Day 22

So, you have spent 21 days eating clean (maybe a slip up or two). 

What are your plans for day 22? A binge to make up for lost time? Maybe adding in some potatoes? Getting back to having a glass of wine with dinner? 


Add foods back slow. If you have been without dairy for 21 days, don't start with a giant pot of fondue. As you ease back into a less restrictive way of eating, think about the gains you have made. 

Also, you have been really thoughtful about what you ate and drank for the last 21 days - why would you stop now? 


Start simple. Increase your carb intake. How do you feel? How is your sleep? How is your digestion?


Ok, yeah, I know a few of you can't make it another minute without food X. Sure, have it. How do you feel after? 


Don't throw this away. You have done a lot of work. 

I have had several slips. So, I am going through this week - after a little break this weekend. I really did not do great this Detox. I had wine several times. And, to my dismay, it messed with my digestion and my sleep. I still have some work to do. 

Please share your experience with the 21 Day Sugar Detox.

Cure for what ails you.....

This post is recycled from a couple of years ago. It's yummy. Make some then eat it. And wash your hands. 

Ok, once more. Make your own bone broth from some chicken. It's not that hard AND it makes your food so much yummier. AND you are going to get some great nutrition. 

Bone broth is easy. Save the bones from your roasted chicken, put them in your crockpot with water and a splash of apple cider vinegar, cook for 24-48 hours, drain and store. 

Chicken (I either use a whole chicken or chicken thighs.). 
Grassfed butter or chicken fat
1 large Yellow onion - chopped
4 Whole carrots (big ones not those baby ones. WITH skin) – cut into half inch pieces
3 Celery Stalks – cut into half inch pieces
1/2 Tsp of Celtic Sea salt
1/4 Tsp of white pepper
1/8 Tsp of chili powder
1 Tsp of Garlic Powder
2 cups of Summer Squash (I like the starburst or yellow squash) cut into big bite sized chucks
Big Apple – cut into small pieces (all your veggies should be cut to about the same size but, the apple pieces should be half the size of the veggie pieces)
Chicken broth

Roast the chicken. As I am lazy (or we can say busy. Yeah, let’s stick with busy), I roast the chicken in the crockpot. I leave the skin on and just add salt and pepper. After the chicken is done roasting, you will need to pull all that tender chicken off the bones. Keep all the drippings. Seriously, if you skip that step, I can’t help you. You can roast the chicken at any time and then just throw it in the refrigerator until ready to make your soup.  KEEP THE DRIPPINGS. Also, keep the fat. 

In a pot, over medium heat, melt a nice spoonful of your chicken fat. Really? No chicken fat? You are not making this easy. Next time, ok? Heat butter. Add onions, carrots and celery. Saute about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and spices. Once it is simmering, add the squash and apple. Add the drippings from when you roasted the chicken. 
Simmer until carrots are done to your preference. Toss in the chicken that has been removed from the bone. 

Have a nice bowl of soup, then call your mom and say something nice, Mom (yeah, I'm not your mom)

You are right and a challenge

It has been pointed out to me that I do not post or generate very many recipes. Well, you are right (please, do not tell my husband that I know how to speak these words). I think that people who read this, who are seeking to learn, who actually follow this blog or my facebook page are better served learning food.

What do I mean by learning food? People are very disconnected from food. I can see this from the people who want to eat healthy but refuse to learn to cook to the meat eaters who find hunting or even many cuts of meat to be gross. Or, people come to me wanting lots of recipes - something fun or super flavorful and very easy. What about not having a recipe? What about preparing some high quality food with as few ingredients as possible and enjoying the flavor of the food. One thing I learned when I started buying pastured meat was meat has flavor. A pastured chicken has tons of flavor. Vegetables are sweet, bitter, spicy, savory, and lots of other descriptive words. And you can bring out other flavors by the cooking method.

Through Friday, I am looking for your favorite meal from the last week. You can post on my facebook page Eating With Mom. Scroll down to the highlighted thread. On Friday, January 18th, I will randomly select a winner to receive the cookbook Make It Paleo.

Our next challenge? For the next week, for one meal a day, eating as simply and yummily as possible. Meat, high quality fat, and veggie. Scale back on the seasonings - focus on complimenting rather than masking.

Let work on eating simply together. Mom

Butter

I love food. I think of it fairly simply. My favorite food groups are butter, pate, ribeye steak, and everything else. I love butter. People are shocked when they here the my family of 4 goes through 1/2 pound to a 1 pound of butter in a week. I buy grassfed/pastured butter and honestly, it tastes like heaven.

As I support some folks doing the 21 Day Sugar Detox , I am getting lots of questions about clarified butter. If you are doing Level 3, this is your only dairy. If you are doing Level 3, yes, you can make bulletproof coffee with clarified butter. You can also use Ghee. Making clarified butter is really quite easy. Keep in mind you will lose about 25% of the volume when removing the milk fats and some of the moisture. You can make any amount. I make a good bit. It lasts in the refrigerator about 6 months. 

In a pan on the stove, heat your unsalted butter over very low heat. It will melt and then simmer gently. It can splatter sometimes so please be careful. There will be foam rising to the top. I skim off while it is heating. when all the splattering is done, take off the heat and skim off the rest of the foam. 

Place cheesecloth in a strainer. pour the warm butter through the cheesecloth into a bowl or your storage container. I like to store in glass jars. After cool, place in the refrigerator. 

Now, how to do a bulletproof coffee? Make a high quality coffee, add grassfed butter/clarfied butter, add high quality coconut oil, and then blend in a blender or with an immersion blender. 

I love Kerrygold Butter. In Dallas, the price can range from $3 -$5 for a half pound. So, I buy about 2-3 pounds at a time at the lower price. 

Welcome to San Angelo CrossFit !!

Eating With Mom is excited to announce  21 Day Sugar Detox is coming to San Angelo Crossfit. We have have a quick orientation. The guides can be purchased by  Clicking Here.

First a little about me....

After having 2 babies, I was overweight, had horrible insomnia, stopped working out, and was exhausted. So, I cleaned up my diet, my kitchen, and my cooking. As I went through this process, I have met some super smart people. What I learned helped me make those changes. But, change is hard. Over time I have helped friends stop eating processed foods, learn how to cook, what real food is, and how to enjoy food. It is really amazing to help people change their lives.

A little about 21 Day Sugar Detox.....

Even those of us who focus on eating clean can lose our way. In 21 days, you can change habits - so, why not change how you treat your body? 21 Day Sugar Detox focuses on eliminating carb carvings, leveling out insulin, and getting back on track.

There are three levels. Level 1 is appropriate for anyone transitioning from the standard American diet. Those currently eating Paleo should do Level 3 which is a strict paleo program. Level 2 is the primal level. Currently, I am doing a Level 2 detox which I am going to continue through with San Angelo Crossfit.

All levels will eliminate processed foods, wheat, bread, pasta, corn, soy, rice, potatoes, alcohol, natural and artificial sweeteners, and fruit. Well, small exception to the fruit, a green tipped banana or green apple. Level 2 and Level 3 have additional restricted foods.

So, what do you eat? Meats, vegetables, some nuts, and high quality fats. Do you cook? This is a great time to learn or to cook more.

Please email me any questions. I can be reached via email at diana @ eatingwithmom.com 

I look forward to meeting you all, Diana, aka Mom

Day 1 and a little honesty

Today was not smooth. I know some women do the work/kids balance like it's easy. Yeah, I am not that person. Today my friend and I traded our kids back and forth so we could each get some work done and get through this last day of winter break. My kids were great today. Her kid was great today. Ok, they were way better for me but, I took morning and lunch time. Then, I tried to fit 10 hours of work into 5 hours. It was like me trying to fit into a size 0. I was discouraged and cranky.

I know a big reason I was cranky is because I have been living the carboholic dream. Potatoes with my eggs in the morning. Tortillas with every meal. Wine every evening. Crackers, chips, and even candy. Boy, oh boy, I was living the high life. Except the fact that I couldn't sleep, my digestion is not good, and my big jeans fit a bit snug. So, now you know why I am totally on board with the 21 Day Sugar Detox.

And, I am feeling like I am missing something. I have done this "detox" enough times to know that this is hard. Going into it this way is hard. Eating the right things so that I can feel better and get back on top of my game feels like work right now. But, I also know that about 5-10 days from now, a busy day won't be confused with a stressful day.

I am going to start tomorrow with another awesome breakfast. I am already looking forward to it. It will be a cup of bulletproof coffee with a plate of eggs cooked in duck fat sitting on top a huge pile of kick ass kale.

Mom's Kick Ass Kale:

2 bunches of kale
half of a small onion diced into small pieces
2 tablespoons of bacon fat/duck fat/chicken fat/tallow/coconut oil
1 1/2 cups of bone broth (vegetarians, if you are using a vegetable broth then use a whole onion)
Celtic Sea Salt

Heat the fat over medium heat. Cook the onion until translucent. Add washed kale and cover. Let it cook about 2 minutes and use tongs to flip it all over. Add the broth. Cook covered for 10 minutes. Stir well and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Add a pinch or two of sea salt. When done, it will have a darker color and will be tender.

To wash kale, I use my salad spinner. I tear or cut the kale and put in the strainer. The bottom and the strainer are filled with water. I swooch around (like you are hand washing clothes) all the kale. I dump the water and do it again 2 more times. To remove that water, use the spinner part.

Cooking the kale in an animal fat and then the bone broth gets it a richness that pairs well with a flavorful meat. I cook extra as it heats up well in a skillet to go with eggs.

Have some greens, Mom

The Big Prize

So, I was asked "what's the big prize for the 21 Day Sugar Detox/Nutrition Challenge?" and I admit I stood there a little perplexed. I had been trying to explain that it is not a contest, it is about one's health. I love doing a nutrition challenge with others because it reminds me that the most important thing about food is nourishment. It also reminds me to cook. It reminds me that wholesome, nutritious food can be really yummy.

So, what are my goals for my 21 Day Sugar Detox?

1. 100% compliance. No slip ups. What will be my greatest temptation? Wine and Crispin.
2. 8 hours of sleep a night.
3. Work out 5 days a week.
4. No wine.

Yep, wine does need to be on there twice. I love a nice glass of wine. The cooking every meal will grind on me a bit. But, it will be not pouring a glass of wine in the evening or ordering sparkling water when out that will cause me to whine.

It is just 21 days. I will likely drink LOTS of herbal tea. My crock pot will barely get put away. My family will long for dinner out. But, I can do this for 21 days.

Tomorrow night will be roast in the crock pot.

In the morning, I will sear the roast for some of that good carmelization flavor. Also into the crockpot will go chopped onion, carrots, some thyme, sea salt, garlic, and lamb stock. It will cook on warm all day. The sides will be sauteed mustard greens and butternut squash roasted with onions. Tomorrow, dinner will be right after my workout. So, the squash is timed so that I can have some too.

Sleep well, Mom

Sugar Detox & Nutrition Challenge starts January 7th

21 Day Sugar Detox is coming!


Click Here to purchase the 21 Day Sugar Detox!
Let's start this new year off right! Mom