Paleo Recipe - Garlicky Roasted Cauliflower

If you have been following my recipes, you know I am a huge fan of garlic.  I have a lot of it growing in my garden right now and I look forward to harvesting it in June or July! 

Garlicky Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp of dijon mustard
3-4 cloved of garlic chopped but NOT crushed or it will burn
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tsp chopped parsley

Wisk all incredients except the cauliflower and parsley in a big bowl.  Add the cauliflower and toss until well coated.  Place in roasting pan with florets sitting on their stem, if possible.  Roast for 20-25 minutes.  If tops of florets aren't light brown, broil for 2 minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley (I do this mostly for color because I not only like my meals to taste good, I want them to look good!).

Paleo Recipe - Red Snapper Puttanesca Style

I made this a couple of days ago for dinner but I am posting a bit late due to my busy schedule over the past few days.  It turned out great and the flavors explode in your mouth!  I don't measure ingredients so these are approximate measurements.  Feel free to omit or add ingredients to your liking.  That is what cooking is all about!  I would have added artichoke hearts with a splash of the olive oil they come in but I was out.

Red Snapper Puttanesca

2-3 Red Snapper filets (cod would work well, too)
15-20 organic cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup of chopped calamata olives
3 T capers
1/2 cup diced red onion
4-5 cloves of chopped garlic
1 small zucchini chopped
Juice from 1 lemon ( I NEVER use the bottled lemon juice because it makes a big difference in flavor)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3 T cooking sherry (or white wine)
2 T coconut oil

Saute onions and garlic in coconut oil for 3-4 minutes.  Add red pepper flakes, sherry and lemon juice and saute another 2 minutes.  Add fish filets and top with the remainder of the ingredients, cover pan, turn heat to medium and cook until fish is done.  It will take 8-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the filets.

Rats, Rats Every Where!

Fat ones, skinny ones, long ones, short ones.  Gym rats that is!  Yes, I rejoined a gym a few days ago!  As I mentioned in previous posts, I put on a LOT of weight due emotional eating over deaths over the last 4 years of people very close to me, including my best friend, Gloria and my mom. Bone surgery on my foot last year in July didn't help matters as I was unable to even go for a walk for months and months.

It is ironic how being fat can keep you from going to the gym.  I didn't want anyone to see in my sweat pants that stretched too tightly over my flabby ass, my belly protruding over the waist band.  I know all of you other "curvy, buxom" women can relate too that.  Skinny ladies running on the tread mill in tight form fitting jog bras and lycra shorts makes you hyper aware of each bulge around your waist, each dimple on your butt and thighs.  I am still aware of the fact that I have a lot of weight to lose, I am happy to be back at the gym!  Since losing 12 lbs over the past month, my sweat pants are actually a bit baggy!

I head to the Caribbean in 25 days.  Although I won't be strutting my stuff in a bikini around the pool, I am excited about my progress and will continue down this path.  Eventually I will change the name of my blog to Chronicles of a Former Fat Girl.

Paleo Recipe - Asian Shrimp Salad

I bought a few mangos the other day with the intention of using them in a salad dressing.  Today I noticed they were ripe and decided to check my frig to see what kind of a concoction I could come up with.  Hmmm... red cabbage, cilantro, bay shrimp... an idea was coming to mind!  Here is what I came up with and, as my boyfriend said after he ate it "You should open up a restaurant!"  I guess that means he liked it and I hope you do, too!

For those of you who haven't cooked with a fresh mango, there is an easy way to get nice, uniform pieces.  The difficult thing is how to describe how to do this but I will give it a shot! The pit is fairly flat and as you stand the mango up on it's bigger end, you can imagine the pit lying flat in the middle.  Place your knife on top of the mango and cut it almost but not quite in the middle and you will feel the pit.  Carve along side the pit to the bottom and then do the same on the other side. 

Score the mango by cutting through the fruit but not through the skin.  This may take you a few tries before you have perfected this technique.  Here is a photo of 1/2 the mango scored :

Once the mango is scored, you kind of turn it inside out like this:

Once you have it scored and turned it inside out you can easily cut or pull off the chunks!

Paleo Recipe - Asian Shrimp Salad

3 Cups thinly sliced and chopped red cabbage

1 Cup chopped cilantro

1 Carrot grated

1 Red bell pepper

1 Yellow bell pepper

1/8 Cup diced red onion or green onion (scallions)

1/2 Mango cubed

1 lb bay shrimp

1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds

Dressing

1 Half of a ripe mango cubed

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup walnut oil

Juice from 2 limes

1 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp dried basil or 3 T fresh basil

10 drops sesame oil (I use hot sesame oil because I like it spicy!)

1 tsp tamari

1 clove garlic

Toss 5 first ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Place all remaining ingredients, the dressing ingredients, in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  

Measure out about 1/2 cup of dressing and mix into first 5 ingredients of the salad.  Plate the salad and top with the shrimp and then sprinkle with almonds.  I also topped the shrimp with a little more dressing because it is sooo tasty!  Here is a photo of the finished dish:

Left over dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

Wow!  The combination of flavors and textures will have me recreating this salad time and time again!  If you make it, I would appreciate it if you would give me your honest opinion in a comment.





Fell Off The Wagon with a Soft "Thump"

When I began the 30 day challenge 3 weeks ago, I did it knowing I would "cheat" during this past weekend.  8 of us rented a house on the Oregon Coast and attended the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival.  I figured I would go hog wild and throw the whole Paleo thing out the window.  If you are going to indulge, do it whole heartedly, right?

I am happy to report that I stuck pretty strictly to the food part of Paleo with the exception of a small piece of carrot cake and a few delicious chocolates.  I think I could have avoided the carrot cake if the rest of the ladies hadn't been moaning and groaning with each bite and had they not told me the middle layer of frosting had apricot filling in it.  Jeez, it was good and well worth it!  I was surrounded by tortilla chips, bean dip, queso dip, bread and many other non Paleo foods the entire weekend so I am quite pleased that I didn't have more "cheats."

I did drink wine because how the hell can you not when at a wine festival?  It is not that I couldn't resist, I just didn't want to.  I drank in moderation and seems I am the only one that made it through the weekend without a hangover!

Since returning on Sunday night, I am back on board with only a week to go in the challenge.  Some may consider I failed the 30 day due to my slight indulgence this past weekend.  I am considering it a success because I have completely changed the way I eat, I feel great and I have lost 11 lbs and I am also feeling thinner.  Although I have a long way to go on my quest for better health and a new wardrobe of smaller clothing, I know that this past 3 weeks has set me along on a path to a better way of life.  Yes, I fell off the Paleo wagon for a couple of days but I landed with a soft thud, picked myself up, dusted off and climbed back on.  Cheers!

Paleo Recipe - Easy Pan Seared Steelhead with Stir Fried Vegetables

I really thought I would be jonesing for the meals typical of my former diet; brown rice with black beans, hummus with cucs, beer & chips, red wine and cheese, etc.  I am pleasantly surprised that I am not experiencing more cravings!  Wait a minute.  Let's back up a bit.  I do really miss red wine and haven't touched a glass in over 3 weeks now {self pat on back].

I am finding it MUCH more expensive to eat this way.  Scallops, prawns, wild salmon, dungeness crab and free range chicken really add up quickly.  But it is all so tasty so it makes it worth while.

Last night I cooked up some steelhead and veggies.  Feel free to omit or add vegetables to your own liking.  I cook everything from scratch and don't measure so these amounts are approximate. 

Pan Seared Steelhead & Stir Fried Vegetables

Steelhead filets (or salmon)
Salt & Pepper to taste

2 cups cut broccoli
1 Red pepper
1 Green pepper
1 Jalapeno pepper (omit if you don't like spicy food)
1 cupyellow squash
5 mushrooms
3 small organic carrots
1 small onion
3 cloves fresh garlic
2 T tamari sauce
Toasted sesame seeds*

How to cook the fish:

Rinse and pat dry fish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Melt 1 T coconut oil in saute pan, add fish skin side down and cook for 4-5 minutes on medium high.  Turn over and cook for another 3-4 minutes until cooked to desired doneness.  I like my salmon and steelhead a bit pink in the middle and nice and crispy on top.

How to cook the vegetables:

Melt 1 T coconut oil in saute pan.  Saute onions on medium high for 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic, carrots, broccoli and saute for another 2-3 minutes.  Add tamari, squash, mushrooms and peppers and saute for another 3-5 minutes until vegetables are cooked to desired tenderness.  I like mine crisp.

Plate salmon and vegetables and sprinkle vegetables with toasted sesame seeds.

*To toast sesame seeds, place in small saute pan on medium high heat.  Swirl the seeds around the pan until they are lightly browned.  Make sure to watch carefully because they burn easily!!

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

The Little Engine That Could

Wow!  Time flies!  I haven't written in a week.  I don't think I am born to blog but I want to track my progress so I will do my best to keep updated.

Okay, so I am not exactly a little engine.  More of a BIG engine.  But I CAN and I WILL make it through this 30 day challenge and continue eating the Paleo way for the rest of my life because I am seeing the results already!  I feel good, I sleep well and I am losing pounds and inches. 
I am heading to the Caribbean on April 2nd and I think I am on my way to a new wardrobe.  Not one I have to go out and buy but one that already exists in my closet.  I have been on the challenge now for exactly 2 weeks but I worked my way up to it for a week prior to that.  I have lost 10 lbs and I am fitting into clothes that I could not fit into before. 

I think most people can relate to this;  I have cute clothes in my closet that have eluded the "if you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it" rule.  I can't bear the thought of parting with some things.  Yesterday I tried on a bunch of clothes from my closet and realized that I may soon be able to fit into them without bulging out at the seems.  I set a handful of these aside in a special section of my closet, my "Caribbean Trip" clothes.  My goal is to fit into several of these things before I head out on my Caribbean trip.

I haven't recorded my pedometer steps for the past week but I have worn it religiously.  Here is last Thursday through yesterday:

17th - 4419
18th - 3205
19th - 10667
20th - 6761
21st - 3874
22nd - 3837

My walking goal for the first month was at least 5 miles per week.  Call me an over achiever but I am averaging about 15 miles a week!  It has been tough due to my recent foot surgery but I think the walking is actually helping it heal. 

Life is good and it is only going to get better.

Paleo Recipe - Chicken with Spicy Thai Almond Butter Dipping Sauce

In case you haven't noticed, I use a lot of heat in my recipes.  If you are a "spice weanie" feel free to reduce the quantity of peppers.  I brought this dish to a potluck I went to last night and it was all eaten so that was a good sign.  I really liked this dish but I must admit I prefer peanut sauce over almond butter sauce.

Chicken with Spicy Thai Almond Butter Dipping Sauce:

Grilled Chicken:

4 Chicken breasts sliced about 1/2 inch thick against the grain
Juice from 3 limes
Juice from 1 orange
1 jalapeno minced (remove seeds if you want a less spicy version)
1 T grated ginger
2 T chopped cilantro
3 cloves minced garlic
1 T red pepper flakes (omit if you don't like spicy food)
1/4 cup olive oil
Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together and marinate chicken about 1 hour, stirring thoroughly once. 

Grill on medium high heat for a couple of minutes on each side.

Thai Almond Butter Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup almond butter
1/8 cup coconut milk
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 clove minced garlic
Juice from one orange
Juice from one lime
2 tsp tamari sauce
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together.  It is best to make this dipping sauce a day ahead so all the flavors meld together.

Cheers!

Paleo Recipe - Easy Crockpot Rosemary & Garlic Chicken Stew

I threw this together in a pot on Valentine's Day and had a big bowl of it yesterday for lunch.  It is very flavorful and the chicken was so moist it almost melted in my mouth!

Easy Crockpot Rosemary & Garlic Chicken Stew:

1 whole free range chicken (my preference is free range)
1 sweet potato diced
3 organic carrots diced
2 stalks celery chopped
1 large onion chopped
1 medium eggplant diced
1 can diced tomatoes
20 cloves of garlic whole cloves peeled
3 whole sprigs of rosemary
Salt
Pepper

Rinse chicken and take out any parts such as neck, gizzards.  Rub with salt and pepper.  Stuff 10 cloves plus whole rosemary sprigs inside cavity.  Place 1/2 of first 3 ingredients plus 5 cloves of garlic into crock pot.  Place chicken breast side up into crockpot.  Cover with the other half of first 3 ingredients plus 5 cloves of garlic.

Turn crockpot on low heat and cover, cooking for 3 hours.  Add tomatoes and eggplant and cook for another 2-3 hours.  Chicken is done when leg bones wiggles very easily and chicken is falling off the bone.  Once igredients are cool, take chicken out of the pot and remove all meat from bones.  The meat is VERY easy to remove and practically falls off the bone.  Make sure you remove all bones from stew.  Add chicken meat back into veggies, stir and serve!  Delicioso!

Tantalizing Temptations

Today is the end of my first week of the 30 Day Challenge!!  My only cheat was a bit of raw honey in the chocolate orange custard I made for Valentine's dinner last night.  Truly.  Amazing.  And I am not just talking about the dessert!  It is amazing that I haven't had any wine, sugar, brown rice, black beans, quinoa and the likes since that is what I have been subsisting on for the past 10 years!  Patting myself on the back.

Today was one of the most challenging days.  I got together with 7 girlfriends for a potluck to talk about a wine fest weekend we have coming up (yes, this will be a full on cheat weekend).  There was a lot of great food, everyone brought wine and even chocolate brownies.  Skip the brownies?  Sure, no problem.  Skip the wine?  Oh hell, I wanted that wine so bad I could nearly taste it!  I must have will power of steel to have resisted that wine!

At the end of week one on the full challenge but actually on day 15 eating this way, I am down 9 lbs.  N I N E lbs!!  Wow!  I realize that my body was initially in shock and a lot of this is water weight but I will take it!

I made a great crock pot recipe that I will post tomorrow.

Valentine's Paleo Dessert - Chocolate Orange Custard

I went without wine, my vise, for Valentine's dinner but I wanted to come up with a tasty dessert.  This contains raw honey, which I don't think is recommended for the first 30 days and then only occasionally but since I didn't drink wine or champagne, I wanted a small treat for Valentine's day.  I was quite pleased with the results of this however, next time I will sprinkle the top with unsweetened grated coconut before I put it in the oven.

Paleo Recipe - Chocolate Orange Custard:

4 Eggs
3/4 can of coconut milk
1/3 cup coco powder
2 T raw honey
1 T hot water
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, reduced by half over medium heat and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Orange zest for garnish and added flavor

Place large casserole dish with 1/2 inch of water in oven and heat oven to 325.  Wisk eggs and then wisk in coconut milk, vanilla and cooled orange juice (if it is hot it will cook the eggs prematurely).   Put coco powder and cinnamon in a small cup and add hot water, stirring to make a chocolate sauce.  Add honey to chocolate mix.  Add chocolate sauce to egg mixture.  Wisk until everything is mixed in.  Pour into 4 dessert ramekins (in photo) and place ramekins carefully into casserole dish in oven.  Cook for 28-35 minutes until top has puffed up and feels firm when tapped.  Grate orange zest over custard and serve while still warm.

I have been keeping up my walking routine.  Today I walked 7668 steps, according to my pedometer.  That equates to almost 4 miles.

Paleo Valentine's Dinner - Easy Orange Garlic Scallops

My biggest challenge tonight was not opening up a good bottle of wine to go with the delicious dinner I made.  I am a wino and I would have sold my sister for a chance to open up one of the bottles I have stored away but I resisted temptation knowing that the reward of better health and a new wardrobe are in my not too distant future.

If there is one thing I do well it is cooking.  My boyfriend tells me we don't need to eat out because I can cook better than any restaurant in town.  I think it is just an excuse for him not to take me out to dinner!  I need to start burning food. ;-)  Tonight I made seared scallops in an orange garlic sauce served over a bed of wilted spinach with sauteed red cabbage and steamed asparagus in lemon sprinkled with finely chopped almonds.  This is a very easy recipe with just a few ingredients.  I hope you enjoy it!

Paleo Recipe - Orange Garlic Scallops:

1 lb large sea scallops
2/3 cup juice squeezed from fresh oranges
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
2 tsp minced garlic
2 T coconut oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Put orange juice in small pan and reduce by 1/2 over medium heat.  Pat scallops dry and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper on both sides.  Heat coconut oil on medium high and when oil is hot, place scallops in pan.  Cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Remove scallops from pan, turn down heat to medium and deglaze* the pan with the reduced orange juice and juice from the 1/2 lemon.  Stir in the garlic.  Place scallops back into pan and toss with sauce, then cook for 1 more minute.

Serve over a bed of spinach and pour remainder of sauce over scallops.

Deglaze - Adding the cold liquid to the browned bits left in the pan from the scallops, salt and pepper create a wonderful sauce!

Ahhh, You Cursed Brat! Look What You've Done! I'm Melting, Melting...

I am not melting but it seems my FAT is!  Truly, I feel like the wicked witch of the west but in such a good way!  And the cursed brat is my best girlfriend from high school, Christine, who pointed me in the direction of Paleo and has been such an incredible icon of support, love and encouragement for so many years.

Today I am 14 days into eating the Paleo way but this is only the 6th day of my 30 day challenge.  Several people on the Robb Wolf Forum recommend throwing the scale away or at least hiding it during this challenge.  Why the heck would I do that if I continue to see such positive results?!  If my weight loss stalls, I vow to put the scale away until March 8th, the end of my 30 Day Challenge.

As of today I have lost 9.5 lbs!!  And this calculated from the lowest I have weighed in 3 months!  Not only that, but I tried on a few pairs of jeans yesterday that I haven't been able to wear for well over a year.  Yes, I did appear to have squashed myself into a sausage casing but I can at least get them on and even zip and button them!  If  I continue on this path I will even be able to wear these jeans in public in another few weeks!

The only "cheating" I have done since I began this challenge was two nights when I had to take some cough medicine, which contains sugar, otherwise I was at risk of coughing up my lungs.  I eat when I am hungry and have figured out the things I need to have in the frig and cupboard for those "if I don't get food into my belly NOW I will eat my own shoe leather" moments.  Here are a few things I have tried to keep on hand to snack on between meals:

Avocados
Raw almonds
Cashews
Almond Butter
Fresh coconut (it is a work out just extracting the meat but worth the effort!)
Grilled Chicken
Canned tuna

These are my go to foods.

I am feeling great!!  And lookin' better, if I do say so myself!  My face is less puffy and I seem to have less of a spare tire around my waist. 

I had been fairly sedentary over the past year.  Depressed and unmotivated due to the impending death of my mom who was withering away from cancer at the young age of 69, I could barely drag myself out of bed or off the couch.  I would cry for hours but pull myself together before my boyfriend got home from work so he would not know that I was falling apart at the seams.  I put up a strong front with my friends but inside I felt like my heart was being wrenched out of my chest.  This didn't lead to the most healthy lifestyle.  Having bone surgery on my foot didn't help matters as I couldn't even walk further than 1/2 a mile without excruciating pain until the last couple of months.

I ordered a pedometer on Amazon and received it on the morning of my official 30 Day Challenge.  My goal when I started the challenge was to walk at least 5 miles a week for my first month.  The average person walks 2000 steps in a mile.  Here is my daily step count since the start of my challenge:

Day 1 - 4375
Day 2 - 7613
Day 3 - 5029
Day 4 - 6939
Day 5 - 6390

This is a total of 25,941, which equals almost 13 miles and I still have 2 days to go!  Oh yeah!!!

Paleo Recipe - Spicy Chipotle Chicken Sausage Frittata

I feel like an eating machine and I am becoming a bit obsessed with coming up with Paleo friendly recipes!  This morning I made a frittata and I must throw modesty aside and say it was truly the best frittata I have ever had!  Here are the ingredients and also a photo:

8 farm fresh free range eggs
6 crimini mushrooms sliced
1 small onion diced
15 organic grape tomatoes cut in quarters lengthwise
1 jalapeno diced
1 cup kale (from my garden) chopped
2 Trader Joe's chicken apple sausages chopped ( I like the sweetness of the apple with the spicy chipotle but you may use other sausage if you prefer)
1 chipotle pepper chopped
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
fresh ground pepper and a pinch of salt.

Heat oven to 375.  Wisk eggs and set aside.  Saute onions and jalapeno pepper for 3-5 minutes.  Add all other ingredients and saute another 2-3 minutes.  Pour eggs over ingredients in pan.  Bake for 8-12 minutes until egg is set.  Slice into wedges.  I served this with 1/2 an avocado and my homemade salsa verde.  Salud!

Seeing is Believing!

I am now on day 11 of this diet but only 3 days into the Official 30 Day Challenge and I am already feeling and seeing the results!  I have lost almost 8 lbs and it seems that some of my spare tire is starting to melt away!  I have plenty of energy and I am finally learning to eat in such a way that I am rarely hungry any more.  When I began this "diet" I was hungry a LOT of the time.  I think incorporating more fat into my meal plan has helped considerably!

I had a fairly boring food intake throughout the day so I will spare you the details and get right down to the favorite thing I have eaten today.  I made an incredible salad dressing just out of necessity since I hadn't made any for a while.  I always make my own dressing.  If you have read my other recipes you already know I don't measure but here is the recipe give or take a bit here or there:

1 avocado
juice of 1 large juicy orange or two small oranges
1 tsp fresh parsley (this grows year around in my garden)
1 tsp fresh basil (grows in my window box)
1/2 tsp fresh crushed garlic
1/2 cup walnut oil
1 /4 cup red wine vinegar

Throw it all into a mini food processor or a blender and voila!  Nice, thick, rich dressing!  I served it over baby greens and tossed a handful of shrimp on it.

Cheers!

Day 2 of My 30 Day Paleo Diet Challenge

I finally got a good night sleep last night, thank God!  I think I passed out from pure exhaustion from not getting enough sleep the last week.  I know that Robb Wolf recommends we get 8-10 hours of sleep but that has never been possible for me.  Not for lack of trying!  I envy people who can sleep.  I have never been able to sleep more than 6-7 hours a night and I feel fully rested with that amount of sleep.

Today I started my day by eating some leftover shrimp salad and cauliflower mash.  It was a beautiful sunny day here in Portland, OR so after breakfast I went for a nice 2 mile walk, soaking in some much needed vitamin D.  Such a beautiful day and I had a pep in my step because of it.

I snacked a bit on fresh coconut and about 1/8 of a cup of cashews at about 2 but wasn't hungry enough to eat a full lunch.  Dinner consisted of roasted chicken, red cabbage sauteed in coconut oil with a splash of balsamic, 1/4 of a spaghetti squash and some green beans sauteed in coconut oil with fresh squeezed lemon.

My goal today was to walk at least 6000 steps but according to my pedometer, I exceded that by 1400 steps!  It helps that I am dog sitting and the woman has 3 dogs that need to be walked separately due to different physical capabilities.  In order to add a few extra steps per day I have been parking out in the bood docks and walking across the parking lot.  Yeah, I know, it doesn't seem like much but considering I am still a "fat girl" and grossly out of shape due to lack of physical activity because of bone surgery on my foot, I will take what I can get!

I am feeling good!

The End of Day One

Today I received the Primal Blueprint Cookbook and pedometer I had ordered last week.  Just in the nick of time!  The Primal Blueprint Cookbook recipes have items not allowed on the Paleo Diet so I will just alter them a bit.

I had a very late breakfast so I didn't really have lunch today.  I just snacked on a handful of cashews and had an early dinner.  Here is my recipe for my meal tonight:

Paleo Shrimp Salad:

Big handful of baby spinach
8 oz bay shrimp
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1/2 avocado chopped
1/4 cup sliced yellow squash
1/8 cup sunflower seeds

Homemade pesto dressing:

2 T of my homemade pesto
3 T red wine vinegar
4 T olive oil
Fresh ground pepper to taste.

This was a filling salad and although it was tasty, I think I will throw some chopped artichoke hearts in it next time.  I also had some cauliflower mash and here is that recipe:

Paleo Cauliflower Mash

1 head cauliflower, cut up into small pieces and steamed until very soft and then mashed up.
1 T butter (maybe not Paleo but tasty!)
Salt and pepper to tast

I could eat this daily, it is so good!

I haven't been sleeping well since I began the Paleo diet.  Hopefully tonight sleep will come easily and I can start day two with a little pep in my step.

Speaking of pep in my step, I wore the pedometer from noon on today and took a nice little walk in the sunshine.  Step count today was 4375.  Tomorrow I will shoot for at least 6000.

Paleo Diet Day 1 - Off and Running!

I look back at the last couple of years trying to figure out how I got to where I am now.  I tend to eat as a form of comfort.  I lost my best friend to breast cancer in 2006.  I must have gained 15 lbs that year.  I lost a woman who was like a mom to me in 2009 and again packed on some pounds.  Then the icing on the cake was when my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer in November of 2009.  Over the next year I gained 20 lbs!!!  My Mom passed away at the young age of 69 in November of 2010.  It didn't help that I had foot surgery in July of 2010, which kept me from from any kind of activity and even walking is still limited due to the amount of healing time involved in bone surgery.
This is a NEW year and what I am certain will be a BETTER year than the past few years.  I will make NO excuses for over eating, eating incorrectly or not exercising!

Although I have spent the past week eating the Paleo way, I had a couple of events planned that would have caused me to cheat so Today is the official start day of my Paleo  diet.  Wait a minute!  This isn't a diet!  It is a lifestyle change and one that will take some getting used to.  I am so programmed to eat brown rice, black beans, quinoa, whole wheat pasta and all the other foods I had considered to be part of a healthy life style.  Boy, was I wrong.  I wouldn't be where I am today if the way I was eating was healthful.

Today I took side, front and back photos and weighed in.  My goal is to lose 15 lbs by the end of April and a total of 50 lbs by this date next year.  I will accomplish this goal by sticking to the Paleo diet as closely as possible and incorporating an exercise program.

Today for breakfast I ate two eggs scrambled with 2 small crimini mushrooms, a 1/8 a cup of diced yellow squash and a handful of chopped spinach.  I had a handful of almonds as a snack.

I am nervous, excited and hopeful that I am on the road to recovery!

Less Than 24 Hours and Counting!

Today is the last day of going about this Paleo Diet in a half assed manner.  This doesn't mean I am going to go hog wild, so to speak, and eat and drink everything in sight.  I have a fun party to attend and I know that most of the itemes on the menu are not considered Paleo.  I will have a couple of glasses of wine and some nibbles but I will try to stay true.

I have had a bit of a challenge the last couple of days.  I have come down with a horrendous cold and I am coughing up my lungs.  I can't find any cold medication that doesn't have sugar.  Nyquil, Robitussin, Alka Seltzer, etc., all contain sugar.  After a brutal coughing fit last night when I was trying to get to sleep, I gave in and took some Robitussin.  This morning I had some Alka Seltzer Cold Plus.  Thank God for modern remedies but why the heck can't they make them without sugar!?

As soon as I can pull myself out of this head cold induced fog, I will make a run to a couple of grocery stores to pick up all the "ammo" I will need to begin my battle toward a healthier, thinner ME! 

Paleo Fish Veracruz Style

As I have mentioned in previous recipes, I don't measure anything when I cook.  I also never open up a cookbook and haven't in years.  I admit to googling for recipes but I never follow them exactly, preferring to cook to my own taste after getting ideas.

This dish below is something I have been cooking for years, adapted by my love of a dish I ate in Mexico many years ago.  I cooked it tonight with dinner and served it with spaghetti squash I still had stored from my garden this past summer and a side of fresh asparagus sauteed in a bit of coconut oil and then finished with squeezed fresh lemon and chopped almonds.

Fish Veracruz Style served with Spaghetti Squash and Fresh Asparagus

1/2 onion chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
1 minced jalapeno pepper (may substitute sweet pepper or leave out)
1 yellow crook neck squash
5 crimini mushrooms
1 can petit cut tomatoes
1 lb fresh fish (I use cod or red snapper)
1 tsp dried basil (I use fresh when it is growing in my garden)
1 tsp dried oregano (fresh when growing in my garden)
2 T capers
2 T chopped parsley (fresh from my garden, may use dried)
1 T coconut oil

Saute onion, jalapeno together for 3-5 minutes on medium high.  Add garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.  Add can of tomatoes, oregano, basil and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add fish by burying it a bit under the sauce.  Add squash and mushrooms, cover and cook for 15-25 minutes depending on thickness of fish.  Check it towards the end every 2 minutes.  It is done when it flakes easily.

Place fish on plate and then top with the vegetables.  Garnish with capers and fresh parsley.

This is a fairly simple recipe and you can add olives, leave off capers or add different vegetables.  This is a very flavorful and colorful dish.  If you make this, please leave a comment and let me know how you liked it!

Paleo Scrambled Egg Hash

I have been hungery after eating breakfast since I started this diet so with advise from the Robb Wolf website forum, today I amped up my breakfast and now I feel like I ate a horse!  Here is a recipe for what I ate for breakfast today.

Paleo Scrambled Egg Hash

3 farm fresh eggs
2 crimini mushrooms
3 T minced onion
1 cup packed baby fresh spinach leaves chopped
2 T chopped chives
1 1/2 precooked andouille chicken sausage chopped(Trader Joe's)
1 tsp coconut oil
Dash of tobasco
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Saute onions and mushrooms in coconut oil for 3-5 minutes on medium high.  Add chopped sausage and saute another 2 minutes.  Wisk eggs, chives, pepper and tobasco until blended.  Pour over onion, mushroom and sausage mixture and top with chopped fresh spinach.  Cover, turn heat down to medium and let cook for 3 minutes.  After 3 minutes uncover, turn heat back to medium high and scramble the mixture, cooking until done to your liking.  I like my eggs dry so I cook for several minutes more.  Serve with 1/2 of avocado, sliced.

If you enjoy my recipes, please share with your friends!

Combatting Hunger Pangs

Today I am 6 days into my half assed approach and 3 days from my official Paleo Diet 30 day Challenge.  I haven't quite figured out the perfect balance to stave off my hunger for more than 2 hours at a time so I am eating many times a day.  In the past, when I was hungry, I grabbed a piece of wheat nut bread with a slices of avocado or ate some rice and beans.  Now I will grab a handful of almonds and eat an avocado plain.

My dinners have consisted of a serving of fish or chicken and what seems like a bucket load of veggies.  Two hours later I am hungry again!  I thought I had stocked my kitchen full of Paleo friendly foods but I need to go back to the drawing board before Wednesday rolls around.  I definitely need to get some of the big flakes of coconut that my friend had at her house and find some other quick to prepare things to eat when I find myself hungry before I go to bed.

On Friday I cheated but I haven't really started the diet, right?  So, technically, I haven't cheated yet.  I drank wine and ate some very non-Paleo things for dinner.  Today is the Super Bowl and I am going to a sportsbar with some friends.  I know I will have a few beers and I will eat buffalo chicken wings with blue cheese dressing.  I am almost feeling sorry for my body for feeding it beer and the sugar that I know is in the dressing.  I am really beginning to think of food as fuel for my body rather than just something to satiate my hunger.

I CAN make this life style change and I WILL accomplish my goal to lose at least 50 lbs by this time next year!

Day 5 of my Half Assed Paleo Diet

I must reiterate that I have actually been following the plan for the past 5 days other than a handful of sprouted garbanzo beans.  I won't officially start unil Feb. 9th.

Yesterday was an interesting day for me.  I woke up with a scratchy throat and wondered if it was my change in diet.  I stepped on the scale and was shocked that I had lost 5 lbs.  I hadn't slept well, nor had I the previous night.  I called my friend who turned me on to the Paleo way and talked to her about my results so far and asked her if it was normal to lose 5 lbs in 4 days and to not sleep well.  She said that yes, some people lose weight very rapidly but it is mostly water weight.  I have been drinking even more water than I normally do, which is a LOT!  As for my sleeping problems, she suggested I might be going to bed hungry and I admitted I was.

Last night before going to bed I ate about 1/2 a cup of the leftover Thai chicken & veggies stir fry and that seemed to help me sleep better last night.  I woke up VERY I got up and weighed myself and now I am down 6 lbs!!!!  I realize some of it is water weight but I am encouraged by the results.

Now comes my weekend of cheating before my official start date and I am concerned that I will gain back everything I lost.  I am tempted not to drink any wine at the wine event tomorrow and I am toying with not going to the sportsbar and watching the Super Bowl with friends.  I don't want to slide backwards and undo what I just worked all week to accomplish.  Everything in moderation...

Paleo Breakfast Recipe - Scrambled Eggs with Vegetables

I don't eat red meat and I am having a hard time finding turkey bacon that doesn't have sugar in it. My eggs have been lonely. I miss having toast, potatoes or veggie sausage with my eggs. Although someone who is trying to lose weight on the Paleo Diet should limit fruit intake, I added a nice, sweet, juicy tangelo to my breakfast this morning! Here is a recipe for something I often eat. Again, I rarely, if ever, open a cookbook so this is my scratch recipe with estimated ingredient portions along with a photo. It looks like a lot of food but this is served on a small bread plate:

1 large farm fresh organic egg

2 tbsp milk

1/2 cup packed spinach, cut into ribbons

2 crimini mushrooms chopped

3 tbsp minced fresh onion

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp coconut oil

Melt coconut oil in saute pan on medium/high heat. Toss in onions and mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes. Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper together. Pour egg mixture over onions and mushrooms and then sprinkle spinach over top of eggs. cover for 1 minute and then remove lid and turn/scramble eggs until cooked to your liking. I like my eggs fairly dry but not overcooked. I often take them off the heat when they are almost done and then just cover them for a minute or two so they continue to cook a bit. Very tasty!

Day 4 of My Half Assed Paleo Diet

I should clarify that it isn't the Paleo diet that is half assed, it is my participation in it that is. I won't go on the 30 day challenge until February 9th as I have a few events that will "force" me to cheat if I start before then. Yeah, yeah, I know! I said I would be starting on the 7th but I have been invited to a HUGE bash here in Portland with about 700 people and this bash includes free food and drink! That being said, I will drink and eat in moderation.

Damn! I realize I am already full of excuses as to why I am not starting right away! Rest assured that except for Monday when I ate garbanzo beans in my Indian Tomato and Onion stew, I have not had any grains, legumes or sugar of any kind. Not even a glass of wine! That is a full 2 days on the actual plan and today will be the third. I am getting a head start on the plan and slowly weaning myself from many of these things that I had in the past considered to be part of a healthful diet.

Here is the good news! I have been weighing myself each morning as soon as I wake up. Yesterday I was already down a couple of pounds!! And these are true lbs because I had been hovering at the same weight for the past couple of weeks. Today the scale said I have actually lost 3 lbs since Monday!! Is this possible?!? 3 pounds in less than one week by just eliminating grains, legumes, sugar and alcohol? This gives me hope but it seems unlikely. I stepped on the scale a few times just to make sure it was calibrated correctly. I always weigh myself naked so I know my true weight. I will continue to monitor my progress this week.

As I headed out on my walk on what was supposed to be a rain free day, it started raining after I got a block from my house. As luck would have it, it stopped when I was walking back into my driveway! As I mentioned in a previous post, I will walk at least 5 miles a week for the first month no matter what the weather is.

This morning I will be taking my measurements so I can start tracking inches that I will be losing as well as poundage.

Paleo Recipe - Spicy Thai Chicken & Vegetable Curry

This is a dish I often make at home. Other than a whole lot of chopping, it is simple, delicious and nutritious! I never measure anything when I cook so I will give estimates of what I put in. You can omit as much as you want or add vegetables you have on hand. I never cook the same thing twice because I just throw in what I have in the frig. I can eat fire so I cook with some heat. This version might be too spicy for your average Joe so leave out the jalapenos and red pepper flakes if you are a spice weany. I use my food processor to slice up the yellow squash, sweet potatoes and carrots so I get thin slices.

1 large onion sliced

2 cups sliced mushrooms

I small eggplant or 1/2 a large one chopped into cubes

1 big crown of broccoli cut into pieces

2 carrots sliced in food processor

1 sweet potato sliced thin in food processor

2 baby yellow crook neck (substitute any summer squash) sliced thin in food processor

4 large cloves of garlic chopped

1 large jalapeno minced (take out seed and veins if you want it less spicy

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup basil leaves

1 tsp red pepper flakes or 1 tsp chili garlic sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce

Juice from 1 lime

1 can of coconut milk

1 small can of red curry paste (green is fine, if that is your preference)

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 chicken breasts thinly sliced (cut some of the longer pieces in half so pieces are fairly uniform in size)

To make it easy to contain everything, I use a big pot rather than a large saute pan. It makes it easier to stir without tossing the ingredients all over the stove. :-) I cook on medium/high.

Melt coconut oil into pot. Add onions and chicken and saute for about 5 minutes until chicken is almost done. Add garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes while stirring so garlic doesn't burn.

Open can of coconut milk and pour 1/2 of it into the pot. Open can of Thai curry paste and stir it into the can of coconut milk so curry is no longer lumpy. Pour into pot, add fish sauce, lime juice, broccoli, eggplant, sliced carrots and sliced sweet potatoes and saute for about 6 minutes stirring ocassionally. Then add mushrooms, squash, cilantro and basil and saute for another 3-5 minutes. If you like your vegetables softer, saute for a bit longer. I like mine a little on the crisp side.

Please let me know how you enjoyed this recipe!

Purchased My Coconut Oil & Sugarless Sausage

Coconut oil is highly recommended for people eating the Paleo way. It is expensive oil but it is supposed to be great for sauteing veggies and meats. I also stocked up on about 8 different packages of chicken sausage at Trader Joe's so I am armed and ready for battle!

Now that I am reading each package of food I buy to look for hidden sugars or grains, I am finding so many things have sugar in them! Out of the 14 or so different sausage varieties, I think 7 contained sugar.

For breafast today I had a scambled egg with two mushrooms, diced onions and a big handful of spinach. I would have loved to have eaten it with a nice piece of wheat nut bread from New Season's but I refrained and threw a small handful of almonds on the plate.

For lunch today I heated up two chicken sausages and dipped in in tabasco for a little added kick. Speaking of Tabasco, you would be surprised as to how many hot sauces contain sugar! I read the ingredients on several bottles and found sugar in a few of them. Sugar is a hidden culprit and I feel like a detective in a spy novel trying to suss out all the foods with sugar.

Although my Paleo Diet doesn't officially start until the day after the Super Bowl, I am getting a head start. Would I love a Reser's Peanutbutter Cup or a glass of wine? Sure as hell would! But I don't want either of those things more than I want to get back to being thin and healthy!

How To Eat An Elephant

Today is February 2nd. I headed over to my best friend's house this past weekend to cook her a birthday dinner. I had brought garbanzo beans that I had sprouted and cooked and I was going to make hummus as an appetizer. She told me she doesn't eat hummus any more. What?!! Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?!! She had been a hummus fiend for years. She told me she had cut out all grains and sugars.

She is a crossfit trainer and eats the Paleo way. This gal absolutely doesn't need to lose another oz as she is probably a size zero but she has chosen this way of eating due to the health benefits involved. She said she has more energy, sleeps better, has fewer aches and pains and in general feels healthier.

I had many questions and she spoke to me freely and provided me with a lot of online resources. By the end of the night I was convinced that it was time for me to make a lifestyle change. But wait!! My refrigerator was stocked with brown rice, spicy homecooked black beans, sprouted garbanzo beans, quinoa soup and tortillas. These are things that I had been eating in order to try to lose weight and become more healthy. Plus, I have a party to attend on Friday, a wine tasting event on Saturday and on Sunday I will be eating chicken wings and drinking beer while watching the Steelers beat the Packers at the Super Bowl!

Well, growing up the daughter of two Dutch parents who grew up in Holland during WWII and experienced famine, I could not bear to throw out perfectly good food. Waste not, want not and all that jazz. And I have so many fun events scheduled for this weekend! Yes, I am starting with an excuse to start this lifestyle change a week after deciding to do it but at least I have decided to do it!

My boyfriend promised to polish off the quinoa soup, black beans and tortillas. I made a tasty Indian dish with lots of tomatoes, onions, garlic, spinach and the sprouted garbanzo beans. I have, however, cut out sugar for the last two days and the only grains I have eaten is the garbanzo beans in the Indian stew I made. I have been eating eggs with lots of veggies for breakfast and tuna for lunch. I am half way on my way to my lifestyle change to that should count for something, right? I have also heard and read that the cutting of grains and sugars will lead to some withdrawls and headaches so at least I can wean myself off of them until my official starting date of February 7th, 2011. As a disclaimer, I have a weekend wine festival planned with a group of girlfriends at the end of February so that will be a cheating weekend but in moderation.

I walked a mile on Monday and 1 1/2 miles yesterday. My goal is to walk at least 5 miles a week for the first month, no matter what, no excuses. On my second month I will walk at least 10 miles a week and once I have reached the beginning of the third month, I will decide what my next goal is. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time...

A Long Journey To Where I Am Today

I am not even sure where to start. This is my first blog post. Although I have threatened to blog of my travels around the world, once I am traveling that false promise falls to the bottom of my priority list. This is my "FAT Blog."

As my profile states, I was once a very thin girl. All the girls in my high school always commented on how skinny I was. I was 5'6 1/2" and weighed about 110 lbs. It doesn't sound terribly thin but considering I was large busted and each of my melons probably weighed a couple of lbs on their own, I was thin. I think that added to my skinny appearance. I looked like a 2x8 with boobs.

I am now 45 years old, still the same height, more or less but I weigh significantly more than I did in my teens. I am not even going to state my current weight at this point.  I will say that I need to lose 50+ lbs.

I am not sure exactly when I started considering myself fat. I still know I was still healthy and attractive in my mid thirties. Somewhere over the last 10 years I have put on more and more weight with the majority of it ending up on my frame over the past 5 years. I kept telling myself I just had a "large frame" and that I "carried my weight well."

In the past 4 years I have suffered 4 major deaths of friends and family members. Because of these losses I have become depressed and unmotivated. I am an emotional eater and drinker but then feel even worse after eating poorly and drinking too much alcohol. It seemed to be an endless cycle that had me caught up in a downward spiral. The recent terminal illness and then death of my mom really threw me a curve ball and I was eating and drinking even moreso that before.

My clothing has gotten bigger and baggier. My shirts and jackets have become longer to cover up my ass. I have been fooling myself into thinking that if I conceal my body, people won't notice I am fat, after all, I still feel like a thin person inside! I think one thing that cured me of my delusion of not being overweight was when some a-hole punk downtown ran smack dab into me as I was walking down the street. I asked him to be careful and he called me a fat bitch. Yeah, it was beginning to sink in that no amount of clothing was going to hide the fact that food had become what I turned to for comfort.

Now I am facing the bitter and somewhat hard to swallow fact; I am obese. My Body Mass Index is 35.3. It should be between 18-24, according to my height.

Being fat has changed my life in so many ways. I used to look forward to spending weeks dressed in skimpy summer clothes and bathing suits in the Caribbean, Mexico or other sunny destinations. I began planning my trips to places that I would not have to be seen in anything that showed my weight gain. I used to choose active vacations and now I dread the thought of trying to climb a volcano in Nicaragua or go sand surfing in the Sahara. If the destination involves any sort of strenuous activity I cross it off my list.

Well, I need to change my BMI and I know I am not going to get any taller.  The only choice I have if I want a better and longer life is to lose this weight.  I need to learn how to be comfortable in my own skin again. My only real solution is eat better, exercise more and gain my health back. On the long road to recovery...