Thankful for food

Today I'm thankful for an abundance of food. I woke up bright and early to make two giant green bean casseroles to take to our Thanksgiving Feast at work. The amount of food that was brought in was astounding, and of course delicious :) We take for granted not only the sheer amount of food that is made available to us as Americans, but also the nutritional value that we can afford and acquire when compared to other countries. Hunger is still very real in many countries, and sometimes even in our own. School systems have made it a priority to provide hot, wholesome meals to children because it may be the only one they get that day. There are many organizations world-wide devoted to ending world hunger - do some research to find one that supports your beliefs and ideas most closely, and give to it if you're able. As a family, consider participating in or leading a canned food drive for your local food pantry, or serve at a soup kitchen. "Find a need and fill it; Find a hurt and heal it."

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
- Proverbs 19:17

Cookie Dough. Paleo.

Yeah. You heard me. Cookie dough that's Paleo. PLUS there's no eggs in it. Which means my dad doesn't have to get all "You're gonna get salmonella" on me.

Paleo Cookie Dough

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp dark chocolate chips
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tsp honey
- 1/8 tsp sea salt

Instructions
1. Mix ingredients. In a bowl. With a spoon. Or a fork. I don't even care.
2. Chill it in the fridge for a bit.
3. Eat it like you mean it.

Note: I made a double batch. Because I'm a fatty.... NOT because I'm going to share with that guy I live with... Just kidding. I may give him some. I also didn't measure anything except the almond flour. I'm a really good cook. NOT.

Paleo Challenge: Day FAIL

As you may have noticed... I stopped posting my daily Paleo challenge updates after Day 5. I knew that would happen... but was trying to be optimistic that I'd actually have time on my hands to post daily. June was a whirlwind month. It was Josh's first month coaching on a regular basis, we bought a truck, Carter seemed to have 5,000 PT appts (in reality it was like 3)... It. Was. Chaos. But I loved it. My eating went off track after my first unintentional cheat (OJ in Tropical Smoothie Cafe's smoothies is NOT Paleo). The rest of the month was a nutritional blur. I barely made it to the gym (literally 2 days a week some weeks...) and I'm getting rather fluffy. One of my very best friends got engaged last weekend and is getting married in three short months. I'm using that as motivation to get back on track. I'm due for another 24 Day Challenge mid-July, so I plan to kick-start my fat loss there. I'll indulge on the 4th, but after that - I mean business! Our family is gearing up for the furlough... restaurants will not see our faces often. Meal planning, budgeting, and penny pinching are about to take the Piatt's by storm. While it's not an ideal situation, it will be good for my diet to have to cook at home and take my lunch. Wish me luck and I'll keep y'all updated on my progress!

Paleo Challenge: Day 5

I don't remember if I mentioned on Day 3... but that night I made my marinade and got the Jalapeno Dijon Chicken thighs soaking (that I cooked last night), and also rubbed a butt down to put in the crockpot for lunches. I threw it in before we went to bed last night, and woke up this morning to the smell of delicious, smoky meat. Planning ahead is essential. You can do Paleo on the fly, but it's much easier if you have a game plan and stick to it!

I'm in a class at work this week, so I don't have a lot of opportunity to eat like I normally would. I hate to be hungry... and I was hungry a lot yesterday during class. So I planned to eat a lot more than I normally would to get through the day without being "hangry."
 
Breakfast
I ate a couple of egg muffins before I left the house, and took my iced coffee with me to drink on the way. It's pretty delicious, even without the super-sweet creamers I typically enjoy!

Lunch
I was hungry by lunch time, so I hit a Mexican restaurant and orderd a steak fajita salad with extra guac. It was delicious and satisfying.

I wanted something "sweet" and still had some time to kill, so I stopped by Tropical Smoothie Cafe and got a Caribbean Carrot without any sweeteners. It was yummy, and gave me something to keep me awake during that little period after lunch when I tend to zone.

Dinner
When I got home with C I got straight to work making some Beasty BBQ Sauce to go with our Crockpot Pulled Pork. I've made this meat a few times now, but never took the time to make the sauce. It made a giant batch, and it has a really nice spicy/sweet flavor. C played pirate while I cooked! I was kinda hungry waiting on the sauce to simmer, so I made a bowl of avocado and tomato covered in salt and pepper and scarfed it.

I knew I had a little mayo left over from the chicken salad, so I picked up a bag of pre-shredded slaw mix and made an easy Paleo Coleslaw Dressing. It was a nice, simple meal, and C even ate a plateful of the meat!

After dinner Josh cut up a watermelon for me and I snacked on some. I'm a little knife-shy since my incident yesterday with the avocado. I swear I could eat half a watermelon by myself. I have to remove myself from the area when they're around!

Tomorrow that guy goes to work, and it's my last day of class... which also means I have a test. Wish me luck!

Paleo Challenge: Day 4

Sadly, the days that I'm at work I'll be unable to take photos of my meals. Cravings are getting fewer and farther between, and I'm down two pounds. Belly is noticeably less bloated, even though it still feels like I have fiery arrows embedded in my ovaries. Yay! Anyway, Day 4 looked something like this....

 

Breakfast

A couple of egg muffins and iced coffee with almond milk and stevia.

 

Lunch

Some of my curry chicken salad and fruit salad.

 

While I cooked dinner I snacked on some avocado and tomato. I nearly lost my finger in the process of slicing the avocado. It was worth it though.... those babies are YUM.

 

Dinner

This Jalapeno Dijon Chicken is the best grilled chicken EVER. It probably helped that I used a ton of super-fresh ingredients - like the jalapenos from my mom's garden, and the rosemary from my yard. I even grilled them myself... which was terrifying as always. I used boneless chicken thighs, and marinated mine for a full 24 hours. The flavor is ridiculous. You should try it.

 

Paleo Challenge: Day 3

Day 3 was hard. I stayed home from work because I overall feel like crap and that strain is uncomfortable. Tomorrow I start a class, so I wanted to rest before I HAD to be present. I'm starting to have some serious sweet cravings.

Breakfast
The good thing about being home was I had time to make breakfast. I ate late. REALLY late. Like 11:00. That's normally when I eat lunch on a work day. Anyway, I enjoyed a quiet breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, and watermelon.

 

Shortly after, daycare called because C's bag was leaking. I picked him up and we experimented with some old samples. Fingers crossed that these work. It's getting old to have him leak unexpectedly every other day!

Snack
Since I ate breakfast so late, I skipped a real lunch. It helped that my shipment came in with my Nikki's Coconut Butter! I tried the chocolate hazelnut brownie on my banana. It's different... especially the texture, but is definitely good! I can't wait to try some of the recipes I've seen that call for this in the ingredients.

Dinner
For dinner I had two of the tenderloins my dad grilled for me, some leftover squash, peppers, and cabbage.

I was prepping for tomorrow's dinner when Carter started yelling at me from the living room. He had pulled out a catheter and his diapers and was "cathing" Paws. This kid is so smart. I love days like today where I unexpectedly get to spend more time with him at home than normal :)

 

After dinner I started having some pretty hardcore cravings. I had a couple of squares of dark chocolate and an orange. Hopefully tomorrow, since I'll be busy in that class, I won't crave so much.

 

P.S. - I actually finished my book! It took me a day longer than I wanted, but I finished a decently-lengthed book in a tiny bit over a week! I still haven't decided what I'm going to start next..... I'm way behind on James Patterson's long list of titles... so probably something of his.

Paleo Challenge: Day 2

Breakfast

I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to the smell of BACON! Josh had gone to the gym early, and cleaned the kitchen and cooked breakfast while C and I were still snoozing. I had brewed a cup of coffee the night before, mixed in a packet of stevia, and stuck it in the fridge. I had iced coffee with some almond milk mixed in for my breakfast. Next time I'll only use half the packet of stevia - that stuff is super sweet!

 

The bacon was super crispy... some of it was close to pork rinds! Ha! We ate it all, though... so it must not have been too bad!

After breakfast I got in the kitchen and started food prep for the week. While I was cooking these two were playing and watching the final heats of the CrossFit Regional events that were going on this weekend.

Fruit Salad
This fruit salad is so easy and delicious. Our friend Savanna makes it for our family get-togethers and I figured it would keep well through the first part of the week - if it lasts that long! Pick berries and fruits you like, mix them in a large bowl with the juice of one lime and a couple tablespoons of honey! Easy!

 

Veggies
I cut up some veggies to have for snacks throughout the week. Celery, cucumbers, and baby carrots are ready to go in the fridge to top salads or snack on!

 

Fudge Babies

Fudge Babies are like Larabar balls. They're really easy in terms of low ingredients, but be ready to get your hands dirty!

Chicken Salad & Paleo Mayo

I got tired of the chicken salad I normally make with balsamic, honey, grapes, and walnuts, and opted for this Curry Chicken Salad instead. I modified mine - recipe below!

Curry Chicken Salad
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets (boiled, drained, and torn into small pieces)
Paleo mayo (I used the majority of the recipe below, but had a little leftover, depends on how creamy you like it! Recipe I used below)
Raw cashews (chopped, I used about half a cup)
Raisins (small handful)
Celery (diced, about half a cup)
2 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 Tsp ground ginger
1/4 Tsp garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste
Mix it all together and enjoy!

Paleo Mayo
1 large egg (bring to room temperature)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/4 cup light tasting olive oil
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Bring egg to room temperature. In blender or food processor blend egg, 1/4 cup of oil, lemon juice, mustard, and salt until combined. Then, very slowly drizzle the remaining cup of oil in. Should take 2-3 minutes. If you go too fast it won't combine properly. Mayo expires when your eggs expire - so make a note!

Egg Muffins

These go quickly in my house... that guy I live with likes them a lot. I made 20 muffins this time, and they are just plain - egg, sausage, salt, pepper, and a little cayenne. No frills!

After I finshed my food prep, we went to the gym. Josh was doing this workout and I decided to join him:

1 mile run

60 pull-ups

1 mile run

I ran my mile in 9:15. At about my 20th pull-up (on the red band) I felt a really weird pull in my lower abdomen. Really awkward area to strain when doing an upper body intensive movement... so I can't figure out if it's muscle or something else. Mandy said it could have been from holding my breath.... which I tend to do on pull-ups. I finished 30 pull-ups so I'd have completed at least half of the workout, and by then it was so bad that I couldn't stand up straight and it was making me dizzy. We shall see how I feel tomorrow.

Dinner
Mom cooked us dinner, like she normally does on Sundays. I had thrown a pack of chicken tenderloins in some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano before we headed over there so my dad could put them on the grill with the other chicken.We had grilled chicken breasts, and a ton of grilled veggies: cabbage, banana peppers, squash, and scallion. Everything but the cabbage was fresh from their garden and it was delicious! I snagged some jalapenos she'd picked for a recipe I'm making Tuesday. BONUS - she sent me home with some watermelon and leftovers from dinner!!!

Paleo Challenge: Day 1

Day 1... already feeling the withdrawals. Weighed (168) and took pictures this morning to get a baseline. I really have no specific goal in mind with this challenge, but will document the results for those curious. I have no "magic" number of pounds I'm trying to drop. I'd love to see some belly fat go, and increased performance would be awesome. So, with that said... here was my food for the day.

 

Breakfast: 2 eggs fried in coconut oil, unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon

Snack: after I worked out, I stopped by my mom's to get C, and scarfed some watermelon she had in the fridge.

"Lunch": I had not been grocery shopping yet, and paleo options were limited to say the least. Lunch was a banana, a spoonful of almond butter, and a spoonful of honey.

Snack: I had a few dates here and there because I was STARVING.

Dinner: we went to Cracker Barrel and I had the grilled chicken tenders with turnip greens and a plain sweet potato. Nom nom nom. Those biscuits sure are hard to resist :(

Snack: I had a really bad headache because I had not had any caffeine all day, so after we got home from grocery shopping I made an iced coffee with almond milk and half a pack of stevia.

 

"Lunch" was pathetic

 

 

 Before & After

 

Now my fridge, freezers, and pantry are filled with delicious paleo options. My heart is happy and I'll sleep well (especially with the storm rolling in!). Tomorrow after church and our workout I'll do some food prep for the week. Stay tuned!

Life as we know it....

Wow! Time flies when you're busy! And we. Are. Busy. Here are some happenings since mid-April:

Carter

 

- Newest obsession is the Avengers

 

 

- Talking up a storm

 

 

- Almost walking

 

- Got dedicated on Mother's Day

 

 

- Loves CrossFit

 

 

Josh

 

- Attended an Outlaw Training Camp in Atlanta

 

 

- Coaching the competition team at CFI

 

- Competed at "Ends of the Earth Showdown" in Gardendale, AL (and placed 3rd!) 

 

 

CFI Athletes representing!

 

 

Devan

 

- Went to the beach

 

- Became the Event Coordinator for CFI & helped put on Hero 4 Heroes - CFI's first competition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Officially received notice of furlough... or as I prefer to call it... "pool days." I'll have one day off a week starting sometime in July!

 

Upcoming in the Piatt world for the month of June:

- I plan to blog a lot more often. Starting tomorrow.

- Tomorrow is the start of CFI's June Paleo Challenge. I'm hoping to udpate the blog with recipes and progress throughout the 30 day contest.

- The 8th is the March of Dimes' River Region March for Babies! We have a team - "Carter's Love" - and are looking forward to our friends and family walking with us in honor of babies across America that are born too early or with birth defects like C.

- Josh is getting USA Weightlifting certified this month. He has a passion for lifting heavy things, and wants to learn how to do it most efficiently and effectively... as well as how to coach others to do the same!

- The Girls - a Garage Game Series competition. I can't wait to watch that guy I live with compete in this one. He talked about doing it last year, but we were unable to make it. This year it's bigger, better, and in a different month. We're excited to make the trip to GA, and represent CFI!

- Lots of pool time. We got C in the pool Monday during our Memorial Day bash and he LOVED it! It's still a little chilly, but should be warming up soon - the Alabama summer is in full swing!

- Books. I want to read more books! I used to read at least a book every week or so. I couldn't tell you the last book I finished. I think it was over Christmas "break"... whatever it was. Monday I started the final book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris (the basis for the HBO hit True Blood) and I'm hoping to finish it by Sunday night. Finishing a book in a week would give me some kind of hope that it can be done! lol Wish me luck.

Help me out with some prayer requests!:

- You may have seen my facebook posts - my friend (and prior cheerleading coach) Mrs Debbie, lost her daughter, Jada, this past week to cystic fibrosis. Jada fought long and hard, and was waiting on lungs. She's now breathing easy! Please say a prayer for the family and friends as they adjust to life without Jadabug.

- Another recent loss of life was my tiny cousin - Chase. My cousin, Michelle, and her husband live near St Louis and her twins were born very early. Please keep Michelle and her family in your prayers as they grieve, and also as they continue to be strong for their little Evan as he is still in the NICU.

- Please continue prayers for our OEIS friend, Carter Cline! He's making huge strides in the right direction, and I can't wait for Meagan to post that they're heading back to Mississippi with a smiling, healthy boy!

- And finally, Carter-man. He's doing pretty well lately... we recently switched antibiotics and so far so good - no UTI. After battling back-to-back UTIs for nearly 2 months, this is a good sign. Pray that his iron stores will stay high (we have our last infusion scheduled for July), his creatinine will stay within normal range, and his weight will continue to increase.

And I'll leave you with this verse:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

 

 

 

Slow & Steady

Oh, HEY! It's been a while....

I came across this picture today... it's a doozy.

It made me think about how much I've changed over the last 3+ years.

May 10, 2012 - Pre-pregnancy weight of 150 lbs

December 18, 2011 - 1 month before delivery

January 9, 2011 - 2 days before I delivered. This is what 235 lbs looks like on me.

February 6, 2011 - 1 month post-delivery. 210 lbs.

May 28, 2011 - almost 5 months post-delivery. 190 lbs.

December 2011 - almost 1 year post-delivery. 183 lbs.

September 29, 2012 - after I started CrossFit in July. 163 lbs.

March 31, 2013 - And NOW at around 160... and STRONG!

It didn't happen over night - it was slow & steady. I started with my diet by counting calories, and then I was introduced to clean eating. I started running, then I decided to try CrossFit. Through CrossFit, I was introduced to Paleo eating and Advocare supplements. These three things - CrossFit, Paleo, and Advocare - have been essential to maintaining and fueling my machine. I had to double check when I saw that my weight had not really changed from this time last year, however, my friends can tell you that there is a definite difference between my 163 last year as compared to my 163 this year. My body is the same weight, but it's muscle mass and capacity is completely different.

Moms - don't get discouraged. It took 9 months to get there, and the weight won't come off over night. Hard work and dedication go a long way. Recruit your family to hold you accountable. Figure out what motivates you and surround yourself with positive things. If you have a hard time resisting temptation, steer clear of those things that tempt you most! Set clear goals and reward yourself when you achieve them! And most importantly, if you need a friend to keep you motivated and accountable, get in touch with ME! :)