Black Bean Enchiladas

June 7, 2013June 7, 20136 Comments

So on this thing that I’m calling Operation Make-Dinner (my desperate way to make myself eat healthy meals instead of snacking for dinner), I’m realizing that one person doesn’t require that much food.

I can cook two large (and my large I mean 4-6 servings) per week and that will last for lunch and dinner throughout the week. Luckily, I don’t get tired of eating the same thing over and over again.

Earlier this week, I made Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash. I had it for dinner once, then lunch two consecutive days after.

So on the days when I had Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash for lunch, I had Black Bean Enchiladas for dinner.

These aren’t super fancy enchiladas like the kind you have in restaurants, these are much simpler and healthier. I didn’t fry the tortillas, they’re not filled with fatty meats and cheese. It’s mostly beans and vegetables, sauce and a sprinkle of cheese.

For a week night meal, that’s what it should be: mostly vegetables. I used shredded carrots and bell peppers because that’s what I had on-hand (the carrots were left over from the Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash).

To make life easier (and for portion control), I baked them in small glass containers (instead of a large 9×13 pan)

Black Bean Enchiladas

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 cup shredded carrots
1 bell pepper (I used a bunch of mini bell peppers)
2 cups black beans (I cooked them Guatemala style last week, but you can use canned too)
1-2 tsp cumin powder (depending on how you like it)
1/4 cilantro, finely chopped (plus extra for garnish, optional)
juice of 1 lime
12-15 tortillas
1-2 large (28oz) cans of enchilada sauce (or make your own)*

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions, pepper and carrots and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in black beans and cumin, cook an additional 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro and squeeze in lime juice, stir until well-combined. This filling is awesome on it’s own, I had leftovers and am planning to eat it just with some rice…

But back to the recipe…

Pre-heat oven to 375F. Next start to assemble enchiladas, pour some of the enchilada sauce in to the bottom of whatever baking dish you use (I used 3 small ones, only made 9 enchiladas and had left over filling as another meal with rice). Heat tortillas in the microwave to soften (if they break when you try to roll them, just microwave for a few seconds), place some of the filling down the middle, roll tortilla and place seamside-down in the baking dish. Repeat until you’ve filled your dish or you run out of tortillas and filling. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 20-30 minutes or until the sauce bubbles. Remove from oven, allow to cool a few minutes then serve with sour cream, cilantro and avocado.

*Note: I like a lot of sauce, I used one big (28 oz can) for 9 enchiladas, so if you’re making more you might want to get 2 cans. If you like it less saucy, then one can would be enough.

These were a great dinner two nights in a row. I still have leftovers for tonight, which is great!

This weekend, I’m not making dinners, because Saturday I’m having a chicken and waffle party and I’m wayyy too excited. Can’t wait to tell you about it!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash

June 5, 2013June 17, 201348 Comments

My initial effort at making dinner more often, started with a bang. After I wrote the last blog post, I started meal planning and of course, I turned to Pinterest for ideas. I found a recipe I thought looked tasty for Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad. It looked great, but I decided I wanted it to be a bit lighter. I don’t want to be eating a pound of quinoa for dinner (not that there’s anything wrong with that, just not my taste).

So instead of quinoa, I went with spaghetti squash, because I’m a huge fan and it’s lower in calories than quinoa. The result…

Delicious, and ready in less than 30 minutes! Not to mention it’s super easy clean up, since you only use one pot/skillet. To make life easier, I bought pre-cut and pre-washed shredded carrots and cabbage. So the only chopping I had to do was the green onions and chicken.

Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash
3-4 green onions
1-2 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage (I bought cole slaw mix)
1 cup Frank’s Buffalo Sauce (or more if you’d like)
1-2 oz Blue Cheese (or more if you’d like)

Poke your spaghetti squash a few times with a fork or knife. Microwave 10-15 minutes or until tender.

In the meantime, cut up your chicken and toss in onion and garlic powder. Next slice the green onions. Slice the white part of the green onions and reserve the green tips for garnish.

Heat olive oil in a skillet or pot (I used a 12″ cast iron skillet). Add chicken and green onions, cook until chicken is cooked through (about 5 or 6 minutes).

Remove spaghetti squash from the microwave. Once it’s cool enough to handle, slice in half, remove the seed and discard, the fluff the spaghetti squash with a fork to get the strands loose. Add spaghetti squash to the skillet and mix. Add Buffalo sauce, cabbage and carrots. Toss to combine. Serve and sprinkle with blue cheese and chopped green onion tips. This recipe will serve 4-6.

I was really pleased with this meal. I liked how quick and easy it was, but also tasty. If you wanted to make this spicier, I would definitely add some sriracha for a little added kick. You can also just get the spicy buffalo sauce instead of the traditional buffalo sauce.

Now I have a ton of left overs for lunch, but I’m excited for my next dinner creation!

What are you having for dinner tonight?

June Goals: Meal Plan and Make Dinner

June 3, 201317 Comments

Hi All. Remember wayyy back when, when I did the Paleo Challenge? Oh yeah, who could forget… the two weeks I turned into a crazy bitch.

Well, I remember at the end of that whole debacle, one of the lessons I learned was that I need to make dinner more often. I have a really hard time with that. Usually, I kind of just snack on things: a tortilla with beans, random pieces of cheese, handfuls of chocolate chips, a yogurt, pretzels, any other random thing I can find. I rarely ever have a meal.

Tonight, I knew I was going to make

Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar (don’t worry recipe blog post about this is coming soon!) to photograph for a blog post. Before I came home, I stopped by Subway to get a sandwich to avoid eating cake for dinner, because I know myself. I would seriously just eat cake for dinner and call it a night. But that’s not good for you.

So as I was eating my Subway sandwich

I began to think… I make myself get out of bed at 5:20am to get to the gym by 6am, even though I want to stay in bed more than anything. Somehow I manage to get my butt up and move it. I really can make myself have a real, healthy dinner at least 3 nights a week. That shouldn’t be that hard, right? I think it just comes down to habit.

Most days, I come home from work and just don’t really feel like making dinner for myself. If Jesse is having dinner with me (usually once a week), then I have no problem making a meal. But just for me. No fun.

But that needs to change.

So I decided to make it a person and blog goal in June is to make healthy dinners a few times a week and blog about it. I’m not talking about the usual desserts and ridiculous treats I think are fun to blog about… like pie

I’m talking about quick and easy things that I should actually be eating… sort of like I did during the Paleo Challenge… like my epic paleo dinner of chicken and mushrooms over cauliflower puree

and my quick and easy paleo dinner.

It just takes a little bit of planning. This won’t be paleo all over again, but I will try to keep it healthy.

Now I should say, I don’t see anything wrong with having a Subway sandwich for dinner. It’s probably healthier than most things I would have been eating, but $5 for dinner is a little too much to spend every night in my opinion.

So here it goes… what should I make tomorrow night?

Does anyone else struggle with this? Have any quick and easy recipes to share with me?

Chipotle Fish Tacos

May 7, 2013May 7, 201311 Comments

Cinco de Mayo just happened. You’re probably tired of Mexican food, but let’s be honest Corona and Guacamole don’t really qualify as Mexican food. That doesn’t really qualify as food. That’s a snack.

And it’s Tuesday. Taco Tuesday. How about some tacos?

Trust me. You need these tacos in your life.

I remember the first time I ate these tacos. Jesse made them for me, pretty early on in our relationship, and I was skeptical. But I swear it was love at first bite. I’m talking about the tacos here.

Ever since that first time, I’ve probably had them a dozen times with a million variations: shrimp, chicken, etc.

But these are the best.

Chipotle Fish Tacos

3 pieces of tilapia, cut into small pieces
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 an onion, diced
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper
1-2 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
1 diced tomato
1/4 cup mayo
1 tbsp sriracha*
a few lime wedges
1 avocado sliced
6 tortillas

Heat oil in the pan. Add 1/4 of onion (so you’ll have 1/4 of onion left for putting on the tacos) and cook for a few mins. Add fish and chipotle (depending on how hot you want it use 1-2 or more, for less spice just use the adobo sauce, not the chile itself), cook for a few minutes until fish is no longer translucent. Stir in juice of 1/2 lime, about a tablespoon of cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Stir together sriracha and mayo. Thin out with some lime juice or water. Depending on how spicy you like it, the ratio of sriracha to mayo might be different for you. Add a bit, try it and add more if you’d like.

Now you can start assembling your tacos (this recipe will make about 6 tacos). Heat up your tortillas. Start by laying some fish in the center.

Then you add your ingredients of choice. We like to have it all on a plate at the table and assemble as we go.

Lay on the cabbage, tomato, onion, cilantro and avocado.

Then drizzle with sriracha mayo. Squirt with a wedge of lime and devour.

That’s exactly what I do. I devour these, because they’re amazing.

Happy Taco Tuesday! What’s your favorite kind of taco?

I love fish tacos, but I think shrimp tacos are my favorite.

Roasted Beet, Asparagus and Arugula Salad

April 22, 201313 Comments

As much as I advocate cake and pie eating, I really want you to eat vegetables too.

Lots of vegetables.

They’re good for you. Sometimes sugar and butter need to take a back seat and we need to have something good for you. Like this salad.

Roasted Beet, Asparagus and Arugula Salad

2-3 fresh beets
3-5 cups arugula1/2 lb asparagus, cut into 1″ pieces
1 tomato, sliced
2 oz goat cheese
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
fresh chopped parsley (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 400F. Thoroughly wash beets, then wrap beets in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 45 mins to 1 hour, or until tender. Allow to cool. Peel and slice. (Note: You can roast a bunch of beets and once and store them in the fridge for about a week in the roasting foil. Peel and slice when you’re ready to serve them)

Steam asparagus for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and rinse with cold water. Set aside. (You can do this while the beets roast, or you can plan your next vacation)

Make dressing by mixing together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk until well combined.

Lastly, assemble the salad. Start with a bed of arugula, layer on the tomatoes, asparagus, beets and goat cheese. Drizzle with dressing and serve! This salad will feed 2 very hungry people or 4 as a side salad.

Eat it up!

Cóctel de Camarón: Shrimp! Yes, Please!

April 11, 2013April 12, 20134 Comments

So today, was a crazy day. Ok it totally wasn’t crazy. I was just exhausted. I somehow had the bright idea of going to crossfit twice in a 12 hour time span… I hurt real bad right now. I don’t recommend it. Give yourself at least 24 hours between workouts. It’s a good idea.

But work outs aside, today was a bizarre day for me in terms of personal realizations. Way back when, I used to use SparkPeople to track calories, but I hadn’t logged in for almost a year. So this morning, I randomly did…

I saw my last log in was after I got back from Italy where I ate my weight (and then some) in Nutella, Pasta and Gelato for nearly 6 months. Since then, I’ve lost 18 pounds. That’s kind of a lot on someone who is only 5’3″

I guess getting back home, eating normal meals and exercising a few times a week served me well (even if Paleo didn’t…).

So in honor of the fact that my butt (among other things) shrank, let me tell you about an actual meal (as much as I love cake, it’s not a meal) that is more or less balanced, light and delicious too.

I would consider this to be moderately healthy. Depending on what you serve with it that is…

It involves shrimp, tomatoes, onions and a few splashes of (unhealthy) secret ingredients:

Cóctel de Camarón

3 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion, diced
1 lb Shrimp, peel on
2 cups clamato
1-2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp orange soda
2-3 limes
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt
1 Avocado, sliced
Tostadas, for serving

In a blender (I used my magic bullet), blend together 1/4 of an onion (reserve remaining diced onion) and 3 garlic cloves with some water. Once it’s smooth, add to a sauce pan. Fill with water until about 2-3 inches from the top. Add some salt (or a pinch of bouillon) and bring to a boil. In the meantime, rinse your shrimp and place in a metal mesh strainer.

Cook shrimp in the broth by dipping the strainer into the broth, like this…

Once the shrimp is cooked (pink all over, be careful to not overcook), place in a bowl over some ice. You might have to do this in batches.

Next take about 2 cups of the cooking broth and place in a large bowl.

Add about 2 cups of clamato, ketchup, lime juice and orange soda. Be careful, it’s a science. Taste it along the way to see how it is.

Stir it all together and set aside. Next peel your shrimp (alternatively you could peel your shrimp before cooking then put the skins in the broth to help give it more flavor). Now you’re ready to assemble.

Start by putting a good amount of diced tomato (1/2 cup?), onions, cilantro and Serrano chili in your bowl. Then add the shrimp and avocado. Last pour the broth/clamato mixture over your shrimp. You want a good amount in there because it gives it great flavor.

From there, you’re pretty much ready to go. But don’t forget one important thing…

A beer. Because life is all about balance and a cold beer tastes great with this dish.

Serve with tostadas, extra lime, salt and hot sauce (optional). This will serve 2-3 people.

Whoever said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach as probably right, but they forgot that the way to a woman’s heart is the same direction. I wish I could take credit for this, but I can’t. It was made entirely by an awesome boyfriend who makes ridiculously tasty things.

He makes me generally healthy meals, while I make him cookies and pies.

Clearly, a little bit of both is necessary. Eat some shrimp and vegetables, as well as some cookies and wine.

What was the last healthy meal you had?

Caldo de Pollo (Guatemalan Chicken Stew)

March 21, 20133 Comments

If you asked me what my favorite food is, I would spend forever trying to decide and ask you a million follow up question… is it my favorite food to eat all the time? or for a special occasion? Savory or sweet? Appetizer? Main dish?

If you were my boyfriend you’d probably just say, “answer the question.”

To which I would respond “Caldo de Pollo, if we’re talking about what I like to eat on a normal day.”

I have a habit of not answering questions, or if I do, qualifying that response with a million follow up excuses as to why I can’t really answer the question.

I’m very indecisive. So here it is. If I had to choose a favorite food to eat all the time, it would be this: Caldo de Pollo.

That just means chicken stew, but this is how my family (and I think most Guatemalan families) makes it.

The vegetables are all in big chunks and there’s a bit of chicken in there.

It’s probably the easiest thing in the world to make. It’s also delicious and healthy. Whenever I go home, I want my mom to make two things: black beans and caldo de pollo. It’s just delicious.

Caldo de Pollo

1 lb chicken thighs, bone in (boneless is fine too)
1 bunch cilantro
1 tomato, whole
1 onion, ends cut off and peeled
1 chayote (güisquil), quartered
1 cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
3 carrots, peeled and cut in half
1-2 celery ribs
a few pieces of fresh or frozen corn*
2-3 small potatoes
1 small bag frozen yucca
salt
Avocado, Lime, Sour Cream (for serving)

Fill a medium saucepan half way with water, bring to a boil. Add frozen yucca.

Boil until tender, it should take about 30 minutes. This is crucial. If you put the yucca in the water before it boils, the yucca will stay tough. Make sure your yucca is tender and keep it in the freezer until the water is boiling, then add it to the water.

While the yucca cooks, start the rest of the soup. The beauty of this soup is that it’s fast and doesn’t involve a lot of chopping.

Big chunks of carrot and güisquil (güisquil in Guatemala, but chayote in Mexico so that’s what you’ll probably see it labeled as in US grocery stores) are appreciated. But the cabbage is my favorite part. Not familiar with guisquil/chayote? It looks sort of like a pear from the outside:

And sort of on the inside, just quarter it and cut out the seed in the middle

In a large post, add all of the ingredients. Add enough water to cover the ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 45 minutes or until cabbage and potatoes are cooked through. The take a fine mesh strainer, take out the tomato, peppers and cilantro. Pour some of the broth on it and using a spoon, mash the tomato, peppers and cilantro to get the most flavor out of it, then discard. Add yucca you cooked separate to the pot.

Serve with lime, sour cream and avocado. I usually just eat it with lime and avocado, but sour cream makes it super tasty, just mix it into your bowl just before eating.

*I don’t like corn, so I never use it, but most people (including my mother) add it.

I like to pack mine up into 6-7 containers (that’s how many meals a big pot makes), and take them for lunch for the week.

Healthy and delicious lunch that is totally Paleo friendly if you omit the potato and yucca. Even though yucca is a root, I think it’s too starchy for Paleo.

But seriously, what makes this delicious is the lime and avocado.

It takes a regular soup and makes it out of this world. Don’t skimp on that!

So what’s your favorite food? Something you could eat everyday and not get tired of.

30 Day Paleo Challenge: Ending Early

March 18, 2013September 19, 201335 Comments

So I started the 30 Day Paleo Challenge 14 days ago.

Unfortunately, I’m cutting it off at the half way point.

I feel guilty for not committing to the full challenge, but then I remembered this is just a blog. It’s not my job. I don’t get paid to do this. My life doesn’t depend on it. It’s for fun. This challenge became more than not fun and everyone around me noticed.

My boss asked if I was depressed. My mom asked why I kept it up if I wasn’t getting positive results. My poor boyfriend. I don’t even know what he was thinking.

Ultimately, my blog is not a diet blog. It’s a food blog.

I love food. Cooking and sharing what I make is just fun, so I want to keep it that way.

But all that said, I wanted to share my thoughts on my two week attempt at Paleo:

1. Paleo is just NOT for me.

I think everyone’s body and metabolism is different and you need to find what works for you. I was hungry all the time, unsatisfied, cranky and I had strange bowel issues (that I’ve NEVER had before) that I never talked about because that seemed like TMI. If you haven’t found what works for you yet, then Paleo’s worth a try. Even if you have found what works for you, sometimes trying something new (like Paleo) is a good reminder of that.

2. Paleo was just too much meat for me.

When I say meat, I mean any animal protein (including chicken and fish, not just beef and pork). I used to be vegetarian. Even though I’m not anymore, I’m used to eating beans 3-4 times a week. Honestly, I felt disgusting eating as much meat as I did during these past few days. This is definitely not an environmentally-friendly diet. I’m ready to eat beans.

3. There are some things I’ll keep.

I don’t think I’ll go back to putting milk in my coffee, and honestly I really enjoyed the paleo pancake and green smoothie breakfast. I’ll probably keep that up instead of yogurt. I felt great in the mornings after eating that, and I would stay full for a good while. So there’s a plus!

4. I didn’t lose weight, and that’s ok.

I think I didn’t lose weight because it wasn’t that drastically different from my previous diet, and I don’t have that much weight to lose. I’m used to packing my lunch and cooking from scratch. So that wasn’t that big a change. The biggest change was the elimination of beans and tortillas (I don’t even buy bread or cereal). I think if I wanted to have the drastic results that other people talk about on paleo, I would have had to eliminated fruit and nuts. That means basically only eating meat and vegetables. That’s limiting WAYYY too much.

5. I need to make dinner.

I used to just sort of snack for dinner, and that made me want sweets. I realized that when I eat a full meal for dinner, I don’t want dessert as much. Lesson learned: cook dinner, sit down and eat it!

6. I can go without sugar for a week, no problem.

I did it for 2 weeks just now. I passed up cake at a wedding, didn’t eat chocolate chips, eliminated all added sugars, and I didn’t die! I originally wanted to give this a try because I thought I ate too much sugar. I think it’s totally feasible (and healthy) for me to stick to once a week treats. I just proved to myself that I can do it for longer than a week. I just need to stick to it. Saying NO isn’t that hard.

7. I know my body.

As someone who has maintained a 50lb weight loss (fluctuated 10-15lbs over the years but managed to keep it off), I know what works for me. Having everything in moderation keeps my happy, healthy and satisfied. It encourages me to exercise more and not overeat. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating bread, cheese, wine, cake, cookies. You just shouldn’t be eating it everyday. But like I said, that’s me and my body. Paleo might work great for others.

8. I’d rather not binge.

Last night, I had 4 and a half pieces of pizza, about 3 pieces of cake, and a bunch of flat bread with eggplant dip. More than I need to eat in a day, and while I was happy to eat carbohydrates again, I didn’t feel good eating that much. I can’t remember the last time I had a binge like that. I’d finally kept it under control and gotten by by practicing moderation. Feeling deprived makes me binge. If I had a totally normal relationship with food, then cutting out food groups probably would be fine. But let’s be honest, I don’t. But that’s just me and my issues.

Overall, Paleo was a good experiment, but it just wasn’t for me. I know what works for me.

I remember the first day I started a diet, over 10 years ago (funny the things we remember, right?), we had guests over that night. My mom made something delicious that was totally NOT diet-friendly. She said not to worry. Have dinner with everyone and continue the diet tomorrow.

That’s the best advice I ever got.

This weekend, my mom gave me a large pieces of cake that she brought from Guatemala. My aunt in Guatemala made it. I don’t know how she does it, but I swear it’s the best cake on Earth. I cut the large piece is half, put each piece in a ziploc bag and stuck them in the freezer.

The pieces are waiting for me for that moment when I really want it and it’ll taste best, not just when it’s there.

Cake in the freezer. That’s what works for me.

Thanks for following me on my Paleo experiment. It’s been fun (or something).

Now, back to normal blogging?

UPDATE: In case you’re curious… here’s an update on Life After the Paleo Challenge…

30 Day Paleo Challenge: Day 11

March 15, 2013March 16, 20136 Comments

Two nights ago, I made a super tasty dinner. I’ll tell you about it because it was also day 11 lunch.

Seriously, it was ready in about 15 minutes from start to finish, and I thought it was pretty tasty.

Pork Loin and Sauteed Vegetables

Few slices of pork loinMixed vegetables of choice*
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

That’s all you need. Season pork loin with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Heat some oil (about 1/4 a tbsp is good for 5 pieces) in a pan on medium/high heat. Add pork. Cook 2-3 minutes per side. Set aside.

Add vegetables to the same pan. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Sautee until tender. Serve and enjoy!

*I used the asparagus stir fry mix from Trader Joe’s, but I won’t lie, while it’s convenient, the asparagus was really tough. A lot of it was the tough ends that I would cut off on asparagus. Half the time I felt like I was eating twigs and branches, so maybe steer clear of that?

Quick, easy and tasty. And I always make too much for one person, so there were plenty of leftovers.

Day 11 was an interesting day. Apparently, March is the month of Karla trying new things, because I went to Bikram Yoga for the first time. My co-worker talked me into going with her, since they offer new students 2 weeks of unlimited classes for $20. I figured why not?

So the studio is located in The Camp (if you’re an OC local), and it was interesting. I’ll start by saying, the place is stinky, which is totally expected given the heat and sweat and warm bodies. Definitively, not cute. I had been having anxiety all day about it. I thought for sure I would die. But good news, guys! I didn’t die!

In fact it was sort of fun. I’m not sure I love it, but I’ll definitely have to give it another try, especially since I’ve got two weeks of classes.

I will say I came home with a pretty bad headache that lasted pretty much all night and an overwhelming desire to take a shower. I don’t think I’ve ever been that sweaty in my life. As a self-proclaimed “yoga hater,” I’ll say I definitely enjoyed it more than I disliked it.

After a much needed shower, I surprisingly wasn’t hungry! Can you believe it? So I decided to make a dinner that takes a while and it included sweet potato fries!

Apparently I’m late to the game, but if you cook your sweet potato fries on a cooling rack (over a baking sheet that is) you get crispy, evenly baked fries! Who knew?

So along with my tasty, crispy fries, I had cauliflower puree (because I’m OBSESSED) and some rotisserie chicken left over from Sunday. Delicious. Simple. I swear the cauliflower puree was the tastiest thing on the plate!

On nights like this, when I’m not starving and I have a tasty dinner, I might even like Paleo… That’s probably because it just feels like I’m eating normal food I like, not making myself eat one thing when I really want another.

Have you ever tried Bikram Yoga? Love it? Hate it?

30 Day Paleo Challenge: Days 9 & 10

March 13, 2013March 13, 20134 Comments

So after my Monday freak out, I was ready to quit this challenge. Thanks everyone for your supportive comments. They were very encouraging and I truly appreciate it!

I decided to tough it out a little longer. During the week, Paleo isn’t that hard. I’m used to making my own lunch and bringing it to work, so that’s not anything new. I used to bring salad, soups and beans a lot. Now I’ve just replaced the beans with meat (which I’m not a huge fan of).

I think the challenge will remain the weekends.

On the hunger front, things have also been better. This is potentially for 2 reasons:

1. I’m busy at work so I don’t think about food as much as I would on the weekends.

2. I’ve started packing enormous lunches that are guaranteed to keep me full.

Day 9 Lunch:

It looks small, but there is literally half of a spaghetti squash in that container, with spinach, marinara and two pieces of chicken. Ordinarily I would consider that to be two meals, but now I eat it at once. I’ve had this two days in a row and it has kept me pretty satisfied.

Later that night, I had dinner at my sister’s house.

We had salad, sweet potatoes and tilapia. I had a bit of non-paleo mayo (with the sweet potato). Not the worst slip up on Earth. I’ll survive.

Day 10:

I decided to switch it up. Everyday I had been eating a Paleo Pancake with a green smoothie. Today I had this:

Bacon Avocado Egg Scramble

1 slice of bacon
1/4 avocado, dice
2 eggs

Cook bacon in a skillet until crispy. Remove bacon from pan (once cooled, chop) and wipe off some of the bacon fat with a paper towel. I think a lot of people would have kept the bacon fat but it just looked like too much to me. In a bowl, beat 2 eggs. Add eggs to pan with remaining bacon fat, add bacon and scramble. Just before the eggs are done, add avocado and mix around. Serve with coffee for a super breakfast or a great dinner.

This one is pretty easy to scale up. You can add salt and pepper too. I didn’t, but I won’t stop you from doing so.

This was pretty tasty. It was a great manly breakfast after my manly feeling crossfit workout (clean & jerk, 15-12-9!). I won’t lie my black coffee was a little less enjoyable without my paleo pancake.

For lunch, I packed a mighty salad of lettuce, spinach, mini bell peppers, pickles, and avocado, along with a chicken breast.

Again, I was full for a long time. I’m glad the hunger levels are going down. That makes it all a little more manageable.

Unfortunately, I am still pretty much always up for a cookie.

I’m starting to think that won’t ever change…

Foodologie

A Blog about Balancing Health with a Constant Desire to Eat Cake

Category: Healthy

Black Bean Enchiladas

Black Bean Enchiladas

Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash

Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash

June Goals: Meal Plan and Make Dinner

Chipotle Fish Tacos

Chipotle Fish Tacos

Roasted Beet, Asparagus and Arugula Salad

Roasted Beet, Asparagus and Arugula Salad

Cóctel de Camarón: Shrimp! Yes, Please!

Cóctel de Camarón

Caldo de Pollo (Guatemalan Chicken Stew)

Caldo de Pollo

30 Day Paleo Challenge: Ending Early

1. Paleo is just NOT for me.

2. Paleo was just too much meat for me.

3. There are some things I’ll keep.

4. I didn’t lose weight, and that’s ok.

5. I need to make dinner.

6. I can go without sugar for a week, no problem.

7. I know my body.

8. I’d rather not binge.

30 Day Paleo Challenge: Day 11

Pork Loin and Sauteed Vegetables

30 Day Paleo Challenge: Days 9 & 10

Day 9 Lunch:

Day 10:

Bacon Avocado Egg Scramble