Whole 30

I decided to do a Whole30 this past month. I thought that it would be pretty easy because we already eat Paleo most of the time. I just needed to clean up my eating a little bit and figure out what was causing some inflammation.
After the first couple of days our whole family got hit by a stomach bug and NOTHING that I normally use to knock out bugs helped. Finally I caved and my husband picked up Saltines and Chicken Soup. I decided to restart my Whole 30 and it's coming up on my final week. The results have been amazing!
I have more energy, am down a pants size, my inflammation is gone, and most importantly I'm not hungry all of the time!
I've been asked by a few clients if I would advise a Whole30 to everybody and my answer may surprise you but, this is not something I would advise to somebody that wasn't ready.

Start with this book, it will help you!

First of all, this is something that eliminates a lot of things for thirty days. If you struggle with rules and guidelines then it won't work for you.
Second of all, Whole30 can be hard the first few weeks so I encourage you to choose when you are going to do it. Mine fell over my daughters birthday weekend so that was rough. Imagine living in Texas, going out for Mexican food and NOT eating chips and salsa.
Third and most importantly, Whole30 is about releasing you from the emotional holds food has on you and healing your body, if you are doing it strictly for weight loss then you are going to struggle. Yes, you might lose weight BUT that's not the point.
All of this being said, I do believe that most if not all people will benefit from a Whole30 it's just about getting your mind right for that thirty days. You also need to make sure that you have a good support group in place.

I will be making my Whole30 a Whole60 so if you want to come along and see what I'm eating you can follow me on Instagram. 

Italian Salmon and Shrimp Spaghetti

The other night I had salmon on the menu.  The problem is I only had a small salmon and my kids have decided to eat EVERYTHING in sight.  Seriously, three boys going through growth spurts; imagine locusts if you don't have know what I'm talking about.  

I decided to thaw out the pound of shrimp that I had in the freezer and I would just kind of "wing it" when it came to dinner.  Yes, this is how I cook!  I try to plan out our meals but it is a very loose menu plan.  

I set the timer on my phone to go off at 4 to get the Spaghetti Squash roasting in the oven.  This is our family's answer to pasta, we all love it.  I literally put the whole thing in the oven for an hour at 400 degrees.  Once you can poke a fork in it it is done.  I've been told that you can also put it in the slow cooker but I haven't tried that yet.  

Once my squash was done I seasoned the salmon with Italian seasoning and salt and pepper and tossed it into the oven at 375.  Once it easily flakes it is done, takes about fifteen minutes.

 

I then, took out a tablespoon of ghee (you can also use butter) along with a diced onion, couple cloves of garlic, and some frozen broccoli.  I sauteed that until it was almost done and then added my peeled shrimp and my shredded Spaghetti squash.  Once the shrimp was pink I added a couple of sprinkles of Italian seasoning.  Shrimp cooks extremely fast so make sure you don't overcook it, then it's rubbery and gross.

Three out of my four kids had seconds (or thirds) so I would call that a success.  Besides the roasting of the squash dinner was done in fifteen minutes!