12 Weeks In!

Hard to believe it was 12 weeks ago when we made the leap into the Paleo plus dairy diet. The first few weeks my mind had to work 24/7 to remember it all! Now, it's just second nature. It's true that in 10 weeks something new becomes routine!

So, we have fallen into some routines. I'll try to make a nice neat list:

• Pasta: I can't give it up so we've adapted these vegetables to be noodles: spaghetti squash, zucchini (sliced thinly lengthwise to be lasagna noodles), carrots (cut into long, thin strips to be like spaghetti)
• Smoothies: The kids eat smoothies for breakfast about every other day and I eat them for lunch most days. I combine a small amt of fruit (eg. 4 strawberries or half a banana) with about 2-3T coconut milk (the full fat kind from the can) in the blender and grind smooth. Then top off with about 8 oz plain kefir. I usually sprinkle in some cinnamon for its blood sugar benefits. The kids aren't used to the sour taste of unsweetened yogurt or kefir so I use strawberry kefir for them.
• Hot dogs and hamburgers: bunless of course, we keep these on hand at all times. They make quick, easy meals when needed
• Sprouted grain bread: I've gone completely gluten free, but the kids enjoy a slice of toasted cinnamon raisin sprouted grain bread almost daily as a bedtime snack
• Dairy from Trader Joe's: this seems to be the best stuff I can get, the yogurt comes in big tubs of whole milk plain for me and vanilla for the kids (and I stir some plain into theirs to cut back on the sugar), the kefir is awesome and I get milk from there and the Horizon brand from other stores
• Eggs:we eat eggs nearly everyday! I am buying about 3 dozen a week. 
• String Cheese: my go-to snack on the go
• Beef Jerkey: I've only made a batch once, but I'd like to make it more often to always have it on hand. It's as good as string cheese for low carb paleo snacking on the go
• Flourless Chocolate Cake: I made this from scratch for a birthday celebration and it was so delicious there is no need for flour in cake ever again!

And here is a nice, neat list of some things I am still interested in learning about, trying or still working on

• Mexican food: it's tough without tortillas. I made tacos with lettuce leaves in lieu of and that worked GREAT, except Erik won't eat lettuce. The time I tried to make the Paleo Blueprint crepes for enchiladas it was a disaster. I'd still like a better substitute so I can have quesadillas or enchiladas
• Nuts: I finally got to Whole Foods to buy raw nuts, but have yet to soak them. I've made my own nut butters in the past, but would love the convenience of purchasing nuts and nut butters that have already  been soaked and dried. Also, it seems that the peanut cannot be made "safe" which is the biggest tragedy of my life. I sneak a spoon full of peanut butter from time to time but the days of me consuming a pound of p.b. a week are OVER!
• Sandwiches: are no longer a take out option and I lament this. They are so convenient when you need to take a meal with you
• Pizza: I scrape the toppings of and eat it. MIL tried a grain-free egg crust that bombed. Would love a grain-free crust option!!!
• Fast food: not that I eat much ever, but it seems all fast food has either grains, corn, soy or potatoes. We often rely on fast food while traveling and this is tough. Would like to find a better alternative than going off-diet for when we are on the road

Sadly, we aren't able to join a CSA at this time to purchase our meat and dairy due to finances. I look forward to that in the future, right now I am limited to purchasing supermarket meat and only when on sale.

I am getting much better with recipes although it's still more work as I build up a new supply of tried and true favorite recipes.

I really am in disbelief that 12 weeks ago nearly every thing I eat regularly now I did not eat then, and that everything I ate regularly then, I do not eat now! I feel better than I have since the food poisoning incident of 1997 that started this all. The kids are growing at an accelerated rate, both physically and mentally. Erik is having growing pains for the first time in his life. I have not been sick ONCE since I started this. I have never gone 12 weeks in winter without being sick before. EVER. And since I had kids, I don't think I've gone more than 6 weeks in winter without being sick.

I really feel like this is not a temporary change but the way we'll eat for the rest of my life. I hate wheat and what it does to me, I am avoiding it at all costs! As for soy, I just won't eat it or let my kids eat it. Any amount. It's poison and we are all recovering from being poisoned. It seems ridiculous now how blind I was to the fact when I was poisoning myself and destroying my immune system and my neurochemical balances every day, but I just never made the connection. I'm so glad I figured it out before we suffered more! They have been sick less too!!! Also, Erik got a virus, and NO ONE else got it, that was something that never happened before either. Whatever one of us got, we all got.

So, I'd like to change the focus of this blog from making changes in my life to posting recipes or new solutions to Paleo problems. I often post food ideas on facebook, but I'll try to post them here and just link them to facebook :D

Happy eating my hungry friends!