Geschnetzeltes and Wackelpudding

Day 1 of my new theme!! I paleofied a recipe called "Geschnetzeltes"... The literal translation would be "meat cut into strips". Technically there are dozens of recipes that qualify to be a "Geschnetzeltes". In my case it's prepared with chicken, but you could use turkey or pork, if you prefer.

Also, this recipe is not strictly paleo but primal, meaning it includes dairy! If this isn't for you, then stick around for other great recipes that I'll be posting soon.

For a dessert today I made "Wackelpudding". The translation for it is quite simply jello. :)

GESCHNETZELTES:

4 chicken breasts, cut into strips
expeller pressed coconut oil (for frying the chicken)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp of paprika
2 tsp dill weed
1 medium onion, chopped
a dash of cayenne pepper
2 to 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
2 cups water

1 spaghetti squash

Instructions:

Heat coconut oil in a pan. When hot, add the chicken and brown it from all sides. After a couple of minutes, add chopped onions, salt and pepper to taste, plus paprika. After browning the chicken on all sides, pour the 2 cups of water into the pan, cover with a lid and cook in medium low for about 20 minutes.

Now season with paprika, dill weed, and cayenne pepper. Pour in the vinegar. If you like it a little more on the sour side, add 4 tbsp vinegar. Add the whipping cream and stir well. Cover and cook on medium for another 10 minutes.

Now, mix the arrowroot powder with a half cup of water, then pour into the pan. Mix well. At that point, I like to cook the whole mixture for another 10 minutes at medium low, uncovered.

Before serving it's a good idea to taste the sauce, and add salt or spices as needed. You may find you don't have enough salt, or that you really like more dill weed.

The spaghetti squash can be prepared very quickly in the microwave, but I avoid the microwave. I cut the squash in half, take out the seeds, and bake it face down in a casserole dish for anywhere between 30 and 40 minutes, depending on the size of the squash.

That's it. It's super delicious, and my kids devoured it!

I loved Wackelpudding as a kid. And this recipe is so easy!! No need for little packages of poison!

All you need is this:

1/2 cup cold apple juice
1 1/2 cup boiling hot apple juice
2 packets gelatin

Pour the cold apple juice into a bowl, and sprinkle the gelatin  on top of it. Let it sit for a minute or so. It'll get solid pretty quickly. When the rest of the apple juice is boiling, simply pour it into your gelatin mixture and stir it up until the gelatin is completely dissolved. This happens pretty quickly.
Optional: add about a tablespoon of honey to the hot mixture if you like things a little sweeter.

Now set the whole thing in the fridge. It'll solidify in about an hour. :)

Enjoy!!!

Connected... disconnected...

I love the 21st century. I really do. Thanks to airplanes I can get around the world (or from the US to Germany) in just a few short hours. Thanks to cars I can take my children to a bunch of awesome homeschool classes, ballet, and other activities. Thanks to the internet I can stay in touch with my brother and his lovely family, and I can see their faces in real time while skyping with them.

Thanks to Facebook, I found a job posted by a guy on the opposite end of the country, and I never have to miss out on anybody's status updates, bathroom breaks and political rants. I'll admit it. I love it. I love that I get to stay in touch with my friend Patricia, whom I met in Phoenix, and who has since moved to Hawaii and Florida, while I made a new home in Oregon. And I totally appreciate the ability to be "good friends" with people I have never even met in real life. How fascinating is this?

And finally, thanks to my phone, I am always connected! My phone whistles a cute little tune, whenever I get a text message or e-mail. Every comment on my status updates gets posted to the top bar of my phone. I can respond to "important" e-mails wherever I am. At the grocery store, the zoo, school, and even on the toilet. Because surely those e-mails are so important that they can't possibly wait a few more minutes or even a few more hours. You see where I'm going with this, right?

The other day, I made an effort at writing on my book. The phone whistled at me approximately 5 times within 4 minutes... and needless to say, I checked every single time. Any excuse for procrastination. And besides, what if it's important? Uhm... well... none of the notes were important. They were offers from a clothing store, coupons from Amazon, a bank statement, and a note from someone to someone else on an e-mail list inquiring about homeopathic something or other. By the 5th time I was annoyed with myself for my inability to leave my phone alone, I muted it and hid it in my purse. I tried to concentrate on my writing... frequently glanced at my purse, and I finally had to admit to myself that this was absolutely pathetic.

I like to think of myself as someone who enjoys the simple things in life. A walk around the neighborhood, the fat squirrels in our yard chasing each other like it's spring already... a beautiful sunrise... a hot bath. I take my eating "back to the roots", because it feels like the right thing to do. But every so often I forget to do this with the rest of my life too. I forget to step away from my phone and laptop. I am connected, yet disconnected. I get every status update, but miss the sprouting of the first spring flowers.

I believe it's time to find a happy medium. As I said before... I love the comforts of the 21st century. But I also love the real world. Time to return. :)

How are you all dealing with the connectedness? Do you struggle? Or does it not a problem for you at all?

A niche for me

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I think I've heard that question asked for the first time when I was about 4 years old. I think my reply was that I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher (because I really loved my kindergarten teacher... Note: In Germany you start kindergarten at age 3 instead of preschool).

At 10 years old I heard the question more often. I think it's interesting how people are under the impression that a 10 year old knows what they want to be when they grow up. A 10 year old knows what she wants to be now. So, my answer at that age was, "egg seller". In my small hometown we had a woman who drove around town once a week, selling farm fresh eggs from the back of her car. She was the nicest lady, and she always had time to chat with the neighbors. I loved being sent out to get eggs from her. I was convinced, that some day she'll be done selling eggs, and she'll let me take over for her. Egg seller was the job of my dreams. Of course my parents didn't share my dream. I was told that there is no school in the world who would educate egg sellers.

I spent my teenage years wanting all kinds of things. They always included a ton of money, a fast car, a fancy condo, and stilettos. Marriage and children... I was going to leave that up to others. My mom had done a fantastic job convincing me that I could do better. (Better than kids? Is there anything better?)
Then I got pregnant at age 19. My daughter was born two weeks before my 20th birthday.
I became a cosmetologist, then a telemarketer. Then I moved to the States, and I had two more children. I was 26 when my second daughter was born, 28 when I had my son. I was a translator, a Body Shop home party consultant, sold gift baskets, and eventually turned to writing. I self-published a novel and a number of articles. But in all honesty I still didn't REALLY know what I wanted to be when I grow up.

And then Paleo came into my life. I started this blog, created my Facebook page, and I found the BEST JOB IN THE WORLD at FastPaleo.com. I have the greatest conversations with a ton of people who share my passion for food. I write blog posts about subjects that are close to my heart.

If you asked me now, what I want to be when I grow up, my answer would be, "Someone awesome like Mark Sisson or Melissa and Dallas Hartwig or Robb Wolf or James Gregory." This summer I will start a course for Nutritional Therapy! I am thrilled about this opportunity, and to think that I will make this paleo/primal lifestyle my career, has me bouncing off the walls.
But, well, I still needed my niche. Let's face it... we don't need more Sissons or Wolfs. They got their niche covered. And boy, are they awesome. I couldn't ever compete with them, and I don't care to.

So, where is that niche of mine? I'm actually feeling a little silly for not coming up with this answer any sooner. For one, I'm writing a book... a different one. No science in my book. You'll just have to wait and see.

But what's better... I'm German!! I grew up in a corner of Germany that borders to Switzerland and France. I have tasted some of the greatest German, Swiss, and French food around. And I have a ton of recipes that are just waiting to be paleofied! I have compiled a list of over 200 recipes from Germany, Switzerland, France, and Austria. And my plan is to paleofy them over the course of the next few months! And I'm going to share them with you! I'm going continuously grow this list... and I'll add Polish, Dutch, Belgian, Spanish, Italian and other countries.

I am so excited about this, as it feels like I've finally found what is right for me. I will post no more than two recipes per week to begin with. Don't want to overwhelm myself. I still have a family, I homeschool my children, I have my fabulous job. I love all of these things, and want to do them well. All of them.

I'm 38... and I THINK I finally know what I want to be when I grow up. :)

Post Whole30 thoughts...

Well, I did it. With a little bit of support in real life and online (THANK YOU!!) I made it through 30 days of clean eating. No sweeteners, no alcohol, no dairy, no cookies and chocolate... just clean paleo eating. And not only did I make it, I breezed through it. Yes, I had a day or two when I craved a glass of wine for dinner, and the dark chocolate in the cupboard looked more than just a little tempting. But generally speaking, this time around things were easy.

And so I'm asking myself why was it this way. Why did I struggle so much the last 5 times I tried to do it? Why did I quit all other times and this time around stick with it?

The answer is easy, but it didn't occur to me until I spoke with a friend, who also tried and gave up after a while. I'm very much driven by my emotions. Not in a way that keeps me from being a rational thinker, but often it's my emotions that drive me to eat certain foods and stay away from others. The glass of wine that I drink with, before, or after dinner... most of the time I want it to wind down after a long, busy day. I don't NEED that wine. I want it, because I feel like it will help me. I like the way it makes me feel, how it soothes my soul, and how it relaxes my body. I want this wine, because it makes me feel good. The same is true for certain foods like chocolate and brownies. It's emotional. When I'm stressed out, where do I turn? To food! Still! Two years of paleo have not made a difference at all.

To get back to the issue at hand though... here is what made the difference in why I stuck with this Whole30 and not others. I found myself consistently letting stress factors in my life take over. Usually, around day 5 I would be so stressed out by children, household, schedules, that I'd break down and eat. This time though, I made myself the priority above all else. When I don't eat clean, I don't feel good. And I deserve to feel good. I deserve to feel the best way possible. By making my health and wellbeing my top priority I made it impossible for the stress factors to get to me.

Yes, this also means, that now and then I told my children that Mom needs a break. It means that I stuck with my 8:30am CrossFit routine even if that meant that they had to fend for themselves for breakfast... or that the kitchen wasn't cleaned by them (it's their job, but often I have to remind them)... or that we had to rush to get out of the house for classes.

It means that I did make a few treats throughout the month, but I didn't go out of my way to have a chocolate-y treat for them every week. We have fruit and vegetables. Enjoy!

It means that I would sneak a 30 minute nap, when I needed it most, despite the ever growing Mt Laundry and the dirty living room floor.

These 30 days were a great turnaround point for me. They were a way for me to analyze my triggers, and turn them into something positive rather than to let them take over and break me.

I would argue that I am not the same person after this month as I was before. Something clicked in my head, and I'm grateful it did.

As you all know by now, my sugar addiction has pretty much ruled me for most of my life, starting at the tender age of 10. That's a long time to be addicted to something. And I would be silly to assume that I'm safe now that I stayed clean for 30 days. But I took a step in the right direction... and as I was starting to eat certain things again in the past couple of days, I couldn't noticing a cautiousness about those foods, that I didn't have before.

For instance, my daughter and I decided that after my Whole30 we'd go to our favorite frozen yogurt place and indulge on yogurt with fancy toppings. And I was looking forward to the day, when I could! Today though I really don't have the desire to go. Yes, there is the fear that the sugar will trigger something in my brain, that I may not be able to control. But even more so, I'm thinking of their advertising their "low-fat" and "non-fat" frozen yogurt... and I'm picturing the ingredient list. And I don't want it! I detoxed my beautiful body, and it's thanking me by functioning so well. Why would I go and punish it, after I rewarded it for 30 days?

So for now, the frozen yogurt place will have to wait, and I'll opt for that piece of dark chocolate instead. And maybe I'll make some brownies today. My kids will be delighted!

My very first CrossFit competition!

Yesterday, Saturday, February 16, 2013 I participated in my very first CrossFit competition. The event was put on for Paul Meyer, a Portland police officer, who got injured and who is now bound to a wheelchair.

When I started CrossFit a year ago, I made it clear to anyone who cared to listen, that I was not going to compete in any games... ever. That just wasn't me. I had seen too many young, fit CrossFit athletes to even consider competing against them. At 37 years old, there was no doubt in my mind, that I'd only make a fool of myself. And who wants that? I never saw myself as an athlete. For most of my life I worked out because otherwise I wouldn't be able to maintain or lower my weight.
Eating paleo foods made a difference in the way I approached exercise of course. Instead of running like a maniac and killing myself on cardio machines two hours a day, seven days a week, I turned to lifting more weights, and I no longer needed to go to the gym every single day. But even when I started CrossFit and got continuously stronger, I didn't see myself competing against those super athletes I admired so much. I didn't measure up.

Over the past year, though, I saw some of my new CrossFit community friends compete. I watched in awe as they gave their very best, regardless of their shape and size. I saw complete strangers, some of them heavy and slow, working hard... knowing even before they started that they would never win... that in fact they might place last.
At an All Women's Throwdown last September I watched as one younger, heavy set woman, continuously finished last. In her eyes I recognized fierce determination. By the end it was sheer willpower that kept her going, as she was losing strength. She never gave up, and quickly she became my favorite competitor. She was the one who received the most cheers and applause, not because she was a super athlete and CrossFitter, but because she was there, working, fighting, and not giving up.

People like her made me see these competitions in a different light. Maybe I did not need to be an amazing athlete. I didn't need to be the strongest, the fastest, the fittest... heck, I know I never will be! The fact is, only one person ever is the strongest, fastest, and fittest at each one of these competitions. And even that superstar usually has someone they're looking up to, someone they feel they can't measure up to. Because there IS always someone better out there.

When the Paul Meyer Challenge came up, I didn't hesitate for too long. This competition was small (although 180 athletes is really not very small, right?), and it was the perfect way for me to get my feet wet. But more important, this was for an amazing cause. I had the pleasure of shaking hands with this police officer, who was all smiles all day long. We exchanged a few sentences, and he pointed out several times how grateful and amazed he was at the turnout. 180 people showing up to work out in his honor... and to raise funds for him and his family. He was clearly moved. And so was I. None of these athletes had to be there. There was nothing in it for them. No award, no prize money... As a matter of fact, they paid to be there.

And so I went... and with my two awesome teammates, we worked our way through three excruciating WODs, the first of which I was certain I could not finish, because my lungs were about to burst, and my legs were about to give out. But finish I did... not just the first WOD but all three of them. Nowhere near the fastest or the strongest. We really ranked quite low... I think only 3 or 4 other teams ranked lower than ours. ;)

But I learned that I rock wall balls. I learned that I can do 105lbs deadlifts repeatedly, which after returning to CrossFit after my back injury last year, is a 20lb PR... And I also learned that I suck at burpees even more than I'd like to admit. I recognized my strengths and weaknesses, and I know now what I need to focus on in order to be my very best at the spring garage games, that I signed up for. :)

I also learned that being part of something bigger than myself is humbling and powerful. I am grateful for the experience I had. And to think that we raised approximately $10,000 with this event leaves me speechless and happy. To have my health and strength to be able to contribute in a small way, now that is all the reason I need to do it all again.

A guest post by Sheree Strange

Meet Sheree Strange, a lovely young lady I met through my Facebook page. She has agreed to write  a guest post for me...

This one goes out to all you "intermediate" Paleo peeps!! Enjoy! And then head on over to her page and see what else she's writing about!

Finding My Way: The Truth About the Paleo Learning Curve

By Sheree Strange

I first heard about Paleo in an unrelated health and nutrition podcast; I didn’t think too much about it at first, but it cropped up again and again, and eventually I thought “I’ve got to look into this some more”. I actually spent about six months reading, listening, learning, investigating, contemplating, debating and flip-flopping before I even took the first step. It is a massive paradigm shift – suddenly, bacon is good and oatmeal is the devil – and it took me a while to come around to that. But, even moreso, it took me a while to build some faith in myself; I had to really believe that I could live a life without wheat. It seemed to be an insurmountable obstacle, and I didn’t think I was capable.

When I reached that place of believing in myself, and the possibility of a Paleo lifestyle, I made the transition gradually. Very gradually. It was one meal at a time – almost by accident. A few grain-free dinners here, a couple more eggs there, playing around with coconut oil and leaving the margarine to languish on some forgotten fridge shelf… one toe at a time, I got my feet wet, and eventually immersed myself fully in a Primal style of eating. Since then, I’ve generally done pretty well; my “slips” have always been pre-meditated (so I planned for them, rather than gorging jersey caramels on impulse), I’ve inspired some others to take on these principles themselves, I’ve found ways to balance my own dietary preferences with the staunchly-SAD Dude I Live With. However, I don’t feel like I’m a “success story” – I’m very much still trying to find my balance.

See, I’m beginning to think there’s a bit of a hidden population within the Paleo/Primal community – people like me, still in desperate search of their dietary “happy place”. Stories like mine, of folks still in Paleo transit, are a little silenced. Typically, blogs and books and Facebook status updates are written by or for either the complete novices, or the seasoned pros. Podcasts either don’t teach us anything new, or go a bit over our heads. We’ve got a rough idea of what we should be doing, we know the template, we’ve covered the basics – but we’re yet to bring to life the true magic of a Paleo lifestyle.

I really hope I don’t sound as though I’m complaining here. I do still sincerely love all of the “Paleo for beginners” resources, and get as much as I can from them, as well as from the more elite Paleo guides. I am endlessly grateful for the hundreds of bloggers, writers, podcasters, animators, illustrators, chefs, artists, thinkers and do-ers, who have provided so much wonderful content and information – my transition would never, ever, ever have happened without them.

I am really just hoping to give a voice to the in-betweeners. To the imperfect. To the intermediates. I confess: I am one of you. We are not alone.

I think one factor at play here might be the popularity of the “cold turkey” approach; almost every Paleo “30 Day Challenge”, or similar undertaking, is aimed at going from 0 to 60 in nought-point-three seconds. Overnight, we should be eliminating grains, legumes, maybe dairy, vegetable oils, sugars, and anything that has an ingredient we can’t pronounce. Right? Well, that’s not how it went for me, and I’m not sure I could have done it if I’d wanted to. Not everyone is cut out for “cold turkey”, and not everyone achieves instant Paleo perfection; they might be the success stories you read on the dust covers of books, but they’re not representative of the whole. I had to be properly prepared, I had to be fully “ready” for each baby step towards Paleo. I don’t see any shame in such an approach, and would strongly encourage anyone to try it if they are seeking an alternative.

I consider myself to be quote-unquote Paleo, but I am still climbing the mountain. I am tweaking, experimenting, learning, trying… and practicing endless patience. It has taken quite some time to figure out that I sleep best when I limit fluids after dinner. I’m currently on Day 40 of a Whole45; I really struggled with my Whole30 and didn’t reach the pinnacle of what I felt I could achieve in that time frame, so I had to extend it out (yet another story you don’t hear very often in the Paleo camp). It even took me a while just to come around to the idea of a Whole30 – I was already pretty Primal, so I wasn’t starting from zero, but it still felt like a huge leap. I can’t figure out whether lower- or higher-carb approaches work best for me; I’m hoping to try a ketosis experiment sometime in the future, and maybe after a crack at a 21-Day Sugar Detox, to see where they get me. I’ve recently had to dabble in eliminating FODMAPs, due to some gastrointestinal symptoms that arose despite my super-strict adherence to the Whole30 program. I liken it to learning how to juggle; others seem to do it effortlessly, but I have to work very hard at keeping all of the balls in the air. I know I’ll get there eventually, but until then, I have to keep re-drafting, re-designing, re-visiting and re-analysing, to find what truly “works”. It’s both the beauty and the curse of the Paleo paradigm: it’s a fantastic template, but it is endlessly modifiable.

If I could reach anyone else out there, still coming along in their Paleo journey, hoping to find the promised land, I would ask of them this: never, never, never give up. We can do anything, and it is all to easy to forget how far we have already come. There is a Shangri-La, and we will find it, but we can never do so standing still. Please know that you are not alone – it may seem as though everyone else is already there, but there are many others, just like you, still searching and hoping. I have my fingers crossed for us. 

Baked apple

Day 24 of my Whole30, and I'm done. No, really! I want wine and dark chocolate, and I want cheese. And I want to eat butter!

Last night I craved something... anything sweet. And so I decided to  make baked apples. This is something that Germans eat around Christmas. But well, you can eat something as delicious as that anytime you like, right?

And here's how I made it!

Ingredients (for 4 people):

4 large apples (core removed)
a couple of handfuls of raisins
2 tbsp shredded coconut
a handful of cashews (I used halves and broke them into pieces)
2 tbsp of the cream of the top of a can of coconut milk
1 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix all the ingredients together and stuff them into the apples. Bake apples for 40 to 50 minutes.
You can sweeten them with honey or syrup if you like. But it tastes great without the added sweetener as well. And for me it hit the spot when I had a craving for something sweet.

YUM!!

Pumpkin bread a la me

Before sharing this recipe with you, let me mention, that there is a cup of tapioca flour in there. Tapioca flour, as you know of course, is a starch, and you can read all about it here.

Tapioca is not a staple of our diet of course, as we generally steer clear from too many starches, but paleo life doesn't necessarily mean that you cannot eat any starches. So, if you eat tapioca every now and then, go ahead and give this bread a try.

It's a little bit on the sweeter side. Enjoyed with butter or almond butter and honey, it tastes absolutely delightful. Of course you could just eat it plain. So, yes, I did have a bite of this on day 19 of my Whole30... I gotta be able to tell you about it, right? It rose beautifully, didn't collapse when taken out of the oven, and the only thing I wish I had done differently was to add the aluminum foil a little sooner, so the top would have turned quite so dark.

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour
1 cup tapioca flour
4 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F. In a bowl add all dry ingredients and mix well. In a separate bowl whisk together all wet ingredients. Add dry to wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour the batter into a well greased loaf pan, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. After about 35 minutes of baking, cover the bread with aluminum foil to keep it from turning too dark.

This was an experiment for me, so I started inserting a toothpick at 50 minutes. At that time it was still really gooey. Even when I finally did take it out at 1 hour and 15 minutes, I left it sitting with the aluminum foil on for another half hour or so.

The kids love it. So I'm calling it a success!

And then there are the kids...

I've written about kids and paleo before. Every parent who sees the light and changes their lifestyle, wants their kids to get on board. I figured it would be easy, when I made the switch. Heck, all I needed to do was to explain to them, why this is happening, and they would understand (because they're smart people), and then the rest would be smooth sailing.

Well, my children are not newborns, who can't talk back. As a matter of fact, when I made the change, they were 10 and 8 years old, and they had an opinion. Especially the 10 year old. She put up a fight, challenging me with questions like, "If it's so bad for you, why are we all healthy?" Of course I had done my homework, and I answered her questions, although of course most of the answers really only applied to me and my husband. After all their little bodies had not been abused for quite as long as my big one. Their bodies are still a lot more forgiving.

I made the switch for them gradually, and to this day I don't make them eat paleo 100% of the time. I went out last night and let them eat pizza. When we go to restaurants, they frequently choose SAD foods. Birthday parties are a no-brainer. You eat what they got. And if that's a load of candy, ice cream, and pizza, then you don't complain. In fact, you'll do a little happy dance.

Around here, I make few exceptions these days. Yes, there is the pizza (about once a month). And I will buy them candy (stuff I can live with, and that doesn't have a load of junk in it). But, when I cook, I cook paleo, and I expect them to eat what's there. If they choose not to, they have the option of not eating at all. I will not offer pieces of fruit as an alternative. That would be like a sugar treat instead of a real meal, and I am simply not going for it.
Of course I don't make them eat foods they just can't stand. But generally, I don't cook such foods to begin with.

After two years of eating this way, they are both healthy and strong the way they should be. I continuously educate them about food and what's in it, and why I eat this instead of that. But I will not force them to stay clean outside the house. They will spend their allowance on what they like. We don't argue about food at restaurants. I don't make any remarks about how bad that pasta is for your gut. It makes our togetherness as a family so much more pleasant. It is truly my belief, that they will make wise decisions about their foods as they grow up, because they see their parents (and frankly lots of their friends) living like this. Paleo is truly all around them (yes, we got lucky that way), and as their understanding of the impact of food on your body grows, they too, will choose to eat this way.

But what if they don't, you say... Well, if one of them chooses to eat differently, then that is not the end of the world either. ;) As adults they are free to do whatever they please. But I have several years left to influence their decisions in a positive way, without forcing them to choose my way as the right way.

The Everyday Life of Paleo

I love this lady. She beautifully expresses how I feel every now and then, when it's been "one of those days". Everything comes together, crashes like a wave over you and threatens to drown you beneath it. There's your daughter's French homework, your son's complaints about not getting a phone at the ripe, old age of almost 10, Mount Laundry, the little voice inside asking what's for dinner, learning to add a new e-mail account to Thunderbird... and it's all happening simultaneously.

I went to Trader Joe's yesterday. I haven't bought a thing from the frozen aisle in... uh... a really long time. So I did. I walked down that aisle, thinking to myself how nice it would be just to buy a few boxes of food for those days when you just don't feel like cooking up a big dinner for the lovely family. Oh, don't get me wrong, I am perfectly aware of the fact, that besides frozen fish and frozen vegetables, the frozen food aisles has little to offer for little old Grokette. I picked up a box of veggie snacks of some sort... Second ingredient: wheat flour. No need to continue reading, although I did, until I was no longer able to pronounce ingredients. I also picked up frozen burgers, chicken nuggets, fried fish (I know! Silly me!) and came up empty handed. I didn't even bother looking at the potstickers.
I did buy frozen ahi tuna steaks... because... YUM! (Even my "I don't eat Sushi, because I've seen raw fish under a microscope" friend enjoys ahi tuna.)

To get back to my story... the plain truth is, there is no quick and easy in a paleo life. You will always struggle to find quick foods in the freezer section, and you'll always end up making everything yourself, unless you're willing to cheat. I would warn against it though, because one little cheat quickly leads to more and more... and before you know you'll see those tail lights of the bandwagon disappear in the dark.

I think it's vital to have a plan (especially when you're not alone, but feeding a family of 4). Have a meal plan for the week. And don't just plan for breakfast and dinner. Plan your lunches too. All too often I ended staring into my fridge at a loss of what to make for lunch, when we're out (which we are at least twice a week). You'll want things like ham or turkey to roll up your vegetables in. You'll want to have enough lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots for salads. Cheese sticks for my kids are an absolute must have!

I also always have cans of tuna, pickles, homemade mayo and mustard, for the occasional tuna salad.

If you have the possibility to do a lot of work one day a week (let's say Sunday), I'd certainly recommend that. Bake your treats for the entire week right then. Freeze some of them!! If you know you want to bake bread, do that on the same day as well.

Cut all your vegetables after shopping for them. This makes for much faster prep time when you cook, plus, it's so much easier to grab a veggie snack that you don't have to cut up first.

Finally, pre-cook burgers, chicken, and eggs for the week. You'll love how easy it is to make your salad for lunch knowing you don't have to cook the chicken or eggs to go with it.

This are all tried and true tips to make your everyday life of paleo just a little easier!

Life after Whole30

I am just over two weeks into my Whole30. It's not feeling hellish anymore. As a matter of fact, my waist is shrinking. Sadly, so are certain other body parts, but heck, health demands sacrifices. And I'm making them.

Of course, there will be a life after Whole30. And to many, the task of eating a regular paleo diet seems daunting. How does one do it without falling off the bandwagon? What does one eat and not eat?

First, let's talk a bit about why we do a Whole30 rather than a Whole15. It makes sense to go for a month. First of all, a month just makes sense. Thirty days, one out of 12 months.
But what's more important, are two facts!

1) It takes your average sugar addict up to two weeks to get past this awful carb flu. You know, those headaches, foggy brain, flu like symptoms? Your body is working hard at detoxing (I smelled like skunk, I kid you not). After two weeks, you'll feel like a new person with loads of energy!

2) It takes about 21 days to break a bad habit and start a good one. It's true. You can research it. During this time your mind gets reprogrammed to "like" something instead of another thing. After 30 days your first response to a sugary treat will be hesitation. And your body's response will likely be bloating or discomfort.

So what do you do when you're all done? My best piece of advice is to stick as closely to what you have been doing for those 30 days. You made the decision to "go paleo". Your best bet is not to stray far from your Whole30. Yes, add in coffee if you must, have your occasional snack of paleo brownies or cookies, but don't look at this as just a diet... See the lifestyle change you've made and stick with it.

What's okay for an occasional treat?

-anything paleo, sweetened with honey or fruit
-a glass of wine now and then
-NorCal margaritas (thanks, Robb Wolf!)
-high quality dairy if you aim for more of a primal approach than strict paleo
-gluten free beer

What's okay... very rarely?

-any non-paleo treat, although let me warn you, that you will likely not feel so good afterwards
-white rice
-potatoes

What should you avoid?

-GLUTEN! Don't compromise. Gluten is bad news.
-beer
-any non-paleo candy (that stuff is nasty and almost all candy bars contain HFCS and soy among other sick makers)

My piece of advice if you feel unsure what to cook all the time: stick with the many paleo recipe sites, cookbooks, and blogs. You will NEVER run out of great recipes.

Also, when making treats, simply freeze some of it if you don't trust yourself not to pig out.

And finally... if you feel you're about to fall off the paleo bandwagon, go clean for at least 14 days. That should take care of it.

Follow me on Google+

Well, I've just about had it with Facebook! It has become more difficult YET AGAIN for page owners to be seen by their followers. Not only do my posts only show up to about 10% of my followers... now Facebook also limits all those posts with a picture and link (basically everything I post, that looks to them to be a money maker). The idea behind this is of course to get me to promote my posts for a minimum of $5 per post.

Well, if I was rich, and money wasn't an issue, I might (MIGHT!) do it, but I am neither rich, nor do I like this practice. Plus, I'm doing this for free. I'm not getting any money for posting my stuff. I'd much prefer to not pay every time I want to be seen.

SO, if you feel so inclined, please follow me right HERE!

Once you get there, please comment on my first post there. If you say "I'm here", you'll be entered to win a copy of The FastPaleo Top 100 of 2012! Three winners will be drawn randomly on Friday, February 8 after 8pm PST.


So, please, join me there and share with others. I'd love to see you there!!