Lora's United States of Whatever

I decided to skip out on trying a new vegetable this week and enjoy some of my favorite vegetables instead. Last night I tried a recipe that I found on the Everyday Paleo web site . It reminded me of the lettuce wraps from Pei Wei or P.F. Changs, so I had to try it. Plus, I had been craving Chinese food, and I thought this might just quench my desire to order an A13. When Greg got home from work, he said, "Man, it smells just like Pei Wei!" Yes! I knew right then it was going to be a successful new dinner. Warning: This recipe requires a lot of chopping. I love to chop... it's almost therapeutic for me, so I didn't mind at all. http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/04/04/chicken-lettuce-wraps/ I made the Thai peanut sauce with my trusty almond butter, and it was the perfect topping. It really added flavor to the wraps. Also, this made a ton of food. I packed Greg's lunch with leftovers, and there is more than enough for Izzy and I to have for lunch. I just had to post th...

When I first entered the blogging world I wrote a blog about my dear husband, who is constantly crying "wolf". I've recently realized that I have a little girl that does the same thing! Izzy tells us that her belly hurts, her fingers hurt and her chin hurts. We always kiss what hurts, and it always feels better. Lately, though, she's been crying "wolf" when it comes to potty training. Today we went to one of our favorite places for burgers, Mooyah. They have delicious beef patties, and Izzy and I always get Iceburgers... our beef patty and toppings are wrapped up in iceberg lettuce... my new favorite way to eat a burger! Greg, of course, gets a bun, but that's part of what I love about eat out at Mooyah... we can all three get our burgers just the way we want them. I added bacon, onions, tomato, mustard, pickles and cheese. Delicious! Anyway, during our scrumptious lunch, Izzy was also experiencing her first outing in big girl panties (Cars panties, of ...

Well, my swiss chard frittata wasn't what I thought it would be. First of all, it took forever to finely chop the swiss chard. My chopping skills got very sloppy towards the end of my big bunch of swiss chard. I sauteed the onions (just two tablespoons) in a little bacon grease and then added the swiss chard and cooked just until it wilted. I tasted the swiss chard at this point and it was pretty tasteless. The texture reminded me of spinach. Next I added some dried basil and oregano and then six beaten eggs. I stirred it just a bit and then let the eggs start to cook up. When it was firm around the edges, I put it under the broiler for about five minutes. The first bite I took was straight swiss chard. Blech. I added lots of salt and pepper, and it wasn't that bad. I cut the fritatta into wedges and put it in the fridge to eat later. Greg tried a piece and liked it. While I really like the concept of a fritatta, I'm not too crazy about the swiss chard. I'd love a frita...

I haven't made a lot of time for blogging lately, so I'm going to try to get into the habit of writing at least a little bit more often rather than my usual once in a while lengthy blogging. Today's blog will be short and sweet. The Top Ten Things I'm Excited About 10. Decorating my classroom... I know this sounds nerdy, but I love shopping for cute borders and letters and organizing my room. That's nerdy, but that's something I get excited about! 9. Swiss Chard... I know. Really weird, but I'm trying to eat a new vegetable every week, and this week is swiss chard. I'm going to make a frittata with it once I finish this blog. There's just something about the name "swiss chard" that sounds so... international! 8. Shelby's baby shower... I am so excited for my sis! She is so very pregnant right now and so deserves this big day to be showered with precious gifts for Miss Abbey. I cannot wait! 7. Fingerpaint... I bought Izzy some fingerpain...

Man, I'm really slacking in my blogging! I have some good excuses though... Greg and I had a wonderful weekend. We shipped Izzy to Bee Bee's house on Friday afternoon. By "shipped" I mean I met my mother-in-law halfway. That's two hours to the drop off spot and two hours back. Friday evening we went out to eat, and that was the first time I cheated on my diet. I ordered my favorite cheese-filled, beef fajita meat-stuffed enchiladas with rice and beans. The first few bites were amazing. Then I started to feel really full, and I had no interest in eating the rest of it. I did, however, resist my temptation to have a margarita... and it was happy hour! I patted myself on the back for that one! Saturday morning I had to get my bangs trimmed and get a pedi before the day's festivities. I ate bacon and eggs for breakfast and headed out. I went to a baby shower at 1 pm in downtown Houston and a wedding at 6 pm in Houston/reception in Katy. I won't even get into t...

Wow... there was no time to blog yesterday or the day before, so I'm going to cram those two days plus today into this blog. Hopefully, I can make it short and sweet! Day Three Breakfast Bacon, Eggs, Blueberries Snack Banana Lunch Leftover Nut Fried Chicken (love leftovers! And that chicken is DELICIOUS! Probably my favorite Paleo recipe so far! Yum!) Leftover Salad with fresh squeezed lemon and evoo Snack Turkey Bacon Dinner Basil & Lime Tilapia Roasted Sweet Potatoes Green Beans Snack Strawberry, Banana & Blueberry smoothie with a splash of lime Day Four Breakfast Bacon, Eggs, Blueberries (Are you seeing a pattern here?!) Snack Banana Lunch 1/2 of a grilled chicken salad from Chick-fil-a (I asked for no cheese, but they put cheese on it, so I ate around it. And the reason I only ate half is because Izzy and I grabbed our lunch and headed to the pool because the housekeeper was at the house... and Izzy didn't want to eat; she wanted to swim!) Snack Chicken-Apple Sausag...

Well, Day One of my Whole30 wasn't so bad. I finished up the evening just as I planned. I cooked the stuffed bell peppers for dinner, and I thought they were just delicious! Greg doused them in Frank's Red Hot Sauce and Izzy avoided it until I showed her that she could just eat the meat and not the pepper. After dinner we walked (Izzy rode in her wagon) to the park and watched Izzy play for a little bit. I love going for walks in the evening. When we got home, I was dying to try my new blender that I got on sale at HEB, so I whipped up some strawberry banana smoothies. (Ice, 1/2 pint strawberries, one banana, splash of fresh squeezed orange) Izzy was so excited about this because I told her it was like ice cream. She jumped up and down while I made them and then sat quietly and slurped her smoothie through her pink straw! Delicious! I did feel a sugar rush after drinking the smoothie... maybe this is why I should be laying off the fruit for my Whole30? I just don't feel lik...

After a few days (a couple of different instances) of indulging in unhealthy food and beverage choices, I have decided to start my Whole30. (This is the Whole9 website explaining what a Whole30 is: http://whole9life.com/2011/06/whole-30-v4/ ) I have been getting pretty sick when I overindulge, so I decided I should just start my Whole30. Some other reasons why I was wanting to do a Whole30 is 1)I get migraines, and I don't want to anymore. 2) I pass out on occasion, and doctors have told me I'm hypoglycemic... I don't want to deal with that anymore either! Plus, I've noticed when I make healthy food choices, Izzy makes healthy food choices. She's sitting next to me right now munching on almonds for a snack. :) Here are the things I will be eating: Meat (beef, chicken, turkey, fish) Vegetables Fruit (mostly berries... I'm not cutting fruit out completely.) Good Fats Nuts I've been quasi-paelo for the past six weeks or so, but there were a few things I just ke...

My new favorite food is bacon. I eat it almost every day for breakfast. Izzy could live on bacon. It is soooo delicious, and I am so grateful that we don't have to eliminate it from our diet! Just a week ago we were on our way home from Padre, and we stopped at this little Czech deli. They had the thickest cut bacon I had ever seen! Of course we bought a pound and cooked it up for breakfast the next morning. Wow! This was bacon on a whole different level. It was almost like eating ice cream it was so good! (I never thought I'd compare bacon-goodness to dessert!) Since then, I've been on a quest to find the perfect bacon. This morning we tried peppered bacon from a local meat market... it paled in comparison to the thick cut Czech bacon. I'm thinking I already found the best bacon... and it's only an hour drive from our house to get that slab of bacon... just how can I rationalize driving my gas guzzler 60 minutes for bacon and only bacon? I think it's worth it.....

Last week we spent a much needed week at South Padre Island. We had a blast! Izzy loved the beach and being with family every day. While I made sure that Izzy stayed on her strict diet, I took this opportunity to go on a diet vacation. I ate toast with my breakfast, potato chips for a snack and even had fried food for dinner on the way home. The first negative change I noticed was the reappearance of my pooch or muffin top, if you will... you know, the little bit of belly that hangs over the top of my shorts. This was the thing I was s o excited about losing on this diet! I remember when I noticed it was gone... I stared in the mirror for fifteen minutes straight, just looking at my flat belly. I hadn't had a flat belly for about four years, and I gained it back in one short week. Not only did I gain my pooch back, but I also gained weight... seven pounds to be exact. Even though the pooch and the pounds really bothered me, I felt drained of energy, not wanting to do anything. It...