold and dark and snowy. Lots and lots of snow.

You know what goes good with snow? Pot roast. I'm telling you it's true so it has to be true. Pot roast and snow are the new PB&J.

See? How delicious (and warm!) does that look? If you can't have warm weather, you might as well have a warm pot roast.

Anyways, we didn't have a slow cooker in the furnished apartment so I cooked this in the oven but you can just as easily do it in a slow cooker. I'll note the minor adjustments that need to be made if that's what you choose to do.

Let's get started.

Ingredients

2-3 lb pot roast

2 sweet potatoes

1 large onion

3 large carrots

Salt & pepper to taste

Mrs. Dash seasoning to taste (optional)

1 c apple cider vinegar (If you're using a slow cooker, only use 1/2 cup)

2 tbs cooking oil (I used coconut)

Directions

Turn oven to 315 and chop all vegetables into large chunks. Heat 1 tbs oil in skillet on medium/high until hot. Rub all sides of the pot roast with salt and pepper and brown the meat in the hot pan. This will trap in the juices. Yummm. 

Transfer roast to roasting pan or slow cooker. Next, add the remaining oil to pan and scrape off all of the yumminess that's leftover from the browned roast. Throw in the vegetables and sear just enough to get some color. Transfer these to your pan/slow cooker.

Add the apple cider vinegar and cover completely with foil (or lid. Whatever.) If you're using the slow cooker, cook on medium/low for 6 hours. If you're using the oven, cook for 20 minutes per pound for medium or 25-30 minutes per pound for well done. DON'T OPEN THE FOIL OR CUT INTO THE MEAT UNTIL THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF TIME HAS PASSED. You'll thank me for that tip.

Eat up!

We love this recipe. It's super easy and filling. If you try it, let me know what you think!

Paleo Mexican Soup - A Whole 30 Recipe

So I started the Whole30 program last week to see if it'll help Cali's digestive issues. Our GI doctor mentioned that it could be me that's not breaking down the proteins before they reach my breast milk so we thought we'd give this a try. Ever since eliminating the problematic food groups, she hasn't had issues but I'm hoping to find out that it's my problem and not hers before introducing solids.

What this is really about is that I love Mexican food. Also, I'm really ready for Fall. So I'm hoping that if I pretend that it's cooler weather, the seasons will take my lead and head that way.

Wishful thinking but it can't hurt.

So I made this Mexican soup. Normally I put black beans and corn in my Mexican tortilla soup but since I can't have those, I improvised. 

The average person probably wants to cut this recipe in half. I made a ton because between T and I both eating on it all week, we need large amounts. 

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Ingredients

2 whole chickens

4 sweet potatoes

1 pint grape (or cherry) tomatoes

2 Bell Peppers (I used red)

1/2 bunch Cilantro

2 large Onion

Avocados (optional)

use the following spices in equal parts to taste (I used roughly 1.5 tbs):

Onion Salt

Garlic Powder

Curry

Crushed Red Pepper

Dried Cilantro

Boil your whole chickens (about 30-40 minutes) and season to taste. I use extra garlic and cilantro for this.

While the chicken is boiling, dice your vegetables. Sauté onion and bell peppers in a pan and set aside. 

Remove chickens and add sweet potatoes to the broth made while cooking the chicken. Allow to boil until the potatoes are tender (About 15 minutes). 

Peel and discard the skin of the chicken and shred the meat. You should just be able to use a fork to shred it right off of the bones.

Once the potatoes are tender add the chicken, remaining vegetables, and spices to the broth. Simmer on low for about 20 more minutes.

Dice some avocado and throw it on top if that's your kinda thing.

But really, who doesn't love avocados?

Enjoy!

On a completely unrelated topic, here's my cute kid in sunglasses...