We Made It! (Day 30)

And now to finish our anniversary cake!!

(Sorry that we haven't posted all week - - we've been busy!)

Tomorrow is October! We made it through our month of eating healthy! Whoo-hoo! Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement (and your teasing and tempting). It was a fun time.

And what are the results? Chad lost 10 pounds!! Good job, Chad! And I lost 5 pounds and two pants sizes. Crazy how much diet effects our bodies. We feel great, though we are very, very excited about tomorrow... Tomorrow will be like mardi gras - we're going to have our favorite foods that have been off limits all month long. Mmmm, waffles, pizza, ice cream....I can hardly wait. It's like Christmas!! However, let me reassure you, we will continue to eat healthy (just not including tomorrow!).

This is our plan: stay away from processed foods and anything with corn syrup. We'll still eat lots and lots of veggies, everyday. We'll eat gluten and dairy again. We'll eat smart. But - any holidays, birthdays, and celebrations we have a free pass to eat whatever. It's a special occasion; we should be able to indulge! :)

So there is our status and our future eating plan. :)

Thanks for sticking with us. Love ya!!

Final Week

This little behavioral experiment has both gone by quickly and achingly slowly. At this point in the experience, I think Lisa and I have adjusted fairly well to eating healthier, fresher foods. Perhaps we could even be like many of the individuals who brazenly state, "I eat like this all the time!"

I think the greatest challenges of the process has been when we get into a sugar/junk food craving. For example, seeing Dominos pizzas on sale for $5, or wanting ice cream, or chocolate chip cookies. It's hard to say no to stuff like that, and we tried to work around it at times by purchasing rice cream and rice flour and mostly unsweetened chocolate...but nothing compares to the highly processed utter deliciousness of tablespoons upon tablespoons of sugar, butter, and high fructose corn syrup.

It's also difficult to adhere to the program when we are away from home. For example, being at a fair, like where we were today. Fortunately we were able to subsist mostly off of nuts and berries sold at vendors for high prices, but there were absolutely no acceptable meals. So I bent a little bit and got a "walking taco," which had Doritos chips and some cheese. I'm not proud of it, but I was very hungry.

Similarly, preparation time for these meals is much longer. And simply being prepared is important--having lots of fruits and veggies on hand at all times is necessary. There is no bread and peanut butter and jelly option for us. The simplest meal for us to make so far has been omelets, which, while simple, cannot compare to the ease of making a bowl of cereal (or again, a sandwich).

Soooo....just a few more days to go. Thanks for supporting us, those of you who have been.

Chili!!

We are loving those habanero peppers!! Chad made a big batch of chili in the slow cooker this weekend. Mmm...it is so good. And hot!! He added a whole jar of salsa and a half cup of rice and I quite like the result. Chad makes the best chili. Yum!

This is the home stretch!! Day 25, only five more days. :)

Habanero Peppers Are Amazing

I don't have a whole lot to say, except that habanero peppers are incredible. I suppose Lisa's parents already knew that though, especially Lisa's dad.

Still, even with the warning from Lisa's parents, I never would have expected the pepper to be as hot as it was. I've eaten some hot foods and enjoy my chili powder and whatnot, but habanero is by far the hottest, spiciest thing I've ever eaten. Ridiculously so. And I love it.

Habanero Peppers Pack a Punch! (Day 21)

Chicken stir fry (with peppers!) and mashed sweet potatoes

We tried sweet potatoes last night. I peeled them...what a chore! Then we boiled them for 20 minutes. After straining, we added coconut milk and maple syrup and then blended it all up with a hand mixer. They were tasty. We had our mashed sweet potatoes with a basic chicken stir fry. Well, basic except for one ingredient: habanero pepper. I only put about a half of a pepper in with the stir fry. It was a nice touch - hot and spicy.

And so, tonight....we made curry chicken over brown rice. We were feeling confident about our last meal, so we added a whole habanero pepper to the mix. Yikes! It was hot. The kind of hot that makes a sweat break out on your forehead and your nose run. I think, from now on, we'll use our habanero peppers with care!! Haha.

I just want some bread! ...and cheese. ....and ice cream.

I am really lacking motivation to continue on with this 'food plan.'  I mean, after the buffet this past weekend, why not let a couple things slide? I mean, what's the big deal?

So, those were my thoughts and during my nightly web browsing, I came across this article. It was really helpful. Here are my reflections.

1. Focus on the present. I've been focusing on the past (the buffet) and thinking how far away the future end date is. I need to think about here and now.

2. Take action. My action was to write this blog post.

3. Look at how far you've come. We've made it to day 20!!

4. Do one thing differently. I have a couple things in mind: pack more snacks for the work day, and try some new recipes (hopefully some sweet and also something reminiscent of bread!).

5. Detach from the outcome. Hmm...I already messed up once and now I'm afraid of messing up even more, so why don't I just quit? Yeah, I'll work on that thinking pattern.

6. Remember the payoff. The end result: Chad and I are super healthy. And happy because of it. I just have to keep telling myself that it is worth it!!

Our first avocado

It is so much fun trying new foods! Who knew avocados tasted like....nothing? Haha. I like the avocado because it looks really neat; take a look at that pit! And I love the color. Plus, they are super good for you. :)

Taco Salad!

Supper tonight was really really good! We tried out a new recipe: taco salad. 


Here it is:


TACO SALAD

• 1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
• 2 Tbs chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 3 romaine hearts
• 1 can black olives, sliced
• 1 avocado
• fresh cilantro
• 1 small jar of salsa
• 
  

1. Heat medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef or turkey and onion to pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until browned.
2. Add chili powder, garlic salt, cumin, oregano, sea salt and water, and let simmer for 5 minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, wash lettuce and tear onto two plates (save some for leftovers).
4. Top with meat, sliced avocado, black olives, tomatoes, cilantro and salsa.

We would recommend omitting the cilantro. It smells weird. 

Confession: Chinese Buffet

Okay, so..... we ate at a Tempura House, a Chinese/Japenese/sushi buffet on Sunday. Chad's parents forced us; they threatened to disown us if we didn't go. Haha. Not! They offered, it was Chad's birthday weekend, and it was hard to say no. I'm happy to say that I didn't go overboard - I had salad, fruit, soup, pork, and then just one plate of white rice with General Tso's chicken. Chad, on the other hand, had three plates of rice and General Tso's chicken (but it was his birthday!). He regretted eating so much afterwards. I did too.

So, we confess. We are sorry. We are back on track.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAD!!!!

Lots of food today. And we ate out at Perkins twice today! Haha.

Sadly, our dish for the family picnic was a flop. It was a pork loin pot roast. It sounds lovely, doesn't it? But no, it was not so great. The chocolate coconut cake we made for Chad's birthday was more successful. Cristin said she liked it more than regular cake and that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. :)

That's my report for the day. It's been a loooooong day and I need to call it a night!

Eating Healthy Is Okay I Guess

Well, I think it's been a relatively successful two weeks of the Paleo Plan. I started the plan thinking it was both ridiculous and awesome. I mean, the idea of eating what our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate and being as healthy as they were is very appealing to me. And for the most part it's gone well. As Lisa mentioned, I did eat some bread...and some of the recipes we've made has stuff like baking soda, or baking powder, or brown rice flour...and I don't think the hunter-gatherer folk would have had any of that stuff. So it's not Paleo to the letter, but we have done very well so far in keeping to our goal of avoiding gluten and dairy, and mostly well in avoiding anything processed.

Although I have to admit that it is incredibly helpful to see a change in weight with this plan. Since beginning the health change, I have dropped almost 10 pounds. And remember, it's not like we're restricting our food intake. If anything, we're trying to eat more and more, because sometimes this stuff isn't quite as filling as delicious, delicious cheese-covered pizza. And we're still eating at normal times and all that, so thus far we're not worried about developing eating disorders (although this is exactly how eating disorders typically begin). Unlike Lisa though, I haven't dropped pants sizes, so I don't know where all my disappearing weight is disappearing from! Maybe my big head. I am still pretty awesome though.

Anyway, Lisa and I went for a run tonight. Friday nights are our long run nights. And two weeks ago today was our second day in the program, and I was hating it and ready to quit. Two weeks later, I've eaten lots of vegetables, even ate mushrooms, and have been eating generally very healthy foods. And I'm actually enjoying the stuff. Although sweet stuff is still not as satisfying. Not even close. But still! I am a changed man! I look forward to completing the rest of the month.

And it's my birthday tomorrow so you should all wish me happy birthday.

I Ate Mushrooms

So again, you have to realize, for those of you with taste buds that already enjoy a diverse selection of foods...that I do not eat mushrooms. Ever. Willingly or knowingly, at least. I don't really think that canned cream of mushroom counts either. I'm talking about quarter-inch or larger mushrooms. Ask my mom. I would assiduously extricate every mushroom I ever found in spaghetti sauce or other sauce until it was clear of mushrooms. My dad was happy to eat them at least.

So anyway, I think I ate more mushrooms from that paleo pizza than I've ever eaten in my combined life before this health change.

Recently my sister sent me a graphic of the average food that an American eats. It got me thinking. Here, take a gander at it:



415 pounds of vegetables? I'm guessing that in my average year I'd be closer to 4.15 pounds of vegetables. And to pick up that slack, I'd probably eat more like 80 pounds of corn syrup instead of the average 40. And pizza. I can only imagine how much pizza I eat in an average year. When Lisa and I lived in Baraboo, we would commonly go to a place called Pizza Ranch. It's a delightful pizza buffet place, and we frequented it as often as Lisa would let me. And my motto when it comes to buffets is that you don't just eat your money's worth...you eat so much that you wind up making money (although in truth, I got that motto from my friend Peter Curti).

The point is that my diet was lousy. Perhaps my only saving grace was that I didn't/don't drink soda all that often, and I don't consume any alcohol. So when I say I ate mushrooms, that's a huge accomplishment! I almost can't believe I'm still sticking to this plan!

We're Halfway There....!!

Paleo Pizza! It's half gone because it is so yummy!

(Whew. Sorry that it's been awhile.)

It's the end of day 15! We have made it halfway through our month of eating clean. :)

Our most recent new meal was Paleo Pizza. Chad made it all by himself, and he did a mighty good job!! And he even put a whole can of mushrooms on it! I'm so proud of him! *sniffle*

Gotta have our treats!

Chad and I are all about treats. That may be the most challenging part of this month.  We regularly have treats and we always find something to celebrate...and how can you celebrate without yummy food?!? We have discovered and we love Paleo Candy Bars. Delicious and so quick to make. And they satisfy that sweet craving.

Also, we had a bit more of our rice cream tonight. We topped it with our pure maple syrup...and oh my goodness, it was fabulous! The syrup tasted like caramel. So good.

I'm happy to report that we are both losing weight, feeling good, and looking great. I've actually dropped two pants sizes, but that could be a result of all the running too.

Day 11 (Chad's perspective)

Lisa is telling me that I'm slacking, and that I need to post more. So, here am I.

I have found that I actually like vegetables. Maybe not all of them, as I've yet a lot to try, but quite a few of them. Bell peppers, tomatoes, spaghetti squash, onions....pretty basic stuff. Most people would find that wholly unimpressive, and that's good for them. But for me, you have to understand that I have probably eaten more tomatoes and peppers and onions in this 11 days than I have in my entire life apart from these 11 days. And that's probably not an exaggeration. Ask my parents. I'm more of a macaroni and cheese guy, with the occasional tuna tossed in, which was about the extent of my food variety.

As part of our anniversary celebration, we decided to go to Zanzibar, as Lisa had mentioned. We had been looking forward to it for months. We heard that is was a pretty neat place, and I think some generic Google Reviews rated it highly. I can't imagine why, unless those people enjoy cacophonies, poor service, and expensive and unimpressive food. Okay, maybe that's too harsh. The food was actually quite good, probably the only good thing about the place. But you pay way too much for far too small an amount of food. And I did eat some bread there. I am ashamed. Lisa did her duty to publicly shame me in front of you all, and I cannot even deny it. And the bread was delicious. But I tried not to tell her that. Although I failed and she scolded me for that as well.

Thank you all for the anniversary congratulations and well-wishing. It has been an amazing year together with my wonderful wife, and I look forward to all the rest that will come.

Day 11 (Our One Year Anniversary! )

Ah, what a great day. We started off with a huge breakfast, which was tasty! Church went long...and they were  giving out ice cream sundaes afterwards. We had to pass. :( We went shopping for a bit...ended up in Wal-Mart with a very hungry Chad. He wanted everything he couldn't have. But he was good and waited until we arrived at home to eat.

The Paleo barbecue for lunch was gross. We're not going to make that again. I'm not even going to post the recipe. It calls for 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder! Very strange. And not yummy. Lunch was redeemed by another batch of paleo-approved chocolate chip cookies. I altered the recipe (less flour, extra egg) so they turned out more cake-like, which is an improvement from the first crumbly batch. Chad calls them 'cakies' instead of cookies. Haha.

And then we had company! My parents came for a visit to celebrate our 1st anniversary. My mom gave us a thoughtful anniversary gift: coconut flour, pure vanilla, and almond milk! She's so supportive! We went to Perkins with my brothers. I had the most amazing salad. Probably the best I've ever had. It was the chicken and spinach salad. It even had bacon. Oh my goodness, it was delicious! And it was totally within our diet. Chad had the chicken stir fry, which was good. It had white rice though, so he was bending the rules a bit.

Speaking of bending the rules... CHAD ATE BREAD LAST NIGHT!! Yep. I just had to say it. At the fancy restaurant we went to last night, Zanzibar, Chad ate six pieces of bread! Also, by the way, Zanzibar was a disappointment. Very loud, very expensive, poor service, and little food (though it was yummy!). So...yup, he ate bread. Shame on him. And he had the audacity to eat it all in front of me! I'm happy to report that I stayed strong and resisted the temptation. :)




Breakfast: Western omelet with hash browns
Lunch: Paleo barbecue over baked potato
Supper: Chicken & spinach salad (Lisa) and Chicken stir fry (Chad)
Snacks: Jerky, watermelon, and chocolate chip cookies

Day 10!

It's our anniversary weekend. It's been a glorious first year of wedded bliss, and we're going to celebrate - even on this special diet!

We biked to the farmers' market this morning and scored big: a big bucket of tomatoes, a smaller bucket of habanero peppers, and a spaghetti squash...all for $10! Then we went to the food co-op and found a real treat for this weekend: ice cream!! Not real ice cream, of course. It's made from rice so hopefully it tastes decent. It was pricey, but it is for a fun celebration. And maybe we can make it last until Chad's birthday next weekend!

Back at home, we made a new dish - curry chicken. It was quite good, though next time we'll hopefully use fresh veggies instead of frozen. We also ate our fill of watermelon. I love watermelon; it's sweet and watery and so delicious! Chad cranked out another batch of venison jerky and we are both looking forward to eating it.

The plan is to eat out tonight at Zanzibar, a fancy restaurant in town. I've been waiting all year to go there and so, diet or no, we are going. I anticipate ordering to be tricky, but their website says they will cater to those with dietary restrictions. There is hope.

Breakfast: Western omelet
Lunch: Chicken curry with veggies
Supper: Zanzibar!!
Snack: ICE CREAM!!

Day 8

WE MADE IT ONE WHOLE WEEK!!

Chad has a twelve hour day today and so packing food was a challenge. Again, advance preparation is important. :)

I'm happy to report that saying no to off limit foods has become easier. As long as I remember I do have other yummy options, I can restrain myself.

Breakfast: Veggie omelet
Lunch: Venison stir fry
Supper: More stir fry

Day 7

We are getting the hang of this! We've learned to make do with what we have; only two eggs this morning which is enough for omelets...so we had pancakes instead. We've also learned that we need to shop more frequently. We are out of peppers and onions and eggs and strawberries and blueberries. And tomatoes. Haha. Preparation is everything!

Breakfast: Paleo pancakes topped with maple cream
Lunch: Spaghetti leftovers/baked potato, meat sauce and green beans
Supper: Venison steak stir-fry
Snack: Jerky

Day 6

Day 6 went well, except for the cookies and muffins. They are now safely tucked away in the freezer. We plan to use them for sweet emergencies. The venison jerky turned out to be very satisfying. Chad ate a lot of it while we were taking it off the dehydrator trays. I think we'll make another batch tomorrow!

Breakfast: Omelette
Lunch: Leftover spaghetti squash
Supper: Spaghetti dish with rice noodles
Snacks: Chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin muffins and venison jerky

Cheating?

Oh, I feel sick right now. We just finished supper, and I'm feeling queasy and guilty. We made another spaghetti sauce dish using the rice noodles we bought last night. Technically the rice noodles fit in our diet because they are made from rice, but they are also processed. I feel like I just cheated because I ate those noodles. And they weren't even yummy. So unsatifsying.

Plus, I had three chocolate chip cookies that we made last night. Now I really feel that we are cheating! Chocolate chip cookies? Hunter-gatherers didn't eat cookies!?!

*sigh*

Day 5

We cooked up a storm on Day 5. We started the day with more paleo pancakes. Topped with that decadent maple cream. We cooked some homemade spaghetti sauce, thanks to Kaitlin! It was absolutely the best spaghetti sauce ever! We baked a spaghetti squash to use for spaghetti noodles. It was very interesting...still squash, just shredded to look like noodles. The homemade sauce redeemed the strangeness of the spaghetti squash. That spaghetti meal was satisfying; it was nice to have a familiar-ish meal.

We also began a batch of venison jerky. I'm so excited that my parents let us use their dehydrator! I'm having visions of yummy dehydrated foods!! Venison jerky, apples, oranges, pineapple and fruit jerky...

It's been five whole days since I had chocolate and I was going crazy without it. So Chad and I went shopping. We were like two kids at Christmastime when we found that natural foods aisle. We bought some almond flour, organic pumpkin, potato flour, rice noodles, and 100% chocolate. We went home and baked some delicious pumpkin muffins. Well, they are lacking sweetness...but we like to spread our maple cream on top and then....heavenly!! We also made a batch of chocolate chip cookies, using the almond and potato flours and the special 100% chocolate. By the way, that chocolate has no sweetener, so it was really bitter. I ended up melting the chocolate and adding a bunch of honey to it. Then we made our own chocolate chips. The cookies are okay. Very dry. Kinda good. But I think it's just the chocolate. I'll post the recipes for our treats on the recipes page.

Another all natural treat we've discovered is apple cider!! We bought a jug from the farmer's market and have been enjoying it since. So much flavor!

Breakfast: Paleo pancakes
Lunch: Almond chicken leftovers
Supper: Spaghetti squash with homemade sauce
Snacks: Apple cider, watermelon, pumpkin muffins, cookies...

Day 5...the quest for that which does not yet exist

Some people suggest that we are addicted to the foods pushed upon us as a society, such as grains/wheat, corn, sugars, and whatnot. I'd hyperlink stuff to those words if I were a highly motivated blogger, but oh well. In any event, I think it's hard to say whether or not someone is truly addicted or dependent on something like corn...but by golly I think I might be close to it when it comes to high fructose corn syrup.

Today Lisa and I were really wanting something sweet. Just...anything. Sweet. We've been chomping down on things like fruit and whatnot, and the maple cream has been absolutely delicious, but we've been trying to save that. So we went to the store and found this cool organic section (I never fathomed that I would be excited to see an organic section) and bought lots of expensive organic stuff. We had to have something sweet that somehow fit within the boundaries of the paleo plan.

So we went home and made pumpkin muffins and chocolate chip cookies. I'm sure Lisa will provide the recipes for the stuff and explain how it fits within the rules of the plan. Anyway, we made the stuff and it was...okay. The pumpkin muffins were about 100x better when the maple cream was spread on it (akin to butter on a regular muffin). The chocolate chip cookies were...dry. And dark. We had to use unsweetened chocolate, which is baker's chocolate, which tastes like a bitter brick of disappointment unless you sweeten it with something. So Lisa melted the chocolate down and added some honey to it which helped a lot. But the cookies are still nothing like regular chocolate chip cookies. It took me a while to finish my cookie, which was palatable...but in the time it took me to eat that one, I could have eaten around 5 regular chocolate chip cookies.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we are looking for something that simply didn't exist in the paleo world, literally, which was high fructose corn syrup. That sugary substance is so delicious and so ubiquitous that perhaps I am addicted to it. And I had to have it. Or just something sweet. Because I actually was satisfied after I had the muffin and cookie...just not satisfied in the same way as a regular muffin or cookie. And truly HFCS did not exist more than 100 years ago (I think), which means we may never enjoy the same quantities or qualities of sweetness that we had on a daily basis before engaging in this plan. Dealing with the tempting whisper of sweetness might be the greatest challenge for this month. But I guess that sounds pretty obvious when I type it out like that.

Days 3 and 4 (the weekend)

Unsurprisingly, the weekend was a challenge. Firstly because it is still the early beginning of our health plan change, secondly because it was a family gathering, thirdly because it was a holiday weekend, and fourthly because I like to list more than three reasons.

Anyway, there was a plethora of delicious, delicious things that Lisa and I could not eat. We received many questions about why we're doing this and what the point is, and whether or not some things are healthy enough anyway so why not eat them? So naturally I've over-thought this stuff and have some things to say about this hubbub. The first thing is that I don't much like calling this a "diet." Calling it that, I think, implies that we are attempting to restrict the amount of food we're eating. And that's not true at all. If anything we're eating a lot more food. It's just...different food. So I like to think of this as a health plan of sorts. Not a diet. And we're doing it for 30 days just to see if we can succeed. Lisa and I have been talking about changing our habits of what we eat for a very long time now...and now it's time to start doing. Walking the talk, if you will.
So in addition to that idea, we won't just stop after 30 days and go back to what we were doing. That would be pretty silly and pointless, and begs the reasonable question of "why bother doing this at all?" We hope to actually progress to the point where we can maintain this style of living, but still have some delicious, delicious foods (like anniversary cake, Culver's custard, cheese, etc.) again...but not nearly to the extent that we have been. It might be difficult for some of you to believe, what with our exceptionally amazing bodies and all, but we definitely eat a lot of garbage food. And it's bad for us. And we want to stop. So this is kind of the first step towards that healthier lifestyle, the splash of cold water in the face.

So I hope that helps to explain a little bit more of why we're undergoing this behavior modification. We just want to be healthier by eating healthier, fresher foods. And we do intend to continue this past 30 days, with some modifications. But for the first 30, we're trying to stick as closely to the plan as possible. So thanks for coming along with us for the ride and following along.

Days 3 & 4

What a challenging weekend! Day 3 started off great with paleo pancakes. They are so yummy! After breakfast and working out, we headed to my parents' place for a family get together/cookout. We specifically asked my mom (who is doing the Paleo plan as well) to make us some Paleo food. She didn't disappoint. :)

For lunch and supper, we ate hamburger patties (no buns) topped with tomatoes, lettuce and onions. Pretty tasty, but after the 3rd patty, not as tasty. Throughout the entire day, I ate 5 hamburger patties. It's just so hard to get that full feeling, so I just keep eating! Anyways, we also had cooked carrots and lots of watermelon to eat.

Much to the disappointment of my supportive family (ha! they were really trying to get us to eat some treats!!), we passed on all of the delicious desserts - peanut butter ice cream cake, brownies, cookies, Luke's homemade blueberry pie, and kettle corn! But it was so very, very hard!!

After everyone had left the party, Chad and I were left home alone for a bit. Still hungry, we cooked up half a dozen of eggs and ham as a snack.



Day 4 went fairly well. Lots of eating out...

I wake up at 6 a.m. and find Mom slaving away in the kitchen, preparing a Paleo lunch. She is an angel! After church, the whole family goes out for breakfast at a favorite restaurant. It was challenging picking out something suitable to eat. In the end, I ended up with a Western omelette (ham and veggies, no cheese) and fruit and Chad got a Western skillet which was similar to my order but also included potatoes. We had to give our pancakes away. So sad.

After breakfast, Chad and I went to the farmer's market with my mom. We loaded up with fresh veggies - tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, a cucumber... and we found the most amazing Paleo acceptable food ever. Maple cream. We paid $6.50 for just a cup of the cream, but I think it was worth it. It's basically pure maple syrup in concentrated form. Lucky for us, it's an all natural sweet! Yum!!!!

For lunch, we had a chicken and cauliflower dish that my mom had made in the crockpot. It was good, though I think next time I'll tweak the recipe. Less cumin, more tomato sauce. Then we had watermelon and just a tiny taste of the highly coveted maple cream for dessert.

We went blackberry picking later. Very paleo-ish of us to tromp out into the woods and pick our food by hand. And the berries were very satisfying. We ended up with about 3/4 of an ice cream pail and we were invited to take it all home. So we did!

We ate again at 3 pm while playing cards with Luke, Sam and Dad. We each had a bowl of four bean soup. Technically beans aren't allowed on the Paleo plan, but this is one part we are not following. It was good soup!

After driving back home, we had company! Luke and Sam came over for a visit. We went to Applebee's for supper. Again, it was challenging ordering off of the menu (they couldn't find their gluten free menu or their nutrition guide), but we found something. I had a grilled chicken salad and Chad had grilled chicken covered with a spicy salsa. It was good, not super amazing, but good. Luke mentioned ice cream...and I almost died. I really really wanted ice cream. But we said no. I hope they enjoyed their ice cream!

It was a great weekend. Lots of fun with family. :)

Day 2

I like to read what Lisa writes before I post anything. Although this is really the first time I've ever posted anything, so there's that too.

It hasn't even been a full 48 hours of this new health plan, but it feels as if it's been a lifetime. It's kind of the sensation you get when it's your second day back at school--it's as if summer never even happened. And ironically, when all this is finished, I am looking forward to eating some more delicious anniversary cake.

I think that my body is freaking out on me a little. It's like when an alcoholic goes through withdrawal. Every day for years (or at least 6 months) an alcoholic consumes alcohol...to the point where his body believes that it needs alcohol in order to survive. So during withdrawal his body starts freaking out, because it thinks it's missing a vital substance. I think that my body is acting in a very similar fashion, except it's corn instead of alcohol. After all, corn is in just about everything I was eating...

Anyway, so far I'm still alive and not experiencing DTs, so I'm thankful for that. I'm hoping that my body starts to tolerate this food change a bit better. You'd think that it would be a piece of cake for my body to go from junk foods to health foods, but it isn't. I don't think my body knows how to process stuff like almonds and water chestnuts and green stuff; previously it only got that kind of food every once in a blue moon.

Despite all my complaining though, I have to admit this is pretty fun.

Day 2

The day went well. Chad had the opportunity to eat out for lunch with family today and thankfully Applesbee's offers a gluten free menu. So nice! Our supper was a new recipe tonight. It was....okay. I burned the almonds a bit. However, it was super filling! Hopefully it will power us through the 7 mile run tonight.

I shopped at the Menomonie Market Co-op tonight. I was looking for kelp noodles (they didn't have any) and nut butter, curry sauce and tomato sauce. The people were super friendly, but the prices were a bit steep. i may have to shop elsewhere. I wonder where I can find kelp noodles?

Breakfast: Egg Torte
Lunch: Chicken, baked potato and green beans/broccoli
Supper: Almond Chicken with apples and almond butter for dessert

Day 1

Our first day was shaky. Breakfast went well; it tasted surprisingly good. Lunch was a failure. Too much rosemary for my liking and too much asparagus for Chad. Supper was delicious! And then we headed to the mall to buy shoes. And the food court was so tempting. And we were hungry. And we had Ben along...who bought some yummy Chinese food!! It smelled so, so good, but we did not give in. We came home and made a fruit smoothie, like good Paleo people.

Yay for us! We made it through our first day!


Breakfast: Egg Torte
Lunch: Tuna Scramble
Supper: Garlic Chicken with potatoes and green beans
Snack: Berry Smoothie

You're Doing What!?!

For the entire month of September, Chad and I are changing how we eat. Our inspiration came from the Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. He suggests that we should eat like our ancestors did. What did the hunter-gatherers of the past eat? Wild meat, veggies, some fruits and nuts and seeds. (No twinkies!)

So, we've decided to try a relaxed version of the Paleo diet. No dairy, no gluten, and no processed food. The Paleo diet doesn't allow rice or potatoes, but we are letting those slide.

The upcoming days will be fun and challenging. We're going to celebrate our anniversary and Chad's birthday with a little different food than what tradition dictates. We ask for your support and encouragement! :)