Paleo Challenge: Day 14

Thankfully, I was able to sleep in this morning until almost 9 a.m., but felt like a train wreck. Can’t really make up for lost sleep.

Breakfast: I totally forgot to take a picture! Andrew and I had apple strudel egg muffins (think more egg than crumb-texture), Canadian bacon and cranberry kefir. We don’t love the muffins, and coconut oil spray DOES NOT work as well as Pam. Cleaning that muffin tin was a job and a half!

Morning/lunchtime snack: After spending two hours prepping food for the week, I finally got out to take Hadrian to the dog park around 12. My tummy was rumbling, so I grabbed a container of homemade trail mix, half of which was eaten before we arrived, and the other half as we left.

2015/01/img_9490.jpg

Bonus photos: Epic food prep! Breakfasts, lunches and snacks for Monday-Friday for me, plus Andrew has some leftovers and pre-cooked sausages as well. Chicken stir-fry and salad with salmon are my entrees this week.

2015/01/img_9491.jpg

2015/01/img_9486.jpg

2015/01/img_9487.jpg

Lunch: Eaten around 2 p.m. after the dog park, a trip to Tops and filling the gas tank. Same as yesterday: egg salad with bacon, chives and tomato with veggies and guac dip. Verdict on the egg salad? I prefer a 2:1 ratio of whites to yolks. This 1:1 business is just too much. Extra crispy bacon? Yes please!

2015/01/img_9492.jpg

I met a friend at the gym around 4 for an intense lifting session, as in, I won’t be able to use my arms tomorrow. But, as they say, ‘no pain, no gain.’ Afterward, she joined us for dinner. Lamb meatballs with balsamic and fig reduction, cauli-rice and salad.

2015/01/img_9493.jpg

She brought dessert: Paleo brownies! Such a good treat! I may have eaten slightly more than what is pictured here…

2015/01/img_9494.jpg

Two weeks down, one to go. I’m not feeling as fantastic as I did after the first week, but I blame that more on some cheats and still trying to figure out portion sizes with such rich food without counting my calories. Don’t get me wrong; I do feel good. I have plenty of energy and like that I’m not snacking on crackers or pretzels. Now, we just need to get this recent Yotality obsession under control!

Paleo Challenge: Day 13

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.

2015/01/img_9474.jpg

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

2015/01/img_9477.jpg

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.

2015/01/img_9478.jpg

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

2015/01/img_9480.jpg

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!

2015/01/img_9481.jpg

2015/01/img_9482.jpg

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.

2015/01/img_9483.jpg

Paleo Challenge: Day 12

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.

2015/01/img_9463.jpg

2015/01/img_9461.jpg

2015/01/img_9462.jpg

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

2015/01/img_9466.jpg

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.

2015/01/img_9467.jpg

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.

2015/01/img_9470.jpg

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.

2015/01/img_9471.jpg