Some good recipes.

The only way I will and can succeed with this new, healthier life (aside from Jesus) is by keeping the right foods in my house. I've been testing recipes on the weekend and finding things I like. As I go, I'll pass along for those of you fighting to make changes in your life too. It helps me stay accountable by helping others do the same.

Tomorrow's freedom is today's surrender. (Listen to this fabulous all sons and daughters song where I stole this line.)

Be loved, for you are most definitely loved.

Spaghetti with grass-fed beef, spaghetti squash (noodles) and no sugar added sauce

A delicious, healthy snack. Good if heated up for :15 for breakfast

I can't turn these right side up for some reason but this is  yummy "cereal", and a little goes a long way. Find it here. 

I prepare veggies on Sunday night and have them ready as a side all week. Roasted these for 30ish minutes on 400. Olive (or coconut or sesame) oil, sea salt and pepper.

One of my favorite dishes....spaghetti squash pie (truly one of my favorite things I've eaten). I made it tonight with chicken sausage...find the recipe here. (And because I hate onions, I eliminate that one ingredient...still good.)

On the weekends and occasional weeknights, I make a mean omelet. Lean (nitrate-free) ham, tomatoes, mushrooms and cage-free eggs. Sometimes I add cheese. 

Grass-fed beef with goat cheese on the inside, Brussel sprouts with bacon (sautéd these), and hummus and carrots. Note: hummus is not paleo. This is where I fall in the 80/20 category. 20% = hummus. Can't stop, won't stop.

My health assessment...

So part of this whole detox was the promise that I would be analyzed before I started, and then immediately following the end (which was technically 14 days, but I'm currently at 26, I believe).

That said, I had my assessment today.......and this is what I was told:

My cholesteral dropped by the following:
HDL original: 71, now: 68
LDL original: 74, now: 54
(I was told the total was too low now....gotta start on the fish oil)

Blood pressure dropped by the following:
Original: 130/80
Now: 112/72

Triglycerides dropped by the following:
Original: 98
Now: 78

My glucose went up (still in low range) but we are trying to figure out what's causing that....really kinda weird...(think it might be the stress of my project launch this week)
Original: 94
Now: 100

Body Fat Mass lost: 15.6lbs

My original test weren't causes for major concern, however, the results show how my body is responding to being treated so differently. I show you this, not because you care, but mainly so you can know how eating clean foods affect your insides. My body gave me a huge high five today.

Coming clean....

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. I Corinthians 6:19-20

About six weeks ago I read two different articles that shook me up a little. I'd been thinking a good deal about the amount of sugar that I was ingesting (and bad food in general), and knew it was time to do something about it...but these articles sent it into fast gear.

The first: Oreos more addictive than heroine. 
The second: Sugar molecules cause cancer to grow. (I can't find the article now, but the Cleveland Clinic produced it, so I believe it. :))
 And while referencing those articles, found this one about sugar....attention grabbing. 

I really struggled knowing loved ones had overcome addictions to drugs, and yet I couldn't overcome my addiction to sugar.

I met with my trainer end of February (started 2/24) and told her I needed it out of my system, and started the process of beginning my detox. It was a 14 day process, but I maintained it for 21 days.

It is one of the hardest things I think I've ever done. Hands down. I had to give up the following:

• Caffeine 
• Dairy (including eggs)
• All processed foods
• Sugar (except in fruit)
• Bacon

I was allowed to eat:

• Fruit 
• Vegetables
• Meat, Fish, Chicken
• Beans
• Hummus (PRAISE THE LORD)
• Vegan protein shakes
• Almond butter + almond milk

The hardest part: caffeine. The withdrawal is real. It took me a solid four days to overcome the extreme exhaustion I felt, but day five I felt GOOD. The first week I kept looking forward to day 15 to come off the madness. The 2nd week I was looking forward to maintaining\ this new lifestyle in an ongoing mannor. After the withdrawal and exhaustion stopped, my body started praising it's new life.

I've included the charts below to be more specific, as I know many of you are planning on doing something like this. I managed to maintain it for 21 days and then had a modified meal that wasn't at all clean. I immediately wanted to throw up as my body rejected everything about that meal. It has become so conditioned to whole foods that it makes me feel terrible if I fill it with crap.

My life has truly changed. I feel like a new woman, have so much more energy, confidence, joy. The detox was taking care of things in my body, but the Lord was using it for greater purposes, detoxing me from the last few years of my life. I stood in the kitchen last week confessing my sin in longing after a relationship that wasn't for me, thankful he protected me from destruction.

God is gracious. He is merciful. He allows us to walk through hard times in order to see His best over us. I encourage everyone to go through this. To learn what your body is supposed to feel like. Our food has become covered in extremely terrible crap and we were created to eat from the land. (As I tell some, the exterior of the grocery store.)

I'm planning on doing the whole 30 in April. Would love for you to join me. I'll be doing a blog post on that soon, shoot me an email if you'd like to do it with me. It will be intense, but so much easier as a community! And believe me, if I can do it, you can too!!

The list of foods you can eat:

Menu of detox foods -- should help you as you plan on making meals.