Insomnia struck, big time, last night and I was up around 4 a.m. So not fun. I find when I eat out and/or drink, I don’t sleep well. It’s probably just an excess salt or sugar in my system. Anyway, I got up a busied myself with my to-do list: check email, finish an article, make more Paleo muffins (two kinds), cook bacon, etc, etc, etc.

Early morning (around 5 a.m.): Earl Gray tea, banana and almond butter.

Breakfast: Eaten hurriedly in the car on the way to snowshoe. Two pumpkin muffins and some bacon.

We made it FOUR miles in two hours–speed demons today! Mr. Perini, our snowshoe guide, brought us hot chocolate in a thermos for after.

We had lunch a couple hours later. I had a Paleo egg and bacon salad with veggies and Trader Joe’s spicy guacamole dip.

Andrew and I had more hot chocolate this afternoon after we met friends for curling at Canalside. I. WAS. SO. COLD. Like, I couldn’t feel my toes.

After we got home, Andrew napped (we were both beat, but I’m just not a napper) and I putzed around, doing more things to get ready for school. I rearranged the pantry (not exactly essential for school, but I wanted to get it back in order after moving the non-Paleo items from easy reach; I ended up re-doing it so less-healthy grain snacks–like pretzels–are no longer at eye level, and better options like dried fruit and nuts are more prominent) and made some containers of trail mixes and homemade Larabars. Of course, in doing so, I snacked on various fruit and nut varieties as I was portioning them out.

Dinner: Bison burgers on sweet potato ‘pancake’ buns with broccoli slaw. So good! The pancakes were a bit sweet and perfectly paired with a bit of that spicy guac dip. They would also be great for breakfast with a little syrup. Andrew even liked them!

We spent the evening doing a variety of tasks, like relocating the Christmas decorations in the basement, folding clothes, painting a baseboard in the kitchen, and of course, cleaning up from dinner. That grill pan makes such a mess of the stove! I also wiped down the appliances and vacuumed the kitchen, all in the name of getting ready to go back to school. When I was finally finished, all I wanted was something cold and sweet: black cherry froyo with some dark chocolate syrup.

I made my first set of Paleo muffins yesterday–pumpkin pecan. Paleo baking often includes an ‘alternate’ flour, such as coconut or almond, and more eggs than usual. I was very pleased with the texture of the muffins! Coconut flour has more protein and fiber than regular flour, which affects the texture a bit.

Breakfast: Pumpkin muffin with Kerrygold butter, one egg with a bit of cheddar and half an andouille sausage, plus sauerkraut.

After kickbox, I had errands to run, so I brought along some cranberry kefir.

Lunch: I was running late for my Trader Joe’s date with a girlfriend, so I wolfed down some of our ‘Thanksgiving dinner’ leftovers before jumping in the shower.

That held me from 12:30 to 5:30, when I figured I should eat SOMETHING as I was on my way to happy hour to meet Andrew and some friends at a local favorite, Brew Works. I had a coconut Larabar in my bag so I had that. Good thing, since we spent almost two hours there before deciding to walk next door to 189 Public House for dinner with one of our couple friends.

Dinner: OMG it was phenomenal! I got the duck with blueberry sauce and roasted root vegetables. So good.

We ended our night across the street at Yotality (love that we walked to all our stops last night) where I got a mix of my favorite flavors: red velvet, mint cookie and salted caramel pretzel. A cheat, but a good cheat.

I took the morning off from the gym in favor of getting some things done around here. I made a meal to bring to a friend who had twins…four months ago. I figured it’s not like life really ‘calms down’ at any point (she also has two older kiddos), so why not? I cleaned my desk, did dishes, made some banana bread with chocolate chips to bring to my friend as well (don’t worry, the leftover loaf went in the freezer!), made Paleo pumpkin muffins, did more dishes and prepped lunch for Andrew and myself. Whew! It was a glorious, productive, stay-at-home kinda morning.

Breakfast: I tried the other porridge recipe, Tahini-Pumpkin, but didn’t love it. Next time, I would sub almond butter for the tahini. It’s so bitter to me!

Mid-morning snack: Same as Tuesday–plain yogurt with raspberries and maple syrup.

Lunch: Leftover Chinese Five-Spice Lettuce Cups. Mine turned into a salad with some avocado.

I had a busy afternoon–dropped the meal off with my friend and. Is ited for a bit, then straight to a story interview, followed by the gym around 5:30. I snacked on some almonds in the car between stops, and I’d brought a small glass of kefir in the car for after my workout.

Dinner: Thanksgiving in January! Thanksgiving meatballs (pork), roasted sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts and homemade cranberry sauce.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite as yummy as I though it would be. The cranberry sauce was very tart (recipe from the Paleo cookbook), the Brussels sprouts were somewhat bland and not the greatest texture (they’d been frozen) and the meatballs were just alright. Good thing sweet potatoes can be relied on to always be fantastic!

To end the night: Lemon Ginger tea!