Day 23 of New Year Strict Challenge

breakfast:none

Lunch:  dancing salsa chicken, salad, avocado, limejuice

semi-dinner: (long day at school) dancing salsa chicken, salad

Dinner (@9:30 when I finally got home) pot roast, mashed cauliflower, raw spinach topped with salsa

Days 22 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast:  beef brisket wrapped in lettuce

Lunch:  Dancing Salsa chicken, raw spinach, 1/2 avocado

Dinner:  Steak, sauteed mushrooms & spinach

I wish I had eaten more veggies today.  I've been slacking lately.

Days 20 & 21 of New Year Strict Challenge

Day 20--SNOW DAY--yesterday, I got so caught up in everything I forgot to blog what i  ate

Breakfast:  muffin, a lot, lot of bacon

BF came to town this weekend and wanted hamburgers and fries for dinner.  I had a hamburger but all of my sides were quite different from his.  And actually my food seemed very very very tasty.  However, I had to fix a second plate b/c I had not eaten lunch b/c I was out running errands.  Also, I realize that hamburgers are a very very tasty form of protein.  Shame on me for not eating more of them--and its cheaper!

Dinner:  hamburger on a bed of lettuce topped with sauteed mushrooms & onions, salsa, avocado, roasted brussel sprouts.  Second plate:  roast beef on a bed of lettuce, topped with mushrooms & salsa & avocado.  I ate a whole avocado and for the 1st time every it seemed very rich and buttery.  Really tasty.

Day 21

Breakfast:  roast beef on a bed of lettuce, topped with mushrooms & salsa & avocado, bacon, banana muffin

Dinner:  Collard Greens and pork ribs and bbq beef brisket (went out with BF)

Desert while I watched BF eat red velvet cake:  bannana muffin w/almond butter.  The cake looked good but I didn't taste it, even though I was tempted.

Dinner was somewhat non paleo b/c I forgot to ask for bbq w/o sauce.  The ribs had a minimal amount of sauce but what was worse it that they were salty.  After I ate, I was headachy and it felt like the room was spinning.  BF made me lay down and rest for a while.  I did and felt somewhat better when I got up.  But can too much salt do that to a person?  Maybe it spiked my blood pressure or something.

Day 19 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast:  none

Lunch:  3 slices of turkey, salad, banana apple muffin

Snack:  walnuts & raisins

Dinner:  crock pot roast beef & paleo bbq sauce, salad, brussel sprouts, mashed cauliflower, coconut milk

Day 18 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast:  none

Lunch:  ribs, salad, steamed broccoli

Dinner:  salad, brussell sprouts, ribeye steak (1 lb steak)

Snack:  handful of cashews

Day 16 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast:  none.  slept in late.

Lunch:  grilled chicken, romaine lettuce (supposed to be a salad, but I ate it like popcorn at a movie)  nuts & raisins

Dinner:  Salsa Dancing Chicken (made with stew beef.  it had to cook for much longer), mixed salad greens, half an avacado

Day 15 of New Year Strict Challenge

Day 15 is really hard.  I want candy. . . desperately craving something sweet.  I have half a bar of dark chocolate left over from before I started the strict challenge.  I want it sooooo bad right now.  Don't feel like I can think straight.  (wrote this earlier this afternoon)  I resisted and took a nap and did some other things and I feel good.

Breakfast:  2 banana apple muffins, 6 strips of bacon

Lunch:  salmon on a bed of fresh spinach & salsa, coconut milk

Snack:  handful of cashews

Dinner: Salsa Dancing Chicken (made w/chicken wings)  & salad greens & 1/2 avocado

I have decided to reduce the amount of nuts I am eating. Hoping that will progress my weight loss.  we'll see.  I still need some chocolate.

Day 14 of New Year Strict Challenge

The store was out of almond flour, so I made my own.  I like the idea of making my own almond flour.  It's cheaper AND i kind of like the "grainy" texture it adds to things.  I used to it to make a modified version of the banana muffins.  Here is the recipe I am now using:

Banana-Apple Muffins
             Yield 8-10 muffins
1 bananna
1/2 an apple
3 eggs
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1 TBS of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of nutmeg or allspice
1/2 tsp of ginger (optional)
1 vanilla bean or tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cup of almond flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a food processor/blender, blend the apple until its in pea size pieces (if you want a chunky batter, you can leave them larger)  Add the banana and blend until creamy.  Add in all of your spices& blend.  (you can taste at this point to see if you want to add more of a particular spice).    Add in eggs & oil.  Blend for a minute.  Add in the almond flour and blend until everything seems mixed well.  Pour into cupcake liners on a muffin pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Use a toothpick to test for doneness.

Breakfast:  2 bannana-apple muffins &10 slices of bacon

Dinner:  Steak, salad, sauteed onions &  mushrooms, zucchini

Desert:  1/2 apple, tablespoon of almond butter

I miss the summer and farmers markets and veggies.  I feel like all I eat is meat.  I want more veggies & its really frustrating to look at the selection in the stores.

Day 13 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast:   Coconut milk blend

Lunch:  3 spare ribs & steamed broccoli (went out for chinese with a co-worker.  after speaking with the owner, I decided on the spare ribs sans sauce & steamed broccoli.  The picture looks like several ribs, but I only ate 3.)

Dinner:  10oz NY Strip, Raw Spinach, Sauteed Mushrooms  & Onions

Movie snack:  1 cup nut mix of pecans, cashews & walnuts, few raisins

Day 12 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast:  bannana muffin

Lunch: beef brisket, spaghetti squash, bok choy

Dinner:  beef brisket, greens, sauteed mushrooms, roasted zucchini, coconut milk

Dessert:  banana muffin topped w/almond butter

Day 11 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast:  banana muffin topped with almond butter

Lunch:  beef brisket, salad, 1/2 an apple & almond butter

Dinner:  beef brisket, bok choy, spaghetti squash

I'm not hungry today.  PMS week.  All I want to do is sleep.  I took a 3 hour nap today.  And still didn't feel like eating afterwards.

Day 10 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast:  Banana Muffin topped with Almond Butter

Lunch:  Cabbage & Italian Sausage, 2 jerk chicken wings

Dinner:  Bok Choy, 4 jerk chicken wings,

Snack:  2 banana muffins, almond butter

Day 9 of New Year Strict Challenge

SNOW DAYYYY!!!  Due to boredom, I found myself eating and snacking and eating and snacking.  All I wanted to do was eat.  At times I knew I was NOT hungry, I was just eating from boredom.  *sigh*


Breakfast:  boiled egg, muffin & almond butter, braised cabbage & italian sausage, coconut milk

Lunch:  muffins & almond butter, braised cabbage & sausage, 4 jerk chicken wings

Dinner:  beef fillet, braised cabbage, salad topped with sauteed mushrooms & onions

Day 8 of New Year Strict Challenge

I'm glad to have finished my first week with no major problems.

Breakfast:  ground beef seasoned for tacos, lettuce, salsa, walnuts & raisins

Lunch @ India Palace:  Chicken wings & sauteed onions, salad, okra (bindi)

Snacking:  Coconut milk, 3 jerk chicken wings, banana muffin, tablepoon of almond butter

At lunch that I realized, I could make bindi with frozen okra.  Their bindi was too salty, but I know thats b/c I haven't been eating a lot of food with salt--especially veggies.

Day 7 of New Year Strict Challenge

Observations:

1. My belly is already shrinking.  It seems so much smaller than it was around Christmas.  I wore a shirt yesterday that I refused to wear during Christmas time b/c I looked so bloated.  It was one of the first shirts, I bought when I lost weight the first time.  I am thrilled that my "hot bod" is returning.  
2. The first time I did the strict version of Paleo, I spent a lot of time in the bathroom.  That seems to be occurring again.  I figure that this is how my body cleans itself of all the "gunk" that it was holding on to.  I can't wait for this adjustment to be over.
3. I really need to exercise.  I don't like exercise.  My goal is to squeeze in a 30 minute walk several times a week.  But I don't really want to.  My friend told me I was a better jogger than her when we jogged for all of 30 secs during Christmas break.  I guess this proves I CAN exercise. . .
4. I found a new place to get FRESH produce during the winter--Mercado de los Latinos. I had been shopping at a produce store, but everything was soooo limited and it looked so bad.  Last week, when I was shopping at the spice store, the sales clerk recommended this place to me for fresh spices.  I walked in and was AMAZED.  They had 4 varieties of bananas, bitter melon and almost every single piece of produce you could wish or hope for. The funny thing is when my mother lived in Chicago, she always shopped at the Latino market because of the produce.  So I knew that Latinos and Asians often use fresh herbs and veggies, why hadn't I visited this side of town before to look for shops?  Why did I feel like I was always struggling to find veggies after the local farmers markets had ended when this gem was waiting for me?  Maybe, it was my own personal bias about that side of town. . . .nevertheless, I had am happy veggie eating woman again, a weeks worth of veggies for only $16!  I'm am a happy happy happy girl!

Breakfast:  leftover steak & ribs, broccoli, 2 banana muffins

Lunch:  coconut milk, meatball soup, walnuts & raisins

Dinner:  spaghetti squash, taco seasoned ground beef w/bell peppers and onions, lettuce & salsa

Day 6 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast: nothing

Lunch:  nothing

Dinner:  Peanuts, 2-3 pork spare ribs, Ribeye Steak, Salad, Steamed Broccoli, sauteed mushrooms

Desert:  coconut milk, 2 banana muffins

Not really hungry today.  Went out to dinner with friends where I had peanuts (still not sure if thats paleo but i figured it was okay b/c it was a nut). . . one thing i'll say about the food, IT WAS TOO SALTY.  I forgot to ask for it plain, but everything was sooo salty and I only say that b/c I've been doing no/little salt.  I hope this doesn't ruin my paleo challenge, i don't want to start over.

Day 5 of New Year Strict Challenge

Breakfast:  Banana Muffin

Lunch:  raw spinach & carrots, coconut soup, sauteed onions & mushrooms

After School Snack:  Coconut milk, 2 servings paleo lasagna, 5 slices of bacon, boiled egg, nuts & raisains

I fell asleep without eating a real dinner.  However, I dreamed all last night about concession stand food: candy, slirpees and sandwiches. . . .a totally weird dream, i think it was b/c I was still hungry.  I am not eating enough but I didn't shop this past weekend and I am running low. Eating the frozen food (Paleo Lasagna) that I had in the freezer for times like this.  But I made it to Friday without falling off the wagon.

Day 4 of the New Years Challenge

I'm going Paleo strong and feeling okay.  Today, as I took the stairs at school, I realized how out of shape I am.  Before Christmas, I could run up and down those stairs with no problem.  Today, I got to the top and was a bit winded.   So, I know that doing this challenge has been the best thing for me.

Breakfast:  4 slices of bacon, coconut milk

Lunch:  coconut milk soup & salmon, salad greens & carrots

After school snack: cup of mixed nuts & raisins

Dinner:  steak, paleo bbq sauce, sauted mushrooms & onions, salad, coconut soup

Day 3 of New Year Strict Challenge

Last night, I was really craving some sort of snack, however the cravings are minor compared to the first time I tried Paleo.  I know its because I'm not eating enough.

Strangely, I don't like the way I smell when I'm eating bacon.  I smell kind of garlic-ky

Breakfast:  banana muffin, 4 slices of bacon

Lunch:  meatball soup, I'll have to share my recipe for it late.  I didn't finish the entire container, the meatballs were soo delicious

Snack:  coconut milk, 1 cup of nuts (mixture of pecans & walnuts & small hand of raisins)

Pre Dinner:  sauted bok choy, beef brisket

Dinner:  Coconut Soup (Tom Kha) with salmon & raw spinach. I chopped up salmon as I warmed the left over soup on the stove.  I dropped the pieces into the soup and let it cook about 8 minutes.

Day 2 of New Years Strict Challenge

My friends went out for ice cream today and I REALLY wanted to go!  REALLY badly!  But, I stayed in, brushed my teeth and began working on this post.

My friends came over to hang out and one had my saltless paleo meal.  She really really really like it.  B/c I seasoned things well with garlic & marjoram . . .and my beef brisket was bangin!

Breakfast:  banana muffin, 4 strips of bacon, coconut milk blend

Lunch:  worked through lunch, warmed up my lunch but never made it around to eating it.

Dinner:  1 cup of raw spinach, beef brisket, paleo bbq sauce, sauteed bok choy with mushrooms, 1/2 cup of tom kha soup  (thai coconut soup)

Snack:  nuts & raisains (handful of walnuts & handful of pecans & handful of raisins)  This mixture made about 1 cup.

My version of tom kha soup:

2 cans of coconut milk
2 cups of chicken broth
1 stalk of lemon grass
1 teaspoon of dried cilantro
2-3 dashes of dried ginger
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
3 stalks of diced green onion
(optional:  dash of garlic powder/toasted onion powder/sea salt, pepper-personally I think garlic overpowers the lemon grass)

Bring the coconut milk & chicken broth to slight boil turn down to low-medium heat.  Clean and crush you stalk of lemon grass, cut it into pieces and place in the bubbling liquid. Add all of your seasonings:  cilantro, ginger, garlic power, toasted onion power, a dash of sea salt if you choose).  Let cook for 20 minutes uncovered. Add mushrooms & green onions.  Let cook another 10 minutes.  Tomorrow for dinner, I'll throw in some shrimp while I warm it.

It is tasty soup, but not as tasty as the restaurant versions I've had.  Here is the original recipe, of course mine is paleo friendly--no fish sauce or soy sauce.  Also, I don't add the chicken, b/c I don't like it:

Day 1 of Paleo Strict Challenge

Beginning Stats:

Weight:  244.6 (*sigh* I gained 10lbs since Thanksgiving)
Clothes Size:  22 pants   22/24/2x tops
L. Arm:  12.5
W:  50
B:  42/53

I am VOWING to stay off the scale for the next 30 days.  The last time I did this I got on the scale after a week or so and had gained.  It left me in tears. I lost 40 lbs doing paleo in the last 6 months.  This time, I know the problems and pit falls, so I am bound to do better.

Day 1 is going okay.  I'm worried b/c I don't have a lot cooked and I don't feel like cooking.  I know I need to eat more, but I don't feel like cooking

Breakfast:  Banana Muffin (modified recipe, no chocolate instead I use cinnamon & nutmeg and pour batter into muffin tins), 5 slices of bacon

Lunch:  Salmon on Spinach, Coconut Milk, brussel sprouts

Dinner:  Beef Fillet, Brussel Sprouts, spinach & sauteed onions & mushrooms