Chili Dogs

September 27, 2017Leave a comment

Who says Whole30 has to be filled with boring dinners?

Not me.

I’m all in for flavor and healthy.

So how does chili dogs apply to that?

One big and flavor packed way.

Applegate makes Whole30 compliant hot dogs. I happened to be at Whole Foods (shopping for Amazon discounts) when I spotted them.

Then, it hit me.

Chili dogs.

So I made the classic chili recipe from the Whole30 book, and Whole30 chili dogs were born.

And we weren’t sad about it.

Only thing not pictured in the photo was a squiggle of mustard.

It was a favorite of ours.

And it will happen again soon.

How to Do Fancy Dinners on Whole30

September 26, 20171 Comment

Whole30 is a fantastic program. Until there is something to celebrate.

Holidays. Birthdays. Weddings. Babies. Good days.

In my world, celebrating anything is about the food. What are we going to eat?

September had three things we had to combat: Labor Day and Brad’s mom’s birthday and our anniversary.

Since Ladonna’s birthday fell during the middle of the week, I promised her a big fancy family dinner.

So I spent the week preparing the menu and getting everything together so I could make her a birthday celebration.

What was on the menu?

Herb Roasted Chicken from the Farm at Barefoot Bend

Balsamic Dijon Roasted Root Vegetables

Sautéed Zephyr Squash

Paleo Apple Crumble

It was a dinner of firsts.

First time to roast a whole chicken. First time to make a Paleo dessert that was Whole30 approved. First time to make homemade chicken stock.

But the best part was we are well. We celebrated a special lady’s birthday. We were 100 percent Whole30 compliant, even if some of the items were considered a Paleo treat (or as the Whole30 creator calls it sex with your pants on foods).

We ranted and raved about how good a truly free range farm chicken tastes. It was a delightful experience I was happy to create and center around good food.

What are your favorite ways to celebrate something when you are trying to maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle?

Taco Tuesday

September 19, 2017Leave a comment

My love of tacos runs deep. I think I could eat them for every meal. While Brad would pick pizza or salsa and chips to live off of forever, I would pick tacos.

Tacos are life. I love the variety you can make, but a classic taco is hard to beat. Whole30 can make Taco Night a little challenging, but I love getting to enjoy extra veggies and eating more of the good stuff since I’m not filling up on chips and tortillas.

This time around I went with a romaine lettuce boat for my taco shell. But I stuffed it full of cauliflower rice, grassfed ground beef, salsa, guacamole and hot sauce.

Brad ate his with a Siete cassava flour and coconut flour wrap. And we both enjoyed a little cauliflower rice taco bowl for round two.

We left the dinner table full and happy. It was one of my favorite meals during this round of Whole30.

We have some big celebrations coming up this month. It’s Brad’s mom’s birthday this weekend, and Brad and I are celebrating our Two Year Anniversary the following week.

I’ve got grand ideas to celebrate his sweet mom’s birthday. I’m thinking roasted chicken with root veggies and some sort of sweet treat. It will be such a pretty presentation. I can’t wait.

But our anniversary has me stumped. I usually like to go out to eat so we can have a date night. But it falls on a Wednesday, and Little Rock isn’t the most paleo-friendly city. And Whole30 makes things extra complicated. So I’m open to ideas.

Any Whole30 fancy pants meal ideas for anniversaries?

Grateful Heart

September 18, 2017September 17, 2017Leave a comment

The weekend is for recharging your personal batteries. And that is exactly what I did.

I get so much pleasure out of spending time with people I love. We don’t even have to be doing anything. I just love the quality time.

Things I’m thankful for on this Monday.

Fields full of flowers. While to some, this would just be a bunch of weeds. But I enjoy looking at them. They fill a vast space full of life and give the butterflies a place to roam.

Taking a step back to appreciate the goodness around me is important to my mental wellness. It’s the little things, always.

Spending quality time outside with Annie. My sweet girl loves to be outside. She loves to lay in the sun on the porch. She loves getting to be lazy with me. Annie’s got those good weekend vibes going every single day.

Personal care is key for me. Thankful Beautycounter created amazing and safe products to help me live my best life. I use the Nourishing Skin Care line mostly everyday. But I take extra care over the weekend to make sure I’m putting my best foot (or in this case…face) forward.

I’m so thankful for all ways Beautycounter has changed my life. I’m able to promote a company I believe in, get awesome products for me and my friends and make a little money to put directly into savings.

It was a tough decision to say yes to Beautycounter, but I’m so glad I did it. And I only see good things coming from it in the future. Ask me how you can become a part of this amazing movement to better beauty.

What do you do on the weekends to recharge and cultivate gratitude?

Italian Sheet Pan Dinner

September 17, 2017Leave a comment

Whole30 is in full swing. And we are over the halfway mark.

This sheet pan dinner is inspired by Italian flavors, and it is super easy to make.

What you need:

Sheer Pan lined with aluminum foil
2 chicken breasts, diced
7-8 small baby red potatoes, diced
2 cups fresh green beans
Handful of cherry tomatoes
Salt, pepper, dried garlic and Italian seasoning, to taste
Drizzle of avocado oil
Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put diced chicken into a bowl with avocado oil, salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning. Let sit while you prep veggies.

Dice the potatoes, and cut the green beans into similar size pieces. Add whole cherry tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic. Drizzle with avocado oil.