whole 30 days.

we're on day 28!

my super supportive fabulous cori always brings

me treats and words of paleo encouragement.

i'm really trying. trying really hard.

a beast omelette like this makes me feel like...

i'm a beast.

smashed chicken & cauliflower rice with veggies 

have been my favorite go-to meal this time around whole 30.

supper clubs with friends have been clutch.

nothing like spending quality time with your

besties & preparing hearty clean food!

a nice table setting makes the food taste better too!

coconut curry chicken stew. 

supper club lovers.

b & k, slim, tj, heather & mike.

falcon fueled smoothie.

this was our falcons playoff game spread.

didn't even miss the chips and beer.....

2nd whole 30.

slim & i are doing another whole 30.

if you were reading this blog last year at this time you'll remember

how this space went completely paleo crazy. 

this year, as a bonus, my pals are doing the whole 30 too.

cfsq is starting on january 7, so we're about to have a huge group

of paleo people to party with. hello whole 30 supper club! 

interested in a paleo lifestyle or doing a whole 30?

whole9life.com is an excellent resources.

my birthday boy

happy birthday, jimbo!

lil' slim celebrating a birthday 30ish years ago.

and slim celebrating today!

i gave slim a nom nom paleo feast mode shirt

and moma & jack got slim a beautiful matisse piece.

we went  to urban pl8 for dinner....

good friends, delicious paleo friendly foods & m&ms.

we shared a paleo margarita & cocoa pudding.

the birthday boy, me & jared.

dehydrate it.

i scored a dehydrated for slim off amazon.

it was supposed to be a birthday present...

but i am my fathers daughter & cannot wait to give presents.

our first batch was farm fresh & local beef jerky.

it was a bit chewy, but we're learning as we go!

the next (and best) were big costco pears.

slim added a bit of lemon juice & 9 hours later....

the perfect snack & trail mix sweetener!

buttercream.

lea, my mom & i are taking a cake decorating class

at our local michael's craft store.

it's every monday night for the month of february.

the first class was really fun. the people watching was the best part.

here's lea with our decorating basics student kit.

it has everything you need to make fabulousness!

this is sweet joann, our instructor mixing buttercream icing.

joann is so nice. she loves cake decorating and 

has the sweetest laugh and i just love her!

i got my frosting bag all set up with the thingy and the tip.

checkout all those fancy tips!

hey lea, nice tip.

here's my mom and her pal ann marie.

they're so funny together- they also talk like kids throughout class...

i had to hush them a few times.

checkout mom's readers....cute.

definitely not paleo.

here's my practice page- not too shabby!

home girl over there was watching lea like a hawk.

keep the peace & the paleo and walk on.

this was the icing on my class cake.

 here's miss dani, she reallllllllly liked the icing.

* thank goodness my phone has zoom!

slim had a delicious dinner waiting for me when i got home!

salmon and roasted asparagus & butternut squash.

thanks, slim- you're the best... and so handsome. 

day 21.

we're way past half-way in our whole30 challenge. 

we had a clinical team potluck at work.

that's a milkyway cake- bottom left, peggy said it had 6 whole

milkyway candy bars in it. it's s a bit hard not to indulge 

when everyone around you is, but it felt so good to pass it up!

thankfully, there was a ton of foods that were paleo-friendly:

fruit salad, fresh veggies and ina made a badass salad with chicken,

avocado, sweet potato chips, cashews and homemade vinaigrette (w/ no added sugar)

white oak pastures.

welcome to my first guest blogger: JIM HUNT!

jim is a 31 year old pisces who loves dogs, reading, running,

cooking & most of all- being married to mollybjams.

Wow. It is an honor and privilege to share my take on consuming meat with the worldwide following of Puddles of Jam. 

When purchasing meat you basically have 3 options:

1. Buy the cheapest, which I will refer to as industrial or factory farmed.

2. Buy meat labeled "all natural", "organic", "free range", "grass fed", etc. from the store.

3. Buy truly free range (pastured) poultry or grass fed beef directly from a farmer. 

A number of factors will play a role in which of these options you choose. Most likely they will be cost and availability. There is no doubt that the first option above is going to be the "cheapest". In fact, my understanding is that at one time, eating meat was considered a luxury for the rich or well off. Today's industrial food production certainly makes eating meat more affordable. The problem is that "cheap meat" actually comes at a very high price when you consider animal welfare, and the impact on the environment. Industrial agriculture is one of the largest contributors to environmental pollution. It is pretty easy to make a case for going vegetarian if you do some reading about our food system. However, in my opinion it does not have to be "all or nothing". Choosing the second option above is certainly better than the first as any cow or chicken raised organically would never survive without anti-biotics in a "traditional" factory farm environment. The crowded conditions on factory farms are why anti-biotics must be given to prevent widespread illness and disease. While better than option 1, the biggest problem with option 2 is that there is relatively little regulation in terms of using words like "all natural", "cage free", "free range" etc. when marketing a product. Also, just because an animal is not given hormones or anti-biotics, and is fed an organic diet does NOT mean they lived in anything close to their natural environment. This brings me to option 3. This is the ideal. In my opinion this is as good as it gets, and White Oak Pastures is second to none when it comes to animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and producing a superior product in terms of being good for our health and tasting great. 
Oh yeah, they're local too! 

Atlanta area Whole Foods stores get their grass-fed beef and some of their poultry from White Oak Pastures. The catch is that it is obviously more expensive (although $2-$3/lb  cheaper if you buy it directly from them instead of from Whole Foods). Because of the higher cost, it may not be practical for most of us to eat all of our meat from a place like White Oak Pastures. For most people I know, money is as tight right now as it has ever been. But again, I don't think it has be be all or nothing. Maybe we should cut back on our meat consumption and make it a treat just 2 or 3 times a week. Maybe we eat from options 2 or 3 as much as possible knowing that there will still be times when our budget only allows for what is on sale at the Piggly Wiggly. Maybe you choose to go vegetarian (but keep in mind that unless you are going vegan, there are still the 3 options above to choose from when it comes to milk, eggs, cheese, etc.). This is already the longest Puddles of Jam post of all time, so I am just going to provide a link to a 15 minute long video about White Oak Pastures. I think you will see why Molly and I are going to try to save a little more each month to put toward our grocery budget so we can continue to order from them. If you are still reading, thanks :-). Molly can tell you that I would LOVE to talk with you further about this subject. 

Check out the picture of our shipment as well as the following video:

CUD from Joe York on Vimeo.

   cud.

our white oak pastures special delivery!

 our new freezer!

$75 bucks off craigslist- buy local!

day 7.

we've gone a whole week on our whole30 challenge.

here's a few pics of what we've been eating...

berries sprinkled w/ cinnamon and walnut & almonds

make for a perfect mid-day snack.

brocoli, onion and fresh picked radishes roasted.

chicken breast, sweet potato & veggies-

perfect post cfsq workout dinner.

baked chicken & beans.

mom had us over for brisket & roasted root veggies.

we used coconut oil so much....

we should buy stock.

*this lady @ whole foods told me that coconut oil is basically the same thing their using 

in alzheimer's medication trials...i think she was a lil nutty, but very interesting..

stuffed peppers.

cut open stuffed peppers- not as cute 

when you actually have to eat them, but so tasty.

fabulous cori brought us a persimmon- 

so tropical and delicious and tangy!

turkey burger with zucchini latkes & veggies.

coconut milk, banana, kiwi, spinach, raspberry

smoothie with slivered almonds & cinnamon.

my fav: roasted root vegetables.

hamburger w/ toppings... don't even miss the bun!

cave girl shopping cart.

green beans & pearl onions & tj's 21 seasonings.

crock-pot chicken soup w/ parsnips & carrots & onions & thyme. 

everything taste better out of our molly & jim bowls:)

23 more days to go!