Meal Plan Monday - Paleo & Clean

I love Christmas but I am soooo glad it's over! This is the first year I have ever had to travel to see family. We had 4 days of travel, 7 Christmases and a TON of bad food, lots of eating out and indulging and of course weight gain! BOOOO! It's time to get back on track and get this weight off!  

We are attempting to follow Dr. Axes 30 day plan but there are a few things I don't like about it.  First 2 salads a day is to much salad for me and he suggests you have the same meals the whole time. I know us and we will be tired of that so we are trying to mix it up a little while sticking to the general plan 

Breakfast - Smoothie and Protein

Lunch - Protein & Veggies & Leafy Green

Dinner - Protein & Veggies & Leafy Green

Snack - Protein, Veggies or Fruit

Burst fit 5 days a week

We only plan on having smoothies on the hubs work days and other days having eggs of some sort- this morning I made a delicious crustless quiche out of left over taco fixings and eggs! Yum

Heres this weeks plan - It's Semi Paleo (actually mostly) & Kinda Clean 

Monday 

B- Taco Quiche

L - Coconut Crusted Chicken & Bacon wrapped butternut squash bites

S- Carrots & Hummas

D - Homemade Chili and side salad

Tuesday

B- Smoothie or Eggs

L- Inside out BLT's (basically just bacon, tomato, avacado & onion wrapped in lettuce)- 

S - Nuts

D- Chili-& Salad

Wednesday

B-Smoothie or Eggs

L-Chili

S-Apple & Almond Butter

D-Crock Pot Paleo Cashew Chicken with Cauliflower Rice

Thursday

B-Smoothie or Eggs

L- Leftover cashew chicken

S- Carrots & Hummas

D-Butternut Squash Soup

Friday

B-Smoothie or Eggs

L-Salad with Grilled Chicken

S-Nuts

D-Homemade Paleo Pizza -trying a new recipe this time

Saturday

B-Smoothie or Eggs

L-Leftover Pizza

S-Fruit

D- Taco Salad with Paleo Tortilla Chips and guacamole

Sunday 

B-Smoothie or Eggs

L-Chicken Salad

S-Veggies

D-Burgers

This week I plan on keeping my food diary through Instagram & hoping to get rid of the holiday pounds! 

Sadly I broke my 3 week streak of no soda and had several soda indulgences over the holidays so pretty much starting over!

No Soda

No Dairy

No Fast Food

No Gluten

Burst Fit 5 Days

Drink Water!!! 

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Merry Christmas Break!

Holidays are kicking my bootay blog wise!  Shopping, family activities, hubs on a 2 week vacation, family, relaxing and on and on and on bits of wonderfulness! I have been totally off my game this week and havn't been on the blogging daily train as planned but I am focused on family and trying to make as many healthy choices as possible!  I hope you all are enjoying this time with your families!  I will be taking the next week to focus on my family and wont be blogging during this time but am looking forward to the new year, new possibilities and exciting progress!  

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2 week update

Today starts week number 3 and I am down 9.5 lbs and 8 1/2 inches! Whoot!  It is great but it should be more if it weren't for a crappy few days but oh well here's to pushing week 3 to the max!  Working on this weeks meal plan and shopping list today and will post tomorrow! I have been asked to publish a daily food diary as well - I am trying to decide best way to do it - prob through my Mommy Loses It Facebook - 

I am also working on a Mommy Loses It Accountability & Challange Group in FB - let me know if you are interested!

Last week we did all 5 days of Burst Fit! Stuck to no soda and had a few other cheats but goals for this week are:

5 days of Burst Fit (review coming soon) 

No Soda - No Gluten - No Sugar - No Dairy

No weighing or measuring until next Monday! 

Lose 5 lbs!  

Long term - my birthday is 27 weeks away - I want a beach trip for my bday - 3 lbs per week will get me to my ultimate goal - I refuse to have another bday fat! Seriously! Lets do this

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Bumps In The Road

I can not believe that it is Saturday and Christmas is almost here! This past week has been chaos, stressful and a battle with poor choices.  Last week I posted about why cheat meals don't work for me and the past few days have proved that cheat days just make things worse for me in more ways then I realized. 

I believe that bad food addictions are much like alcoholic addictions, here's why...  In July my dad passed away from heart and liver issues that came from being an alcoholic for the last 30+ years.  About 2 years ago he was faced with the news this his liver was beginning to fail and told if he stuck to a certain diet and stopped drinking then he would be able to sustain and live longer.  He would do great for a few months eating well, not drinking, happy, healthy, alert and get to spend great time with the kids and I and then stress or overwhelming emotions would come and cause him to take a drink, thinking that just one drink would be okay.  But the problem with alcoholics, much like food addicts (or any other addictions for that matter) is one never is just one and often that one cheat sends you into a downward spiral and it often takes a week or sometimes a few weeks or a month to regain control and realize that you are killing yourself and straighten up.  

It's so simple yet some days so hard.  Good food choices make me feel great about myself and great healthwise.  Bad food choices make me feel awful about myself and make me physically sick and in pain.  Stick to the plan and be well, cheat (even once) and be sick.  Seems like a simple choice and I can not tell you how many times I thought the same about my dad.  How could he drink knowing it will kill him? Why can't he just see that he wants to live, to see his grandkids etc and that be enough to keep him clean? 

But it't the exact same for me?  I know sticking to it equals weight loss and health, 8 days of sticking to the plan equaled 8 lbs lost and no cronhs pain then 5 days of not sticking to it equals no loss and feeling sick.  

There are days as a stay at home mommy of a 4, 3 & 2 year old that are just plain stressful.  After 5 days of being trapped inside by 6ish inches of snow on top of 2 inches of ice, topped with pms and every other emotion that life throws at you, one simple cheat turns in to 4-5 days of cheat after cheat after cheat.  But all are lessons learned.

Planning for success in all different situations is the key to success for me.  I have been working on healthy replacements but need to continue to create all kinds of replacements for all kinds of different situations.  The problem areas for me right now are stress eating, eating on the go, snacks and weighing daily.  Weighing daily causes to many emotions!  If I lose some of course its exciting, but if I don't lose or somehow gain it can be so discouraging. 

For this coming week my goals are to stay with no soda (I'm up to 13 days with no soda!), get back on no sugar, no dairy & no gluten and stick to it NO MATTER WHAT. Keep up with 5 days a week Burst Fit (review coming soon), only weigh on Mondays, plan out all meals, even snacks & find some simple lil quick work outs I can have to do when I get stressed. Nothing major just some quick calorie burners to give me some happy endorphins!!!  After all in the words of the great Elle Woods....

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Instant Paleo Mocha Coffee

Today starts day 8 (-8lbs!!!!!) with no soda and with 3 little people running a muck sometimes caffeine is a must! In my quest for health and weight loss I am finding that I have to have healthy alternatives that help me beat the desire for the unhealthy stuff!  

I found this Paleo Mocha recipe over at one of my fav recipe places Primal Bites  tweaked it a little and LOVE how good it tastes!  This may be my new morning go to for a jolt!  

Instant Paleo Mocha Coffee

2/3 cup of hot water  

2 tsp instant coffee (I use double what it says for stronger yumminess)

2/3 Coconut Milk

2 pkts of Stevia

1 tsp of unsweetened Cocoa

Simmer coconut milk in pan and mix in 1 pkt of stevia and cocoa - in a cup mix hot water and instant coffee and 1 pkt of stevia - once milk is warmed to your liking and cocoa is all mixed in combine, stir and enjoy!

YUM

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Cheaters never prosper

Yesterday I had my 'cheat meal' and it was a dumb waste.  Everyone says you need a cheat meal to stay sane or whatever but cheating did nothing positive for me.  Having a cheat meal really doesn't work when your reasons for staying strict are not being sick. After a week of feeling great and having pretty much no pain and no tummy issues, one cheats sent me back into pain and tummy issues! So having a cheat meal simply doesn't work for me.  

For this coming week I will continue to find  healthy substitutions, stay on track and eat for health not pleasure!  Here's to NOT cheating and health!

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Celebrating small successes - Overcoming HUGE failures

Today is day 6 on 'the plan' and I am down 6lbs!  The plan is simple Just Eat Real Food!  I have to thank Sean Croxton from Underground Wellness for that phrase and all that I learned from the Real Food Conference last month but really real food is what its about.  Real food equals me feeling great, bad food equals me feeling like crap! I didn't tell anyone except my hubs and best friend but the day before Thanksgiving I was in the ER all day with horrid Cronhs related pains.  I always worry when I haven't had any Cronhs symptoms in a while and the pain comes because Cronhs pain, for me, is in the same area as the appendix! Eeeks.  After a CT, a pelvic violation exam, peeing all over my hand in a cup, morphine, zofran and several hours I was sent home knowing that I can either get serious about the way I'm eating or I can get on a dozen meds again.  I have an amazing doctor who I adore like my grandpa but he, like most doctors, treats the symptoms and not the cause.  I have a very mild case of Cronhs compared to most people and I know from past experience that the best treatment is a strict diet of no dairy, no gluten, no sugar and just eating real food  and my symptoms disappear and remission comes easy.  It was so much easier when it was just me to control my diet but now I have kids, VERY PICKY KIDS and a hubs who loves ice cream and pizza and my will power has been shot to crap!   

Knowing that bad food equals pain and feeling sick, I continued to eat crap through Thanksgiving and ended up spending most of the weekend in bed.  While laying in bed feeling awful I heard my kids constantly asking my hubs for me. 'wheres mommy, why doesnt mommy feel good, i want mommy, does mommys tummy still hurt'.. I was a little broken and adding insult to injury by stepping on the scale to see the 'holiday weight gain' OMG - it wrecked me! For 2 years I have been on a roller coaster and here I sit, my youngest baby 2 years old and right back to the weight I was right after having him! Crap!  A 2 year roller coaster only to get back right to where you started is a HUGE failure but.....

Yes I have failed at a lot of things health related but I have become much wiser and I have been digging in and researching and learning a lot and have started over again with a different outlook and a different desire. I loved Monkeys & Tutus but it represents my old self on the roller coaster going no where - Mommy Loses It is a new start - a new focus and a year from now I will be able to cross out that 'loses' word and insert a lost!  This past week is proof - good food = no pain and weight loss and feeling better! Ready to take on week 2!

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List of Resources & Links

This is a list of my favorite resources for Clean Eating - Paleo - Real Food - Fitness and just overall health! Most of these I go to for great recipes, tips and advice!  Hope they help you too!  When I say 'Semi Paleo/Kinda Clean/ Wanna Be Crunchy' I mean we are pretty paleo but not all the way - We generally don't do pork and some times do other 'non paleo' things but we still subsutitue with clean options.  Kinda Clean means we are trying to be as clean as possible.  Some times clean isn't avail and doens't work for the moment but we are trying our hardest to get the crap out and replace with clean real options.  Wanna be Crunchy.... well yeah! I make our own toothpaste and desire to be a lot more crunchy and some day I will get there but for today I am just a wanna be!

PS... I add to this list often but these are the basics of my favs!  For Future I made this link available on the left hand side under Resources & Links

Clean Eating /Real Food Resources

Underground Wellness
Dr. Axe
The Coconut Mama
Wellness Mama

Paleo Resources

PaleOmg
Nom Nom Paleo
Stupid Easy Paleo
Paleo Grubs
The Paleo Mom
Paleo Parents
Primal Bites

Under Construction and a new name!

I am so excited! I finally made the change!  I have been dragging my feet, thinking, thinking and thinking some more and finally did it!  Monkeys & Tutus (monkeysandtutus.blogspot.com) is becoming Mommy Loses It!  www.mommylosesit.com !  My focus is shifting to more of a weight loss, going semi paleo/kinda clean and transforming the health habits of our whole family!  Looking forward to the new reveal coming soon!

Making the change? Help needed!

I am really wanting to change my blog name and focus - any one have any name ideas??? haha!!! When I started Monkeys and Tutus the focused more on having 3 kids ages 3 and under, enduring deployment etc.  Now I am wanting to focus more on weight loss, clean/healthy eating and changing the health habits of our entire family....
Who has had name change success and what are your tips and any advice?  Thank you so much for following and being a part of my online community!  

Paleo and Clean Coconut Crusted Chicken and No Bake Cookies!

I love that our taste buds change!  I have always hated the taste of coconut but lately I cant get enough of it!   Last night we had Coconut Crusted Chicken with Sweet & Sour Sauce it was beyond fantastic!  I found this recipe on Beezy Body Fitness and did it a little differently, next time I think I will do it more like the original recipe.  I pan fried it in coconut oil instead of baking it because I thought it would be quicker and I didn't add any spices, mostly because I forgot, but it was still yummy!  It was very Paleo and Clean Eating friendly!

Coconut Crusted Chicken Ingredients Free Range Chicken Breasts (cut into strips) Coconut Flour Coconut Oil 2 Eggs Unsweetened Organic Coconut Flakes (next time I will use shredded - or run flakes through food processor - the flakes were a little hard to keep on because they were so big) I did a little bit of coconut oil in pan - rolled chicken in coconut flour, then in egg then in coconut flakes and pan fried.  It turned out great but next time I want to try to bake it instead. I found this Sweet & Sour Sauce recipe somewhere but I can't find where I found it anywhere but its super yum! 5 tbs of Honey 2 Tbs of vinegar 1 Tbs of Arrowroot powder 2 Tbs of Aminos 2 Tbs of Tomato Paste 1 tsp of red pepper flakes and 1/4 cup of water (more if you want it thinner)   Simmer all together in a sauce pan for 5 mins then remove from heat - it thickens up while cooling.     Along our journey of getting healthy I am trying to find great healthy replacements to everyday things.  I found this amazing No Bake Cookie recipe on Sweet Treats by Shayna made a few revisions and was amazed by how yummy they were!  Paleo and Clean too!  

1 cup coconut flakes (i use organic, unsweetened ones from whole foods) 1 cup chocolate chips  (I use enjoy life choc chips, they are dairy, soy and sugar free) 1 cup chopped walnuts 1/2 cup almond butter 1/3 cup raw local honey 1/3 cup coconut oil 1 Tablespoon cinnamon In a sauce pan - melt choc chips with oil, almond butter & honey then remove from heat and mix in rest of ingredients- then spoon on to parchment paper and refrigerate for 30 mins.  I put half them in the freezer for 10 mins and they were perfect!  

We now have a 4, 3 and 2 year old!

I haven't been blogging as much as I 'should' be but life happens, ya know?  November was crazy! Benjamin turned 4, Cloee turned 3 and Jaxsen turned 2 all in November!!!  Not to mention we had our very first Thanksgiving away from family and cooked our first Turkey, had 2 blow outs and a few dozen other happenings.  

I am trying to get back into the swing of blogging regularly but also trying to figure out the direction I want to go with it.  Health is at the forefront of everything going on in our lives right now.  Trying to eat clean, real food, somewhat paleo, trying to change the habits of our family to healthier ones, trying to decide if I want to change my blog name and a lot of other things to figure out!  Thank you to all of you who read and come back even though I haven't been able to be very consistent lately!  Next post will be some awesome coconut recipes!