Beanless Chili

Ingredients
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, diced/minced
1/2 jalepeno, seeded and diced
2 lbs organic grass fed beef
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 box Pomi diced tomatoes/ 1-2 cans diced tomatoes
30 oz tomato sauce
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp cinnamon (no more!!)

Directions
1. Saute onions, peppers, garlic, jalepeno in coconut oil until onions translucent. Add beef and season. Brown meat.
2. Once meat is brown, add in brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, cinnamon. Simmer about 30-45 min. Taste and re-season as needed.

Protein Smoothie (Without the Powder!)

Version 1: with fruit so slightly higher in carbs (about 53g protein)
1/2 c frozen wild blueberries
1/4 lemon with rind
1 1/2 c kefir or 1 c milk and 1/2 c plain greek yogurt
1/4 c dried cranberries
1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 walnuts
1 Tbsp chia seeds
2 Tbsp flax seeds
2 Tbsp almond butter
1/2 Tbsp coconut butter
1/4 avocado (optional)
3 Tbsp rolled oats
optional stevia and/or honey to sweeten

Version 2:  no fruit, but still pretty high in carbs (about 52g protein)
1 1/2 c kefir or 1 c milk and 1/2 c plain greek yogurt
1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
2 walnuts
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp flax seeds
2 Tbsp almond butter
1/2 Tbsp coconut butter
3 Tbsp rolled oats
dash of cinnamon and vanilla
optional 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder and/or stevia and/or honey to sweeten
*confession: sometimes I add a little coffee to mine in the morning ;)

Dr. Hyman's 10 Day Detox to Burn Fat and Lose Weight: My Review

My goals: WEIGHT LOSS! I have 20 lbs to lose, hoping to shed a few in this 10 day stretch. And to reboot the system, so to speak. As per this video...http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/detox-diet-burn-fat-and-lose-weight-fast

Caveats and things I learned:
*These are descriptions of things about the diet and the ways I changed or substituted things, etc. I am not recommending that you necessarily change or leave out what I changed or omitted. I am just giving an honest overview of my experience so that you can gauge my success or lack thereof ;)*
1. Per the diet, fiber powder should be taken before each meal. Not just any brand is recommended. The one highlighted has Konjac root and seaweed. The brand is Well BetX PGx--they have pills or power. Use 2.5 to 5 g 30-60 min before each meal. Overall, the goal of any fiber is to cut cravings and help balance blood sugar, also helping you feel fuller longer. Soluble fiber is most effective in aiding weight loss, though most sources recommend a mix of a higher amount of soluble fiber and a smaller amount of insoluble fiber. I did not use the brand they recommended. Looks amazing, but I thought I would try what I had first in an attempt to cut costs a bit. Additionally, I only took fiber before lunch. I am not good at remembering to take vitamins and such outside of my routine. 
2. Drink breakfast- don't eat it! Smoothie recipe is given for you on list above. There are more smoothie recipes (and meal recipes) in the book. I could not find hemp seed, so I replaced it with flax seed. I could not find frozen cranberries, so I used 1/4 c dried.
3. Make sure you have a multivitamin.  I like to take half in the morning and half at lunch. They also recommend Chromium, 2000 U Vit D3 and 2 g fish oil. I added a probiotic and alternated salmon oil and flax oil for omega 3s rather than fish oil. I did not take Vit D3 on a regular basis.
4. Info page on Dr Oz recommends deep breathing, journaling, exercise. The only deep breathing I did was in my sleep. 3 kids under 5 so this blog is about the extent of my journaling. But my faith is very important and I feel that connecting with God in prayer is more important in my life than journaling. I exercised regularly.
5. Dr Oz also recommends a detox bath each night: 2 c epsom salt, 1/2 c baking soda, 10 drops lavender oil. I did not do this every night, but tried.
6. I also sporadically drank green tea and dandelion root tea. There are so many health benefits to it, I could not give it up. I drink it straight or with lemon, no sweeteners, etc. And I always try to drink 60 ounces of water per day


What I Ate:
Day 1
Breakfast: Green Tea with Lemon and a Smoothie
Lunch: Spinach salad with 1/4 avocado, tuna, no dressing
Snack: dandelion root tea, lara bar
Supper: Dijon pork and kale

Day 2
Breakfast: Green Tea with Lemon and a Smoothie
Lunch: Spinach salad with green bell pepper, grilled chicken, olive oil and rosemary
Snack: Lara bar, celery and sun butter
Supper: Organic grass-fed beef roast and leftover kale

Day 3
*I have lost 1 lb
Breakfast: Green Tea, Smoothie
Lunch: Spinach salad with orange bell pepper, cucumber, rosemary chicken, olive oil, lemon juice
Snack: Lara bar, green smoothie
Dinner: Lemon Steamed Salmon, kale chips, steamed asparagus

Day 4
Breakfast: Smoothie
Lunch: Salmon with asparagus
Snack: Lara bar
Dinner: Smoothie
*I cheated today

Day 5
Breakfast: Smoothie
Lunch: Mixed salad with nuts, fruit, apple cider vinaigrette
Snack: Lara bar
Dinner: Coconut shrimp and sauteed spinach with tomatoes and onion

Day 6
Breakfast: Smoothie
Lunch: Salad with spinach, shrimp, coconut milk
Snack: Lara bar, green smoothie
Dinner: Lemon chicken, steamed chopped broccoli

Day 7
Breakfast: Green tea, smoothie
Lunch: Mixed salad with fruit and nuts
Snack: Green smoothie
Dinner: Rosemary garlic chicken, roasted veggies, salad

Day 8
*I cheated today
Breakfast: Smoothie
Lunch: Spinach with mushrooms, chicken
Snack: Lara bar, green smoothie
Dinner: Taco soup

Day 9
Breakfast: Smoothie
Lunch: Spinach with fruit and nuts
Snack: Lara bar
Dinner: Salmon, asparagus

Day 10
*I have not lost any more weight
Breakfast: Smoothie
Lunch: Spinach withs salmon, asparagus
Snack: Lara bar
Dinner: Taco soup

Results: 1 lb weight loss. Perhaps my cravings are slightly curbed? I am definitely off caffeine completely, although all I used to drink was 1 cup of black coffee in the morning. I still long for sugar and chocolate. I guess that won't likely change :) Overall, feel good. The diet wasn't all that hard, except that realizing I would not lose weight mentally made me think it was ok to cheat :) Would I do this again? Perhaps. What I was allowed to eat was not that big of a challenge. I think I would like to try this again when I feel more committed and am willing to pay the cost for all the supplements and ideas they specify, including the specific brand of fiber. I would recommend this to others despite my lack of weight loss because, as I am finding, I am quite the unique case. For some reason, it is nearly impossible for me to lose weight. I feel confident that most people who followed this diet would.

Moving on from here: Definitely going to keep that breakfast smoothie! It was DELICIOUS!! In hopes of losing weight, I was recommended carb cycling aka cyclic ketogenic diet. Since thus far, not much is working for my weight loss, I guess it's worth a try!

Stovetop Lemon Chicken (Healthy, Eat Clean, Paleo)

Ingredients

1 Tbsp coconut oil
6 organic Chicken breast tenders
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsp thyme
juice of 1 lemon

Directions
1. Season meat with salt, pepper, thyme.
2. Heat oil in pot over medium. Add chicken. Stir in lemon.
3. Cook on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes per side, more or less depending on thickness.

Lemon Steamed Salmon

Ingredients
1/2 filet salmon
1/4 c white wine
3 garlic cloves
1 lemon, zested then sliced
water
salt and pepper to taste


Directions
1. Season salmon with salt and pepper to taste.
Mix wine, garlic, lemon zest together. Rub over salmon. You can let this sit about 30 min if you have the time.
2. Line basket (if using bamboo steamer) with parchment paper or cabbage, etc. Add salmon and lay sliced lemons on top.
3. With water in the bottom of a pot, place steamer basket with food into pot. Heat to boil. Steam about 15 minutes.

Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 can coconut milk
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp ginger root, peeled, minced
1 Tbsp lime juice
basil, sea salt and pepper to taste



Directions
1. Place shrimp into saucepan with coconut milk, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper
2. Bring to boil, stirring frequently.
3. Reduce heat to simmer, cook uncovered 15 min, stirring frequently.
4. Stir in lime juice and basil to taste (I used about 1/4 Tbsp dry basil)