Getting the hang of this...

I've given up things like fried food, pizza, dessert, and even facebook for Lent in the past. And that's always been doable. If I can give up facebook for 40 days...surely I can give up grains, dairy, and legumes right?! Eghh...maybe.

So, here's the difference: moving toward a Paleo lifestyle is a little harder when Jesus isn't involved...and when it's forever, and not just 40ish days. To say I've followed the diet flawlessly would be a lie. It's tough to give up grains and dairy. Legumes, not so much - I've never cared for the legume family. I LOVE cheese. I LOVE bread. Even better = Cheesy Bread. (sigh) But, the decision I'm making to move toward Paleo is one that will be worth the initial struggles and hassle.

Broiled salmon is one of my faves. Here's a picture of my dinner last night. I broil the salmon after first rubbing it with olive oil, minced garlic, a tiny bit of sea salt, and freshly ground pepper. I then squeeze half a lime over it and pop it in the broiler for about 15 minutes (or until the garlic browns a bit). One of the things that helps me the most is the fact that I buy peeled garlic loves from the farmer's market once a month and mince, mince, mince until I have a supply of it to last me for a while - definitely a time saver in the long run! I also cooked up some fresh asparagus - nothing special, just boiled it 'til it was just right. And the salad on the left is made of tomato, cucumber and onion, all chopped. It was lacking a bit in flavor, so I minced some kalamata olives and threw it in the mix. Delicioso! I used the other half of the lime on the salmon...for good measure! I used to top this meal off with feta cheese (just because I like it)...but the cucumber salad was my replacement. Weird choice to replace cheese - but I think it worked. I was satisfied without feeling stuffed...and really felt energized.

I took a trip to the farmer's market this morning and stocked up! Oh, I miss living in walking distance to that place...but the 20 minute drive is well worth all the goodies! For less than forty bucks, I got a ton of veggies, fruits, half a cooked chicken (by the Amish...yummy!), a lb of ground turkey, and a lb of ground turkey sausage. I even had some pork and shrimp kabobs there for lunch =) What a fun way to spend the morning!

I had planned on eating the other half of my salmon filet for dinner tonight, but quickly abandoned that idea in pursuit of making spaghetti squash for the first time. Yum. And as I started to think about it, I figured why not make full blown spaghetti...like I normally would with regular noodles? And that's exactly what I did. Here are a few pictures from my spaghetti squash adventure:

Unlike my traditional spaghetti, I didn't add any sauce at all. I was a little nervous, but the juices from all the turkey and veggies made the perfect sauce and consistency!! The pasta was DELICIOUS! Seriously. It doesn't taste exactly like real noodles...but it's not very far off! And you don't even know you're eating SQUASH! Crazy! But I loved it! The best part about it is that I made enough sauce to last the week. AND I only ate about a quarter of the spaghetti that came out of the squash...so I have plenty of leftovers for lunch this week! Woo Hoo!

Not only did I have a super delicious meal for dinner...but it was completely PALEO! Did I mention that all of this came after enrolling at my neighborhood Gold's Gym....AND working out!

I can do this =)

Happy New Year!

I'm pretty sure that 2011 has the potential to be one of my best years yet. It's weird how turning 25 can suddenly put life in to perspective, quickly and clearly. Very clearly.

For me, 2011 will be a year of Fitness: Physical. Financial. Personal Relationship. All of the above. Although I've spent my entire life striving for perfection (or at least being able to master the facade), I'm ready to finally "just be". Just be me, just be who I want to be, just be happy. With or without the ridiculous, unrealistic expectations set be myself and others. I'm actually giddy at the thought of releasing the expectations and doing what I love most. It'll be interesting because that means starting by first determining what exactly that is...and the surrounding myself with the people who can support me along the way!

I'm excited to get my financial world in order. In many ways, I'm in a great position because I have virtually zero debt. Thankfully, I escaped college without student loans, haven't gotten tied down to a mortgage yet, and am driving a 9 year old car...things could be a lot worse. On the other hand, I'd like to prepare for the future big purchases: home, new car, wedding, and even vacations! This year will be great for my finances. I'm planning on cutting out the extras...and getting back to the basics so that I can spend my time focusing on my goals. In the meantime, time to take a good friend's advice...and start my "side hustle". Stay tuned.

Physical fitness will be super important for me...not just for 2011, but moving forward. I feel so much better when I take care of myself, and I plan on following a workout and diet regiment that will allow me to do that! More on that to come!

Also, I plan on really focusing on key relationships in my life. This could be its own entry...but to write too much, would do a disservice to the thought. Basically put, I want to make sure my loved ones know exactly how much they're loved.
:-)

Finally, I'd like to be more positive. I'm going to start thinking a bit more before speaking, and hopefully do a better job of filtering some negative comments. I tend to focus on negative things quite often, so I look forward to paying more attention to the nicer things in life!


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