I learned a lot...

All of January, and a few of the last days of December, I embarked on the Whole 30 diet for myself. My reasons were a little all over the place, I'd been reading about it for a while, even followed some Whole30 folks on Instagram to get ideas, and I think I wanted to prove to myself that I was not a big mess of emotional eating anymore.

Ready for the "Whole 30 Timeline" to kick in,  I checked the book a few times, but apparently my sugar intake was so low going into my Whole 30 that I didn't have carb flu like I expected. I will say that was kind of an encouragement, as I was wondering if I was having too many Paleo treats. Apparently, I wasn't. I did not want to "kill all things" or "take a nap". I actually texted with a friend about my lack of "symptoms", she quizzed me on what I was eating. Turns out, I eat pretty clean already, eating Whole 30 for me ended up meaning no butter and no "cheating". I even survived cravings when my family was indulging in chocolate chip cookies and ice cream."Tiger blood" hit throwing my sleep schedule off like mad, my new-found energy keeping me buzzed until 1am even without a drop of coffee all day.

But, like on other diet changes I have made, I found myself feeling all consumed by what I was going to eat next. I wasn't insisting on my children eating exactly like me, which led me to having to make more than one meal three times a day. The dishes became overwhelming. The time I spent in the kitchen skyrocketed with all the cooking, contributing to the piling up dishes. My ability to concentrate was cut in half for about two hours every time a meal time would roll around. I stopped wanting to eat, it was too much trouble.

So, today I ended my Whole 30 early. I don't regret doing it. I don't regret ending it either. I think it's something I will use from time to time when I notice myself relying too heavily on sweet treats (and even their Paleo substitutions), or when I start to feel sluggish. But unless my whole family wants to give it a whirl, I just can't play short order cook, or leave the children to scavenging while I take care of my food needs.

Overall, I am encouraged that how I'm feeding my family is pretty "clean", notwithstanding their love of Trader Joe's Gluten Free Mac & Cheese. And I am pretty confident that I have the tools I need to really implement a "clean week" and Saturday "cheat day" for all of us. I'm hoping to do better with menu planning, even though some of our most enjoyable meals were born out of desperation and a fridge full of great ingredients.

Now to plan our cheat day...

Little glimpses...

Not real wordy lately... Just schooling, and taxiing kids to practices and competitions, transitioning to a Paleo-inspired/whole food diet... Loving on my family, keeping up with laundry and dishes...

More yumminess...

Every week I am coming to love our CSA more and more. Each Monday I peek at the website to see what sorts of yummy goodies will be filling my box on Saturday morning. And each Saturday for lunch I find a way to cook up whatever was left over from the previous week. 

Besides eating our goodies raw in salads, or as snacks, my favorite way to prepare most of our veggies is with a simple drizzle of EVOO and a sprinkle of sea salt. This past Saturday was no different. 

Now, you all know this is by no means a blog about cooking, and I can't recall if a recipe has ever been shared on here before, but I couldn't resist telling you about this simple, easy meal. 

Below is the fruit of a little chopping, tossing and roasting in the oven. Pictured are zuchinni, tricolor carrots, sweet peppers, and onion. 

All the while, we had some chicken on the griddle, and once cooked, I slapped a piece of Applewood bacon and cheddar cheese on top and tossed it in the oven for some melting time. {I was inspired by Outback Steakhouse's Alice Springs Chicken, minus the mushrooms and honey mustard dressing.}

The kids asked for thirds, and what I had hoped would provide for a night off from cooking during week, turned into a leftover lunch for two. I heard one child say, "I am changing what I want for my birthday dinner!" :)

What sorts of simple, yumminess are you cooking up these days? {Thanks in advance for any inspiration you throw my way!}

Not fast enough...

We just recently joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and I am having to figure out how to use up our goodies, which includes trying new things. Tonight's experiment was inspired by a few items in our basket... Cucumber, watermelon and mint. The watermelons were small, organically grown in Austin, and the cucumbers were huge! And I was clueless about fresh mint. 

But here is what I threw together... I cut up the watermelon in small chunks (taking great care to remove the seeds), then I cut up the cucumber in equally small chunks. I plucked a handful of mint leaves and minced them up. I cut up some romaine hearts and spinach, then tossed them all together with some feta cheese. All the while, some applewood smoked bacon was cooking in the oven. 

Plates made, bacon crumbled, everyone dove in. Comically, our two youngest thought the watermelon chunks were tomatoes and avoided getting many in their salads. When the identity of the red chunks were revealed, they dove back in for more salad. Some added salad dressing, I ate mine without and it was phenomenal! 

Lots of work, yes. Best salad I can remember eating in a crazy long time, yes. Devoured before a photo could be snapped, yes. You'll have to use your imagination. Sorry! 

Trying to use more of the mint, and add stars to my imaginary "Mom of the Year" plaque, I followed dinner by making a plain Greek Yogurt Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie. The only ingredients not listed in the name are honey, milk, and ice. Can I just say I love my Vitamix? Because I totally do. 

I am looking forward to more culinary delights as my CSA experiment continues. Tri-color carrots, okra and beets are next. :)