mango salsa

This has been my quick, refreshing, go-to recipe for all the delicious summer BBQs we've been attending.  This is a great side dish, yummy on tacos, or even throw on a salad.

Mango Salsa

1 large mango, peeled, seeded, diced (or use frozen, chopped mango...time saver!)

1/4 c finely chopped red onion

1 1/2 tsp minced cilantro

1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice

2 Tbs finely diced red bell pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients, mixing well.  Serve chilled

chunky (paleo) chocolate chip cookies

One of my favorite treats is a homemade chocolate chip cookie.  I've spent many a weekend trying to perfect the perfect cookie - butter vs. crisco, white vs. brown sugar ratio, adding oatmeal, etc. I got pretty close to making my idea of the perfect cookie.  I still enjoy making cooking with my boys, it's just not a once a week activity like it used to be.

I've been searching high and low for a grain-free, paleo cookie that would satisfy that need for something sweet, yet still remain compliant.  Enter the "Welcome to Chunky Town" chocolate chip cookie from Taylor Made It Paleo.  This girl is adorable and makes some pretty amazing looking treats.

So many of her recipes look delicious, but I decided to try these cookies because her mom said they were the best paleo treat she's ever made.  I'd say that's probably the truth because these are delicious!

The players:

Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup sunflower seed butter*

1/3 cup honey

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

salt to taste

1/2 cup chopped walnuts**

1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips***

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Using a cookie scoop, spoon mixture into balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Press cookies down lightly with a fork.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Enjoy!!

*I used creamy, but chunky would be great, too. You could also sub any other nut butter.

**Any nut would be yummy

***Target now carries Enjoy Life chips!  They are soy, dairy, and nut free.  I'm sure you could substitute with any chocolate chip.

Yummy!!!

-Katie

sugar detox - done!

Another food challenge is in the books - hurrah!  I wish I could say I was 100% compliant during the 21 day sugar detox, but I certainly wasn't.  I had a few moments of weakness towards the end - one involving homemade pizza and the other involving beer (maybe a couple times).  Other than that, I did ok.

I will say I think this was harder than the Whole 30, even though it was shorter, because of the no fruit rule.  I sure do love me some berries and I really missed them over the past three weeks.  I had strawberries and blueberries yesterday and they tasted like candy.  So good!

I got to spend my last day of the detox with my cousin, Gretchen, at our semi-annual cousin day.  It was fun to chat about our experience and enjoy our taco salads together while everyone else ate theirs with shells.  We decided we wouldn't be very good 21DSD coaches because we kept convincing each other that it was ok to have a beer or glass of wine.  We both managed to steer clear of the dessert table, which included Gretchen's famous chocolate chip cookies.

I will definitely say that cutting out sugar and glutens makes you feel horrible at first, but then you feel amazing.  Clear head, less bloat, more energy, clearer skin, better sleep - these are just a few of the things Gretchen and I both experienced on the detox.  You do not know how bad some foods can make you feel until you eat only real food.  I will say that I overindulged a bit yesterday and I felt AWFUL last night.  There is something to be said about eating less sugar and glutens.

So, where to go from here?  I plan to have a few days to enjoy the foods I missed (hello bread) and then I hope to eat a mostly Paleo diet from here on out.  I will not be perfect all the time, but knowing how good it makes me feel is worth it most of the time.

-Katie

sugar detox - day 12

Well friends, we are over half way done with the 21 Day Sugar Detox. Yahoo!  Week two has certainly been a lot better than week one.  The first week was tough, I'm not going to lie.  Throwing a holiday right in the middle probably wasn't the best idea either.  This week I feel like I've gotten into a groove and this is just becoming the normal way to eat.

My super fun cousin, Gretchen, is also doing the detox with me, and it's been so fun to have someone along for the ride.  I'm lucky to be surrounded by a lot of amazing women in my family and Gretchen is no exception.  She is the mama of two adorable kiddos and has an incredible husband, Thad. She is the most amazing hostess and their house is party central when we all get together.

I asked her a few questions about how she's feeling on day 12.

Hi.....I'm Gretchen and I'm a sugar addict.  

What made you decide to do the 21 Day Sugar Detox?
Katie made me do it.  No really, I have been trying to get rid of gluten for a while, and just needed a boost.  Thought this would be a good way to get it out of my system!

What have been your go-to foods on the detox?  Any foods you didn't eat before that you now enjoy?
Avocado.  Easy, yummy and filling.  Nothing really new, but have been eating hard boiled eggs at breakfast even though eggs kind of creep me out.  Always ate veggies, but eating more now than I did.

What has been the hardest food (or drink) to give up?
Beer, which is weird because I don't really drink much.  But it is summer, and with friends by the pool, or down at the lake.....well...I may have had a slip up or two...."Happy birthday, America"

Do you plan to continue this lifestyle after the detox ends?  Or where are you hoping this detox takes you, in terms of food?
I plan to keep up the no gluten.  I will not go back to the Greek yogurt I used to have every morning.  I will add back in fruit - hello fresh peaches!!

I failed to formally ask Gretchen the biggest question of all - How are you feeling??  I do know that she is feeling great, sleeping "like a teenager" and not missing the desserts at all.  Like me, week one was tough and week two seems like a breeze.  I'd completely agree with all her answers and I cannot wait to dive into peaches (and berries!) when the detox is over.

If you've at all been thinking about doing a detox, or something similar, go for it!  You will not be disappointed!

-Katie

cauliflower mashed "taters"

I tried a new roast recipe today, and there is nothing that goes better with roast than mashed potatoes.  I could seriously eat my weight in mashed potatoes.  It ties with stuffing as my favorite food at Thanksgiving.  My mom used to get so mad at me because I always said I liked my grandma's potatoes best.  Come to find out they were instant and from a box.  Ooopsies!

Anyway, white potatoes are no longer a part of my everyday life, so I had to find a substitute.  Enter mashed cauliflower "taters!"  This recipe is super easy and delish!  The original calls for 5 cloves of garlic, but I thought that might be a bit much, so I used 4.  I think next time I'd do 3.

Cauliflower Mashed "Taters"

1 large head of cauliflower
3-4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp butter
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Trim your cauliflower into florets and stems.  Slice the garlic cloves.  Steam your cauliflower and garlic together for about 10 minutes, or until soft.  I did this in a steamer basket over a pot of water.  You could probably microwave it, too.  It's critical to steam the garlic, or your taters will be way too garlicky.  Throw the steamed cauliflower, garlic, butter, salt, and pepper into a food processor and puree it until it is completely smooth.  Enjoy!


This recipe is adapted from one of my very favorite Paleo bloggers -
Nom Nom Paleo

-Katie

sugar detox - day 8

I think I was just a tad bit cocky going into this 21 day sugar detox.  I thought since I eat fairly paleo compliant most days, I wouldn't have much trouble.  WRONG!  Even though I didn't eat many grains or much sugar before the detox, I still had that option if I want to indulge in, say, a bowl of delicious peanut butter and chocolate ice cream that my husband brought home on day 3 (grrrrr).  I could eat a bowl and move on.  Not so fast.  I now have to consciously make a decision about everything I put up to my mouth.  Which is a good thing.  I think.  Here's the good, bad, and ugly eight days in:

The Good: 

-Increase in energy level over the past few day

-I sleep like a baby (Why do we say that?  My babies never slept.  Like ever.)

-I don't have that gross, bloated feeling after each meal

-My clothes fit better and I've lost a few pounds

-I read every nutrition label for everything I put in my mouth

The Bad:  

-Headaches.  Oh goodness, the headaches.  The first few days were brutal.  The sugar withdrawal, even for someone without a ton of sugar consumption, was hard.  That seems to be getting better in the past few days.  

-I miss fruit.  Like big time.  Going to the farmer's market is like being in a torture chamber.  The berries!  The peaches!  All so yummy this time of year.

-Social settings with tons of food are tough

The Ugly:

-I had a minor slip up on the Fourth of July and indulged in a few beers.  That was it though.  How can you celebrate the Fourth without beer?  I resisted my mom's homemade ice cream, which was the true test.  It was beer or ice cream and I chose beer.

-Shhhhh, don't tell the detox police, but I have had a green apple and a green tipped banana in the SAME day.  Yikes!  

-I have had a few red apples, mainly because I was out of green ones.  And they are just better.  There, I said it.

Actually, I shouldn't be too hard on the green apple because it has been my savior for the past 8 days.  When you can't eat anything sweet, you really look forward to the one "treat" you can have each day.  I dip mine in sunflower seed butter and it's delish.  Plus, I once had a student call me "Granny Smith" so it seems fitting.

-Katie