Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Biggest Loser and Paleo Diet
I just read an interview of Kai from Season 11 of the Biggest Loser. I had no idea the contestents were treated so poorly! I've watched the show for many seasons, and didn't think the weight loss techniques were sustainable, but holy cow! The intereting thing though, this article led me to read other articles about the Biggest Loser, and I found that that Courtney and Irene from Season 11 were eating a Paleo diet getting ready for the finale. I also learned that the Australian version of the Biggest Loser is using a Paleo diet instead of all the grains you see on the American version. I wonder if those contestants are treated just as poorly otherwise thought? I like the show, but don't want support something that is so horrible to the people, who just want to get their lives back.
It's interesting that the contestants usually say the show is a lot harder than it looks from watching it. Read Kai's interview and you'll see why!
http://jezebel.com/5564997/bigger-loser-finalist-says-show-gave-her-an-eating-disorder
It's interesting that the contestants usually say the show is a lot harder than it looks from watching it. Read Kai's interview and you'll see why!
http://jezebel.com/5564997/bigger-loser-finalist-says-show-gave-her-an-eating-disorder
Monday, June 13, 2011
Week 2: More Groceries, More Cooking
It's been a week and I feel like I'm shopping for groceries all the freakin' time. It also feels like I'm cooking all the freakin' time. My husband asked me this weekend if this diet was going to cost us a lot more money. I told him I was tracking it, so we would know in a few months.
Went to Costco this weekend with my sister. Spent around $400 on groceries and household items like toilet paper. I got a bunch of canned fruit for backup when we run out of fresh fruit. It's not paleo because it's in light syrup, but it's a not a main staple for us either.
I also did an order from Amazon Fresh because I couldn't get everything I needed at Costco. My family is in love with the Greek Gods Honey Yogurt... my kids and I polished off a 24oz. container this morning for breakfast. Yum!
Our refrigerator is bulging at the seams!
I also made two batches of cookies last night from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook
. I made the chocolate chip cookies and the snickerdoodles. I used macadamia nut oil instead of grapeseed oil. I did use the agave nectar in both recipes to see what they would taste like; even though I know that agave nectar is mostly fructose, which I need to eliminate from our diet. I'm definitely still in experimental mode... I figure I'll generally make the recipes as written, then try substitutions when I find one I like. The kids each had a cookie this morning and liked them.
One of the complaints I have about the cookie recipes is that the cookies really stick to the parchment paper. I tried spraying the parchment paper with coconut oil and I'm not sure it did much good. I had to let them be completely cooled off before using a spatula to get them off the pan. Which meant using four pans to cook all the cookies.
For me, I've only tried the dough of the cookies so far. The chocolate chip cookie dough without chocolate is not that great. But once you add some dark chocolate into it, it is yummy! So, that is not an ingredient that can be skipped. I also made sure to specifically put chocolate in each cookie instead of just mixing it in and let it play out. The snickerdoodle cookie dough was good as is.
The nice thing about having my husband on board is that he took leftovers from dinner last night and made us our lunches for today. He's always said he wants to support me in my weight loss but never really knew how (he's skinny, so he's never had this problem). Now that he is eating the same as me and helping out with some meal prep, it finally really is helping. And, I feel compelled to make sure the meals are correct since more than me is counting on them.
Here's my amazon grocery list for today:
Pantry & Household
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1 32.71 Let's Do Organic Coconut Flour, 16-OuncePouches (Pack of 6) @32.71 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1 32.71
Refrigerated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12/12 45.84 Greek Gods Traditional Yogurt, Honey 24 oz @3.82 ea
1/1 2.29 Baby Carrots, Organic, 1 lb Package (United States) @2.29 ea
3/3 14.37 Wilcox Specialty Vita Egg Omega-3, 18 ct @4.79 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pantry & Household
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24/24 60.96 Vallyfresh Premium White Chicken Meat, 5 oz @2.54 ea
2/2 2.58 Chiquita Bananas, 3 Count Bunch, Ripe (Ecuador) @1.29 ea
1/1 2.09 Chiquita Bananas, 5 Count Bunch, Green (Ecuador) @2.09 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
43/43 128.13
Here's the cookbook for the cookies:
Went to Costco this weekend with my sister. Spent around $400 on groceries and household items like toilet paper. I got a bunch of canned fruit for backup when we run out of fresh fruit. It's not paleo because it's in light syrup, but it's a not a main staple for us either.
I also did an order from Amazon Fresh because I couldn't get everything I needed at Costco. My family is in love with the Greek Gods Honey Yogurt... my kids and I polished off a 24oz. container this morning for breakfast. Yum!
Our refrigerator is bulging at the seams!
I also made two batches of cookies last night from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook
. I made the chocolate chip cookies and the snickerdoodles. I used macadamia nut oil instead of grapeseed oil. I did use the agave nectar in both recipes to see what they would taste like; even though I know that agave nectar is mostly fructose, which I need to eliminate from our diet. I'm definitely still in experimental mode... I figure I'll generally make the recipes as written, then try substitutions when I find one I like. The kids each had a cookie this morning and liked them. One of the complaints I have about the cookie recipes is that the cookies really stick to the parchment paper. I tried spraying the parchment paper with coconut oil and I'm not sure it did much good. I had to let them be completely cooled off before using a spatula to get them off the pan. Which meant using four pans to cook all the cookies.
For me, I've only tried the dough of the cookies so far. The chocolate chip cookie dough without chocolate is not that great. But once you add some dark chocolate into it, it is yummy! So, that is not an ingredient that can be skipped. I also made sure to specifically put chocolate in each cookie instead of just mixing it in and let it play out. The snickerdoodle cookie dough was good as is.
The nice thing about having my husband on board is that he took leftovers from dinner last night and made us our lunches for today. He's always said he wants to support me in my weight loss but never really knew how (he's skinny, so he's never had this problem). Now that he is eating the same as me and helping out with some meal prep, it finally really is helping. And, I feel compelled to make sure the meals are correct since more than me is counting on them.
Here's my amazon grocery list for today:
Pantry & Household
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1 32.71 Let's Do Organic Coconut Flour, 16-OuncePouches (Pack of 6) @32.71 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1 32.71
Refrigerated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12/12 45.84 Greek Gods Traditional Yogurt, Honey 24 oz @3.82 ea
1/1 2.29 Baby Carrots, Organic, 1 lb Package (United States) @2.29 ea
3/3 14.37 Wilcox Specialty Vita Egg Omega-3, 18 ct @4.79 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pantry & Household
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24/24 60.96 Vallyfresh Premium White Chicken Meat, 5 oz @2.54 ea
2/2 2.58 Chiquita Bananas, 3 Count Bunch, Ripe (Ecuador) @1.29 ea
1/1 2.09 Chiquita Bananas, 5 Count Bunch, Green (Ecuador) @2.09 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
43/43 128.13
Here's the cookbook for the cookies:
Thursday, June 9, 2011
More Groceries
Whenever I use Amazon Fresh, they send me a list of everything that I ordered. So, I'll post the list whenever I use them. Otherwise, it will be more of a general summary.
With that said, I made another order to Amazon Fresh today. We're out of yogurt already (it is super yummy!) and I need more vegie steamers for the kids' lunches. We are also out of fresh fruit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty Unit Price Extended Price Item
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 $2.09 $2.09 Chiquita Bananas, 5 Count Bunch, Green (Ecuador)
2 $1.29 $2.58 Chiquita Bananas, 3 Count Bunch, Ripe (Ecuador)
1 $3.99 $3.99 Red Raspberries, 6 oz (California)
1 $4.79 $4.79 Strawberries, Organic, 1lb Package (United States)
2 $3.69 $7.38 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Green Bean, 12 oz (Frozen)
1 $4.99 $4.99 Hill Meats, Deli Sliced Honey Ham, 8 oz
1 $5.99 $5.99 Columbus, Deli Sliced Roast Beef, 8 oz
1 $5.39 $5.39 Applegate Farms, Organic, Deli Sliced Oven Roasted Chicken Breast, 8 oz
6 $3.82 $22.92 Greek Gods Traditional Yogurt, Honey 24 oz
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Mixed Vegetables, 12 oz (Frozen)
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Sweet Peas, 12 oz (Frozen)
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Broccoli, Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas & Water Chesnuts, 12 oz (Frozen)
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Asian Medley, 12 oz (Frozen)
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Broccoli Cuts, 12 oz (Frozen)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subtotal: $93.02
Total grocery bill this week: $369.28
With that said, I made another order to Amazon Fresh today. We're out of yogurt already (it is super yummy!) and I need more vegie steamers for the kids' lunches. We are also out of fresh fruit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty Unit Price Extended Price Item
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 $2.09 $2.09 Chiquita Bananas, 5 Count Bunch, Green (Ecuador)
2 $1.29 $2.58 Chiquita Bananas, 3 Count Bunch, Ripe (Ecuador)
1 $3.99 $3.99 Red Raspberries, 6 oz (California)
1 $4.79 $4.79 Strawberries, Organic, 1lb Package (United States)
2 $3.69 $7.38 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Green Bean, 12 oz (Frozen)
1 $4.99 $4.99 Hill Meats, Deli Sliced Honey Ham, 8 oz
1 $5.99 $5.99 Columbus, Deli Sliced Roast Beef, 8 oz
1 $5.39 $5.39 Applegate Farms, Organic, Deli Sliced Oven Roasted Chicken Breast, 8 oz
6 $3.82 $22.92 Greek Gods Traditional Yogurt, Honey 24 oz
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Mixed Vegetables, 12 oz (Frozen)
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Sweet Peas, 12 oz (Frozen)
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Broccoli, Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas & Water Chesnuts, 12 oz (Frozen)
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Asian Medley, 12 oz (Frozen)
2 $3.29 $6.58 Birds Eye, Steamfresh Broccoli Cuts, 12 oz (Frozen)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subtotal: $93.02
Total grocery bill this week: $369.28
Day 3
Cumulative weight loss: 2 lbs
Goal: lose 66 lbs.
I weighed myself on Monday and realized I have 66 lbs to lose to get to my goal weight. It feels like a lot, but it also feels doable. Especially after ready Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It
over my vacation; I feel like I have the right knowledge to finally get thin again and stay thin.
The other thing that gives me great hope is that my whole family is doing this new lifestyle too. I threw away a bunch of flour and oatmeal yesterday. I gave a bunch of food away. I've given some food to the dogs. My cupboards are very close to being all paleo.
It also helps that I'm packing lunches for my husband and I. I also make double the breakfast, so we can both have it. The kids are getting some of the same stuff in their lunches, but they can't reheat anything at school, so there are some differences.
Day 2 Recap
Yesterday was a really good day. I made us Greek Salad from Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals: Delicious
and had all the ingredients in separate compartments to be mixed together at lunch time. It worked out really well.
Last night we had the zucchini carbonara from the same cookbook. I don't like bacon, and didn't realize that carbonara bacon is super bacon-y! My husband loved it. I scraped off the bacon and it was ok.
Day 3 - It's hard!
This morning was a complete disaster. I hadn't prepared our lunches the night before, so had to come up with something while trying to also cook breakfast, make the kids' lunches and tend to our toddler twins needs. My husband delayed his shower to help, which is the only reason i got them to school with 1 minute to spare. I made scrambled eggs for breakfast. I then cut up some chicken and used Rob Wolfe's method of throwing that into a pan with oil, vegies and a spice and cook for 10 minutes. It wasn't ready after 10 minutes, so I had to cook for longer. I couldn't figure out what to give the kids, since I don't have the kitchen fully stocked yet for their lunches. I ended up giving them peanut butter sandwiches, vegies and fruit for lunch. Soon, sandwiches won't be an option when we're out of bread... so I've got to figure this out. I need fast meals to prepare when I can't do any pre-prep. I need to get a schedule for food preparation that works in our lives.
Here are the books I mentioned today:
Goal: lose 66 lbs.
I weighed myself on Monday and realized I have 66 lbs to lose to get to my goal weight. It feels like a lot, but it also feels doable. Especially after ready Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It
over my vacation; I feel like I have the right knowledge to finally get thin again and stay thin.The other thing that gives me great hope is that my whole family is doing this new lifestyle too. I threw away a bunch of flour and oatmeal yesterday. I gave a bunch of food away. I've given some food to the dogs. My cupboards are very close to being all paleo.
It also helps that I'm packing lunches for my husband and I. I also make double the breakfast, so we can both have it. The kids are getting some of the same stuff in their lunches, but they can't reheat anything at school, so there are some differences.
Day 2 Recap
Yesterday was a really good day. I made us Greek Salad from Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals: Delicious
and had all the ingredients in separate compartments to be mixed together at lunch time. It worked out really well.Last night we had the zucchini carbonara from the same cookbook. I don't like bacon, and didn't realize that carbonara bacon is super bacon-y! My husband loved it. I scraped off the bacon and it was ok.
Day 3 - It's hard!
This morning was a complete disaster. I hadn't prepared our lunches the night before, so had to come up with something while trying to also cook breakfast, make the kids' lunches and tend to our toddler twins needs. My husband delayed his shower to help, which is the only reason i got them to school with 1 minute to spare. I made scrambled eggs for breakfast. I then cut up some chicken and used Rob Wolfe's method of throwing that into a pan with oil, vegies and a spice and cook for 10 minutes. It wasn't ready after 10 minutes, so I had to cook for longer. I couldn't figure out what to give the kids, since I don't have the kitchen fully stocked yet for their lunches. I ended up giving them peanut butter sandwiches, vegies and fruit for lunch. Soon, sandwiches won't be an option when we're out of bread... so I've got to figure this out. I need fast meals to prepare when I can't do any pre-prep. I need to get a schedule for food preparation that works in our lives.
Here are the books I mentioned today:
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Starting Over
We went on vacation last week with the intent of not worrying too much about what we ate and knowing we would re-start the Paleo diet when we got back. Well, we're back. The good news is, when I started this blog, I was lamenting that I didn't start from the beginning. So, now I get to do that. And, I get the advantage of a 6-month dry-run.
Last night, I went through the Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals: Delicious, Primal-approved meals you can make in under 30 minutes cookbook. I had to plan breakfast, lunch and dinner for the rest of the week for our family of 4.
Today is Day 1.
I chose pre-dawn delivery from Amazon Fresh and my groceries were waiting on my doorstep at 6am when I got up. Here's what I ordered (I already had a few ingredients that I needed for the recipes I picked):
Refrigerated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4/4 17.96 Greek Gods Traditional Yogurt, Honey 24 oz @4.49 ea
1/1 1.59 Red Bell Pepper, 1 Pepper (Canada) @1.59 ea
3/3 14.37 Wilcox Specialty Vita Egg Omega-3, 18 ct @4.79 ea
1/1 1.29 Green Bell Pepper, 1 Pepper (United States) @1.29 ea
2/2 2.78 Cucumber, Medium, 1 Cucumber (Mexico) @1.39 ea
4/4 15.08 Tillamook Butter, Sweet Cream, Unsalted, 1 lb @3.77 ea
1/1 3.49 Fresh Express Heart of Romaine, 10 oz @3.49 ea
1/1 4.99 Spaghetti Squash, 1 Large Squash (Mexico) @4.99 ea
2/2 9.98 Columbus Sliced Pancetta, 3 oz @4.99 ea
1/1 1.09 Parsley, 1 Bunch (Washington) @1.09 ea
4/4 19.96 Baby Squash - Zucchini, 8 oz Package (Mexico) @4.99 ea
2/2 7.98 Cauliflower, 1 Large Head (California) @3.99 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frozen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1 9.49 Ground Lamb, Product of USA, Frozen, 1 lb @9.49 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pantry & Household
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1 28.54 Seventh Generation Baby Wipes Refills, Chlorine Free and Unscented, 70-Count Packs (Pack of 12) (840 Wipes) @28.54 ea
1/1 19.77 Huggies Overnites Diapers, Size 5, Big Pack, 56 Count @19.77 ea
2/2 6.58 Red Hot House On-The-Vine Tomato, 1.5 lb Package (Canada) @3.29 ea
1/1 12.79 Health Best, Pecans, Raw, 15 oz @12.79 ea
1/1 3.29 Spectrum, Filtered Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, 16oz @3.29 ea
1/1 9.39 Health Best, Walnuts, Halves & Pieces, Organic, 14 oz @9.39 ea
1/1 7.79 Peloponnese Mediterranean Specialties Gourmet Black Olives, Pitted Kalamata , 11.1 oz @7.79 ea
3/3 8.97 Vallyfresh Premium White Chicken Meat, 5 oz @2.99 ea
1/1 1.29 Chiquita Bananas, 3 Count Bunch, Ripe (Ecuador) @1.29 ea
1/1 9.89 Artisana, Raw Tahini, Organic, 16 oz @9.89 ea
1/1 2.09 Chiquita Bananas, 5 Count Bunch, Green (Ecuador) @2.09 ea
1/1 11.89 Esp Mancha Oro Saffron, .02824 oz @11.89 ea
2/2 3.58 Hass Avocado - Ripe, 1 Small Avocado (United States) @1.79 ea
1/1 8.99 DeLallo 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, First Cold Pressed, 16.9 oz @8.99 ea
1/1 26.77 Wild Planet Sustainably Caught Wild Skipjack Light Tuna, 5 Ounce Cans (Pack of 12) @26.77 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
46/46 271.67
Ok, so that's the list. Here's how I'm doing.
For breakfast, I made the Berry Crumble for myself. My husband made fried eggs and bacon for himself and my son. My daughter had 2 bananas and 2 hard-boiled eggs. Getting my 2.75 year old twins to switch to Paleo is going to be the hardest, so we'll see how that goes.
I also made tuna salad for my husband and chicken salad for myself for lunch. I also packed some for the kids, but I don't know if they will eat it. I also gave them some ham, broccoli and peaches to round out there lunch. For my husband, I packed him some snacks of Larabars, macadamia nuts, pecans, fruit and hard-boiled eggs. I'm not sure what he's going to want during the day. For myself, I packed greek yogurt, hard-boiled eggs and blueberries.
For lunch, I had my chicken salad and the yogurt.
Recipes: I made the Berry Crumble and the Tuna Salad from the Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals cookbook. I also used the tuna salad recipe and substituted canned chicken for my chicken salad.
So far, this cookbook is my go-to cookbook. It has great recipes and they are fast. Both are criteria that I need in my life as a full-time working mom of toddler twins.
Last night, I went through the Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals: Delicious, Primal-approved meals you can make in under 30 minutes
cookbook. I had to plan breakfast, lunch and dinner for the rest of the week for our family of 4.Today is Day 1.
I chose pre-dawn delivery from Amazon Fresh and my groceries were waiting on my doorstep at 6am when I got up. Here's what I ordered (I already had a few ingredients that I needed for the recipes I picked):
Refrigerated
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4/4 17.96 Greek Gods Traditional Yogurt, Honey 24 oz @4.49 ea
1/1 1.59 Red Bell Pepper, 1 Pepper (Canada) @1.59 ea
3/3 14.37 Wilcox Specialty Vita Egg Omega-3, 18 ct @4.79 ea
1/1 1.29 Green Bell Pepper, 1 Pepper (United States) @1.29 ea
2/2 2.78 Cucumber, Medium, 1 Cucumber (Mexico) @1.39 ea
4/4 15.08 Tillamook Butter, Sweet Cream, Unsalted, 1 lb @3.77 ea
1/1 3.49 Fresh Express Heart of Romaine, 10 oz @3.49 ea
1/1 4.99 Spaghetti Squash, 1 Large Squash (Mexico) @4.99 ea
2/2 9.98 Columbus Sliced Pancetta, 3 oz @4.99 ea
1/1 1.09 Parsley, 1 Bunch (Washington) @1.09 ea
4/4 19.96 Baby Squash - Zucchini, 8 oz Package (Mexico) @4.99 ea
2/2 7.98 Cauliflower, 1 Large Head (California) @3.99 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frozen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1 9.49 Ground Lamb, Product of USA, Frozen, 1 lb @9.49 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pantry & Household
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ordered/delivered Price($)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/1 28.54 Seventh Generation Baby Wipes Refills, Chlorine Free and Unscented, 70-Count Packs (Pack of 12) (840 Wipes) @28.54 ea
1/1 19.77 Huggies Overnites Diapers, Size 5, Big Pack, 56 Count @19.77 ea
2/2 6.58 Red Hot House On-The-Vine Tomato, 1.5 lb Package (Canada) @3.29 ea
1/1 12.79 Health Best, Pecans, Raw, 15 oz @12.79 ea
1/1 3.29 Spectrum, Filtered Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, 16oz @3.29 ea
1/1 9.39 Health Best, Walnuts, Halves & Pieces, Organic, 14 oz @9.39 ea
1/1 7.79 Peloponnese Mediterranean Specialties Gourmet Black Olives, Pitted Kalamata , 11.1 oz @7.79 ea
3/3 8.97 Vallyfresh Premium White Chicken Meat, 5 oz @2.99 ea
1/1 1.29 Chiquita Bananas, 3 Count Bunch, Ripe (Ecuador) @1.29 ea
1/1 9.89 Artisana, Raw Tahini, Organic, 16 oz @9.89 ea
1/1 2.09 Chiquita Bananas, 5 Count Bunch, Green (Ecuador) @2.09 ea
1/1 11.89 Esp Mancha Oro Saffron, .02824 oz @11.89 ea
2/2 3.58 Hass Avocado - Ripe, 1 Small Avocado (United States) @1.79 ea
1/1 8.99 DeLallo 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, First Cold Pressed, 16.9 oz @8.99 ea
1/1 26.77 Wild Planet Sustainably Caught Wild Skipjack Light Tuna, 5 Ounce Cans (Pack of 12) @26.77 ea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
46/46 271.67
Ok, so that's the list. Here's how I'm doing.
For breakfast, I made the Berry Crumble for myself. My husband made fried eggs and bacon for himself and my son. My daughter had 2 bananas and 2 hard-boiled eggs. Getting my 2.75 year old twins to switch to Paleo is going to be the hardest, so we'll see how that goes.
I also made tuna salad for my husband and chicken salad for myself for lunch. I also packed some for the kids, but I don't know if they will eat it. I also gave them some ham, broccoli and peaches to round out there lunch. For my husband, I packed him some snacks of Larabars, macadamia nuts, pecans, fruit and hard-boiled eggs. I'm not sure what he's going to want during the day. For myself, I packed greek yogurt, hard-boiled eggs and blueberries.
For lunch, I had my chicken salad and the yogurt.
Recipes: I made the Berry Crumble and the Tuna Salad from the Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals
cookbook. I also used the tuna salad recipe and substituted canned chicken for my chicken salad.So far, this cookbook is my go-to cookbook. It has great recipes and they are fast. Both are criteria that I need in my life as a full-time working mom of toddler twins.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Restart
On Saturday, I hit the restart button on the Paleo diet. I did quite well with eating and didn't drink any soda! Yeah!
It's Monday and I'm back at work. I had this message in my inbox when I arrived: "Caramel Cupcakes in the 2nd Floor Kitchen. Enjoy!". (It was sent to my entire team.) I'm writing this blog entry to solidify my resolve not to get up and go to the kitchen for a cupcake. These are the kinds of things that make eating Paleo in the modern world really hard.
It's Monday and I'm back at work. I had this message in my inbox when I arrived: "Caramel Cupcakes in the 2nd Floor Kitchen. Enjoy!". (It was sent to my entire team.) I'm writing this blog entry to solidify my resolve not to get up and go to the kitchen for a cupcake. These are the kinds of things that make eating Paleo in the modern world really hard.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Last Day of Soda
I go on and off with drinking soda. I used to be a huge diet mountain dew fan. I finally kicked that habit a few years ago when I made a new year's resolution to not drink soda. I actually went without soda for several years ~ through my pregnancy and first year of having twins. Then I discovered Coke Zero. That has been drink of choice for the last year or so.
I've tried to stop drinking it, but it's free and easily accessible at work. I know that it's not Paleo. I know that it's full of total crap. But I thought it would be the last thing I give up in this change in lifestyle.
Yesterday, I started reading "Why We Get Fat: And What to Do about It". So far, it's a really good book. In the first chapter, he talks about how awful soda is and its one of the top things to eliminate from your diet. Crap. It's the thing that a lot of people say they don't see a difference in their health until they give it up. Crap. I guess my idea of giving that up last is out the window.
So, today is my last day of soda. My last day of sweet Coke Zero. My last day of not taking ibuprofen all day to get over the caffeine withdrawal. Tomorrow, I start getting over my caffeine addiction (again). Tomorrow, I start to get healthy (again).
Why not today, you may ask? Well, I just figure it will be easier to start this on the weekend when i don't have access to Coke. I can prepare this weekend for the work week ahead. So, tomorrow, Saturday, May 21st it is.
Here's the book if you want to check it out:
I've tried to stop drinking it, but it's free and easily accessible at work. I know that it's not Paleo. I know that it's full of total crap. But I thought it would be the last thing I give up in this change in lifestyle.
Yesterday, I started reading "Why We Get Fat: And What to Do about It
". So far, it's a really good book. In the first chapter, he talks about how awful soda is and its one of the top things to eliminate from your diet. Crap. It's the thing that a lot of people say they don't see a difference in their health until they give it up. Crap. I guess my idea of giving that up last is out the window. So, today is my last day of soda. My last day of sweet Coke Zero. My last day of not taking ibuprofen all day to get over the caffeine withdrawal. Tomorrow, I start getting over my caffeine addiction (again). Tomorrow, I start to get healthy (again).
Why not today, you may ask? Well, I just figure it will be easier to start this on the weekend when i don't have access to Coke. I can prepare this weekend for the work week ahead. So, tomorrow, Saturday, May 21st it is.
Here's the book if you want to check it out:
Damn You Candy and Cookies!
It's been a tough couple of weeks and my acne is back. I understand the benefits of a Paleo diet, but it is really hard to switch. Sometimes, I can totally resist - they had food at work for a meeting which was all non-paleo and I didn't eat any. But peanut butter cups in the lab yesterday? No willpower on that one. Cookie dough? No willpower. I've gained a couple pounds, gotten some big pimples and feel lousy. Man, this is hard!
We have a trip in a couple of weeks to Boston for a wedding. My husband plans to go full paleo when we get back. Start a new hard core 30 days of food and exercise. I'm going to completely rid our house of all things non-paleo.
Since baked goods are my downfall and finding alternatives to sandwiches for my kids' lunches is hard, I purchased a new book and am experimenting: The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. After reading parts of the book, she ways that Bob's Almond Flour (which is easy to find in grocery stores) doesn't work well in the recipes. I had already bought some of this, so I decided to use it anyway. I made the chocolate chip cookies (pg. 98), substituting butter for grapeseed oil and honey for agave nectar. They were super moist and taste like honey-chocolate chip cookies. The kids love them. My husband likes them. It's the first cookie that I feel ok eating and that tastes really great. Next, I need to try out her sandwich bread to see if that will make a good substitute.
We have a trip in a couple of weeks to Boston for a wedding. My husband plans to go full paleo when we get back. Start a new hard core 30 days of food and exercise. I'm going to completely rid our house of all things non-paleo.
Since baked goods are my downfall and finding alternatives to sandwiches for my kids' lunches is hard, I purchased a new book and am experimenting: The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook
. After reading parts of the book, she ways that Bob's Almond Flour (which is easy to find in grocery stores) doesn't work well in the recipes. I had already bought some of this, so I decided to use it anyway. I made the chocolate chip cookies (pg. 98), substituting butter for grapeseed oil and honey for agave nectar. They were super moist and taste like honey-chocolate chip cookies. The kids love them. My husband likes them. It's the first cookie that I feel ok eating and that tastes really great. Next, I need to try out her sandwich bread to see if that will make a good substitute.Monday, May 9, 2011
How to Follow the Caveman Diet - Video
A simple way to switch to a caveman diet video. It was focused on Bing Videos today... Paleo going mainstream!
Video Link
Video Link
Friday, May 6, 2011
Cookies are my downfall
I keep trying to eat Paleo. I keep trying to figure out how to switch my kids to Paleo. It's Hard. It's just plain hard. The worst thing for me is cookies. Now, this is nothing new... at Christmas time, I would eat tons of cookies. I didn't want anyone to make cookies because I knew I no self control. I also love cookie dough. I'll go to the store, buy pre-made cookie dough and eat. it. all. I simply will eat cookies or dough until I get sick. If my husband has cookies in the house, I make him hide them, so I don't eat them. Funny thing is I find cookies in really funny places now that he's forgotten about.
Giving up cookies to go paleo has been really hard. I thought that I would make some gluten free cookies to get my kids off traditional cookies. I bought 3 different mixes at the local PCC. The first one was not very good and my kids only ate half a cookie each. This was after eating their whole dinner just so they could get said cookie. So, I thought, "ok, I'll take these to work and they'll get eaten up there". Well, let's just say I packed them up for work and they never made it in. My drive isn't even that long. But, I. ate. them. all. I felt horrible (physically) for the rest of the day. You'd think I'd learn.
I tried batch number 2 last night. They were better than batch #1, although they're a bit dry and need milk to go with them. With milk, they're pretty good. But still, they aren't paleo and I shouldn't be eating them.
I think my plan of letting the kids have gluten free cookies is going to have to go out the window. I can't control myself, even if the cookies kinda suck.
I'm itching to go look for a paleo cookie recipe. But do I dare?
Giving up cookies to go paleo has been really hard. I thought that I would make some gluten free cookies to get my kids off traditional cookies. I bought 3 different mixes at the local PCC. The first one was not very good and my kids only ate half a cookie each. This was after eating their whole dinner just so they could get said cookie. So, I thought, "ok, I'll take these to work and they'll get eaten up there". Well, let's just say I packed them up for work and they never made it in. My drive isn't even that long. But, I. ate. them. all. I felt horrible (physically) for the rest of the day. You'd think I'd learn.
I tried batch number 2 last night. They were better than batch #1, although they're a bit dry and need milk to go with them. With milk, they're pretty good. But still, they aren't paleo and I shouldn't be eating them.
I think my plan of letting the kids have gluten free cookies is going to have to go out the window. I can't control myself, even if the cookies kinda suck.
I'm itching to go look for a paleo cookie recipe. But do I dare?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Switching Kids to Paleo
My twins are almost 3 years old. We did not start them on the Paleo diet when they started eating solids. Yes, we introduced bread and all sorts of grain based stuff. Then, when they were 2.5 years old, I learned about the Paleo diet for myself. Now that I'm trying to switch them over to a Paleo diet, it's pretty difficult... even at 3.
The good news is they generally like fruits and meat. They like some vegetables. The bad news is, they are at the stage where they won't even try foods or they spit it out as soon as it touches their tongue. I also have to pack their lunch every day for preschool and it's pretty easy to pack a sandwich for them when we're rushing around in the morning... they particularly like peanut butter and jelly. I'm hoping they like almond butter just as much, but I'm allowing them to eat the rest of the peanut butter in the jar.
So, what's a working mom to do? I keep looking for information and advice on switching kids over and not really finding anything helpful. I've decided for the short term to at least switch to gluten free foods for them. I also just ordered a dough-kneading food processor so I can experiment making my own paleo bread for them. Finding the time to make dinner every night and do extra food preparation is pretty tough. But, I want my kids to grow up healthy and I want them to have good, nutritious food along the way.
Please point me toward any resource that helps with this transition!
The good news is they generally like fruits and meat. They like some vegetables. The bad news is, they are at the stage where they won't even try foods or they spit it out as soon as it touches their tongue. I also have to pack their lunch every day for preschool and it's pretty easy to pack a sandwich for them when we're rushing around in the morning... they particularly like peanut butter and jelly. I'm hoping they like almond butter just as much, but I'm allowing them to eat the rest of the peanut butter in the jar.
So, what's a working mom to do? I keep looking for information and advice on switching kids over and not really finding anything helpful. I've decided for the short term to at least switch to gluten free foods for them. I also just ordered a dough-kneading food processor so I can experiment making my own paleo bread for them. Finding the time to make dinner every night and do extra food preparation is pretty tough. But, I want my kids to grow up healthy and I want them to have good, nutritious food along the way.
Please point me toward any resource that helps with this transition!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter Dinner
We had a great Easter Dinner. I didn't know what I was going to make since this is the first Easter we were eating Paleo. But it was scrumptious! I got some ham steaks from the butcher, and they were yummy! Then I made asparagus on the stove with a little garlic and onion. I made some mashed cauliflowers and an awesome carrot cake.
While at it, I found a great site with tons of recipes: http://www.primal-palate.com/p/recipes.html. I've bookmarked it for the future!
While at it, I found a great site with tons of recipes: http://www.primal-palate.com/p/recipes.html. I've bookmarked it for the future!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Paleo Food Matrix
On Robb Wolfe's Paleo Solution website, he describes a story of a woman who couldn't figure out what to eat on the Paleo diet. This led him to create a food matrix to show how easy it was to make paleo meals quickly and with few ingredients.
There are four groups of food in the matrix, proteins, vegetables, fats, and herbs & spices. The basic idea is to pick one item from each group and make a meal with those four ingredients. In his matrix he has 27 proteins, 24 vegetables, 5 fats and 25 herbs & spices. This would give 81,000 different meal combinations. Some of them may be horrible, but some can be unexpectedly really good.
And his cooking method is simple:
1. Put oil in pan
2. Brown meat in oil for a minute
3. add hearty herbs/spices before meat, delicate spices when the dish almost done. (I personally throw in the spice with the vegetable regardless of the type and it seems to work out fine)
4. Add vegetable
5. Stir, cover and set timer for 5-10 minutes
6. Eat, or cook longer if not done
After discovering the food matrix, I wanted to have it on my phone. Two reasons for this: I wanted to have a random meal generator when I was at home to stop my temptation of always using the same ingredients. It would make me more adventurous. And, I wanted it in the grocery store, so I could get ideas and make sure I had a variety of ingredients in my cupboards.
On my quest to find a mobile app, I came across both iPhone and Android versions. However, I own a Windows Phone 7. With it being a new phone, there wasn't that app yet. So, I did what any sensible person with a bit of programming knowledge would do and built it.
So, if you have a WP7 and want the Paleo Food Matrix, random meal generator, here it is!
I also made a little video so you can see all the functionality before downloading it. Note that I'm not an expert in making videos and the app could use a bit more design. But my goal was to have it functional and worry about aesthetics later (if more than just me downloads the app).
Here's what Robb has in the matrix:
There are four groups of food in the matrix, proteins, vegetables, fats, and herbs & spices. The basic idea is to pick one item from each group and make a meal with those four ingredients. In his matrix he has 27 proteins, 24 vegetables, 5 fats and 25 herbs & spices. This would give 81,000 different meal combinations. Some of them may be horrible, but some can be unexpectedly really good.
And his cooking method is simple:
1. Put oil in pan
2. Brown meat in oil for a minute
3. add hearty herbs/spices before meat, delicate spices when the dish almost done. (I personally throw in the spice with the vegetable regardless of the type and it seems to work out fine)
4. Add vegetable
5. Stir, cover and set timer for 5-10 minutes
6. Eat, or cook longer if not done
After discovering the food matrix, I wanted to have it on my phone. Two reasons for this: I wanted to have a random meal generator when I was at home to stop my temptation of always using the same ingredients. It would make me more adventurous. And, I wanted it in the grocery store, so I could get ideas and make sure I had a variety of ingredients in my cupboards.
On my quest to find a mobile app, I came across both iPhone and Android versions. However, I own a Windows Phone 7. With it being a new phone, there wasn't that app yet. So, I did what any sensible person with a bit of programming knowledge would do and built it.
So, if you have a WP7 and want the Paleo Food Matrix, random meal generator, here it is!
I also made a little video so you can see all the functionality before downloading it. Note that I'm not an expert in making videos and the app could use a bit more design. But my goal was to have it functional and worry about aesthetics later (if more than just me downloads the app).
Here's what Robb has in the matrix:
| Proteins | Vegetables | Fats | Herbs & Spices |
Chicken breast Chicken thigh Flounder Snapper Trout Halibut Mackerel Bass Salmon steak Salmon fillet Shrimp New York steak Rib eye steak Round steak Ground beef Beef ribs Rump roast Beef stew meat Pork loin Pork chop Pork ribs Baby back ribs Bacon Pork roast Lamb chops Lamb rack Venison steaks | Asparagus Avocado Artichoke hearts Brussels sprouts Beets* Carrots Celery Daikon Zucchini Fennel Root Kale Chard Dandelion greens Spinach Acorn Squash* Butternut Squash* Yam* Sweet Potato* Red pepper Yellow pepper Green pepper Red cabbage Green cabbage Napa cabbage | Coconut oil Olive oil Macadamia oil Avocado oil Lard | Allspice Basil Cardamom Cinnamon Celery seed Dill Fenugreek Garlic Ginger Curry-Red Curry-Green Curry-Yellow Oregano Cillantro Nutmeg Rosemary Thyme Garam Masala Bay Leaf Salt Herbs de Provance Chili powder Paprika Cumin Black pepper |
Monday, April 4, 2011
Eggs and Avocado
There was one recipe for deviled eggs made with avocado. While I didn't actually try that particular recipe, I did try hard-boiled eggs and avocado together. Yum! I would have never thought of this combination and it's really good. Super quick too - peel egg, cut up avocado, eat together. Nothing fancy and a great snack!
Paleo Solution 30-Days of Food
In the "The Paleo Solution" book, there is a 30-day diet to follow to get started with the Paleo Lifestyle. When I started this journey, I started with that as my blueprint. The recipes were good with some being really, really good. That Greek Scallop one is awesome! My husband also really like a lot of the meals and is happy we're trying some new foods for dinner.
I found that I didn't particularly like eating leftovers for breakfast or even lunch really. Breakfast has been the hardest though, and I know it's mostly mental. I've mostly switched over to making scrambled eggs for my breakfasts in March. Although I'm looking at some interesting recipes for breakfast in April.
I would highly recommend the dinner recipes in the Paleo Solution.
I found that I didn't particularly like eating leftovers for breakfast or even lunch really. Breakfast has been the hardest though, and I know it's mostly mental. I've mostly switched over to making scrambled eggs for my breakfasts in March. Although I'm looking at some interesting recipes for breakfast in April.
I would highly recommend the dinner recipes in the Paleo Solution.
Weeks 3 & 4
Week 3 is when I finally stopped feeling hungry. I had found some snacks (Larabars, dried fruit and nuts) and that helped a lot. However, my weight loss plateued that week. I went back to re-read some of the food recommendations and found that fruit and nuts are not to be consumed in high quantities if you're trying to lose weight. Oops. At least I didn't gain any weight.Week 4 is when I finally got the food consumption ratio down. I lost another pound and didn't feel hungry all week. I also noticed that my acne was going away... nothing new was popping up. I've dealt with that issue my entire adult life and it was a nice surprise. I can't say that I've really felt like I have that much more energy or other benefits, but I'll keep logging and we'll see what happens.
Friday, April 1, 2011
First 2 Weeks
Switching over to a Paleo diet is not easy. The first two weeks in particular really sucked. I felt hungry all the time. I had cravings for sweets in particular. I didn't like leftovers for breakfast. I had been a cereal breakfast eater for years and years and years. I had the runs from eating coconut oil... or at least that's what I attributed it to. All in all, totally unpleasant.During the first two weeks, I sent desperate emails to friends of what I could eat, especially for some snack ideas. One of the saviours was Larabars. There are a number of different flavors that are Paleo. The chocolate and peanut flavors are not paleo, but everything else is safe. And, thank god, they taste good too! The other thing I now always have on hand is dried fruit. While you're not supposed to eat a lot of dried fruit, or other fruit for that matter, if you're trying to lose weight, it was better than feeling super hungry and hitting the candy machine.
Although the first two weeks of transition really sucked, I did lose 5 pounds. That part of it really kept me at it and trying to figure out what I could do curb the cravings instead of giving in. I didn't seen any other benefits during those weeks that are touted by others.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
February 2011 - Start of the Paleo Lifestyle
Two months ago, I started down the road of the Paleo lifestyle.
I had heard about the Paleo diet and knew one friend who was doing it.
I'm not sure what intrigued me about it because quite frankly, I knew very little about it, but I couldn't stop thinking that maybe it was something I should try. My sister had two books on it and I borrowed those from her. The first was The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet. She told me that it would answer all my questions of whether this was a fad or based on science. The second book was The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy. While slightly different than a Paleo diet, it's very close. I read the Paleo Solution first. After reading part of it, I decided to dive in and start the 30 day program that they outline in the back of the book.
My friend who is also eating Paleo warned me that I needed to go the full 30 days and not drop out part way through. This is because you may not see any results during the first couple of weeks. This was true for me. I didn't see results until nearly the fourth week, and let me tell you, those first couple of weeks were really, really hard.
I had heard about the Paleo diet and knew one friend who was doing it.
I'm not sure what intrigued me about it because quite frankly, I knew very little about it, but I couldn't stop thinking that maybe it was something I should try. My sister had two books on it and I borrowed those from her. The first was The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet. She told me that it would answer all my questions of whether this was a fad or based on science. The second book was The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy. While slightly different than a Paleo diet, it's very close. I read the Paleo Solution first. After reading part of it, I decided to dive in and start the 30 day program that they outline in the back of the book.My friend who is also eating Paleo warned me that I needed to go the full 30 days and not drop out part way through. This is because you may not see any results during the first couple of weeks. This was true for me. I didn't see results until nearly the fourth week, and let me tell you, those first couple of weeks were really, really hard.
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