The Breakfast/Lunch Challenge

Other than the whole no-pasta thing, the biggest challenge for me (well, both of us) is what to eat for breakfast and lunch.  For as long as I can remember, I have had cereal for breakfast.  Other than weekends/special occasions when my family or I would make a deluxe breakfast, I would have cereal.  So what do you do when you aren't supposed to eat grains or dairy??

Lunch is a similar problem for me.  I typically have something involving cheese, crackers, an apple, a sandwich, yogurt, or something along those lines.  So most of that is now out.  My husband typically just has dinner leftovers, so he doesn't have such an issue.

Today (our first day of Paleo), has already been a bit difficult.  I made a big batch of hard boiled eggs yesterday so we could have an easy breakfast of eggs and fruit.  That actually kept me reasonably full all morning.  Yay, protein!  Once I have more time on my hands, I plan to try some other easy make-ahead breakfasts.  Stay tuned!

For lunch today, we both had some leftovers of meals that were primarily meat and veggies.  I admit though, my leftover chowder did have milk and cheese in it, but hey- remember baby steps!  So when I was still hungry 3 hours later, instead of going for the string cheese or crackers, I tried out a smoothie!  I was on a smoothie kick for a while this summer, so I decided to break out the blender and try again!  I am hoping to make large batches of smoothies as another option for a ready-made breakfasts or lunches.  So, here is what I used today:

• Ice
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Banana
• Spinach (going green!)
• A squirt of Honey (not pictured)
• A splash of Milk (I realized I needed some sort of liquid to make the blender work and this was the best I came up with... I wish I had orange juice- I'll try that next time!)

That squash on the side did NOT go in, it just wanted to be in the picture...

 The smoothie ended up tasting great and as I had heard- you can't taste the spinach.  It just adds nutrients and turns it....

 

GREEN!

Stay tuned for more smoothie varieties and my attempts at figuring out breakfast and lunch.  And of course our first Paleo dinner tonight!  If you have any B/L recipes/ideas, please share!

My First Paleo Shopping Trip

Well I am off to embark on my first grocery trip with my new Paleo shopping list.  I am pretty much prepared to just buy every item in the produce department, and I guess some meat too.  We actually have a ton of meat/poultry in our freezer since I always buy in bulk at Sam's Club, so we are pretty well stocked in that area.  Chicken breasts, pork chops, ground beef, etc.  We have it all.  The thing I am most worried about with this diet is that I will have to take more frequent trips to the grocery store to get fresh produce- I try to keep my trips to once every 2 weeks if I plan things out well enough- just because I am working and taking grad school classes, and I'd rather not add daily errands into that mix.  So, we'll see how it goes!

Before I provide my grocery list, I feel the need to share a disclaimer:  I am not, nor do I claim to be, a Paleo expert.  I know that we will not be able to jump in 100% and do the pure Paleo diet that the masters can do.  This means we are not going to go all-Paleo with everything.  I'll try to make substitutes for my usual items like condiments, but in small quantities I may keep things like Soy Sauce for marinades and whatnot.  For now, I don't think that will kill us.  We are also keeping dairy, just cutting down the quantities.  I maintain that since milk comes out of animals and humans, even cavemen would have had access to it.  Shoot me for it, but I can't eliminate dairy entirely.  Maybe one day.  Finally, we are not cutting out alcohol altogether- just cutting down.  I mean, if we can have vinegar, shouldn't we be able to have wine?  Fermented grapes seem like they could have been found by cavemen...  Maybe this is selfish, and I know this makes me a half-assed Paleo-ist, but alas.  Baby steps are better than no steps!

So here goes- this is what I will be shopping for today:

• apples
• bananas
• oranges
• berries (whatever looks good)
• avocados
• zucchini
• spaghetti squash
• butternut/acorn squash (whatever they have)
• asparagus
• brussels sprouts
• cauliflower
• peppers (stoplight colors)
• lettuce (iceberg/green leaf)
• spinach
• pineapple
• onion (red and white)
• garlic
• mushrooms (white and crimini)
• jalapenos
• peaches
• applesauce
• almonds
• cashews
• ground turkey
• flank steak
• pork butt/shoulder
• deli turkey
• bacon
• eggs (1.5 dozen to add to the dozen at home)
• milk (yes, I know, I can't get rid of it!)

And what I HOPE to find but may need a special trip for:

• almond flour
• almond butter
• coconut oil
• tamari sauce

So there you have it!  We have less than a day until our Paleo lives begin- stay tuned to see how the first few days go!

UPDATE: Take a look at the (partial) results of my trip!  I think I wiped the produce section clean...  In other news, I will need another special trip for the almond flour/butter.

40 Days is Nothing, Right?

This whole experiment started 2 days before Lent when my husband suggested to me that instead of my usually act of giving up chocolate for 40 days, I try something new: going Paleo.  I won't lie, this sparked a legitimate panic attack in me once I realized that this meant I would be cutting out my favorite things in life: pasta, cereal, bread... carbs.  I live for pasta.  No, really.  I am part Italian and I grew up with most of my meals containing some form of pasta/rice component.  And I loved it.  I could eat pasta every day of my life and be happy.  I want to live in Italy and eat nothing but fresh pasta.  Ahhh my dream...  So you can imagine my horror at the thought of eliminating this glorious food from my diet.  Why can't I just stick to the norm and give up the same thing I have given up for the last 10+ years- which also happens to be something I can hardly live without- chocolate? Why did he have to introduce this new challenge to my life?  Well once the panic died down a bit, I started doing some actual research...

I found some sites that detailed the Paleo lifestyle, and I also found some recipes for all types of meals.  Slowly, things started to seem more doable.  I love to cook, and I am pretty skilled at coming up with delicious dishes every night for dinner- I would just need to buy more produce and hit up the local Natural Grocery store, but I thought... I can make this work.  So here goes nothing!

We are starting with Lent: 40-some days of Paleo.  If it doesn't kill me, maybe we will continue this longer.  We'll see...  At the end of the day, neither of us needs to lose weight, but we are hoping that eating this way will make us feel healthier and happier.  It will be an interesting challenge to see how I do with cooking carb-free, but I am confident that I can make it happen!  Join us on our journey as we go 40 (or more) days From Pasta to Paleo!