365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 344

In all my gung-ho-ness about Paleo, I ended up reserving a grain-fed, no antibiotics or hormones kind of turkey from Natural Groceries. Did I bother to ask about the price? Nope. I went for the best of the best. So, I go on Tuesday before Thanksgiving to pick up the turkey. It is a nice 18lber…and then they ring up the price. Ouch! $120. I said, “WOW, this better be the best damn turkey ever” and the checker says it is. My second thought was what is my hubbie going to think of this? Well, the cost didn’t come up until we were actually at the table with my brother’s family diving into the food. It turned out to be the best turkey I ever had but was the $120 price really worth it? The answer came through the voice of my daughter. My husband stopped everyone talking and said our daughter had something to say. You remember the commercial about Life cereal. Mikey liked it. She liked it. Now, this is a big thing because my daughter is by far the pickiest eater ever and is especially not fond of meat. She liked it and actually had some more. That made the cost of the turkey all worth it! The cost of Christ dying on the cross is worth it to God. Every time a new person chooses to believe in Jesus, God is smiling and his heart is saying he or she is worth it. That kind of love is unfathomable. Our salvation was paid for because of he loves us that much. Will I buy another $120 turkey? Probably not. I think it is best to let it be a treasured memory of the Thanksgiving of 2014 when my daughter declared she liked the turkey. Thankfully, Jesus took on the sins of us all so his death and resurrection are a done deal. The price has been paid. You just have to accept it.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 343

As you know, I have been eating Paleo which in a nutshell basically means no sugar, no processed foods, no dairy, no grain and no alcohol. I did the Whole 30 Challenge and did all these No’s for a full 30 days. I decided to keep eating Paleo but of course allowing the some exceptions within reason. I am pretty sure I blew my exceptions for the next month or so in this one last weekend. In any case, I am committed to making this way of eating a permanent lifestyle choice. I was eagerly anticipating my follow-up cholesterol appointment with my doctor last Monday. I had to go on a small dose of Lipitor in the Spring because my cholesterol had gone up into bad territory. One of the main reasons for going Paleo was losing weight but I also wanted to get my cholesterol down again through my diet. I actually went down a whopping 90 points! I told my doctor I was doing Paleo and committed to it so she said I was young enough to go off the Lipitor and do another cholesterol check in three months to see how much my diet is contributing to this drop. I have my results taped to my bathroom mirror. It is my goal to keep those numbers down so I don’t have to go on medication again. I am confident that with the power of God within me I can conquer this cholesterol for good.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

Paleo Cauliflower Fried Rice breakfast

Process cauliflower in your food processor so it becomes small like rice.

Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in skillet. Add cauliflower rice.

At this point you can add chopped onions and garlic or if you don't have a lot of time just season with garlic powder and salt and pepper.

Add a 1/4 cup water to skillet and let simmer.

Add pre-cooked chopped bacon, turkey bacon or Canadian bacon.

Plate the cauliflower rice.

Cook egg in same skillet to your liking and top over rice.

Enjoy!

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 283

Praising God for all the glorious foods he provides us with and my learning how to make fabulously delicious and healthy recipes. Here is what is planned for this week: Baby Back Ribs with butternut squash, Root Vegetable Hash with eggs, Spaghetti squash with turkey tomato sauce, Kale salad, Paleo Pot Roast to name a few. I may be currently broke due to the excess in food spending getting my kitchen stocked with the good stuff but it is worth it. I woke up today without a sugar withdrawal headache. Thank you Lord!

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 278

Today is the first day of my Whole30 challenge with the Paleo eating lifestyle. I am really amazed thus far on this journey of how good everything tastes. I don’t miss any of the bad stuff. Of course, this week may change my thinking on that as now I go into strict mode. Only meats, vegetables, good fats and some fruit for 30 days. I made my new favorite breakfast this morning: sweet potato hash, fried egg and bacon all cooked with coconut oil and ghee and a side of blackberries. I think sweet potatoes have a bad reputation. I know that I always associate them with Thanksgiving with the pecans and marshmallows which is probably the case for most of us. If you take a risk and get past that, you will discover a wonderful vegetable. Getting the rest of my family on board with it, is going to be a struggle so I decided I will just patiently eat my foods this month and they can see me transform through my weight loss, energy, mood and all. If I am crabby this next week or so it is because of sugar-carb withdrawal and I promise it will go away.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 273

I have been steadily preparing to take the Whole30 Challenge with the Paleo diet. Preparing is definitely key to being successful. First, I have been preparing my body by week by week taking something out of my diet. The first week I took out creamer in my coffee. I have never had my coffee black but what they say on their website made me think yes it can be done. Here is the section on it not being hard:

It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime.

http://whole9life.com/2013/08/the-whole30-program/

Actually, it was only a day or so and I was used to black coffee. The next week I cut out dairy. It has been an almost ritual at dinner time to have a class of milk. I miss it but I will survive. This week I am cutting out desserts. No more ice cream, cake, pie, brownies, candy, sugar of any kind. This is challenging but thank God for strawberries which make for a good alternative. The other part of preparing has been in having on hand the right kinds of foods and ingredients to make some Paleo recipes and of course, researching those recipes I would like to try. I have a notebook all set-up with my recipes and Whole30 guidelines. I have tried 4 different kinds of vegetables that I never tried: beets, swiss chard, bok choy and kale and am happy to say I like them all especially in a chopped salad. I am learning to cook with all fresh foods which is really awesome. So, I officially begin my 30 day challenge on Sept 9^th and I am feeling ready. I just need to plan out my menu to make day to day eating go smoothly. My hubbie is being super supportive and even saying he will eat anything I make for dinner. We have a cruise coming up in April 2014 that we want to both be ready for physically. I am so thankful to my sister-in-law and brother for sharing with me about this lifestyle of eating called Paleo and the Whole30 challenge. It really is all about helping each other. You may not be ready for this eating lifestyle change but maybe someone you know is. Please share the link with them.

Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.