Prepping for a Busy Week

Being a new mom with a full-time job can be stressful.

And busy.

And exhausting.

And time-consuming.

And... ok, I'm done.

I could probably write all those same things about being a stay-at-home mom, too, right?

So finding time to plan, shop for groceries, prep, and cook meals that are healing and nourishing to the body on top of doing everything else to keep the house going can seem like an impossibility. There's just not enough time in the day, right?

I've been determined to get back on track and eat a personalized AIP/Paleo diet again. I felt so much better before and I long to feel that way again. But I have to admit... Food prep took up a lot of my time before. And I didn't have a baby to take care of then. But I keep reminding myself how GOOD I used to feel when I ate well. It's my motivation and I'm keeping it in sight. 

Since I recently had a 3-day weekend (Happy MLK Day!),  I decided to go grocery shopping on Friday after work and prep through the weekend. I would be ready come Tuesday...

I'll share what I bought, what I prepped, and later share what my plans are for some of my meals this week. If you care... If you don't, get outta here and go do something fun! I won't be offended. Promise.

I went shopping at Aldi after work on Friday. I love Aldi. You can find some great items for much cheaper than the local grocery stores around here. Here's what I ended up buying (in no particular order, other than the order on my receipt):

Wild caught Haddock
Wild caught Salmon
Pork Butt Roast
Pork Chops
Chicken Thighs
Eggs
Organic Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Organic Baby Carrots
Organic Frozen Blueberries and Strawberries
Organic Avocados
Mushrooms
Bacon
Organic Bananas
Asparagus
Onions
Organic Salsa
Organic Honey
Butternut Squash
Cauliflower
Medjool Dates
Organic Spring Mix
Organic Spinach

I know that white potatoes, eggs, and the nightshades in salsa are not AIP, but these were things that I was able to successfully add in before. I'm trying to not be too drastic in what I eliminate this time around as I'm breastfeeding and need to keep my supply up and not have a horrible "detox" period.

I also grabbed (for hubby) some organic mac and cheese, kielbasa and sour kraut, ham, and spinach/feta chicken sausages. My husband is extremely supportive of how I eat but he doesn't have the same health issues that I do so I like to have some "extras" on hand that he can make quickly if he's hungry.

I'm nice like that. 

So Saturday came and I was very productive. Guess what I did?

Snuggled my baby. All. Day.

Ok, well we played, and napped, and ate, and giggled, and read books, too. But mostly we snuggled.

I mean, wouldn't you snuggle this squishy face???

Ok, so after my very productive Saturday, I buckled down and made Nom Nom Paleo's Kalua Pig. 

You can find the recipe online with a quick Google search, but I highly recommend the cookbook! It's a nice hardcover with LOTS of yummy Paleo recipes. Most can be modified to AIP if they aren't already! Check it out on Amazon here. There's also a new cookbook from Nom Nom that you can preorder here!

It's VERY EASY to make and delicious! After I shredded it (and ate several forkfuls along the way) I portioned it into serving sizes and threw them in the fridge. 

On Monday, I made Mickey Trescott's shredded beef. I had a grass-fed beef roast in the freezer and had pulled it out to thaw. In the evening, I made the shredded beef then did the same as the Kalua Pig, portioning it out into serving sizes. Since meat takes the longest to cook, this is what I wanted to prep since I can cook veggies and quickly add them to make a meal.

On a side note, Mickey Trescott's book, The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook, is my favorite AIP cookbook. It was the first one I bought when I made the decision to go AIP in early 2015 and I still use it regularly. She has the perfect blend of basic, easy to understand recipes, as well as some more complicated recipes if you are feeling up to the challenge. She also includes meal plans to help you get started!

I also made a couple pans of sweet potato wedges. I even like to eat them cold! I just cut sweet potatoes into wedges, toss in olive or coconut oil, season to your liking, and bake on a sheet pan for about 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Having these foods prepped and ready makes it much easier for me to make it through the week and be successful in eating healthy. Today (Tuesday) I had a pretty rough day at work. Normally, it would be easy for me to just go ahead with takeout to save some time and energy. Baby boy goes to bed at 6:30 so I only get about an hour with him when I get home. I like to spend the most time that I can with him so I usually don't worry about dinner until after he's settled in bed. Because I had prepped a little over the weekend, I was able to have Kalua Pig over a giant bed of spring mix and spinach with half an avocado. It was delicious, filling, and only took about 5 minutes for me to heat up and assemble. 

Ok, it took me no minutes. Because my husband did it for me. So I could work on writing this. 

He's a keeper, ya know?

Long Time No... Blog...?!?!

It's Time.

Time to start again.

If you were following "Living Well With Hashimoto's" before, I'm sure you noticed that I stopped posting about a year and a half ago.

I stopped right around the time that this happened...

Having been strict AIP for over 7 months, I was very happy to add this to my long list of positive results that I had already experienced.

Along with the joy, however, came nausea. And vomiting. And more nausea. And more vomiting. A sense of smell that told my brain how every single thing with an odor was my worst nightmare.

I'm not calling it "morning sickness". That term is a lie straight out of Satan's mouth. It should be called "anytime you're awake and breathing sickness".

Truth.

I tried my hardest to stick to AIP. But the smell of ANYTHING cooking made me oh so sick. My husband actually brought home breathing masks from his work so I could get through the kitchen and into our garage without vomiting. I ate cold salads for awhile. But I was into my second trimester, still vomiting every day, and losing weight. I was terrified to veer off of my eating plan that had served me so well.

My husband, the voice of reason, had to look me in the eyes and tell me that it would be OK if I needed to eat off plan. He was right. In my situation (remember that everyone is different!), I needed to eat other things in order to keep from losing weight. So I did. And in June of 2016, this perfectly healthy not-so-little guy was born:

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago...

He was a huge fan of Christmas!
(In case you couldn't tell...)

So this Momma's heart has been incredibly full of joy since Calvin came along. He's tons of fun and makes me smile every single day.

But I feel TERRIBLE.

Being a full-time working mom, I just haven't been able to find the time to start eating right again. A lot of my Hashimoto's symptoms are back with a vengeance and I'm feeling it. I desperately need to get back on track. Because I know what I did before WORKED. And I'm so excited to feel that way again.

My goal is to get back to AIP with some additional foods that I had previously reintroduced successfully. Since I'm still breastfeeding and I can't rest whenever I need to, I'm going to take it slow. Blogging really helped keep me on track before and I'm counting on being successful again.

So, raise your glasses (of bone broth) with me to fresh starts and Living Well in 2017!