Whole30 | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

snapshots | 1.23.15.

23 January, 2015 by Gracie 13 Comments

Let’s catch up, shall we?

1) I’ve become obsessed with having flowers in the apartment as much as possible! They add so much…I dunno, happiness? Although I’ve learned that hydrangeas last all of about 2 days, boo.

2) Saturdays with my girl friends are pretty much the best ever. They’re a good reminder of how much I love living in NYC…you never know what to expect. Always an adventure.

3) That’s my goddaughter!!!!!! Her name is Nugget and she’s a Shiba Inu. Jessi and her husband Parker got her last week. I only met her once, but I’ve never loved a little creature more.

4) Oh ya know, just complaining about how cold it is. Give me 6 months and I’ll be complaining about how hot it is.

5) Just a little photo shoot prep. Whether I have a special someone or not, I always love Valentine’s Day.

6) So that sweater? I’ve had it for over a year, but apparently it got lost wayyyy in the back of one of my under-bed bins. Always fun digging up clothes you thought you lost, isn’t it? Oh, and I got a lot of questions about that lipstick - it’s Liv by Illamasqua.

7) Yep, I drank the SoulCycle Kool Aid. So fun, much sweat.

8) Early bird ticket sales end this month for She Is Free! If you’re a girl looking for an excuse to visit NYC, this is 100% it. Learn more about the conference at the She Is Free website.

9) Snapshot of my recent photo shoot with Samy Ruby. I love working with her. I also love being able to work from anywhere. In this case, Juice Press.

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I haven’t done a “what I’ve been eating” recap in a while, so here’s a little update.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve eating mostly Paleo-esque. By mostly I mean when I’m eating at home. When I’m out with friends I’m more flexible. Anyway, here are some of the meals I’ve had that I loved, in case you’re looking for some Paleo/Whole30 inspiration.

1) My version of Loaded Paleo Nachos, inspired by Lexi’s Clean Kitchen.

2) For something sweet - a combo of sliced banana, dates, almonds, coconut cream, and ground flax.

3) A veggie mix of roasted tomatoes, asparagus, and purple sweet potatoes (SO good) topped with fried eggs.

4) Bacon Wrapped Avocado Fries - a serious Pinterest WIN, you guys. Must try!

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Last but not least, some this’ and thats…

1) Check out my latest SheKnows Experts post! 4 Failproof Ways To Dress For Success.

2) If you’re a podcast listener like myself, here’s a great sermon - This May Take A While.

3) It’s that time of year where I start freaking out because I’ve seen barely any of the films nominated for the Oscars…and swear I’m going to see them…then never do. Thumbs down to me.

4) I’m on a gallery wall kick lately. First it was the living room, and now I’m finally making my shoebox sized bedroom a little more presentable.

(…and yes, I am a jewelry hoarder.)

5) Let’s hear it for the WEEKEND! I’ve got a fun one planned, and I’m going to remember to document it for a long overdue scenes from the weekend post.

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What are your plans for the weekend? Have you seen any of Oscar nominees for best film (if so, which should I definitely see?!)?

eats: easiest ever whipped coconut cream.

15 January, 2015 by Gracie 9 Comments

This trick for whipped coconut cream gets me every time. It’s SO easy and the result seems too good to be true. I think I first saw it on Pinterest, then was reminded of it via Katie and her killer vegan/sugar free recipes.

Not only is this stuff ridiculously good, but it’s also Paleo (Whole30 approved), vegan, and free of added sugar. Basically it’s healthy AF.

I posted this on Instagram the other day, but figured I should share it here as well.

Easiest Ever Whipped Coconut Cream

➳ put can of full fat coconut milk in fridge overnight
➳ the top part will thicken - scoop it out and leave the liquid
➳ you’ll be left with a thick coconut cream. beat or whip it for a lighter/smoother consistency
➳ use as frosting, a topping, or thin out with regular coconut milk for a yogurt-like breakfast like below

This beauty is (unseen) sliced banana topped with the coconut cream, warmed blueberries, ground flax and almonds.

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Have you tried this whipped coconut cream? What are some of the best tricks/hacks you’ve learned from Pinterest?

eats: bbq chicken sliders on sweet potato “buns” {and some thoughts on paleo}.

13 January, 2015 by Gracie 10 Comments

Over the past week or two I’ve been trying to get back on the healthy eating track. It wasn’t a New Year’s resolution per se, just a good old I ate 5 million too many Christmas cookies sort of thing.

It was a pretty simple decision to go back to eating Paleo since I had so much success (and loved!) doing the Whole30 challenge a few months ago. I’m not following it to the T again, but I’m sticking to Whole30 meals as much as I can.

And, I must say, that’s not very difficult when the meals look like this.

Those would be BBQ Shredded Chicken Sliders on sweet potato “buns.”

I definitely can’t take credit for this delicious creation - I followed this recipe for the BBQ chicken from Stupid Easy Paleo (using dates instead of honey), and I got the idea for the sweet potato buns from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen. Both are great resources for Paleo/Whole30 recipes.

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It’s been really interesting for me to eat more on the Paleo side because I’ve always been a die hard “everything in moderation” person (and I still am, to an extent). What I didn’t realize when I did the Whole30, though, is that how I choose to eat affects how I feel (physically and even mentally) more than I thought. So that’s why a Paleo style of eating is becoming more of my default. For now, at least 🙂

I will say though - I actually hate the word Paleo for some reason. I guess it screams “just another diet” to me, or something. I think I’ll start referring to it as “more real food,” or something like that…

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Do you consider the Paleo style of eating a diet? Are you “everything in moderation” or do you have certain foods you try to focus on/avoid?

here’s what | 11.23.14.

23 November, 2014 by Gracie 12 Comments

Sheesh, I haven’t done a life lately post in forever! So here’s what are some little things going on in this life I’ve met…

1. Might as well start with these goodies – Magic Cookie Bars that I made for our girls’ night last week. I followed this recipe but made them gluten free by using gluten free graham crackers.

2. Speaking of gluten free, the other day when I was running around the city for errands/meetings, I treated myself to a nice sit down lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. I got the ricotta & prosciutto tartine on gluten free crisps, along with a macaroon for dessert. Since going off Whole30 I’ve been trying to at least stay gluten free (as well as sugar free), just because like every other person in the world it’s been engrained in my mind that gluten is the devil. Or whatever.

3. SPEAKING of Whole30 (like my segues so far?), as expected I’ve slowly but surely let my diet go back to (mostly) crap. I’m going easy on myself because HI I’m human and it’s basically the holiday season now, but I still want to clean things back up a bit again. I’ve failed miserably at keeping track of my meals on Tumblr, but I’m really going to do it this time. Hold me accountable, y’all!

4. Since Whole30 I HAVE been getting my booty back to the gym, though, and it’s felt great. I’m planning on getting a new routine from a trainer soon, which I’m really looking forward to. A girl can only climb 45 minutes worth of stairs leading nowhere for so long…

5. Lately I’ve been feeling a bit of a quarter-life crisis brewing. Is that normal? Please tell me it’s normal. Some days I wake up and I LOVE what I do. Love love love. But other days I feel discontent – like there’s something else/more that I should be doing. I don’t feel it strong enough to change anything (like I said – most of the time I’m very happy with what I do), but it’s still something I want pray about in keep in the back of my mind.

6. The only thing worse than falling down the stairs is falling up the stairs. And the only thing more embarrassing than falling up the stairs is doing so in front of your neighbor. Not that I’d know, or anything.

7. My love/hate relationship with Snapchat has been leaning toward lovin’ lately. It’s such a fun way to keep in touch with people without the pressure of responding to texts all day (no offense). Plus I like to use it to whine about really important things like being cold and not brushing my hair.

(Be my friend @alagracie! But keep it PG, por favor ;))

8. I’m that person who plays songs over and over and over again when I really love them. And thanks to Hype Machine (and Martina for introducing me to it), that has been happening a lot lately. I’m especially going loco over this Weekend remix. (p.s. I have a new playlist coming your way this week!)

9. I think I might be officially outgrowing my “party” days. Of course I’ll always love fun nights out with my friends, but the idea of spending a Friday/Saturday night doing dinner and a movie is 1000% more appealing these days.

10. IT’S ALMOST THANKSGIVING!! AND CHRISTMAS!!! Anyone else excited to eat too much food and spend too much money? I’m kicking it off my buying myself a new MacBook in a few days. I’m on my 5th PC in less than 5 years, and it’s time…

But seriously. I am that girl that is a wee bit holiday obsessed, and I couldn’t be more excited for this next month.

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Will you be buying yourself any (early) Christmas gifts? What about the holidays are you most excited for?

wellness: whole30 week 3 update.

3 November, 2014 by Gracie 5 Comments

Helloooo from day 23 of Whole30! I can’t believe I’m so close to the end of the 30 day challenge. Here’s a recap of the past week.

{the food}

* You’ll notice I don’t have as many photos of my food as I usually do, which is something I definitely want to change for my last week. Even though I didn’t slip up, taking the photos of what I eat really helps me stay accountable and more on track (especially with avoiding mindless snacking).

* I planned my meals better this past week, which was an improvement from week two. I especially loved the buffalo chicken I made (using the Whole30 homemade mayo).

* I still ate out a few times and stuck to it 100%. On Wednesday I ate at a Mediterranean restaurant and had shrimp/chicken/steak skewers, and on Saturday I had shrimp fajitas topped with guacamole at my favorite Mexican restaurants.

{how I’ve been feeling}

I feel amazing! As I mentioned before, the mental/emotional clarity has been my favorite and most noticeable change throughout this challenge.

I must admit, though, this past week I felt more cravings than before. I’m a bit surprised by that because I thought I got those carb/sugar cravings out of my system, so I think it might be mostly mental.

This past week I also started noticing physical changes for the first time. I still haven’t weighed myself, but I notice a bit of fluff subsiding in my stomach area, as well as my clothes continuing to fit a bit looser.

{other thoughts/observations}

I haven’t mentioned this before (because I didn’t really make an “official” decision), but I haven’t been exercising much since starting Whole30. There were a few days where I almost went to the gym, but my body just wasn’t feeling it. I still walk a ton every day (and live on a 5th floor walk up, HELLO), but that’s been the majority of my activity. I’m going to continue with that throughout the rest of the challenge because I think it has really helped me to focus entirely on my eating. I’ll start incorporating more exercise again in the coming weeks.

more:
daily meals posted on my tumblr
week one update
week two update

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Do you have any questions about Whole30/my experience? Let me know – I’m happy to share!

eats: whole30 approved mayo + bang bang shrimp.

30 October, 2014 by Gracie 9 Comments

You guys. I have to make a PSA.

If doing the Whole30 challenge, you must make the homemade mayo from the Whole30 website.

It’s not the mayo you’re used to – it’s much creamier, milder, and can very easily be made into different sauces and dressings!

Before I even started Whole30, my friend Emily insisted that I made sure to make this mayo. My first time around was a complete failure because I used extra virgin olive oil (later seeing that that’s a no-no). It was disgusting.

BUT – when made correctly – it’s a game changer.

I used it in this bang bang shrimp, which you can find the recipe for here.