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!

Double-digits!

I think I’ve cheated (it’s so hard not to!) enough times that I don’t really feel deprived, while at the same time I wish I felt, well, deprived. We’re eating way too well to feel like we’re really missing anything. I mean, come on! We’re eating bacon and beef and yummy salads and veggies…

Breakfast: Pesto eggs and bacon before kickbox.

Lunch: Andrew had a work meeting, so I was home alone. Tuna with a small apple and almond butter.

Snack: Homemade hot chocolate! Almond milk, cocoa powder, brown sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg. So good!

Dinner: I threw together some corned beef veggies and broth I found in the freezer with some pastrami and sauerkraut. Homemade applesauce on the side.

Later in the evening, I snacked on some salted caramel peanuts and some of Andrew’s popcorn. I haven’t been feeling as ‘svelte’ this week, and I think it’s because of all the later-evening snacking. No more!