Mornings on the Farm

September 10, 20171 Comment

When I was a little girl, I use to spend weeks at a time on my grandparents’ farm in Tennessee. I would go and stay, and then wail when my mom would come up to take me home.

As a kid, it was my favorite place. My grandparents would drop everything when I would get there. And we would play outside, ride four-wheelers, ride horses, go fishing. It was always perfect.

Fast-forward twenty-something years, and the farm still holds a special place in my heart. But getting to spend time up here is scarce. So I was super excited to get a stop-over here on our way to Nashville.

Who wouldn’t want to wake up here? Have coffee on the front porch? Couple minutes of journaling? Quiet time?

My Papaw’s been gone several years now. But whenever I’m up here sitting on the porch, I still feel like he is around. Watching over us. Quietly participating by keeping this place so beautiful.

I miss him terribly.

But visiting the farm always makes it a little better. Bittersweet. But a little better.

This place feels more like home than anywhere else.

So many memories. I’m so grateful to remember.

Whole30 Parmesan Chicken

September 9, 2017Leave a comment

I’m a big fan of Italian food, but I don’t eat it very often. Pasta does weird things to my blood sugar.

On a rare occasion, I will whip up something inspired by Italy. But when you’re on Whole30 and the Italian craving hits, you have to improvise.

And so was born this Whole30 version of Chicken Parmesan.

After throwing the chicken in an egg wash, I breaded the chicken in a mixture of almond flour and coconut flour with Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Heated up a jar of Thrive Market tomato sauce.

Sautéed some Veggie Noodle Co. butternut squash noodles.

And called this dinner.

And it is spectacular.

Full of flavor and texture. We loved every bite.

What are your favorite weeknight dinner shortcuts?

Roasted Apple Chicken Sausage and Broccoli over Cauliflower Rice

September 8, 2017September 8, 20173 Comments

I love a sheet pan dinner. Throwing everything on one pan and roasting it all in the oven is the ideal (lazy) way to create a delicious meal when you would rather be doing something else.

This sheet pan dinner was originally suppose to be served with a baked sweet potato. But one of my pre-baked potatoes was kind of yucky looking on the inside so I had to improvise as dinner was coming to a close. Thankfully, I had some cauliflower rice in the freezer.

With the broccoli and apple chicken sausage ready to do, I didn’t have to wait long for the cauliflower rice to heat up in the microwave.

I seasoned the cauliflower rice with avocado oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. The roasted broccoli and sausage was seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

I topped my sausage and veggies with a little Cholula Hot Sauce and Primal Kitchen Ranch Dressing. Both are Whole30 approved. And I can’t live without Cholula. It’s the absolute best.

What are your go-to weeknight dinners?

Barre Harmony with Daily Burn

September 7, 2017September 7, 2017Leave a comment

I’ve never been a fan of working out in a gym.

The longest, most rewarding exercise for me as been running. But I know building total body strength is important to staying healthy while running. So I try other things, but nothing really ever sticks.

On January 1, 2017, I bought a subscription to Daily Burn because I don’t live anywhere near a gym, but I need to have the motivation and someone telling me what to do when I do strengthening exercises. I can’t make up stuff to hold my attention, but Daily Burn has lots of programs to pick from so you find what works for you.

After trying lots of stuff, I recently landed on the Barre Harmony program. It’s a mix of ballet, yoga and pilates. The workouts are only 25-35 minutes, and they change it up enough that the workout flies by. I don’t dread doing them, and I feel like they give me a low-impact, effective workout. Isn’t that what we all want?

Every couple of days, I will mix in a kickboxing class or a Cardio Sculpt class to switch it up. But I always come back to Barre Harmony.

I highly recommend Daily Burn. If you want to work out with me from the comfort of your home, you should definitely try it out.

What are your favorite ways to workout? Any workout-at-home friends out there? What programs do you use?

Prosciutto Egg Muffins

September 6, 2017September 5, 2017Leave a comment

Weekday breakfasts on the Whole30 can get boring. Usually I make hard boiled eggs with a little bit of Wholly Guacamole. It’s the best I can do most days.

But some days I feel adventurous (and obviously tired of hard boiled eggs) so I whip up some egg muffins.

And these beauties are perfect in every way.

You don’t need much to make it happen. Just a package of Applegate Prosciutto (check your labels), eggs, coconut oil, salt and pepper. You could add in tomato and basil. Or peppers and onions. But I just went classic.

Everybody likes eggs and ham.

Line the muffin tin with a piece of prosciutto. Crack an egg into the muffin tin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Not much salt since the prosciutto is pretty salty. But you need a little to season the egg.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

The end result are gorgeous egg muffins with a crispy prosciutto cup. That’s pretty hard to beat. I bet we will have these egg muffins a few times during this round of Whole30.

What are your favorite breakfast treats?