Whole30 Day 17

I am on day 17 of the Whole30.  I am so excited because a few other ladies at my church have decided to join the party.  All those that have been doing it are reporting great results.  And me?  Well eating healthy is not the issue.  HOWEVER I find that I do a lot of emotional eating.  I follow the prescribed meal plan at each meal (protein, veggies, and good fat) and for the most part I am satisfied until the next meal.  But I find that if my tenacious toddler pushes the right buttons, or I have a lot to do, I am reaching for something to snack on (a mini escape if you will), EVEN WHEN I AM NOT HUNGRY!  Sigh. Always something to commit to prayer, so glad God never gets tired of me.  Some of you have asked for recipes, below are a few suggestions.  Enjoy! 

• This website has a list of 31 family recipes for Whole 30.  If that doesn't work for you, try this website.  I am a big fan of her recipes.
• Baked sweet potatoes are simple and delicious. Poke holes in unpeeled sweet potatoes and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for a hour or more.  I sometimes bake them for a hour and a half. I find that the longer I bake them, the sweeter they are.  Once cooked, top with coconut oil or ghee.  ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!  The longer I go without added sugars, the more I can appreciate the sweetness of the SWEET potato.
• oven baked sweet plantains These are delicious.  You can also fry them.  I prefer to bake them with either olive or coconut oil because I can pop them in the oven and forget about them.
• Roasted vegetables are delicious.

• Green plantain chips are delicious.  Use an oil that is Whole30 approved.  I personally love these with coconut oil.
• cauliflower rice can be used for stir fry or experiment with different seasonings. 
• Roasted portobella mushroom  you can use this as a "bun" for your hamburgers (may be bending the rules here a little bit).
• Visit this website for some great condiments recipe.  Or again, you can do a google search on Whole30 condiments.  Pinterest also has some great ideas.

Few Tips

•  Get a roasting pan and/or crock pot.  Believe me when I say you will not regret these purchases.  I find that when I braise the meat and put it  in crock pot or roasting pan and let it cook for a few hours, the meat is ALWAYS super tender.
•  When possible try to season meats night before.  This technique combined with cooking the meats at low temperatures (I normally do 300 in the oven) always gives great results.
•  Go easy on the salt.  Experiment with different herbs.  Go crazy with garlic and onions.
• I learned from the this cookbook that adding foods like tomato paste and mushrooms to a dish adds another element of flavor, its so true, try it!
• Challenge yourself to buy a new vegetable each time you visit the grocery store.  Don’t know how to cook it, no problem, Google to the rescue.  I LOVE GOOGLE!  You can find a ton of WHOLE30 approved recipes on the internet.  Don't assume that  because you didn't like a certain vegetable as a child you wont like it as an adult if it is prepared a different way. 
• Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night, it really makes a big difference in your eating habits.  If you want more of the scientific explanation, Google it.
• Don’t be too uptight, have fun in the kitchen.  EXPERIMENT!  And if it doesn’t turn out right, there is always tomorrow to try again!

If you are doing the Whole30, I would love it if you left a comment to let me know how its going.

Gods Truth Isn't Accommodating

"I'm glad it's going to warm up in the next few days," said the librarian.  Are you kidding me? Did she just say warm up? It's amazing how after dealing with temperatures below zero, the mid 20s can be referred to as warming up.  Her experience with the bitter cold caused her definition of warm to be redefined.   As I was sweeping my kitchen floor later on that day I began to reflect on the comment made by the librarian. That's exactly what has happened to a lot of  "Christians" today.  We live in a culture where sin is rampant and we have become desensitized to truth.  We give in to the temptation to redefine Gods standards, something we have no business or authority to do.  Contrary to popular belief, truth is not relative.  God has not called us to be versatile Christians, willing to redefine his truth to be more "accomodating."  He has called us to be holy , standing for truth even if it's not embraced (1 Peter 1:16 ).  His truth doesn't change like the weather.  It's constant.

Greed, lying, homosexuality, fornicating,  stealing, cheating is NEVER ok (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). As my pastor previously mentioned, God created marriage so try as we might, we can't redefine it. it's so easy for us to give a nod of approval to the very nice gay couple or the well educated boyfriend and girlfriend who are living together and fornicating. Or say it's ok for the poor person to tell a "white lie," because they are struggling and the system has robbed them anyway.  I mean after all we are seeing worse sins happen around us so that ain't too bad.  WRONG! It is that bad, not because that's my opinion but because God said it.   Believe me, I am not trying to act as if I have never sinned or that I am perfect.  I have displeased God many times and have not always lived out or loved HIS truth.  But hear me when I say, I thank  God for mercy and grace and Him giving me a chance to repent and get it right.  Cause Lord knows I haven't always done right and was a very nice sinner.  The good news is, that opportunity for repentance was not only extended to me, but to all (John 3:16).  How awesome!

Truth is God will never change his mind about his truth(Hebrews 13:8) no matter how extreme sin gets, and it will continue to get worse.  The manual for holiness will not be rewritten, sorry no updated copies of the bible where that extreme holiness is edited out.  He wants us hot or cold (Revelation 3:16), not lukewarm, not straddling the fence, not somewhere in the middle, not a versatile Christian.  By his grace I want to remain hot and live out and speak His truth...and you?

Whole30 Day 1

Today is my first day of the Whole30 program and I am super excited!   A few ladies and friends at my church have decided to join me and I am looking forward to all the great testimonials that we will have.  If you are still on the fence about joining the challenge, come on, why not?  I don't think you will regret it.  If you are feeling a little challenged in the kitchen and need some ideas, visit Here for some great suggestions.  Don't forget to take a before picture  and don't obsess over the scale.  As a matter of fact, they recommend that you  not step on the scale until the end of the 30 days. It really is not worth obsessing about the number on the scale, focus on how your clothes fit and how you are feeling.  I am big on journaling, so if you are up to it, record changes in moods, energy level, emotional connection to foods that you didn't realize you had over the next 30 days (what triggers eating when you are not really hungry, etc.).  I made this yummy super easy crockpot chicken with baked sweet potatoes and roasted veggies today to start the Whole30. I sure hope you jump on the bandwagon!