Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup

Through a link on Food Renegade, I came upon this amazing recipe for Homemade Cream of Chicken soup courtesy of Nourished Kitchen. Wow! You will never open a red and white can again!

Zaycon Foods Chicken Breast

I keep hearing about Zaycon Foods. They are offering a Fall Sale on fresh, boneless, skinless chicken breasts for only $1.48 per pound. This is only for Washington State residents. You have to buy them by the 40-pound box, which contains (4) 10-pound bags. You would have to separate them for freezing on your own. And you pre-order them, then show up at the pick up site to claim your purchase. So for $60 you can fill your freezer with chicken breasts. Granted, these are not pastured and organic, but if you are on a budget, this is not a bad way to go. Here's the link if you want to check them out.
http://www.zayconfoods.com/events

Has anyone ordered from them before? If so, share your experience and let the rest of us know if this is a decent option.

Check out Soap.com

I love the ease of shopping online so when I found this new site, I wanted to share with everyone. www.soap.com. What am I so excited about? Well, they have Burt's Bees, Dr. Bronners, tons of vitamins (just ordered my first supply of Vitamin D3), Method products, almond oil (can't wait to try this one!) and Nutiva coconut oil. All the primal products I love. AND they always offer free shipping on orders over $25, AND there is NO TAX!! (except in CO, MO, NC, NJ, NV, NY, and PA). AND they offer 15% off your first order. Have I told you how much I love a good deal?? Check it out for yourself.

Get 15% off

your first order

use code KBUS3723

shop for all your home essentials: Gillette Razors, Dove Soap, Moroccan Oil

Not valid for existing Diapers.com or Soap.com customers. Some resctrictions apply.

Happy shopping!

Mark's 30 Day Challenge

The 30-Day Challenge is on over at Mark's Daily Apple. Check it out and get involved. I know I've had a tough summer staying on course, and this is just the kick in the pants I need to get moving.

Kraft Cheese Coupon

Every once in a while, we all need to save a little money. I just found out about a great deal on Kraft cheeses. Now, I know it's not raw, and well, it might not be the best choice, but sometimes it's ok. So click on this link to print out a "Save $5 on 5":

http://brands.kraftfoods.com/kraftcheese/index.html

If you happen to have an Albertsons near you, you can save even more. Through September 7th, they have Kraft Cheeses on sale 2/$4. And when you buy 5, you'll get a Catalina coupon for $5 off your next shopping trip.

Now, here is how to really save BIG: When you print the coupon, you can print it twice. Go to Albertsons, buy 5 cheeses, and use one of the $5 coupons. You'll pay $5 and get a coupon for $5 off your next visit. Go grab another 5 cheeses. At the register, use your second $5 off, and the $5 Catalina coupon that you just got. You'll pay $0. Yes, that is ZERO dollars. AND you will get ANOTHER $5 Catalina coupon. Go grab some avocados (on sale 2/$3), or whatever else you may need (laundry detergent anyone?!?!) and use the last $5 Catalina coupon when you check out. Let's say you decide to get 4 avocados, you'll wind up paying a whopping $1. So you could walk out of there with 10 packages of cheese and 4 avocados for only $6!!! You just saved $20. More money you can put towards your monthly grass-fed beef allowance.

Go...shop....eat cheese.....be happy!

Wisconsin Farm Raids

This just pisses me off!!!

There is also a facebook page where you can donate to help the Herschberger Family.

http://apps.facebook.com/sponsor-me/campaign/hershberger-farm-food-freedom-fund

Keep spreading the word and support your local farmer!

Pretty mellow day today (especially compared to yesterday's hike). Got some exercise in by doing some yard work, and did ok on the eating side of things but was a little high on carbs.

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 avocado with Pico de Gallo
• Homemade meatballs made with grass-fed beef and pastured pork
• 2 oz cheddar cheese
• Banana with 2 Tbsp. peanut butter
• Green beans, wax beans and baby carrots with 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• Peach
• 1 Mike's Hard Lemonade

Calories 1759 / Carbs 80 / Fat 126 / Protein 68

My First Hike

I went on my first hike ever yesterday, and it was awesome! I joined a group that hikes with their dogs, in an effort to not only get more exercise, but also to socialize my shy dog. For this hike, there was only two of us, and three dogs, all little ones. When we started the hike, we planned on going 5-6 miles, on a basically flat trail. Well, we took a little detour down (yes, down, which means we had to come back UP about a mile to get back to the trail) to look at some falls, and by the time we were done, we covered 10+ miles. My ass is officially kicked! Even my pup is pooped! We had a great time, and I can't wait to go on the next one. Starting the day out hiking, helped propel me to a fantastic day eating-wise; it was perfectly primal.

• 34 oz Coconut Water
• 8 oz Carne Asado
• 1/2 avocado with Pico de Gallo
• Handful of almonds
• Organic Orange
• Larabar - Peanut Butter Cookie
• 1 oz Lime & Chile Dark Chocolate
• 2 oz cheddar cheese with 1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Calories 1585 / Carbs 137 / Fat 89 / Protein 71 -- The carbs are a bit high, but that is mostly due to the coconut water, which was greatly needed due to the sweat from the hike.

What I ate today:

• 2 free range eggs, with 1 tbsp mayo and 5 strips pastured bacon
• 6 oz grass-fed carne asada cut beef, with 1 tbsp butter. Big mug of homemade chicken broth.
• Slow cooked chicken, 1/2 avocado, slice of onion, diced tomatos, lime juice.
• Sliced jicama -- quickly becoming a favorite snack.
• 2 oz cheddar cheese
• 2 glasses red wine
• Coconut oil with 1/3 oz dark chocolate
  

I've discovered I am really liking the unsweetened herbal tea. I use any kind of tea that has a hint of berry to it (TAZO Passion, Celestrial Seasonings Wild Berry Zinger, and my favorite from Cost Plus Tropical Crimson). I never thought I would get off the Splenda bandwagon. I used to drink Splenda sweetened tea every morning, and have at least two diet Dr. Pepper or Coke Zero every afternoon. Once in a while I would treat myself to a Sugar Free white chocolate peppermint mocha from my favorite coffee place. Not any more. I would guess I've been off of sweetners for about two months. The other night I took a tiny sip of the Bret Micheals Diet Snapple (I can't remember the flavor) and all I could taste of the aspartamine. Icky!! These days I'm perfectly happy with unsweetened tea, seltzer with lime, and plain old water. Water can be livened up with lemon, lime, mint, cucumber or berries.

As you can see, I'm still having a bit of an issue sticking to Paleo. Primal......no problem. But Paleo, I can't seem to let go of butter, cheese, wine and dark chocolate. Granted, quantities are definitely going down, so that is an improvement. I gotta let go of these excuses and go just one week without them.

Day 2

Day 2 didn't go so well. I started off great, then went to do a happy hour review with some friends, and feel into the old trap of having a cocktail, which turned into another, and well, you know how that goes. Eating wise, I did ok. I'd say overall it was a decent Primal day, but no where near a Paleo day. Guess I will be starting Day 1 part 2 on Friday! Here's what I ate today:

• Grass-fed beef jerky (2 oz)
• Organic Granny Smith apple
• Organic collard greens made with pastured bacon, red onion and homemade chicken broth, and a 5-oz grass-fed steak burger
• Chop Chop Salad - lettuce, chickpeas, chicken, provolone, salami and vinaigrette
• 1 small square dark chocolate with sea salt
• 1/2 organic sweet potato, baked, with 1 tbsp butter
• 1 oz chopped pecans
• 4 cocktails - vodka with club soda and lime

Overall, not bad, but not even close to Paleo with the booze, chocolate and dairy. Not going to beat myself up too bad, since it could have been so much worse (like I could have had pizza and fried mozzarella when I was out but I didn't). No idea what the stats were.

Day 1 of Paleo Challenge

I've talked about challenges before, and I realize that I have given excuse after excuse as to why I didn't persevere. But after reading the Whole 30 challenge again, I ventured into Paleo today. My challenges will be giving up dairy, sweeteners and alcohol. These have obviously been a barrier in my quest to lose weight, and it's time to get serious. I love Melissa's "tough love" attitude over on the Whole9 blog. Her mantra? "Giving up heroin is hard. Fighting cancer is hard. Changing your eating habits is NOT hard."

Today started off with a bit of IF. I ate Tuesday night about 9:30, then didn't eat today until lunchtime. Here's what I ate today:

• Grass-fed, all beef hot dog with mustard.
• 6 oz grass-fed rib eye steak, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 baked organic sweet potato with 2 tbsp coconut oil and cinnamon, organic collard greens
• Chai tea with 1/2 cup coconut milk, vanilla and cinnamon.
• 10 local cherries
• Unsweetened herbal tea

Stats are: 1348 calories / 47g carbs / 109g fat / 54g protein

One day down, 29 more to go. :)

Fatty Fridays

Go check out this blog post....awesome idea.....Fatty Fridays!!!! Join the revolution!!

The Chocolate Milk Diet

Yet another sugar laced diet that consumers will fall for.

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/54828/the-chocolate-milk-diet/

What is really sad, is that people truly believe this. How many times have you been in a restuarant where you've witnessed parents ordering chocolate milk for their kids instead of that "super sugary soda"? Guess which one has more sugar in it? I can only imagine how many people will be sucked into believing that chocolate milk is good for them, and start pounding their three servings a day, only to gain more weight as a result? And then of course, wonder what the hell happened?

Did anyone else follow Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? For the most part, I agree with what he was trying to accomplish. Especially getting real food in front of the kids. Granted, he is still part of the low fat movement, but at least he is trying to get real food out there, and get rid of all of the sugar. There was one episode where he was successful in removing the chocolate and strawberry milk from the elementary school lunchroom, only to return a few days later to find the flavored milk had reappeared. When he confronted the districts purchaser about it, she told him she questioned the state food program director about this and was told "It is more important that the kids get the calcium, and that is easier to accomplish with flavored milk." I know this will come as a shock to most Primal followers, but the government, the ones given the responsibility to provide food to our schoolchildren, believe that massive amounts of sugar really is ok for our kids. What is wrong with that picture? Real food people, it's all about real food.

30 Day Challenge

I have finally been able to read "The Primal Blueprint" and it is amazing! Alot of us that follow Mark's Daily Apple, probably think we already know all we need to about the Primal Lifestyle. Think again. Get the book, read it, then re-read it and implement it today. What could be better than a lifestyle that applauds steak, red wine, dark chocolate, naps and play time!

So I am issuing myself a challenge and welcome anyone who wants to join in! The challenge will begin May 1, and run through the month. Pick one, two, or how ever many things you'd like, to focus on during the month. Post your goals in the comment section, then check in every week and let us know how you're doing.

My goals for May:

• Get more sleep. My goal is at least 7 hours a night. Sleep is so important to so many facets of our life. I've always had a hard time sleeping, I felt like I was wasting time or missing out on something. Now I know better. Getting 7 hours is a huge step in the right direction.
• Play more. The Primal Blueprint suggests about two hours per week of slow cardio, and 2-3 strength building sessions. More slow cardio for me! Now that Spring is here, it will be easier to get outside and move. I've joined two "hiking with dogs" groups that will get me out of the house for fun, rather than for that dreaded exercise.
• Keep a food journal. While the PB does not require this, personally, I feel I need it to really keep track where I am at. In the PB, there is a recommendation for tracking calories, fat, protein and carbs IF you are trying to lose weight. Which I am. So, I will be keeping calories between 1650-1750, Carbs at or below 50g, fat at least 100g, and protein at least 80g.

So who is joining me for the challenge? And what are your goals?

Travel Food

Had to travel last week, and I actually packed food to take me with. Normally I would pack a few snacks, and get the bulk of my meals at the airport. Instead, I took matters into my own hands. Here is a picture of my noshes:

An organic apple, sliced cheddar cheese, bacon from the farm, homemade guacamole, a Larabar and a packet of sea salt & olive oil almonds. Unfortunately I forgot to pack a spoon. So I had to scoop the guac with bacon and cheese. You should have seen some of the looks I was getting. I found it kind of funny. I was the weird one, not the people next to me chowing down on bagels and cream cheese! The apple and almonds were saved for snacks the next day. It's amazing how satisfied I felt for once during a full day of travel. I will definitely be packing my food more often!

And while I was out on the road, I choose hotels with refridgerators and even one that had an actual kitchen. Instead of going to a restuarant for meals, I stopped by Whole Foods and picked up some fresh fruit, chicken from the deli and some delicious salads from their salad bar. Not only did I save a bit of money, but I felt GREAT all week, knowing I was in control of what I was feeding my body. Anybody else pack their own food when traveling?

Bacon

Mark's Daily Apple has an awesome post today: A Quick Guide to Bacon.

Everything is better with bacon.....enough said.

Meatzza!

I first read about Meatzza here on Richard's "Free the Animal" blog. He then referred to Justin's blog for an improved crust. So tonight I tried it. And OMG....IT IS DELICIOUS!!!!

For toppings I used pastured bacon, chopped onion and organic portabellos.

Here's the finished product. I was only able to eat a tiny bit of this, as it was so filling.

Need a new way to cook bacon? Try cooking it in the oven, with a self cleaning oven, there's no mess to clean up! Just lay the bacon out on a roasting rack (inside a roasting pan) let it cook for 7 or so minutes, and it's perfect! Plus, the bacon grease is nice and clean for future use.

Tonight was Mark Sisson's live webcast and it was awesome! Viewers were throwing questions at him left and right and he provided tons of helpful information. Thanks Mark for a great two hours! I hope he does this again, it was definitely worth it.

30-Day Challenge

I stumbled across this blog yesterday and found myself reading every word for hours! Urban offers up a 30-day Paleo challenge. Granted, this was done in 2009, but I am ready to start a new one. I love her tough love talk and no bullshit attitude. We all have a choice about what goes in our mouths, and how we live our lives. I've been off track for a bit and using her guidelines, I think it's about time I got back in-line. I know I'll have some challenges, like giving up alcohol for 30 days.....yikes!! But again, it's all about choices! Anyone out there interested in joining me?

Tonight is Mark's two hour webcast for those who purchased The Primal Blueprint last week. I am really looking forward to this call tonight. What a great way to start off 30-days of Paleo!

Food Porn

Just a little food porn for you to enjoy:


Breakfast was a Big Ass Salad with red leaf lettuce, grape tomatoes, black olives, avocado, grilled grass-fed sirloin and feta cheese, tossed with a mixture of olive oil and pesto.



Dinner was sliced red pepper and cucumber, with a hearty serving of Elizabeth's Jamaician Ribs. If you haven't tried these yet, you are missing out! So tasty, you don't even need BBQ sauce.

I just returned from a week vacation with some serious CW thinkers, and let me tell you, it was tough! All week, I heard talk of low fat this and low fat that. Even comments like "I normally eat Sherbet for dessert because it has less fat." It amazes me how people do not hesitate to comment on how I eat. The most common comment was, "Wow, you really like your meat!" We were on a cruise, and if you've ever cruised before, you know there is no shortage of food! For breakfast I would load up on bacon, ham, cheese slices, fruit and eggs. Lunches were generally salads with lots of meat, and dinners were meat and veggies. And......dessert. Every night. Yes, I indulged a bit, but what the hell, I was on vacation!

One day, there was a seminar in the Spa. I didn't attend but two of the group did. The topic was detoxing your body of chemicals. When they returned, it was interesting to hear they recap what was talked about. For example, how what one puts on their skin is absorbed by the body, how factory farming is harming us, how one shouldn't eat processed foods. Hmmmm....sounds like the stuff I've been telling them. But I guess because I am not a "specialist" I must not know what I am talking about. I just had to smile and say "well, when you want more info, let me know and I can turn you on to some websites."

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted at all in 2010. I guess I have been slacking! January was a good month, leading to about a five pound weight loss. Now I've just returned from a week in Hawaii, where I ate a lot of local food, which means alot of salt and carbs. I was so excited to get back and have a plain salad. Now I've got the crockpot and oven full of meat to get myself back on track and drop some weight before I go on a cruise in March. I'm also going to do my best to post more regularly, as I know it keeps me more on track. Have a great evening everyone....more to come soon!

Welcome 2010

It's the first day of 2010 and I personally am looking forward to the new year. Mark has some great posts over at his site with some good motivation as the new year begins. Go check it out!

I am having a nice day of relaxation today and gearing up to hit the ground running tomorrow. This is going to be the year of organization for me, everything from my diet to my house is getting organized!

Hope everyone had a good New Years! Enjoy the weekend!