Mary loves it that I'm eating better...

I'm four days into my new "Paleo lifestyle"...and things are going suprisingly well. Aside from a $95 grocery bill to cover a few (organic) staples, everything's been pretty normal overall.

On Sunday, I took my first dive into the 'real world', while living a Paleo lifestyle. Haha. On Day 2 of my journey, I was invited by Mary to go to an Eagles bar to watch the game. Alright, alright...Eagles? Yes, I know...I'm supposed to be a Jaguars fan, by virtue of Jacksonville being my hometown, but c'mon!...give me a little slack here! After all, I'm a far better girlfriend than football aficionado...so I should be forgiven since I'm supporting my boyfriend's team! Look at that face (see pic of me and bf)...how can you blame me??!? Hahaha (This was a picture from our Vegas trip - not the Sunday trip I'm referring to)

THIS is a picture of me this Sunday when I met Mary at Mr. G's to watch the game. I actually just bought that Jersey a few weeks ago when Mary and I spent an entire day shopping at the Tanger Outlets in Lancaster. Oh boy! Busy day...Expensive day!

This was my first weekend wearing my brand new jersey - so I had to take a picture to send to JFly! =)

But I digress...back to the story. For the first time (probably EVER), I went to a sportsbar and did NOT eat buffalo wings! No french fries, jalapeno poppers, cheesy burgers, no beer...not even RANCH dressing! Instead, I got a chicken caprese salad with pita chips. It was about the only thing on the menu that I could actually eat. And, even then, it was a far cry from Paleo. I saved the mozzarella cheese and pita for Mary - happy girl. I did have a picture of my meal (which I texted to my fellow Paleo buddy, Willie), but I must've deleted it from my phone. Probably for the best...it appeared even less appetizing than it actually was.

ANYWAY - I survived Sunday's bar experience (hardly)...and lived to tell about it. After our sunday afternoon football, we decided to take a shopping trip to Wegman's. It's about 40 minutes away from my apartment, has a pretty incredible organic/natural/healthy section. Now - don't get me wrong - the stuff is expensive!! BUT, I suppose it's worth it to pay a high premium for good health. I told Mary that I'd clean out my cabinets and give her all the stuff that I can no longer eat.

And that is exactly what I did...

Full boxes of cereal, crackers, pounds of Jasmine rice, brand new containers of syrup, hummus, greek yogurt, canned veggies, whole weat noodles, cinnamon raisin muffins (that was a hard one to say good-bye to), tuna fish, new things of whole wheat tortillas....

If you couldn't tell, I had just gone grocery shopping the weekend before reading this book....and Mary was more than happy to take the non-Paleo foods off of my hands. She's such a sacrificial lamb!!

(You may also notice that I always have enough food in my home to feed a small army...to get some insight into this...read an older post of mine: Canned Salmon never tasted so good.)

Good news: I feel that much more committed to this process (and Mary will be eating pancakes for breakfast tomorrow)

Bad news: (see pictures above).

By the way, did I mention that I've lost 7 lbs since last Thursday when I weighed myself. Not too shabby. It's a pretty tough road, but the more I think back to Robb Wolf's book, the harder it is for me convince myself to eat the way I always have...

Good-bye grains, dairy, and legumes!

Luckily, I've never been a huge fan of the legume family, so I shouldn't be missing out on entirely too much as I embark upon my newest adventure: Paleo diet.

In my last post, I briefly mentioned my latest read: The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. After reading 101 pages in the bookstore cafe, I enjoyed it so much that not only did I buy it right then...I also paid full price! I can't tell you the last time I bought a book at full price, let alone purchased one without first doing some comparison shopping online!!

Anyway, the book goes into great levels of detail about the original human diet and how our bodies are simply not designed to eat the crap we drown ourselves in daily. I was challenged to read three chapters before giving up on it...and I did just that. Next thing you know, I couldn't put the book down.

So here's the deal. I'm going to try it. For thirty days. Could this be short-lived on my part? Very possibly - but after reading the science behind what I'm doing to my body, I can't bare to eat another piece of bread or knowingly ingest gluten. I haven't completely read the book, but I'm sold so far. I read ahead to help me with my grocery shopping this morning. Surprisingly enough, my shopping list didn't change too drastically. The short of it is: No grains, no dairy, no legumes.

The dairy thing will be the hardest for me. I absolutely LOVE cheese. And ice cream. ::sigh:: BUT, I've done quite a bit of research and not only are there internet-based businesses that sell alternatives...but I can make much of those delicious dairy-free delights on my own! Well - 'delicious' may be debatable...I'll get back to you on that one.

I shared the book with my mom and sister, both of whom have decided to jump on the bandwagon. I'm really excited about this. And I know it will be tough - seemingly impossible at times...but if I continue to research it, learn what happens when I eat different foods, etc....then I'm sure I'll be left with only the option to eat well and take care of myself.

I'm off to a good start today. For lunch, I had "chicken fajita salad". I wish I had taken a picture, but I was waaaay too hungry after flag football practice to stop for one. Aside from the fact that I had to substitute spinach for red lettuce...the meal was sauteed chicken with peppers and onions, a little cumin powder, oregano...all on a bed of spinach, tomatos, and onions. Yummy Yummy Yummy.

For dinner, I made a delicious vegetable medley. I pretty much just threw some onions, mushrooms, asparagus and zucchini into a pan and sauteed it up with a little garlic, ground pepper and olive oil. Delish!

To go along with the veggies...(half of which, I saved for tomorrow's leftovers)...I made one of my favorites: broiled citrus salmon. It's pretty much a staple in my home...kind of an expensive one...but totally worth it.

To make it, I take a small salmon portion, lightly cover it in olive oil, and then create a light layer of minced garlic over the entire fish. For the minced garlic - it's nothing fancy. Once a month, I get a ton of garlic from the farmer's market (I actually buy it peeled, which makes life ten times easier), and take it home and go crazy mincing!!! It's probably more like 'pureed' garlic than minced...but whatever. After that, I add fresh ground pepper and top it all off with the juice of half a lime. Yummy.

After broiling the salmon for about fifteen minutes...I remove it from the oven and add the last half of the lime juice to the top! Ooohhh yummy!! I did take the time to snap a picture of this one...because it just looked (and tasted) so delicious!

For an after dinner dessert, I washed a few strawberries and indulged! I suppose there are some things I'll have to really get used to with this whole Paleo diet...but, I have day one under my belt, and I'm feeling great about it. I plan on taking a few "before" pictures tomorrow to get a better idea of how this affects my body, skin, etc. If nothing else, I want to keep this up for thirty days!! I know that I can do it - I just have to be strong and stick to it!! Luckily for me, it looks like I'm developing quite the support system along teh way! =) We'll see where it goes...

I may even try to make carrot cake tomorrow...using "almond flour" and coconut milk! Sounds amazing, doesn't it?! IF I make it...there WILL be pictures! Wish me luck!

Screw you, tangerine girl!

The last time I ventured to the Borders bookstore for some good old fashioned Friday fun...I found myself incredibly annoyed. A college aged couple sat down right next to me...just far enough from me that they avoided sitting in my lap, yet close enough that I could probably lick their faces if I had tried. Yes, that's a really creepy and gross way of explaining proximity - but it was for effect. Whatever.

Anyway, I felt like I was stuck in a "coming of age" high school summer reading list book. The girl and guy spent a ridiculous amount of time discussing the many 'sex'capades and dramatic dealings of themselves and their friends, clearly in a futile attempt to assert their age and maturity. Gasp.

I could've vomited at that - but would rather save my regurgitation for what occurred just before that. Minutes after they first sat down, they pulled out a bag of Fried Chicken. I kid you not. Fried Chicken. In the middle of the bookstore - Bam! Fried Chicken. Not only did they proceed to openly unwrap their dinners and eat a Sunday Dinner next to me...they had the audacity to do so, whilst chomping with their mouths full. disgusting.

But I digress.

The point of THIS post is to tell you that I MUST be a magnet for idiots at the bookstore. Immediately after work, I rushed to the bookstore to check out a book that had been recommended to me earlier in the day. I found a cozy little table, far from anyone else...and was ready to determine if this book was worth purchasing.

Like clockwork, a group of obnoxious college-aged girls entered the cafe area. No. Please, no. Don't. Walk. Over. Here. These tables are crappy. The chairs are uncomfortable. What? You don't care? Oh. You'd rather sit down next to me and make my time at the bookstore a miserable experience? Wonderful.

Luckily, two of the three girls left right away. They had to run to Chipotle to pick dinner...and bring it back. In the next hour, I spent my time deciding exactly WHEN i should punch the remaining girl in the face. She started her obnoxiousness by drowning herself in hand sanitizer. Alright, no biggie - the girl likes cleanliness. Fine - I'll give her that one. .........Next, came the Bath and Bodyworks Sweet Pea lotion. Seriously? Yes. She doused herself in. Lathered her body from head to ...legs. Arms, elbows, check, check. The entire cafe reeked of the soft smell of shitty sweat peas.

Just when my nose began to recover from the olfactory abuse it had just endured...she pulled out a ziploc bag, lined with napkins. Oh no! What could be inside of that? What could she have possibly brought with her to the bookstore in a napkin-lined ziploc bag?

Yep. A tangerine. I kid you not - an unpeeled tangerine. What in the hell was she thinking??? Well, now I know exactly what she was thinking. This was a well-thought out, premeditated effort on her part. First, the sanitizer to wash her hands of the filth she had collected on her drive over. Then the lotion to soften her skin before the laborious tangerine peel she would assume. And that obnoxious biotch even had the foresight to pack a napkin-lined ziploc bag to pack her stupid little tangerine in. She knew that damn thing would be messy - and she prepared.

To that, I say, "Screw you tangerine girl. Your careful plotting and scheming to smuggle in your sticky snack was not appreciated. Furthermore, it was an insult to my intelligence (and that of avid readers worldwide) that you thought you could mask the smell of your citrus social sin with the strong scent of antibacterial soap or Sweet Pea lotion. This is a bookstore, tangerine girl. We, the bookstore cafe-type, are well-read and not easily fooled. How dare you!!"

Surely, I'm a magnet for this sort of ridiculousness. I just can't allow myself to believe that these things are normal. I'd be far less disenchanted to learn that I am the flame to these bookstore moths...than to believe for a second that this sort of behavior is either normal or acceptable.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Didn't we just do this Fall thing last year??

Ugh. I can't believe it's cold again. To all the people out there who say, "I love Fall"... I say "suck it"!

I'll be the first to say it...I don't care what shade of golden auburn the leaves change, how crisp the air feels, how delicious apple cider tastes, or how fun it is to carve pumpkins...the fact remains that Fall means Summer is over and Winter is lurking around the icy cold corner!!

This is why I hate cold weather...