Fail Whale

I just ran across my bucket list for 2012 and you know how many items I can cross off?! Z.E.R.O. Zip. Zilch. None. It's already June, so I only have 6 months left! Something tells me I'm going to have a lot of carry-over items for 2013. I guess that's ok, because I do have some big projects in the works over here, but I was still a bit saddened by the fact that I haven't accomplished any of my goals I set out to at the beginning of the year. Onward and upward from here I guess!

What We're Eating-Jan 30th Edition

I almost didn't have time to post this!! I am getting slammed with school work, baby work, work, and menu planning/cooking! I need to reevaluate and make some time in all of that somewhere!

Anyways, here is what we're eating this week:

Breakfast: Paleo Breakfast Casserole from Health Bent
Lunch: Leftovers or Salad

Dinner:
Monday: Chicken piccata and roasted broccoli and cauliflower
Tuesday: Steak Fajitas
Wednesday: Chorizo Mini Meatloaves from Health Bent (I love Health Bent!) and green beans and maybe a salad
Thursday: Hot plate
Friday: Orance Chicken with broccoli
Saturday: Eat out in Cincinnati!
Sunday: Shop and crock pot?

On to reading my 6 different history books. Degree, why must you be so elusive?!

Day 19

So I've been eating "lacto-paleo" more or less since January 1. I've planned out my meals and have been cooking every meal except for a rare treat out, in which I still had approved foods. My clothes are fitting better, and I have a pair of pants on today that I haven't worn for 4 years. I feel better, I feel like I have more energy, my stomach hardly ever complains anymore and my face and skin feel better. I know this is going to be a slow process, and I've been weighing myself and the weight isn't dropping off as fast as I thought it would.

I think since i've been doing so good for this much time now and the days are flying by, I'm going to make some new goals.

1. Start a Whole 30 on February 1st. (Feb 1-Mar 2nd) which works out perfectly b/c I'm going out with the girls on March 3rd.
2. Implement an exercise plan. I am going to do 10 burpees, 10 pushups, and 10 situps everyday. Add in physical activity whenever possible.
3. Quit weighing myself!! (which is a part of the Whole30 anyways)

Wish me luck!

Wow, another week of food.

I can't believe that a whole week has passed! Having a baby in the house really makes time fly by. I feel like it's Monday and I have the whole week ahead of me and then all of a sudden it's Friday and I haven't done my homework or made a meal plan or well much of anything! I must admit though, that I do spend plenty of time just "being" with the baby and so at least I am valuing my time even though it is flying past.

Here is the meal plan for the week of 1/23. It is a bit uninspired.
Breakfasts: Egg muffins
Lunches: Leftovers or salad
Dinner:
Monday: Hot plate
Tuesday: Chile Relenos from Health Bent
Wednesday: Chicken Piccata and broccoli
Thursday: Hot plate
Friday: Chicken fingers and salad
Saturday: Steak and baked potatoes (sweet potato for me) and green beans
Sunday: Crockpot?

Sidenote: I have like 3 blog posts composed in my head, but they haven't made it out yet. Hopefully soon!

What We're Eating Week of 1/16/12

Breakfast this week is going to be Ham and Egg Cups from Paleo Comfort Foods and frittatas

Lunches will be leftovers or salads which sounds less that exciting but I love it. Easy, fast, and tasty!

Dinners:
Monday: Gyro salad-we had this last week but the gyro meat is so darn tasty that I am still craving it!
Tuesday: Mini-Pizza Meatloaf and green beans and maybe salad?
Wednesday: Paleo Orange Chicken with broccoli and carrots
Thursday: Hot Plate from Well Fed
Friday: Shrimp and sweet potato fries
Saturday: eat out!
Sunday: Shop and cook and ?

School/work are keeping me busy this week so hopefully this menu will give me more time to blog! :)

Meal Plan for week of 1/9/12

All week for the most part for breakfast is Egg Muffins, lunches will be either leftovers or salads or a combination of both. I found this week that I had a lot of extra food and I mainly like hot lunches.

So here's the Dinner Menu:
I should note Monday/Thursday are Shawn's bowling nights, so usually these meals need to be make ahead, crockpot, or extremely fast because Elie doesn't usually let me cook for very long and she's mobile now! Holy heck!

Monday: Gyro Salads. Yum.
Tuesday: Chicken and artichoke with garlic sauce (from the Mark Sisson's book) with zucchini noodles
Wednesday: Arroz con Pollo (same book)
Thursday:  Hot plate (I was not enthused with the hot plate I made this week, but it turned out GOOD. I made beef with tomatoes, bell peppers, and pizza seasonings over green beans.)
Friday: Meatza (from Well Fed)
Saturday: Unstuffed cabbage (MS)
Sunday: Breakfast: Paleo Biscuits and Gravy from Paleo Comfort Foods and shop!

Nothing Asian! Sounds delicious!

Product Review: Cuisinart Food Processor

I have a long, horrid history with food processors. It all began with a mini chopper I got as a gift from my mother. The mini chopper and I got along just fine and I will still whip it out occassionally for a quick garlic chop or the like. The next chapter begins with a small Black and Decker one that I got as a gift. The chopping blades never quite worked properly and it had so many pieces and parts that I'm sure I lost some of it when I moved. It was white and ugly and smelled like smoke when I used it. That is when I decided I needed a new one! I researched them online a bit (apparently not enough) and decided on the Food Network model.

 

Exhibit A. POS

I liked this model because it had a handy drawer to keep all of the chopping blades in and it was black, which matched my kitchen. I also was able to purchase it at Kohls with a coupon so that made the price not so bad. I brought it home and took it out of the box and then promptly cut myself on the slicing wheel. I didn't lose a finger but it was a pretty deep cut that took a few weeks to heal. Strike 1. Then, the second time I ever used it the goofy handle piece that has to be locked or else it won't work (the part that is spring loaded) cracked off and so from then on to use it i had to hold the spring load down so it would turn on. I googled Food Network to see if I could order a replacement part, but apparently Food Network items sold through Kohls come from a mysterious manufacturer who doesn't do replacements or returns. Or at least that I could find without researching enough for a dissertation. Strike 2. Then one day I decided to chop some cauliflower to make cauli-rice and the bowl part got stuck on the locking mechanism and I could NOT GET IT OFF. The food processor and I had a fight that day, and I won (or lost, depending) and it ended up in the trash can, and then I once again ended up with no food processor.Strike 3, you're OUT. IN THE TRASH!

I went without one for several months. I then decided to hop on the paleo bandwagon and in my quest for the perfect paleo salad dressing, I tried to make mayonaisse in my blender. After going deaf from listening to the blender for the time it took to drip in the olive oil, my emulsion broke and I was left with divorced egg and oil. I needed a new processor. So, I went back to Google and did (more) research and decided that the Cuisinart DFP-7BC 7-Cup Food Processor was going to be my best bet.

Exhibit B: Ooooh. Ahhh.

I did end up getting it from Kohls with another coupon and I ended up getting some Kohls cash back so it was a pretty good deal. Let me tell you I LOVE it! It is a simple machine and I know it's not made as sturdy as the older models of this same type, but i think with some gentle handling it will last me just fine. There aren't too many parts, I like the way the top of the bowl comes off to insert the vegetables or whatnot for chopping and it is pretty darn quiet! And the best part? I made homemade mayo on Sunday and it is delicious! I definitley would recommend this processor and if I ever have to buy another I will buy the same model but with a bigger cup bowl!

Mid Week Update

Just wanted to stop by and write something and give an update on how things were going since going paleo/primal. I'm going to use paleo for sake of terminology I think, but I am eating a slight amount of dairy and I do consume butter. I may eventually switch to ghee and elimnate dairy but baby steps on that one. In reviewing my meal plan for the week, I noticed that almost every single dinner meal is Asian inspired! Shawn said that it is probably because Asian food is easy to make, yet flavorful. Maybe next week we will go Mexican. So far, I've stuck to my meal plan, the only exception being the chicken fajita salad. We had salad with chicken on it, but I would necessairly call it a fajita. Then again, maybe Mexican is out. :) I am struggling with the salad dressing though. I am a ranch girl, and so far haven't found a substitute. I'm meh about vinagrettes. Perhaps I just haven't found the right one yet. I should just make my own caesar. That I do like.

As far as mood/how my body feels, I'm doing surprisingly better than I thought I would be. I haven't had any "real" cravings and I am not suffering from the dreaded carb withdrawl flu like symptoms. I started my class this quarter that is a 15 each way brisk walk for me twice a week, so that will at least get me some exercise until I can get a handle on the meal planning/cooking/sticking to this. I will then try to implement more regular exercise. I feel this is just one of those instances where I have to do one thing at a time.

The only problem I've really encountered was Shawn complaining about the cost. I think that if we added up what we were spending on food/eating out before, he would see we're actually saving money. Hopefully progress will prove him wrong, although he isn't totally on the bandwagon of this whole thing yet. He eats what I cook, but still is having some meals outside the house and some snacks in the house. At least sweets are my downfall and salty are his, because he can still have them in the house and I dont' ever want them.