Rockin Day 22? 23? I've lost count!

I do have a calendar on the fridge, don't worry! I've lost count. I had been by myself quite a bit this last week since fiance helped a friend's dad move halfway across the country. He found that in truck stop diners in the midwest, his only option was steak and veggies for most of the trip... but he survived and stuck with it!

I survived a restaurant gig (I sing) with a gourmet Italian dinner provided (Luckily the main course was beef strips served over veggies and the salad was FRESH amazing tomatoes with onions and celery, and my fellow singer was more than happy to have my scoop of goat cheese). It was a treat - plus the Whole30 has done such wonderful things for my body that my singing felt absolutely AMAZING! The hard part was turning down all the free wine and rejecting the prosecco during the Brindisi!

This week's menu was pretty basic, lots of good grilled food from my parents over the weekend (I was tired of being alone), to a shrimp fried "rice" I put together with a home made orange + coconut amino sauce that reminded me a little of Panda Express's orange chicken, except not gross 😂... and homemade paleo style fish and chips - rockfish caught off the Fort Bragg coast (by fiance) fried in olive oil with a light almond flour breading, and sweet potato fries made at home with coconut shortening! It was indulgent and maybe a little cheat-y, but he'd just returned from his crazy long road trip and we needed to enjoy a little something to make it through the end of the week!!!

The HARDEST part of the week was going to the California State Fair with my dad. He LIVES for his grilled ear of corn every year, and LORD I miss that sweet starch dripping with butter and seasonings. BUT I had come prepared. Knowing that he was wont to binge eat at the fair, I loaded my backpack with water, Larabars, and a tupperware with cut up Aidell's chicken sausage and a dressing tupperware full of mustard. I enjoyed my protein rich snack while he had his favorite corn and then went home for grilled burgers, zucchini, and eggplant!

One thing I'd really like to work on through the last week of the program is reducing all the meat in my diet. Because I'm trying to stay away from all grains, I feel like I need to prepare meats as protein, especially since beans and tofu are out! I will plan on more fish this week, and fiance wants me to buy another whole chicken, but I'm feeling that beef is getting redundant. Maybe he's feeling that way, too (all those steaks!) -- time to grocery shop.

Thank you for following along and sticking with me as I tough it out for the last chunk of Whole30! I'm really happy with the progress I've made so far, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with food groups next week (Except my dad and I might go to Disneyland... in which case, I will stick with Slow-Roll Whole30ish stuff plus maybe a Dole Whip and a glass of red wine at dinner or something and I WILL POST whatever I figure out there! The State Fair had next to nothing to eat for me, but I know that Disneyland is great with providing allergen menus, so I'm prepared/excited)!

Dollar Store Whole30?!?!

That's Right! Your neighborhood Dollar Tree may have some hidden treasures for the budget-conscious Whole30 participant! While we all want to live off fresh, organic fruits and veggies from Whole Foods for every meal of the day, sometimes it's just not practical, OR affordable! I went in search of things that can be enjoyed from the Dollar Tree when you're in a pinch, too busy to get to another store, or traveling (most cities in the US have these, right?). As a music teacher I go through a lot of stickers, so this is definitely a regular stop on my errands runs. 

Deli mustard: the spicy brown stuff. It had no added sugar or preservatives off-plan. 

Canned goods are usually a safe bet, but read carefully! MOST canned fruits (especially stone fruits) are packed with sugar or HFCS. But I did find pineapples with no added sugar, some sliced beets, and diced tomatoes. 

If you're lucky enough to have a freezer section at your Dollar Tree, I found frozen broccoli, stir fry assorted veggies, and frozen pepper and onion stir fry mix!

 

Other nice finds:

SO surprised to find coconut oil at the Dollar Tree! Compliant, and small sized, so if you're traveling and staying in an AirBnB or something, this could be a great option!

These were a tasty snack (I know, we aren't supposed to) but for a road trip, Disneyland, if you have kids... Yeah.. NO added sugar in these, but careful with this brand, because the dried strawberries DO have extra sugar. ALSO much cheaper at Dollar Tree than buying in bulk on Amazon!

Anyone brave enough to try this? Is it good? It was compliant, but I've never had it...

Your kids will like that Donald Duck is on the apple juice! No added sweeteners and can be used in recipes to sweeten up sauces. They also had orange juice. Again, a great size if you're traveling and staying somewhere you can cook. (I'm just picturing a little condo on the beach I'd love to rent for a week... aaaah...)

Sadly, the tuna at the Dollar Tree did contain soy 😢 so I had to take it off my list. You can check ingredients on their other canned fishes or canned chicken and you might find some protein, but, again... use caution! (UGH SOY in TUNA??? What is the world coming to?!).

Well, I hope if you're in a pinch, on the road, or feeling broke at the end of the month you'll find something here to help fuel your body! I also checked for similar items at Big Lots, and I feel like you may find some things like Sauerkraut in their international foods section, but oh, man... are there a lot of cookies to have to look at to get them! Enjoy!

~ L

Definitely NOT sponsored (yeah, I was a creepy lady sneaking photos of food at the store) and no affiliate links. 

Nearing the end of WEEK TWO on Whole30

I meant to post every day.... THAT was ambitious! I will keep posting what I'm doing and what I learn, though.

I checked out Melissa Hartwig's book The Whole30 Day by Day: Your Daily Guide to Whole30 Success (**affiliate link) FREE from my library with the Overdrive app (will link the FREE download below). She outlines the day to day experiences one might feel, as well as highlighting the most common side effects she hears about from her followers. I feel like it helps to keep the ball rolling.

 

ANYWAY, I did well with another week of Whole30! I went to a restaurant for the first time on the program and I think it was FANTASTIC. My pastor/boss (I work at a church) and parents went out and got caught up and talked a little about my wedding! I had a small cup of Manhattan clam chowder, made with a tomato base rather than cream, and they said there was no wine in the broth, so I think I was fine. It has tomatos, carrots, celery, potato and clams in a nice tomato-y broth. Then I had a crab and shrimp Louis salad (a California coast special) replacing the Louis sauce with olive oil and balsamic. I just LOVE a little balsamic on an apple in a salad. Such a crisp and fresh taste! The pastor was so inspired by my order that she ordered the same thing!

Otherwise, this week was really nice out, so we barbecued a lot. I made a great homemade sauce over the weekend to flavor the meats. It's slightly sweet, nice and tangy, and enhanced flavors without the extra calories of a store-bought sauce! We grilled a tri-tip on Sunday, which became a lovely spinach salad Monday, cut up a whole chicken and grilled it for Tuesday, and had the leftover bits of meat in a yellow curry on Wednesday. I'm really happy that on top of being super healthy, our food isn't going to waste and we are making our dishes with whole, fresh ingredients and finding ways to use all of our food. It's actually a lot of fun, getting creative with what we have in the pantry. I'm excited for tonight's dinner, even though I haven't quite planned it yet! 😆

Overdrive is worth the FREE download because it's such a GREAT tool for ebook and audiobook readers, you just need a local library card. San Francisco Library allows cards for anyone in the state of CA and there's a huge selection!

The End of WEEK ONE on Whole30

Sunday evening and the grill is hot and ready for our chicken! I made a homemade, sugar-free barbecue sauce with dates, balsamic, coconut aminos, spices, and organic tomato paste (Costco has this with ONLY organic tomatoes as the ONE ingredient, it's fantastic and perfect for so many recipes). I split it into two batches and the second I added just a little bit of OJ, and it was so tangy and delicious, it will be a great marinade for something! 😋

We survived dinners with both sets of parents this weekend. Our families did tease us quite a bit for our "new diet" but have since come around and congratulated us for taking the time to change our habits and try to live healthier lives. One family made grilled chicken breast and squash and the other fam made grilled salmon and asparagus, both delicious, both fresh and summery and both compliant!

I'm lucky that my mom was intrigued by the plan, and got lunch goodies for us, including romaine lettuce for taco wraps, pico de gallo salsa, avocados, cilantro and limes... MAN! Are those taco lettuce wraps tasty. Knowing that Tapatio and Cholula hot sauces are both compliant gives me hope for the next three weeks... 🔥

Today's task was prepping for the week. Fresh babganoush and carrots for a meal, tri-tip, barbecued chicken, spinach salads, and maybe a frittata dish in our future! Oh, and lots of tasty veggies and fruit. It should be interesting because my dad really wants me to meet up with him at the California State Fair. I LOVE the fair, but temptation GALORE! It would be a great test run for a Disneyland trip, though... and that's something that needs to happen before summer is over....

Thanks for reading and let me know what recipes YOU like for your Whole30!!

Whole30 Day Three & Four

It's morning of day 5, and fiancé only wants eggs for breakfast, but as long as he cooks, that's ok!

For my Tuesday Taco vibes, I had some ground beef and fresh zucchini, so I did a taco style skillet. It was super easy, fast, and really satisfying, especially with some Whole30 compliant hot sauce! I used Tapatio, which is pretty bare-bones for hot sauce: water, red peppers, salt, spices, garlic, acetic acid, xanthan gum and sodium benzoate as a preservative. (Ingredient list from wikipedia). 

Zucchini, ground beef, onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and salt... serve with hot sauce. Done.

Two nights ago, I made a red chicken curry dinner, with zucchini, onions, a bell pepper from our garden, and some water chestnuts! So delicious!! I ate the leftovers for lunch the following day.

Coconut milk + red curry paste, chicken breast pieces, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, garlic powder, fresh basil, and that's it! I threw in the water chestnuts last minute and it gave the dish a little more crunch. We had it on top of cauliflower rice with a few drops of coconut aminos (which we are both totally in love with now).

Last night I made fiancé cook, since I had to work late. He made some chicken sausage (compliant) and heated up some sauerkraut (by far one of my favorite side dishes, so if it's easy and it works, I'm good).

I hope you've got some inspiring dishes for your Whole30 adventures! I'd love to know more. I feel like this is a great experiment for me to get creative with cooking, what do you think?

Keeping up with KonMari

FIVE DAY KonMari Brush-Up:

How I would LOVE to reduce the STUFF in my house. It's going on year three at this place, but I feel like I have twenty years of JUNK stashed away. I started a KonMari purge in January, but I think it's time to purge it again! The Veteran's donation truck will be here on Thursday. Let's take care of some clutter!! Follow my Insta for updates!! (@littlemisslovlie)

Saturday - Day 1: Purge Clothes - out of season stuff first. Then summer.

Sunday - Day 2: Purge Linens/Towels, etc.

Monday - Day 3: Purge Holiday Decorations. Seriously. I just did all the paperwork purging a few weeks ago when my teaching semester ended. According to the book, I think that's supposed to be next. And some electronics. How do I wipe my hard drive on my 2006 MacBook again?? Oy. I have the recycling packing slip for my iPhone 4S.

Tuesday - Day 4: Camping gear. The honey just went camping, and if he didn't need it then, we can toss it now!

Wednesday - Day 5: Anything else! Truck comes Thursday morning, so I will get it on the curb Wednesday night.



IT FEELS SO GOOD to get rid of things I don't need. I've even listed some nicer things on Facebook marketplace, so a little cash in hand wouldn't be bad, either! What do you do to stay organized and feel good about your home? Have you tried Konmari's method? I love her inspo! I feel like even if you can't be QUITE as perfect as Mari, you can aspire to have a neat and tidy house, not crammed with stuff!!

Purchase her books on Amazon - Spark Joy & The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying UP








***This page contains affiliate links to Amazon. You don't pay anything extra or share anything personal with me, but it can help me out with my Blog! Thanks!***

Whole30 Day TWO

I loved dinner last night! I have an old South Beach Diet Summer cookbook with some great low carb recipes! I took their recipe for tropical shrimp and rice and made a few substitutions to stay on plan and it was LOVELY. It was pretty warm out yesterday, so a light shrimp dish really hit the spot!

Here's the recipe:

• Cauliflower Rice ( Or throw a cauliflower into the food processor, same thing)
• Frozen Pineapple
• Frozen Mango
• 1 Lime
• Frozen Shrimp (or fresh)
• Basil, Parsley, or Cilantro (optional)
• Coconut aminos (optional)
• Salt & Pepper (optional)

Cauliflower Rice - prepare according to package, then when it's about halfway cooked, add in some frozen pineapple and frozen mango, and unsweetened dried coconut flakes (available at Trader Joe's and elsewhere, make sure there's no sugar added).

Shrimp - boil in a little salty water until pink, then drain and let cool to room temp.

When the shrimp is done, mix it in with the Cauliflower rice/fruit mix, and squeeze lime juice in and shred a little lime zest on top.

The recipe called for parsley, but I only had basil, so I chopped up some fresh basil leaves and added it in (almost like a light version of Thai fried rice)!

Serve with salt and pepper, OR you can sprinkle some coconut aminos on top, like I did.... OMG so good.

You can definitely play around with this recipe and find what you really like! I would say that some kind of spice, maybe red pepper flakes, would have been good, or some little green onions! Comment if you decided to make it!

Starting the Whole30!

I'm making my fiancé join me in the Whole30 diet. Today is DAY ONE... I am convinced that we can find tasty, healthy recipes and that we can quit eating junk and so much sugar! He has a major sweet tooth so I think he's going to have a harder time than me. He was so good and took his can of tuna to work today 😊. I will be doing some shopping with my downloadable PDFs from the Whole30 website. 

The Whole30 eliminates all inflammatory foods, including alcohol, sugars and artificial sweeteners,  dairy, legumes (soy, too) and grains (corn, wheat, rice, etc). This diet is meant to last ONLY 30 days and to reset your digestive system. I just felt like I needed to cleanse, so we’re going for it! 

I thought I should make all of this diet very transparent and hold myself accountable! Thank you for following and I will be posting images on Insta & maybe an IGTV segment! What would you like to see? Has anyone else done the Whole30 or thinking about starting it????

~Little Miss Lovlie

Welcome to my New Blog!

Hi Guys and Gals!

I'm so excited to be starting this new adventure with you all! My new lifestyle blog will feature talk about travel, beauty, food, and fun! I am on a new quest to find the food that makes me feel my best, the makeup and hair products that are good for the earth and for my skin and hair, and well, I just want to go out and see the world! I just got back from England and am still reeling with excitement! Follow me here, and on Instagram (@littlemisslovelie) to see my capsule wardrobe ideas and MORE!

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Little Miss Lovelie 💖💋