still here.

Hello. So I took off with the blogging thing and then got overwhelmed with the commitment of recording all our meals and I quit. Sorry.

Picking up with where I left last you...sorry to say we didn't last the whole 20 something days as intended. The weekend came and we wanted pizza.

Mmmmm Glorious pizza...all crusty and cheesy.

BUT: we have totally redesigned our nutrition. We have kept the concepts of the program and have a basic 80% clean plan. This means that 80% or more of the food we eat is clean-no grains, dairy, ONLY meat, vegetables, fruits and nuts. Roughly 3 meals a week are "fun" meals. And we go big...queso, enchildas, pizza, burgers, fries.

The nice thing is that we feel AMAZING. We usually reserve the "fun" meals to the weekends so we have the nutrition benefits during the week when we need good rest and energy for workouts and work. This works for us because it is rigid: unless its one of those 3 meals, we don't eat it if its not clean. Yet still flexible: we could have fun snacks during the superbowl, or a piece of cake at a party. Interestingly enough, it has also encouraged us to eat cleaner...even when given the option to eat "fun". We really consider if something is "worth it" and if we really want it. If not, we eat clean and save the fun meals for later.

Also, regularly eating high quality food has changed what we enjoy...fast food and prepared food completely grosses us out. If we are eating "fun" we will go with like good, Italian, brick oven pizza, or a gourmet hamburger and fries. Even if we are going "fun" we need it fresh. Most fast food, packaged, and even deli/cafe type restaurants (Subway, Corner Bakery) are not very fresh and simply no longer have any appeal.

We also watched Food Inc which further led to a change of eating habits. We are increasingly trying to choose grass-fed meat options and organic pantry and produce items.

I have an idea for a "Grocery" post later where I list an example of a weekly trip to the grocery store, including cost. It is definitely expensive to eat well. But we eat at home most of the time and we are eating WELL. And at the end of the week, we have no food left. So I feel ok about it because a)we aren't wasting anything and b)when you consider the health benefits, it's worth it.

We have also been tossing around the idea of joining a food co-op. It is definitely a money-saving option and ensures that the food you get is local and organic. Better for the environment than getting produce that all comes from South America. The one we are considering is called Urban Acres.

In other news, I am home today for my FIFTH snow day in 2 weeks. And I just got word that we have a 2 hour delay tomorrow. I'm thinking that if this is going to become a regular thing for Texas winter, we should invest in some snow equipment for our cities!

P.S. As I type, I have a big pot of CLEAN chili (made with grass-fed buffalo of course!) simmering on the stove for this "bitterly cold" evening :) The secret ingredient is unsweetened cocoa.