Week Three, 21 Day Total Body Transformation

 

Don't let the title fool you.  You may begin the 21 Day total body transformation, but I'd be willing to bet you won't end the lifestyle at the end of 21 days.

The third week was not easy, but it was definitely not as bad as week two.  I've more or less settled into the rhythm of hunting what I wanted for breakfast, lunch and supper and gathering the items.  My note to self about finding the freshest sources and shopping for them on one day was a good note, but I found that I had to spread out a bit much to make it all in one day.  It does help that my husband likes to shop for new foods.  He loves olives and cheeses, chooses pretty good cuts of meat and fish and will come home with  a surprise of two for me when he shops.   I think when I make it a habit of swinging by the fish market, the fresh egg lady, the curb market and the grocery store it will be just like any other day of running errands.   It helps to have garden fresh cabbage and grass fed, pesticide and hormone free cows right outside the door.  Yippee!!! 

I branched out into some new recipes.  I learned to make ghee out of butter, a very simple procedure involving melting butter and skimming the foam off the top.  Mayonnaise is another matter, I cannot get the consistency right and it may be the blades on my food processor that are to blame.  But the taste is good and I am sure I'll master the consistency if I have to purchase a better food processor.  I made crackers out of sesame and sunflower seeds and water.  I made bacon, red, green and yellow bell pepper, mushroom, garlic and onion egg fritatas.  A great break for me with the eggs.  I used muffin pans, made a dozen and refrigerated them. I pop two of them into the micro wave, add a handful of strawberries and blueberries (as close to local grown as I can find), and here is a breakfast that keeps me full for hours.  Oh the benefits from the antioxidants in the berries and peppers!

For lunch this week I finished off a roast by wrapping the roast, chopped onions, avocado and tomatoes with a little salt and pepper in lettuce leaves.  I could have drizzled some vinegar and lemon dressing on the mix but I like the flavor of the wrap without dressing.  I am keeping portion control in check.  One slice of roast about the size of the palm of my hand is sufficient.  

Snack is the same, a handful of almonds with a square of the 75% dark chocolate.  

Supper has been fun.  One night I prepared a roast with green beans and mashed cauliflower.  We both loved the texture and taste of the mashed cauliflower.  I'll give you the recipe at the end of this post.  I should remind you that we have not had any leftovers to throw out as we are committed to eating everything while it is as fresh as possible.  We had cornish game hens with spinach salad one night.  Steak and shellfish round out the menu with broccoli, left over cauliflower, green beans and salad.  Of course I am drinking water when I am thirsty.  I am also drinking about two cups of coffee with half and half and a glass of un sweet tea.  I don't know how caffeine shakes out on the nutrition scale, there are arguments for and against.  Right now I'm still on the for side.

Exercise has been long walks with a sprint workout on one day of the week.  WOW is still 50 squats, 25 pushups, 25 pullups and one minute planks for three rounds.  This week I added jumping ditches outside in the back pastures.  The sunshine felt so wonderful.   Wow, and I don't mean workout of the week.  You should definitely add jumping to your routine, calves and legs will LOVE you for it and the cardio benefits are outstanding.

Drum roll on the weight loss........ Eight pounds and two inches from my waist.  Even better than that, I am sleeping earlier and better at night.  I have plenty of energy to the point of getting back in the kitchen to experiment and trying to find something to wash.  I am not kidding!  I have not had any digestive problems this week.

I am grateful I don't live in Primal days like Ms. Grok.  I can imagine the hardships our primal ancestors endured on a daily basis if they did not get trampled by a mastadon or eaten by a jaguar.  I imagine their diet of fresh foraged greens, nuts and fruit gave them adequate energy to chase down their prey in search of a little meat.  Imagine their happy luck in discovering fresh eggs and catching fish.  They would surely have basked on the bank of the local watering hole after finding fresh mussels or other shell fish.  I can see them taking a nap in that sunshine, making up for the sleep they missed during the night while watching out for predators.  They must have been lean, mean fuel burning machines for surely they had to expend a lot of calories in search of food and possibly shelter from day to day.  Anthropologists have discovered that they had healthy teeth and bones and those that escaped infections or met their ends by accident or injury lived into their nineties as healthy as we used to be in our thirties. 

Inspirations:  Basking in the sunshine, listening to the wood peckers near the house, and putting on those small jeans and not just being comfortable, but strutting my stuff in them.  

Kelly Korg has not had a latte in three weeks!

Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients:  Cauliflower head, salt and pepper to taste, butter, splash of whole milk or heavy cream, shredded hard cheddar cheese (optional).

Cook cauliflower in boiler of water on top of stove until fork tender.  Drain well, place in bowl large enough to handle a potato masher or mixer blades, place the cauliflower, add about 4 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper or any other seasoning you desire to taste, a splash of whole milk or half and half.   Mash the cauliflower to the consistency you like, we always liked a chunkier style of potatoes so I use a potato masher and mash by hand.   It is easier than potatoes.  I add shredded cheese and put in a 350 degree oven until cheese is melted.  

Bon Appetit!