GAPS Diet Intro Week 1:

We are now officially 1 week into GAPS intro over here. While the whole household isn't doing GAPS, my fellow home cooks will understand when I say that it is a pain in the rear to create multiple separate menus. So, even those here who aren't officially doing GAPS are doing GAPS + stuff on the side just out of pure convenience.

I'm just one more bowl of bone broth away from
snapping and turning into a crazy cat lady.
It wouldn't be all bad, though.
Kittens are cuddly-wuddly!

Courtesy of the George Eastman House Collection,
Flickr Creative Commons

There are definitely a few learning curves. I enjoy bone broth and use it in my cooking all the time, but I've had to become accustomed to the prospect of always having it available to consume throughout the day. To that end I say horray for slow cookers! One big blessing is that my local Giant just switched its Nature's Promise chickens from "all natural" blah blah blah to Nature's Promise certified organic chickens. There's a big difference between the two! And while the organic chickens probably aren't pampered free range local chickens fed GMO free feed and allowed to forage for bugs, our family having regular, dependable access to certified organic chickens is a huge step up, especially when quality bones for broth are now a house staple. To get a certified organic chicken before that, I'd have had to drive at least 45 minutes away. I wrote a "customer comment" form at the customer service desk thanking Giant for carrying them! I know the folks at Giant probably don't get a lot of positive notes in the comment box, so a, "Way to go!" on their new inventory will probably catch their eye. I also mentioned that otherwise I'd have driven a ways to buy organic chickens from Trader Joe's, so that lets the staff know that they won a regular chunk of my money from a competitor by stocking certified organic chickens.

This is me stocking up on wholesome chickens,
with a slightly manic gleam in my eye.

Courtesy of the
George Eastman House Collection,
Flickr Creative Commons

They average $11-12/chicken, which is definitely expensive, but I am glad to have organic chicken bones from each chicken to supply us with at least a couple of days' worth of bone broth - not to mention being able to feed my GAPS patient the organic chicken's organs - so there is more value to them than just in the meat. I'll be keeping my eye out for sale prices on those chickens and when the price drops, I'll be stocking up!

I've already used a few shortcuts - Bubbies sauerkraut and Sunja's kimchis have been my go-to for sugar-free lacto-fermented veggies. One day in a blissful fantasy future I will figure out home fermented veggies, but for now I'm grateful to have a ready-made option to provide lots of lactobacillus for our guts. (And special thanks to my friend A. who lives near stores that stock these! She's been a big help in keeping us supplied.) For now I'm using the juice for our GAPS patient, but I readily hork down the veggies themselves, so it's all good.

Another couple of shortcuts I'm using this month include organic pumpkin puree and organic butternut squash puree. There is one ingredient in each of these: organic pumpkin, and organic squash, respectively. Also, I was happy to discover that their maker is committed to using BPA-free cans. Is peeling and slow cooking the whole food in my own kitchen ideal? For sure. But, having these around ensures that I don't forget to add some to meals for an added dose of good carbs.

What are your favorite bone broth tips and tricks? Have you had any fun discoveries in your local supermarket this week?


~

Menu Plan

I hope that you had a wonderful, relaxing Labor Day! I spent a chunk of the day getting ready for the return to preschool later this week - and discovered to my amusement that I - not much of a skirt or dress wearer myself - have somehow given birth to and raised a 4.5 year old who intends each and every day to don a dress or a skirt. Thus, I've ended up supplementing her existing wardrobe with a lot of leggings, footless tights, and regular tights - of a decidedly sparkly, girly variety. Hopefully this way, she'll get her skirt and dress time, and with the help of all those leggings and tights, I'll have her ready to tackle the preschool playground, somersaults, and other antics.

And of course, since later this week preschool is kicking off, the preschool lunchboxes will return from their summer break, so stay tuned for new and fun tastes. :)

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Quiche with pork sausage and fresh peppers, bananas
Lunch - Fresh fruit, Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, leftover quiche
Dinner - Bunless burgers, salads, asparagus

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Flourless banana pancakes
Lunch - Leftover burgers, fresh fruit and veggies
Dinner - Pastrami salads, kind of like the one here

Thursday:
Breakfast - Boiled eggs, apple slices with some kind of nut butter
Lunch - Chicken soup with kale and cabbage
Dinner - Brats on the grill, salads

Friday:
Breakfast - Yoghurt with fresh fruit
Lunch - Leftover chicken kale cabbage soup and brats
Dinner - Steak, salad, baked potatoes with toppings

What are you cooking up this first full week of September?

Menu Plan, and Crossfit Thwarted by Irene

My Crossfit intro class was cancelled - it was supposed to take place Saturday, but Irene had other plans. :-\ I may not make it to a ramp up until the October one, since I'll be out of town during the weekend of the September rampup. Since the intro class is (quite reasonably!) a prerequisite to being able to join any Crossfit workout slot, it could therefore be several weeks before I get to take the intro and thus start Crossfitting. Bummer! I was getting so stoked. Now the wait begins again.

Ah, welcome back to what was once known as the "menu plan". :) Hopefully I can get more into a groove of doing this again since it saves me money and stress over the course of the week.

Monday:
Breakfast - Boiled eggs, mashed with Kerrygold, peaches and bananas for the girls
Lunch - Roast beef, leftover from the weekend, with stewed tomatoes
Dinner - Dinosaur Chicken Salad, using leftover roast chicken and fresh kale

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Chicken cabbage soup (with bone broth made overnight from the leftover roast chicken)
Lunch - Leftover dino chicken salad, sliced peaches, whole fat plain organic yoghurt with honey
Dinner - Bacon and eggs, hash browns

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Omelette with gorgonzola and mango salsa
Lunch - Liverwurst, baby carrots, cheese, other finger foods
Dinner - Slow cooked pork, baked sweet potatoes

Thursday:
Breakfast - Leftover baked sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs
Lunch - Huge salad with leftover pork to top, mango salsa
Dinner - More huge salad topped with steak and some version of MDA's homemade ranch

Friday:
Breakfast - Egg salad, Kerrygold sauteed plantains
Lunch - Leftover steak on greens, fresh fruit (whatever's on sale)
Dinner - Fish of some kind (whatever's on sale), with a lemon butter cream reduction, and a pile of roasted veggies accessorizing it :)

End of Summer Catchup

Caught my 20 month old red-handed - she climbed up on a chair in order to grab a little of the the Kerrygold in the middle of the kitchen table. Can't say that I blame her, though. :-p

Things are cooking up, as it were.

• Preschool's kickoff is coming up very soon - you saw the week's worth of day camp lunches I packed for my preschooler earlier this month, and that's a little sampling of the lunches that will be captured in the weeks and months to come.
  
  Related: Just for fun, I'm planning on branching out a little bento-art-wise bit by bit, so my practice efforts will probably show up in my preschooler's lunches.
  
  

• I've signed up for Crossfit, as I mentioned. My intro class is around the corner and I still almost pass out from nervousness at the prospect. I still haven't figured out - if I sign up for an early morning workout-of-the-day slot - how I'm going to sneak out of the house without waking my daughters.
  
  Related: I need to get back into my menu-planning groove. Even though it's a little taxing dreaming it all up in one go, having it "done" (and my grocery shopping "done") later in the week will make things a lot easier for me when I'm trying to adjust to the new schedule.
  
  Related: I need to get to bed earlier, because once the o'dark-thirty WODs begin, my 11 p.m. bedtimes aren't going to cut it anymore.
  
  
  
• I've signed up to manage my MOPS group's meal delivery for postpartum moms for this coming year. I had meals delivered to our house - several dinners' worth - both times I delivered my daughters and it. was. AWESOME. I loved having that backup so much that I am now a regular meal-bringer for postpartum moms, ergo volunteering to help get the meals delivered made sense.
  
  What does that have to do with paleo eating? I'm planning a series in the coming weeks on what to do on the delivery end and what to do on the receiving end of moral-support meals.
  
  

So, that's what's happening in my neck of the woods. What are you preparing for as the school year is gearing up?

Menu Plan

Here we go! I'll try to lay out rough sketches of my husband's lunches, though the freshness of the produce and quantities of leftovers will always trump the written menu plan.

Here's what's on the menu in the coming week:

Monday:
Breakfast - Fried eggs, asparagus with pastured butter
Lunch - Chicken chili (chicken + assorted random veggies and chili seasonings, slow cooked for ages)
Dinner - MORE chicken chili...here's hopin' my batch is a good one, amirite?
My husband's packed lunch - Steak salad, fruit salad

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Onion and black olive omelette
Lunch - Purple Japanese sweet potatoes slow-baked, with Kerrygold - got these at my local Asian grocery superstore and am stoked to try them out!
Dinner - Burgers and salmon fillets (separately) marinated in lemongrass and garlic, grilled, and steamed broccoli with Kerrygold
My husband's packed lunch - Monday night's leftover chicken chili, banana pudding

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Mashed boiled eggs, plus bananas for my girls
Lunch - Leftovers
Dinner - Gluten-free chicken schnitzel, roasted Brussels sprouts
Packed lunch - Leftover burgers tossed with mustard vinaigrette and fresh veggies

Thursday:
Breakfast - Sausage and veggie quiche (made the night before)
Lunch - Leftover Brussels sprouts, bacon
Dinner - Eggplant lasagna
Packed lunch - Leftovers, whatever they may be

Friday:
Breakfast - Fried eggs, fresh fruit for the girls
Lunch - Finger foods - fresh cut produce, Babybel cheese, etc. My girls and I meeting up with a friend and her daughter for lunch!
Dinner - Coconut lime stir fry
Packed lunch - Leftover eggplant lasagna

Post Vacation Bearings, Regained

I've had a bit of blogging break this past week. We were on vacation, but it was a staycation in that we were still local. But it was the best kind of staycation: where you still get to spend lots of quality time with people that you love. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their kids came for a visit!

My sweet nephew blew out four candles on his birthday cake. There was a piñata (with candy, of course). I made some gluten-free treats for people to share: a batch of coconut almond macaroons and dipped the bottoms of the cookies in melted semisweet chocolate, and a couple of batches of ice cream. Speaking of which, I'm getting ever-closer to my ideal batch of home-churned vanilla ice cream. There are still a couple of tweaks, but I will probably post it some time in the next month. Also on my docket of promising recipe developments, which I took a stab at making for the first time this week: green tea ice cream.

Now that we've reluctantly said our goodbyes for now (and my four year old has already complained about having nobody to play with, ha!), I'm left a little overcaffeinated and a little oversugared (though I did manage to avoid getting gluten-sick). Top of my agenda is getting back into simplified naturally lower-carb eating.

And...this means...back to menu planning. I took a few weeks' break, and it was nice to be willy-nilly for a while and cook up stuff on the fly, but I also think that not planning leaves me a lot more vulnerable to eating technically legal junkfood. This means the menu plans will be back to a heavy emphasis on lower-carb whole foods meat, veggies, and eggs, all cooked in healthy fats.

So, look out for the return of the menu plans  - and starting this coming week, packed lunches for my husband!

Menu Plan

Yesterday morning: Sliced mango and leftover chicken,
whole milk on the side.

Wow, we made it through March! It was a very rainy March for us - and it's still rainy today, hence the playlist.

I was shocked at how much money we saved on groceries last month with my husband being the primary grocery shopper -- enough to have him involved in grocery shopping a lot more often from here on out.

Also? My preschooler is more or less geared now toward the idea of whole foods for breakfast; I can't remember the last time that she asked about breakfast cereal, and I consider that a milestone of some sort.

Here's what's on the menu this week:

Monday:

Leftover beef brisket soup, absolutely
loaded with leeks and mushrooms.

Breakfast - Hot tea for me, bananas and leftover chicken with mango for my girls
Lunch - Liverwurst, smoky autumn beef brisket soup using leftover beef roast
Dinner - Flank steaks on the grill - it's grillin' weather, baby, YEA! :)

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Hot tea for me, milk and fruit for my girls (I meant to get some protein in for them, too, but the morning got ahead of me!)
Lunch - Leftover beef brisket soup, Dubliner cheese
Dinner - Chebe Pizza!*

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Onion and cheese omelette
Lunch - Fasting for me, probably
Dinner - Chuck steaks under the broiler, baked Brussels sprouts with butter

Thursday:
Breakfast - Frozen blueberries, warmed with cinnamon, served with cottage cheese
Lunch - Lamb shoulder simmered in tamari and butter
Dinner - Salmon filets, coconut oil veggie stir fry

Friday:
Breakfast - Whole milk yoghurt with liquid whole leaf stevia and vanilla extract
Lunch - We're visiting with a friend and her daughter! She's providing the chicken for grillin', I'm supplying a loaded salad and maybe some Green & Black's as a special treat :)
Dinner - Bacon and eggs

Tonight's Chebe crust pizza, which I made using the
very simple and low-carb Victoria tomato basil sauce.
It is, quite simply, delicious.
I would be proud to serve it to company.

*Look away if you are dogmatic -- I saw Chebe Bread Pizza Crust Mix as somebody had mixed and baked it up on another paleo blog (it's tapioca flour based, very short ingredient list, came highly rated). Drumroll...this means that yes, our household will have the occasional pizza night! (I haven't been contacted by Chebe with any review requests; I discovered and bought Chebe of my own initiative, and am glad that I did!) I did some Googling, and discovered that Chebe also sells frozen pizza crusts with the same ingredients as the dry mix ... but unfortunately the wet ingredients added in the frozen crust include (ick! so bad for you) canola oil.

Definitely some leftovers going with my husband
and daughter in their lunches tomorrow.

But now that I know that the tapioca flour crust won't "die" while waiting in a freezer, I hold out some hope that I could make the dry mix (as I did tonight) fresh at home with Kerrygold, but then press it flat and and add some toppings, and finally freeze it for when unexpected dinner company drops in, or those nights when we arrive at home after some long trip with nothing in our fridge, or in case of nausea/illness/recovery when something simple and fast is needed. Hmmm, maybe that is a case where a vacuum sealing appliance comes in handy -- as it did for Joyful Abode when she cracked open some frozen vaccum sealed twice baked potato skins that she had made with her postpartum recovery time in mind.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Primal Kitchen at no additional cost to you! All opinions expressed here are honest and my own.

Menu Plan

Here's the menu plan for this week. We are trying to make it through 'til Friday with what's left in the fridge...I might need to get a little more creative. :) Definitely lots and lots of eggs and...pork. I had the "brilliant" idea of making 10 lb. of pork loin roast in the crock pot on Sunday, slow cooked in mango salsa. Delicious, yes, but entirely too much. So, sorry for the lack of variety, but budget and practicality demand it this week! ;)

Monday:
Breakfast - Fruit and eggs for my girls, for me - hot buttered chai - recipe to come soon
Lunch - Leftover pork roast with strawberries on salad greens
Dinner - Various and sundry leftovers

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Same as Monday
Lunch - Leftover pork roast with salsa
Dinner - Eggs, in some format

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Smoothies
Lunch - The last vestiges of the pork with added mango salsa, no joke!
Dinner - Onion and cheese quiche

Thursday:
Breakfast - Mashed boiled eggs with Kerrygold
Lunch - Maybe fasting for me
Dinner - My inlaws are bringing Chipotle! Steak salad for me. Best. In-laws. EVER.

Friday:
Breakfast - Whole milk yoghurt with raspberry extract and liquid stevia
Lunch - Fried eggs and potatoes
Dinner - Whatever I've rustled up at the grocery store that day :)

Menu Plan

Here we go, here we go! :)

Monday:
Breakfast - Chicken cooked overnight from the crockpot
Lunch - Queso omelette with guacamole
Dinner - More leftover chicken with broth, baby carrots

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Bacon, eggs (plus blueberries for my girls)
Lunch - Salmon with mixed greens
Dinner - Chicken brats with butter cream sauce, asparagus

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Ham and cheese quiche
Lunch - Fasting perhaps, or creamed coffee
Dinner - Pork sausage with Trader Joe's vodka sauce and spaghetti squash

Thursday:
Breakfast - Mashed boiled eggs
Lunch - Banana cream protein smoothie (I get around carby bananas by using banana extract instead)
Dinner - Braised beef short ribs, coconut lime veggie stir fry

Friday:
Breakfast - Whole fat yoghurt sweetened with liquid whole leaf stevia
Lunch - Leftover short ribs
Dinner - Leftovers, or maybe going out

Menu Plan, and Tweaks on Food Journalling

I am loving FatSecret.com as a food journalling tool! Tracking my intake was a huge eye opener, and after a week at very low carb I can tell how I need to tweak my portions to achieve realistic deficits while keeping fat and protein at a premium, to maintain some level of ketosis and also satiation. My next goal for this week is to preplan and document the intake the evening before (Last week I was documenting after the fact). Hopefully this way I can better stagger my calories throughout the day and achieve more accurate fat/protein/carb ratios.

If you are on FatSecret or decide to give it a go, you can check out the Primal / Paleo 3 Months Til Summer Challenge! It starts in a couple of weeks and will be a gathering place for those striving for cleaner grain-free sugar-free eating and better workouts as the warm weather approaches. If you see me on there be sure to say hi! :)

I am enjoying my husband doing the grocery shopping, I must say. Our fridge is now full of tons of full fat dairy, animal protein, and produce. *Does the happy dance.*

So - here's what's planned for the menu and workouts this week:

Monday:
Breakfast - Bacon gorgonzola omelette, whole milk yoghurt with raspberry extract
Lunch - Bacon, steamed brocolli with butter
Dinner - Garlic roast chicken with carrots
Workout - Kettlebell swings

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Bacon, smoothie
Lunch - Leftover chicken and carrots, remade as a creamy soup
Dinner - Trader Joe's vodka sauce with seasoned TJ's grass fed ground beef, over spaghetti squash
Workout - Lap swim at the community pool

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Fried eggs, iced coffee
Lunch - TJ's wild turbot filets with asparagus and a cream and butter sauce
Dinner - Roast beef with veggies
Workout - Kettlebell swings

Thursday:
Breakfast - Bacon and asparagus quiche
Lunch - Lamb chops
Dinner - Coconut crusted shrimp, minus the unsweetened coconut, which I'm out of at the moment
Workout - Rest day

Friday:
Breakfast - Quartered strawberries topped with mascarpone and cacao nibs
Lunch - Leftovers, whatever they might be
Dinner - Porterhouses, on the stove if weather doesn't permit, but hoping for grilling weather! ;-D Salads on the side
Workout - Turkish getups with the kettlebell

Preschool Lunch Ideas:
Lunchbox #59 - Leftover broccoli, chicken, and carrots
Lunchbox #60 - Leftover spaghetti squash bolognese, apple slices
Lunchbox #61 - Leftover roast beef, whole milk yoghurt with honey

Menu Plan

We're trying something new this month: my husband is doing all of the grocery shopping. I'm curious to see how it works out; the main determination is to see whether he can lower our grocery spending without my non-core impulse purchases (read: raw honey, almond butter, etc.) piling on extra costs.

Which, you know what? Is not a bad thing. I need less of the impulse purchases and more "core foods" low-carb meals that keep me from craving carby snacks. More beef. More butter and cream. More eggs and bacon. More nonstarchy veggies.

I've also decided today to start food journaling in earnest. Even if I'm 100% primal / lacto-paleo compliant in terms of what I'm eating, calories are indeed still a part of the equation, and after being inspired by one paleo friend who is a fantastic weight loss success story (and who lost 111+ lb. over six years with the help of strict food journalling) - and AndreAnna, who is courageously redoubling her efforts this month after a winter plateau - I want to scrutinize my own numbers more closely. I think that my satiation switch is somehow broken, so relying on my subjective feeling of "full" seems to be futile, at least at this point. The fact that I'm still nursing my 14-month old certainly doesn't abet my appetite at this point either. Therefore, to make things as objective and clear-cut as possible, journalling food intake and charting weigh-ins over time is a great way for me to geek out data-wise on my intake and draw some useful conclusions from there.

Wednesday:

Breakfast - Smoothies for my girls; I may fast

Lunch - Eggs fried in butter

Dinner - Miso salmon with broccoli

Workout - Supposed to be gorgeous, so taking my littlest out in the jogging stroller for some sunshine and fresh air

Thursday:

Breakfast - Mashed boiled eggs

Lunch - Leftover salmon with butter-sauteed wasabi asparagus

Dinner - Beef pot roast; sweet potatoes for my girls

Workout - Kettlebell swings

Friday:

Breakfast - Leftover sweet potatoes for the girls, warmed with butter and cinnamon, fasting for me

Lunch - Omelettes

Dinner - Butterflied pan-sauteed shrimp (with garlic and coconut oil) and veggie

Workout - Rest day

Preschool Lunch Ideas:

Lunchbox #56: Honeydew melon, blueberries, broccoli, sugar snap peas, sliced leftover beef

Lunchbox #57: Sweet potatoes, Clementine, apple slices with peanut butter

Lunchbox #58: Leftover salmon, almonds, apple blueberry sauce

Menu Plan, and Some Primal / Paleo - Friendly Pasta Sauces

A bit late this week to my usual menu plan. I didn't make it to Giant until today after yet another preschool snow delay -- until that point we were limping along with leftovers here and there, letting eggs and omelettes bridge the gap.

Now that my daughters are in bed tonight, I'll be making a batch of eggplant lasagna. It's one of those recipes that I always do a little bit differently, depending on my mood and what ingredients I have on hand. The core of recipe requires a bit of time - you slice the eggplant thinly, salt it and let it "weep" bitter juices for about half an hour, then pan-fry both sides of the slices in butter, and layer them with cheese and your favorite tomato sauce and bake. While it's a terrific recipe fresh out of the oven, not much is lost in eating it reheated, and it's so much less intense for me to tackle it without little ones also demanding my attention. So, we'll all enjoy it tomorrow for dinner!

By the way, now that Italian is on the brain, I thought that I'd describe the three pasta sauces that I currently have in rotation:

• Gia Russa vodka sauce, which I found at the Super Wal-Mart about 15 minutes away from our house (6 g. carbs per half cup, see link for my pics of the ingredient list).
  
  
• Trader Joe's Organic Vodka pasta sauce. 12 g. total carbs per 1/2 c. serving. Ingredients:
  
  Organic tomatoes, organic tomato puree, organic heavy cream (milk), organic sweet whey, organic onions, salt, organic parmesan cheese (milk, salt, cheese cultures, enzymes [microbial]), organic extra virgin olive oil, organic garlic puree, organic lemon juice concentrate, organic basil, organic vodka (potato), organic oregano.
  
  A word of advice: Not all Trader Joe's pasta sauces are this compatible with primal and paleo-style eating; in fact many have soybean oil and other less desirable ingredients. If you're shopping TJ's for pasta sauce, just be sure to read every label's ingredient section!
  
  
• Victoria pasta sauces. These are my go-to. They're available at Giant, they're low carb, they have the simplest ingredient lists of any pasta sauces I've ever seen, and right now all Victoria varieties are on sale for $3.99 for a HUGE 24 oz. jar - through March 3. If you're near Giant or its sister store Stop & Shop, check out your pasta sauce section and see if there are any available.
  
  

  

  Hrm, suspiciously similar
  label compared with
  theTomato Basil Sauce! ;)

  

  
  

  Maybe there's just more basil...?

  Most Victoria sauces have exceedingly short and pure ingredient lists, but always check your labels; for example, their vodka sauce ingredient lists are surprisingly complicated. But here are two of my favorites - the basic marinara, and the tomato basil sauce, both just 4 g. carbs per half cup, the lowest carb count of any commercially produced pasta sauces I've ever seen!
  
  Victoria is what I'll be using tonight.

I can't be the only one out there waiting until "after hours" to do up some of my favorite recipes undistracted.

***
ETA 7/17/2011: I've also blogged about having fallen in love with Giant's in-house Simply Enjoy pasta sauce. It's nearly identical to Victoria, down to the ingredients, and about half the cost at $4 for a 28 oz. (very large) jar.
***

What recipes do you like waiting to cook until you can devote full attention to them?

Feel free to link to those recipes in the comments.

Meanwhile, here's my menu and workout plan for the rest of the week:

Wednesday:

Breakfast - Omelettes, Clementines for the girls

Lunch - Leftover stewed beef, baby carrots

Dinner - Eggplant lasagna, rewarmed in the oven. Yum!

Workout - Kettlebell swinging

Thursday:

Breakfast - Bacon, fried eggs

Lunch - Leftover eggplant lasagna, if there is any. :) Otherwise: Lamb.

Dinner - Crock pot whole chicken with cabbage in a garlic ginger broth

Workout - "Rest" day, though I may be cleaning and doing laundry like a maniac

Friday:

Breakfast - Smoothies! Mine will be high fat, high protein, lowish carb

Lunch - Leftover chicken and cabbage, served up in its broth as a soup

Dinner - Since we'll have company the next day and I'd like to keep the kitchen relatively clean, might grab a bunless cheeseburger from our local burger joint

Workout - Kettlebell swinging

Menu Plan

I made a dynamite super slow roasted beef loin in the oven today - a very large one! The long cooking time left the meat very tender, and the flavor very concentrated. Fortunately (because it's so huge), I'm really looking foward to leftovers tomorrow!

Here's what's on the menu this week:

Monday:
Breakfast - Steak, plus fruit for the girls
Lunch - Leftover blueberries, leftover sweet potatoes and pot roast from Sunday
Dinner - More steak! Plus a veggie stir fry of squash, carrots, and asparagus

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Leftover veggie stir fry, whole milk yoghurt
Lunch - Kerrygold Ballyshannon cheese, warm banana pudding
Dinner - Beef loin roast

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Leftover beef roast and apple slices for the girls
Lunch - Fried eggs
Dinner - Roasted butternut squash with cinnamon, romaine salad topped with shredded cheese and shredded leftover beef roast
Workout - Walking, and lots of it

Thursday:
Breakfast - Mashed boiled eggs with Kerrygold
Lunch - Creamy tarragon asparagus soup
Dinner - Sausage, bacon, and cheese quiche
Workout - Kettlebell swings

Friday:
Breakfast - Garlic, onion, and cheese omelette
Lunch - Leftovers, whatever they may be
Dinner - Roast whole chicken, baked potatoes on the side
Workout - Lap swim

Preschool lunch ideas:
Lunchbox #50: Apple blueberry whole milk yoghurt, leftover stir fried veggies, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes
Lunchbox #51: Chilled banana pudding topped with walnuts, leftover beef roast, whole milk yoghurt
Lunchbox #52: Boiled egg, leftover butternut squash, salad

Staying Primal / Paleo with Healthy Eating During Church & Social Gatherings

I see primal / paleo-style eating as the best way to take care of the bodies that God gave me and my family; it's a matter of stewardship.

That said, it's not a huge leap to start wondering:

How do I keep to my primal / paleo-style eating goals within an active church and/or social life?

I've been what I'd describe as a fairly active churchgoer throughout my adult life, and the broad point is: in order to avoid blood-sugar-spiking grains and sugars, you plan. Here are some tips that dig a little deeper in this bit of advice on navigating church and social events that could otherwise derail your eating goals:

Teas, coffees, breakfast events: These are very common in American church life. Prayer breakfasts, men's sunrise breakfasts, pancake breakfasts, women's tea-and-testimonies, brunches, breakfast potlucks, and Sunday morning gatherings (like Sunday School/Adult Bible Fellowships) can be nutritional minefields. At best, you might find a relatively unadulterated fruit tray straight from the grocery store's produce section. But more typically, you'll find muffins, cookies (yes, cookies!), even cakes leftover from some prior event. Add to that pancakes, French toast, scones...sounding familiar? Get to the coffee/tea end of things, and what is on hand? Sugar, non-dairy creamer (which is full of hydrogenated oils, aka trans fats!), and (blech) Sweet'n'Low.

When you had a chance to plan ahead:

• Eat protein before you get there. Sure, you might find a sausage quiche or egg casserole at the event. But odds are good that it contains gluten via added bread or a crust. Save yourself the trouble by having a little quality protein before you leave. If it's an early event and you're pressed for time, plan the night before: make a batch of bacon so it's ready to grab and go, and you can even have a couple of pieces on the drive over. Other pre-event protein options are: a bowl of whole milk yoghurt or cottage cheese, pieces of cheese, or leftover meat from the night before.
  
• Bring reinforcements. A little bag of macadamia nuts. A Tanka bar. Whatever high fat and/or protein-heavy snack you need to nourish yourself! And if you're worried about others' reactions, don't. The truth is people are so preoccupied with their own meals/snacks that they are very unlikely to notice or ask about yours. And if they do? Shrug your shoulders and cop to having food sensitivities. You might get a few pitying looks, but the conversation is likely to move on from that subject pretty quickly.
  
• Bring your own coffee. Brew yourself some coffee at home in a travel mug or disposable coffee cup, add a hefty glug of heavy cream, and head to your event! You'll get a good dose of steady, filling energy.
  
  When you didn't get a chance to plan ahead:
  
  
• Eat condiments. Well, this sounds a little sillier than it is. But if you didn't plan ahead, and find yourself in a tight spot and feeling hungry and tempted, a few spoonfuls of the plain full fat cream cheese brought with the bagels, or the peanut butter set by the toast is way better than eating the bagels or toast themselves! (And yes, I know peanuts don't qualify as primal given their legume status, but they're still a whole lot nutritionally superior than sugar or grains for a person in a moment of weakness.)
  
• Fast. If you are used to primal / paleo-style eating, by now you might have had some success with fasting. Especially if it's an early-morning event, you might have luck with this. Say, "Hi!" to someone you haven't caught up with in a while when others are milling through the food selection. Or take your seat, and if grilled, just say that you sometimes don't get hungry until later in the morning.

Spaghetti Dinners/Bake Sales/Fundraisers: The carb train just keeps coming. And what are these events for? To raise money for very worthwhile causes. My advice? Just give the money, don't eat the food. You've helped them to raise funds and to skip the overhead of feeding you a whole load of cheap, insulin-spiking grains. Win-win!

Cookouts and pot lucks. From the first warm rays of spring through the start of the school year, cookouts and BBQ events abound. Here's how to handle them:

• Skip the buns. Bring a plastic fork if you have to, just don't eat the buns. Have your hot dog, brat, burger, whatever! Mustard is the safest condiment pick, blood-sugar-wise. Mayo is OK, but don't go nuts because of the omega-6-overloaded soy and/or canola oil that commercial mayo contains.
  
• Bring what you can eat. Some foil-wrapped salmon to set on a corner of the grill, a few premarinated chicken breasts, or whatever else strikes your fancy. Be sure to offer to do some time turning things at the grill yourself lest you saddle somebody else with the duty of cooking your dinner!
  
• Look for the veggie tray, then the chips and dip tray. There is almost always one of these around at a larger event. Stock up on those, especially the celery sticks that noone else eats, and then head over to the chips and dips. Skip the chips but load up on whatever dips you can judge as not containing gluten (queso, guacamole, salsa, etc.). Now dip with your veggies!
  
• Find the cheese and cold cuts. Even if you have to disassemble an unwitting catered Croissan'wich to get to the meat and cheese, you're doing yourself a favor! Chuck the carby outside and nosh on the fat-and-protein-filled insides. And there is no shame in taking just the cheese from the cheese and cracker tray.

How do YOU navigate these kinds of gatherings while staying true to your eating goals?

Menu Plan

Monday:
Breakfast - Super Bowl Leftovers Omelette - shared, fruit too for the girls
Lunch - Sliced chicken breast lunch meat, pear, baby carrots dipped in guacamole
Dinner - Baked chicken thighs with remaining queso melted on top

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Fasting
Lunch - Mashed boiled eggs with Kerrygold, bacon
Dinner - Sausage pumpkin soup, blueberries
Workout - Morning kettlebell swings

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Eggs fried in bacon grease, papaya for the girls
Lunch - Buttered slow roasted brussels sprouts topped with bacon
Dinner - Ham, Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, and green pepper omelettes, baked sweet potatoes
Workout - Lap swim

Thursday:
Breakfast - Fasting
Lunch - Gorgonzola-scrambled eggs
Dinner - Roasted whole chicken with veggies; bones to make bone broth later
Workout - Kettlebell swings

Friday:
Breakfast - Mashed boiled eggs with Kerrygold (yes, again, I love it!), also fruit for the girls
Lunch - Turkey lunch meat, layered with cream cheese, rolled up, veggie sticks
Dinner - A slow cooked roast of some kind in the crock pot

Preschool lunch ideas:
Lunchbox #48: Sliced ham, nuts, carrots, cheese, blueberries, melon
Lunchbox #49: Leftover sausage pumpkin soup (mostly drained of liquid), papaya
Lunchbox #50: Leftover Brussels sprouts, leftover sweet potatoes, apple, green pepper slices

Menu Plan

Monday:
Breakfast - Bacon and eggs, fruit for the girls
Lunch - Pistachios and macadamia nuts, leftover bacon
Dinner - Baked chicken, curry stir-fried squash and carrots

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Fruit and whole milk organic yoghurt for the girls, leftover roast beef for me
Lunch - More leftover roast beef. :) Had to finish it!
Dinner - Bacon and eggs, Clementines for my husband and the girls

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Mashed boiled eggs with Kerrygold (I boiled the night before so it's just a matter of warming them up), bananas for the girls
Lunch - Fasting, perhaps
Dinner - Roast chicken with garlic butter white wine reduction, asparagus tarragon soup, only this time I get to use the immersion blender I received for Christmas! :)

Thursday:
Breakfast - Leftover chicken, apple slices with cream cheese for the girls
Lunch - Lamb chops
Dinner - Sausage and veggie quiche
Workout - Kettlebell swings, same time, but longer work intervals

Friday:
Breakfast - Leftover quiche, Clementines for the girls
Lunch - Big salads: avocado, leftover chicken (if any), veggies, vinaigrette
Dinner - Beef and veggie stir-fry

Workout - Lap swim

Menu/Workout Plan, A Day Late, and Planning Ahead for Super Bowl Snacks

Don't be fooled by the absence of a week's beginning menu plan; we are in fact eating food. I was just sort of winging things the last couple of days, which is a bad sign, so I'm buckling down tonight to plan the rest of the week. Also? Though evenings can be unpredictable around here, I'm going to try and start again with planning my workouts, because workouts are so much likelier to happen when I write them down.

That said, we are in the middle of the tundra zone weather-wise (though not in Iowa where it's -18 F) where working out outside is purt near impossible most days. That means for the next few weeks, my primary option is working out with Veronica and at my community pool. Really hoping that groundhog doesn't see his shadow next week - so that we can get it going with the spring weather! I could really use the sunshine.

One last note: Are you planning ahead for what's on the menu for the Super Bowl?  I am definitely thinking lots. and. lots. of. WINGS.

Monday (yes, what we had yesterday):
Breakfast - Boiled eggs
Lunch - Butternut squash soup
Dinner - Spaghetti squash with meaty marinara

Tuesday (what we had today):
Breakfast - Fried eggs for the girls; preworkout fast for me
Lunch - Post-workout: oven-roasted potatoes and leftover roast chicken
Dinner - Slow-cooked beef, baked sweet potatoes
Workout - Tabata kettlebell swings

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Bacon, eggs scrambled with Boursin
Lunch - Haddock fillets fried in coconut oil
Dinner - Steak cobb salads, strawberries
Workout - Lap swim

Thursday:
Breakfast - Whole milk yoghurt with one honey straw (these are great for portion control on honey! Each of the Stix has 4.3 g carbs) and halved strawberries
Lunch - I will probably workout fasted, thus postponing the above breakfast to lunch, add leftover steak
Dinner - Sausage bacon cheese quiche, sliced nectarines
Workout - Tabata kettlebell swings

Friday:
Breakfast - Banana yoghurt smoothies for the girls; maybe boiled eggs for me
Lunch - Leftover quiche, sliced mango
Dinner - Beef pot roast in the crock pot, carrots, potatoes
Workout - Lap swim

Preschool lunchbox ideas: 
Today (#43): Almonds, cheese, broccoli, leftover spaghetti squash, leftover roast chicken, applesauce
Lunchbox #44: Mashed sweet potato, fruit salad, cheese slices
Lunchbox #45: Sliced nectarines, trail mix, steak slices with mustard to dip

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Menu Plan

We're looking at some concrete ways to stretch our food budget. I've been primal for almost 7 months and still struggle to keep the food budget contained. One way I'll be giving us some wiggle room is by reintegrating Giant's organic potatoes - russet, red, or golden. While they're not ideal all the time for me (with weight loss goals), I will still have them occasionally after working out as a refeed tool, or forego them altogether when I haven't. Since my husband and daughters don't need to lose weight, though, hopefully potatoes will be a decent addition to the menu for them.

Monday ("Mocktoberfest"):
Breakfast - Bacon mini-quiches, bananas for the girls
Lunch - Sauteed rainbow chard, butternut squash soup (yay, immersion blender!), blueberries
Dinner - Weinerschnitzel (yes, was shuffled from last week after the sudden salmon and lamb tango...), with a German potato salad. Also may try a bit of sorghum (gluten-free) beer for the first time. :)

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Mashed sweet potatoes with nutmeg and cinnamon for the girls, grape tomatoes
Lunch - Leftovers from "Monday Mocktoberfest"
Dinner - Roast chicken, romaine salad with avocado

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Boiled mashed eggs, yoghurt for the girls
Lunch - Post-workout baked potato, sour cream, cheese, bacon pieces
Dinner - Cobb salads: Leftover roast chicken, grape tomatoes, bacon pieces, sesame ginger dressing

Thursday:
Breakfast - Cheesy scrambled eggs
Lunch - Lamb chops, salad
Dinner - Spaghetti squash with meaty marinara

Friday:
Breakfast - Liverwurst, bananas for the girls
Lunch - Leftover spaghetti squash
Dinner - Oven-braised steaks, salsa guac!

Preschool Lunch Ideas:
Lunchbox #41: Bacon miniquiches, potato salad, diced papaya
Lunchbox #42: Blueberries blended with whole milk yoghurt, leftover roast chicken
Lunchbox #43: Grape tomatoes, mashed potatoes, cheese slices

Bonus "New Mom" Meal Idea for This Week:
Probably will be bringing a meal to two mothers of newborns and their families; likely tamari beef pot roast with carrots and potatoes, a great all-in-one-pan meal that has broad appeal.

Menu Plan

After a break, it is so time for me get back into the menu-planning saddle. I'm also looking at starting food journalling at the advice of a sweet gal who is a paleo weight loss success story. And how can I get a good food journal habit going unless I get back to my menu planning? :)

Some of these breakfasts I skip in favor of kettlebelling fasted - so whatever's listed in those instances is what my girls are having.

Monday:
Breakfast - Leftover spaghetti squash with meaty marinara (no, really, and fortunately my 3-year-old is cool with it)
Lunch - Fried eggs, chicken sausage, yoghurt
Dinner - Roasted chicken, supplemented with leftover pork ribs and slow cooked carrots

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Warm nutmeg ginger banana pudding, leftover chicken sausage
Lunch - Bacon, shredded parmesan, and shredded Bubbies pickles on romaine lettuce with warm bacon dressing
Dinner - Steak, romaine salad with shredded parmesan, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Mashed boiled eggs
Lunch - Pumpkin soup with garlic and caramelized shallots (might add a scoop of whey protein to mine if I've just worked out...)
Dinner - 5-Ingredient Green Curry Pot Roast in the crock pot with carrots and potatoes

Thursday:
Breakfast - Banana custards!
Lunch - Leftover beef pot roast and veggies
Dinner - Butter-glazed shrimp, roasted Brussels sprouts

Friday:
Breakfast - Grapefruit drizzled with honey, cottage cheese
Lunch - Leftovers, whatever they may be
Dinner - Chicken Weinerschnitzel (will post on it if it works out!) with a butter and cream reduction, and tarragon asparagus soup (with my new immersion blender, holllaaaaaaa)

Preschool lunch ideas:
Lunchbox #39: Leftover roast chicken, whole milk yoghurt with honey, trail mix
Lunchbox #40: Pickle, strips of steak with mustard for dipping, apple slices with cinnamon cream cheese
Lunchbox #41: Leftover pot roast and veggies, custard, maybe some pumpkin bread or muffin if I find a killer pumpin bread recipe

Menu Plan, Christmas Week Edition

My oven is still (sob) out. A part had to be ordered which will be here - and thus the oven fixed - well after Christmas Day. I have been dying not being able to roast my veggies and meats because slow roasting is my go-to technique for surviving dinner planning with two kids under 3 underfoot.

But then a wonderful thing happened today. My mom and dad surprised us a week early with a Christmas gift: A rockin' toaster oven! It is roomy and has all sorts of fun functions, but most importantly I can do the cooking and baking that I planned to do this week! Since I'm hosting family Christmas Eve, it is such a relief to not have to totally revamp the menu to a crock-pot and stovetop only scenario. (I do have an old and rather small toaster oven, which will now be put out to pasture.) Thanks, Mom and Dad!

So here's the menu plan for this week.

Monday:
Breakfast - Warm banana pudding topped with chopped walnuts
Lunch - Sliced cheese, cherries, fried eggs
Dinner - Beef pot roast, potatoes, veggies

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Cottage cheese, fried cinnamon apples
Lunch - Leftover beef pot roast and veggies
Dinner - Cheddar and bacon quiche

Wednesday:
Breakfast - Scrambled cheesy eggs
Lunch - Probably with friends at their house
Dinner - Baked chicken tenderloins, salad

Thursday:
Breakfast - Sausage, cheese, bananas for the girls
Lunch - Mashed boiled eggs, wasabi asparagus
Dinner - Spaghetti squash with meaty marinara

Friday/Christmas Eve:
Breakfast - Omelettes
Lunch - Yoghurt with honey, liverwurst, veggie sticks
Dinner - Chickens slow-cooked in the crock pot with vegetables, toaster oven baked sweet potatoes, Clementines, and my mom's bringing (gluten-free) peppermint meringues for a special treat