Our Triumphant Return

Let me tell you, Arkansas is a beautiful place! They have a crazy amount of parks teeming with animals! We were lucky enough to stay at Degray State Park while their Avian Conservation Weekend was going on. We got to meet a lot of their rangers as well as some of the Little Rock Zoo personnel. They brought some birds from their collection and we were able to get up close and personal with these fellas! We even went on a falconry hunt with a threesome of Harris Hawks! We only caught a couple of grasshoppers, no squirrels. We saw a pair of Bald Eagles on our hunt also! And the place was within driving distance (6hours). Camping, Yurts, and Lodge rooms. Check it out! http://www.degray.com/Default.aspx

So, FOOOOD:
Friday:
Breakfast - Egg scramble with onion'n'bell pepper, salsa, avocado and water
Lunch and trip snacks - Grilled Chicken Breast. Homemade Trail Mix (cranberries, raisins, cashews, pistachio, walnut, pine nut, sesame seed, almond), LaraBar (awesome for quick snacks. No preservatives, just nuts mostly. http://www.larabar.com/ ), Banana, Sunwell Mixed Veggie Chips (HEB). lots of water
Dinner - NY Strip steak, trimmed lean, Steamed broccoli'n'carrots, Baked Potato with butter. water (cheat)
Turn down - with our package we got cookies and hot cocoa for 2 nights! Definitely a cheat.
Saturday:
Breakfast - Scrambled fake eggs :( , cantaloupe, pineapple, sausage, and bacon, water
Snack - LaraBarx2
Lunch - Iceberg lettuce, carrots, tomato.(half of a side salad) water.
Snack - grapes.
Dinner - Grilled Chicken Salad. (iceberg, hard boiled egg, tomato, carrot, radish, cheese [cheat], and ranch dressing [very small amount/cheat]) Lots of water.
Turn down - cookie and cocoa
Sunday:
Breakfast - Scrambled fake eggs :( , cantalope, pineapple, red grapes, sausage, and bacon, water
Road Snacks - Banana, trail mix, Sunwell Carrot Chips (HEB), Grapes.
Dinner - (The last cheat meal for a few months) Chilis' Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Steamed Broccoli and carrots. My favorite part was the veggies!! Water

Ok, i feel like i did pretty good for being on a trip. At no time during the driving portion did I have the urge to stop at a restaurant and pick up something to munch on. That is a huge victory for me! The Dinners were a testing ground. I wanted to see how a cheat item would affect me. I felt very weighed down after a cheat item. And super full. Normally i feel satisfied, but not uncomfortably so, after eating a Paleo meal. I feel like I could go workout and there wouldn't be a problem, but after a cheat meal I felt like I couldn't move for the next hour. Lessons learned. ;)

January 27?

ok, ok. Recap of the past few days:

Monday - was just an easy going day at home. Mackey got a haircut. I bought a Wii with some mad money. And we got dog food. Tuesday - Ax had TLG and I worked for only 4 hours!!! Then Family Fun time at my mom's. Wednesday - busybusy. We found an awesome rustic armoire on craigslist and went to pick it up in Plano!! That's right, I said Plano in the Dodge. It was nice though. We left just as morning traffic was dying down and it only took 3 hours to get out there, pick it up and get back! I was pretty impressed. The Dodge looked noticeably tired though! ;) Then, i upgraded to the iPhone4!!  And Today - we have things planned. Oil Change, Pack (romantical getaway to the Ouachitas), grocery store, view a house that I've wanted forever and just went on the market, and finally, get a pedi with my mommie. Busy day, I know!!

FOOD
Monday - I made that egg bake. I think I went over board with the amount of green veggies and not enough color/flavor combinations. I put spinach, broccoli, squash, zucchini, bell peppers (green) and mushrooms in it. I really didn't like it when I first tried it, but then I made some guacamole with Pace and avocados and it was really good. I had that for lunch, and dinner was a family favorite. It's a kind of stew type thing. Ground bison, Rotel, corn, and tomatoes. Delicious. I made a large portion so I could have the leftovers. The leftovers, however, hardly ever last more than a couple days.
Tuesday - Breakfast was the egg bake with guac. (Eggs were O) Lunch was stew leftovers. Dinner was grilled chicken breast and grapes.
Wednesday - Breakfast was chick-fil-a grilled chicken nuggets and a fruit cup with half an orange juice (Simply orange juice is 100% just orange juice. I recommend!). Lunch was pineapple, blueberries, and banana with some natural peanut butter (o). Dinner was half a chicken!! That's right, I said it! Half a chicken! It was sooooo good, and filling. i made a little mashed avocados to have with it, but I was sooo hungry for that chicken that I pretty much ate only that. Then bedtime snack was a banana.
Thursday - I can't tell you because it's only 7:47a!!! I'll try to post tonight before we leave.

Plan for the trip.
We are driving to the Arkansas so the hardest part for me (due to years of family trip training) will be to only eat/desire the snacks I pack. We always would stop at convenience stores for chips and a drink on road trips. I can hold strong!! Then, our stay package includes breakfast vouchers. I don't know what is included on the breakfast, but I'm hoping they don't give me too much flack for exchanging the pancakes for fruit. Lunches, i think, will be pretty easy. Lite portions and plenty of veggies. Dinner, however, will be difficult. We are traveling to the heart of home cooking, so bread is on the menu. I can stay strong. I have factored in a cheat-ish meal though. We are planning to dine on a river boat in hot springs, and I would like to enjoy without worry. Maybe, I'll have a glass of wine!! oh my! I'll let you guys know when I get back how it all went!

byebye

Munday

Holy cow, it's been awhile. I''l try to recount my steps over the past 3 days but i don't know that my memory is that good. ;)
Friday, I worked all day. Had a pretty good day. Resolved some issues. I grew a little in my personality and that's been a long time coming.
Saturday, I worked in the morning and hung with my family afterward. It was a pretty easy going day.
Sunday, we had a parents day out! My in-laws watched Baby Ax all day! That was nice to get away for a little while. (even if we only cruised Wal~Mart and took a nap)
And today, we just have plans for errands.
Food:
Friday, For breakfast, I only had a limited amount of time so I grabbed a banana and quick cooked some turkey bacon. Lunch was leftover spaghetti. NOMNOM. For an afternoon snack, I went to Chick-fil-a and ordered 12 peice chicken nuggets (grilled without breading) with a banana and apples from Sonic. Dinner was 2 porkchops, applesauce (o - natural) and Steam-in-bag mixed veggies (o).
Saturday, was a very lean day. I didn't feel like eating breakfast, but midmorning I got another banana from Sonic (it's across the street from work if you're wondering) and water. Then, lunch was canned chunk lite tuna in water and handful of Hazelnuts. Then a banana snack. Dinner was 2 chicken breasts(o) and sliced apples and mixed veggies (o).
Sunday: Breakfast - Rainbow trout grilled, steamed baby carrots, greenbeans, corn from CrackerBarrel. Snack- BuddyFruits cinnamon apples (o). Lunch - I grazed some. red grapes, natural peanut butter (o- no sugar added), sliced ham, `cherries, raisens. Dinner - 2 pork chops, sauteed onion&mushrooms, grilled asparagus and avocado. yums.

So, as this goes on, I have learned a few things. Eating out sucks. When you order veggies instead of fries, or grilled instead of fried you get more than one sideways look. And, of course, an up-charge. :/ The only place that I have noticed will understand your requests is Chick-fil-a. AND, the only use peanut oil! ... Some of my days are lean and I don't worry too much about it because according to some, Paleo has an occasional fast day because our Paleolithic ancestors had a hardtime finding food sometimes. ... I'm becoming a preservative nazi too. You don't really run into it with fresh veggies and fruit, but meat, you have to be careful. ... I'm finally getting to a point in this journey that I'm trying new recipes and puting together meals as opposed to just grabbing whatever is readily available to make a hodgepodge mixture of foods to just survive. ... Post breakfast yesterday, I had a hard time avoiding all the delicious looking desserts available. The pancakes, fried apples, glass of milk. eek, but the trout was awesome!! The cravings are getting better. I didn't think that sugar had sucha tight grip on me, but it does. ... I have been contemplating the use of juice. I know it's debated. On one hand, why the hell would a paleolithic man squeezed a fruit for the juice instead of just eating it? but on the other, just squeezing a fruit for the juice in this day isn't a sin. yeah, it's nutrionally inferior to eating the fruit, but sometimes, you just need a flavored drink. I'm of the opinion, that, if used in moderation, juice can be a part of this way of eating. Again, I'm a preservative and sugar nazi, so going for the juice that just has fruit juice is key. I picked up Dole's banana, pineapple, and orange juice and banana, orange, and strawberry juice. They are delicious! ... Right now, I'm attempting a mass egg bake concoction to make breakfast a little easier for me. With a 9 month old, I usually have very limited time for breakfast. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
Until next time, have a great Paleo day!

Thirsty

I always start out journals with great intention and they slowly fall off. :/ I can do it!
Yesterday was a fun day home and so was today!
Food:
Yesterday morning I had 2 scrambled eggs, 1 apple, 1 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup strawberries and some almonds. Then, lunchtime was ... something. I can't remember... meh, and dinner was 2 center cut porkloin chops and roast carrots, with 1 cup of applesauce (natural unsweetened).
Today. This morning I didn't feel like eating. For lunch I had 1/2 chicken breast (O), 2 center cut porkloin chops, sauteed onions, mushrooms and garlic. Dinner was Spaghetti (squash [o]) and homemade spaghetti sauce!! It was sooooo good!
I'm tired. more later

...whose broad stripes and bright STARS ...

Monday was work and your ... dallas ... STARS Hockey game! Dude, we got a sweet deal of $1/ticket!! It was nuts! Dallas trumped the Kings 2-1!
Food started out good. I got up early and made some scrambled eggs and fruit salad (pears, blackberries, cherries, apples, oranges). Had to work until 2p, but I didn't pack any snacks. :( I got lucky though and had a rouge banana hanging out in my car, so that held me over. Then, once home, I thawed 3 chicken breasts (O) and Mackey was kind enough to bake those (and eat 1! Ax ate a half of one.). They were delicious with the avocados and mixed veggies (corn, peas, greenbeans, and carrots). But then, time got away from me and I didn't have time to pack snacks for our excursion to the Stars game, so I figured to have a cheat meal. I got a basket of chicken tenders (deep fried, lots of breading) and fries. :( For one, they tasted like doodoo and two, they sat like a rock. I can admit that I was more than a little excited about a cheat meal, and then very disappointed. Has anyone had a similar experience? Mackey has made it his personal mission to make sure that I eat more often after reading my last post, which is helping. :) I think I'm gong to be eating more fish though because it cooks in no time!! it's crazy!! I'm thinking of trying a bison recipe in the near future. Anyone have a good one they've tried?

Sunday already?

So, life has gotten away from me a bit. The last 3 days (since its almost bedtime) have been a whirlwind! I worked all day on Friday, then Saturday morning I worked then went straight to Whole Foods for Ax's food (he's eating only organic. If you're curious why, I'll be happy to tell you. Just not right now). I probably should have just come home after work Saturday because I was exhausted. I didn't get much sleep Friday night and was just feeling plain worn down. more on that in a minute. Then came home to my family and caught a much needed nap, had dinner, watched Mackey play the soccer, then home (late). Then today Ax and I had church then bridal shower then home. I've been trying to catch up on laundry and cleaning and cooking but I can't seem to make any head way. : / Oh well, it will always be there, waiting...
So, Food. I have been finding myself skipping meals and delaying eating just because I can't find the motivation to make something, so don't be surprised at how little I have been eating. If I don't have something premade and ready to be eaten or warmed, I don't eat. I know this isn't a healthy approach, but I've been working on some strategies to help. I've been cutting up fruit and veggies so all I have to do is warm them or eat them. And the meat is a challenge because I have to premake that as well, but I'm not as good at it. I can really tell in my energy level when I haven't eaten for an extended period. My eyes get really heavy even though I feel ok. Then I find myself daydreaming more easily. I'll fix it!
Friday I had 3 strips turkey bacon with a banana for bfast. Lunch was Green Beans, cranberries, onions, bacon, Chicken and Beef fajita meat scramble. It was delicious!! And dinner was something good, I can't remember what it was, but Mackey made it. Then, yesterday morning I dodn't eat bfast because I woke up late. I didn't eat until 2p because of super busy. I had the chicken nuggets sans breading and fruit bowl from Chickfila! nomnom. Then dinner was hearty. Stuffed Bell Peppers with greenbeans bell peppers almonds sauteed! Mackey is amazing! Then after soccer game I had a couple slices of turkey breast ldeli meat with avocado. THEN, this morning, I had 3 strips bacon and 1 egg with a banana (half because Ax stole the other half!!) Lunch was lean because I was out n about (and chickfila was closed >:( ) Just some turkey deli meat, baby carrots, and broccoli. I was at a shower and they wanted to share punch with me, so I obliged. I was VERY sweet after all water!! Oh, I almost forgot, I was pretty stressed from Saturday's workday, I indulged with a 1/4 oz Dark Chocolate (76%). It was VERY good, but I probably should have just put my big girl panties on and dealt with my day. Meh. And Dinner is Flounder and steamed Veggies (zucchini, squash, carrots n broccoli). Although it's not my goal, I have lost 10 # in 3 weeks! Hooray! Maybe 150# by summer is feasible?
Got any ideas on quick Paleo finger food meats for a busy mom? I'd love to hear 'em!

Thursday

I've had 2 VERY busy days! Let's see, yesterday, we spent 2 1/2 hours at the doctor for Ax, which really threw a kink in meal stuff for all involved. After an awesome bfast made by Mackey, we had FreeBirds. I had the Freedom Salad. It was pretty good for a salad. They were kinda skimpy on the meat which made me :( but whatev. Then for dinner, Mackey made chicken fajita meat with sauteed peppers and steamed broccoli, carrots, squash, and zucchini. I LOVED it! I was so full. I'm finally getting to the point after meals that I don't have that hollow feeling. Is Detox coming to an end?! Then today, I had a less than hearty day. I had 2 hard boiled eggs, 1/3 fresh pineapple for breakfast. then lunch was grilled chicken breast with grapes and a banana. Finally, dinner was beef tips with avocado and fresh orange juice (I squeezed). I'm super full right now. I really didn't have a whole lot but I think the OJ pushed me over the edge. Sometimes you just need some flavored drink. ... Just a random thought here, I haven't nursed Ax in a week and my milk hasn't dried up nor has the soreness subsided. I figured with the lower calorie intake (milk production relies heavily on that) that I would dry up super fast, but, alas, I remain a Holstein. :/ ... I've noticed that even if I don't drink the 3 liters a day I'm used to, that my peep isn't yellow, I just don't go. Then, when I drink, I peep clear again. I wonder what that is about. I could speculate that maybe all the bads that from processed foods aren't there to be cleansed then released. ... I hope everyone is doing well on their journeys. Drop a comment, let me know how you are doing.

Better late than never!

So, last night was an early night. I guess I'm not completely over my "illness". Dude, let me tell you, that is the quickest (but not necessarily the best) way to jump start any cleanse you have to do. Icky McYucky. Anyway, my yesterday was pretty lean on food purely because I was scared to put too much into myself. I started out the day with a banana before I got Ax up, then 3 eggs scrambled in Olive Oil. Speaking of oil, has anyone used Almond Oil? Does it leave you with a weird flavor on your foods or is it a welcome change? Thoughts? Back to the train, for lunch, Mackey baked me some Nummy Garlic Chicken with steamed zucchini, squash and broccoli. NOMNOM. Then for dinner, i was feeling quite lazy and wanted to try OnTheBorder. Yeah, sub par. We had the GuacLive. The avocados weren't ready. I had the Taco salad minus cheese and sour cream and dressing. It was yucky. I forgot how bland Iceberg lettuce is. I've been spoiled by field greens and baby spinach. Oh well, you live and you learn. I was having a little bit of the dizzies yesterday. It's hard to say whether or not it is recovery from the sick or detox. Could be either. It's definitely getting easier. I'm so excited to start feeling healthy and happy!
Btw, I found this Groupon in my inbox today, may be worth a shot for you "time crunch"er's.
http://www.groupon.com/fort-worth/
Enjoy your day!

Recovered, mostly

So, I've been down since Saturday Night with the nasty version of the stomach flu. :( I don't recommend it. I'm slowly reintroducing foods. I've started with crackers and just finished a bowl of chicken noodle soup. I've successfully held it down for 20 minutes!! Tomorrow is a new day, however, and I plan to re-commit to the Paleo persuasion. I'll keep you posted.

FriDay

A quick recap of yesterday. We went to Main Event for bowling family funtime and to avoid eating all the fried fare they sell there, I packed a wonderful array of fruits and veggies. I didn't have any easily portable meats, so I stopped at the Target and picked up Applegate roasted turkey luncheon meat. Its as close to organic as I could get there. It was delicious! I had packed WAY too much food for mackey and me, but that didn't stop my temptation. My mom ordered a cheeseburger and french fries. My goodness it looked and smelled heavenly!!! Cravings are so hard. I get confused by them. It's almost like a fogginess. It's getting better but man oh man. Then dinner was easy, some pork loin (yum!) and carrots with cantalope for dessert. And for a follow up, Mackey and I went to Midnight Yell Practice (can I get a whoop?) and boy was that fun! But afterwards, I was so hungry and I didn't want to be cooking at 1a, so we went to IHOP. It was hard to pick out a reasonable meal. It wasn't the most lean of meals, but I'm not considering it a loss. Just not a  meal I would eat on a regular basis. It was the breakfast sampler without hasbrowns and sub pancakes for fruit. The fruit bowl was icky. The fruit wasn't sweet. meh. that's what you get though. I went hungry and left less than happy, but no longer hungry. They did have a salad that looked promising but I was afraid that if I asked for no this some that but only a little of these, I would end up with spit in my salad. I've never been a picky eater nor a special orderer, so that's going to take some getting used to.
Today, hmmmmm, I don't remember what I ate for breakfast. For lunch I had a chicken breast, cantalope and avocado. Dinner was less because I'm dealing with a sick baby and it makes me nervous. I had the rest of the Applegate lunch meat some raisins, crazy raisins (dried cranberries) and walnuts. Which reminds me, at Target the have some trail mix that fits nicely into Paleo!!! I'll try to find the bag, but I think it was Archer Farms dried fruit mix. It didn't have any added sugar, no salt, just dried fruit and nuts. I'll get back to you on it. But, see, now I'm getting hungry again so maybe I can stomach some more.
Tomorrow is Paleo Potluck!! Hooray!!
Well, i haven't gotten much sleep and the Cotton Bowl is on. I'm out.

Day 4?

Well, here we are again. Yesterday after we spoke, I had a big day out. Ax had a doctor's appointment. My mom and the two of us went to meet up with Matt and fam hoping for a little lunch with them but it didn't work out. My original plan was to go to Souper Salad for some yummy ensalada but Jason's was closer and they have organics on their salad bar. I ate my fill of field greens and spinach along with some hard boiled eggs, sunflower seeds, cashews, walnuts, and cranberries. There were some totally delicious cherry tomatoes on the bar!! You know what though, I ate A LOT of salad but at the end of the meal I felt unsatisfied. I felt like I hadn't hit the spot on what I was hungry for. I think, maybe, I was craving the sweets and cheeses, maybe even salad dressing (ranch). I walked away though. Then later ate a chicken breast (organic) [from here on out (O) will denote organic] and 1.5 pears, some lucheon meat (i had to finish what we had already bought. I think i'll still keep some of this on hand for quick snacks.) and some sliced carrots. I know I have to increase my amount already because I've lost 3 pounds in 3 days, especially if I want to keep nursing Ax in the morning. Gosh, I've noticed when I get sleepy tired that it gets super hard to resist temptation. I've had to throw out all the candy in the house and hide other grains and starches. Dairy is the hardest by far. I LOVE dairy in any form! Today I had a chicken breast for breakfast, Half of an avocado, and an apricot (icky. it was mushy and icky). I'm cooking a 3lb porkloin in the slow cooker with the hopes of enough leftovers for a few days of easy meals. Today is my brother's birthday and we are going to Main Event for some family funtime, so I need to pack plenty of good snacks because we all know that Main Event doesn't stock a nice salad bar ;)
More on this empty feeling. I really feel like I'm empty all the time. Not necessarily hungry, just empty. Like something is missing. I wonder if this is what it's like to detox, but on a bigger scale. I find it hard to think about other things when I walk by something that I want to eat. :/ this is not a happy feeling. I think I remember something a little like this with the Zone but not nearly this intense. I hope it passes quickly. 
As weird as this may be, has anyone had weird BMs with this Paleo thing? smaller, darker, and way STINKIER? Just something I noticed. And I need to drink a lot more water.
I'm afraid at how expensive this new way of eating is going to be. I spent $115 at the grocery store on produce on Sunday and I'm not sure how long I can keep all this. I know there is going to be a learning curve with that, but I hope I don't waste all of this.
ok. Nap time. more later

In the Beginning, there was me ....

So, here we go. I know that many people think making a resolution at the beginning of the year is for fools, but it just seemed right to me. It was good timing.

Mission Statement: To eat Paleo for the next 365 days.

Seems simple enough. Especially with a diet as simplistic as the Paleo diet. If you can't catch it, or pick it, you don't eat it. I had done the Zone diet for ~2 months before I became pregnant with my son and lost ~25#. Very slowly and with Crossfit. The approach I took with Zone was very much the same as the Paleo diet, so I'm hoping this will go well. I don't want to mislead you either, I'm not really in this thing to lose weight (although, it would be an added bonus). I'm in it to feel better. To be the best me, wife, and mom I can be.

I have been Paleo for 3 days so far. I went to the grocery store on Day1 and, boy, was that difficult. I have been backsliding since I became pregnant. Cravings are a very real thing during pregnancy, but then I had him and began my journey of nursing (breastfeeding). That takes a lot of energy and calories as it turns out. Who knew, right?! So, I tried my best to get all the calories I needed from whole foods, but to cushion it, I would snack on less than savory items. (mmmm, dark chocolate!) But, now, my son is weaning himself. It's time to get back to me. I wanted to do the Cowtown half marathon in February but I had to delay it. Maybe now, I'll have a year to work up to doing the Marathon?!?! You know, running really isn't my thing, but triathlon so is!! Maybe I'll take a year to build up to an Ironman! I wanted to do one before I was 30, but 31 would be ok, too! ...I'm really getting ahead of myself. :)

General thoughts:

Day1 (Monday) - very difficult. I kept spotting things that I wanted to snack on in the grocery store. Then, I was getting tired and overwhelmed, which was making it harder to resist, so halfway through my trip, I had to throw in the towel and leave with what I had. I still need to go back and get more meats. :/ But, tiny triumph, I didn't succumb!!

Day2 (Tuesday) - Mostly ok. I had to work all day, which is kinda hard because we still have a lot of goodies leftover from the holidays. But, once I let my coworkers know of my intentions it was a whole lot easier. They are very supportive and like to keep me on track!! But, when I went to pick up Ax (son) from my mom's, they were having Wingstop and I LOVE their fries!! It was so hard to sit and smell those wonderful things while I ate my chiscken breast and avocado! I finally left partially because Ax was ready for bed but mostly because I couldn't handle it anymore. Another tiny triumph though, I didn't eat any fries!!

So, That pretty much leads us to now. I have some rules for this too. I was reading a Paleo Book that was geared more towards weight loss and they give you a free day. I don't intend on having a free day.

Rules:
No free days
Penalty : $1 per bite of out-of-bounds foods ($20 max/day)
All fruits and veggies are in-bounds (even tubers & legumes. Again, I'm not going for weight loss, just whole foods)
All nut and seeds
Lean meats
NO sugar (artificial, added, you get the idea), cereals, grains, artifical food, packaged food
I'm planning on listing my foods each day, we'll see how that goes. I mostly just want to journalize my trip through this to help me. Until later.