Recipes

Cauliflower Rice

Posted on Oct 18, 2012 in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Recipes

It seems all I remember is having cauliflower on Thanksgiving as a child.  It was always the same recipe, steamed or boiled cauliflower topped with breadcrumbs browned in butter.  Yum!  I would eat seconds every time!

I wonder if my son will only remember having cauliflower rice.  I’ve made it 3 times in the past 2 weeks.

Cauliflower Rice

1 Head of Cauliflower

1 medium onion

2 tsp Olive Oil

Place clean, cut cauliflower in a food processor to chop to small rice size pieces.  {I use a Vitamix, but I find I can only place a few pieces in at a time.}

Chop the onion and add to pan with olive oil. Sautee until clear.

Add the cauliflower rice and let cook.  Turn every few minutes to allow even cooking.  I like it a little brown, so I will allow it to sit a bit longer to get darker.

When the cauliflower has cooked down you’ll see it change from a white to a more of a clear color.

Serve as an alternative to rice or as a complement to any meal. I’ve topped the cauliflower rice with chicken and broccoli.

Mangia! Mangia!

Cauliflower health benefits.

Creamy Broccoli Chicken

Posted on Oct 8, 2012 in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Recipes

Some nights {ok most nights}, I decide last minute what to make for dinner and tonight was one of them!   I searchrd for a few of the ingredients on hand and came up with this yummy recipe from Fast Paleo!

Creamy Green Goddess Chicken and Broccoli

This went over with flying colors!  I substituted asparagus for the yellow squash and it truly to 30 minutes to throw together!

A Door Opens

Posted on Jul 5, 2012 in Allergy, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Uncategorized

A door opened for me today.

I have really been struggling with giving up coffee.  I love  my quiet coffee time on the back patio, the taste of it, the smell of it and even on a Summer morning the warmth of it!

I know on many levels I need to stop drinking it.  Even decaf. When I examine my health goals and the direction I want to go, coffee really doesn’t fit in the plan!

I have been struggling with this and I know I have 10 days to kick this habit.  In 10 days, I’ll be heading off to a Blue Sage Sanctuary  detox center to take this journey to a new level.

 {And coffee isn’t in the plan.}

A door opens!

The Paleo Mom shared an excellent post on the Pros and Cons of Coffee

For me, I have to get my head right to take the next step and this is exactly what I needed this morning.

It’s a choice, a choice of health!  I can do this!

xoxo – Lori

It Starts with Repetition

Posted on Jul 4, 2012 in Books, Paleo, Uncategorized

Repetition keeps coming up for me in  many areas of my life.  How do we ever get good at something if we don’t take the time to invest in repetition? Right?

Did we get too much of repetition in school?  Are we too lazy?  Are they things we say are important to really just words? Do we not set goals?  Are we afraid of change? Maybe we are just putting our big toe in the water and have a fear of jumping in?

Repetition keeps what is important to me in front of  me and when I’m  ready there always seems to be an a-ha moment and the next door is there for me to open and walk through.

Repetition keeps me striving to be better and to reach the next goal.

This applies to my health and many areas of my life, but let’s focus on health.

For 6 years, I have focused on learning about health and nutrition in bits and pieces and it’s been a process.  A slow process, but a very important process to me. It keeps me focused and on the journey.

I want to live a long healthy, energized active life, so it’s repetition, staying in front of it to keep me striving to be better and to make tweaks along the way!

There have been countless nutrition talks and books {just a sample of books} on the journey  to keep me focused and moving forward:

• Primal Blueprint 
• The Paleo Answer
• Primal Body, Primal Mind
• If It’s not food, Don’t Eat it
• The Crazy Makers
• Animal, Vegetable Miracle
• Wheat Belly
• Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptons?
• The Maker’s Diet
• Eating Between the Lines
• Food Rules
• Your Body Speaks, Your Body heals
• The Slow Down Diet
• and I can’t wait to dive into It Starts with Food

My journey began with a health “crisis” in the family,  the journey grew with pregnancy and grew even more when my child was born.

The real light bulb didn’t go off until I had my own health crisis {not a major one} but enough to kick it up a few notches.

These are a few of the questions I asked myself when I stepped it up a few notches and really began to look closely at what I wanted my health picture to look like.

 Do I have direction?  Where am I going? What do I want to achieve? Is it about prevention? {yes} Is it about maintaining a healthy weight? {yes and not through dieting}  Am I getting close to the next goal and if so, where am I going next?

It starts today and everyday.  Health and prevention  just  don’t happen.  It has to be a conscience effort, care for self and a journey.

{I’m careful not to say “You have to work at it”}

 What does your health picture look like?  Are your choices taking you in the right direction?

It’s a choice.

What will you choose today? What small step will you take? Be kind to yourself and take care of yourself {because no one else will}!

xoxo~Lori

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21 Day Sugar Detox – Weeks One and Two

Posted on Apr 16, 2012 in Paleo

Update on the 21 Day Sugar Detox hosted by Balanced Bites

Week 1

I did want to write this post for week one, but this is what I discovered: I HAD NO BRAIN POWER!

This detox knocked me out!  Created fatigue, no thinking power, anxiety and a lack of energy. On a positive note, I have dropped 5 pounds!

Easter Sunday, I thought I would have a mimosa with my brunch because I had been so good that first week.  Just a little reward on a holiday, why not? Oh my gosh, not a good idea. I did go into a sugar spiral. I’m not sure if that would tyically happen or if I wasn’t far enough into the detox.

So,  I already blew it, so why not have some chocolate. It was all over, but let me tell you how great I felt, instantly after that piece of chocolate (or 2 or 3)!  It was as if the fog was lifted! I could think again!  Seriously, I could think again!

This has happened to me before on detox, but since I do eat a very clean diet, I didn’t think it would happen again.  Crazy thing is when I’m in it, I don’t see it.  Eating that chocolate, cleared the fog!

Week 2 

After chatting with my Chiropractor about this (he’s a huge advocate for a healthy diet, no sugar, gluten, dairy) we decided to add just a little fruit into my diet.  I have done much better adding a few blackberries after each meal and allowing a square of chocolate.  Believe it or not,  this hasn’t sent me in a tail spin.

Most importantly, I can THINK and function!

Another interesting thought came up with the Chiropractor.  If you are craving dark chocolate, you can be depleted in dopamine, if you are craving milk chocolate, you are craving dairy and sugar.

Isn’t the body fascinating!

It was too much too fast for me and I had to find balance so I could function.  Next round, I will try going total sugar free totally.

Let’s see how week 3 will be!

xoxo,

Lori

21 Day Sugar Detox

Posted on Apr 1, 2012 in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo

How does it happen?  It sneaks in and it’s a downward spiral. All it took was a simple banana to trigger sugar cravings.   I think I’m in a bit of denial about sugar since I’ve had to remove just about every pleasurable food from my diet! Really one more thing!

And the list:  All grains, nuts, dairy and eggs.

It’s really about health and not about what I am being deprived of {believe me, it’s taken a loooong time time to get to this point of acceptance}

I  saw the 21 Day Sugar Detox and thought I would jump on the band wagon, not because I eat a great deal of sugar, mainly it’s because I have such intense cravings around 3:00pm every day.  I just don’t think that is normal to have such intense cravings.

Typically my 3:00 craving is satisfied with a  banana or an apple with peanut butter {yes I can eat peanuts, no tree nuts, even though I know I shouldn’t eat peanuts.  It’s a guilty pleasure}.

Who am I kidding, it’s dark chocolate too. And who was the genius that put sea salt in dark chocolate?! I know it was a woman!

Another motivation to remove the sugar was how great I felt after I managed to wean myself off caffeine in two weeks. I feel awesome! No more 10am pick me ups needed.

If you want to join  me in this adventure on April 2, you can find more info at 21 Day Sugar Detox website and 21 Day Sugar Detox Facebook Page

There are 3 stages of the 21 Day Sugar Detox.  Find the one that works best for you and where you are in your journey.  I will be doing level 3 because my diet is Paleo {by default}.

I would like to create a group page on Facebook for anyone interested so we can hold each other accountable, share our success &yummy recipes and support one another.  If you are interested, let me know!  It’s starts tomorrow!