Monday, February 24, 2014

Days 17-21: A Failed Recipe, a Delicious Success, and Some Minor Mistakes

Hello, hello!
Thanks for sticking with me guys! I know I have been a major slacker face lately. It's just that I'd rather sleep than write a post at midnight! Ha! But have no fear, I have returned and I have some stories for you.

Day 17: Major Fail

In my last post I told you to stay tuned because I would be trying out a fantastic looking new recipe. Well, I tried it, and in my opinion it wasn't all that fantastic. I hate to share a recipe that I didn't like, but here it is. I share it with you in hopes that you can find a way to make this recipe work, it looks so good! Pork loin, you really can't go wrong with it, right? Maybe if it had been roasted? I don't know, I had such high hopes for it. But it came out dry and just not all that exciting. It took me a few days to finish it off. Waste not, want not, right?
I did manage to make one delicious meal out of this failed recipe, however. I am a Carolina girl, and we like our vinegar based BBQ sauce, so I decided to make some! Here is the recipe I based it off of.  It was the most Paleo adaptable recipe I could find that sounded decent. I replaced the called for margarine with coconut oil and added red pepper flakes. Tasted good to me! This contained a small amount Worcestershire sauce, which after looking at the ingredients would probably not pass for Paleo, but I figured it was such a small amount, who cares? Good enough, right?? Here's my delicious dinner:



I just steamed the asparagus, and for the carrots I boiled them then tossed them with a little honey and balsamic vinegar. It was delicious!

Day 18: I Somehow Convince Tamara and Nikki To Go Paleo

We were at Tamara's house, having out usual Tonergy meeting, talking about how my challenge was going, when Nikki decides to start researching the details of Paleo more. Nikki found this great website, which I have found most helpful. Next thing I know, she and Tamara have decided to try it for a week!  It's supposed to start today (Monday) but we'll see if it happens. It's going to be such a stressful week for us, because we are filming a workout DVD this week (be excited people!!! Tonergy in your own home, it's all you've ever dreamed of!). I think they should wait until after. We'll see what they decided to do when I see them tomorrow. Still, exciting that they are willing to give it a go nonetheless!

Day 19: A Taste of Hawaii

For any of you who live in Cedar, you've likely heard of the restaurant A Taste of Hawaii. If you love this restaurant, I have some bad news for you...it's closing down shop, end of this month. This makes me so sad, because it is so delicious, and I can't really have one last meal there because they basically have no Paleo friendly anything! But I wasn't about to let it close without me going one last time! 
Fortunately for me, I am friends with the owners son, so I was able to find out what they put in the Kahlua pork, my fav. It's Paleo friendly! Close enough anyway, haha! So that is what I ordered, with white rice as my side. I still feel so guilty for eating that rice, even though I know it wasn't really cheating, since it's considered to be an empty food. Rice itself is not considered Paleo, but white rice is a "gray area" food, because it has been stripped of the qualities that make it anti-paleo. It's one of those foods that won't hurt you, but does nothing for you. The guilt was worth it though, because it was delicious! Good thing I know the family, so I'll still be able to get their delicious food whenever I want :)

Day 20: Two Minor Slip-Ups and a Delicious Treat! 

You'd think, that after 20 days, I'd have this diet down. But you'd be wrong, because I can be an airhead at times. 
My first mistake came around midday. I attended a friends AdvoCare mixer. Never heard of AdvoCare? It seems like a pretty legit company, here is where you can learn more about it. So I went to this party, and I was so thirsty, I didn't think twice about slamming down a water bottle full of their Spark energy drink. Whoops! Once I realized what I had done, I asked about it's ingredients. It has a small amount of an artificial sweetener. Definitely not Paleo! My bad! But I figure in the grand scheme of things, if I am going to have a slip up, at least it's only a Spark drink. It was at least something with high nutritional value, and I really did have more energy!  
But don't worry, I messed up again later on in the day! Why I went grocery shopping when I was hungry, I don't know. We all know that is never a good idea! But I did it. I heard that Lara Bar made a Paleo friendly power bar, and I wanted some.
Before doing Paleo, I would have protein bars stashed everywhere, just in case. I had them at home, in my car, in my purse, in my gym bag. Anywhere I could stash them where I could get to them if I felt some hangry coming on. I've greatly missed the convince of them, and was excited to find a Paleo alternative. The store had two flavors that were dairy free, gluten free, and additional sweetener free. I put both in my cart, and because I was so hungry I opened a box and ripped one open immediately. 
As soon as I started chewing I realized my mistake. Peanuts. I was eating a Lara Bar made predominately with peanuts. Peanuts are legumes. Legumes are a Paleo no-no. Ughhh!!!! Fail!!!! 
Apple Pie, no peanuts! 

Looks healthy to me! You can usually tell how good a food
is for you from the ingredient list. If you can pronounce
everything you're good! 

So I've made a few mistakes. But clearly I have survived the ordeal, and have lived to tell about it. And if a Spark drink and some peanuts are the worst things I have eaten in weeks, I think I'll be okay. It's not like I went out and ate a bowl of Alfredo smothered pasta with bread sticks and cheesecake for dessert (oh my gosh, that sounds so good!). Mistakes are going to happen, I can't throw away a whole day of eating healthy over one minor slip-up. 

I did something else on day 20. I made an amazingly delicious, Paleo friendly treat! Check these beauties out!
Little balls of yumminess, that's what these are!
Paleo Macaroons, I literally cannot. stop. eating. them!!!! Just because they are Paleo, pretty sure that doesn't mean I can eat 5 in one go. But I do. Old habits die hard. And they are just so dang delicious! Here is the link to the recipe. I think I'm going to go eat another one now...Mmmm...

Day 21: Really I Just Ate Macaroons 

The macaroon binge eating continues. Nothing new to report here. I still feel good! Sticking to the diet, doing the best I can.
You would think that this far along in the 30 days my cravings for bread and fattening food would of subsided, but they haven't. It is still a temptation almost everyday, particularly when I am working at the restaurant. Some days I have no unhealthy cravings and feel strong. Other days, all I can think about is putting a buttery, delicious bread roll in my mouth. The difference is, the desire is still there, but the resolve to stick to the diet is as well, and it's stronger than my cravings.  Doing a diet like this can get hard. Really hard. You just have to decide that your will power is going to be stronger than the temptations before you. Like how deep I got there? That statement can apply to every facet in life! 


Good luck out there guys! Stick to your goals, and don't let little mess-ups or moments of weakness bring you down! A ruined moment shouldn't mean a ruined day :)

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