Day 1: So it Begins...

30 Day Challenge 

I'm pretty Tired of Hives! That's why I've decided to begin the 30 day challenge. 

There are a million fad diets out there- protein shakes, no carb, juicing, vegan... blah blah blah. A popular diet now is the Paleo Diet. Can't say it's a "new thing" but its patterned after the Paleolithic People or "CAVEMAN"  who once roamed the earth eating a variety of foods such as: 

Free Range & Grass Fed Meats 

Wild Caught Fish 

Free Range Organic Eggs

Seeds, Nuts & Berries

Organic Produce

Saturated Fats like Coconut Oil 

No more processed food

Refined Sugars

Dairy

Vegetable Oil 

Soy

Grains 

Legumes

Eliminating these will reduce inflammation in the body, food sensitivities (which is a huge one for me!) and so much more. According to my most recent lab results following a doctor visit, I have high cholesterol (225)- so hopefully this will lower that! It's not horrible because my good cholesterol is high but I would like to get the bad junk down. 

So I'm ready to try it! One of my old roommates, Amanda Runge http://thehighheeledhousewife.blogspot.com

just completed this challenged successfully.

Cheers to her!  

So here's to Day 1: 

There are a few things I was worried about

1. I was worried I would be craving ice cream, cheese and chocolate all day but I was surprised I was full and the substitutes were actually really good. I still wanted gummy bears. I've been craving them for 5 days.... :/

2. My husband really like rice and mint oreo ice cream. I was afraid he would hate dinner...but he was pleasantly surprised. (I'm not making him eat paleo but he has volunteered to willingly eat what I cook 6/7 days) so paleo it is. He did ask for a run to Mickey D's. haha 

During the day I snacked on

Strawberries

Blueberries 

Apples

Hard Boiled Eggs ( no yoke )

For Dinner I made 

Creamy Chicken Casserole 

Ingredients 

3 cups of shredded chicken (cooked it covered in shredded coconut pieces)

2 2/3 cups of mashed butternut squash

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut cream from the can

2 T cider vinegar

1 tsp sea salt

2 1/2 cup of frozen green peas 

 1 T shredded coconut (optional)

1. bake the butternut squash in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until it is soft. cut it up into small pieces and mash it up in the food processor.

2. batter the chicken in egg and cover in coconut pieces. cook thoroughly in a pan and shred it

3. combine all ingredients together in a pan

Evan asked me what kind of cheese was in this, and was surprised when I told him NO CHEESE!

Yep, no cheese, no dairy..... Its was a success. 

If you know me it doesn't end there. I was born and raised having dessert to follow dinner 

Chia Pudding

3 T Chia Seed

1 cup coconut milk 

1T vanilla extract

lime zest

blueberries 

1T honey

shredded coconut

1. combine chia seeds, coconut milk, vanilla extract, lime zest, and honey. whisk together. refrigerate for 5 minutes and then whisk again

2. cover it and refrigerate for 2 hours

3. add blueberries, some more lime zest and shredded coconut then enjoy it!