Food Journal and Avoiding Carbs. Mission Possible.

My Crossfit coach asked me to start keeping a food journal this week. I can see this being a very beneficial tool in helping me achieve my fitness goals. I am still tweaking my system but so far I am liking the MyPlate app from LiveStrong.com on my iPhone. I have used the desktop version before but would have to remember to enter what I eat. With the app I can enter things as soon as I eat them.
Yes, I am weighing my servings out on a kitchen scale. Why? BECAUSE ALMOST EVERYTHING HAS CARBS!!! Ugh! Carbs are the crack cocaine of foods. I have to really monitor how many carbs I am eating a day. My coach told me to stay below 50 grams of carbs daily and wants me to be really closer to 30 grams on most days. Did you know one serving of carrots has 7 grams of carbs and one serving of broccoli has 6?!? To stay within my target I have to be really careful. 

So what have I been eating? Well this is what I had on Tuesday.

Breakfast

I have the same thing for breakfast every day, an EAS AdvantEdge ready to drink protein shake. I love these because they are low carb, unlike many of the so called protein shakes out there, and they are something I can grab from the pantry and go straight to the car.
One shake has 100 cal, 2 g fat, 3 g carbs, and 17 g of protein. And they taste good too!

Lunch

 

I love my Planetbox lunch box. For this lunch I packed 1/2 of a cucumber, 5 ozs of cherub tomatoes, 70 ozs red seedless grapes, 2 boiled eggs, 28 grams of roasted almonds, and a lunch size can of tuna (I think it was a 3 oz can). This was plenty for lunch and my afternoon snack.

This meal had 541 cals, 27 g fat, 13 g carbs, and 43 g of protein. It seems like a lot of fat but that was healthy almond fat :)

Dinner

This was dinner last night. That is a 9.3 ounce top sirloin steak with 72 grams of steamed carrots and 91 grams of broccoli.
This dinner had 397 calories, 9.3 grams fat, 12.9 grams carbs and 62 grams of protein. I was happy with that!


My grand total for this day was 1038 calories, 38 grams of fat, 29 grams of carbs, and 122 grams of protein. In the future I may choose a leaner meat at night if I eat almonds during the day to reduce the fat intake just a bit but my carb intake was spot on! It can be done  :)

I cleaned the kitchen after dinner and avoided it for the rest of the night since that is my weak time. Any tips you all have to avoid eating at night?

Fall Decor: Simple Re-purpose Project

I am starting to put I up my Fall decorations, inside and out. Hopefully I can share some of the ideas I use to inspire someone else.

I found this wreath in one of my Halloween storage tubs.

 

It was too small for a door wreath and was old and falling apart. I decide to reuse the items on the wreath to fill one of the apothecary jars I made. 

 

I think it turned out pretty cute. And I love that I recycled something that I was going to toss.

What have you re-purposed lately? Share your comments below :)

More Paleo Lunch Ideas

Paleo Meat Balls

I made Paleo Meatballs for dinner tonight. The recipe is super delicious and can be found here. I am linking to the recipe since it is not mine and I want to give credit where credit is due. :)

Catch up September

I haven't been very diligent keeping up with my blog lately. Between school and family and home obligations I just haven't made the time.
Let me catch you up on whats been going on around here:

1. School is back in session. I am taking 18 credit hours this semester which means I drive the 50 miles each way to campus Monday through Friday. That is almost 2 hours per day in the car. Not my idea of a good time but it will be worth it in the end :)

2. My sister is staying with us! I love having my baby sister home! We lay in bed and watch tv together and I have someone to cook for when Jason is on the road working. It is such a blessing to have her here with us and I secretly hope she never leaves.  :)

3. Jason and I are planning our One Year Anniversary trip. Fall Break from school is the same week as our wedding anniversary so how could we not go away for a few days??? We are thinking Gatlinburg, Tennessee but are kicking around a few other ideas as well.

4. Harley dog is loving having Cuddy dog here. Cuddy is my sisters big ole baby pitbull. Harley taught Cuddy to bark and play in the yard. Gracie Marie is not fond of having Cuddy around, however, and makes sure to bark and snarl at her anytime Cuddy gets close. Poor Cuddy!

5. FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!!!!!!  Enuf said :)

Paleo Lunch Ideas

I have been trying really hard to eat Paleo for most of my meals. Something that really helps me is to make my lunch to take to school instead of eating in the dining hall or student union. By taking my lunch I have complete control over what I eat and I limit my portions to only what my Planetbox lunchbox will hold. I have shared a few pictures of my lunches on Instagram but decided to put them on my blog to help spark some ideas for others who need Paleo lunches.

Hopefully this will spark some ideas for you all on items to pack for a healthy lunch.

Fried Squash

Fried Squash Amanda Style

 

 

You will need:

Yellow Squash, peeled and sliced medium thick.

1/2 cup corn meal

1/2 cup all purpose flour

salt and pepper (to your liking)

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

canola (or your favorite kind) oil

 

Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet on high heat.

Mix the milk and egg in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, corn meal, salt, and pepper.

Dunk the squash into the milk mix and then into the flour mix. You want a good coating on the squash so don't try to do it all at once!

Place several (maybe 7)  pieces of squash in the hot oil in a single layer. Let it cook for 2 or so and then flip and cook the other side for 2 minutes. If you have ever fried eggplant, then it is the same principle idea.

Pull from the oil and drain on a paper towel.

 

This is so simple but soooo good, especially when you use fresh squash from the garden. It isn't really healthy (it is fried after all!) but it is a nice treat now and again.