Beef…it’s what’s for breakfast.
We had leftover flank steak with peppers and onions for breakfast. I added a hardboiled egg (that had been languishing in the fridge for almost a week at this point), some avocado and salsa; Andrew got a scrambled egg. We both had oranges and I had some sauerkraut. I have to admit, I do like sauerkraut. Although, I wonder if I’ll still be saying that in a week.

And about that ‘following the meal plan 100%’ bit? Well, we’d mussed it up at the first meal of the day (supposed to be leftover quiche and leftover steak)! That, and the fridge is packed with leftovers ALREADY! Two servings each of quiche, seven chicken thighs, one more serving of flank steak and a turkey leg. I’m not cooking again until we make a dent, although at the rate we’re going in the protein department, it won’t take long.

For lunch, I followed the plan and had canned salmon with olives, sun-dried tomatoes in oil and a splash of lemon. I added a cauliflower-red pepper ‘hummus’ and veggies on the side. I wasn’t going to make Andrew eat canned salmon (roasted, yes; plain from a can of pouch, no), so he had leftover chicken and broccoli.
With all that protein (28g!!!), I wasn’t hungry again, until, well, I wasn’t. Finally at 4 pm as I laced up my shoes for my second trip to the gym (I’m fitting in both morning kickbox and afternoon spin on T/Th before I go back to school), I decided I should eat something. I grabbed half a banana on my way out the door.

After the gym–which is so fun now because Andrew waves to me on my bike as he enters the gym–I snacked on some dates and Trader Joe’s chili lime cashews while I popped dinner in the oven: turkey legs and roasted pearl onions.
I washed it down with a hard cider–gluten free and Paleo-friendly.
A word about ‘extras’: I’m still using the salad dressings in the fridge rather than making my own (who has that kind of time these days?!), since neither of us is doing this because of a gluten sensitivity or anything. Are they processed? Yes. Could I make my own version that’s healthier? Sure. But I can’t do it every night. I also intend to eat some chocolate (super dark is Paleo-ok, Hershey’s is not) every once in awhile. I have a bag of healthier popcorn to sneak into the theater this weekend when we go see American Sniper. And we may have to *fudge* a little on Friday night when we attend an impromptu fundraiser/gala/fancy-schmancy event with friends. Good thing chicken wings are Paleo (pizza, sadly, is not) since Abigail and Marvin will visit soon. All that to say, we’re gonna do our best, but I’m not throwing away my ketchup and mayonnaise yet. (Although I fully intend to eschew those things and even make my own ‘baconnaise’ once I have enough bacon fat saved up.)

After waking up a bit late (7:05; our alarm was set for 7:37, not 6:37), I raced down and got our bacon in the oven. I used my usual CoffeeMate Natural Bliss (milk, cream, sugar; no hydrogenated oils) in my coffee since I only have like two servings of it left. After that, I have Organic half and half which I’m going to mix with molasses and see how I like that. Andrew’s Paleo friend said she uses cream in her coffee, so I figured I could stick with a little dairy there too. Don’t mess with my morning coffee!

We started our day with pieces of crustless quiche and bacon:

I can’t say either of us loved the quiche; I think in the future I’d rather just scramble some eggs or make it an omelet. I cooked the bacon in the oven, like I usually do.

I added half a grapefruit and a little sauerkraut. The Paleo eating pattern includes fermented foods and probiotics, and the ‘squeaky clean’ meal plan recommends 1/4 sauerkraut each morning at breakfast. I like the stuff anyway, although it’s a little strange in the morning.

For lunch, I had prepped mustard chicken thighs the night before:

The recipe called for 1/4 cup coconut oil to be mixed with some Dijon mustard. I often do a mustard-roasted pork, so this was familiar. For those who don’t know, coconut oil is solid at room temperature because it’s a saturated fat. To work with it, you have to melt it, but it cools very quickly.

Other than a smokey kitchen (coconut oil also has a very low smoke point), I’d say our lunch was pretty good:

The chicken was excellent and was served with salad and grapes.

I snacked in the afternoon on some nuts and then some avocado and a hardboiled egg before a late dinner of flank steak, sautéed peppers and onions and broccoli. I added the avocado to make it like we were having fajitas.

Oh my gosh–so good! Andrew, so far, is a huge fan. (Of course he is; the main food is MEAT.) He’s replaced his usual pretzel snaking with nuts, so I’m just trying to help him keep his portions small.

I’d like to blog each day of the challenge with photos of our food, but I’d also like to include my thoughts on the Paleo/Primal diet as well. The recipes I’m making are from Practical Paleo, unless otherwise noted. Apparently there is a difference between eating ‘Paleo’ and eating ‘primal,’ which is like to explore. The challenge is actually through The Primal Blueprint, so I’d like to explore that website and information next. If it’s allowed in the primal eating pattern, I may include diary back in. (It’s so hard for me to go without yogurt!)

More tomorrow!

(Edit: I wrote this Sunday night and accidentally posted it in the wrong spot. Read as if it were yesterday night.)

Just for three weeks.

Or maybe longer 🙂

Tomorrow is the start of the annual ’21-Day Paleo Challenge’ and Andrew and I thought it would be fun to give it a try. (Seriously–I barely even had to twist his arm.)

Andrew has a friend at work who is into Paleo and I always enjoy talking to her about her eating pattern. (Of course I do.). We’ve started making some better choices in the new year (Andrew is back at the gym–yay!) and we figured this challenge would be something healthy and fun to try. And who knows? Maybe we’ll like it! It is a lot of meat…

While I’m not usually so gung-ho about a diet that excludes food groups (two!), I feel Paleo is a bit more of a ‘lifestyle’ eating pattern than a diet. The more I read about it, the more I realize it’s less about ‘eating like a caveman’ and more about avoiding anything processed, which does include grains and dairy, at least here in our country.

My mom gave me Practical Paleo for Christmas and I’m loving it. The author, Diane Sanfilipo, includes a bunch of 30-day meal plans, which I was dying to try. When I heard about the challenge, I figured the timing couldn’t be better. I’m going to try to stick to it 100%, at least for as long as our budget allows–meat is pricey!

The challenge starts tomorrow, and I’ve already made our breakfast and prepped our lunch, which I’ll share tomorrow. I’ll also share more along the way about the Paleo eating pattern and what I think.

And, in honor of the big day tomorrow, Andrew and I decided to really cut loose and indulge in more bread and pasta in one meal than we’d had all month–we went to Olive Garden for lunch.

Wish us luck!