day twenty-six | whole thirty

Hello beautiful humans!

It’s day 26 on my Whole30–26!

I can’t believe it.  If you can’t tell, my spirits are high and my energy is THROUGH THE ROOF! (I challenge you to count the number of exclamation points in this post… *wink*)

Here is a recap of the last few weeks, plus a delicious omelette…

chocolate banana chia pudding

Another recipe video say what?? That’s right!  I got down and dirty (in cacao powder) on snapchat the other night to bring you another video recipe!  This one features my favorite dessert/sweet tooth diet saver: Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding.  Some people do not like the texture of chia seeds in the pudding and to that I say BLEND IT!  That’s right!  Just blend/process the pudding to make a smoother, more pudding-like texture.  Personally, I like the gel texture of the chia seeds.  It is part of the reason I love chia puddings, but to each their own.

breaking news: my oats are back

My oats are back and I couldn’t be happier!  Exaggeration?  Yeah, right.  Well, first off, I was very indecisive this morning, so I took my dilemma to snapchat {@emvalerioti}, “Oats or Eggs for my b-fast?”  The polls came rolling in and you all said oats!  I probably would have made oats anyway.  Does anyone else do this?  You think you are indecisive on something, then ask around or flip a coin and you are unhappy with the result and go the other direction?  I do this constantly.  Eh, that’s okay because it brings me to a decision doesn’t it?  Anyway… this morning I made an old staple: Apples & Cinnamon Oats.

paleo coconut brownies

Oooohhh baby!  Summer is finally here and for once I am NOT taking summer classes!  It has been a long four years of endless schooling, and although I am not graduating for another year-ish (hello two and a half degrees), this summer is just me, myself and I going on adventures and discovering more about myself.  I am beyond psyched.  I am not gonna lie, despite my awesome class schedule this past semester, my world around me seemed to crumble.  Then I realized I was being a tad too dramatic and letting depression creep back to the surface of my being.  Whoa!  Deep for a post entitled Paleo Coconut Brownies I know, my apologies.  So, let me get back to this bomb recipe because it really does deserve a spotlight.  I will do separate posts about my severe semester slump, including the saga of my pretty much weekly trips to doctor’s offices and all the labs I’m having to do. *Spoiler: still no answers to why my body is flipping out.*  To be continued… BUT read on for delish Paleo Coconut Brownies because chocolate fixes everything, right?

cinco de mayo shrimp tacos

In case you missed it last night on my snapchat (@emvalerioti), I made my first video recipe: Shrimp Tacos for Cinco de Mayo!  It’s definitely janky being my first video, and it was recorded on my snap and not a high end camera… BUT it was über fun to make!  I enjoyed it and I got fabulous feedback from everyone, so thanks y’all!  Here are the snips compiled together with the recipe below!  

day twenty-seven, -eight & -nine | fueled up

Happy Friday everyone!  Boy, was it a good great week!  The final week of my Whole30 and I honestly feel on top of the world.  My food has been in control.  I have learned what works for me.  I have my “sugar dragon” under control.  It is pretty amazing, but I will go into further detail in my final Whole30 summary post this weekend—so stay tuned.  As for this week, I’m focusing on my meals, workouts, and recovery sessions.

day twenty-six | foodie flow

Just four more days!  Four.  That’s it!  I keep saying that this whole Whole30/Paleo thing is just natural to me now.  I guess that’s why it’s more of a lifestyle than a diet.  It just flows well, I have never been hungry, my sleep has improved drastically, my energy levels (did I also mention that this month I cut coffee???)…

day twenty-four & -five | food glorious food

The days are just flying by now.  I honestly cannot keep up!  Yesterday was meal prep day, whoop!  The usual.  I cooked and caught up on household chores, homework, and studying.  Oh—and watched the Broncos lead the way into the Superbowl (while working on mobility, course)!  Pictured above was my Sunday, yumday breakfast which consisted of 

day nineteen | bacon egg breakfast cups

Remember me raving about meal prep day yesterday?  Well here is one of those recipes that is totally saving me this week, Bacon Egg Breakfast Cups.  It was my first day back to classes after winter break and my schedule was hectic all day.  The only solace I had was knowing that on my hour meal breaks that I already had some delicious food waiting for me at home.  

day seventeen | inner strength

Strength has always been something of value to me.  Strength of the body was always a given, it wasn’t until last year that I really was able to develop strength of the mind.  I have such an appreciation for a strong mind.  It has surely improved my life—in every aspect there is.  The Whole30 definitely challenges and strengthens the mind.  Day seventeen and I feel so powerful and finally in control of my food choices and eating habits.