Days 8 & 9: New discoveries

I am currently sitting at my desk, snacking on jicama. I had heard of it before the challenge, and had maybe had it on a fancy salad but didn't realize it. Now, I'll be adding it to my healthy food repertoire. Thanks to Ashley for recommending it. It's a root vegetable and a relative of the sweet potato. Although it's a veggie, it has a texture and taste similar to an apple, but with a kind of woody taste. I cut some jicama (pronounced "hik-a-ma") into matchsticks, and they have a nice, satisfying crunch and are juicier than say, carrots, one of my other favorite raw veggies, so they go down easier.

Last night for dinner, we made this recipe for Paleo salmon cakes, which uses almond flour. It also calls for Paleo mayo, which consists of olive oil, walnut oil, raw egg, mustard powder and lemon. I don't know if it was just the lack of salt, but that mayo was gross. It tasted exactly like what you would expect from the ingredients - like raw egg and oil. However, the salmon cakes themselves were really tasty, squeezed with a little lemon juice.

This challenge is all about discovering a new, healthy way of eating. Recent discoveries I've made include: salt makes everything taste good; jicama and cucumbers are tasty raw veggies; meat is what makes this diet work; and Paleo mayo is something I never care to eat alone.

Days 6 & 7: Getting in the groove

We didn't really go anywhere or do much of anything this weekend, which meant we had plenty of time to focus on figuring out our new diet.

I tried Larabars for the first time, which are tasty, but definitely should be just a treat, since they're made of nuts and dried fruit. I also had a banana with almond butter for breakfast on Saturday, which was surprisingly good.

Things on the menu to try this week: kale chips, jicama, almond flour (for pancakes), coconut milk, real fruit juice (to freeze into popsicles), walnut oil (to use in a recipe for "salmon cakes")

I figured out a great breakfast. I cooked a quiche like David did, cooking bacon, then cooking bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions and spinach in the bacon grease. Then I added eggs and sprinked the cooked, crumbled bacon on top. (Pictured on right.) We decided to make a giant container of this for quick breakfasts, and it turned out pretty well, just a little heavy on the spinach (which is probably healthier.)

We had the best meal of the week this weekend. Ashley came over to watch True Blood, and we cooked steaks, sauteed sweet potatoes with sweet bell peppers, onions and mushrooms, and Ashley brought her fruit salad.

We went on a long bike ride on Sunday, and I found myself feeling like I was starving most of the day, even after a big lunch of leftover sweet potato hash, turkey and a whole mini cucumber. Ashley came over again and brought brisket that she had cooked all day in the crock pot, which we served with spaghetti squash and a "berry medley" of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. I never really ate brisket growing up, so I wasn't even sure whether it was beef or pork at first...but man, was it good.

Days 4 & 5: I miss salt

Yesterday and today, my body has finally started adjusting to the changes in my diet. My stomach has settled down, my energy has started to go back up, and I'm no longer craving cupcakes (well, maybe not craving them as bad...but everyone keeps talking about them!)

The one thing I do really miss: salt. I didn't miss it as much with the steak and the chicken we cooked, but I missed it a lot yesterday, when I was eating the stew we made. Salt is what makes stew taste good. The hardest foods to eat without salt are certain vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, and eggs.

I did some googling and was happy to see that I'm not the only one who thinks that salt and Paleo can coexist - in moderation. I plan to work pinches of salt back into my diet after the challenge. I hear Celtic Sea Salt is the healthiest option.

Day 3: Feelin' the burn

So now for the TMI post. My tummy has been really upset. I assume it's because I'm still adjusting, but it's a very unpleasant side effect. Other than that, though, I'm really starting to find some great foods to eat.

Every night, though, I dream about eating non-Paleo foods, then dream-me feels all guilty about it. Over and over again, every night. David said he's having dreams like that, too, and they're waking him up. Last night, I woke up with a bad charlie horse in my left calf. From what I've read, it could be because of the lack of salt in my diet. I did have some bacon this morning, however. David made up a really tasty quiche-thing with bacon, ground beef, broccoli, spinach, and of course, eggs. It was really tasty.

We made our beef stew in the crockpot, which I'm going to eat today for lunch. It smells great. David had it for dinner, and he said that the lack of salt makes it not quite as tasty as usual, but that it's still good.

Day 2: I'm cranky

Day 2 went fairly well, other than the crankiness that naturally comes with being carb-deprived. I ate a lot of the same foods again, including leftover steak from the night before, and wasn't nearly as hungry feeling as I was the first day.

Last night for dinner, I roasted a chicken using this recipe, which was super tasty. I served it with a baked sweet potato (some will argue that all tubers are not Paleo, but sweet potatoes are okay for our challenge) and sauteed green beans (legumes are also excluded from the Paleo diet, but green beans are allowed for our challenge.) We have plenty of leftover chicken, and we boiled the bones, skin and leftover bits in water to create a nice broth. We're going to use that later on this week to make a beef stew in the crock pot.

We went on an hour long bike ride yesterday afternoon, and it was HOT. I was tired and cranky and sniffly and sore, so I was generally unhappy, but I powered through. The hardest thing so far has been time management; all this cooking and preparing isn't leaving a whole lot of time left in the day. I'm sure it'll get easier as time goes on, and I'll be able to do a lot of preparation on Sunday for the whole week.

Stocking up

As soon as we got home from work yesterday, we sat down and began planning our meals for the week. We found a couple of recipes on Tasty Paleo, and we came up with a few on our own.

I don't usually spend much time in the center aisles at the grocery store, but the only reason I needed to go there at all was for:

• Organic unsalted tomato sauce
• Basil (we were running low)
• Sundried tomatoes (only one kind had just "tomatoes" in the ingredients)

My cart was almost full after just finishing with the fruits and veggies, as you can see in the photo.

I spent around the same amount I usually spend on groceries every week, which was especially interesting because we had just come back from vacation and were restocking everything.

I didn't make it home from the store until 8:00 PM, so we didn't have time to roast a chicken like we had planned for Monday night's meal. Instead, we put some steaks on the grill, lightly seasoned with some pepper, garlic and thyme. I sauteed some bell peppers and onions in olive oil and made up chimichurri sauce to go with the steak. It turned out really good. For dessert, I had a nectarine, and David had some frozen blueberries.

Since we didn't finish dinner until almost 9:30 PM, there wasn't time for a workout. Other than that, the first day went pretty well.

Fats are okay?

I think one of the biggest changes from our typical "healthy" eating, other than the exclusion of salt, will be the inclusion of fats that have always been on my no-no list. For instance, whole eggs and bacon are an encouraged breakfast, while I've been eating egg whites and turkey bacon for years. All meats are pretty much accepted, but only if they're natural - no processed meats, like deli meat. I can't wait to sit down to a nice steak and a sweet potato and some sauteed veggies after a hard workout and feel accomplished.

Also, "real butter" is on the Paleo-approved list for the challenge. That means unsalted butter with no additives. I will probably still cook with olive oil, mostly because I can't wrap my brain around how butter could possibly be acceptable in a healthy diet.

Day One: Making do

We got all of our information last night for the Eat Real challenge with Crossfit Rockwall and were put on a team. Every food we eat that is not Paleo is a negative point for our team! The fact that this is a competition raises the stakes a little, so it's not just David and me, who tend to just give up and go get ice cream after a week.

Since we just got back in town last night, I didn't have a chance to get to the grocery store and stock up on Paleo foods. So, this morning, I had a half cup of frozen blueberries that were in the freezer. I also found some unsalted sliced almonds in the pantry that were leftover from a cake I made, and that helped me make it until lunch.

For lunch, I went over to Whole Foods to grab a few things. I had "Scampi Style Shrimp," which included shrimp, lemon, garlic, and parsley, and some steamed broccoli. I also grabbed some unsalted cashews, almonds and walnuts to have around for snacks, some flame raisins, a bunch of bananas, a container of mixed fresh veggies and a container of guacamole. I got the guacamole even though it contained some salt, so if I eat it, that's a point away from my team. Luckily, you can get positive points by commenting on the Crossfit Rockwall Blog.

Tonight, I plan to dig through recipes and head to the grocery store.