Month: January 2019

A Whole 30 Super Bowl Party

If ever there was an oxymoron, Whole 30 Super Bowl Party is it! This happens to me every year – I start my Whole 30 right after my birthday, which is mid-January – and this puts me smack dab in the middle of my Whole 30 when Super Bowl time comes around.

The Super Bowl has been a big deal in my house for a long time because of the food. My kids talk about this meal all year long. This is our menu when I’m not doing Whole 30:

  1. Meatballs with marinara (recipe in my book)
  2. Mozzarella Sticks
  3. Chicken Wings – both Teriyaki and Buffalo
  4. Veggie Tray with homemade Ranch Dressing
  5. Plantain chips with Queso Dip (recipe in my book)

I admit that my favorite food on that list is the mozzarella sticks. Since there is no dairy allowed on Whole 30, those are out, as is the queso dip. But all the rest are a-okay!

And it’s really a feast! There is no reason for any of us to feel deprived. Chicken wings, lots of veggies with ranch, meatballs! I think that’s a hearty meal. I will probably add a tray of cheese and crackers for my family (because that won’t tempt me, but I cannot refuse mozzarella sticks!).

Alternatively, if you don’t want an all appetizer meal, you could make a Chili feast. I have a brand new White Chicken Chili recipe that is great in the Instant Pot and a traditional tomato based chili. You could set out all sorts of toppings and let your family and guests dress up their bowl just how they like it.

White Chicken Chili

P.S. Just in case you’re not super into football and have no idea when the big game is occurring, but you are into food and are always up for a party, the Super Bowl is being played on February 3rd at 6:30 PM this year. You’re welcome. šŸ˜Š

Don’t they look amazing? They really are, if I do say so myself! So, obviously these are not paleo, but they are gluten free and primal (paleo with dairy).

P.P.S. You can bet I will be whipping up a batch of the Mozzarella Sticks as soon as I’ve reintroduced dairy to my diet!

Updates from Our Paleo Family


Itā€™s been over three years since I started this blog. I can hardly believe it. I remember sitting at my kitchen island writing the About Me page when my husband came up behind me and asked what I was doing. I had woken up that morning with such a burden on my heart to share my health story. I had suffered for such a long time simply because I did not know that diet and lifestyle changes made any difference in my health.

After living on the Paleo diet for a few years and experiencing the freedom that came with good health, I knew I had to share. Thatā€™s why I started this blog. That, plus the fact that I love to cook and I love to eat and I knew that if I could make food that would satisfy my own picky tastebuds, I could make food that needed to be shared. 

To be completely honest, this hasnā€™t always been easy. If I want to actually make some money with this website, I need to spend a lot of time on social media. I donā€™t want to do that for two reasons:

1. It doesnā€™t feel genuine to me. I donā€™t enjoy being on social media personally and every time I work on Facebook or Instagram, I feel like Iā€™m not being true to myself. And

2. I donā€™t want my kids to see me spending my time that way. They are my biggest and most important audience. I know what social media is doing to the adolescents these days and I want to protect my kids from that as much as I am able. (For what’s it’s worth – I have a 12 and a 14 year old. Neither has a cell phone. Yet they have plenty of friends whom they see almost daily and they have the ability to look someone in the eye and have a conversation. So it is possible.)

All that to say, I havenā€™t put the time and effort into making this blog a business. I realize that if I were to spend a lot of time marketing myself on social media, I could have thousands of followers and friends in the internet world, which would translate into reaching more people with this message and contributing to my family budget.

Because all of that marketing and social media stuff (technical term) feels very icky (another technical term) to me, I sought out another avenue for sharing this information. That led me to the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy. Youā€™ve probably heard me talk about that a few times this past year. Iā€™m finishing up my year-long health coach training at the end of this month and am so excited to begin coaching. My hope is that I will really be able to go deep with each and every client, addressing their concerns specifically, rather than throwing information out on the internet and hoping it strikes a chord with someone. Anyone.

I would be disingenuous if I didnā€™t also mention the financial aspect of this. Running the blog is actually pretty expensive. And those kids whom Iā€™m trying to influence positively, will hopefully be heading off to college in a few short years. Even though my husband and I have been saving faithfully for that day since they were born, we will have a shortfall when the time comes. (Unless the colleges all of a sudden decide to charge a reasonable price, which I doubt is going to happen!) So my hope is that this new coaching gig will tick all the boxes:

  • share my message and the knowledge Iā€™ve acquired with more people
  • help support my family financially

This blog isnā€™t going anywhere. I still have my messy, food-splattered recipe notebook by my side jotting down recipe ideas and tweaking ones Iā€™ve been working on for a while. I will continue to post recipes for you as regularly as I can. I will continue to bring you educational content and updates on how my family is making all of this work day in, day out. BUT – you knew there had to be a but, right? I canā€™t promise any sort of regularity to my postings. I am really up to my eyeballs in coursework, studying for the international certification exam, coaching clients, setting up all the business aspects of this venture, in addition to my regular duties as wife, mom, teacher and friend.Ā 

I so appreciate your support of this blog. Thank you for reading, for sharing the recipes, for commenting, for watching the associated YouTube videos. All of that stuff helps because when you watch, read or share, it helps others see this content and genuinely, that is my motivation. I donā€™t want anyone to suffer like I did.

If youā€™re in a place where youā€™re feeling stuck or maybe you just need a little motivation or accountability, you would be a good candidate for health coaching. I like to say, ā€œA health coach can help you change when change is hard.ā€ Itā€™s really that simple. Except when it isnā€™t and we can go there too. 

For health coaching, you can reach out to me through email: elizabeth@totalwellnesshealthcoaching.com

phone: 919-622-5003

or through my website: totalwellnesshealthcoaching.com

The website is still under construction – that’s a lot of what has me up to my eyeballs right now! But feel free to pop over there and let me know what you think of my home page design. There is a pretty picture there with my logo and phone number, but no real content yet. For now, if youā€™re interested in coaching, just call, text or email and weā€™ll go from there.

But waitā€¦thereā€™s more! Just today I published a Keto Instant Pot recipe that is so easy and delicious – Spaghetti Squash Mac and Cheese! So see, I will still be publishing recipes and videos as regularly as I can.Ā 

There are blogs I read that post every single day. I just canā€™t do that. But I do still care about you and I want you to be well. As always, Iā€™m here for questions, suggestions, and comments. 

I wish you all well. Please check back often for new recipes and other fun stuff.Ā 

P.S. I would be remiss if I did not mention Beautycounter. I am still working with them as a sales rep. It’s not my main gig by any means, but after a full year with the company, I can honestly say I have more respect for the company and more love for the products than ever. If you have yet to start cleaning up your personal care products, I’d love to talk with you about how Beautycounter can fit into that plan. The products are beautiful, clean and work well. I’ve had to put this side business a little further to the side for now while I get my health coaching business up and running, but it’s still an important part of my life. You can find my personal Beautycounter website here. They have a really great promotion going on right now. See below.

Click here and then scroll down to see the free gift offer.

Happy New Year!

I hope your 2018 ended on a high note. And if last year was not all you hoped it would be, I pray your 2019 will be better.

Many people like to start the new year with some sort of detox or elimination diet. I find this interesting because I fully believe your body tells you what it needs – we just don’t always listen! Believe it or not, I often crave vegetables, especially after traveling, when I tend to eat fewer green things than normal. So the fact that many people crave a cleaner diet at the beginning of the year, simply indicates that your body has had enough of the over-indulgent foods of the holiday season (raise your hand if you ate too many sausage balls over Christmas šŸ¤š).

Because January is birthday season in my house, we tend to start our elimination diets in February, but for those of you who want to clean house now, I have lots of resources for you.

My very favorite detox or elimination diet is the Whole 30. It’s a way to clean house, nutritionally speaking, and then slowly add back in what you’ve taken out and see if you note any correlations between specific foods or beverages and symptoms.

Many people report that they didn’t even realize how awful they were feeling until they started feeling so good.

And you get to eat yummy food like this…yes, this Chicken Pot Pie is Paleo and totally Whole 30 compliant.


The Whole 30 website gives you all the information you need to start the elimination diet. There is nothing magical about starting January 1st, so don’t worry if you’re not ready to start until the 15th or even later. Or join me in February. I’d love the company!

Back in the fall of 2016, I created a full month of Whole 30 meal plans AND I made a YouTube video of each and every dinner preparation. Once getting to my channel, simply type “Whole 30” into the YouTube search bar and you’ll find all my Whole 30 compliant recipe videos. Each video will have a link to the recipe writeup on the blog.

You can find each weekly meal plan at the following links:

Whole 30 week 1 Meal Plan 

Whole 30 week 2 Meal Plan

Whole 30 week 3 Meal Plan

Whole 30 week 4 Meal Plan

Whole 30 week 5 Meal Planh
Each weekly meal plan is a printable PDF like this:

(The pink links are recipes available on this website and the blue links are recipes that can be found in my e-book.)

I’ve been through this thing many times, some more successfully than others, so I can offer lots of support and guidance. Please reach out if you have questions.

And speaking of support and guidance…my health coaching business is now up and running. My website is still in the works, but I am legally able to coach you using functional medicine principles. If you’re interested in having a personal coach walk you through your Whole 30, please reach out. I’d love the opportunity! You can email me at

elizabeth@totalwellnesshealthcoaching.com

A health coach can help you achieve your health and wellness goals. A lot of people know what they need to do, they just lack the support or motivation to achieve their goals. Some people are so full of information, they don’t know where to start. A health coach can help with all those things. I’d really love to work with you!

Thanks for visiting my little corner of the interwebs. Your support and friendship mean more to me than you could know. I wish you all the best in 2019. Check back often for lots of new information and great recipes!