Bulletproof Coffee

My mind is literally fucking losing it's shit right now. 

I am currently as I type drinking my first cup of Bulletproof Coffee. For those who don't know what it is, I won't be it justice, you need to Google that shit. BUT basically, it's French Press brewed coffee from special, clean beans, blended with coconut oil and grass-fed butter, or Ghee. 

This is literally the best cup of coffee I have ever had.
Especially one made at home.
I don't think I'll ever NOT drink it.

Supposedly, it's like crack, according to my boyfriend, and gives you hours of energy. He made his first cup yesterday before pulling a 13 hour work day at the office. When he picked me up after work, I thought he would never stop fucking talking, he was so peppy. So I was a little convinced that I needed to try it. 

So, as of right now, I'm pretty much hooked. Good bye 32 creamers in my burnt Folgers coffee to mask the flavor of gross. Good bye 4 cups of normal coffee before noon to keep my eyelids up. Good bye afternoon crash (I hope). 

I am so jumping on this bandwagon. 

Blending!

Ghee and Coconut Oil

Look how creamy it is!

Butter in coffee? I think so!

60 Days.

Today marks 60 days eating the paleo diet. I can't believe it's been 2 months! It's really exciting to accomplish something like this. It also marks 60 days that I've been working out 4-6 days a week. I'm feeling decently about myself lately, which is an improvement believe me. 

Paleo= lots of avocado!

I enjoy paleo because I do well with challenges. I originally was skeptical about this. I thought "this is exactly like the no carb diet we tried a year ago and failed," but it's turned out to be different. I'm so much more aware of what I put in my body now. Everything I eat takes time to prepare. I snack less and consume more fresh foods. I'm okay with it.

May is the last whole month before Vegas (I'll have part of June as well). For the month of May, I'm stepping up my game. I want to cut out fruit and treats. I eat a lot of fruit but I know it contains a lot of sugar. I like paleo treats, like muffins, pancakes and mug cakes, because it satisfies my sweet tooth. Jake and I are going to work out together, which will provide that much more motivation.

I really, really want to step up my game. I haven't drastically lost weight with this diet and I'm okay with that. I've found it's been more therapeutic then anything else. Plotting what to put in my body, looking at food more as fuel rather then just food, knowing that I'm only putting good things in my body. I have days where I get upset because I'm not rail thin *yet* not that I really want to be then I remember to myself that this takes time and doing my best each day will get me there faster. I do the extra ten squats or 5 minutes on the bike/treadmill/elliptical. Because in all reality, only I can measure my success. 

No more muffins!
Even if they are delicious!

I came to the realization that I'm actually fine with my size. I am 5'11" and a size 12 I think I'd be okay to reach a size 10 again, however, that it a remaining goal. I haven't weighed myself since the very beginning and I don't know if I want to. I think I want to wait. So far I've been going off of how my clothing fits. I think maybe I'll weigh myself right before Vegas, when I've reached the end of the challenge period. I also want to weigh myself before and after Vegas to see if I lose weight while I'm there due to the three all night dance parties I'm about to attend. 

But before I enter the home stretch, I am going to celebrate. This Saturday is out 60 day cheat day. Am I excited about eating some junk food? Yes! But I'm going to have a better approach then I did last time. I'm going to take it slowly and try not to over due it. But I do know what I want to eat this Saturday:

1. Chips: chips have always been my favorite foods. I want Salt and Pepper Kettle chips.
2. Pizza: I'm a pizza whore. I love pizza, I love cheese and bread and tomato sauce. But maybe I'll go for just a slice this time and not..the...whole...thing...
3. A Bagel: On my way to work, I'm going to get a celebratory bagel. They were always my favorite breakfast foods! And I'm going to enjoy it! Maybe with some light cream cheese.
4. Frozen Yogurt: I think I will top off my day with a cup of frozen yogurt. It's my favorite and while we did try coconut ice cream, nothing will ever replace froyo.
5. Beer: If the weather is nice, I want to find a patio and drink a beer on it. I am such a beer drinker that it's killing me not to have any. 

In the end, I'm proud of myself. It's the small wins that lead to big success and I'm going to take this small win.

Be sure to check out From My Kitchen, With Love for all the great paleo recipes I've been trying! 

Whole30: COMPLETE!

So about 30 days ago, Jake and I launched ourselves into a lifestyle change. I was fed up feeling shitty after eating and over eating and he wanted a new challenge. So we started eating Paleo. 

This past Wednesday, we completed our first 30 days of the challenge! To sum up the experience, I have really enjoyed not only the challenge of the first 30 days but I really like the results!

As a "special treat" in celebration of our first 30 days, Jake and I decided to embark on a food journey through all our old favorite foods. It mainly started because for the past week I've been craving cheese pizza. Every night, we would tell each other what we've been craving lately. So yesterday, we decided to eat whatever we wanted, in secret hopes that it'd make us feel shitty and we won't want them again.

Let me tell you, it totally worked. For lunch, we went to BarHop and had fried pickles and french fries to start. Then I ordered one of my favorites, a Reuben sandwich, with a Cesar salad on the side (I didn't think I was going to be able to do that many fries...). It was all very, very delicious but this was how much of my lunch I was able to eat:

 

Yup, that's it! I managed half of and half of a sandwich and a few big pieces of lettuce. It was so good but almost instantly, I started to feel too full and really, really gross. it didn't help that before lunch Jake wanted to get donuts (Canada, if you didn't know, is pretty famous for Tim Horton's. It's like the Canadian Dunkin Donuts but way, way better. The donuts are absolutely to die for and we wanted one...or two...).

 

After getting our lunches wrapped up to take home, we stopped by Shoppers (Canadian version of Rite Aid) to get some Tums...and Easter Candy (we thought, hey go big or go home). We stumbled home and crashed on the couch, both to take a food-induced nap to help settle our tummy's.

 

The nap didn't help.

 

About 3 hours later, I felt like someone had inserted a beach ball into my body and was slowly blowing it up. Last night I couldn't help thinking, "I can't wait till I get to eat carrots and hard boiled eggs tomorrow."

 

All in all, I'm glad we felt like shit last night. It made me shudder at the leftover box I saw in the fridge this morning as I reached for my orange and hard boiled eggs for breakfast.

 

I don't think I've lost a ton of weight over the past month. I started working out more (about 6 days a week) and am feeling better. I sleep great and I never, ever get that too full, gross feeling after I eat. I'm excited to continue with paleo this next month and work out more. I think after the next 30 days, we'll allow ourselves another cheat day. I'm looking forward to some wings in 30 days!

 

Jake with his tiny beer!

I felt miserable in thsi picture...

 

My first real beer in a long while...so good!

Fried pickles and french fries.




 

 

 

Daily-O Paleo: Week Three Recap

And week three came to an end while we move into the final home stretch.

Last week went a little smoother. I had the week off so cooking wasn't an issue. But I did fail to get into a swing of prep. I've started making double portions for dinner so we have a quick lunch. 

We've almost cooked our way through a whole paleo cookbook, Well Fed: Recipes for People Who Love to Eat. It's been my favorite paleo book so far. Really good recipes!!

You'll find some of the recipes I made last week here. I highly recommend the Rogan Josh, it is really fantastic! 

I think I've been getting a better idea of how to cook without guidelines. I find that I need cookbooks, however, to find inspiration. I've been learning a lot about spices as well. My new favorite is curry powder and cumin. 

Recipe coming soon!

Instead of keeping a list of all the meals I've made, I'm going to post them to my recipe page. So if you are interested in trying anything out, just check there from time to time. I posted a recipe today for Paleo Pancakes, which are super yummy! 

As for myself, my body, things are slowly getting better. My headaches are gone and I've been sleeping better. I did, however, slip up twice this week. Maybe two and a half times. On Thursday, I ate one chocolate chip. Just a single chocolate chip. I was purchasing carob chips for a grain-free, nut-free, dairy-free snack bar and they were so tempting! 

I slipped again last night, in which I am paying dearly for and completely regret. I drank beer. 4 of them. It was a huge mistake. I feel like shit today. I also had a bite of a pita at 3 in the morning.

Phew! I feel better now that I got that out.

As for my 90 Days of Fitness, I'm doing pretty well. I worked out Monday-Friday but didn't yesterday. While my head is killing me and all I want to do is sleep, I think I will force myself to at least walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Some exercise is better then none, right?!

This will be the last week of our 30 day challenge. I'm actually surprised how easy that was. I think Jake and I are going to make it a staple in our lives. I enjoy eating this way. I do miss carbs, especially pizza. And cheese. But I think that I've been feeling good as a result of this. I honestly don't know if I will lose a ton of weight like I dream of. But I think it will help me feel better on the inside and that will reflect on my outside.

Daily-O Paleo: Week 2 Round Up

Wow, I had to take a second to remember what week of paleo I was on! I take this as a good sign, I think it means that I'm adjusting well. It feels like we've been doing this forever!

I'm going to be honest, I didn't write down every single thing I ate this week. I started to, but then it seems I forgot and stopped at Tuesday. Oh well. I did, however, start a new blog (if you haven't heard yet) and attached it to this one. I wanted a place for just recipes. So I made one! Check out From My Kitchen, With Love. If you don't you're really lame.

Sweet potato hash, 2 eggs,
bacon crumbles and avo. Yum.

Anyway, I've been enjoying paleo so far. Week one was rough adjusting to not having everything I wanted. But now I'm feeling better. I've been sleeping really well, no waking up in the night or having problems falling asleep. I do find that because I'm eating a full breakfast, usually eggs, a veggies and a meat, that I'm not so hungry throughout the day. I snack a little, mostly because I  love dried fruit but I need to knock that right off.

Bora Bora, you are delicious. 

I'm starting at the gym today. I have the whole week off so I plan on spending that time working out, catching up on my correspondence with family and reading a lot about how to manage my time with paleo. I want to develop a system so that I'm not cooking all the friggin time!

Oh, I just remembered one of my other favorite dishes that we had last week! We had spaghetti squash with meat sauce. It was just like eating pasta but more interactive and fun. I loved roasting the squash then shredding it. It was really cool. Watery, yes, but delicious. We're going to have it again this week.

I have noticed with this past week that I wonder why not everyone lives like this. It's really easy and eliminates a lot of foods that aren't super good for you. I think, if I feel like it, I may incorporate beans back into my diet when the initial 30 days is up but at the same time, I want to see how long I can keep this up. 

I do think traveling will be difficult. Like when we go to Vegas in June, how easy will it be to have access to eggs and avocados every day. Plus, I plan on being hung over most of the time! Hey, at least I'm being honest.

Here's to the beginning of week three!

A New Addition.

Happy Thursday everyone!

 

I've had an exciting development today. I have started another blog! Luckily, I have (cunningly) attached it to this blog. Please welcome...

 

 

I am so excited to have somewhere that I keep just my recipes!

 

Please go take a look, let me know if you like the layout! Check out the "My Kitchen" tab to learn why I started the new page.

 

To nagivate back here, just follow the link!

 

I'm so excited for this new development! I think it will help me take this Paleo life style by storm!

Daily-o Paleo: Week One Round Up

Last week, I started on a voyage into the Paleo world. While it already feels like I've been doing this for a while, it's only been a week. I've already faced a few challenges but have maneuvered through them and come out the other side a little bit stronger. Here is a recap of my week:

Day One (Tuesday): 

Breakfast: Frittata (bell peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, bacon) with avocado slices

Lunch: Shredded herb chicken (home roasted) and balsamic mushroom lettuce wraps (with tomato, cucumber and carrot)

Snack: Turkey rolls ups (deli turkey rolled up with assorted fillings, like apple and red cabbage, cucumber and carrot, etc)

Dinner: Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers

Day 2: Mexican Stew.

Day Two (Wednesday):

Breakfast: 2 eggs sunny side up, 2 rashers of bacon, half an avocado and homemade Pico de Gallo (which was fantastic)

Lunch: Tuna (celery, pickles, dill, homemade mayo, salt and pepper) mixed with tomatos in an avocado

Snack: Almond butter and celery with raisins and coconut chips

Dinner: Mexican Slow Cooked Stew

Day Three (Thursday):

Day 3: Lunch.

Breakfast: Eggs and bacon baked into a tomato 

Lunch: Asian Fusion salon on bok choy with cauliflower rice

Snack: Trail mix (almonds, cashews, coconut chips, raisins)

Dinner: N/A 

Day Four (Friday):

Breakfast: Zucchini hash, bacon and eggs

Lunch: Shrimp Slaw (shrimp, red cabbage, hard boiled egg, cucumber, tomato mixed in a lemon dill and garlic dressing)

Snack: Beef Jerky and trail mix

Dinner: Double chicken shawarma on lettuce with tomatos, olives and cucumbers

Day Five (Saturday):

Breakfast: Coffee and a pear 

Lunch: Left over shrimp slaw

Snack: Trail mix

Dinner: Korean BBQ (Bulgogi)  

Day Six (Sunday):

Breakfast: Sausage, 2 eggs and avocado slices with Pico de Gallo

Lunch: N/A

Snack: Trail Mix

Dinner: Chinese 5 spice roasted chicken breasts, Waldorf salad and spicy yam spears

Today makes day 7. 

If I'm honest, I've been enjoying myself. I only had one little challenge. On Friday (Day 4) I had to go out to eat with my coworkers and that was difficult. We went (originally) to an English pub, which if you knew me, is my favorite kind of food. I grew up with that shit. It was really hard. But, long story short, we didn't have enough time to eat there so we got shawarma from a small pita place. That was easier for me.

On Day 5, Jake and I decided to go out to eat. Originally, we wanted to go to this smoke house in the Roncy but there was a hour and a half wait. No, thanks. So we were hungry, it was late and I was getting cranky. We ended up at this packed Korean BBQ place and had such a fantastic meal. We had all those side salad-y things, pickled this and that. The we ordered Bulbogi and Korean ribs or something. They brought out large lettuce leaves and a small BBQ that we cooked our meat on the table. It was great! Absolutely going there again. 

What were my favorite foods eaten this past week?

For sure breakfast. I can totally get behind any meal that centers around bacon. Especially when you buy bacon (and all your other meat) from Sanagan's Meat Locker in Kensington Market. Even though it's expensive-ish, it's worth it if meat is what your life is revolving around.

Other then breakfast (if you like Pico de Gallo, I'll totally send you this recipe I have, it's so good), I loved the Asian Salmon over bok choy with cauliflower rice, which is totally my new favorite. 

The food in general was great...I mean obviously, I made it all (with help from Jacob)! 

What is my one complaint for the past week?

I actually have two. The first is the amount of cooking and cleaning I seem to do every single day. I'm working on a system of what I can do to reduce the amount of time spent in the kitchen each morning.

The second complaint is that my stomach hasn't quite settled with this new diet. Someday's it's fine, other days it really hurts. I know it'll go away with time but...seriously...hurry up, bro.

In summary, that is my first week with the Paleo lifestyle. I'm excited to see what the future holds and to experiment with my food. It's been fun so far, finding replacements for my old favorite foods. Obviously, nothing will replace ice cream or a bagel but I'm hoping this new recipe I found for coconut whipped cream will put a little smile on my berries later...I'l share that next week!

PS: If there is any recipe you are interested in, e-mail me (hammondwf@gmail.com) and I'll send it to you!

Daily-O Paleo: Observations

Welcome to day two of the Paleo way of life!

I know it's probably too soon to have any real observations but I do have a few from just the past day and a half that I feel I should get off my chest as to prevent an explosion.

Cumin is my new fave.

1. The food is pretty great actually: I'm lovin' breakfast. This morning we had two eggs, sunny side up, with 2 bacons, slices of avocado and some homemade pico de gallo. Awesome. Everything else seems to be easy, lunch is normal and having a snack is nice. Dinner's are yummy but weird, mostly because I'm used to having to pair my meat with something. Like tonight we have an amazing tasting Mexican beef stew and I feel like I should be paring it with rice or something. But that's ok, I like meat enough to eat on it's own! 

2. My sweet tooth is lonely: I have SUCH a sweet tooth. I spent a good part of last night at work craving sugar. I think it's because I associate work with candy haha! That'll be a rough one to get over.

3. The cooking and cleaning is a little... excessive: Like I said, it maybe be a BIT too soon to tell but I spent a good part of yesterday cooking and this morning. I finally sat down after making breakfast, lunch and dinner and cleaning the kitchen. That means I spend the majority of my free time cooking and cleaning. I need to find a system and fast. If I have no time to do what I want or what I have to do, that I'll be an angry bird.

4. Avocado and coconut: Two of my favorite foods make daily appearance in my diet and I love it. Coconut and avocados are spectacular. 

Lunch!

Other then that, everything seems to be going alright! I'm just finishing up my lunch, tuna with celery, pickles, dill, salt/pepper, mustard and homemade mayo (which was an interesting experience to make and an even more interesting taste) and tomatoes with an avocado. Then I'm going to get ready for work, pack up my dinner and my snack and head to work...hopefully to get some coure work done.  

Daily-O Paleo

So today Jacob and I are joining the Whole30/Paleo craze. For us, it's more then a craze, however. We both want to start feeling better about ourself and start feeling better in general. We both are decent at eating well and I'm good at going to the gym but something isn't working so we're seeking help.

The book we are using as a guide.

I'm actually really excited about this. I know it's going to be tough and I'll have bad days but I'm excited for the challenge. I think it'll give me the push I need. 

We're going grocery shopping for it today. Over the weekend, we bought a bunch of awesome kitchen organizers so we're fully prepared and tossed out/donated the food that isn't part of our new life. Let's just say our shelves are pretty freaking bare!

And lucky you, you get to read all about it! I'm going to post once a week the foods I ate and how I feel. I think it'll be a good check and balance system for me, ya know? And if anyone has tried this or lives this way already, any pointers and suggestions are welcome!

I've also decided it's a good time to set some goals for this time:

-Enhance my positive attitude: I have a hard time being positive, I know that. But I'm doing everything I can to keep this in a positive light. Instead of saying I "can't" have bread, I say to myself that I "won't" or that I "choose" not to have bread. "Can't" is such a negative word.

-Feel better: I think I've been blessed to inherit some family food allergies. I'm hoping that with Paleo that I'll be able to start to physically feel better, not just look better.

-Connect/bond with Jacob: While we have a pretty awesome and solid relationship already, I see no harm in deepening that connection and getting to a new level. And I know something like this, a life change, will bring us closer together. I think it will strengthen our support for each other.

-Raise self esteem: Yes, loosing weight is at the top of my "How to feel better about yourself" guide but I think if my body starts to feel better combined with my jeans feeling a little less tight, that'll help me raise my self esteem.

Ultimately, I'm in this to support myself, support my man and start to feel better. Wish me luck!

My new motto!

Happy Valentine's Day--2013

Today is Valentine's Day and I like it. I like this holiday because I love love. This week I spent a lot of time making treats for my coworkers, the dancer's at the school and Jake. I made truffles, chocolate covered pretzels and rice krispie treats. It was so much fun!

Making truffles!

But now I'm sitting here, on the actual day, and I have like the worst tummy ache. Ug.

Next month is an exciting month for me. Jake mentioned starting something called Whole30 and, after discussing it a lot and looking into more details, we've decided to see how we can make the Whole30/paleo idea part of our everyday life.

As I've discussed before, working out, being healthy and eating well are really important things in my life. But occasionally, I have a hard time sticking to my ideas and plans. I think my life now causes me to eat as a comfort, as a way to hang out with people and as a way to spend time. But I have literally had enough. I have a problem with eating and I want to control it.

So we bought a great book and I've been doing extensive reading on the subject. I am so excited to start the paleo diet! Honestly, I hate using the word "diet" because for a lot of people, including myself, it stimulates thoughts about restrictions and "can't have" and being bad but I'm trying something new. I'm trying to look at it like a good thing! I think trying this out will help me feel physically better and will give me that confidence that I need!

A few years ago, I lost a ton of weight for a work weight loss challenge. While I didn't reach 2nd place and my goal weight in a completely healthy way, I found it easy to do so because I was being challenged by someone. I think that drive was good for me.

I'm hoping to bring that challenge with me as I challenge myself to be happy and healthy...it also helps that I'm going to a rave in Vegas in June and really want to be comfortable in my body!

So next month starts a better, healthier, happier me! I really want to get started ASAP but literally the day we decided to go for it was the day we went grocery shopping and bought a bunch of stuff and I don't want to waste it. I'm really excited, you guys, like really excited.

I'm going to be keeping a blog/journal about what I eat, how it makes me feel, how I'm coping with the process and all my thoughts in between. I think it's going to be good.