Lola...Paleo Einstein?

Lolas Journey:Einstein  Is reported to have kept several sets of the same outfit in his closet so that he could simply grab an outfit without having to think about what he wanted to wear.  I am approaching Paleo the same way.  So far, I am happy eating the same things as it keeps me from thinking about the food too much right now.  I am trying to switch gears from food being "entertainment" to food being a "nutritional necessity".  Making food less of an "event" and learning what "comfortably full" and "satisfied" feels like.

I am in the swing of my Paleo adventure.  I have tightened my belt a notch (sometimes 2 depending on the day !!!!)   The scale has not reflected too much of a change but I FEEL a difference:  Less tired, less logy, less mood swings, less bloating..MORE FOCUSED.  

I have been doing Paleo about 80-20% minimum... 100% on a good day.

Typical day consists of:

Breakfast:  Hot soup.  Yup. You heard me right. :) Italian Wedding soup MINUS the pasta or Beef and Tomato Soup (both with copious amounts of garlic and red pepper )

Lunch:  Poached chicken, lettuce, artichoke hearts (sometimes a bit of feta cheese in there)... with olive oil/red wine vinegar and pepper.

Dinner:  turkey sausage with broccoli and mushrooms (and garlic) OR Turkey burger salad with melted feta (theres that crazy feta again!), -your basic turkey burger cut up on a plate with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and thousand islands dressing.  Yesterday I ate out at Red Robin and chose the Avo-Cobb-O salad !  I usually get the southwestern chicken but it has corn and black beans so I bypassed it for something else.  I did indulge in 2 mozzarella sticks and a handful of sweet potato fries. :)

I have been eating fresh fruit salad as well:  watermelon, mango, strawberry, kiwi and some  pineapple.  I readily admit Ive been eating too much of this. (my son is enjoying this as well !) Ive also been eating some vinegar based coleslaw after work before dinner time. (again..my son is diving in and enjoying this instead of cookies after school !)

Eating the soup in the morning gives me something warm to start my day with and I can make a huge pot of soup that lasts me the week.  No thinking in the morning.  My son has also started eating soup in the morning before school which beats eating cereal and milk ! YEY !!!!

Times I have veered:  Movies...I ordered popcorn...a big ass popcorn.   Ive had some chocolate Belvita or Apple Cinnamon Belvita in the evening.   Still enjoying coffee in the morning with flavored creamer and I have not given up diet soda yet....YET. (thats a tough one!)  I usually drink one during lunch at work.

Im not drinking enough water either.  Need to work on that.

New for this week:  I started taking fish oil capsules to combat aches and pains from work.

The adventure continues!!!!!

Sara: "I couldn’t believe I was paying that much $ to eat that pure CRAP"

Yesterday, I was feeling lazier than usual. I love cooking, but just didn't feel like it last night.  I texted Rick (my husband) and told him I wished payday was already here because I had zero desire to cook. 

He wrote back, "Pizza night?"  I don't take much convincing to not cook AND eat pizza!  We wrote a check, picked up the pizzas and chowed down.

I slept horribly - I spent most of the night in some kind of intestinal distress.  I can't even tell you how many times I ran to the bathroom.  I joked with Rick this morning that I was on the "Pizza Diet" - you just eat pizza...and then spend the next 12-24 hours crappin' your brains out!  (ew - sorry!)

Last night, when I couldn't sleep, we were emailing each other while he was at work. I told him I was regretting the pizza.  In his next email, he said something pretty groundbreaking.



photo credit: http://danielctw.com



"I don’t blame you on the pizza. The other day when I took the boys to McD’s, I was sitting there thinking about how I couldn’t believe I was paying that much $ to eat that pure CRAP. It was awful. That’s the last time I’m eating there."

It's true!  We spend SO MUCH money on crap and then try to say, "Ohhh...I try to eat paleo, but it's just so expensive."  Instead of spending $20 at McDonald's for lunch, spend $20 on a couple pounds of grassfed beef that can be used for at least two meals (more, if you have a smaller family).  It's amazing when you think about it.

My favorite example is chicken nuggets.  My kids have a strange love affair with chicken nuggets that I will never understand. I recently discovered Ian's brand frozen foods. I'm not touting this as Paleo-friendly food - I discovered these before I decided to try the Paleo way of doing things.   Still...read this description of their chicken nuggets:

Our beloved best-seller, Ian's Allergy Friendly Chicken Nuggets are a classic childhood favorite, made with wholesome antibiotic and hormone free skinless and boneless white chicken breast meat. We've made them with no wheat, no gluten, no milk, no casein, no eggs, no nuts and no soy, so they're friendly for all kids of diets!  Easy to prepare in the oven or microwave.  Also available in a 20oz Family Pack!

Ingredients:

Chicken nuggets (skinless, boneless no added antibiotics or hormone* chicken breast with rib meat, canola oil, potato flakes, water, sea salt). Coated with batter: (water, yellow corn flour, corn starch, baking powder, garlic powder, sea salt) and breaded with cornflake crumbs (milled corn, cane sugar, sea salt). Cooked in canola oil. Chicken raised without added antibiotics or growth hormones. *Federal regulations prohibit the use of added hormones in poultry.

http://www.iansnaturalfoods.com

So, yeah, there are some non-Paleo ingredients.  But compared to McDonald's chicken nuggets?  No brainer.  It's easy to see which one is better for your body.  Ian's nuggets are "expensive," though.  $6 for 3 servings!  (That's the best price I've found so far - at Sprouts.)

However, if we're willing to spend $4.50 on a happy meal, then maybe we need to step back and re-evaluate our priorities.  I'm just as guilty of this as anyone.  It's hard to get out of the "quick fix" mindset.  It's cheaper and better for us to have something like Ian's and some fruit at home...then go to a park.  But McDonald's has been ingrained in our minds - and our childrens' minds! - as this great "treat".  The food comes in a fun box and when you're done, you get to go play on the indoor playground!  Who cares if every single thing about the meal is sub-par?

photo credit: http://frisco-tx-homes.com

I'll tell you who cares.  I do.  My husband does, too.  You should, too!

Rick's also starting to notice the difference in how he feels when he eats junk.  We lose what little energy we had (because, let's face it, how much energy can one have when working full time and parenting three kids??).  We feel bloated and cranky.  I even have skin issues that flare up. And my legs swell!

When we eat right, we have an extra spring in our step.  We sleep better. We're happier because we feel better. The more we detoxify our bodies from these poisons we've been eating, the more we notice the difference when we "fall off the wagon."  Making small changes here and there can do a world of good.

My goal for this weekend is to cook ahead.  If I have a few things in the freezer that make for a quick meal, then the next time I'm feeling lazy I'll be less likely to resort to fast food.  I honestly don't think expense is the most difficult part of eating Paleo - planning ahead is.  If you don't have a plan, then you're far more likely to give in to old habits, which will likely lead to regret!

Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup

I've been craving soup lately. Sometimes I just don't really feel like eating, but a bowl of warm soup sounds good.  When you have frozen homemade stock on hand, making a quick soup is much easier than you probably think.  The homemade stock brings so much flavor to whatever soup you add it to that you don't need to season it much, either.  It's almost fool-proof.

(I'm running low on homemade stock, so I will cook up another chicken this weekend and make a post about it in the near future.)

Last night, I roasted some butternut squash as a side for our dinner.  This was a large squash, so I knew I'd have quite a bit leftover - seemed like a perfect time to whip up some soup for the following day!

(I confess I didn't take any great pictures of the process because - once again - I was doubting myself and wasn't sure it would be something I'd want to share.  Silly me.  I've decided to post the recipe anyhow because there are pictures online very similar to what I had on hand. My cell phone couldn't have done this well, though!)

 First, I cut the butternut squash lengthwise and removed the seeds.  I then removed the skin from the squash with a sharp knife and cut the squash meat into approximately 2" squares (not an exact science!).  I used my Misto to coat the pieces in a little olive oil (can easily sub coconut oil, but I'm out due to making a batch of fudge).  Then I sprinkled a little nutmeg on top (maybe 1/2 tsp - not necessary).


photo credit: http://momsinablog.com



On a cookie sheet lined with foil, I roasted the squash for about 20 minutes at 400 F, turning the pieces over halfway through.

If you're making the squash just for the soup, you could just cut the squash in half, lengthwise, remove the seeds, oil/season the inside and place it face down on a cookie sheet.  Cook at 400 F for about 40-50 minutes and then scoop out the insides.

So now... the soup!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• ~5 cups of roasted butternut squash meat
• 5 cups homemade chicken stock (or other flavor, if you prefer)
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• salt & pepper to taste



photo credit: http://www.tasteofhome.com
Mine looked this creamy...but without any dairy!



Directions:

Place everything in a bowl and mix with an immersion blender until smooth!  (You could also use a food processor, if you prefer.)

I prefer hot soups, but this one could be served cold as well - it's delicious either way.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Sara: "I don't wanna feel sick any more!" Sara's New Motto

Yesterday, one of our remote offices decided to treat some of us to lunch by having it ordered in.  She ordered an assortment of foods from Jason's Deli. A month or so ago, I would have looked at these foods as fairly healthy options.  Various low fat wraps with veggies, pasta salad with veggies and a tangy vinegarette, blue corn chips with salsa, potato salad...and a big plate of cookies.

I told myself I'd just have a little.  A little couldn't hurt, right?

I grabbed one of the half-wraps - turned out to be chicken salad - and a small scoop of potato salad and went back to my desk.

The tortilla tasted awful - tasteless and dry... gummy in my mouth.  The chicken salad wasn't impressive, either, honestly.  Neither was the potato salad.  I still ate most of it, though.  I think the "free food" alarm was going off in my head. Not sure why else I would eat something that tasted so bland.

A little while later, I went back.  I don't even know why I went back. Old habits die hard, I suppose.  I grabbed a scoop of pasta salad.  There were two cookies left - both were white chocolate macademia.  I convinced myself it was kismet and took one.

Back at my desk, I ate the pasta salad. The salad dressing was the saving grace - nice and tangy.  There were olives and peppers in it, too, which I love.  The pasta wasn't doing anything for me, though. 

I'm not going to lie, the cookie was kinda tasty.  I ate the "chocolate" and nuts out of it, mostly, leaving the dry bits without any fun stuff behind.

And then it happened.  Within an hour, I felt like I'd eaten a bowl of rocks.  My stomach just felt awful. I was so gassy another hour or so later that I was in pain just sitting at my desk.  I kept wiggling and twisting, I got up and went for a little walk. I just wanted relief.

Walking out of the building at 5pm, I started burping.  My body was NOT happy with me.

By the time I got home, my left ankle was starting to swell. I still felt like there were rocks in my stomach. 

I ate a Paleo dinner and felt better.  I even worked out last night - first time in a while. 

This morning, I was in a rush. I'd let the morning slip away from me and two minutes before I needed to leave I realized I had not prepared anything to take for lunch.  I panicked.  I have no cash until payday, so going out wasn't an option.  I grabbed a bag of broccoli slaw and some balsamic vinegarette.  I headed to the freezer in the garage, content to claim just a mild defeat by grabbing a spicy black bean veggie burger.  Then I realized I had fully cooked frozen chicken tenderloins out there!  (Tyson makes a kind that's not perfect, but lower in salt than most store-bought frozen grilled chicken. I bought the bag a couple of months ago.)  I grabbed a few of those and tossed them in a ziploc.

Add to that a bag of baby carrots, a peach, a Larabar and some pistachios to snack on and I was set.

I received an email this morning from our admin letting us know that there was still some Jason's Deli food leftover from yesterday if anyone wanted it.  I told Rach and Joie about the email and how my immediate reaction was, "NO NO NO!" (In my head, of course, I wouldn't want to be rude!) 

The way I felt yesterday after eating those foods was awful.  I was miserable all afternoon and into the evening.  Talking to my husband, I wondered aloud, "Did I just feel like that all the time before and not notice?"  I can eat Paleo foods until I'm stuffed and not feel sick afterward.  No amount of Paleo foods make me feel bloated and ill. 

I don't wanna feel sick any more. 

My friends say I'm lucky because I have the almost instant reaction to these bad foods.  That's a good way to look at it, I suppose.  I'm still shocked at how badly my body reacts to things I used to consider "healthy" not so long ago.

I put my lunch together today and the plate of food just made me smile.  Not only are these foods very tasty, I know they're doing good things for me as well.  I know when I'm done eating, I'll feel satisfied, not sick.



My body is healing with this diet.  I don't consider this a "low carb" diet because I still eat plenty of fruits and veggies, so I'm getting my carbs. I'm just getting them from a more natural source.

As my body heals, I have more energy. As my energy increases, I move more, exercise more, etc. 
And with the better foods and extra movement comes weight loss.  Yes, I need to lose weight, but being fat was never enough to convince me to eat right long term.  I'm not eating just to lose weight any more.  I'm eating for my health.  Not just some theory that might add three years to the end of my life - my health today. Right now. 

If I want to feel good today, I need to eat well today. 

How life changing is that?