Ok so I'm really...really bad at blogging. I would never be able to actually post something every day so I'm not even going to attempt to say that I will for this experiment. I'll update when I can and or feel like it. You'll survive.
So, the newest fad diet is this Paleolithic diet aka 'the caveman diet'. It's the only one so far that
actually makes sense to me. *gasp* this fatty believes in a diet fad?? YES. Strangely, this time I do. While I don't agree with the super hardcore followers, the main idea behind the diet I completely understand. Our bodies weren't designed to be ingesting processed foods. Now, I love processed foods...I'm obsessed with them. I ordered 5 boxes of Girl Scout cookies this year just for myself... trust me. I'm not crazy...I just really love my thin mints and samoas. I even had an old post on my old blog just describing
my girl scout cookie addiction. Just because we're not designed to do something doesn't mean we can't do it.
But I randomly decided this year that part of the #newyearnewme goal was to really try to be healthier. I know that I can't throw it all in one pot and say I'm going to eat healthier and work out and never drink soda again!! Because....that
never works. Not for me at least. How many times have I attempted to give up soda for lent and FAILED miserably? Or had a new year resolution to work out only to fall off the wagon before I really got on it? Too many to count. So being aware of that fact I'm slowly adding different short term goals to reach that ultimate goal of being healthier.
That being said, I realized lent was a good motivator/reason for me to take another step. So, in a random moment of "I gotta eat better/lose weight" I decided to go cavewoman for lent. Not all the way, and I specifically built in cheat meals on days I already know will be difficult to adhere to such a diet.
The new me...HAHA ok not quite. I knew the best way to stick to this was to have a plan and since I'm the GD QUEEN of planning this was the easy part. I planned out the next 6 weeks of meals. I haven't yet made any of those meals on 'schedule', as I've had different tastes for different things... but the key is it's there if I need inspiration.
5 Days into lent (minus a cheat meal.. more on that in a second). The funny thing is I gave up meat one year for lent and that was difficult. This momma is a carnivore through and through. But you know what, in the end it was great. And I find that I really don't crave meat like I used to. I still love eating it though. That's another reason why I picked the paleo diet. I didn't have to give it up. But I am giving up foods I love normally - Rice, bread, cereal, cheese, cookies and cake <insert sad face here>...
We'll see how it goes. So far so good.
Breakfast is easy. I love eggs, so an egg in the morning cooked various ways totally works for me. Omelettes, fried, hard boiled...done. Plus some fruit. Great breakfast! I admit however I miss coffee. I don't drink it black, which is allowed on the paleo diet, so I'd rather not drink it than drink it sans creamer.
Lunch is usually whatever was left over from the night before and or a plain salad. The salads are hard. I like heavy, rich, creamy dressings. Ranch on
everything!!!
Dinners are the challenge however. Living at my parents, there's
always rice. That house is so not paleo friendly. But, I'm hoarding my groceries for my meals and finding quick easy meals to cook that actually work really well for me.
On Saturday, I was visiting my sister in Iowa, and we were going to visit her boyfriend who is a sushi chef at work. I knew I had to let that be a cheat meal. I can't pass up sushi. And there's only so much sashimi I can handle without gagging. I like rolls. Plus he was going to make us special rolls! Sorry diet, but no.
Here's a couple of the better meals I've made myself.
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| Bison Steak, Mashed Cauliflower, Green Beans |
I am 'cheating' a little using the flash frozen steamer veggies, but I think that can be forgiven considering there's actually more nutrients that are saved in the flash freezing process.
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| Lemon Barramundi with Avocado Tomato Salsa and Broccoli |
Also "cheating" with flash frozen fish....but seriously its the best kind of 'fresh' you can get right smack dab in the middle of the continent.
At this point, I'm soooooo missing soda. So far I've been flavoring my water with chunks of fruit and it's working out, but that doesn't mean I don't crave a cup of bubbly cola.
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| Shrimp stir fry (paleo style) |
Oh, and yogurt. I miss yogurt. What I wouldn't give for a cup of vanilla yogurt with fruit and a drizzle of honey. That may be one of my cheat breakfast meals (that or french toast). It's healthy right?? Why can't I eat yogurt? Because the cave peoples didn't farm dairy products. Boo...
OOH...butter... I miss butter. I've been cooking my meals with coconut and olive oil. Much healthier...but man the taste of butter sometimes just makes a meal better!
*Quick side note: I've been cooking specifically only for myself, and providing food for LM. The only meal I've cooked for the whole family the last 5 days has been the shrimp stir fry. Which, they didn't leave me any left over for my lunch the next day.
Bastards!! LOL I'm joking. They loved it and I'm glad. Of course...they were also able to eat it with rice.
I've been making these meals for me and LM, adding some other things for LM that I can't eat...rice, potatoes, pasta...etc. He's getting some pretty healthy dinners!! I'm lucky he likes his fruits and veggies. He was going to town on the broccoli and tomatoes.
He's starting to learn how to use a fork. I'm afraid to let him use a fork but he's insisting on it. I guide it to 'stab' the food and watch him while he brings it to his mouth. Given the choice of that or a spoon, I would prefer he start with a spoon, but he'd like to use the fork... great...
But yeah, this post is starting to get extremely long... I'll end with this.
The paleo diet is really detoxing actually. I felt like crap for a couple days but that was my body getting used to it and detoxing. On Saturday, I forgot to bring healthy snacks to munch on during the drive home that night. So I had to stop at a gas station for gas station snacks because I was tired and needed to snack to keep me awake. Anyway, I ended up getting some plain vanilla cookies and a Brisk tea. A normal gas station snack for me. A couple cookies later and 1/4 way through my tea, I literally started feeling sick to my stomach. Apparently my body didn't like the influx of sugary snacks. Interesting.
