Days 11 & 12: Sorry for the Slacking Off, and Happy Valentine's!

I totally slacked off yesterday guys...so sorry! (well, now it was a few days ago...) However, I only slacked on writing a post, not the diet! So that's good news. And don't worry, you didn't miss anything exciting. I didn't use any new or exciting recipes. I did really super crave bread all day. Bad. Like bread sticks sort of bread. Really buttery and bad for you bread. But no! I would not succumb to my cravings. 

The most action happened when I tried to turn a patch of tortillas into blueberry muffins after I added coconut flour to the batter when I was supposed to use tapioca flour.

You'd think coconut flour, tapioca flour...what's the difference, right? Wrong! HUGE difference! Totally changes the texture. That's what I get for thinking I know what I am doing and that I am too good to double check the recipe. No one is ever too good to double check a recipe. I am proud that I attempted to make something out of my mess though! And while they didn't entirely workout, they at least tasted decent enough! Really the only problem with them is that they didn't rise. If I had had more time to research other recipes I think I could of been a bit more successful, but alas, I was in a rush. Ya live, ya learn. I'd post a picture of them, but I don't really want a picture of a deflated muffin to be the first thing people see when they see the link to this post, ha ha! 

So since yesterday was just whatever, let's talk about today (or a couple of days ago)! Valentine's Day. A day where chocolate is everywhere! There were boxes of doughnuts at work just sitting there all day, along with a bad of Doritos. But you know what? The doughnuts didn't even look that good. I really wasn't even tempted (would of been harder if they were Krispy Kreame though, let's be honest). 

It really is amazing to me my resolve for sticking to this challenge. I know I owe this blog a lot of credit in that regard. It keeps me accountable. Without it I'm sure I would have caved in to temptation at least once at this point. To anyone wanting to start the 30 day Paleo challenge, or just any other major lifestyle change, I would highly recommend finding a way to keep yourself accountable. Whether it's writing a blog about it, or posting on Twitter, or Facebook your progress, or simply just telling friends and family members about it. Anything that is going to make you feel obligated to stay strong. This blog helps me so, so much, you have no idea!

I had such a fun Valentine's Day! It was girls night out with my Tonergy girls, and we had so much fun! We shopped and went to dinner, what more could a girl want? And they were so sweet to go to a buffet style restaurant, so that it would be easier on me. Now, initially that might seem like torture. If you are like me, your first thought of buffets includes endless platters of mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, desserts galore, and just all sorts of deliciously fattening  temptations. And you'd be right, as you can see below.

Yummy!

But guess what else buffets have? Salad bars, and steaks grilled in front of you, so you can see exactly how it was prepared. It was wonderful, and in my opinion buffets are the best place for people who have diet restrictions. They give you total control over your meal, and you don't have to be "that person" to do so. "That person". I can't tell you how annoying it is, as a server, to get picky eaters. Needing a few modifications is understandable, but there have been times where I just don't even know how to even put in an order. People create these crazy meals that don't even exist, and the last thing I have time to do is stand at the computer for 5 minutes working on one order! I'm sorry, I digress... that is another rant for another day. Just know that buffets are great because they help prevent you from being "that guy". No one wants to be "that guy". Don't be "that guy".

I had a beautiful salad, as you can see, and after a delicious steak and steamed broccoli. Everything was delicious, and I left the restaurant feeling good about myself and my decisions, which trust me, has NEVER been the case with buffets in the past! Best part was, I wasn't even tempted by the dessert bar because I had a plate of my Paleo brownies (recipe on day 4's post) in the car! I mean, it was Valentine's after all, right? I had to be prepared with a chocolaty treat!

I had all sorts of goodness on that plate! Spinach, tomatoes, broccoli,
cauliflower,  mushrooms, red onion, bell pepper, cucumber, grilled steak,
grilled chicken, and as a dressing guacamole and lemon juice! So good!

That is all from me today! No food log. Mostly because I don't remember, and because I ate pretty much the same stuff I always do, with the exception of the buffet, which you already heard all about. I hope you all had a fantastic Valentine's Day and weekend! 

My sad blueberry muffin

Just some hotties ready for a night out on the town!

Day 10: Road Trip

I'm a third of the way through the challenge guys! Wohoo!!! 

To say today has been a long one would be an understatement! I left town this morning at
5 am for work, returned at 8:30 am only to leave again at 10 am and return again a little bit past 9 pm. It's been quite the day folks! But guess what? Even with all that traveling, I still managed to keep things Paleo. How? Because I planned ahead.

The first road trip this morning was easy to keep Paleo. I had originally planned on making a smoothie for a breakfast on the road, but as I had eaten extremely late the night before, I wasn't hungry. So I just grabbed a water and my bag of almonds in case I got peckish. 

The hour and a half rest stop back at home before hitting the road again was such a life saver! I was able to take a short nap (I barely slept the night before), and I was able to make myself some brunch. That meant one less meal I needed to pack for the road! And by eating a filling meal at this time I was able to resist any possible later temptation. 

Despite being able to eat a brunch at home, I still had to plan for the fact that I was about to be gone for hours with access to nothing to eat but gas station food and a Subway. Clearly not too many Paleo options there. So I packed it! I should of taken a picture, my bad. But here's what I took: Water, Almonds (of course!), carrot sticks, blueberries, and left over chicken fajitas from last night. Chicken fajitas might seem like a weird choice to take on a road trip, especially since they require a warm up in a microwave to taste good. But I wasn't worried. Why? Because what gas station doesn't have a microwave these days, right? I just packed everything in a mini cooler and off I went! Simple! If you plan ahead it is absolutely possible to maintain a healthy diet while traveling :)

Want to know how I made my delicious Paleo Fajitas? Here's how!

1. I started by cooking 1 large yellow onion and 2 green bell peppers with coconut oil. Cook until they reach the level of softness you desire. I personally like mine a little more cooked. 
   
2. While the onions and peppers are cooking, chop up about a pound and a half of chicken breast and cook on medium heat with coconut oil. I was a little lazy with this step and used some taco seasoning I had in the cupboard to flavor the chicken. But it is best to make your own fajita seasoning to avoid unhealthy fillers that many of these fajita or taco seasonings use. Here is a recipe for making your own (if doing Paleo, leave out the sugar). 
   
3. Next I made my "tortillas". I found this recipe for Paleo Naan and thought, why not? Close enough to a tortilla, yeah? I added salt to it, and it worked out well enough!
4. While cooking the tortillas (they take awhile) I made a guacamole with 1 avocado, half of a roma tomato, some red onion, cilantro, and the juice from half of a lime, plus a little lime zest and salt.
   
5. Assemble this goodness! I threw on some salsa and extra cilantro and Bam! Paleo Chicken Fajitas! 

   

   Check out this yumminess!

These really were good! The naan recipe gives it a different flavor that you'd traditionally be familiar with, but that's not to say it didn't taste great! I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion
2 green bell peppers
1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast
fajita or taco seasoning
guacamole or 1 avocado, some tomato, red onion, cilantro, salt, 1/2 of a lime
salsa
cilantro

Ingredients for Tortillas:
1/2 c almond flour
1/2 c tapioca flour
1 c coconut milk, full fat
salt

Makes 6-7 small tortillas

Fun little story for those of you who are familiar with Team Tonergy! Nikki and Tamara had a weak moment and needed gas station goodies, stat! They had no idea I was taking pictures of them as they paced the isles of KB Express desperately seeking out sugary treats to satisfy their cravings. 

See? Trainers are human too! We need afternoon pick-me ups in the middle of a busy day, just like you! 

Yes those are giant cookies. And Lemon Heads. I ate
pumpkin seeds

Food Log:
Pre Brunch: Handful of almonds
Brunch: 3 egg scramble with spinach, 1 strip of bacon, s&p
Snacks: Blueberries, carrot sticks, almonds
Dinner: 2 chicken fajitas
Snack: Raspberries and cashews
Desert: 1 piece of 85% dark chocolate with almond butter

Day 9: Another Shopping Trip and Pancakes

Hellooo!

Welcome to day 9, a Tuesday. My favorite day of the week! Tuesday is my favorite day of the week because I usually have my restaurant job off, which means I get to use the day doing exactly what I want to do....Tonergy and playing indoor soccer! And I actually have time to get some things accomplished in my life, like going grocery shopping! Which I desperately need to do, because I am running low on supplies!

Before I went shopping, I of course had to look up some new recipes to get some ideas. I found this beauty; can't wait to try it out this week sometime! Stay tuned to see how that turns out! I again used this blog and this blog to get ideas for meals this week. So glad I found these blogs. They are seriously a life saver! 

So off to Wal-Mart I go again! I should add a disclaimer: I went shopping a couple of days ago as well. I only meant to buy one pack of chicken. But there was a really good sale. So now I am the proud owner of lots of chicken breast! Chicken for dinner for days! Be ready!

Cucumber, Bell Peppers, Butternut Squash, Olive Oil (yep, I buy it in bulk!),
Tilapia, Eggs, Blackberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Tomatoes, Yellow Onion,
Mangoes, Avocados, Limes, Lemons, Apples, Mixed Frozen Fruit, Almond Milk,
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salsa, Shredded Mixed Cabbage, Spinach,
Spring Mix Salad w/kale & spinach 

All that totaled just over $74. Again, please no one judge me for not buying organic and top of the line everything. I realize that is the best and ideal way to experience Paleo...but I feel just fine with my efforts!

Recipe time! While I was compiling my grocery list, I came across this recipe for Paleo pancakes. Mmmmm....pancakes! I love everything about pancakes.Waffles are fine, French toast is pretty good, but pancakes...they're just fluffy goodness that warms my soul! I had to make them, even though it was like 1 in the afternoon. Who doesn't love brinner (breakfast for dinner, or in this case lunch)? 

Looks like pancakes!

I noticed while cooking them they weren't nearly as fluffy as normal pancakes. That could of been my fault though, because in the picture on the blog they seem pretty fluffy. I might of over mixed the batter, or it could just be that I live at nearly 6,000ft in elevation (such a PAIN when it comes to baking). Anyway, while they may not of been the fluffiest, they had a really good taste and definitely satisfied my craving for pancakes!

Pancakes, maple syrup and bacon. A trio made in heaven!

A few hours after my pancake lunch I realized something. I am a carb-aholic! Look at me, supposedly eating like a caveman, and I am still finding ways to eat like a modern day carb junkie! I have problems. I had some carrot sticks to feel better about myself. See, I eat vegetables sometimes. So yeah, I need to start eating more veggies! But hey, progress is progress, right?!

Food Log:

Breakfast: Orange and walnuts

Lunch: Paleo pancakes and 2 strips of bacon

Snacks: Berries, nuts, a few bites of grilled chicken, carrot sticks

Dinner: Chicken Fajitas! I will share how I made them tomorrow with you :)

Take care! 

Day 8: Temptation

Hello All!
I was hit with my first real bout of temptation today. The day started off normal enough, food wise. But things took a turn for temptation island real quick once I got to work (at a restaurant). 
Immediately there was messed up food in the window and a chocolate cake on the employee snack table that someone had brought in. Delicious food, just sitting there, waiting to be eaten. Every time I walked into the kitchen there it was, looking at me. Begging for me to eat it. Normally I'd of been all over it. The pizza wouldn't of lasted longer than 10 minutes. I could of devoured multiple pieces of the cake, easy.
But I stayed strong! Even though it took over an hour for my co-workers to FINALLY eat the pizza, and that stupid cake was there ALL night long, just staring me in the face every time I walked into the kitchen, I was a good girl and refrained! That cake...you have no idea how hard that was! I really love cake. A lot. 
As if the temptation of the pizza and cake weren't enough, there was an abandoned to-go order at the end of the night. Which means it's a free for all. The only unclaimed item was a molten cake. Either I took it, or it went in the trash. I hate seeing food wasted, so wouldn't you know, I ended up bringing home a molten to the roommates. Awesome. Not tempted at all (insert sarcasm). 
But that's not all, ladies and gentlemen.... I walk through my door, and my roommates have made, guess what? Crescent rolls! Fresh, buttery, hot from the oven, crescent rolls! Seriously!?!?! Fine. Whatever. 

I'm in need of another food run, I had to get a little creative for lunch today. I made a quinoa salad, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! Quinoa is a seed, so you would think it's paleo, but strictly speaking it isn't. I like to call it a "gray area" food. A food that isn't paleo, but isn't really not paleo either. It's confusing, I know, sorry. I plan on writing more about these foods once I get them more figured out! 

Looks pretty good, huh? It was light and tasty. It would make a great summer time meal! Here's how you make it:

-Cook quinoa according to the directions on the box. You can buy quinoa pre-washed or not. I recommend getting it pre-washed. It's way, way easier! Buying it unwashed is cheaper, but trust me, not worth the hassle. 

-While it's cooking chop up your vegetables. I used cilantro, tomatoes, red onion, and avocado. It would of been good with some cucumber in there as well!

-When quinoa is done and has cooled down for a few minutes, mix in the vegetables and add some chicken, salt and pepper, a little olive oil, and the juice of 1 lime ( I added a little zest as well). 

BAM! Done! That's it! Easy, right? I personally like this dish after it's had time for the flavors to marinate a little in the fridge. Enjoy!

Food Log:
Breakfast: Banana and raw almonds
Snack: Walnuts
Lunch: Quinoa salad
Snack: Left over quinoa salad, couldn't eat it all in one go!
Dinner: Left over pork and sauerkraut
Snack: 1 orange, 1 piece of 85% dark chocolate, and unsalted cashews

Have a good one!

Day 7: One Week Down!

I'll start this post with a little story for you:

Sitting in church today, my stomach growling as I waited for the third hour to come to a close, a thought crossed my mind. "I can't wait to go home and eat a banana." Say what again??? A banana? We are excited to run home when church ends to eat a banana?!?!?! That's what we're craving? When did this happen? I have never sat in church thinking about how excited I was to get home to eat something healthy, and I have certainly never craved a banana! I don't even like bananas. I have to force myself to eat them. So it's happening. The switch in the brain has flipped to healthy mode! 

I have gone one whole week eating healthy! Pat on the back for me! I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I am liking this whole Paleo thing! Sure it has it's challenges, but I'm beginning to figure out how it all works and I'm getting better at making time to prepare healthy meals. 

I've been meaning to share some links I have found helpful in figuring out this diet. This first link is excellent! It explains what the Paleo diet is, and why you should consider trying it. Here you go! Happy Reading! 

These next two articles are must reads! They list all the food you can eat on the diet, and they tell you why you shouldn't eat certain foods that you would think would be okay. Here is the first article, and here is the second one. 

Recipe time! Today I am sharing with you one of my family's all-time favorite recipes! Keep in mind my dad is half German....Pork and Sauerkraut! This is one of those dishes where you are either going to hate it or love it. Sauerkraut is not for the faint of heart, but eating fermented food is good for your gut and is welcomed in the Paleo diet! 

This is the easiest recipe in the world to make! All you need are: pork chops, sauerkraut, a crock pot, and some salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

First, start by browning the pork chops in a frying pan. You're not cooking them all the way through, just browning the top layer. This is where you add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

Yes, that is the same frying pan as last night, and yes, it is still dirty from the
chicken. Why wash something twice, when you can just wash it once? ;)
You'll be happy to know it's washed now!

After your chops are browned you are going to layer them in your crock pot with the sauerkraut, starting and ending with the sauerkraut.

That's it! Easy as pie! Just put the lid on and cook on high until it's done! It'll depend on how much pork you are cooking as to when it's done. You'll know it's done when the meat is easily falling off the bone, like this.

Sorry not the best picture...I need to work on my photography skills! But you get the idea. 

The great thing about this recipe is you can easily adjust it to your needs. Have a big crowd? Make a ton! Just you? Do what I did. 3 chops with 2 cans of sauerkraut. Don't know how you feel about sauerkraut? Use less. Love it? Go crazy with it! 

I was going to make a meal of this with carrots as my side, but I wasn't hungry enough. Enjoy!

Food Log:

Breakfast: Banana

Lunch: Large salad with spinach, tomatoes, red onion, boiled egg, avocado, pecans, and a slice of bacon. I used olive oil and salt and pepper to dress it

Snacks: Nuts, boiled egg, pieces of left over grilled chicken

Dinner: Pork and Sauerkraut :)

Desert: Finally finished off those brownies! Proud of myself for not scarfing them down day one!

Happy day to you all! 

Day 6: Pizza Party!

Earlier this week my friend Lonnie sent me a text inviting me to a pizza party at his house this weekend. The premise of the party was to see which pizza place in town had the best pizza. Every store (and we live in a collage town, so there would be a lot of them!) would be represented and the guests would vote for their favorites.

I said "Hell yes I'll be there!" 

How fun! I was so excited, totally my kind of party! A couple of days later I remembered I couldn't eat pizza. I felt like a kid who just discovered that Santa, Easter Bunny, AND the Tooth Fairy were a lie. Everything I loved, ripped out from under me! No pizza for me. Not cool bro, not cool. 

Oh well, I still planned on going just to be social. I thought about taking my own pizza, there are plenty of paleo pizza recipes after all. But without cheese what's the point?

However, a few hours before the party I decided the temptation of delicious pizza would probably be too much for me to stand if I didn't go in there with a plan. And no other food was going to satisfy me if I had pizza on the brain. So paleo pizza it is. I guess I can survive without cheese, just this once. 

I looked up some recipes and found this one that looks delicious, but it just used so. much. almond flour! That stuff is pricey, and the 2 cups would clear me out. I kept looking and found this dough recipe. Sounds good to me! And I already had all the ingredients :) For the topping I decided to go with roasted red onions and red peppers with spinach and grilled chicken. 

So delicious! Sorry, forgot to take a picture before I cut into it!

It really was so, so good! The crust had this almost nutty flavor, which worked perfectly with the roasted vegetables and grilled chicken. Several people who tried it told me that if my pizza had been entered in the contest it would have ranked high, just because of how delicious the roasted red onions were. Here's how to make this deliciousness happen!

First, start by chopping up a large red onion and 1-2 red peppers. Spread them out on a foil-lined pan and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Toss them around, making sure everything is covered, then spread them out evenly on the pan again. Broil on high until the vegetables have reached the level of softness you prefer, and they have blackened a little. Don't forget to stir them a few time during the cooking process. 

Ready!

Next, grill up some chicken. Cook it up however you like it! For today I simply cooked it in a frying pan with some coconut oil and various Italian seasonings.

Now that your toppings are ready, make the dough. In case you missed it earlier, here is the link again. 

Once your pizza crust is cooked and ready for toppings, assemble! For pizza sauce I just used my left over spaghetti sauce from earlier this week. Use whatever sauce you like! Then I put on spinach, the vegetables, and chicken. Pop back in the over for another 5-7 minutes to make sure everything has warmed back up and voila! Paleo pizza!

Just look at that yumminess!

*The roasted peppers and onions are delicious on all sorts of things, or just by themselves as a side! I love them on penne pasta with Alfredo sauce and chicken :)

Food Log:

Breakfast: 1 grapefruit with 2 strips of bacon

Lunch: Leftover chicken leg with onions and sweet potatoes

Snacks: Nuts, more left over chicken

Dinner: Paleo pizza

Desert: Still munching on those brownies!

Want to throw your own pizza party? Here's how we did it! 

Assign your guests a store to purchase a pizza from.

Have one person write the name of the store on the bottom of the plate, and another put them on the table (the more you can split up the process the better, you don't want someone knowing all the pizzas, that ruins the fun!)

Assign a different color sticky note to each pizza, and place a stack of them by that pizza

Each person goes around the table, takes a sticky note and slice, then write comments about the pizza on the note. You can decide whatever criteria you want your guests to rate the pizzas on. We compared crust, taste, and texture.

Once everyone has tried all the pizzas, they put their sticky notes in the order they liked the pizzas. 

That's my name there on the end. With no votes :(
It was nice just to be included, ha!

Once everyone's votes were up we took an average too see which pizza place won. Wanna take a guess as to everyone's favorite? It was Domino's! Go figure! Haha! It's their crust, it's so good! All garlicky and yummy... Pizza Hut took second, followed by a local favorite, the Pizza Cart Guy, then Papa John's and another local favorite, Centro Pizza. (Both local places are wood fired pizzas, and they are delicious! If you ever find yourself in Cedar City, Utah, you have to check them out!)

This party was so fun! Would of been even more fun if I could of tried everything, haha! Next up we're going to try burritos from all the Mexican restaurants in town! 

Have fun!

Day 5: Plan and Prepare or You'll Starve. Seriously.

Hi All!
What a day! I don't know if it's been the actual eating vegetables for once, or the lack of gluten in my system, or just some random act of energy happening, but I was hyper, hyper, hyper today! I was alert, awake, and had energy. This is not normal for me! I always feel tired and like I am just dragging. I have to force myself to be active. I can sleep for hours, and when I'm not sleeping I'm usually wishing I was because I'm always just so dang tired! But today I was on one, and it was awesome! I can't say if this surge of energy is directly related to eating paleo, but I certainly hope so because that would be awesome! I'll let you know if this energy goodness continues as the days go on! 
One of the great yet inconvenient things about this diet is it forces you to be in the kitchen. Not to brag, but I am a dang good cook. Always have been. I grew up cooking and baking all the time, and I love it! I love cooking and baking and creating in the kitchen. I am so grateful to of been raised in a house with real food, a house that rarely dined out, and where microwave dinners were unheard of. But something has happened to me throughout the years. I got busy, and I got impatient. I stopped planning my meals ahead of time, or even buying real food for that matter. I have been living of off cereal and sandwiches and restaurant food for years now, I am ashamed to say! Whatever food can be attained by the fastest means possible is what I usually end up eating. I know I'm not alone in this battle. We have become a nation of instant gratification. Whether it's instantly feeding our bellies, or instantly finding answers to questions, or instantly knowing every intimate detail of every person on the planets life thanks to social media (well hello there irony!), we have become addicted to instant gratification. The thing about instant gratification is it not only makes you impatient, it makes you lazy, as it did with me. Cooking became something that took too much effort to do on a regular basis. It's so much easier and faster to just run out and pick up  something. Disgusting, I know. How lame of me. But that is one of the reasons I am grateful to be doing this challenge, it is forcing me to get back in the kitchen! The thing with this diet is that if you don't plan ahead and prepare your meals, you are going to starve. I mean it. I was starving for half the day, it was horrible! It's not like restaurants have a paleo menu, or grocery stores a paleo section (maybe in hipster towns, but definitely not here in small town USA). I can't just go out and grab something. I have to make time to cook. I have no one to blame my starvation on but myself, because I didn't plan and prepare well. So if I could give you any advice at all in your Paleo endeavors it would be this: PLAN AND PREPARE!!! It's not enough to just buy the food, you got to figure out when you are going to have time to prepare it as well. But be ready to be proud of me folks, I cooked in bulk tonight! There will be leftovers! Wohoo!!! I cooked up a recipe I found on pinterest, here it is. 

Don't let the simplicity of the plate deceive you, this was delicious! It was so much more than chicken with sweet potatoes and onions. The recipe calls for maple syrup, and that is what made all the difference. I didn't think that I would be able to taste it, but I could and it made this dish so so good! I was surprised too by how delicious the sweet potatoes were. I have always hated sweet potatoes but these were so yummy and amazing! This will be something I make again, and it's something you should give a whirl! 

Food Log:
Breakfast: Smoothie with peaches, raspberries, spinach, kale, and almond milk (not very good, don't make it!)
Go to snacks throughout the day: Almonds, walnuts, apple with almond butter, raspberries, and 1 hard boiled egg
Lunch: So they had Philly Cheese sandwiches for us at work, which of course are not paleo friendly. So I pulled the meat off mine and snacked on that. 
Dinner: You saw that lovely picture above! I maybe had two servings....I went I really long time between meals!
Dessert: I worked on the leftover brownies throughout the day. One small bite at a time! Still delicious as ever, and still have plenty left!