Day 30: The End

We have reached the end. I can't believe how quickly one month has flown by. Our 30 day challenge is over. I can't say we were 100% perfect, in fact there were a few days we ate sushi, thai food and maybe I had a few jelly beans the other day. However when we were on track we felt great, and we will continue to eat healthy. 

Some days were hard and definitely challenge to take the time to cook. Towards the end of the challenge I found the food was better tasting because I got the hang of the paleo thing. It takes some creativity but the more you practice the better the food gets. There were a few recipes that I would never make again. 

Chocolate Truffles 

Ingredients 

13 fresh dates

1 1/2 Pecans 

4 T honey 

3T cocoa powder 

1/4 cup shredded coconut 

combine dates, pecans, honey and cocoa powder in a food processor 

after you have mixed it well, roll into small balls (makes about 12)

then roll balls into shredded coconut

put into the refrigerator for 30 minutes 

Mexican Lime Soup

Ingredients 

2 lbs chicken shredded 
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
1 large white onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño chili
3-5 cups low-sodium chicken broth  or vegetable broth 
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 avocado

 with garlic, cook chicken in a small pan and shred
then sauté onions with salt and pepper
combine chicken and saute onions together
in a pot combine jalapeño, broth and oregano
add chicken to the liquid mixture 
let simmer for 20 minutes

garnish with avocado slices 

The 30 Day Challenge is over! It's been fun and we will continue to eat healthy :) 

Peace out 30 day challenge 

Day 29: Better Food, Better Skin

Today is 29 days of the 30 day Paleo Challenge. There are days where its been easy and other days it has been a challenge. 

I've  enjoyed my occasional onion rings, fry sauce and even large bacon cheese burgers.The repercussions always show up on my face! Healthy eating has defiantly fixed this issue. On top of that these are my FAVORITE facial cleansers and products. They are available at your nearest drug store. For a long time I used the expensive stuff you could only find at the department stores or buy online. There wasn't drastic improvement. I found the key to success was what I put in my mouth in addition to clean and moisturized skin. 

I love the Olay Cleansing brush and ProX cleanser 

Exfoliation is as important as ever to rid your skins complexion of skin-dulling dead cells. Believe it or not, Evan has a brush too and he loves it! 

But I rotate facial washes morning and night! I seriously love these two. They remove all of my makeup so I don't have the raccoon eyes. Plus they provide a fragrant tingly feeling. 

Sunscreen EVERYDAY! Evan bought this one, and so far its the best one I've ever used! It's not greasy and doesn't make my skin feel oily, caky or extra shiny. 

Costco has great deals on Olay Regenerist Products. It's all about the moisture. I use this after the sunscreen! I don't have wrinkles yet, but my goal is to prevent as long as possible. Skin starts loosing its elasticity in your 30's. However if you moisturize in your 20's you're more likely to keep your skin looking healthy longer. 

 Speaking of Onion Rings Today I made 

healthy onion rings

Ingredients 
1 onion 
1 T onion powder 
1T garlic Powder
1/2 cup Bread Crumb or Almond Flour 
2 eggs

heat oven to 350 degrees 
cut onion into rings 
in a separate bowl whip your eggs 
dip onion rings into eggs 
on plate pour your dry mixture (crumbs, garlic powder & onion powder)
cover each ring with the dry mixture 
lay on a pan and cook in the oven for 40 minutes 


Chicken Nuggets 

2lbs chicken tenders
 1/2 cup almond flour 
1T onion powder 
1T garlic powder 

heat oven to 350 degrees 
cut chicken into small chunks
in a separate bowl whip your eggs 
dip chicken chunks into eggs 
on plate pour your dry mixture (crumbs, garlic powder & onion powder)
cover each chicken piece with the dry mixture 
lay on a pan and cook in the oven for 25 minutes 

Day 16: When life gets in the way- Plan, Prepare, EAT

I can't decide what's more difficult, Eating Paleo OR blogging about it. 

Evan has become a pro and tasting and grading with all of this "never been done before food". The real issues is having time to do anything. 

Two weeks ago they called me to be the Stake Girls Camp Director. Sounds fun right? Well considering I have 2 weeks until camp, I AM BUSY.

What is Girls Camp??? CLICK HERE
Girls are able to attend Young Womens Camp. There are a number of outdoor skills they learn and activities they are able to participate in and complete Camp Certification  from- hiking, learning to use a compass, outdoor cooking, tying knots and other things. They learn leadership skills, are able to participate in service and develop friendships. In addition there is a spiritual aspect to camp- They are able to experience Heavenly Father's creations and the blessings that surround us in nature. Young Women can attend camp from the ages of 12-18.
I remember camp was always a positive/fun experience. I loved my leaders and I loved the girls I went to camp with. I was lucky enough to have my cousin at camp, my aunt who was a leader and my uncle came as a priesthood holder. 

The Biggest chunk of camp has been planned, now its just a matter of details. I am a detail LOVER- so I for sure want to make sure nothing is over looked. 

Departure Planned

T-shirts ordered

Schedule Complete 

Secret Sisters Assigned 

Camp Cabin Assignments Made

Packing List done

Meals Done!!!  I don't have to worry about food - minus food for myself. (the 30 day challenge will be over by camp, but I will keep eating this way so I don't die of hives Pack the Snacks galore), and yes I have my travel kit of DoTerra Oils packed in case. I'm prepared(allergies, cold, congestion, skin/ ear issues)! 

Activities Done

Welcome Baggies are in progress

I need a nap. 

Now I need SKIT ideas (Seriously if you have good skit ideas HELP!) and time for putting everything together and organizing it, where is my committee? I need one...... Saving that for later. 

We also need 4 Priesthood holders to come to camp. Ask me how many I have! If you guessed ZERO you are right! I've made phone calls, sent emails and even offered to fly my dad out to come camp. He laughed at me by the way. I can only be so annoying and bug people so much. Can't blame anyone- its Monday- Thursday... It's not that easy to get work off. 

 That is the cause of my headache right now. 

On another note I made these for all the girls, and I am rather proud of them. It took a little time but they are finally complete. Yes, you are correct Rose Earrings! I love them, and I totally wish I could keep them all to myself. 

Evan came home early again which was awesome- we sat and brainstormed Skits for over an hour... but I had to do some explaining what Girls Camp Skits were. He was very confused. Welcome to the world of Women! Poor Guy. The house if full of papers, handouts, and girls camp stuff. 

Last night I made Orange Chicken and it was good. 

Evan said he would be absolutely fine if I made it again. 

Evan gave it a solid 7.5-8 score. 

Orange Chicken 

2 lbs Chicken Tenders 

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice 

1/3 cup coconut milk 

1/3 cup honey

2 T tomato paste 

3T toasted sesame oil 

1T minced garlic 

3/4 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt 

1/4 tsp black pepper

Chopped Scallions *optional* 

In a large mixing bowl combine orange juice, coconut milk, honey, tomato paste, sesame oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Begin cooking your chicken tenders in a pan on medium heat

When chicken tenders are mostly done, add sauce

simmer for 10 minutes 

add scallions and then enjoy

I added a mixed salad with balsamic vinegar to accompany my chicken. I do occasionally love a giant  bowl of the boring greens.

Bless the soul of my patient husband who is okay with healthy paleo food. It has helped me a lot. I haven't been getting sick after every meal. HAPPINESS. 

<3 

E & H 

You know Heidi and Evan = HEAVEN 

Day 15: Shopping, Cookies, Happy

Mondays: The most productive day of the week. Seriously. We were up at 5:30am, Evan went to work, I went for a run, did laundry, cleaned the house, did a bunch of camp emails and got ready all before 9:30 am. If I were like this everyday, who knows what I could do. 

Spring will never come. My run this morning was 20 degrees, sunny and freezing. 

In the past 3 days I've managed to break our apple slicer, can opener and melt our spatula. 

It's Birthday Week so I decided to incorporate a little shopping into my day at TJMAXX. I love that place! I obviously was looking for a few new kitchen tools and well there were a few things I didn't have. Thanks to a few Wedding Gift Cards and their wonderful 50%-75% sale on Kitchen Aid this is what I came up with. Yep all the tools were $1.50-$5.00, and I love the colors!  

Beautiful right??

Costco was my next stop! They have some awesome cooking ingredients that are expensive at the local stores! 

Himalayan Pink Salt $3.98 at Costco, $12.99 at the local store for a 3oz bottle! 

What? INSANE. This salt is extremely flavorful and so pure. 

Agave 2 bottles at Costco for $5.98. A small little 12oz bottle at the local store was  $4 something 

Good Deals, Good Steals today! 

Evan requested Chocolate Chip Cookies... He thought they were so delicious, I was surprised how good they were. I ate some batter and 2 cookies. I forgot how allergic I am to Almonds so that made me super sick. But they were so good it was almost worth it... almost. I loved eating them in the moment. 

 PALEO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 

Ingredients 

3 cups sifted almond flour 

1 cup dark chocolate chips 

1/3 cup honey

1/2 T pure vanilla extract 

1/4 tsp pink salt, or sea salt

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1 egg

coconut oil 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a mixing bowl wisk egg and combine salt, vanilla extract, honey and baking powder

after ingredients are combined add the chocolate chips 

sift almond flour in and mix together

cover baking sheet with coconut oil 

use a small ice cream scoop to make cookies into small balls on the pan

bake for 15 minutes then allow to cool before taking them off the pan

Yes that's correct, we had dessert before dinner 

Lemon Honey Chicken

Ingredients 

2 lbs chicken tenderloins 

scallions 

1 T minced garlic

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 yellow onion

2 T honey 

4 T lemon juice

1/3 cup coconut flour 

1 egg

1 T coconut oil 

chop the chicken into small pieces 

whisk egg in a mixing bowl 

dip chicken pieces into egg 

drip excess egg and roll pieces into coconut flour 

melt coconut oil in a pan 

cook chicken pieces in the pan with medium heat until brown 

in a separate pan brown garlic and chopped onion 

combine broth , honey, lemon juice into the pan with garlic and onions and let simmer 

add browned chicken 

garnish dish with chopped scallions

He got off early and helped me do some cooking/tasting. 

This meal was Evan approved. 

On another note Almond makes my stomach feel like death 

I rubbed some DoTerra DigestZen  (which is a blend of Ginger, peppermint, tarragon, fennel, caraway, coriander and anise ) on my stomach and within the hour the pain and nausea was pretty much gone but holy cow I was feeling so much better. 

Good Day, Good Food, Good Fun

<3 

Love 

H & E

Day 6: Weird Schedules but still time for Saturday Outings.

Evan had to work the night shift Saturday into Sunday. This definitely throws off our schedules- sleeping and eating. I had a few errands to run for camp. A beautiful 67 degree, sunny day we drove up to the very north west part of Queens. This turned out to be quite the adventure. We love exploring parts of New York we would normally not visit. This includes eating at a popular restaurant in the area. The area was extremely interesting- it was a Mexican/Korean/Chinese populated area. We found an awesome authentic Thai restaurant, Zagat rated so we had high hopes. It surely did not disappoint.

Honestly eating healthy gets easier everyday. When you plan its even better. I feel good, I have more energy, and I sleep better at night. My stomach issues are gone, my hives are gone and my throat hasn't closed. Evan even said he feels better even though he adds a few things here and there- He has been a trooper! 

SriPraPhai Delicious Traditional Thai Cooking. 

I got a Red Curry. I tried to stay as Paleo as possible, but nobody is perfect right? Red Curry in coconut milk, chicken, fresh basil, onions, and red peppers. There were no grains, dairy, or vegetable oils used. SO GOOD. 
I cleaned the bowl! 

Fun little outing for errands but it took forever and a day to get home because of traffic. BIG SURPRISE. On days Evan works at night we both sleep most of the afternoon. When we got home from our adventure and sitting in traffic it was nap time. Evan usually sleeps until about 6pm, eats and then goes to work. No recipes today, because we have a lot of leftovers from the week. 

Our district held a women's conference. Who doesn't love workshops and classes on everyday life, like organizing your home and eating healthy? Women love getting together to share little tips and tricks- therefore I love Relief Society. 

Here are some things that were good refreshers on healthy eating: 

Artificial Sweeteners- 

Sugar substitutes are horrible for you. If you thought Diet Coke was a better than the regular Coke you are wrong. And yes I still love Diet Coke in the back of my mind. I'm guilty. 

Artificial sweeteners are synthetic and can also be linked to CANCER.

Honey, Dates, Natural Maple Syrup are great replacements for sugar. 

When Evan works nights I end my day with a hot DETOX Bath. It's relaxing and our bodies have toxins galore. 

1 cup Cider Vinegar 

2 Cups Epsom Salt or Sea Salt 

15 drops of DoTerra Lavender Oils 

Sit and soak for 25-30 minutes 

There are so many ways to use DoTerra Oils. I am a firm believer! If you're getting sick, there is nothing I love more than I hot bath to cure my ailments. 

I use Melaleuca oil also known as Tree Oil to cure my many skin issues; hives, eczema, heat rash, cuts etc.

Studies show Frankincense has been found to Trump Chemo in eliminating Ovarian Cancer  Read the Article here 

Do you have seasonal allergies? 

Lemon, lavender, and peppermint are great to help fight the sneezy, runny stuffiness you have or try DoTerra's New Product 

"TriEase Softgels"

Click the link to order DoTerra Oils or would like become a 

DoTerra Wellness Advocate

Use the number 776284 for both the "Enroller ID & Sponsor ID"

Day 5: Going out to eat. Is it Possible?

I didn't think I would make it this far but Day 5 was a success.
Eating healthy does take more time than grabbing the quick bag of chips or candy bar from the corner store. But shouldn't you invest time in your body considering you only get one? 
What you put in your mouth actually matters. As they say Abs are made in the kitchen, at least thats where it starts. Remember that the gym is still extremely important. Don't over look that. 

 I got fancy for breakfast with a few crepes. These are high in protein- a great way to start your day, and they are pretty delicious too. A light/fluffy crepe you won't fell the fatty carb bulge. 

Breakfast Paleo Crepes

Ingredients 

2 eggs

2 egg whites

3 T coconut flour

1 cup coconut milk

1T coconut oil

a pinch of salt

The coconut flour will tend to sink and clump to the bottom so as you combine ingredients sift the flour.

1. combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl

2. Pour mixture onto an oiled pan (coconut oil).

3. brown both sides.

* these are delicate because of the egg whites, so be careful when flipping. Don't make them too big*

I didn't use jam because that has a lot of sugar so I pureed strawberries and blueberries to pour on top.

Friday night is date night and we wanted to go out of dinner. I didn't think it was possible to eat Paleo but I did okay. I did a little research on places that people eat while on the Paleo diet and one was Chipotle. They use I high quality of meat, so its just up to you when it comes to the choices. 

I ordered a "bowl" with no rice or beans. I ordered chicken, hot sauce, pico, guac, and lots of lettuce. It was delightful. 

* remember when eating out to look at the ingredients and ask questions to those taking your order. If you can, do a little research before you go out to eat. Since you are paying them to make your food- don't be afraid to make requests; ask for no dairy options, using different oils and such. Restaurants are very aware and sensitive of food allergies. Eating out doesn't have to be a "No-Never type of thing. Enjoy * 

We were at a mall and there were carts with delightful looking macaroons, yogurt stands, and even a girls scout cookie booth. The girl scout cookie booth was very tempting considering I love girl scout cookies and I was a girl scout for 13 years. <3 

Evan got strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone. It looked so so good. 

Carry snacks with you to ensure that you aren't starving. Also when you see those fresh baked double-double chocolate chip cookies you have more willpower to keep walking. 

Snacks to keep in your bag: 
nuts
apple slices 
pumpkin seeds

There are so many options check out this blog for snack ideas 

When I got home I made a rich chocolate pudding to eat during Hawaii Five-0, which by the way is one of my favorite shows. LOVE IT. 

Chocolate Pudding 

Ingredients 

2 avocados 

1/4 c agave 

3/4 c unsweetened cocoa 

1/3 c coconut milk 

2 T pure vanilla extract 

pinch of salt 

Combine all ingredients into a food processor or single serving ninja cup. 

Blend until smooth 

put into refrigerator until cool 

it will be thick but very smooth and delicious 

 Throughout the day I kept the snacks going with 

hard boiled eggs

strawberries

apples 

cashew butter

and even made a smoothie with coconut milk combined with fruit 

If you're on the 30 day challenge road keep it going! 

Paleo Fact of the Day:

 *Soy is not Paleo! Why? Soy comes from a soy bean, which is legume from East Asia. Soy milk, soy sauce, tofu, edamame, and some protein powders contain are SOY*