Easy Shrimp Salad

Hiiiiiii!

Hope you’re all having a blasty blast. I’ve been in and out of meetings all day, but wanted to share this quick and super easy shrimp salad recipe I came up with last night. Now, I have to admit- I can’t take full credit for this. I based this recipe off of my favorite tuna salad recipe that I stole from one of my besties (and trainer) Ami. I’ll never forget it… we were in Estes Park Colorado visiting her mom and one afternoon she asked if her mom would make her “famous” tuna salad. Let me tell you- it was the best (and healthiest) tuna salad I had ever had. Changed my whole view on tuna.

So, without further ado, I give you “Amis” Shrimp Salad (that you can also make with tuna!)

1 lb wild, raw shrimp (I used frozen)
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley
2-4 celery stocks
1/4 c red onion
3 Hard-boiled eggs
1-2 tbsp home-made mayo
1-2 tbsp dijon
1 tbsp dill
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
Sweet pickles (optional)

Boil some water and add salt (like you would for pasta) Drop raw shrimp in. It really only takes about 5 minutes. Drain, cool, take the tails off, and chop em up. Next, chop up your celery, onion and eggs. Add them to the mix. Then add in your mayo, dijon, dill, parsley, salt, pepper. Mix it all up (and if you can) let set over night. The flavors will meld together and create deliciousness. I served mine today on a bed of red leaf lettuce with a whole tomato chopped up, 3 sweet pickles chopped up, and a half of an avocado chopped. No dressing needed as the shrimp salad had plenty of flavor.

Remember you can easily sub in canned tuna, canned salmon, scallops, white fish. It’s an easy and versatile recipe. Enjoy!

So I have good news, and bad news…

The good news is I tried my bridesmaid dress on last night, and it “fits”… I zipped it up, and well, it fits. The bad news is that it doesn’t quite fit right. Besides some minor altering, my stomach isn’t as flat as I want. To give you a better idea, here is the dress I’m referring to:

https://www.alfredangelo.com/collections/productdisplay.aspx?productID=8fac57ed-403a-4b43-b49d-c4a7f2986fac&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=0&colorId1=  The color is “Claret” not the black below.

It’s a gorgeous dress, stunning in the deep dark red color too. And if I looked like the chic above, I would look stunning in it too. But I definitely don’t.  So back to the bad news… I weighed myself this morning and I’m 12lbs from my goal. 52 days to lose 12lbs. Hopefully in the stomach area… maybe tone up my shoulders and arms… that would be ideal.

And I’m on it. Day 2 back on my diet track and it’s on. Lots of lean protein, veggies, some fruit, and tons and tons of water. Yesterday’s workout was killer, and tonight’s workout is going to be even harder for sure. I slept like crap last night… pretty sure I had at least one night terror and woke up with a migraine.  I’m thinking it might have something to do with watching Dateline on ID before bed… its possible LoL.

Anywho- today I made up some lean ground turkey and sautéed/braised cabbage with bacon, onion and garlic. I love braised cabbage and this recipe turned out OK. Not great, but ok. But, cabbage helps the digestive system, cleans ya out. Always a good thing. The bacon is right on track with the Whole30 (all natural), and the ground turkey is just great to have on hand. Put it on a salad, have it with some eggs for breakfast, or over a sweet potato for dinner. I think I actually will do that tonight for dinner.

I’ll check back in tomorrow!

53 days… is it enough time?

Happy Tuesday everyone! God I love three-day weekends. Especially Memorial Day… its pretty much my favorite family vacation weekend of the year. My family and our significant others go up to our house near Yosemite, go out on the lake, bbq, play a little drunken wiffle ball. So much fun.  This year was no different. We tend to have a tradition of getting in your face drunk on Saturday night, and I was the lucky winner this year. Go me.  All over a heated (and hilarious) debate started my Don Signori. His question was, ” how can you eat a pound of food and gain more than a pound?” Oh man did we come up with some good answers… and the theories got better and better as the empty bottles of wine accumulated in the middle of the table. It was a lot of fun!

So you’re probably asking what’s in 53 days? Welp, that would be my sister’s wedding. I have my bridesmaid dress that I havent tried on since we ordered it, and really need to do so. I’m nowhere near my goal weight, and I’m feeling pretty discouraged. I fell off my Whole30 train, ate some (delicious) but terrible for me foods and drinks. And now I’m back at ground zero. Or at least it feels that way. So I made a decision last night. Today is day 1 of 53. I have 53 days (or 7 weeks and 4 days) to get to my goal of losing 10-15lbs. To stick to my diet, to exercise 6 days a week, sleep 7-8 hours a night, drink lots of water, and hopefully not die in the process.  Theoretically this is doable. If I can lose 1-2lbs every week, I will hit my goal of 10lbs no problem. But I have to stick to my diet. I have to not eat the cake, have the margarita, or that piece of bread at dinner. I have to watch my portions, drink enough water, get in enough exercise.

Here’s how I’m going to do it:

1) Actually do my cook-up every week. Whatever it takes. Make the time and just freaking do it 🙂

2) Add in more cardio, specifically HIIT intervals on my (still broken, but hopefully soon-to-be-fixed) treadmill

3) SLEEP: this is huge for me. I’m a mess when I don’t get enough sleep. I’m already blonde, so this is devastating  <– I once drove past my office three times due to not enough sleep…

4) Get the junk out of the house, and keep it out! Honestly, we don’t really have that much “junk” since I’ve been doing the Whole30, but I gotta keep the chocolate chips out and sour patch kids.

5) Minimize eating out: Steven and I like to eat out, especially during the week. It’s easy, convenient, and were both so tired by 8pm that Chipotle sounds pretty good.  I just need to be smarter about this. Eating out doesn’t have to be a disaster, nor does it have to be the only thing I eat. I can get chipotle and add in some stuff I have at home. Or get the protein style burger, and have a sweet potato on the side.

All of this sounds so easy. Now I just have to do it. This blog is going to keep me accountable. It has to, so I’m asking all of you (the few that read my little blog) to support me in this as well.  Hold me accountable when I don’t post by the end of the day, ask me how the previous day went, and make me tell you what I’ve been eating!

I appreciate all of your support and time you take out to read this funny little blog of mine. Until tomorrow, enjoy the rest of your day back from vacation!

Support Along this Whole30/Whole9/Paleo Journey

Making a lifestyle change is hard. We all know that. It requires patience, time, forgiveness, and support. Everyone has “bad” days or “good” days, successes and fails. But we have to remember that because it’s a lifestyle were learning to embrace, you really can’t make mistakes It’s all just part of it. But to help me get through those tough days I have a lot of support. Friends and family of course are there to help. A few of my friends are doing the Whole30/Whole9 as well (Hi Sash and Rach!)  But when I’m lacking motivation or creativity to make something delicious and my kinda healthy, I turn to the many blogs that I read, follow, and obsess over. Blogs like:

The Clothing Makes the Girl (Melissa Joulwan, my hero and whole30 go-to chef)

Whole9Life (Melissa and Dallas Hartwig. The two that wrote It Starts With Food and inspired me to embark on this journey)

Nourishing Days (for beautiful paleo recipes)

PaleoOMG (for straight up entertainment and delicious paleo recipes. I heart you Juli)

NomNomPaleo (for more delicious Paleo and Whole30 recipes)

Having all these resources available help make this fun every day. Talking with friends about recipes we’ve tried, what worked, what didn’t. Trying new spices, marinades. Food is beautiful again.  Something that I truly enjoy from start to finish. I don’t dread going to the store anymore. I look forward to checking out the new and in season produce, to finding coconut flour in bulk on amazon, going to Costco and buying two dozen eggs at a time (and only lasting a week btw).  I don’t look at food as the enemy (or as my savior) anymore. Its food, its fuel, its delicious, and it feeds my body and mind.

And I’m Back!

It feels so good to be  back on track. It’s only really been 24 hours and I already feel a little more mental clarity, less bloated, and not so anxious with cravings. And I’m on my period, which means I’m extra bloated, full of cramps, and battling a constant migraine. And I’m emotional, and mushy today for some reason. So I’ll get it out-of-the-way real quick. I love Steven. I love him more than I thought I could ever love someone. He’s my other half, my best friend and I can’t believe I lived life without him for so long.

Ok, now that that’s done lets recap my cookup last night. It took me about 2 hours to do it all, but now I have protein and veggies options in my frige for the next few days. Here is what I made:

8 Grilled chicken thighs:  (Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika. 400* in the oven for 35-40 min)

8 pieces of rockfish: (cocnut butter, ghee, chopped garlic, salt, pepper, herbs de provance 15 minutes 375* in the oven)

Green beans & Cashews (Steven made these, my fav) Fresh green beans, balsamic, olive oil, salt, pepper, cashews. SO GOOD

Salmon Cakes!!! (seriously can’t get enough of them) See the recipe here

Homemade Mayo <— WIN on this one. Followed the directions like a boss, recipe here

Homemade Tartar sauce  (made with the homemade mayo) Recipe below!

ISWF Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup Olive Oil Mayo

1 T. minced dill pickle

2 T. fresh parsley, minced

2 tsp capers, minced

2 tsp fresh chives, minced  (I used dry)

1/2 T. lemon juice

1 tsp pickle juice

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Add all ingredients to bowl and mix with spatula. Allow flavors to meld for 30 minutes in fridge before serving.  **This worked really well with the rockfish I made, and goes great with the Salmon Cakes. Although the salmon cakes are heaven on their own**

Today I started the day off right with 3 eggs scrambled with some mushrooms and spinach, a banana,  and a lovely (double shot) cup of Roma Nespresso. Love my Nespresso. I also love that I have coffee options in the house. If I just want a nice cup of drip coffee, Steven makes the best. If I want an espresso or latte, Nespresso takes care of it.

I packed up my lunch up as well (hand full of strawberries, 3 small chicken thighs, and about 2 cups of green beans). That should hold me over till my workout tonight. And dinner will be some rockfish over cauliflower mash. If you haven’t yet tried cauliflower mash and happen to love the comfort of mashed potatoes, give these a try. You’ll learn to love them, appreciate them, and ultimately crave them 🙂

Another Real Update…

Happy Monday everyone 🙂 Last post was about my fail to read directions properly and a pretty over-powering home-made mayo. I have not yet re-made this but will be tonight for sure. I’ll have that update tomorrow. Today’s post is a vulnerable one. Another honest confession and real life happenings. I’m kinda tired of writing about these, because ultimately they feel like failures. Logically I know they’re not, but my insecurities chime in and tell me I’m an epic failure.

I made a decision a few weeks ago to do the Whole30 “Challenge” with the intent that I wouldn’t just be doing this for 30 days, but take this on as a lifestyle. And I meant it. The Whole30 plan makes me feel good physically and mentally. And its sustainable. I’ve been following it for roughly 3 weeks with no major slips, no binge eating, and no desire to go back to the way I was eating before. But this weekend  I gave in a little too much.

I could feel myself pmsing last Thursday and Friday and knew that my hunger may get out of control. I was craving comforting foods (ie carbs) but didn’t want to ruin my progress. So I made a conscious decision to stay within the paleo relgm and try Paleo Waffles from PaleoOMG. Sasha has made them before for me and the ingredients (with a little modification) kept me on the Whole30. I had one for breakfast Friday and I felt good. Friday night brought some outside stress, and combined with my pms, all I wanted to do was eat. Fries specifically. So I did. I felt like I “deserved” them after what went on that night. (Thinking back now it sounds so stupid. But in the moment I believed it).

After the fry eating, I felt ok… not great, but not horrible. I still ate my protein and vegetables so I thought maybe it balanced it out. Saturday I stayed on track with breakfast and lunch, but that night I took the reigns off. I had a margarita (as clean as I could get), chips and salsa, and a salad. The salad had some sour cream that I chose not to tell the waitress to hold, and chose not to take off my plate. I just ate it. Along with 15 or so chips and this margarita. After all that flour, wheat, dairy, alcohol, and sugar I wanted more. And I wanted it in the form of my absolute nemesis. Safeway Cake. And so I got some, and although I didn’t eat the whole piece like I normally do, I ate enough to make me feel mentally and physically sick.

And that was enough crap to put my body back were it was before I started this. My hunger signals are way off. My stomach isn’t telling my brain that I’m actually full. All the things that I felt like I had no control over before are back. And its scary. So scary to see how quickly my body reverted back to the way it was. My hope is that it will detox just as quickly and get me back on track. But I have to remain aware so that I can make conscious decisions.

So today I’m back on track, sticking to my whole30 approved foods, drinking lots of water, and getting in some much-needed exercise. But I feel bloated today, lethargic, and disappointed. Tomorrow is a new day though, and so the journey continues…

Homemade Olive Oil Mayo Fail

Holy hell its hot already. 81 at 9am…. yeah, it’s going to be hot today.

So yesterday morning I decided to make some Whole30 approved homemade mayo so that I could make some tartar sauce to go with my salmon cakes. The recipe is super simple and easy to make (from Well Fed of course). But I of course managed to mess it up. Basically because I didn’t read the directions entirely. They specifically said, “Use light olive oil. NOT EXTRA VIRGIN”. Yep, I used extra virgin. Another blonde moment FTW.

But here is the recipe in case you want to try it. I gotta get out there and get some light olive oil (From The Clothing Makes the Girl:

Homemade Olive Oil Mayo

Ingredients:

– 1 egg

– 2 TBSP lemon juice (at room temp)

– 1/2 tsp dry mustard

– 1/2 tsp salt

– 1/2 cup (plus 1 cup olive oil light, NOT EXTRA VIRGIN) <<– hellooooooo

Directions:

Place the egg and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Let them come to room temperature together, about 30-60 minutes. Add the dry mustard, salt, and  1/4 cup of the oil. Whirl until well mixed – about 20 to 30 seconds.

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART!

The only remaining job is to incorporate the remaining 1 cup oil into the mixture. To do this, you must pour very slowly… the skinniest drizzle you can manage and still have movement in the oil. This takes about three minutes or so. Think about three minutes during a WOD; it’s a fairly long time. Breathe. Relax. Drizzle slowly.

If you’re using a blender, you’ll hear the pitch change as the liquid starts to form the emulsion. Eventually, the substance inside the blender will start to look like regular mayonnaise, only far more beautiful. Do not lose your nerve and consider dumping! Continue to drizzle.

I know this recipe is good and works because mine came out looking beautifully, and I would guess had I used the correct olive oil, would have tasted beautiful too. So give this a whirl and let me know what you think! Use it anywhere you would normally use mayo: tuna salad, tartar sauce, potato salad, you name it!

 

Salmon cakes, Mangos, and the Creepy old Man Moth

Good morning 🙂

It’s hot today… and not in a good way. I know its May, but I don’t want to see this kind of heat until Memorial Day. Oh well.

Back to the Salmon Cakes I made last night and baked up this morning. Boy were they good. I ended up having two for breakfast  with two cups of coffee. Honestly didn’t really go together, but made a good breakfast nonetheless. Here is the recipe, and I think you all should seriously try these:

It Starts With Food- No Fuss Salmon Cakes

(serves 2-3) **I doubled the recipe**

Ingredients:

1 can (14.75 oz) wild-caught pink or red salmon (you can also use wild caught tuna)

1 cup “canned sweet potatoes” ** I used fresh-baked light-skinned sweet potatoes

1 large egg

1/2 cup almond flour

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried)

2 Scallions, white and green, very thinly sliced

2 Tbsp minced fresh dill (or 2 tsp dried)

1 tsp hot-pepper sauce

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

2 Tbs clarified butter or coconut oil, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425* and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper (I used foil). Drain the liquid from the salmon and use your fingers to crumble the finish into a large mixing bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients except the butter- and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined (I used a spatula). Pop into the fridge to chill for 10 minutes or so. Brush the parchment paper (or foil) with melted butter or coconut oil. (You can also use coconut oil spray here). Using a 1/3 cup, scoop out the salmon mixture and form patties. You want these about 1″ thick and 2 1/2″ wide. Bake for 20 minutes, flip, and bake for another 10 minutes. You can squeeze some lemon on them (I didn’t feel it was necessary) or serve with ISWF Tartar Sauce.

Super easy right?  I’m thinking that I could triple or even quadruple the recipe, make a ton of these, and then freeze them prior to cooking. That way when I reach my hangry state, I just pop them into the oven and I’ll have a healthy balanced meal in about 30 minutes.

While these were baking this morning, I was attempting to cut up a mango. Does anyone know how to successfully cut up a mango? That pit is huge! and although this is only my third time attempting this, I’ve ended up at the sink gnawing on the pit, trying to get as much of the fruit off as possible. And then it end sup all in my teeth. And then I have to floss, and it’s really just a sad process. There has to be a better way!

And one final note for the day. This guy is chillin on our porch this morning

Old Man Moth

 

 

 

Chicken Cook Up and Burpee Challenge

Hi everyone 🙂

Weird I’m writing this at night lol. Steven has some tests he’s doing on his computer so I figured I’d stay up with him and keep him company.

So Today was a typical Tuesday of work and boot camp. Except that tonight was the last day of our month-long burpee challenge. Yep, 5 minutes to do as many burpees as you can. I started this month at 53. I went balls out, and I remember it vividly. Thought I was going to die. Welp, today I met my goal of 70, and again felt like I was going to die. Part of me was disappointed. I should have practiced more during the month. I really should have been able to get to 75. And I want that number, so I’m going to keep trying until I get there. Plus my shoulders are lookin pretty good.

After boot camp we had our dining room table and chairs delivered, which we are so excited about. Our house is coming along so nicely. The next project is finding the right chandelier. After that, we have some little projects to get done around the house, and some bigger projects like the backyard.

Onto the chicken cook-up. Melissa, the author of Well Fed, goes into detail about how important it is to have food on hand. She is so right it’s not even funny. Not having enough cooked protein available or easy to prepare meals causes one of two things: me to get hangry, or me to fail. I don’t like to fail at anything. So I’m usually hangry, trying to figure out what to make so I stay on track. It’s frustrating because I continually underestimate how much protein I will eat for a few days. Plus I’m cooking for Steven and myself. So I need to double it, and I haven’t been doing that. But this morning I had a plan and took out two packs of frozen chicken thighs. And tonight I made some simple grilled chicken thighs.

In my packs of organic chicken from Costco, each pack had 4 good size thighs. I rinsed each one off, trimming a little bit of the fat (leaving most of it), and padded each one dry.

Next I lined a large cookie sheet with two layers of foil (you’ll thank me) and put a cookie cooling rack on top. I placed the 8 chicken thighs on the rack (skin side up) and seasoned generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Popped these bad boys into a 400 degree pre-heated over and let them roll for 30-40 minutes. The smaller pieces cooked within 35 minutes, and the two larger took about 40-42 minutes. The skin crisped up (yes I ate the skin, and Melissa encourages it as well). It’s good fat people. You’ll learn about it, don’t worry.

I had two pieces with some steamed veggies per the usj. Broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots were on tonight’s menu. While the chicken was cooking I ate a handful of strawberries too.

Because I was feeling so productive, I also made the Salmon Cakes from ISWF, but I decided to cook them up tomorrow, so they’re chillin in the fridge (quite literally actually lol).  I’ll go over the recipe more tomorrow, along with the home-made mayo I’m planning to make for the tartar sauce. Exciting 🙂

Have a great night everyone!

Whole30 taco salad and need some hair advise…

Morning everyone! How are you all doin?

So before I get into my delicious taco salad from last night I have a serious hair issue. Sunday I did a mud run and got mud all through my hair. I rinsed it at the event, and have washed it 3 times since. My hair STILL feels like straw. I don’t know what to do… any suggestions?

Ok back to the taco salad. I love taco salad. But I don’t love the way rice and tortillas make me feel. BUT I do love the comfort of carbs. (Yep, still dealing with the cravings of mashed potatoes and cake. ) So I thought why not build this taco salad on top of a sweet potato? Here’s how I did it:

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato
1 package ground turkey
1 package ground beef
Organic Salsa
2 avocados (for guac- see recipe below)
Lettuce
tomato
Chopped garlic
Salt, pepper, garlic powder
Taco seasoning

I first cooked one medium size sweet potato in the microwave for about 6 minutes and then finished it in the oven, wrapped in foil.

I browned up some ground turkey and ground beef (so that I had lots of leftovers). For the turkey I used some natural taco seasoning, and beef I seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

I made up a batch of guacamole: 2 avocados, 1 chopped garlic clove, lime juice, salt, pepper, cumin.

And then we build:

In a large bowl I took half of the sweet potato and mashed it up with a fork for my base. I then layered ground turkey and ground beef (about 4-6 ounces) on the sweet potato. About 1/2 cup of guacamole, 1/2 cup salsa, chopped tomato and lettuce.

I’m telling you, this meal was huge. I couldn’t finish it all.

And the best part is that I have leftovers for today, and enough sweet potato left to make these tuna cakes from It Starts With Food.

Tonight I will be grilling up a bunch of chicken thighs and stir-frying a few packages of frozen veggies for the rest of the week.

Tomorrow I will post an update on the stockpile from Costco and show you how I’m making it last. Have a great rest of your day!