Lunchbox #186

 

Today, my preschooler's lunch featured (clockwise):

• Bacon
• Sugar snap peas
• Full fat mozzarella cheese
• Banana

Lunchbox #185

 

Today, my preschooler's lunch featured (clockwise):

• Leftover baked chicken
• Half an apple
• Sugar snap peas
• Mashed sweet potato

Lunchbox #184

 

Today, my preschooler's lunch featured (clockwise):

• Preservative free ham
• Half an apple
• Whole milk yoghurt with cinnamon and honey
• Sliced fresh pepper

Coasting Off the Rails

 

After about 8 weeks of being very strict paleo for my Crossfit box's nutrition challenge, today was my final weigh-in and body fat assessment. I'll post more on how things went for the challenge when I get the final numbers from our challenge coordinator.

There's an odd, slightly terrifying freedom in coming home from that weigh-in knowing that suddenly you have a bit of free license. I imagine that anybody that has completed a Whole 30 knows what I'm talking about! I briefly considered my options, including foods I've missed, like chocolate. But ultimately, I've made so much progress that I didn't want to cannonball into a post-dinner evening of digestive upset or stoked cravings, so I decided to relax just a bit with a well-earned special treat.

So, this is how I gently eased off the wagon. Pork ribs from our local naturally raised bulk pork purchase. I made a barbecue sauce that had many arguably paleo ingredients (hot sauce, mustard, honey, coconut oil, garlic powder, onion powder, an errant clementine), but also a little organic molasses (gasp!) and organic palm sugar (eek!). Truly, though, the net amount of carbs from those two ingredients involved in a serving of ribs was negligible.

My other concession for tonight's dinner? A cool glass of German Spaetlese (late season white wine). A longtime inexpensive favorite of my unsophisticated palate!

How are you relaxing and unwinding this weekend? Did you let your hair down for a special treat?


~

Lunchbox #183

 

Today, my preschooler's lunch featured (clockwise):

• Tuna in olive oil, sprinkled with a bit of mild cheddar and bacon (it's like a melt...without the melt...)
• A banana
• A Clementine
• Fresh sliced red peppers and sugar snap peas

Lunchbox #183

 

Today, my preschooler's lunchbox featured (clockwise):

• Leftover slow cooked chicken
• Almond butter inside of a celery stick
• A mini serving of trail mix
• A banana
• Clementines and fresh sliced red pepper

Lunchbox #182

 

Today, my preschooler's lunch featured (clockwise):

• A bacon omelette
• Baby carrots and sugar snap peas
• Sliced fresh ripe mango

Lunchbox #181

 

Today, my preschooler's lunch featured (clockwise):

• A tomato omelette
• A mini serving of trail mix
• A banana

Lunchbox #180

 

Today, my preschooler's lunch featured (clockwise):

• Leftover sauteed salmon
• Mustard, for dipping, and a few chocolate covered almonds
• Whole milk yoghurt with honey and cinnamon (I stirred the cinnamon in)
• A few chunks of soft cooked white sweet potato
• A couple of campari tomatoes

Lunchbox #179

 

Today, my preschooler's lunch featured (clockwise):

• Two ham'n'egg cups (she tends to neglect the yolks...don't know where she gets that from because I love yolks!)
• An apple (sliced in two to fit the box)
• Some whole milk yoghurt with frozen raspberries and honey stirred in
• A few chocolate covered almonds

~

Chili Honey Mustard Dressing

Today I had the great luck to be visited for lunch by a friend who works near our house. I have fun cooking for her and anticipating the pleasure of midday conversation with another adult.

Today's lunch was roast chicken drumsticks, baked potatoes, and a salad. I needed a dressing, and then remembered that I just happened to have an egg I had cracked open earlier that had come to room temperature. Serendipitous, no? Thus came together a tangy honey mustard dressing with just a hint of heat to liven things up.

Note: There are a lot of chili oils out there that are mostly or all soybean or canola oil. Instead, read labels carefully and try to find 100% olive oils that are chili infused. I found mine used in this recipe at my local Bloom grocery store.

Chili Honey Mustard Dressing
Dresses one large family style salad


Ingredients:
1 egg, at room temperature
2 tablespoons chili-infused olive oil, also room temperature
    --> If you don't have this you could instead do 2 T. room temp olive oil with 1 t. chili powder.
1/2 oil-soaked chili pepper
    --> These came in the olive oil I had on hand, I used half of one that was pinkie finger sized.
          You could otherwise probably use 1/2 of a small fresh chili pepper.
1.5 tablespoons plain yellow mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon tamari (I used San-J, but you could also sub coconut aminos)
2 dashes fish sauce (I used Red Boat)
2 dashes hot sauce (I used Tabasco)
1/2 large very ripe pear, or 3 sugar pears
    --> Sugar pears are the mini pears you'll be seeing in the lunches this week...I found them randomly at Sam's Club.

Directions:
Blend all ingredients thoroughly, and dress salad immediately before serving. Enjoy!

 

The Latest, as The Challenge Finish Line Comes Into Sight

My Crossfit box's nutrition challenge has only two weeks left. We had a pot luck at the box last night, and it was the. healthiest. potluck. that I have ever attended. There were still treats - including some paleo desserts, and a variety of alcohol, but the overall selection was predominantly meat, fruit, veggies.

I'm so proud of my brother and sister 'fitters - people are dropping weight like crazy left and right. I can't wait to hear the final total fat percentage and raw number loss stats from our challenge's coordinator. Bless her, she has worked so hard to keep us all on track and give us regular complete body fat analyses throughout this challenge! It has really helped me to focus having such regular data feedback. It's also kept me motivated because I've had weeks with small scale movement that still yielded huge fat losses with simultaneous muscle (lean mass) gains.

Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago, I zipped into my first size 8 pair of bottoms in years. Granted, they were Target's Fit 1 jeans - my new favorite, might otherwise be known as dark wash boot cut mom jeans - so the sizing might be a little on the vanity sizing side, but STILL. Psychologically going into single digit pants sizes was a huge boost to me.

I also had a clothes fit victory in my workout gear when my regular yoga workout pants stopped fitting. When the elastic foldover waistband on my yoga pants no longer touches my belly but instead gapes out, it's a sign I've been doing something rightly. So I went to Sam's Club. I bought a two pack of new yoga pants for $22 - size L. Came home...they were loose! I actually bought a new two pack today of mediums (!!). So in more than one brand I'm going down, and my nutrition challenge coordinator's measurements of me will testify as much.

Clean paleo eating and regular Crossfitting has been doing my body good. I've had many nights when fatigue and stress might otherwise have had me face first into wine and chocolate...but the accountability of the challenge has held me fast to responsibly fueling my body for the next day's workout instead. I'm so thankful for this season of progress, which has buoyed me in other areas of my life as well.

Lunchbox #178

Today, my preschooler's lunchbox featured (clockwise):

• Three muffin quiches
• A banana (tee hee, they look like a smiley face!)
• Two clementines
• Some full fat cheese