Hello Neglected Blog...

The Red Velvet cupcake that broke me. hehe
by Queen Sin's Cupcakes

So, I originally slipped out of BLOGdom when I started working full-time outside the home.  This really got my schedule out of whack at first!
As I started my new job, I was warned that the goodies and treats would be abundant during the season as people loved to bring in donuts, bagels, breakfast and the like to share.  I was not worried about it. You see, once I'm on a roll - I.am.on.a.roll.  Nothing and no one was going to deter me from my goal.

I did very well for a while.  I avoided MOST treats that were brought in.  I did make an exception when some gourmet cupcakes were won by our office.  Even that was planned as a "cheat" and I kept going.  It was some time at the beginning of December where things started to get out of control.

I was working so many hours including over-time during the week and Saturdays too.  The thing that broke me?  NOT baked holiday goodies.  Not birthday celebrations.  It was the lack of planning.  Not getting out to the grocery store to buy the necessary things that I needed to stay on track. Seriously.  I started buying lunch from the lunch truck or taking whatever convenient thing I had on hand and then coming home late and buying take-out for dinner and on and on...

Next thing you know - out of control.  So I figured I'd ride that wave and start fresh with the new year 'cause why pull it together during Christmas and miss out on anything there?  I had family visiting.  We had some serious eating to do!

The weight slowly crept back and I started feeling blah again.  January came and went and I still did nothing. Here comes February.  Didn't even TRY.  So somewhere in the middle of February, my friend Desiree invites me to attend the gym with her on Fridays as her guest - we have Fridays off and thought it would be fun to do this together.  Guess what? I liked it - a lot.  Went on Fridays, but still didn't really change my eating.  Toward the end of the month, I knew I really needed to get my crap together.

Marco and I have both joined that gym now, and we can go as often as we like.  I need to get on a regular schedule and stick with it, but alas, we are enslaved to our crazy work/school/home activities and sadly - the gym is not as enticing when it is 8:30 pm.  But we go. And we will keep going.

So hopefully, I can make time to update here like I wanted to in the first place.  It really did help me to be accountable - even if it's just to a computer screen.  I guilt myself enough that it works.

I stopped drinking soda almost a month ago.  Just stopped cold turkey.  Trying not to drink anything with artificial sweetener as well.  Not super easy, but I just end up drinking water.  Nothing wrong with that.

Monday (the 17th), I started back on track with the eating.  Was gone two weekends in a row for a scrapbooking retreat and then to visit the grandmother.  Felt gross by Sunday night and that was all it took.

Thanks for reading this so far...  whoever you are.

It's fall!! Time for some chili!! No beans, no sugar added, no gluten... JUST YUM!

I started with some good quality ground sirloin. Seasoned it really good. Got it nice and browned.  I removed the beef with a slotted spoon and left the fat (there wasn't much) in the pan.  I started on the vegetables.

I got out as many colorful veggies as I could find in my refrigerator and then started to chop and dice, added it to the fat and let them saute just a bit.  

I transferred everything to one pot.

Also added a two cans of stewed tomatoes with green chiles and  

I used fresh garlic and some dry spices like chili powder, paprika, sea salt, black pepper... I then added two cans of water and let it simmer...

Lastly, I added some shredded zucchini at the end. It cooks up pretty quick.
You can add a little more water if you'd like - it just depends what consistency you prefer.  Just make sure you're not "watering" it down. Check your spices as you go.

Serve it up with a bit of sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro and avocado and you'll be in business!  This was amazing.   

Started a new job...and I'm still on track! Yay!

Hey! I've been away for a while, but I am back to share some pics of what I've been eating.  I do this just to show you what kind of foods are actually on a primal diet.  I would say Paleo, but I do still enjoy some dairy (cheeses) and that keeps me sane... 

This may look crazy, but it was so good.  Grilled flank steak with roasted passila chiles.  I also layered some delicious Mexican oaxaca cheese (like string cheese) to the top and let it melt. Top it with fresh avocado and a side of jalapeno bacon poppers - OMG! Yum!

A simple grilled chicken salad with tons of fresh veggies, almond slivers and fresh parmesan cheese.

Lettuce tacos de pastor (seasoned pork)

Have you ever had acorn squash?  It took me a minute to figure out the best way to peel it. haha! I cut it in half. Scooped out the guts and then cut it at the creases and then peeled it with a vegetable peeler. Pretty easy once I got the hang of it!

I marinated some chicken legs with a "teriyaki" type sauce.  It was sugar-free of course.  Then I made this hash with sweet potato, acorn squash, green beans and bacon pieces. So good.  Had a variation of it at a friend's house and loved it so much I had to recreate it! =)

So, that's just another glimpse of what's been going into my belly.
I am feeling good and haven't had any of my headaches in a good long time.
I have also been trying to get to bed before 10 p.m.  That's always a good thing.

Have you tried anything new lately?  Do you have any fall favorites that I might like?  Let me know in the comments!

What have I been eating lately?

I try to remember to take a picture of my food - just to be aware of what I'm eating and to remember when I have an especially good meal that I want to duplicate.  Plus, I just like food.  Did I mention that before? hehe!

Chicken and Vegetable soup (the cauliflower looked like dumplings LOL)

 One day Marco and I met for lunch before he had to return to work.

We decided to go have Ono Hawaiian BBQ. We skipped the rice (waaaahhh) and 

macaroni salad.  We just got the grilled meat and steamed veggies. Yum!

 This is an example of what I take for work.

Coconut Milk, frozen banana and Almond Butter Smoothie for breakfast.

Leftovers for lunch (was beef stew on this day)

Fruit and lots of water

Coffee too usually

 Baked spaghetti squash with chicken parmesan 

 Taco salad - no rice, beans or tortilla shells

 Saturday breakfast: eggs, bacon and sausage patties.  Coffee

 Sauteed garlic shrimp

 Chicken tenderloins (butter/garlic)

 Super veggie mix.  Brussel sprouts, zucchini, grape tomatoes and bacon ends

fresh green salad 

I try to be careful with eating too much fruit that may have lots of sugar (like my grapes) or too many nuts like almonds (omega 6), or too much dairy (like cheese) or hidden sugars in sauces (like the Ono) - since I am working on weight loss as well as transitioning into a primal lifestyle.  

But I also realize that I have to do what I can do right now.  I need to have flavor, I need to have variation and I need to be able to fix it quite easily or affordably.

I've had a request for the Super Veggie Mix recipe and it's very simple.

INGREDIENTS: 

Fresh brussel sprouts - washed, trimmed and quartered

Bacon ends - cooked thoroughly and drained (save grease)

Fresh zucchini - washed and cut into bite sized pieces

Grape tomatoes - washed

Italian seasoning and fresh minced garlic

DIRECTIONS:

Basically, I fried up my bacon ends in my cast iron skillet.  I let it get really crispy.

Then I removed the bacon and drained the fat into a jar.

I added the brussel sprouts directly to the pan and started to let them roast.

I added about a teaspoon of bacon grease to the brussel sprouts about 3 times.

I continued to let them roast and moved them around several times for about 15 minutes.

I then added the zucchini and this is when I also added the garlic and Italian seasoning (to taste)

Then, I added the tomatoes and added the bacon back to the mix.  You can add any kind of

seasoning you prefer.  I didn't need to add any salt because I felt like there was enough in the bacon

to flavor the veggies. 

I let it all cook for about another 15 minutes.  Maybe 30 - 40 minutes at the most?   This dish works best if you take your time while you're cooking your main dish.  

You could add your meat right to this and make it a one dish meal! =)

It was so good!

So - what have you been eating these days?   Leave me a comment and tell me!!

Cheat Day...

Before you judge me...

I just have to say that I HAD to.  Yeah, that's it. I HAD to.  

You see, Marco and I completed our 21 Day Challenge and it was actually

my 42nd day of eating primal.  

When I asked Marco if he was interested in doing the 21 Day Challenge, 

I told him I'd take a cheat day with him at the end of it. 

So here we are.  Cheating. Bwahahaha!

Also, I feel like I needed to see if it would be worth it and to see if my 

body would react any differently to going off of primal eating.

This is what we had.

Pho and Shrimp Spring Rolls.

It was SO good.  I didn't think it would be too bad because 

the noodles and spring roll wrappers are made of rice.  lol  No gluten. hehe

Anyway, Marco and I both waited to see if we felt anything different.  

So far, not too bad.  I was burping quite a bit, but then again, 

I was doing a lot of working and cleaning right after lunch.

Later in the evening, we both had a turkey sandwich on an Everything Bagel  

(gluten in that for sure) and a bowl of Navy Bean soup from Trader Joes.

I can't say that I feel anything too different right now, 

except that I don't feel as good as I did

yesterday.  I can see how I'd start feeling bloated 

and sleepy again right away if I continued back into 

eating like this... so that's not good.  

I am not currently planning one, but if I do have another "cheat day", 

it won't be for a good, long while.

Obviously, this blog is not science based, nor am I a nutritionist of any

kind.  I can however, tell you how I feel and how food affects me.

So tomorrow - I am ready to be right back on track.  I'm actually looking

forward to it too.  Glad we didn't go crazy today.  I could have done so 

much more damage (in the past I would have), but I didn't even want to go

that far.  That's saying something for this "food addict". 

How about you?  Do you ever take a "cheat day"?  What do you crave most?

Do you plan it out?  Is it hard for you to get back on track? 

Please share your thoughts in the comments section!! I want to know. =)

Paleo Pancakes and Fresh Strawberries

So, I was hosting a little sleepover for a group of 7 and 8 year olds. 

I decided it would be easiest to make pancakes for them with strawberries and whipped cream.

I used a Bisquick mix for them.  The pancakes looked and smelled so good.

My husband came downstairs and I could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

Before he could think another wicked thought about eating a pancake - made with Bisquick - 

I told him I had a plan for us!

PALEO PANCAKES

I've seen several recipes for this, but decided to do a blend of a few of them 

so that I could use what I had on hand. 

Here are the ingredients:

3 eggs

1 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 mashed banana

1 cup of coconut flour

1/2 cup of almond flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

coconut oil for cooking

 Put your wet ingredients in your bowl first.

 Mix well.

 Add dry ingredients.

 Mix well.

 Oil your skillet with Coconut Oil or real butter.

Oops. These got dark sooner than I thought they would.
Did I mention I've got a house full of 8 year olds? hehe

 All done.

These are very dense and I was full before I finished a second pancake and they were not that big.
Tastes a lot like banana nut bread.
I am trying to use almond flour and almond products sparingly.  I think you could go all coconut flour with this and be okay, but I was running short on my coconut flour.
Enjoy with a side of berries or even some good quality yogurt or pure maple syrup might be good.

What do you think? Have you tried anything like this? Any suggestions?

Doctor visit update...

Well, it's been 2 weeks since I first saw the doctor and talked about some of the results there.
Since then, I've had my blood drawn and I received the results and then yesterday,
went back to the doctor to follow-up.  I was mostly interested in my weight and my high blood
pressure situation.  I was also concerned about my bad cholesterol levels that were revealed
in the blood test.

So the good news is this - Since the other appointment two weeks ago, I've lost 4 pounds!
That's very exciting for me.  And then at my last appointment, the best we could get my blood pressure down to was 141/92 and at this appointment it was 125/81 and I'm sure that was even a little high for that moment 'cause I was getting myself all worked up over it. haha!
As for the cholesterol, the doctor said that it's high, but since I have shown signs that I have been
serious about diet and exercise, she'd wait three months for another blood test and see where I am
at that point. Needless to say, I was super happy when I left the doctor's office.

I will be starting a new job on Monday.  It's a seasonal job and only lasts until sometime in December, but I am really looking forward to it!
However, I realize that I am going to have to adjust my schedule for exercising and really plan out my meals so that I am not tempted to go without eating during the day altogether.  Yes, I am bad at that.  I won't be tempted to eat something bad as much as I would be willing to go without.  An intermittent fast wouldn't be too bad, but I need to keep my metabolism up!  So, I am sure this weekend will be filled with planning for this!

If you know anything about me, you know I don't like to be in pictures unless I can pre-approve them.
I rarely take "selfies" 'cause first of all, I just don't know how to do it without cropping out half of my head or dropping my phone, *sigh* and second of all - I can never get myself to do a natural smile.  I always look like "deer in the headlights" and heaven help me if I ever tried to do the classic "duck lips or sultry swag" look. Puh-lease.   BUT, remember when I was having that 'not so great' day?  Remember I was going to go shower and put on some makeup and push through?  Well, I did and I thought I'd try to take a picture to show you that I was still smiling. Nevermind the meltdown I had later in the day, but that's for another post.
This is what I got.  I know. The quality is not great.  I don't have an iPhone or anything fancy - but hey - you get three angles of me. Lucky you! I ended up cracking myself up, so at least one of the smiles is the real deal!

Are you good at taking selfies? How do you feel about being in pictures or having your picture taken?
 Leave me a comment and share!