I did it! I made my first Paleo Pizza!

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!

UPDATE:  My son liked the toppings, he was just okay with the crust.  He ate about half the crust then ate the toppings off the rest.

My first Paleo Pizza.

I told you I was going to make a Paleo Pizza this week.  The recipe for this one included the Coconut Flour and the Almond Meal I purchased a couple of days ago.  I wrote a post about shopping for supplies Paleo/Primal/Low Carb Eating.  Is it Expensive??

The Recipe

The recipe that I chose for this experiment was from a blog Paleo Diet Lifestyle.   I may a few changes in the toppings and I just made half the recipe.  I wanted to fix it in my toaster oven and use the pan that goes into the toaster oven.  I didn't want to heat up the kitchen.

I started with the dry ingredients.  Then I added the liquids and the eggs.  I used a whisk to mix the ingredients.   The mixture is pretty thin. 

  Mix it until it is fully mixed and then press it into the pan.  The consistency is nothing like regular pizza dough, but it makes a solid crust when its baked.

I baked the crust for about 20 minutes.  I think I left it in just a little too long.  It smelled terrible when it was baking.  I guess the smell lingered because when my husband came home he asked what smelled so bad.

I took the crust out of the oven and started putting on the toppings.

Instead of pesto or tomato sauce, I chose to use pizza sauce because it had no added sugar.  Use the amount of sauce that you want.  Then I added the artichoke hearts.  I cut them up and spread them around the pizza.  Instead of sun dried tomatoes I used fresh cherry tomatoes from my garden.  I sliced them and spread them around the pizza.

I used canned organic mushrooms instead of fresh mushrooms.  I put on enough to cover the pizza.  Last, I cut up uncured ham and added it to the top.  

I put the pizza back into the oven for 10 minutes to cook the toppings on the pizza.  If you eat cheese, you can add cheese to the topping.  

If you would like different toppings add those.  Make the pizza to your own taste.  If you are trying to stay true Paleo make sure your ingredients are Paleo.

Okay, now how did I like it?  Well, the crust was a little sweet for me.  I haven't been eating anything with sugar for a while and the crust tasted sweet.  I guess it is the coconut flour.  I only used 1/4 cup for the entire crust so I'm not sure why.  The crust tasted fine other than the sweet taste.

The crust did hold together as well as, if not better, than regular pizza crust.  I ate some of the crust, but I actually ate the toppings off of the rest of it.  The toppings were delicious.  

So, for me, I think I will look for another type of crust.   I haven't gotten anyone else to try it yet.  My husband won't eat the artichokes, mushrooms, or tomatoes.  I am hoping to get my son to try some.  I think he would like it.  So, that was my first attempt at making a Paleo Pizza.  

My Weigh - Travel Time: Where Would You Travel To?

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!

Where would you go?

If money wasn't an issue and you could visit anywhere in the United States, where would you go?  Anywhere in the world, where would that be?

If you haven't noticed I have a travel addiction.  I love going places.  Any place, really.  If I could go anywhere in the United States I would go to Alaska.  I have been around most of the United States.  I have never seen Alaska. 

I have been to Hawaii, or I would make that my choice.  

Where In The World Would I Go?

This one is harder.  There are so many places I haven't been.  I have been to places I would like to return to.

Paris is the first place to come to mind.  I have been there twice and I love it.  I think I could move there.
  

I really should go somewhere I haven't been.  I might find there is another place that I would fall in love with.

My second thought is either Italy or Australia.  Oh my, this is a difficult choice.  I was so close to Italy when I was in Europe in November, but didn't get to go there.   Our friends had an exchange student from Australia back several years ago.  If the people are like her, Australia would be loads of fun.

Okay, I pick Australia.  Maybe I'll go to Italy in my next fantasy.

Tell me your choices!  I can't wait to hear where you would go.

I'm waiting!!!

My Weekly Weigh-In

I went down this week!!  Whoop-whoop!!  I would have been happier with a larger weight loss.  Last week I was up 1/2 pound so I had hoped to see a larger loss this week.  I have come to the point where I don't complain about a loss.  Any loss is good!!  I am still on THE 100 diet.  This is the end of week 5.  I have to stay under 100 sugar calories.  That is any carb grams multiplied by 4.  It doesn't allow for much in the way of carbs.  It is very similar to the Paleo/Primal way of eating.  

Loss 25.5 pounds total

Starting weight - 184.5
Week one - 180.0
Week two - 179.5
Week three - 179.0
Week four - 178.5

Week five - 177.0 
Week six - 176.0
Week seven - skipped, was on vacation
Week eight - 181.5  
Week nine - 174.0
Week ten - 172.5
Week eleven - 172.0
Week twelve - 171.5
Week thirteen - 170.5
Week Fourteen - 172.0
Week Fifteen - 167.5
Week Sixteen - 169.5
Week Seventeen - 168.5
Week Eighteen - 168.0
Week Nineteen - 167.5
Week Twenty - 161.50
Week Twenty-One  161.0
Week Twenty-Two 159.5
Week Twenty-Three 160.0
Week Twenty-Four 159.0

Warning scale is 3 pounds light!  

Paleo/Primal/Low Carb Eating. Is it Expensive??

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!

Is eating Paleo/Primal/ Low Carb Expensive?

I went shopping today to buy some ingredients for some of the Paleo recipes I have been seeing lately.  I want to make pizza, I told some readers that I would try it this week and fill them in on it.

I decided to go to the health food store to shop today.  We have one called Earthfare that is not far from our house.  I have been buying some meats, fruits and vegetables and a few other things from there for a while.  I have written about Earthfare in the past.

Well today I decided to shop for some of the non-wheat flours and something to make pizza with.  I was shopping for coconut flour and almond meal/flour.  The bags of flour were only one pound and they were 12.99 a bag.  

As I continued to go through the store and look for things I came across a local almond meal that wasn't as expensive.  So I put back the first one and purchased the local one.  It was only 8.99 a pound.

Next, I was looking for Coconut Milk.  I found Coconut Milk in the dairy cooler.  It was $5.00 for a bottle.  The bottle size is not very big in comparison to a gallon of milk.

Then I found Coconut Milk that was not refrigerated.  It was not as expensive.  It was $2.99 a box (quart).  I purchased the box.

I also purchased a pizza sauce.  I checked the sauces and the pizza sauce had the least amount of sugar.  It didn't show any sugar on the ingredient list, but it had sugar listed in the grams.  I assume that is natural sugar.

Luckily, the pizza sauce was on sale.  The cans were 2/$5.00.  

I also bought uncured ham, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms which I didn't photograph.  

I don't know how much one pizza will cost, but I think it will be pretty expensive.  I know it will not take all of the flours to make a pizza, so there will be some for other recipes.  I'm not sure that I would have to buy organic in most of the ingredients, but I wanted to try to make this as clean as possible.

I plan to make the pizza in a day or two and then I will post the recipe that I decide to use and pictures of making the pizza.  Here is a picture of a Paleo Pizza I found on Google Images.  It looks good to me!

Do you use paleo/primal/low carb recipes?  Do you find them to be expensive?  Do you have any money saving ideas for purchasing the ingredients?

I am thinking these foods are much healthier, and they will help me to lose weight.  If I can get off my medications it would save me money on the prescriptions.  I am still learning and trying things to see how it all works for me.

Avoiding the Junk Foods When You're Out With Friends!!!

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!

Resisting the temptation!

The crowds, the smells, the noise.  Walking into the throngs of people, the first thing I noticed was the smells coming from the concession stands.   I thought how good everything would taste. 

We went on in to the seating area and took our seats.  My husband decided he needed something for his headache.  I told him I would return and buy some water.  I bought the water at the pizza vendor. They had pizza setting in view.  The smells were drifting up.  I got the bottle of water and returned to my seat.

You see, I wasn't hungry.  I made sure to make myself a nice size omelet before I left home.  It was very filling and I had no desire to eat.  The smells were tempting, but I just wasn't hungry.  It's all about preparing ahead of time.

A minor league baseball game.

We went to Victory Field, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to watch the Indianapolis Indians play.  We went with a group of friends.  I haven't been to an Indians game in a few years.  It's fun to get out and spend time with friends. 

Concession stand food!

 Several of the people in our group was visiting the concession and carrying bunches of food back to their seats.  Seriously, I wasn't hungry.  Really the hardest part for me was passing the stands and smelling the food.  I hadn't realized it, but the smell of food is the thing that affects me the most.  I noticed that when I was baking cookies last week.  When I can smell the food as it's cooking it has a strange appeal to me.

We watched the game and the Indians lost 2-1.

Food after the game.

After the game we went to Chicago's Pizza.  Okay, it had been a few hours since my omelet.  I guess after having the one piece of pizza the other day, I just didn't feel the need for more.  I ordered a vegetable salad with grilled chicken in it.  I have found that I like having a little salad dressing.  

How I eat salad dressing.

I just take my fork and dip it into the salad dressing.  I only have a little dressing on the tines.  It was a large salad and I used just a tiny amount of salad dressing.  You could hardly tell there was any salad dressing missing from the little cup.  I worry about salad dressings having hidden sugar, and I am happy with just that little taste with my salad.

My Accomplishments

I made it through a group outing with other people eating all the things that I chose not to eat.  It wasn't a problem in any way.  I went home in the evening and had a healthy snack.  

Next Challenge

Next week, we attend a Cincinnati Reds game.  I think that will go fine, too!  I won't be able to eat at home right before attending the game, but I will make sure we eat somewhere that I can buy a healthy meal before we go into the stadium.  There are just not many healthy choices in those places.  We have to drive a few hours to get to the game and it's an evening game.  I don't think any of that stuff can taste good enough to make it worth hurting my weight loss!

What are your challenges?  Is it the smell, or looking at the food? Do you have one area that is harder than the other for you? What food is your biggest challenge?

My Fattest Picture Ever!!

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!

Do you want to see the fat me?

I was looking at some pictures this week and I ran across this picture of me when I weighed the most.  My son and I were both at our fattest.  Of course, since then he has grown lots taller, and he weighs more now, but he is skinny.  Unfortunately for me, I haven't grown any taller.

I have always had this picture put away where only I could see it.  I didn't ever want to let myself get this heavy again.  I haven't!!  I have gotten way too close though.  This is when I weighed about 195.  I think I was wearing a size 16.  I wore stretchy pants so probably I was really into a size 18.  

I think I was 45 years old in this picture.  

Then I found this picture.

In this picture I am about 28.  I was fairly thin then.  If I got over 125 pounds I though I was huge.  I'm not sure exactly what I weighed at that time.  Probably around 110.  Since I am 5'5" tall, that is probably on the low side on the BMI chart.

One of my recent pictures.

Now I am posting one of my recent pictures.  It is not a great picture and one I have posted before.  It shows where I am today.  I am about 160 pounds.  I am losing weight and I have dropped 25 pounds in this most recent weight loss journey.  I am in a size 8.   

Well now I will be 59 in two months.  I may never be the size of the young mom in picture number 2.  In between the years of the fat picture and now I have spent lots of time in the gym working out.  I haven't worked out consistently in the last year.  This last year I went through some rough times and I allowed myself to get heavy again.  I am going to keep these pictures as reminders of the person I have been.

I hope to never be any heavier than I am today.  I hope to to lose about 20-30 more pounds.  I don't know how much I will lose, and it may take some time to get it off.  I do know that I will work at losing and getting into better physical shape.  I will commit to working out on a routine basis.  

Why have I allowed myself to go from one weight to another over the years.  Is it all emotionally triggered?  If so, how do I stop it?

I am determined to make this the last time I go through this weight loss journey.  I know a big contributor to my excess weight is sugar. I have known this for several years now.  I gave up sugar for about six months twice that I can remember.  When I was close to 50 I got into a size 4.  The last time was about 3 years ago.  I lost most of my weight that time.   This time it is coming off slower than it did in the past.

I think blogging about it this time is going to be the catalyst that allows me to get to a healthy weight and stay.  I may have little ups and downs, but I think blogging about those things will let me work my way through the hard times.  

My goal is to stay away from sugar and flour and to eat more in the Paleo/Low Carb/ Primal diet range.  If I can do this permanently the weight should stay off.  That is my goal.

How do you get through the hard times?

Tell me what your goals are.  How do you get through the hard times?  Are you an emotional eater?  Do you eat out of boredom?

Are you willing to post your fat pictures?

Saturday Blogger Feature - Meet A Weight Loss Blogger

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!

Meet A Weight Loss Blogger:

Say hello to Leslie......

Leslie is a new blogger at Weight4Baby.  Leslie started a new blog on July 22nd.  That means she is a fresh, new blogger.  

Leslie is trying to lose weight so she can start a family.

Leslie is laid off from her job, another victim of outsourcing.  She is using this time to start getting healthy.

I hope all my blogging friends will go say hello to Leslie and show her some support.  I'm sure she will come and check out your blogs to see how some of you have succeeded.

I love her blog name!  It tells you what is motivating her to lose the weight.

Leslie found me through the Weight Loss Blog Directory and she was excited to find a list of blogs that she could go to for information.

I won't tell you anymore about Leslie, go read her blog and she will tell you all the exciting things going on in her life.

My own adventures:

We ate out twice today!  I had a burger at Red Robin with a salad.  That was fine. 

For dinner we went to my favorite pizza joint. I had a salad, and ate the toppings off some pizza.  I ate the crust on one small piece. It was a thin crust and I didn't eat all of it.
It really wasn't that great.  

I don't think I will need to do that again.  It has been quite some time since I had pizza, and it really wasn't worth it.  Next time, I will just have some chicken on my salad.  

I hope this doesn't mess with my weight loss, but if it does I will deal with it.  I have to get started on making the Paleo Pizza.  I am going to try to make some next week.  

What Do You Like Most About Blogging? What Makes You Smile?

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!


It's Finish the Sentence Friday Again!!!  Yeah! Friday is here!!!

Are you ready for the sentence?

The Best and Worst Part of Blogging...

Best:  There are a few bests!

1.  The other bloggers.  It is amazing how quickly you can make a connection with someone when you just read their blog, and share comments with them.   And I am meeting people who live all over the world.  We have so much in common.  Blogging makes this world a much smaller place.

2.  A place where you can write pretty much anything you want.  Mostly, the names are withheld to protect the guilty innocent.

3.  I am becoming more computer savvy every day.  I have always used a computer for work, but I have learned to do so much more since I started blogging.  Unfortunately, I have so much more to learn.

Worst:  There are also a few worsts!

1.  The days when you don't have a clue what to write about.  Thanks goodness, when I start writing ideas seem to start flowing.  Sometimes, it takes a while!!

2.  When my husband complains about me spending so much time on the computer.  

3.  Wondering if anybody is going to read what I write.  Some of my posts that are feel are my best just don't seem to get many views.  Other times, I write something quickly and think it isn't very good and I get loads of reads, and comments.  WTH?

4.  Sitting up after everyone has gone to bed to try to get around to reading all the blog posts.  I love reading them, but there is only so much time in a day.  I keep finding more that I want to read.  

Are you a blogger?  What do find to be the best and worst parts of blogging?

I am also linking up with Friendship Friday.

This weeks theme:  What Make You Smile?

This one is easy.  My youngest grandson.  He is always so funny.  

At his older brother's baseball game a couple of weeks ago, the coach, Cesar, was talking to the team.  All the parents and the siblings were standing by, listening.  The coach finished up and then he said, "Okay, who am I going to pitch this next game?"  Jokingly, he pointed to my 5 year grandson and told him he would be pitching.  Then he told the boys who would really be pitching.

After the team broke up, my grandson walked over to the coach and said, "Hey Ces, I am going to need a uniform!"

Of course, he didn't pitch the next game, but the coach did bring him his own jersey.  

That little boy makes a lot of people smile, especially his grandma.

Also linking with:

TGIF Blog Hop

Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Enjoy the Weekend!!!

Easy Paleo Recipes To Benefit Weigh Loss!

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!

My Own Fresh Harvest

I am so excited to be harvesting my own fresh grown tomatoes.  I am starting to get to the point where there is enough to use in cooking and meals.  Fresh grown tomatoes are so much better than those in the grocery store.   I found some Easy Paleo Recipes To Benefit Weight Loss.

Paleo Recipes

I have been looking for paleo recipes to keep my meals fresh and exciting.  I know in the past I have gotten tired of eating the same old things.  Diet Foods!!!  Boredom with meals has caused me to revert back to my old ways. To make this a lifetime journey I need to change every thing I do.  Starting with changing the way I prepare meals.  I need to find healthy, delicious recipes that my entire family will eat.

Paleo Tacos With Purple Cabbage Slaw

Sarah Fragosa shows you how to make Paleo Tacos with Purple Cabbage Slaw.    Sarah blogs at The Paleo Mom.com.   Here is the recipe on her blog.  This video shows how to make both and it made me want to go whip some up.

Shepherd's Pie

This recipe is for Shepherd's Pie using mashed Cauliflower.  It is from Julian's Bakery.

It is made with lamb, coconut oil, and lots of great spices and other ingredients.  This is definitely one to try!

Baked Eggs in Bacon Rings

I can use some of my fresh tomatoes in this recipe.  It is from Paleo Plan.  It uses nitrate free bacon, eggs, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and spices.  With the tomato in them, I'm not sure you could bake them ahead, and  just warm them for breakfast. I believe without the tomato they would be great for make ahead breakfasts.

Just Plain Chili

Here is another recipe from Paleo Plan.  This one sounds delicious. My husband loves my chili, but maybe I could make a convert of him if this chili is as good as it looks.  He has always wanted macaroni in his chili, but I need to get him eating Paleo, too!  This chili has ground beef, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, and lots of spices.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband won't change his diet if he has to give up all his favorite things.  As you saw a few days ago, he has to have his Chocolate Chip Cookies.    Spry has this recipe for Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies.  This is worth a try!!!

If you have any great Paleo Recipes I am looking for tried and true ideas.  Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Here is a previous post with other Paleo Recipes I have found and intend to try soon.

As soon as I get to my goal weight I will be trying some Paleo Pizza.  It will be an occasional treat, but pizza is the hardest thing for me to give up.

Update on my weight loss:

I have been adding fruit back this week in small amounts.  I'm not sure how that is going to work.  If it causes weight gain, I may have to wait a while and try some again.  I am starting with berries.

My Weigh - Moms Spending $1,000,000.00

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!

Mom's Spending $1,000,000.00

In my last post I asked Mom's to spend $1,000,000.00 on themselves.  They were not to spend money on their children.  I think all moms, myself included, could not do it.  Why?

Mom's almost always put their families first.  

Sometimes, though, when you put your families first you are not doing what is best for your family.  When it comes to taking care of themselves, moms tend to put that aside to do everything for their family.   Mom's need to be selfish when it comes to their health.  

We keep foods that we think other family members want in our kitchen cupboards.  We know those foods are going to sabotage our diets.  We don't take time to exercise because someone in our family needs something.  

As moms, it is time to start giving our health priority.  We need to be in good health for our families and ourselves.  Please take the time to take care of yourself, so you will have energy to do things with your husband and your children.  Your long term health will benefit, too!!

My Weekly Weigh-In

Loss 24.5 pounds total

Starting weight - 184.5
Week one - 180.0
Week two - 179.5
Week three - 179.0
Week four - 178.5

Week five - 177.0 
Week six - 176.0
Week seven - skipped, was on vacation
Week eight - 181.5  
Week nine - 174.0
Week ten - 172.5
Week eleven - 172.0
Week twelve - 171.5
Week thirteen - 170.5
Week Fourteen - 172.0
Week Fifteen - 167.5
Week Sixteen - 169.5
Week Seventeen - 168.5
Week Eighteen - 168.0
Week Nineteen - 167.5
Week Twenty - 161.50
Week Twenty-One  161.0
Week Twenty-Two 159.5
Week Twenty-Three 160.0

Warning scale is 3 pounds light!  

After 4 weeks on THE 100 plan.  I have lost 7.5 pounds.  As you many have noticed, I went up 1/2 pound this week.  I finished week four on Sunday.  The first four weeks were very strict. Now I am eating a little more.  I have added in some fruit.  I still am supposed to stay under 100 sugar calories per day (that's any carb grams multiplied X 4).  It still doesn't allow for many carbs.   I will be staying with mostly proteins and vegetables, with a small amount of fruit.

I am not too concerned with the 1/2 pound gain this week.  It is probably due to salt.  I had a pickle craving for a few days.  If I wanted ice cream with them I might be worried!  My weight tends to go up if I eat salt.  It usually drops back in a couple of days.  

The good thing is my clothes just keep getting loser.  I feel better and look better so that actual number is not even concerning me.  I actually stayed off the scales for a few days.  I know I am getting smaller so why let the scales affect my mood. Here is a picture of me in size 8 shorts.  They aren't even snug.  This diet is working!!!

How Will You Spend Your $1,000,000.00?

Make sure to take a look at My Weight Loss Blog Directory!!!

What would you do with $1,000,000.00?

Just for fun today I am going to write about something that has no bearing on weight loss.  Unless, of course, you decided to use the money to go to a fat farm or something.

Let's just pretend that you are the perfect weight and you are in perfect health.  

Do you remember the old show The Millionaire?  Probably not, most of you are way too young to remember that.  The Millionaire was a TV show that originally ran in the late 1950's.  I was too young then!!!!  It ran in syndication from the 1960's to the 1980's. See that's why I was able to see it.

Anyway, The Millionaire, would just show up one day and hand someone he had never met a check for one million dollars.  The show would follow them to see how the money affected their life.  It was not a reality show!!

MY RULES

In this case, I want to see you spend the money on yourself.  So, if I handed you a check for $1,000,000.00, how would you spend it?

If a stranger gave me the money to spend, and I had to spend it on myself here is what I would do......

SPENDING $1,000,000.00 

Being a typical mom, I would have a hard time spending it on myself.  You know how moms are, they want to take care of their families first.  I'm sure there is something the kids need.  

So, here is how I would spend it on myself.  I would travel!  Now, I really don't want to travel alone.  So, here I am cheating already!  I made this up, so I get to make my own rules as I go along.  I am taking my family with me.  My grown children would be fun to take on a trip.  I haven't had a trip with all of them.  My youngest has never had a vacation with all of his older siblings.  He is 18 years younger than his closet sibling.

It would be so much fun to take my entire family someplace really fun.  Would we go on a cruise?  How about a trip to an island paradise?  Of course, I love trips to Europe.  Oh my, so many choices to make.

I have it!!!  We will take a cruise that takes us to Europe.  It will have a stop at a beautiful island paradise.  Then we will have time to hang out in Europe and fly home via Paris.

I would love to show my grandsons the Eiffel Tower.  They would love it.  

My oldest son loves to snowboard.  We could have fun in Switzerland.  I think we might all watch him snowboard.  Ewww!  I have seen a few videos.  He scares me with all those flips and things!  Maybe I won't watch!  I am not taking him to Pamplona, Spain.  He went there last year and "ran with the bulls", not just once, but twice.  I worried from afar, I couldn't watch that!

Thank goodness, my other two sons aren't so adventurous.  I am sure they would have a great time exploring together.  Even though they are 18 years apart, they have a great time hanging out together.

My daughter would love showing her sons all the sights.  I would make sure she had some free time just to go and do some things with just her husband.  They don't get enough time for just the two of them.  Okay, here I am making this about my family again.

Maybe I would do some shopping in Paris.  I am skinny so I need to shop in Paris for clothes for my fantastic shape.

My husband and I could stroll through the streets of Rome.  Take a boat ride in Venice.  We could pretend to be young lovers as we explore the Italian countryside.  I have never been to Italy so this would be quite fun.

Okay, I am sure I have spent all of my $1,000,000.00.  I guess we will spend a lot of time traveling!

NOW YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY!!!

Now I need to know what you would do with yours!!!!  Please leave a comment and let me know how you would spend your money.