It seems I’ve picked up some bad eating habits what with the traveling, the working a ton, the two kids who convince me that yes, nachos three times a week is a FANTASTIC idea. (Yes, I did just blame my kids for my nacho consumption.) I think you know I lack discipline on a good day, or maybe you haven’t noticed this, this, or this. The point is, drastic measures need to be taken in order to make actually pay attention to how I eat. At the same time, those of us who have to give up gluten get pretty insane when thinking about giving up anything else. Or maybe that’s just me.
At first I thought, “Hey! Juice cleanse!” Then you fine people were all, “Honey, don’t.” And that’s when I thought, hmmmm, maybe I could do a paleo thing for awhile, make me pay attention to my dairy and sugar intake, and then you know, get into a better pattern with the food stuffs. So I did! Or rather, I am. I’m in the middle of it and it’s not all bad. It’s really not.
After scouring Nom Nom Paleo and Everyday Maven for super fab recipes, I created a two week meal plan and it has been so far, so damn good. Here’s what I’ve been eating.
Breakfast:
Honestly, almost every day has either been bacon and eggs, bacon, and kale omelette. But I did make these paleo scones, which is just fun to say if nothing else. I’ll be honest, these almond scones may have been easy to make and filled with almond’irific flavor, but they could have used more sugar. Which is, you know, verboten. Still, my husband thought they were rad.
Lunch:
Mostly I did this whole thing with leftovers, P.F. Chang’s (without rice), sashimi, and the occasional Mrs. Winston’s salad bar, which you see above here. Leftovers rule. I need more of those.
Dinner:
Making leftovers! Here are a few of my favorite things. Nom Nom Paleo makes zucchini spaghetti and meatballs. I adapted this amazing recipe in two ways: One, I don’t have a julienne so I used my mandoline and created zucchini fettuccine –
Two, I had ground turkey and tomato sauce so I made gluten-free, paleo, meatballs like so:
Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound organic, ground turkey
1 egg
2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dried, or freshly diced, oregeno
Salt
Pepper
2 cans organic diced tomatoes
1 Tablespoon organic tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 basil leaves
Salt
Pepper
1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
1. Combine diced tomatoes, paste, garlic, salt, pepper, and red chili pepper flakes into a deep pot. Using an immersion blender, blend until you reach desired consistency. Put on low heat and allow to heat up while you make your meatballs.
2. Combine ground turkey, spices, and egg in a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly, using your hands if necessary. Get in there! Form meatballs and place them in tomato sauce already heating on stove.
3. Cook meatballs and sauce on medium heat, turning 2-3 times for 35 minutes or until center is cooked through.
4. Serve meatballs and sauce over zucchini noodles.
Makes: 8 servings
I also made slow cooker Korean short ribs, my coconut oil chicken and vegetables recipe from my book, and we enjoyed a pork chop or two.
Snacks:
I think once you see these Porkitos (thanks NomNom Paleo!) you’ll change your mind about the existence of god/God/Yahweh. It’s proscuitto, made crispy. DAMN. You know what you can do with this? Dip it in guacamole, or any type of deliciousness, or eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
So far, so good. I did have a cheat night with my husband on his birthday, and I think that’s a-okay. I’m also into week two of it, and I’m not hating it. My husband, however, is like, “Can we please stop eating meat????” I don’t know what his problem is, as meat is delicious. I do wonder about my cholesterol levels, but those paleo people swear that it’s healthy if you’re cutting out the dairy fat and refined sugar. So . . . we’ll see. In the meantime, pass the porkitos!
Gluten is my Bitch 
Glad that your paleo adventure is going well so far! I’m surprised – all the stuff you posted on here actually looked really yummy!! And I totally agree with you that giving up gluten has totally lowered my desire to give up anything else – it’s like, “What more can I lose?” Good job keeping to the diet and great post! 🙂
We do paleo, with moderate cheating. 😉 Started with these guys: http://whole9life.com/category/whole-30/ . It was a good crash course.
I’d love to see more paleo-ish recipes here. 🙂
I find that I feel a whole lot better when we do paleo as compared to just GF. I’ve always liked the greens. And I still get to eat meat. Vegan, on the other hand, that’s just crazy talk.
Right? A girl can only do so much. Thanks for the link!
I am considering Paleo/Primal…. These photos almost have me convinced!
It’s pretty good. I won’t say I don’t miss cheese, though. ‘Cuz I DO.
So glad you liked the scones 🙂 I need to make those Porkitos!! Oh my. That sounds amazing. I want to crumble some on top of a salad.
Those scones hold up! They stay fresh when stored properly, I was so surprised. Great recipe, thanks!
And yes, I think porkitos on top of guacamole would be heaven on earth.
Looks scrumptious! 😀
I did a detox last year that was a modified paleo. The variation was that rice and pseudo-grains were permitted and only sugars in whole form (ie still part of the fruit- no maple, no agave). It’s not something I’d do permanently, but it did wonders for my bloodwork and took my sugar cravings way down. It was when I reintegrated the gluten grains that I learned that gluten is no longer my friend. I really prefer the idea of paleo or raw foods as a detox over juice cleanses or that lemonade one. The scones look fantastic and would make a good breakfast “pastry” minus the carb crash.
Paleo is awesome! It’s just important to remember to fill three quarters of one’s plate with veggies to balance out the meat. Also, make sure to get enough vitamin C so cholesterol won’t be a concern.
Nothing much to say. Just greetings from the Duggan Sisters. Glad to see you taking care of yourself. Hope you are back in Chicago one day soon. Wondered if you were having anything to do with the BlogHer event here in Chicago just a little bit ago. We were too swamped to do much with it but made us think of you – one of our fav bloggers. Be well, Mary D.
Hello gals!!
I was in Chicago, but for my job-job so I was tied to the convention center. Which was a bummer, since they fed me gluten. 😦
i have been doing sort of paleo the last 5 weeks. Well really i’ve been doing grain free / sugar free cuz i do eat cheese. and couldn’t live without it ! I’m with you giving up gluten is hard enough. i have to say i feel a little better and my sugar cravings are down. i think the prob with a lot of the GF things i was eating was all the rice flours and starches. to me they are pretty much empty carbs low fiber and left me super craving sugar. like more than normal. i’m a bit with your husband though i feel like paleo or low grain is a bit much meat for me. and snacking is hard as i’ve cut way down on fruit. I worry about cholesterol and just plain dying from over meating myself : )
glad to know others are trying it. it seems like i keep hearing GF’ers saying they feel better on more paleo type diet.
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