21 Day Sugar Detox - Getting Started

Yep, I am at it again.
I have had a ton of fun - lots of treats and wine. Yeah, I need to get focused. So, 21 Day Sugar Detox here I come.

Here are some resources.

If you want to buy the books or have the books but want the extra resources Just CLICK HERE.
I have a Facebook Group going. you can find it HERE.

Ok, it's time to clean out your kitchen. Here's some help Clean out your kitchen

It's only 3 weeks. It's just food.
Mom

This is the end.....

Do you have that Doors song in your head now? No? Just me. great.

 I need you to do something for me - go into your kitchen. Actually I need you to do that A LOT over the next few weeks. This weekend, let's clean out the bad stuff and fill your kitchen with good stuff. For those of you who live with folks who are not along for the ride, ask for their help. My family and I have a compromise. Food in the home is super clean. They can do whatever they want outside of the house. And, if their choices give them a tummy ache, I will make them bone broth. Figure out what works for you and the people in your life.

Let's start cleaning out your kitchen. Get a bag or a box. Put anything bad for you in that bag or box and take it out of your house. Anything unopened, sure, give it to a food pantry. Anything opened, well, maybe you have a friend or a neighbor you can give it to. But, don’t finish that last bag of Doritos and that last six pack of Coke simply because you paid for it. You bought something faulty. It is broken and toxic. Do not eat it. Start with the frig. Throw out most of your condiments. Yeah, I see the HFCS, and nasty oils in there. You know what a great condiment is? Fresh salsa. Or homemade mayo. Oh, you don’t like keeping those because they go bad? Your food should go bad if not eaten. Food should not last for weeks on end. Food should be living – it is what you are using to keep you alive. Now some foods take on special powers through fermenting and those may last for a bit longer. Ok, what is in your butter tray? If the answer isn’t butter (ok, maybe ghee), then throw it out. That fat-free butter like substance has no heath benefit. Fat will not make you fat. Buy some good butter. Butter make from the milk of pastured animals has some great health benefits. And, you know what is amazing? Butter!! Personally, I like Kerrygold. Now, look at your eggs. What? No eggs? Come on. Good eggs will be expensive compared to the mass produced eggs from sickly chickens. But, eggs from pastured, free range chickens are really inexpensive sources of protein. The yolks are fluffy and an amazing golden, almost orange color. Now, for the tough one. Your milk. Are you so excited when you find the carton of milk with the expiration date that is two months away? Yeah, that is not food. The nutrition in that food has been killed by the high temperature pasteurization. So they add some vitamins back. Oh, but you like skim milk? Well those vitamins they added back are fat soluble. Without fat in the milk, you are not getting benefit from those vitamins and minerals. Buy a smaller container of milk. And, find some non-homogenized milk. If you can find low temp pasteurized or raw, even better. (If you are doing level 3 of the 21 Day Sugar Detox skip the dairy).

Next go to your freezer. Oh, you thought you thought you could keep those Hot Pockets? You have got to be kidding me. Your freezer should be used for ice, frozen meat, frozen fruit, frozen veggies, frozen homemade stock, and well, maybe a good vodka. Keep going. You are already determined/whiney. The pantry/cupboard. Yeah, most of that should be tossed. It has food colorings that are not allowed in most countries. There are oils that are awful for you. What oils do I have in my pantry? Coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, a lighter olive oil. In my refrigerator, I always have butter, a jar of chicken fat, a jar of bacon fat, and a bottle of sesame oil. When I cook, I grab either the coconut oil, butter, or animal fat. The EVOO is for drizzling on anything. And, the light olive oil is for making mayo.

Eating better requires planning. We have gotten lazy about food. Convenience has become more important than flavor or nutrition. Good food takes time. It takes planning. This will mean different things for different people. Some people will need to sit down and plan each meal. I cook pretty simply. So, I make sure I have enough meat & veggies on hand and every morning I figure out lunch and dinner as I stand in front of the frig/freezer. The tough one besides meals is snacks. Unless you are growing, you don’t need snacks. But, sometimes your meal timing is off or you just need a little something extra. Do not eat crap. Have a hard cooked egg, some nuts, some cut up veggies, a piece of fruit. Chips are not a snack.

Another one that is tough in my home is drinks. The rule in my house is soda is only to be used as a mixer with alcohol. Too young to drink alcohol? Yeah, too young for soda. Growing bodies do not need that sugar nor those chemicals. So, we drink water. Lots of water. I buy good water. I also keep different waters on hand. Sweet spring water. Mineral water for after working out. Milk is allowed whenever growing bodies want it. It is full fat and raw when I can get raw milk. The grown ups in my home drink iced tea. For the guy who insists it be sweetened, he uses local, raw, unfiltered honey. Eating clean is not a diet. Yeah, you might lose weight; you might not. You will definitely feel better. You will sleep better. You will also be able to figure out if you eat too much (then eat less) or eat too little (eat more). When I cleaned up my diet, I figured out I did not eat enough. This made no sense to me as I was chubby. But, I have learned that “fat-free” way of life had me so worried about calories that I would starve and then indulge.
Put down those pizza bites and go grill a steak, Mom

New Year's resolutions are dumb

I am currently on a quest to lose weight. It started at the beginning of the month. I did a CrossFit competition and noticed that I was a good bit heavier than my competitors. I don't have a problem with my fluffy 41 year old body. It made two awesome babies. It's freaking strong. And, my tush is awesome. But, I want to get stronger and be faster. So, I cut out wine, corn tortillas and cut back on chocolate. Then, Christmas arrived. Yeah, I have went into indulge mode. But, two days after Christmas, I am starting to get the goodies out of my house. I won't open another bottle of wine until my mother in law arrives.

I am not waiting for January 1st to make miraculous changes in my life. I am starting now.

Part of the altering of the food on my plate is to go a step further and follow the 21 Day Sugar Detox by Diana Sanfilippo. This used to be available via ebook. Now, it's a real book and she also has a cook book (I have some amazon.com affiliate links below). Why follow a meal plan? For me, it is the structure at the beginning. Also the ease of finding recipes in the new cookbook.

I don't think of this as a diet. If i eat something I am not supposed to, I don't stress about it. The world will not end because I have rice one night. Still, I do need to get out of this indulgent stage. Knowing I shouldn't have that glass of wine will keep me on track.

Don't stress but, figure out one thing that will get your health on track. 2014 will be a great year, Mom

Leftovers and Quick Lemon-Coconut Chicken Soup

Last night we had a potluck. And Italian themed potluck. Now that's not a minefield for a gluten free eater is it? I made my famous lemon chicken. It was inexpensive for a meat dish. And, after it was done, I just piled it in my crockpot and poured all the dripping over it. So, it stays warm. Here's the recipe - sub lemon for lime. Yummy Lemon/Lime Chicken. There was a bunch of the "juice" and a little chicken leftover. I kept it all. If you are buying pastured meat/poultry from a good source, never throw away the drippings.

For lunch today I was hoping I could talk the kids into going somewhere where I could get a big pile of fajitas with a mountain of guacamole. No deal. They wanted hot dogs. I am fine with them eating Applegate grassfed hot dogs. So, we came home. I took the leftover Lemon chicken and all the juice and made an amazing soup.

Mom's Quick Lemon Coconut Soup:

1 Tbsp Coconut oil
1/2 Yellow onion - chopped
1 medium Zucchini or yellow squash (or any vegetable that tastes good sauteed and goes with lemon chicken) - cut slightly larger than the onions
Pinch of Celtic sea salt
1 can of Coconut Milk
1.5 cups Leftover lemon chicken drippings (yes, the chicken schmaltz, the gelatinous goo, everything)
1 cup leftover chicken
1 Tsp of red curry paste
1.5 cups of Spinach

Heat coconut oil over medium heat. Cook chopped onion and squash until onions are translucent. Add a little Celtic sea salt. Add the chicken drippings. If straight from the frig and mixed in with the chicken, just scrape around the chicken. Pull the chicken off the bone and tear into pieces. Once it comes to a simmer, add chicken and coconut milk. Mix the red curry paste with a bit of the warm broth and add to your pan. Add spinach just before serving.

It took me about 10 minutes to make and was seriously amazing.

Fall is here. Enjoy, Mom

Scale and Trail Mix

Last weekend something happened. I did something that I had purposely avoided for almost two years. I stepped on a scale. Now, by the way my clothing fits, I had a number in mind. I understand I have added a good deal of muscle. But, still the number on the scale (143 for the record) shocked me to the point where tears came to my eyes. Yes, fine, the number on the scale made me cry.

And that is ridiculous. I am fit. I eat well. I am working on sleeping well. The number on the scale can't tell me if I am fat or thin or even if I am healthy or unhealthy. I took that number as an insult, as a sign of failure.

I still stand by my assertion that the number on the scale means nothing and 98% of the time stepping on the scale is of no value. Throw away your scale. And if you do have to step on a scale, it's just a number. If you step on a scale everyday, stop that now.

Ok, I make great trail mix. I have been getting requests for the recipe. Here you go:

Mom's Trail Mix

raw almonds
raw macadamia nuts
raw pumpkin seeds
dark chocolate (I buy bars and chop them. But, you can use chips too)
beef jerky chopped to same size as chocolate
dried mango (in bite size pieces)

During the hot Texas summer, I keep this right next to my cold bottle of water.

Have a great weekend. Spend it with loved ones, Mom

Rough Morning and Bacon Goat Muffins

So, my four year old decided to paint her nails this morning. She was hysterical while I was cleaning off the nail polish from her arms, wrists, and legs. I had forgot so get my coffee maker all loaded up and the timer set last night. No coffee was ready for me. And, to really top things off, my cooktop is not working. I just wanted some eggs and coffee.

I brewed some coffee. By the way, I use Noble Coyote Coffee , Cultivar Coffee , or White Rock Coffee. Beans are sourced to fair trade farms. Roasting is done in small batches. My favorite is Costa Rican beans. I like that bit of citrus. I blended my coffee with Kerrygold butter, coconut oil, and goat butter.

Mom's Bacon Goat Muffins:

1 pound of Applegate Bacon
9 eggs
4 oz goat cheese
Muffin Pan

I cut the bacon into workable strips. A trimmed piece of bacon went into the bottom of nine of the muffin cups. I lined each of those cups with more bacon on the sides. I baked for 5 minutes on 425. I then changed the oven temperature to 375. As the oven cooled, I put one egg into each of the cups and a big dollop of goat cheese. Bake until the yolk is cooked to your liking. I crumbled a little more goat cheese on top and served with fruit.

These are also good with spinach or kale added before the eggs.

Have a good morning and stay out of the nail polish, Mom

Heavy

So, this weekend I read the book Heavy - a mother, a daughter, a diet - a memoir, by Dara-Lynn Weiss. As the mother of two little girls, I found this book chilling and disturbing. For those who might remember, this is the mom who was featured in Vogue in 2012 for her radical weight loss strategy for her 7 year old daughter. 

The first thing I want to make clear is I have no idea what it is like for the author. My kids have always been healthy. The author did not have the same experience wi her daughter. Like the author my own experience with my weight and food has not always been healthy. But, I do think the author thought she was doing the right thing for her overweight daughter. It was really heartbreaking though to read how misguided this woman was in terms of nutrition and health. What a tough year her family had as the author forced calorie restriction upon her daughter as the only means of that girl losing weight. 

That is my first concern. Why is weight the measure of health? This woman was obsessed with the scale. She could look at her daughter and see a belly when the rest of the children her age had thinned out. Success and failure was based on what the scale said each week. Now, I haven't stepped on a scale in 18 months. I don't see a need to step on a scale. When my clothes are tight, I know that I have been indulging too much. I watch my kids playing and I can see tiny muscles. But, I am pretty strict about what they eat. They are growing. They are building who they will be. They are building the bodies that will get them through what will hopefully be long, healthy lives. 

Weight may or may not be a measure health. It would not be the only indicator of health I would use in my own family. Using weight as the only indicator of health is how I think the author got to the point that she would rather feed her growing daughter low calorie junk food that whole, real foods. The thing is, she knew is was a bad choice. She knew her daughter should not be eating that highly processed "food". But she felt she had no choice. 

The author had lots of opinions on foods and even exercise. Why exercise when it will just cause one to eat more? Instead, she believes that some people are just predisposed to overeat. I hope along the way, she has spent some time learning the difference between cardio and strength training and the effect on the body. 

I also hope that she has learned about food quality. She leaned on highly processed foods so her daughter could feel normal. But, the author also pointed out that childhood was not in fact about cookies and cupcakes. She sees that food is a part of family life, a part of a community, a way to show love. But instead of finding the wonder is real food, she picks apart processed foods to discover their calorie content. Nourishment and nutrients mean nothing to her. I hope the lack of real nutrition and good fats do not have a long term effect on her daughter. I hope that both mother and daughter can find ways to eat real food in healthy portions. 

It's not that I don't see the emotion in food. I feel like one way I show love to my husband and kids is cooking a great meal for them. But, my focus is using high quality ingredients, cooking to enhance the food, and making sure all appreciate that a good deal of effort goes into every bite. From the farmer that raised the animals that became our meat to the farmer or gardener who raises our produce. 

I hope that my daughters do not seek food as comfort. I hope that they will not see their bodies as imperfect. My daughters and I discuss being strong, being healthy, and the beauty of being female. i have a feeling this book will haunt me. As a mother who focuses on healthy food, I say no, a lot. But, since my children has no health issues, I also let go when we are outside of the home. A few times when reading Heavy, I worried that I might sound that obsessed at times. But, I realized that I do not carry around the level of guilt and responsibility as the author.  

I am glad I read the book. I had really demonized this mother after reading her Vogue article. It reminded me that most parents are doing the best that they can and what they believe is right. It also reminded me that the general public doesn't understand the importance of what we eat. 

Stop worrying so much, Mom