In case anyone is wondering, Andrew and I have definitely relaxed a bit on the ‘challenge.’ Everything I make at home has still been Paleo (and will be up until the Super Bowl–we’re hosting), but eating out of at someone else’s house are ‘challenges’ I just don’t always feel like tackling. Thankfully, I’m not sensitive to gluten, so I can relax. Giving Paleo a try has opened my eyes to the challenges my patients and future clients (who either have dietary restrictions or subscribe to the eating pattern) have when grocery shopping or eating out.

Breakfast: Never quite managed to eat at home–still rushing off to the hospital in the morning! Two egg muffins with salsa, chicken sausage, kraut and a Clem. Great combo.

Mid-morning: Coffee and my mini-trail mix.

Lunch: Eaten close to 2 p.m.! Got stuck going over assessments with my preceptor… Chicken stir-fry and an apple with almond butter.

When I left the hospital, all I wanted was some hot chocolate. Not a normal craving of mine, but sure. Our plans for the evening got all turned around (kinda like last Friday), so I’m glad I indulged in this treat to tide me over for awhile… (I also indulged in a little retail therapy too…it was a stressful week!)

Instead of heading to the gym for 5 p.m. spin, I met Andrew and friends at our local watering hole where I ordered the chocolate cherry stout. OMG. Amazing. And I don’t even usually like stout.

Our friends were wanting Bar Bill, our wing place (best in WNY!), so we popped next door to get a table. I chugged some water–always a good idea when drinking and my fool-proof way to avoid a hangover–before we sat down at a table.

Their fries are absolutely phenomenal, so we started with some of those:

Everyone got an order of a different wing flavor; I chose medium and Andrew got his favorite: Cajun. We split a beef on weck sandwich. Enjoyed with an Irish ale.

Needless to say, I haven’t slept well the last two nights….all that indulging! Ready for a normal day again.

I’m still day(s) behind at this point, but I’m workin’ on it. I woke up this morning (Saturday) around 5:30 and figured I might as well get some things done. Blog posts, notes to friends, emails, weekly log for school …

Anyway, THURSDAY. Long day; left at 7 a.m. and got home after 10 p.m. And Andrew wonders why I was a crab Friday morning…

Breakfast: Two Apple strudel muffins with bacon and a Clem. A heaping for up of kraut as I ran out the door.

Mid-morning: My 25-cent cup of coffee from the ECMC cafe as I did assessments.

Lunch: Salmon on salad, roasted cauliflower. Still didn’t eat the applesauce thing.

Afternoon snack: trail-mix. Did I ever tell what was in it? Dried pineapple and mandarin orange slices (a trader joes find), almonds and dark chocolate.

And this is probably when the intake for the day started going downhill…

Left ECMC and went to a friends’ house to hang out/kill time before book club that evening. No point in driving all the way home to turn around and come all the way back to Buffalo like 30 minutes later. My friend made hummus and had lots of veggies and GF crackers and things for us, which was sweet. We painted our nails and chatted about our rotations.

Dinner: there is always enough food at book club that it can be dinner, so I’ve stopped eating beforehand. There are also 2-3 GF ladies, so I knew the Paleo Pumpkin cookies I brought would be well-received. SO GOOD! Recipe can be found at thegirlwhowentpaleo.blogspot.com.

I enjoyed lemon-dill hummus (my new favorite!), GF crackers and a bean/corn/avocado mix. For dessert: Paleo pumpkin cookies and chocolate cake made with beets–my first grain in the entire challenge! I thought it was funny that I managed to over-indulge in all these ‘healthy’ foods and treats. The cookies may have been Paleo, but it doesn’t mean they don’t have sugar (honey)!

I’m a day behind and using a free moment to catch up. We didn’t get back from bible study until 10 p.m., and then we went straight to bed. (Translation: i hurriedly did all the things I felt needed to be done and was in bed an hour later.)

Breakfast: Two egg muffins, salsa, chicken sausages and sauerkraut and a clementine.

Mid-morning snack: I broke out my mini-trail mix around 10 a.m. While we were reviewing counseling materials. Wednesday is my preceptor’s out-patient counseling day, where she speaks to groups and individuals about rotating topics.

Lunch: Had to re-pack my lunch to make it more car-friendly as I drove from one site to another. Curry chicken salad, carrots and spicy guac. Didn’t end up eating the applesauce/baby food thing.

Not pictured: afternoon coffee from Dunkin as I ran a quick errand. Before I got home, I snacked on two Larabar bites.

I ran three miles with Hadrian and quickly showered before wolfing down lamb and cauli-rice leftovers before bible study.

Another not-pictured: All the (air-popped) popcorn I ate at bible study. Mindless eating at its best! Tummy hurt after that…