Day in the Life | Week 3

There was a bunch of birthday celebrating going on at our house this past week. With that came dining out and I'm happy to say that I was more than pleased with the options. Dinner number one was at Rainforest Cafe at Mall Of America. They don't have a gluten-free menu, instead they send out the chef to discuss menu options that you have. He was knowledgeable about ingredients and helped our family make great choices. He even hand-delivered the food to our table to make sure we had the correct items.

The next day we were at our family favorite spot Benihana. They used gluten-free soy sauce for us with no problem, left out the fried onions in the soup, brought a different salad dressing for the salads, and left the teriyaki off the beef. Best part, the shrimp sauce there is gluten-free! It is our favorite. I'm sure it may have a little bit of sugar in it but hey like I said nobody's perfect :-).

Confession time: I gave in and had some fried rice. I limited my portion to a very small amount.  I now know why I typically practice what I preach because for me, carbs can be a slippery slope.  I found myself craving them after eating that rice.  I know my body was saying "what the heck are you doing to my blood sugar"!  It was a good lesson for me and just confirmation that I don't like the way I feel when I eat them.  Rice is a pretty benign grain to eat if you are going to consume but it is still high in carbs and I personally just don't handle it very well.  I stay true to believing that grain free is the way we should live our lives.  I also realize that we are all human and there will be times where we make choices like these.  The difference is knowing and listening to how your body reacts when ingesting.  I went as far as to buy a glucose meter awhile back just to see how my body was handling my food.  I know that spiked insulin levels are good for no one, so for me I just needed to see the numbers for myself.  I tested when I got home from eating the rice and sure enough I was at 135.  Some would say that is not very high but when I typically have a non fasting blood sugar of 75 that is high!  Insulin increases the storage of fat in fat cells and prevents the cells from releasing it for energy. I want to be a fat burner not a glucose burner. 


DAY IN THE LIFE

8 am
I start my day with my warm lemon water.  It's something I make myself do every morning before getting my first cup of coffee.  The health benefits are amazing and it's a great way to start your day.  Bullet Proof Coffee for me this morning cuz I need major energy and no time to stop to eat.  Coffee, coconut oil, unsalted grass fed butter, heavy cream and Swerve.  I won't be hungry until well after noon after blending this yumminess up.  As we said in the 80's "Don't knock it till you have tried it".  Haha!

Noon
Thought I'd share with you what a school lunch looks like for Jon.  I use a Planet Box and it has been a life saver and time saver.  No messing with plastic containers, easy to see what you have packed so that it's balanced and it's dishwasher safe.  Today's lunch is gluten free deli turkey, cheddar cheese sticks, cherry tomatoes, pistachios, peanut butter egg and what Tom calls "stinky armpit salad".  This is a must make and don't let his silly humor scare you away. It's really called Tequillaberry salad.  A local restaurant that used to be known for it, and every time we ate there Tom gave me a hard time about it.  It's the smell of the cauliflower I think :-)  Here is the recipe:
2 lbs salad mix
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup Swerve
1/4 c whipping cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 lb bacon (cooked and crumbled)
1-2 c cauliflower (tiny pieces)
Mix together the mayo, sugar, whipping cream and Parmesan cheese.  Pour over lettuce and mix well.  Then stir in bacon and cauliflower.  Let sit 15 mins before serving. 

 

3 pm
Lasagna making afternoon.  I'm not environmentally friend I know, but I love the convenience of the tin disposable pans.  I usually triple this batch because honestly it's not any more work to do that.  Freeze 2 of them and have one for dinner.  Maria's Protein Lasagna made with Mario Batali sauce is so yummy.  I buy all ingredients at Costco and put it together pretty inexpensively. I do all beef in mine.    

5:30
Lasagna made, so I feel like I have the night off cooking.  This is one meal that everyone enjoys.  I don't get any gripes from anyone.  With three little ones, someone is usually complaining about something.  Exhausting but I know tonight we will sit down to a great family dinner with only requests for seconds.  Topic of discussion tonight with the boys is "Why does Dad always want to kiss you".  Soo funny.  Oh, and then Jon had to share with us how a classmate puked all over the rug and on his friends hand today at school.  Never a dull moment. 

 

WORST AND BEST
Worst part of my day was having to have a conversation with someone that wasn't positive.  It was completely out of love and I felt that I had to share with this person feedback going around in order for their mission to succeed.  Not a comfortable place to be in, but if people were saying negative things about the way I was doing business I would hope that someone would share that with me so that I had the opportunity to make it right.  I'm a firm believer in sharing your issues with someone if appropriate so that redemption can be made if possible.  A hard conversation but God walked me through it. Leaving it at HIS feet tonight.

Best part of the day was playing UNO with Sam and watching him continue to draw cards just to draw the game out longer.  I think he had about 5 Wild cards in his hands he could have used.  So cute.  UNO is the new favorite game and I'm not complaining cuz they are even choosing it above the Wii!!! 


Thank you again for reading along in our journey. Please leave your comments or feel free to reach me at Radiojoy87@gmail.com

Remember to use code JOY10 for 10% off your Swerve order. Confectioners still on sale.