Day 4

Day 4 and still with it. It's a little exhausting to think about food all the time, though. I suppose this focus on eating will relax as I get in the grove of cooking and eating under the Whole30 rules. I have been carefully following the rules so far. If I am in doubt about the ingredients of something, I just don't eat it. I did have to break that rule because tonight because I went out to dinner and had to hope that the grilled chicken and veggies weren't secretly doused in sugar. It's hard to know if what you order will follow the Whole30 unless you grill the server about every part of the meal. I am not the sort of person to question the server or make annoying demands about my food. And I would never refuse something that was served, even if it isn't right. I have eaten moldy food at two different restaurants before and never said a thing, for crying out loud! So I am really not going to ask if my food has sugar, dextrose, or carageenan in it. It took all I had to ask to switch out the potato for a salad tonight.

One of the more interesting side effects of this diet has been a complete lack of desire for snacks. I really don't get the urge to eat outside of normal meals. Before the Whole30 I used to eat only snacks some days. It used to be a constant train of food down my throat. Today, I ate three normal meals and no snacks. I wasn't hungry. I just didn't feel like eating extra stuff. Interesting.....

Food in my face today:
Breakfast - smoothie and black coffee

Lunch - leftover coconut curry chicken and cauliflower

Dinner - grilled chicken with onions, peppers, and zucchini, and a plain garden salad

Day 3 - 10% Done!

I am rocking out the Whole30 so far. Day 3 is usually my dieting downfall because I get tired of avoiding food I want to eat and frustrated with being hungry with cravings. This time I am focusing on what I can eat, and not what I can't. Also whenever I am craving something, I tell myself it is a mirage and not real. I am feeling better than the first two days because the sugar headaches are stopping. I stocked up on veggies and fruits for the weekend. The key to the Whole30 is not getting caught without a meal planned. I am going out to dinner tomorrow and I have already Googled the menu to make my choices (grilled chicken with peppers and onions, switch out the potato with an organic greens salad).

Food shoved down my gob today:
Breakfast: smoothie, hard boiled egg, black coffee (I actually enjoying black coffee now)

Lunch: chicken from last night, sweet potato chips made two days ago, salad with spinach, pea shoots, avocado, and romaine.

Dinner: coconut chicken curry from OMGPaleo blog, riced cauliflower with lime, cilantro, and scallions with avocado. So good!!!

Day 2

Well, I haven't quit or killed anyone yet. Today was hard because I woke up with a headache and a clogged ear. Luckily I had an appointment to get my ear flushed out. I felt much better once I could hear again and once I didn't feel lopsided anymore. The sugar withdrawal is tough and giving me cravings. I have a food trigger of 3pm because that is when I am hungry from lunch and also bored. That's typically when I give up a diet. I made it through today just by being swamped at work and by looking forward to the dinner I had planned. Tomorrow will be rough but it gets better after day three.

Food in my face today:
Breakfast- same as yesterday with some flaxseed added to the smoothie.

Lunch- leftover coconut chicken and broccoli with a salad of lettuce, spinach, peppers, pea shoots, and avocados.

Dinner- "Damn fine chicken" from the Nom Nom Paleo blog and roasted green beans. The chicken was really good. The green beans were frozen ones that I rolled.in olive oil and fish sauce and then put in the oven with the chicken. (Tip: if you want to get the smell of fish sauce off your hands, wash them with toothpaste and then soap.,)

Whole30: DAY1

Today was the beginning of thirty days of thoughtful eating. I feel ready to follow this through and ready to take on the challenge of analyzing food choices. Of course, it is only Day 1 and I typically quit diets at Day 3, thus all this talk about being dedicated is cheap at the moment. Check back in two days to see how much I really want to fight cravings and stick with it.

Food in my face today:
Breakfast - smoothie of banana, peaches, strawberries, grapes, cranberries, blueberries, orange juice, and spinach ( I know the Whole30 says smoothies are not good because you shouldn't drink your calories but, DAMN, I really love a good breakfast smoothie). One hard boiled egg yolk (my kid ate the white part so all I got was the yolk).

Lunch - salad of spinach, avocado, peppers, hard boiled egg, hamburger patty from last night's dinner, and cucumber. Raisin and almond trail mix. Apple. Black coffee (yuck! If I didn't mind a caffeine headache on top of sugar withdrawal then I would not be drinking black coffee).

Dinner - chicken with coconut breading, steamed broccoli, roasted sweet potato chips. Apple. Banana. (Only problem with dinner is that it took a long time to make and that was after work, shopping, and doing chores, so by the time I ate I was so hungry that I was seeing double).

So far so good.....

New Year, New Me!

This year I am ready to take the steps to finally button up some personal goals and get things finished to benefit myself.

First, I want to challenge my crappy way of eating and clean out my diet. I eat a somewhat good diet, usually, but I tend to rely on convenience foods when tired or hungry. I am going to do the Whole30 challenge for a month. It's thirty days of veggies, fruits, and protein. The goal is to change from processed foods that aren't closely related to their natural origins and go to foods that are whole and nutritious. It's not about weight, it's about eating good food and feeling healthy.

Second, I want to finish the house. We have trim and molding that been needing to be put up for ten years. Also there's some minor painting and finishing from the original renovations (10 years ago). It's that farty little stuff that always gets left for last. I would like to finish the house before it's time to start renovating again. I vow that the next house we move to will only require fresh paint to consider it finished. No renovating or rebuilding.

Third, I want to tighten my goat care program to make my goats stronger and healthier. I have had issues with kid growth and maintenance and I would like to do the work to get ahead of the issues this year. No more slacking.

That's the goals for 2015. Happy New Year!

Happy Fall!

You know, I hate when one of my favorite bloggers drops off the edge of the planet and stops posting. That always makes me so frustrated. Well, you can put me in the "lame-O blogger" category now because I dropped off the edge of the planet this summer. I am apparently not alone because when I checked in on some of my favorite blogs, most of them have not been updated in months either. Sounds like it was a busy summer for everyone then.

Updates on the farm:
The goats are all good. I have 5 right now.
1. Lucy, the 7 year old Alpine, had a buckling this spring. She did great and I just recently dried her off for the year. I probably won't breed her again this fall due to having a lot of younger girls to breed.

2. Figaro, the fluffy Angora wether, is doing well. He is ready for a shearing but I am too lazy to do it. He may not get shorn this fall. It sounds like a good idea now since the weather is pretty cold already and I am super lazy busy. I will probably curse his lack of shearing in a few months when he is a filthy fuzzball in the middle of winter.

3. Daisy, the 2 year old Saanen, is great too. She had twins this spring as a first freshener. Her udder was very nice but her teats are a little short. I dried her off early to save the hassle of working with small teats. I hope by her next freshening her udder will grown and she will have longer teats. She will be bred this fall to an Alpine buck.

4. Fiona, the 1 year old Alpine, is fine. She has stopped growing and is about half the size of a full-sized Alpine, even though her mom is a full-blooded Alpine and her dad was a purebred Oberhasli. Neither of them are small. I don't know if her lack of size is due to stunting from parasites (a common problem on my farm) or due to some genetic issue. She put on one heck of a nice looking precocious udder this summer, so I would like to breed her this fall and see how she does. I have a Nigerian Dwarf buck in mind for her. Hopefully the smaller size of Nigerian kids will be easy on her for birthing with her size issues.

5. Alice, the 6 month old Alpine, is well.... Alice. She's noisy and not very smart but endearing, none the less. She's a huge 6 month old and I am contemplating breeding her to a Nigerian buck to see how she does. She's bigger now than Fiona, who is 1 year older than her. Alice also put on a nice precocious udder this summer. In spite of precocious udders being a weird phenomenon, it is kind of nice to see what a  goat's udder will look like before going through the hassle of breeding and kidding.

Winter is coming and we are all hoping for a long fall to ease us into the snow and cold.

Everyone Needs A Wether!

I never, ever thought I would be a person who would keep a neutered male goat for any reason. I always considered myself very utilitarian and don't have much love for animals without a very specific function or use. Wethers always seemed so pointless to me. Neutered males can't make babies and they don't give milk. They hang out, take up space, and eat with no return on the investment. The best option for them was butchering and eating them. At least then you would get a few meals out of them.

Fast forward to now and I find myself having had a wether for 4 years! I have one Angora wether. At first I kept him for his fleece but now I keep him because every farm needs a wether! Wethers are great additions to any production herd. My other goats are dairy females that I breed every year to get milk. The girls earn their keep with their milk. My wether earns his keep by being a great companion to my girls. He gets along with all the does, regardless of their herd status. He doesn't bother the kids who like to jump on him and chew on his fur. He always loves to meet new people and comes with me to various public events. I have taken him to parades before and I always get a kick when people say I have a "funny looking sheep". My wether will always have a home in my herd. He's a good boy and doesn't cause any problems. I love that he can be put with any of the females or kids and I know they are in good hands. He is a great buddy to any bucks I have kept. My wether is always on call to be a friend to does and bucks alike.

Wethers may seem kind of useless but a well-behave boy can be worth his weight in gold and pay you back with the joy he brings to your daily routine.