Paleo Diet ~ Week 4

Whoop whoop! Week 4 is over! We made it 30 days, for the most part, on a Paleo diet! I am super proud of my Ball and Chain for sticking to the diet plan and doing his damnedest to change his eating style. This diet really opened both of our eyes and gaves us a new perspective on food.

It also helped the Ball and Chain to lose 16 pounds in 30 days! That was with no exercise and not cutting out his rum and diet cokes on the weekends. I have no idea what I lost because I didn't weight myself in the beginning, but I do know for a fact I lost inches. And that's good enough for me!

Even though we are not going to follow the diet to a "T" anymore, I did buy a new Paleo cookbook. It's called "Everyday Paleo" and the recipes look really yummy. Yes, I bought it because each recipe had a picture next to it. :) The biggest thing for us is that we are going to remain eating healthy. High protein, moderate complex carbs, good fats, and portion control. It's not a diet, but a lifestyle!

Paleo Diet ~ Week 3

Week 3 is done!! Only one more week to go! This past week was a little harder on me then the previous weeks. Even though I craved carbs super bad the first week, this week it was salt. It may have to do with me starting my running schedule back up. I don't know, but I'll track week 4's carvings with my workouts and see what I come up with.

We did have two meals this week that will for sure be in the monthly dinner rotation; Spaghetti w/Steamed Green Beans and Jambalaya. I'll be up front, I was very hesitant with the Jambalaya recipe because... it's Jambalaya! How in the world are you suppose to eat it without rice? Yum, Rice! But surprisingly it did turn out pretty good.

Spaghetti w/Steamed Green Beans

1.5 lbs ground turkey (ground beef of chicken is fine)

2 tbsp dry Italian seasoning

2 jars spaghetti sauce

1 1/2 cups frozen carrots & peas

Fresh Green Beans (you can use frozen or canned)

~ Brown ground turkey with Italian seasoning. While meat is browning, mix spaghetti sauce and frozen veggies into your slow cooker. Once meat is done, drain excess fat grease and mix cooked meat into the spaghetti sauce. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Clean fresh green beans and cut off the ends. Steam green beans 20 minutes before you are ready to eat. Pour sauce over your green beans and enjoy dinner!

Jambalaya

1 lb spicy chicken sausage - sliced

1 1/2 cooked shrimp

1 green pepper - diced

1 red pepper - diced

1 small onion - chopped

1 tomato - chopped

1 head of cauliflower - finely chopped

2 small cans of El Pato tomato sauce

1 cup water
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp creole seasoning

~ In a large pan saute; green peppers, red peppers, and onions. In another pan, brown chicken sausage. Once the sausage is brown add to the saute pan. Also add tomato sauce, water, cauliflower, tomato's, and creole seasoning. On medium heat bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce heat for 20 minutes. Once ready, add shrimp and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes or until shrimp has warmed. Great with a side salad!

Paleo Diet ~ Week 2



So easy a caveman can do it? I'm really not sure if I would go that far because this diet is a pain in the ass! First off, since there is no processed food (yes, i'm still having withdrawals from my taco bell volcano burritos) that means weekly shopping trips to the grocery store for fresh produce. You try taking a gaggle of kids to the grocery store and see how you feel after. I'll bet you'll be hiding right next to me in the garage sneaking a beer. Which of course is NOT allowed on this diet! Then there is the prep work. Grant it, it does make the rest of the week meal making a lot easier. But it's still an afternoon of washing, chopping, dicing, and packaging. Pretty much what I've learned after week 2 is this... dieting is a pain in the ass!

A few things we ate during week two...

Beef Stir-Fry:
Tip Steak - sliced
Carrots - shredded
Broccoli - flowerets
Asparagus - diced
Bean Sprouts - 1 small bag (may or may not be allowed, i don't know)
Water chestnuts - diced
2 tsp Sesame Seed Oil

~ Saute carrots, broccoli, and asparagus in sesame seed oil. After about 5 mins add tip steak and cook until steak is at the temperature you desire. Add bean sprouts and water chestnuts, toss for a few more minutes over medium heat. Enjoy!

Pork Roast and Veggies (slow cooker):
3lbs Pork Tenderloin
15oz tomato sauce
2tsp basil
1tsp garlic powder
Cauliflower - flowerets
Zucchini - sliced
Asparagus - cut ends off

~ Mix tomato sauce, basil, and garlic powder in your slow cooker. Coat pork roast with seasoned tomato sauce. Add Cauliflower. Cook on low for 6 hours. After about 4 hours add zucchini and asparagus and cook until done. If you aren't able to add the zucchini and asparagus until after the cook time you can always steam them. 

Egg, Turkey, Veggie Scramble:
4 eggs - scrambled
1/4 cup red/green bell peppers - chopped
1/4 cup spinach - chopped
Turkey - diced
A couple dashes of hot sauce

~ Saute spinach and bell peppers for a couple minutes. Pour in scrambled eggs. Once the eggs are almost done to your liking toss in the turkey to warm. I have doubled this recipe and split in half to eat the next day.

Paleo Diet ~ Week 1

Week 1 of our diet adventure is over and all I can say is.... Thank goodness there is only 3 more weeks to go!  I am not a diet person, I like food!  You know the saying, "eat, drink, and be merry?"  I live by those words.  But my husband wanted to give the Paleo Diet a try, and since I'm such a great wife, I figured I should be supportive and follow the 30-day plan with him.

Friends of ours choose the book, "The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet" and have had great results, so we decided to read the same book.  The Paleo Diet pretty much takes eating back to the hunter and gatherer days; meat, veggies, and fruit.  No processed foods (DUH, that's just common sense), no refined sugar (more common sense), no dairy, no grains, no potatoes, and no legumes.  That's a whole lot of no's and I don't like no's. Just ask my husband! ;)

So far Adam has lost about 6lbs.  Me?  Yeah, the scale and I have major issues so I refuse to stand on it. Ever since I can remember I've had this number stuck in my head of what my weight "should" be.  And even though I know it's unrealistic, not only because it's unhealthy but also muscle weights more then fat,  I can't shake the number.  So instead of beating my self-esteem up over a number, I chose to gage my results on how I feel and look.  And with that... I better see some damn results quickly or this carb loving girl is going to throw in the towel!