Whole30: Day 8, and the time I had to detox my cat

Kimmy loves to creep up on me, and sleep on my head

Ok – a serious story for your Monday evening, an allegory if you will. I have a cat named Ola Kimmy. I got her from a friend of my sisters (I can hardly say no to an animal) and she’s a very small cat. So small that we misjudged her age and didn’t get her fixed in time. So I also have three of Kimmy’s children (all are spayed now).

Kimmy is kind of an annoying cat. She meows a lot and is pretty creepy – like I’ll suddenly turn around in my house to find her perched on top of something staring at me. One day, however, Kimmy’s behavior became more erratic and weird than usual. She started meowing louder and more frequently, really more like a scream. Soon she stopped eating her cat food and got really, really skinny. She got a wild look in her eye. Then I kept finding her hiding behind a large fruit basket on our counter (cats on the counter are a big no-no in our house).

One day, when I went to shoo her off of the counter, I noticed lots of aluminum wrappers strewn about where she had been perched. They were empty and crinkled and I rolled my eyes at how nasty my husband was for leaving candy wrappers on the counter when the trashcan is two feet away. The next day, Kimmy is back on the counter in the same spot and this time, when I approached her, I could see that SHE was actually eating something in an aluminum wrapper – old Easter chocolate, forgotten about in the bottom of our fruit basket. I shood her away, cleaned up her mess, and googled what happens to cats who eat chocolate.

The trash my husband got blamed for

Busted

 

Basically, chocolate is like meth for cats. It causes irritability, excitability, weight loss (due to refusal to eat cat food) or weight gain (if they eat too much), seizures, and possibly even death. So I removed all chocolate from open areas of the house and set about detoxing my drug-head cat. The first couple of days were difficult. She wouldn’t eat and just screamed a whole bunch. I finally got her to eat a little canned food (not what they typically get) and within a week, she was back to eating her normal stuff and drinking water. Within a couple of weeks, she had gotten back to a healthy looking weight and became more calm and quieter. Now, she’s back to her normal, slightly irritating old self again.

My sisters still refer to her as Crackhead Kimmy behind her back but Kitty Detox was a serious business in our house for a few weeks. But really, Kimmy’s story can teach us the importance of thinking about what we put in our bodies and noticing the effects. Since starting Whole30, I can’t pass up reading a label and I’m truly horrified that most of what I used to consume isn’t even food. My new mantra for food ingredients is this: If you can’t pronounce it and have never seen it, don’t eat it. We really have to start thinking about what we consume.

My sweet Ola Kimmy, back to normal again:)

And to do that, here’s a list of the ten most common “food” additives and the harmful affects they have on our bodies:

http://rense.com/general86/ppos.htm

P.S. I know you guys are probably picking up the phone to call animal protective services right now, but I also had another food emergency when my dog ate half a pack of Oreos. The vet assured me that she may have diarrhea but would otherwise be fine because Oreos actually don’t have much chocolate in them at all. In fact, chocolate and cocoa are pretty far down on the list of ingredients – behind HFCS, of course.

TL;DR: I detoxed my addict cat and here’s what we ate today:

Sarah:

B – scrambled egg bake with spinach and sausage
L – t was a fridge cleaning-out day so – leftover taco mix and cauliflower, burnt okra, and half an apple (I shared one with Tom, who joined me for lunch today)
D – turkey meatloaf minis and mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and a little almond milk
S – a handful of nuts, boiled egg, and 2-3 homemade apple chips

Lindsey:

B – banana
L – salad greens w/ carrots and honeydew slices
D – pork sausage
S – grapefruit, 2 boiled eggs

Caitlin:

B – banana, walnuts, and almond milk ( i cant stop!) l
L – leftover almond breaded chicken strips with sweet potato fries and paleo ketchup
D – paleo shepards pie
S – dried fruit and an orange

SALICA

Whole30: Day 7, or Self-Deprecating Sunday

So, I woke this morning to the following text from my mother: “You need to put some hideous photos on your blog. Otherwise folks won’t follow you.” Taking this advice into consideration, and after checking with my sisters first, we’ve decided that today’s blog would be entitled “Self-deprecating Sunday.”

Or, as Sarah, suggested, “No Shower Sunday.” In other words, don’t be fooled by the carefully selected photographs on our About page or opening blog. When it comes to weekends, we compete with each other on who can last the longest without a shower. Gross, I know. But the truth is, I’m writing this now still in my pajamas and my car hasn’t moved in three days. I can’t even tell you where a brush is in my house.

So to celebrate ONE WEEK of Whole30, I present to you what each of us ate today and “hideous” pictures of us eating!

Sarah

Sarah and I both teach college-level courses. Those courses start tomorrow, which means we spent the better part of today finishing syllabi.  Here’s Sarah snacking on strawberries while working. Sarah also has a four-year-old daughter, who happily offered an audience (featured around the laptop) for her to bounce ideas off of.

Sarah:

B – two eggs over hard, two locally made sausage patties (to die for)
L – spinach salad with strawberries, roasted pecans, and balsamic vinegar; dried fig
D – gr. beef, onion, bell pepper, and zucchini sautéed with chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne, cumin, and natural sea salt, served over roasted cauliflower (we were craving tacos)
S – handful of nuts and raisins; strawberries; cherry tomatoes

If they finish in time I might have a couple of the cinnamon apple chips I’m (read: Tom) making.

Note: I feel amazing!!! (finally)

Lindsey

I try to make a habit of no makeup or hair brushing during the weekends (who am I kidding? there are lots of days when I don’t brush my hair) and thankfully I have the kind of husband who comes in from fishing and cooks a delicious lunch for me anyways!

Lindsey:

B – Naval orange
L – Two fried eggs and BACON! (Thanks, HUBS!)
D – Two hamburger patties, burnt okra, baked asparagus, and fruit salad (strawberries, blueberries, and grapes)
S – Cucumber slices, almond milk, banana slices, and almond slices

Caitlin

By far, Caitlin takes the best/worst food pictures.  She actually loves to send us ugly pictures all the time – perhaps I’ll share a few in a later post. Here she is enjoying her lettuce wrap from lunch. In addition to all the texts we’ve been sharing about what we’re eating, we’ve also enjoyed hearing about what her new cat, Finn, is eating…now that he is eating.  Cait got a really sweet deal this week when she fell in love and adopted Finn on Free Adoption Day at our local shelter. The very next day sweet Finn stopped eating and after a very expensive over-night stay at the vet, started getting treatments for a respiratory infection and ulcers.  So much for a FREE adoption, right? But we are all happy to learn that Finn has been nursed back to ok health and is scarfing down everything in site.

Caitlin:

B – bacon and an orange
L – lettuce wrap with cracked pepper turkey, peppers, onions, oil & vinegar dried fruit
D – breaded (with almond flour) buffalo chicken salad with celery and carrots
S – orange, almond milk, banana, almonds, all natural fruit roll

So, there you have it. A typical, no-shower Sunday for the Paleo Sisters. Oh, and one more thing…

Cait asked me to share this adorbs pic of her kitty, Finn, sharing a cozy bed with big sis, Messi:)

SALICA

Whole30: Day 6

Saturday August 24th

Sarah:

B -Egg scramble with spinach and leftover cilantro turkey burger
L – Red leaf salad with grapes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, radishes, and chicken
D – Baked buffalo wings (see recipe below) with roasted brussel sprouts
S – Cantaloupe and handful of nuts and raisins, almond milk, nuts, and banana

Sarah’s Paleo buffalo wings: mix equal parts coconut oil and Franks red hot sauce; add garlic powder and ground red pepper to taste; mix in bowl and add the chickies. Coat and baked at 320 for 40 min or as our grandmother says, “until done.” WARNING: As Sarah discovered at dinner, coconut oil has a really low burn temp – keep an eye out of you’ll be eating in a smoke-filled room.

Lindsey:

B – Banana, 2 boiled eggs
L – Naval orange, Almond milk with apples and walnuts
D – Stir-fry Chicken (boneless, skinless breasts) with asparagus, eggs, and almonds on a bed of spinach and arugula; baked sweet potato chips; side of strawberries and blueberries (the husband LOVED this meal)

Lindsey’s delicious, non-paleo-husband-approved, dinner:)

Caitlin:

Brunch (she slept in today) – Fried egg over hard, 2 strips of bacon, zucchini hash browns, and an orange
D – Italian turkey sausage link with a cup of onions, green peppers, and red peppers
S – Banana, almond milk, and walnuts, naval orange (already soooo good in Florida right now!)

SALICA

Tip of the Day: Do you know how to peel a banana?

The Basics – Whole 9

As interesting as reading our daily food intake may be…if you want to get started with Paleo or a Whole30, go where we did first: Whole 9

They have TONS of resources and testimonials about how great this lifestyle is.  I actually signed up for the newsletter that I get emailed to me each day of my Whole30.  Definitely worth $15 – I get lots of of stories, tips (OMG, it’s the weekend! What to I do?), recipes, meal plans, and a ton of other information.  I also happened to buy the book on Amazon because I had a giftcard. That being said – you can TOTALLY do this without spending a dime on anything but fresh, healthy food.

Their guides and resources are wonderful.  Be sure to find and print the shopping list:)

SALICA

 

Whole30: Day 4

So…why are we doing Whole30? Apart from providing support to each other? Mostly, each of us if doing this for weight loss – we are a vain, vain people. However, there have been significant other changes that we’ve noticed – more energy, clearer skin, a difference in body composition, etc. etc. Here’s a pretty good article about 15 Benefits of the Paleo Diet.

When I started preparing for Paleo, I read A LOT!  I am especially interested in the success stories.  I can’t believe the number of people who have reported having serious medical ailments that were improved after going Paleo – skin disorders, allergies, cholesterol, blood pressure, the list goes on.  Caitlin, who is a Cardiac Nurse, shared this article with us as well from a Heart surgeon who believes that instead of just doling out medications for high blood pressure and cholesterol, doctors should alert their patients to the benefits of clean eating.

Here’s what I specifically hope to get from Whole30 (besides dropping a few pounds):

I want to retrain the way I think about food. I love a good meal and love spending time planning my next fabulous meal of the day.  But I also realize that I did alot of mindless eating – that is, I didn’t pay attention to what I was eating or how it was fueling my body.  That’s the purpose of Whole30 – to help you stop the craving and really think about what your body needs from food.  One simple step I can take in the right direction – I will never eat anything again if I have no idea what it is.  Looked at an ingredients label lately? If you can’t pronounce it and have never seen it, you don’t need it.

Anyways, here’s what Day 4 looked like for the Paleo Sisters:

Thursday, August 22nd

Sarah:

B – Larabar
L – red pepper strips w/ ham wrapped round (no salt added), salad with spinach, radishes, carrots, cukes, and pecans
D – Italian Sausage with peppers and onion over roasted cauliflower
S – 5-6 cherry tomatoes, a cup of grapes, a handful of nuts, almond milk, strawberries and pecans

Lindsey:

B – Naval orange
L – Grapefruit (Note: I would typically never eat this little for lunch but got super busy at work…)
D – Spinach and arugula salad with strawberries and blueberries and lime juice, ground beef and fresh salsa
S – Almond milk, banana, and almonds (yum!)

Caitlin:

B – strawberries and grapes
L – 4oz steak with arugula, apple and walnut salad with lime juice.
D – one cup of buffalo chicken meatloaf
S – orange, Almond milk, peach, and almond slices

Welcome to Sister Paleo!

Sister Paleo is a blog about me – Lindsey, 29 – and my two sisters, Sarah, 33 and Caitlin, 23 – as we embark on the Paleo journey.  We started Paleo before I learned to blog so the first few posts will be catching you up to speed with where we are currently.  We are about as close as any human beings could possibly be and when Sarah, who has done Paleo in the past, proposed that we do a Whole30 together, we were all in.  Having sister support for this lifestyle change is amazing and we thought we would share our results, and recipes/meal plans with you (times three!) Here’s where we are:

Caitlin – On Day 12 (she got an early start to accommodate the most holy of weekends – the first FSU home game – Go Noles!)

Sarah – On Day 6

Lindsey – On Day 6

After just a few days on Whole30, each of us has decided to maintain a Paleo lifestyle – probably 80/20 with at least 2 Whole30s a year.  I’ll catch you up later with what we’ve been eating and experiencing, but thanks for visiting!

SALICA (the catchy acronym my parents created for SArah, LIndsey, CAitlin)

L-R: Sarah, Caitlin, and Lindsey