Practical Paleo

It's no secret that Drew and I have been living an unhealthy lifestyle for quite some time. And unfortunately it's not as interesting as "Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll." Nope.. it's mostly been about some really bad and not satisfying food and watching too many NCIS or Law and Order marathons together instead of pushing each other to go outside and do something.

Portland has been a huge blessing. We're surrounded by healthier options and beautiful landscapes. Dog parks alone have been a huge saving grace. [We will not talk about the escapades of Casandra's visit this weekend and how we ate our way across the PNW... But in a post soon I will talk about how much joy Casandra's visit brought me :)] However, then we were faced with my car accident and cross fit stopped and so did eating and preparing our own meals that consist of more than tater tots and sandwiches.

A few posts back I told you that we were going to take some time every week to cook a few meals out of this book "Practical Paleo." Drew had to visit Galesburg for work and then of course we celebrated my birthday hard... So we hadn't had the chance to jump into it. But here we go!

Practical Paleo is recipe book by Diane Sanfilippo. I bought it a while ago and loved the sound of the recipes but hadn't actually worked on anything from it. A few weeks ago, Drew and I sat down and went through the book and tagged some pages that we found interesting. 

While Drew napped, I wrote the recipes we wanted to try on popsicle sticks and put them in three separate mason jars. There weren't an equal number of entrees, sides, breakfasts and desserts... So I think entrees have their own jar, sides, and then breakfast and desserts are together. The idea is that we'll pull one stick from each jar and those are recipes we have to try that week. This week is Chocolate Mousse, Lamb Lettuce Boats and Quiche. (pictures below) 

Moo-Less Chocolate Mousse

Lamb Lettuce Boats with avo-ziki sauce

Swirly crustless quiche

Tonight I will be going to the store to by the ingredients and tomorrow night we'll start cooking.

During Casandra's visit, she was telling me about how she also wants to get back on track (again, her visit to Portland did not help that idea once we met up with Drew... I did take her to the Cultured Caveman food truck though!)

In our conversation about getting back on track and accountability she was telling me about this book: Make Ahead Paleo. My fear was that with how many hours I'm out of the house, how do I pack lunches and dinner? So we are both going to try this book sometime this week and hold each other accountable for our meals.

I'm excited to start feeling better again. I know that this way of eating makes me feel better. It's just so easy to be busy with life and go to the drive thru. Or order pizza. But I am learning that I do have dietary restrictions (hello, lactose intolerance) and that to keep eating foods that make me feel crappy is stupid. So let's try a different alternative and feel GOOD! Plus, Voodoo doughnuts twice in one weekend is ffaarrrrrrrr tooooooo much! (but so good!) 

More updates as the food is being made :) 

To my Arrow Girls:

Yesterday I turned 27. I have been out of college for almost 5 years now. I am in graduate school, meeting new people and starting a new profession. One thing that has been true since leaving the Knox community is that when I mention my affiliation with the Greek community in college (and as an Alumnae) the person at the other end of the conversation scoffs. "Fraternities? Sororities?" It's almost as if they are saying "I thought you were smart." I don't always enthusiastically correct them either. Mostly because if you had told be even in the fall of 2005 that I was going to join a sorority, I would have scoffed too. Let's be honest... College wasn't all roses and rainbows for me. And more often than not I allowed myself to get sucked into the drama that only a large group of females can provide. But, Pi Phi gave me so much more than just drama.

The Beta-Delta Chapter of Pi Beta Phi was a tremendous step in the right direction for me. Despite how cheesy the following statement sounds during recruitment or when you're trying to convince a new friend that you aren't the devil for being a part of a sorority, Pi Phi offers woman amazing leadership and philanthropic opportunities. Opportunities to step out of your comfort zone and really give back to something. As an education major, Pi Phi was a natural choice for me because of it's philanthropic dedication to literacy. But, Pi Phi gave me so much more than an opportunity to be a professional Dr. Seuss fanatic.... And I'm so sad that it takes a tragedy to be reminded of what sisterhood is all about. But I am so grateful (understatement of the year, but I don't think there is a word that truly embodies what I'm feeling) to have such wonderful women popping out of the woodwork to share our heartfelt, sincerest sorrow and joy as we celebrate an amazing woman's life gone too soon.

The feelings that surround death are complicated. I have experienced everything from complete mental break the home goods section of Target, to inappropriate humor, to stoic emotional sounding board, to more appropriate humor, and back to complete emotional break down. And of course the guilt. The guilt that I should have reached out more. I should have forgiven the stupid fight we had. I should have talked to her about something much more substantial than a mutual foe in our last conversation. I should have told her how proud I was of her and how much I loved her, her impulsivity and her huge heart.

I'm struggling. I'm struggling to get my emotions under control. I'm struggling to think that next time I visit Galesburg, she won't be joining the party. I get especially upset when I think about what she was feeling and experiencing the moment she died.

But here's the most significant thing I have gained from being a member of Pi Phi: sisterhood and sincere friendship. Yeah, we talked about the fact that that's what each member of Pi Phi would give to us as being a part of organization... But I don't know that I ever realized how deep of a concept and responsibility that truly is. In the last few days my sisters from all over the world, from all different pledge and graduation classes, and from different levels of actually having the privilege of knowing Lexie as the wonderful person (and true Knox Legend) she was, have all been here for each other to offer an ear to listen and a physical or metaphorical shoulder to cry on. To share in the crazy, fun memories we each have of Lexie whether it started with "this one time at TKE" or something about a water polo match... We've come together to celebrate her life and her extreme passion for living it. And it feels so good to know that I'm not alone. That I have hundreds of sisters to not only share the pain of the situation, but the joy of knowing who she was to each of us.

To everyone that I've been in contact with: thank you for your kind words, emotional support and continued friendship and sisterhood.

To those who I've lost touch with for one reason or another, know that you also have a very special place in my heart. I'm sorry that you are hurting too, but you aren't alone. And you are loved. Thank you for being my sisters.

Welcome to 2014!

I saw this meme on a friend's facebook and I loved it! Last night was full of friends and family either posting cynical memes/status updates like this, or doing exactly what this meme is making fun of. I'm not sure where this update will fall, but here it goes.

2013 wasn't bad. It was the year that made me honestly kick my own ass. It was my wake up call. It told me to get out of a situation that I hated, put myself out there (despite the possibility of rejection), and CHANGE my life. So really, I'm grateful for 2013. Or at least who I chose to be in 2013. I uprooted my family and moved to a physical and emotional place that has already proven to be leaps and bounds better than I was experiencing before. And as I type these words, I realize that I'm actually really proud of myself. Go me! *pats back*

So... despite the lack of income, the nightmare 6-week nanny experience, the car accident, the emotional roller coaster that is grad school, and the last few days with the flu. I guess I'm just realizing that 2013 was a year of tremendous growth. I didn't fall into a deep, dark depression after my car accident and instead I really am focusing on getting stronger. A whole new body and mind transformation, if you will. And, it just so happens to be coming at the start of the new calendar year.

So resolutions... I don't really do resolutions because generally I think they are stupid excuses to do something you should do anyway. And then I don't do them, as Tony Stark suggests, and then I get all disappointed that I failed YET AGAIN. But this year, this moment... I feel a change trying to make it's way to the surface. That given my circumstance, THIS IS THE TIME. Not because it's January 1st. Or even because I'm about to start a new year of being (27?!) ... Just because this is the time.

Okay, I could go on and on about how disappointed I've been with my weight and health and general well being, but instead of focusing on the negative, I'm going to start with what made me happy before my car accident.

A few posts ago I had been sharing pictures of the new, creative meals I was cooking. Drew was traveling for work... It was just me cooking for me. No other influences. And I made some delicious meals. Then, the car accident struck (pun intended) and Drew started working two jobs and neither of us were cooking. Cooking made me happy, I need to remember that. And now that January starts the extremely busy part of my school year, I'm either going to have to come up with a routine or I know I'm going to continue to eat McDonald's breakfast 3x/week. Expensive and nasty, I know.

So this morning I busted out my Practical Paleo book. In the past I have rushed into things like the Whole 30 (which I still 100% want to do, and hope to do by the end of Feb 2014)... instead of easing into things like this. It's hard to have the willpower to go from eating pizza multiple times a week to ONLY eating super strict things. I only ever made it 10 days, and I am sure that within those 10 days I slipped up somewhere somehow. So, like I said, we got out the Practical Paleo book and just started going through the recipes, one by one. I started to flag which ones sounded good and as the pages kept turning, Drew and I decided that we are going to do at least one recipe from the book until we run out of the flagged recipes. There are 31 "dinner" recipes that we flagged. A few breakfast recipes, desserts and side dishes to try as well. Our (my, because Drew is now sleeping with a cat on his back) hope is that we will cook one recipe from each category per week.. And in doing this, it will shape the rest of the week's menu as well. This opens up so many opportunities: eating better, cooking for ourselves, spending LESS money on eating out, spending time together, opening us up to trying new things... etc. I'm actually supper excited to do this and I think Drew likes that I'm getting excited about cooking, so he's happy too (I can tell by the snores coming from that side of the bed right now...)

Anyway... Expect pictures, lists of meals and more details to come!

Also:

5 days until I begin student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom
18 days until my birthday!
34 days until Drew's birthday and 79 days until our honeymoon! (it kind of feels silly still calling it a honeymoon, but damnit, it is!)