Detox...AGAIN! (and Ground Beef Stir Fry)

Beef Stir Fry (Emergency Protein)

Well, I'm officially in the middle of yet another detox. *sigh* This one was prescribed to me by my new Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Filipini (http://www.abundantlifehandw.com/). I'm on day 11. I can honestly say that having done Whole 30 twice now (we did our second round this January) has prepared me for this like nothing else could have. This detox is a little more strict in the beginning, but overall not too bad.

My boys have both asked me now "Mommy, what's wrong with you?" Good question boys! They want to know why I'm going to the doctor all the time and why I can't eat stuff they can eat. A month ago I would've just said, "I don't know, but Jesus is healing me."

This month, I think I have an answer. 

My new doctor believes that my lack of stomach acid -- which, apparently, has been a chronic problem of mine, and now magnified over the last two years of taking PPI's (proton pump inhibitors, specifically Nexium) -- has hindered my body from absorbing the nutrients and vitamins in my food. (This article is one in a series by Dr. Chris Kresser with lots of good info.) This has wreaked havoc, causing muscle pain throughout my body, thyroid symptoms, anemia, hypoglycemia, adrenal fatigue, and even messing with my ever-beloved hair. The craziest part is that he says that when your body can't get minerals from your food, it starts to leach them from your bones and teeth. Hello sensitive teeth and narrowing spine! It all makes sense. And I am so grateful to have someone walking me through a healing protocol.

I'm beginning to feel better, and even though hope has never gone away it's increasing. Don't get me wrong, it is difficult to celebrate without the tradition of sugar. We had my big boy's 6th birthday party last Saturday, and I almost had a panic attack while cutting the cake. I literally had to walk away. I just kept thinking I'm never going to eat this again! which may or may not be true, but either way, SO HARD!

At this point I'm ten days sugar free, and I'm still alive! Imagine that. I've got about a hundred supplements I'm taking to repair my gut and help my body out with the vitamins it is unable to absorb. Woo hoo!

So, here's a little recipe that has gotten me through two Whole 30's and the beginning of this new detox I'm on. I'm such a foodie it's hard not to think about what I'll be allowed to eat and how I'll make it taste good.

One of my favorite websites for paleo eats is nomnompaleo.com. It's a fun site and she has great recipes! This Emergency Protein is my inspiration for this delicious and super easy ground beef stir fry.

Ground Beef Stir Fry

1-1/2 lbs Ground Beef (Grass fed is best!)
1 large Carrot
1/4 head Cabbage
1 small head Broccoli
1-1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef (you could also use ground turkey, yum!) and break it up in the pan. Add salt, pepper, and garlic and onion powders to taste. While the meat is browning, slice the carrots, cabbage, and broccoli really thinly. I like to use a mandolin for this because it's so fast, plus the veggies cook up really quickly.  When the meat is browned, add the veggies. Toss everything to coat the veggies in the fat. Cover and let it cook for about 3 minutes or so. Check it and toss again. Cook to your liking of veggie tenderness. I tend to let them go for a good 5-7 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. You'll likely need a little more S&P for the veggies.

I served this over left over sauteed Brussels sprouts. YUM!

Turkey Chili with Beans

Before and After of my now clean Kitchen!

What a great weekend! I accomplished so much this weekend thanks to the Living Well Spending Zero challenge I'm participating in. I can't even tell you how nice it is to have my kitchen, bathrooms, and living spaces spic and span! Not to mention clean and organized kids' rooms. Phew!! Hubby and I even had energy to wash both our cars and finish putting up some decor in our bedroom. Since starting Whole 30 I seriously feel like we are different people. We've spent a lot of time in the past sitting on the couch, tired and spent just from the week's activities. Since we're almost through our Whole 30 we are feeling the "Tiger Blood" as they call it -- this energy that is awesome!! If you haven't considered a Whole 30, I highly recommend it! It's not easy, but the longer it goes, the better I feel.

Grilled Salmon with Baked Sweet Potato & Sauteed Cauliflower

People always get hung up on, "But what will I eat?" Well let me tell you we had some yummy meals over the weekend! Chili Stuffed Hot Dogs, Tuna Salad Lettuce Cups, Grilled Salmon (I promise it practically tastes like steak!) with Baked Sweet Potatoes & Sauteed Cauliflower, Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Roasted Green Beans... Oh yum! We are not missing out here folks! Ok, if I'm being honest, I would have loved a piece of the Pumpkin Pie my boys ate with my parents on Friday night after their dinner out. I am really sad that it's pumpkin season and I can't have pumpkin pie!! But, other than that, not missing out one bit!!

So clean! My li'l guys have already made a mess of it!!

But enough about that, on to my chili recipe... I love chili. If you've looked over my recipes here you know I already have Slow Cooker Turkey Chili, and I love that one too. But here's the deal, GERD is no joke, and if I eat all those tomatoes I might die.  Ok, I probably won't die, but I will definitely be up all night choking back Tums and having to sleep sitting up. No fun.

So, as you can imagine when I saw on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives someone making white bean turkey chili I frantically took notes! Then I made my own version, which my family loves. We eat it all the time, and my boys have even gotten over the peppers. I'm telling you they drink it out of their bowls! I had never thought to omit the tomatoes. I figured they add some sort of yumminess that I wouldn't be able to replicate. But I was wrong! Woo Hoo!!

I love making this chili on Sunday or Monday night and then eating it for lunch all week. But, since we're on Whole 30 (day 22!!! Almost done!!) I've had to omit beans too! Boo. I did find this recipe, which is pretty good but needed a little extra seasoning and only almost hit the spot. Fortunately for you I have a friend who needs some meals this week and I decided to make for her my yummy Turkey Chili with Beans, and share the recipe with you. Aren't you lucky! Traditionally I make it with small white beans, but today I used the beans I had on hand, and it still turned out delicious!

Turkey Chili with Beans

Turkey Chili with Beans

Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 each Red & Green Bell Pepper, diced
1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 quart Chicken Stock
2 cans Beans, drained and rinsed (white, pinto, or black all work well)
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp dried leaf Oregano
1 Tbsp Seasoned Salt
1 tsp instant Minced Onion
1 tsp Garlic Powder (NOT garlic salt!)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat add Olive Oil just to coat the bottom of the pan, about 2 Tbsp. Add the Onion and the Bell Peppers and cook until translucent. Add the Turkey and the minced Garlic, season with Salt and Pepper, and cook till no longer pink. Once the meat is cooked through add a some extra Cumin and Chili Powder, and stir it around to bloom the spices.

Now add the Chicken Stock and the Beans, as well as the measured seasonings. I almost always add extra Garlic Powder, but that's up to you. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 20-30 minutes, just to bring the flavors together. Taste and season with Salt and Pepper.

Serve it up and enjoy!!

I've found a new way to enjoy chili: on top of a split (Whole 30 compliant) HOT DOG! Who would've thunk!!

How do you like your Chili??
 

Whole 30 -- How I'm Making It Work

First off let me just say I am LOVING how I feel on the Whole 30 plan! After the first week, literally on day 8 I could sense the difference. It wasn't until day 10 that I realized I hadn't needed a nap on Monday (!) or Tuesday!! Now, I have two boys, 3 and 5, who take a lot of energy. Usually by their nap/quiet time I am pooped and lay lifelessly on the couch for at least an hour. Days 8 and 9 I exercised! That's how much energy I had!! WHAT!?!

Now, you may be thinking, "Aren't you still doing it, why are you talking about this energy as if it's in the past?" Good question! Just as I was relishing all this extra energy and realizing that I had a whole extra two hours in my day, Number 2, as we call him, decided to start getting up multple times a night for the following FOUR nights!! (Insert tired mother emoji here... why don't they have one of those, btw?!) So, last night was the first night in awhile during which I was not requested multiple times in the bathroom -- for no. good. reason. All that to say, even being awake all night those four nights, I still had plenty of energy most of those days. I wasn't jumping on the treadmill or forgoing my nap, but I was still facing the day with some sort of strange gusto. Today, after I slept most of the night... He got up only once to tinkle and then stayed in bed. I may have *ahem* bribed him *ahem* with the promise of Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes for breakfast. That's good right? You should always use food as motivation for children, right? Anyway, today I feel the most tired, as if my body has tasted of sleep and now wants more. Funny how that works.

Hubby enjoying some compliant hot wings -- his favorite!

The Whole 30 diet is pretty "loosey-goosey" in that you have a set of foods you are allowed to eat however you want. Now I know in their book they have lots of recipes but I'm cheap -- and by cheap I mean I would rather spend money on clothes than on a book! -- and I don't want to spend money on a book that I may or may not use. They have so much information on their website and there are so many recipes and menu plans around the web that I felt I had enough information to do it on my own. I enjoy trying new recipes. I like to meal plan. Not that we always stick to it, but I still do it! I figured this was very doable. And it has been. The hardest part is that I've had to make sure I have 25-30 grams of fiber every day, so I've been using My Fitness Pal to log my food. This is helpful if you have some nutritional requirement to fill. I love eating meat so I have to be very intentional about adding veggies to my plate and including fruit, otherwise I'll have eggs and bacon for breakfast, a lettuce wrap for lunch, and a big piece of meat with a small side of potatoes for dinner. There's veggies in there right?!

So here's what we've been doing:

For breakfast I found a great recipe for Sweet Potato Hash at Nom Nom Paleo, which we'll eat with a couple eggs or Aidell's sausage links. I'll include a Fruit Salad (recipe follows) with mine and cut back to one egg or half a sausage. I've made egg muffins or a frittatta, which are awesome because this covers several breakfasts for the busy weekday mornings. Ocasionally I do smoothies, which is not highly reccomended, but I can get extra fiber in that way.

For lunch we like to have leftovers from dinner. Some days Hubby will have a large green salad with tuna salad or shredded meat on top and oil and vinegar. I like to slice up a half a zucchini and a whole carrot and sautee it with s&p and some Mexican seasoning, then add whatever protein I've got in the fridge. It's so good! This week I made yummy Vegetable Turkey Soup for dinner on Sunday and that will be lunch for the week. Our little guys will eat either what I'm eating or I'll give them gluten free chicken nuggets from Costco or Annie's Mac-n-Cheese.

Dinner is my favorite because it is where I get to experiment. I've found several recipes that will be keepers for sure! I love that these recipes are so flavorful and easy enough. A couple of my favorites are Slow Cooker Roast Chicken from No. 2 Pencil, and Deconstructed Samosa from Nom Nom Paleo. I've also enjoy making new side dishes like Cauliflower Rice (this is a good tutorial, but I'm going to post my own soon), baked Sweet Potato Fries, and Roasted Winter Veggies. Yum!

Look at these adorable and silly little faces! I could just eat them up!!

If I need a snack I'll grab a piece of fruit, or a handful of almonds, or golden raisins.

My absolute saving grace has been Sweet & Spicy tea from Good Earth. OMG it's so good! I love it with a little bit of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (Silk makes one without carageenan or added sugar). I've also found that it goes well with chai tea. I just use the largest cup setting on my Keurig to get hot water then brew a bag of chai tea and a bag of Sweet & Spicy and add a little almond milk. It's divine! And it has replace my morning Mocha Mix or creamer with a little coffee in it.

Here's how to make my beautiful breakfast fruit salad, which of course you could enjoy any time of day!

My breakfast of choice -- Fruit Salad!

Ingredients
1 cup Strawberries, hulled and chopped
1/2 a Banana, diced
1/4 Apple, diced
1 Tbsp chopped Almonds
a palmful of Shredded Coconut (On Whole 30 you can't have sweetened coconut, but I love Dang coconut chips and they would be amazing on this salad!)

Mix it all up and enjoy!! You could really add whatever fruit you have on hand or that is in season to this yummy dish. This is just the combo I have found really satisfies, and berries have a lot of fiber! Ooh! Blueberries would be delightful in this!!

What do you eat for breakfast?

Hummus and Veggies Pita Lunch

Hummus+Cucumbers+Feta+Tomatoes = Delish!

One stop along my journey was a year's subscription to Clean Eating Magazine. I really enjoyed it but at that point wasn't fully ready to commit to anything so natural. I've got to admit I love my processed foods! There were quite a few recipes I tried that I really liked and that's where this originated. It is really one of my favorite lunches, especially when I am wanting to feel particularly healthy. It's also super easy, which makes it perfect for days I've failed to plan my meals.

For the record I hate tomatoes. I like pretty much anything you can make from tomatoes, fresh or cooked, but I don't like raw tomatoes. I know it's weird, it's just the way it is. Salsa is one of my favorite ways to eat tomatoes...and if you've come looking to find my recipe for it here NO SUCH LUCK! Tomatoes are super healthy so I have tried and tried to like them. One way I make them edible raw is by removing the seeds and the (yucky!) gel-like stuff in the middle. Now I'm sure that's probably where all the good-for-you stuff lives, but it's the only way! It is definitely where all the tomato-eyness lives so if you hate tomatoes like me try it and see.

Here's the recipe:
1 pita, toasted - I like the whole wheat sesame pita from Trader Joe's. Yum!
Cucumber diced - I prefer cucumbers to tomatoes so I use more cucumber than tomato.
As much tomato as you can stomach, diced - for me it's about 1/4 cup.
Feta
Hummus - I really like Sabra roasted garlic hummus. My 3-year-old eats it off the spoon!

Assmble: After you've toasted your pita, start with the hummus. Spread it evenly over the pita. Use as much or as little as you like. I usually use about 1 Tbsp. Now sprinkle cucumbers and tomatoes over the hummus. I believe the original recipe called for 1/2 to 1 cup of veggies. I sometimes add chopped baby spinach. (You can't taste it I promise!) Then sprinkle feta, again as much as you want, over the veggies. And voila!

I usually cut it in half to make it easier to eat and scoop up all the veggies and cheese that fall off the pita onto the plate. As you add your feta remember to check out the serving sizes. The goal is health not just hiding the veggies with the cheese! I would start with a tablespoon and see if that agrees with your taste buds, then work your way down to a sprinkle from there. Also, I a whole wheat sandwich thin this time around because that's what I had in the fridge, but the pita really tastes best!

As a side note I made a kiddo version of this for Jeremiah, my 3-year-old. He had a sandwich thin, one side spread with hummus, one side with cream cheese, in the middle: thin slices of cucumber. He gobbled it up!