Day 6... and then came Costco and samples....

Oh My Lord... I really do feel like I am on a diet today!! I had to try a couple SMALL samples at Costco.. I'm sure even Cavemen dabbled trying new things.. lol..

I am trying to remember what is on my diet plan, and what is Paleo friendly, although I'm not sure I will ever be able to be 100% Paleo.. maybe like 85% with small breads and pastas here and there... I don't know, because this is hard!

But on tonights menu is a Baked Mustard Lime Chicken:

Baked Mustard Lime Chicken

printer friendly

• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast
• ½ cup fresh lime juice
• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ¼ cup dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

1. Combine lime juice, cilantro, mustard, olive oil, chili, salt and pepper in a food processor
2. Pulse until ingredients are well combined
3. Rinse chicken breasts, pat dry and place in a 7x11 inch Pyrex baking dish
4. Pour marinade over chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 6 hours
5. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes uncovered, or until an instant read thermometer reads 165°
6. Serve with extra sauce spooned over top

Serves 4

http://www.elanaspantry.com/baked-mustard-lime-chicken/

Looks delicious, right?! Hopefully tonight it will prove to be as yummy as it appears :)

Weighed in today at 136.4 lbs... but I feel good, and I can tell my body is still adjusting. I do not feel bloated or heavy, and I do need to add in a good work out routine.

Day 5..

Day 5 was a bit more difficult because I went to work. When you stay home, it is much easier to keep in line because all of your foods are there! But I forgot to pack snacks because I was in a huge rish and running late :-/ So I had a dinner roll while at work and had a sample of our new desert... Chocolate Caramel Bundt served warm.. I gotta say.. it was hard to remind myself why I'm doing this... But I will sail through and not throw it all away.. I can still do this!!

Weighed in at 136.4 on July 12th, 2012 ... but I am feeling a little slimmer, even if the scale soesn't agree..

But we did try Paleo Fudge Pops and they were delicious!

3 cans full-fat coconut milk
3 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup cocoa powder

Whisk all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and whisk well. Remove from heat and bring to room temperature. Cool in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Day 4...

Today was a normal day, Eggs for breakfast and I cut up a Pineapple. I know I should be staying away from fruit, but I'm just enjoying it for now while it's summer. I got this Almond butter spread and put that on my Banana bread for a snack and that was good.

Currently, I've got some chicken defrosting and I am cooking the that with Asparagus wrapped bacon and steamed broccolli for dinner with the chicken. I think the hardest thing for me is not snacking on the *good stuff*.. or not knowing what to snack on.

Snack choice today was some fruit here and there, almond butter/banana bread, and the rest of the carrots and broccoli I steamed last night with dinner. (I went with carrots instead of asparagus to go with the Broccoli. The steak was PERFECT. I can't wait to do that again.

Problem I'm currently having is "what to drink?"
I know I need water.. I just don't like it, but I guess I'll get thirsty enough eventually. :)

One thing I do notice is I get full, but it doesn't last very long, I feel like I need to eat around every two hours.. I guess as long as it's healthy/paleo, it's not a big deal.

I weighed in this morning at 135.8

Day 3.. shopping and recipes tasting..

So I bought all Paleo friendly items today at the store.. Normally I would go up and down every isle, searching for items to take home. Cheez-its, Soda, Butter, Bread (<--staple item).. This time was different. VERY different.

I went through all the fruits and veggies; peppers, asparagus, apples, watermelon, pineapple, onions, lemons/limes, garlic, sweet potatoes... (organic mostly) and some roasted unsalted sunflower seeds (no shells).

And then I went through all the cooking items that we will need... that was probably the most expensive part.

Getting Almond and Organic flour, coconut oil, Almond butter, coconut milk, pure maple syrup, flax seed, and Omega-3 cage free eggs.

I still got cheese and milk. And I got steak and bacon.

 Getting the rest of my meats at the farmers market this weekend for the grass fed meats.

When I got home, I was very excited to try out some recipes. Paleo Banana Bread

This is the one I tried:
Almond Coconut Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large ripe banana, mashed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 small loaf pans (5 3/4 x 3 1/2).
2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Combine wet ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together.
4. Pour wet into dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
5. Divide evenly (dough will be thick) into loaf pans and smooth the tops.
6. Bake for about 35 minutes.
7. Remove loaves from oven, let cool in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

My Take: Not too impressed. I think next time I will double the maple syrup and add another banana and maybe even a little natural honey (even though its a Paleo fail) because it's better than sugar.

So a little disappointed, but not deterred. Next I wanted to try to make a Sweet Potato Salad to go with our Steak tonight. So I followed this recipes a little more loosely, using a light mayo instead of homemade, and I added eggs.

• 4 large Okinawan purple potatoes* or regular sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup homemade mayonnaise (see below)
• One or more of the following:
• 2 pickles, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

*Okinawan potatoes are often only found at Asian markets.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-purple-potato-salad/#ixzz20FVd1Zgk

This one was a FULL on disappointment. Ick. I don't like sweet and salty mixed, so that could be it.

Next I thought I'd go with something easy. A Coconut milk Strawberry Lime Smoothie... sounds delicious, right?

So I tried this recipe out.. I definitely added too much Lime juice, but still tasted bitter and not at all appetizing. I added 2 tbsp of honey to this... it was the ONLY thing that saved it.

Strawberry Lime Shake

• 1 ½ cups coconut milk
• 1 10-ounce package frozen strawberries
• 1 tablespoon lime juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (optional)

http://www.elanaspantry.com/strawberry-shake/

So now onto Dinner... I've got Ribeyes marinading in the fridge with a herbal ingredient with olive oil and vinegar to moisten. Steamed Broccoli and Asparagus with watermelon for desert... This I KNOW will be delicious...

Day 3 is a experimental day, but still a success... I haven't cheated :)

Ps: I weighed in at 135.2

Day 2...

Well day 2 was a Paleo Fail, I won't lie. I couldn't get groceries so I had nothing in the house other than eggs that were Paleo friendly. It was a stressful day all around, with my boys being sick and then having to go to my college to get my major changed. But I can start over and make this work and do it right :)

Posted by Bethany Parker at 5:37 AM  

Day 1 of Paleo...

Well today is Day 1 of my Paleo Diet challenge... going to try to make it to 30! I've never been good at sticking with diets.. or I have always aimed higher than I was able, but I want to try. I only cheated once today with a 2nd cup of coffee.

 Breakfast: 1 cup of coffee (before I read Paleo diet guidlines) 2 scrambled eggs w/ nature's seasoning.

Snack: 1 apple

*missed lunch*

Early Dinner: baked chicken tenders, with steamed broccoli. 1/4 cup of rice, 1/2 glass ice tea

Snack: 1/2 cup coffee @5pm Apple @6:45

tonight I'll be making a meal list for the week and tomorrow it's grocery shopping!
Hopefully this goes well.
weigh in @ 136.2 lbs on July 8th, 2012