30 Day Challenge -- Day 5

I truly believe in eating whole foods in their most natural state (except for chips). For instance, I saw this article: "Splenda goes from 'safe' to 'caution' after leukemia found in mice."  For years I have heard, read, or been told how safe Splenda is. I am glad I listened to my gut and chose not to use this product, except very rarely. Luckily, my poison of choice is black coffee (I am sure many of you can tell me what is wrong with coffee and caffeine) and I am very fortunate to not have a sweet tooth, usually. So, for me, it is easy to stay away from artificially sweetened foods.

Eating Paleo and eating whole foods can be very expensive. I get super tired of the Paleo crowd touting the same speech of "yeah, but if you buy the right foods now (organic, grass fed), you will save thousands later in medical bills." I personally can not afford organic and/or grass fed. If I don't have the cash, then guess what? I don't have the cash. And before anyone tells me we don't need things like cable tv... we don't have things like cable tv.

So, how do I do Paleo? I buy regular food. I buy vegetables on sale (which tend to be what's in season) and meat that has been marked way down or is on a major sale. I use canned tuna that I get for 65 cents a can during a case lot sale. Some day, probably when my 5 children move out, I will be able to buy all organic, grass fed everything. For now, I am looking to feed us the best way possible with the resources we have. (This might also mean we have to add rice and beans back into our diet in the future).

Day 5
This morning we started our day much earlier. Our 1.6 mile walk was much more enjoyable in the cooler weather and we were able to talk my hubby into going with us. It was very nice.

Breakfast: Leftover breakfast from yesterday. That casserole made quite a bit.

Lunch: Leftover (again) Cilantro Lime Cole Slaw with diced chicken breast (also leftover from dinner the other night).

I went to the gym today and did 30 minutes on the recumbent bike at a level 4. I was going to do the Couch 2 5k, but a friend was there and I would much rather work out while chatting with a friend.

Snack: (I have been really hungry today). Small handful of macadamia nuts, two slices roast beef, and a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Ground Beef and Curry Stir Fry

Dinner: I came up with a very yummy stir fry dish. I used some asian vermicelli noodles I got from Costco (aka my favorite store ever) that have an ingredients list of: Peas, Green Beans, Water. We shall see what it does to the hubby's blood sugar (which is how I judge a lot of foods). Luckily, I wrote down all the ingredients and how much of everything I put in. The recipe will be posted very soon. I absolutely LOVE creating a recipe and watching my family enjoy it completely!

Weekly Paleo Menu April 29 - May 5.

I realize I started this blog and left it after two posts.

We have had a LOT of ups and downs and now that Brandon, A.K.A. The Hubby, has finally decided to be completely onboard with eating Paleo it is time to buckle down. It has only taken a lifetime for him to start listening to his father, but isn't that just the way of life?

As of now, our entire family is not Paleo. Brandon is completely Paleo (it has made such a difference with his blood glucose levels and a huge reduction in his A1C's!--He is a Type 1 Diabetic--I promise to post more on this soon.) I am about 90% Paleo, but completely gluten free. Our five children are almost gluten free, but that is all. We are a work in progress.

We have five children. Our oldest will be 18 in a week and he eats a TON. Who am I kidding? All of my children eat a TON. I have cooked most everything from scratch for a really long time. We have really had a pretty low grocery bill because of it. Changing our eating to Paleo has definitely increased our spending on food. It is a hard adjustment and it's just the beginning. We don't buy a lot of Organic foods or grain fed meats. They are expensive and they don't fit into our budget at all. I look for clearance meat and sale veggies. Natural Grocers, which is what we have in my area, has a clearance veggie bin where I can pick up a bag of going bad produce for $1.00 a bag. I still add a few fillers to my children's meals, such as Basmati rice, potatoes, corn tortillas, etc. But, I keep it gluten free.


Our Weekly Menu for April 29 - May 5:
I am posting six dinners and breakfasts because the 7th will be a free night and morning. You never know when you have something come up or you are rushed or you just don't feel like cooking.

Lunches tend to be leftovers of dinner, which I will double or triple recipes in order to have. Most dinner items can be thrown on a bed of greens and will make a great lunch. Turkey or ham sandwich meat makes a great "tortilla" for some avocado, onion, and bell pepper.

Breakfasts:

Fried eggs with fruit (whatever sounds good).

Ham steak topped with the BEST caramelized onion jam EVER and a fruit.

Eggs scrambled with sausage and some veggies.

Fisherman's Eggs--This looks easy enough. I will probably cook everything in a pan.

Bacon and fruit.

Paleo Breakfast Burrito



Dinners in no particular order:

Paleo Southwest Meat Loaf (I get to use some of the clearance ground beef I found) with guacamole, a salad (usually some kind of greens with dressing).

Crock Pot Asian Style Carnitas with Asian Cabbage Salad and grilled asparagus.

Apple Dijon Burger on top of some greens, diced and baked sweet potatoes on the side.

Salmon Sliders (but, I will be using tuna for the sake of budget), on top of Cilantro Lime Slaw.

Too Easy Chicken Adobo with Roasted Mixed Greens with Beets and Garlic (yes, I know it's the same site. I figure we will try them both at the same time... even though we don't really like beets. Maybe this will be the way that will finally help us to eat them.)

Pan-Seared Chicken and Curried Parsnips on top of a nice bed of lettuce.

*As with any menu, if we don't end up being able to cook all of the meals this week, I will just add them on to the beginning of next week.

Bought Sarah Fragoso's Book

I have been feeling really overwhelmed at the amount of time I spend at each meal preparing and/or cooking food, the expense, and the seeming lack of variety.. and it's only been 3 weeks since we started. First, the expense. I have been cooking from scratch for a long time. I baked our own bread and muffins and stuff, made our own casseroles, and I don't buy convenience foods very often. I also buy meat when it's on sale and cheap. So, for the seven of us, I used to feed us dinner for around (usually a little less) $10. Breakfast would be less than that and so would lunch. Now, eating paleo, the cost of food is at least double.

Second, the time. Most days I enjoy cooking dinner and creating something amazing that the whole family (with the exception of one picky person) will like. But, now I am cooking breakfast and having to prepare something more for lunch other than a quick sandwich. It took me an hour to make breakfast this morning. It left me feeling a bit tired.

Third, the variety. Ok ok. I know there is a lot of ways to prepare meat. Fabulous ways, actually. But, when you can only afford the cheapest cuts of beef, pork, and chicken it's hard to enjoy the same type of tough meat over and over again. Hopefully, we will find a somewhat inexpensive supplier of yummy fish, but it is all around here it is expensive!! (My mom fishes, I may have to use her skill to stock my freezer the next time I can go visit her.) And honestly? How many nights are we supposed to like having broccoli, spinach, or cauliflower?

So, feeling utterly overwhelmed with our "new" diet (we've done it before), I went to the bookstore and bought Sarah Fragoso's book Everyday Paleo. I payed way too much for it (amazon has it for $8.00 less), but that's what I get for convenience and a little peace of mind. I am hoping the ideas and recipes in her book will help me create a menu to help me through this slump.