Paleo Week 3

This week's breakfast: Sausage and broccoli crustless quiche. 

Dessert: Paleo brownies with strawberry coconut milk ice cream.

I am entering Week 3 of the Paleo diet (this is meal plan #2 though...the first week I just bought a bunch of meat and vegetables and figured I would wing it), and I'm starting to really miss some things. The first few weeks I was so wrapped up just learning how to cook for myself that I didn't really perseverate on all the things I couldn't have. This week though...I would literally sell my right arm for a piece of pizza. Gooey cheese....yeasty soft crust...omg I have to stop thinking about it. I also hit a breakfast roadblock for a couple of days when I didn't have a breakfast plan and ended up having a smoothie and a hard boiled egg, when what I really wanted was rye toast with butter and an iced coffee. I am learning that I definitely have some emotional attachments to food, and I really just can't even envision life long-term without cheese. And my food true love, bread. 

Anyway, before I cry about all the things I can't have, let's talk about what's going well. I was 99% compliant this week...I had to subtract a point for the dab of butter I put on the Paleo pancakes my parents made me this morning. If I were at home, I would have had a couple options for butter replacements, but I didn't think to bring them with me and in a weak moment, I caved a teeny bit. I made a Trader Joe's stock-up run and came home with some great finds: plantain chips, coconut cream, bacon jam, cacao nibs, frozen fish, and some new tea, among other things. I have also found some favorite things in these first few weeks:

Hey speaking of Trader Joe's! So I would not have considered myself a sauerkraut kind of girl, but to my surprise, this is delicious! Even my kids tried it and liked it. Conventional sauerkraut is actually cooked at high temps to force the fermentation process, resulting in a mushy, stinky mess. This raw version is crunchy and pickle-y - a great way to get more probiotics into my diet. 

Boy was I sad to say goodbye to coffee when I started this journey. Eventually I'm hoping I might be able to reintroduce it, but I'm trying hard to stay totally compliant for the first 60 days. This product is made of ground, roasted cocoa beans and it is definitely the closest and tastiest alternative I've tried. It has a flavor that is part coffee, part hot chocolate, but it's not sweet on it's own. I add a couple teaspoons of coconut oil and some coconut milk to make a latte, and to really amp up the healing properties, I also throw in...

This product is never leaving my life. I am grateful that the Paleo experience lead me to jump on the collagen bandwagon, because it truly is a superfood. Now if I stop to consider the fact that it's made of ground up cow hide, it freaks me out a little, so I choose not to think too hard about that. It's amazing for so many things - hair, skin, nails, joint health, healing injuries and chronic pain, but most importantly for me: healing the gut. It is completely odorless and tasteless, and dissolves instantly in hot or cold liquid. I can add it to a smoothie or a hot drink and know that I'm supporting my healing. 

Ah, the humble plantain. Before going Paleo, I had never tried one, or given any thought to doing so. But, it turns out they are a great safe starch, and they are SUPER versatile. So far, I've made waffles and fritters out of them, made plantain chips, and pan-fried them with some coconut oil and sea salt for a side dish. I've enjoyed everything I've done with plantains so far, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what else I can whip up (plantain curly fries anyone?). 

So that's where I'm at so far! Thank you so much to everyone who has offered their support and kind words along the way!