Welcome

Welcome... 

to Whole Lifestyle Living 2.0

Thanks for coming by... I sure to appreciate you stopping in to see me.

Please note, I'm just getting started on migrating and re-organizing my posts from my previous blog domain. It's not an easy task and takes quite a bit of time to go through.

I'm also working on an overall plan for this blog: how do I want to use it to help myself, how I will prioritize my time on it, and working on what topics I'd like to focus on covering.

Please feel free to check in from time to time or visit me on Facebook to say HI!

Until then ....

In good health,

Crockpot Jambalaya

Who doesn't love JAMBALAYA!?!?!? And, who doesn't love a quick, easy crockpot dinner?  I can't think of anyone!!

Every weekend we pull together our menu plan for the following week. We almost always have "Taco Tuesday", a crockpot meal on Thursday, steak on Saturday. Then, we fill in the rest with special requests from my husband or the boys.

This week's request: JAMBALAYA!

The Perfect Margarita

Who doesn't just love the taste of a cool, crisp margarita on a warm summer day? Doing one sugar detox after another for the past few years has left me craving for some good ol' tequila and lime. After reviewing plenty of ideas on how to satisfy this primal craving and stay relatively clean, I've come up with what I believe is THE PERFECT MARGARITA!

I've been making this margarita recipe for just over a year and was inspired to share it when you when I read an article today about red Solo® cups. While I didn't use a Solo®cup, I sure enjoyed my margaritas this past 4th of July!

Kabobs with Thai Sunbutter Sauce

Who doesn't love kabobs?? I know my kids sure do. Must be the small chunks of meat or maybe that it's on a skewer (read: sword for young boys!) ... I don't know why but when we do kabobs, they disappear.

Have I told you how much I hate to cut up raw meat? I do! Particularly chicken. I can chop veggies until the day is done but meat. Yuck! And don't get me started on mixing meatloaf with my hands. EW!

Luckily, I have a sous chef (er, husband) who enjoys the chopping of raw meat to help. Otherwise, I just end up paying more at the store for premium cuts or ask for the butcher to do it for me. Lazy? Nah ... Just efficient!

So, I digress... as usual

Grain-free Waffles

My Grandma had the BEST recipe for waffles. They were amazing!! When I was about 12-14 years old or so, I found the recipe in my mom's recipe box, I dug out this ancient-looking waffle iron (which, now I refer to as "vintage") and tried whipping up a batch. My brother was my taste-tester at time and just fell in love.

These waffles became my signature item for years to come. (Thanks Grandma!) They were SO GOOD that they didn't even need syrup. Nope ... just butter!

100 Days of No Sugar

Today is tax day and it's been 100 days since I pledged to go through a "Whole100"  or 100 day sugar detox (100 day version of Whole30 or 21 Day Sugar Detox programs). Whatever you want to call it, I made a pledge to myself that I would eliminate all sugars from my diet. April 15th was the magic date.

So, how have I done?

I've abstained from consuming all alcohol for the 100 days. A sip here or there...yes, but I have not had any alcoholic beverages since January 1, 2015.

I soared through January doing a 21 Day Sugar Detox. Dropped a few pounds that I had found again over the Christmas holiday.

I blasted through February on a Whole28 (do the math!). Dropped even more pounds. Made it to my lowest mark yet ... Reached the 87 pound mark in my weight loss journey!

March started and I got cocky... arrogant ... busy... stressed...

I refuse to say that I failed but, if I'm going to be black and white about it: I failed. Miserably.

 

How to Survive a Kitchen Remodel and Still Eat Real Food - The Destruction

We are just starting our second week of our kitchen remodel. And yes - we're still eating real food! In case you want to catch up on what we're doing, you can check out my first two posts here and here on our project.

There has been a ton of PROGRESS in just the first week!! The dust as a result of the destruction is starting to drive me a bit crazy. There, I said it!! Of course, I've been taking pictures everyday to keep track of progress.

So, here's the first week run-down and the destruction which ensued.