Temptation

Today was a normal day at work. Until we celebrated my boss' birthday. One of my coworkers had brought some cupcakes in from Dinkles Bakery. I knew she brought them in, even before the celebration, and that's when the struggle began. I knew I could eat one, I mean, I'm not doing the Whole30 challenge again until March. I can eat whatever I want, BUT will it benefit me? The struggle was already in my head, but then they cracked open the boxes with the cupcake in them & everyone took one. They asked me if I wanted one. I tried to say no, but then I thought that I *might* eat it, or even just half. So now the cupcake was on my desk! It was chocolate with chocolate frosting & everyone else was raving about their cupcakes. They all commented how good the frosting was & how the cake was so delicious. It sat on my desk for the whole party. I wasn't sure if I should eat it or not. Then everyone left & I was alone with the cupcake. BUT then I felt like an idiot eating this cupcake all by myself....so it sat on my desk a little longer as I struggled with what to do. I knew if I ate it, I would have the momentary sugar rush, I knew it WOULD be delicious, but I had already had some nuts & chocolate with my lunch. I didn't really NEED any more sugar or chocolate. I knew that it wouldn't help me reach my health or fitness goals. I ended up moving the cupcake from my desk & gave it to my coworker to take home to her daughter.

As soon as the cupcake was off my desk, I felt relief. The struggle was over, I had chosen not to eat it & I was happy. I knew that's what I wanted to do, but I knew it would be hard to give up that momentary pleasure. I had been reminding myself of what I really want, more than I wanted that cupcake. I was to be healthy & strong, I want to gain muscle, not fat. I want to get vitamins & minerals from my food, not sugar & empty calories. I want to eat with a purpose, to nourish myself & give my body the fuel it needs to get through my day. I don't want to eat mindlessly b/c that is what everyone else is doing. I don't need to have "fun" by eating junk, I get my fun in other ways. I have goals for myself, my health & my fitness that do not include being like everyone else. I want to see results from the work I'm doing and I won't get that by eating whatever is in front of me. Obviously I know that ONE cupcake won't ruin everything for me. It is FINE to eat a cupcake, there are no laws against it. However, one small slip can lead to another & then another and before you know it, you are right back to where you started. 

This applies to our spiritual life as well. Sure, we can do whatever we want, even things that are fun or pleasurable, but are they good for us? Will they nourish our souls? Will it please God & draw us closer to Him? I don't think so! Take a look at what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:12&13

^"12 Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims.

¹³ You know the old saying, “First you eat to live, and then you live to eat”? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that’s no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!"

WHOA, I added verse 13 in there too b/c I love that the Bible DOES talk about our bodies. That we are to take care of them & to use them to Honor our Creator. So, what do we do when temptation hits? Whether it be from food, alcohol, sex, or even just being pure lazy. I think we need to look at our greater goals & whether it would honor God or not. What I do with my body, what I think about, the use of my time; all of those things matter to God. He could use those things to further His kingdom or those things can be used to honor yourself & draw you further away from Him. As a Christian, I want to use my time, my talents & yes, even my body/health/fitness to honor Him & to be used by God to further His kingdom. 

First day Post-Whole30 Challenge & Paleo Pizza!

Today was my first day off of the challenge. This must have been a big deal to me because I have been dreaming about it for the past few nights! Two nights ago, I dreamt that I was making my paleo pizza (my first dinner planned post-Whole30) & then last night I was at a church function & there were only baked goods & potatoes to eat!! I chose some blue potatoes, but then when I was actually eating them, they were more like donuts. I found some strawberries, but they were all half eaten & rotten :( SAD!!

Anyways, enough about dreams, today I kept with my Whole30 routine. I had my sweet potato hash with eggs, had a few figs at church & had a salad at Jason's Deli for lunch. I went to the store & bought what I needed for my Paleo pizza tonight!

Paleo Pizza: This is the recipe I was following http://www.paleolithe.com/2012/04/17/primal-pizza-with-cheesy-cauliflower-crust/. I didn't have any other toppings than sauce & cheese, but that was fine, I was just excited to have pizza again! My two little helpers in the kitchen:

Here is the cheese & herbs that I started with. I added an egg and almond flour to it too:

This is the mixture with cauliflower added & rolled into a "dough"

Looks like a yummy crust, right?! 

C & A watching the pizza "dough" cook in the oven 

Here it is our of the oven, nice & brown! 

Now here is the pizza after I topped it with the sauce & cheese & popped it into the oven until the cheese melted.

So the verdict on the pizza....the reviews did say it was crumbly and mine was too, especially in the middle. The edges were nice & brown & that was the best part of the crust. I will say it did taste really good, the cheese & the garlic & herbs really made it yummy! I could detect a hint of cauliflower. Although I wonder if someone who didn't know it was made with cauliflower would taste it? 

So all in all, it was actually kind of a let down. I had really built up my first bite of pizza in a month in my  mind and then when I had it, it was not as special as I wanted it to be. Plus, I missed having protein & a heaping pile of veggies. I actually would rather have had that! I suppose if you added more toppings to the pizza, you wouldn't necessarily be missing out on those things, but since mine was just a cheese pizza, I did miss protein & veggies. 

For the last month, I've been craving really cheesy things & let me tell you, this was CHEESY!! And I wasn't all that impressed. I honestly didn't miss dairy that much apart from melting cheese as a topping, so to have it on the pizza & not really enjoy it was pretty crazy. 

I guess this just confirms to me that I would rather continue following the Whole30 program than be off of it. My husband even went out & got some brownie mix tonight for him & the kids and I'm not even tempted to eat a brownie. I WOULD be tempted by a square of dark chocolate, but not so much by a brownie. I have been enjoying the changes I've noticed in my body & in my energy and I don't want to compromise those things by going crazy off of the program.