Thursday, April 12, 2012

Clean up & have a drink!

     GOOD MORNING! What a fast week it has been, (It's Friday in our house!) I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter as much as we did. Speaking of Easter, we used it as a cheat day, well P used it as a cheat day, I used it as an indulgence day. NEVER again (to that extreme at least) I was sick as a dog. Word to the wise, after you have eaten Paleo for over a month, I don't recommend indulging in each food group you have given up all at once. After having croissants (coated in a yummy sugar, butter paste) & sausage balls, potato salad, deviled eggs, green beans (the rest of lunch was Paleoish) angel food cake, a few Hershey's Kisses and a packet of cotton candy pop rocks (the Easter Bunny had no trouble finding us & I told you, I took it over board) I was DOWN for the count. I almost didn't make it to my class presentation Monday night. It was that bad.  BUT, I look at it this way, at least my body has truly taken to my new lifestyle, it doesn't want anything that is not beneficial and it's going to do what it has to in order to get rid of it..... Which leads me into my next rant........ getting rid, repairing, detoxing, cleaning up and cleaning out. These are all phrases that have been clouding my thoughts lately. We are putting so much effort into "cleaning up our diets" (diets as in food consumption, not diet as in restrictions) but what about cleaning up our lives as well. NO, it's not that bad. I didn't just reveal some big life secret. I don't have any addictions (after giving up my sugar/cupcake addiction, the only one I have left is to my chapstick, honestly I don't know how anyone could possibly have a narcotic or extreme alcohol addiction & actually live through a WOD) I'm referring to the general environments and themes we live in on a day to day basis.
     See, as a side note - let me explain some of where I am coming from. As most know, I am a working on a Master's in Counseling (as well as being a BIG people pleaser). As a therapist, we do feelings. We learn about them, dissect them, analyze them, talk about them, question them and strive to understand where they came from. Some people can travel through their day without acknowledging a single emotion/feeling they experience. NOT me, I can barely make it through a fleeting thought or action without at least doing a quick emotional inventory. I do the same with others outward expressions. I feed off of others, which will be great when I have an emotionally distraught child in my office, but as far as daily life I have to learn to be less affected by people who are negative, harsh and condescending.  Basically, others have too much control over my mood and experiences. As humans, we all suffer from this to an extent, (ever tried to be a beam of sunshine with the biggest Debbie Downer on Earth? It's not easy) some of us just "feel" it more intensely.
      SO... how do I begin to fix this? Well, for starters I turned to Facebook. Duh, where else do you make a life change? It's time to de-friend the negative. (Okay, to be honest, some come with strings, and in defense of not causing a world war, they may just get the "unsubscribe" instead of the de-friend. I know, I know, I'm a sissy & need to practice all of what I preach, but let's take this in baby steps. Give a girl a break!) No more adverse and cynical statuses on my feed. There are so many people who's mouths need a good washing, and others who are just looking for someone to be miserable with, not to mention the people who just get under your skin and remind you of things you never wish to think of again.
    Alright, so step one = in process. Next comes the polite distance in the real world. Ugh, this could be ugly (but only momentarily) Sometimes, I see/think of people who have relationships that are nothing but detrimental (this includes actual relationships as well as friendships) and wonder why in the world they would continue to associate and try with that person (then I secretly analyze & diagnose the situation)  It's time to start cutting the strings. You (I) have let it get there, you (I) lost your (my) boundaries...... Think on that for a minuet. You have an exact situation in your mind don't you?
  Toxins in your life do not come just from direct relationships. It may be a condescending radio segment, a twitter feed, a hostile work environment, etc. etc.   Respect your well being enough to let it go! As for me, I know it's not realistic to think I can just rid of everyone and everything "bad"so I have to learn not to let others have as much of an influence on me and my feelings & thoughts.
As I rid of toxins in my life, I hope to be a positive influence on everyone I come in contact with. We all have the right to be happy. We have the right, but we also have the control. We have to give ourselves the gift of control.  Ah! This is getting deep, I need to stop while I'm still ahead - but really, when you find yourself in a noxious situation, instead of throwing a pity party & looking for company to share your misery with, put your energy into making it better for YOU. (DISCLAIMER - obviously, I'm not talking about situations such as grieving or unavoidable "deadline" pressure or stress, I'm simply referring to the baggage we carry as a result of others and completely avoidable situations).
Alright, I'm stepping off of my soap box now.
   
     One of the main questions I get from people about the Paleo diet is "what about alcohol?" Well, my guess is cavemen didn't have the luxury of a million different types of beer, wine and liquor - but if I had to guess, I would venture out and say they found some grape or berry to "enjoy" :) In all of my research, I have found that if you are going to drink (in MODERATION, and over the age of 21 of course - don't go getting all legal on me) then you should stick to the non-sugary (mostly red or dry white) organic wines or 100% pure agave tequila. We have found a couple wines we enjoy at whole foods and Publix also has a select few. My recommendation is the Frey white table wine or the Pacific Redwood Pinot Noir. Both are made with organic grapes and neither have any added sulfites (the red actually has no detected sulfites what so ever)
I also like the Pacific Redwood "RED" but Perry thinks the Pinot is one of the best he has EVER had! So even if you aren't Paleo - you can definitely enjoy the benefits of a sulfite free wine! The bottles are about $11.00 - $15.00 depending on where you get them (which is a little more than I used to spend, but we TRY not to finish a bottle in 1 sitting!)  

If you looking for a little more ZEST in your "consumption" - I may have the answer for you! I've yet to come up with a good name for it, so suggestions are welcomed! 
I took the basic recipe for a NorCal margarita and made it a little more me. A NorCal consists of 2-3 shots of agave tequila, juice from 1 lime and soda water to taste. If you can handle a tiny drink that tastes of straight Mexico, then have at it. That is the drink for you, but as for me - I'm working on my acquired taste and trust of tequila (we met in college and had a non existent relationship for a long while) As yall know, we play in a kickball league which could also be called drinking ball 101, so I needed something I could take with me in a larger thermos & enjoy for 7 embarrassing (example -last night I somehow got plowed over and ended up on my back, then after actually making it to a base, practically slid in a SPLIT into second - had 2 people fall on top of me and still managed to be called out. UGH) 

I went to work, I pulled out our handy dandy, Battery operated, Margaritaville, Margarita machine to do the job (Which I highly recommend - it is a tad smaller than the original, but has a much smaller price tag. AND since its battery operated, it can conveniently travel and work anywhere we want it to! We got ours at Sam's club & have gotten every penny we paid for it!) Now, much like my real cooking, I don't really measure anything out, so bare with me. Play around with the recipe and make it to your liking!

Ingredients   
*100% agave nectar tequila
*Limes
*Mango
*Club Soda (I buy the small bottles, you don't need a lot)
*Coconut water (I just buy the individual ones that have an added flavor too! We used the Pineapple infused one last night) 
* 100% agave nectar 
*Ice

For our concoction, we cut up the mango (click HERE if you need a mango cutting illustration) put it in the bottom of the blender, squeezed 3 limes onto the mango pieces, used enough coconut water to cover the pieces, eyeballed about a cup of tequila (maybe a little more, I let the Hubs do the pouring) counted to 3 while squeezing in the agave nectar and topped with a splash of club soda (this makes the consistency & cuts down the acidic taste) filled the top of our machine with ice & let it do what it does best. I put a lime half in each thermos bottle then topped the mix off with an extra shot of tequila! VOILA a YUMMY, refreshing, Paleoish Margarita! (if you just love tequila or club soda, you could leave the coconut water out - I just haven't gotten to that point yet) WOOO HOOO for summer concoctions!

Whew - that was a long post - I'll try and work on that for next time! Have a great, toxin free (he he) weekend! 

         You may not really be what you eat, but what you eat can really affect what you are.




   

No comments:

Post a Comment