The Why's

I just need to get this written out and documented...

The reasons behind my desire to lose weight... Not that I hope or plan to find it ever again!

In no particular order

1. I want to be able to wear my wedding band and engagement ring together on the same finger, the way they are supposed to be... Right now I'm just wearing my wedding band, I do not want to get them re-sized. Again.
2. I want to keep my blood sugar in check. I was diagnosed with Type 1.5 diabetes (LADA) two years ago after living with the misdiagnosis of Type 2 diabetes for nearly a year. Eating low carbohydrates has been the only way I have been able to keep my blood sugar from spiking. I feel like I am also having some insulin resistance. I need to give myself more insulin 💉 at each meal and raise my basal. Lowering my carbohydrate intake makes me be more sensitive to insulin and need less over all and that will help with weight loss.
3. I want to wear cute clothes! I have loved vintage clothes for 30+ years and although some ladies can rock the look being at a heavier weight, I just don't... I don't have the out going personality where I would feel comfortable. 
4. Knitting projects won't take up as much yarn and will likely take less time to knit! 
5. I want to look good naked! No explanation needed here!
6. I want to have the energy to be the wife and mother my family needs and deserves. I want to feel like getting up and cleaning the house, running errands, helping out at school, playing with my kids and having the energy to keep up with my hubby 💓.
7. I don't want to be 200 lbs, I am 5'2" and should be around 115-130 lbs.
8. I want to clear up my skin and have good hair. I'm 38, I still get the occasional period blemish but I have blackheads in my T-zone and a bit of rosacea on my face. My hair is limp and becomes greasy fairly quickly. My sister jokes with me about it... "Why is your hair still wet?" LOL! it is bad...

I'm sure there are more and I'll update this when I figure them out!

Paleo Mayo

The other day I was looking at the Whole9 blog and looking for recipes and such and eventually I came to The Clothes make the girl blog and she has a recipe for paleo/Whole30 compliant mayonnaise! I love mayo! The stuff you buy at the store is filled with bad oils and chemicals. Making it yourself is really simple and takes less than 2 minutes. In her recipe she uses Light tasting olive oil, salt, ground mustard, lemon juice, and a whole egg. She also used a blender. In my first attempt I used an immersion blender and it was turning out beautifully, but streaming in the oil was taking a long time and the blender handle was getting hot and I was freaking out a bit. Sooo I poured my concoction into my blender and continued to stream in the oil. And it completely broke. It was a warm liquidy mess. I'm not exactly sure what happened but I know it was my fault. I was completely bummed out! I was out of mustard and begged my handsome hubby (HH) to get me some from the store… and he lovingly went and brought me some home.

This time I watched a video that used an immersion blender and I was blown away with how simple it was! Dump everything in a measuring cup, mine holds 2+ cups. Add the egg, the lemom juice, salt, mustard and all of the oil. Put the blender in all the way to the bottom of the cup and turn it on the low/medium speed. Slowly lift it up and out of the mixture and back down. Magic happens and it is delicious! I used Melissa's recipe for the mayo, she also has a video, but the instructions I used were from SeriousEats on YouTube.

Baby Kale Chips

Kale chips have been around for a while and when I first heard of them I had no intention on actually trying to make them, let alone eat them. But I kept hearing my friends and foodie bloggers talking, no, Raving about these things. What the heck? What about these things made them appealing to so many people???

After my sister made a batch and posted photos of them on Facebook I decided that on my next trip to the store I would pick up some kale. I tried out a simple recipe that used basic ingredients. 

They. Were. Good.

My kids even ate them, they were gone in a flash and I knew finally what everyone was talking about!

If  you like roasted seaweed then you will like these. 

 When I want these treats in a hurry I use baby kale, it's already washed and in the perfect size for a chip. But beware, these take a lot less time to make and you don't want to end up with burned kale permeating your house…

Things you will need: 

Baby kale

EVOO

Salt

Pepper

Optional: Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional Yeast

Place your kale on a baking sheet, don't put too much on, it needs to cook evenly. I used about 2/3 of a      5oz box.

Drizzle about 1Tb of EVOO and toss to evenly coat the leaves. Just barely get them wet.

Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste and if you like, one rounded teaspoon of nutritional yeast. 

Toss the leaves to distribute the seasonings evenly. 

Spread out the leaves as evenly as possible.

Pop the pan into a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Stir the leaves, some will already be crispy, taste one now to see if it needs more salt or pepper.

Put the pan back in the oven for 90 second increments until the batch is crispy and lightly toasted.

They definitely give me that salty and snacky crunch that crave, and they are perfectly healthy for you!

Won't you give them a try and tell me how you liked them?

Happy eats!

Roasted sweet potatoes

One of my favorite things to eat is sweet potatoes. I have never been one who liked mashed sweet potatoes with all the sugar and marshmallows on it, yuck! I love a simple potato, baked whole with some clarified butter or ghee or cubed and tossed in EVOO with salt and pepper, and that is what I am going to share with you today!

Here is what you need:

2 large sweet potatoes

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

salt and pepper

cutting board

large sharp knife 

13"x9" casserole dish

I took two organic sweet potatoes and scrubbed and washed them. You can peel them but I didn't feel like it. I use a slightly damp towel under my cutting board to keep it from sliding around on the counter.

Slice them in to 1/2" disks and then into bite sized little squares. Smaller cubes cook faster and bigger take longer.

Toss them in a 9"x13" pyrex dish and coat them with some EVOO, just enough to make them shiny, a tablespoon or two.

Salt and peper to taste and toss again.



Place dish in a pre-heated oven at 375 for 20 minutes
Take out very carefully, it's hot and heavy. Stir potatoes and put back into oven for 15 more minutes.
When they are fork tender, they are done.

I eat them in the morning with scrambled eggs or as a side dish at dinner. I always make plenty so there are leftovers for a couple of days.

To reheat simply add them to a medium heat skillet and fry until warmed or for a bit longer until they are crispy! I hope you enjoy!

Roasted sweet potatoes with some left over Christmas ham.

Sausage for me and sausage for you

I wanted to share with you the recipe I made this morning. It is good for breakfast and probably with some spaghetti squash and tomato sauce. It's not as sweet as some typical breakfast sausage can be so I think it would be really good in any recipe you need pork sausage.

Serves 6, 2 patties each

For 1 pound of sausage you will need:
1 lb of pork sausage
1 t of rubbed sage
1 t of Hungarian Paprika
1/2 -1 t of salt. I used Kosher but I think sea or my favorite Hymilaian Pink salt would be tasty too
1 t fennel seed
1/4-1/2 t black peper
1/2 t garlic powder
Coconut or olive oil

1. Put the ground pork in a bowl big enough 
2. for squishing it through your fingers and mashing the pork up with your hands.
3. Put all of your spices into your grinder or your motor and pestle. 
4. Grind until all the fennel seeds have been ground up really well and everything is well blended.
5. Dump the spiced in to the bowl.
6.  Kneed and squish the pork through your fingers. 
7. When it is all blended and mixed you will need to form it into patties. I used an ice cream scoop with a release lever to help get it out. Or you can use a 1/4 cup measuring cup.
8. Scoop the pork and form a ball. Press the ball flat and make a little patty. 
9. On a medium heat skillet aprox. 300-325 degrees, melt or pour some oil and place the patty on top. 
10. Depending on how large or thick your patties are it will take different amounts of time. I had them on for about 2 minutes and then flipped them. 2 minutes more and then flipped them again. Just make sure they are nice and browned on the outside and there is no more pink on the inside, about 160 degrees. 
11. Drain on a paper towel and enjoy!

If you just want to use it crumbled for a casserole or whatever then just cook it with out forming into patties.

New me, new blog

Welcome to my blog! I am hoping to use this as an encouragement to myself as well as others in their journey to improve their health.

In 2011 I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis which is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. As you may or may not know the thyroid is responsible for many functions in your body like your metabolism, body temperature and mental clarity.

Starting January 1st 2014 I will be doing the Whole 30 program. It is a very strict version of eating Paleo with out added sugar, grains, dairy and legumes. I am hoping to, in a way, cleanse my system and get my body working like it should. It is not meant to be a weight loss program but that is often a benefit from doing it. I should be gluten free just because it will help ease the symptoms of Hashimoto's but there are all sorts of good things that can happen when one stops eating it. I am really trying to eat good, healthy foods and use good and healthy products to take care of myself.

I hope to keep a daily journal of the foods I'm eating and how I'm doing while on the Whole 30 program. There is no weighing in during the program so I will weigh January 1st and then on day 31 of the program. Of course I am hoping to lose a lot of weight but health above all is the ultimate goal!

Here is a PDF of the Whole 30 program, what you can and can't eat, reasons why to avoid certain foods and other information you will need to know before starting your own journey to better health!

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I will be using this to keep an online journal of my journey of getting healthy.