Our attempt at a 30 day healthy eating challenge

Aug 14, 2013

Ever since I got a big girl job Josh and I have attempted to eat primarily organic. 
. . . and then I read the book Wheat Belly, which led to a "oh hey, let's be gluten free" lifestyle.
Sometimes.
Until the weekend.
Who can truly pass up the monthly birthday bundt cake at work?
. . . or wedding cake?
. . . or beer? 
(which is the only drink served at our favorite bar that we play bingo at every week)
. . . or the fact that Dallas has a bazillion incredible burger places that are currently topping our "to eat" lists?
. . . or having a $50 gift card to Cheesecake Factory staring us in the face
Did I get my point across?
Regardless of the previous statements, we decided to make some changes.
For 30 days, at least.
No wheat, no sweets, no beer, no sodas, and no fried foods.
I truly never thought we could actually survive a weekend without cheating.
Would you believe that tomorrow is day 15?
No beer for Josh for 15 days?
I'm still in shock.
The only teeny tiny incident (that I don't even consider cheating) was last week.
I ordered a taco at Rusty Taco on a corn tortilla they accidentally made it on flour tortilla, and I didn't realize it until after the first bite.
As good as it tasted, I promptly trashed it and ordered a new one (it was only $2 and they were giving all the profits toward the college education of the daughters of the owner who recently passed away)
No shame.
Some of the ways we have survived this major lifestyle change are . . . 

Limiting eating out to only a few meals a week (which kinda saves money too!)
Sweet potato rounds topped with chicken, kale, sautéed onions, and organic cheese. 
We've stocked up on fruits to cure that sugar craving.
I've never really been a huge fan of apples, but apple chips have a special place in my heart. 
We brushed these with cinnamon and maple syrup and then baked them (for two whole, long, excruciating hours at 200 degrees)
Even though we can't have a garden at our apartment, I have some of the sweetest patients who give me produce from their gardens!
We used these butternut squash to make this recipe for butternut squash crisps.
(Gluten free breadcrumbs are our saving grace!)
. . . but hey, we do have a pretty large rosemary bush in our yard that provides more than enough for our herb needs so I'll take what I can get.
Josh made some pretty incredible garlic rosemary potatoes the other night, too.

These items have pretty much been staples around here, you can do so much with each of them, and it keeps every meal light but still filling.
Thanks to Sarah at the Off Beat and Inspired blog, I found the greatest popsicle recipe of all time!
They are the magical combination of peaches, bananas, greek yogurt, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 
Recipe here!
My breakfast staple has been greek yogurt with local raw honey, bananas, and toasted coconut.
Crack.
Having a spare jar of toasted coconut on hand at all times really helps out when the craving for a crunch snack hits.
(Sprinkled with stevia and cinnamon)
Side note:
Raw honey has been our life saver.
It may be expensive, but we've nearly gone through a whole bottle in two weeks. 
Other recipes we've loved:

We've both already noticed major changes on the scale and in the way we feel, which is enough motivation to keep it up.
Only 15 more days!
We can do it.
. . . but then again, Josh's sister is getting married this weekend.
So about that whole not eating wedding cake thing . . . 


3 comments:

Jess said...

Do you live in Dallas? My sister just moved there this past weekend for grad school! Do you have any recommendations for fun coffee shops or good restaurants?

brooke lyn said...

i am attempting to do a 60 day paleo challenge with me friend! cheers to healthy eating!

AmyNicole said...

I would definitely try to eat this way if I could ever convince my husband to do it too! Haha

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