Day 5: Just when I thought that the withdrawal symptoms would pass me by this time I got hit with the Sleepy/Crankies. Granted, on Sunday night I stayed up very late to watch all of Downton Abbey and then didn't really get to sleep until almost 1 AM. So, I believe I was breaking a cardinal W30 rule and just didn't get enough rest. But, at our house "the bunny wakes up" (Parker's alarm clock) at 7:30 AM so there is no rest for the weary. The good news is it was the first day back to school and so once the little man was off to school I was able to get some stuff done around the house and only had one toddler to manage. And once I got dinner all prepped (I try to do as much dinner prep as possible at naptime) I was able to take a 30 minute power-nap while the kids rested in the afternoon.
Breakfast: Fried Eggs over veggies and bacon
Lunch: Pad Thai from Well Fed. Recipe here: (http://simplicityofwellness.com/2012/05/paleo-pad-thai/) I was going to try this for a dinner recipe, but decided to give it a shot at lunch first because I had all the ingredients ready. I had to make up a batch of "Sunshine Sauce" but that was pretty quick. It was a good recipe - it assumes you are making for two so I cut everything in half. Even with that though, there was too much sauce on the food. Next time I will use much less of the Sunshine Sauce. It was very good, but rich and sticky when there was too much.
Dinner: While Parker was at school in the morning I got a double batch of Giada's marinara cooking on the stove. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/marinara-sauce-recipe/index.html I originally found the recipe in my Everyday Pasta book, but I also have it saved on my pinterest for easy access. So, for dinner I cooked up some ground turkey mixed with italian sausage and mixed it with a big serving of the sauce. I cooked noodles and garlic bread for Ben and the kids, but used zucchini noodles for myself. When I know I am going to be having zucchini noodles I try to make them early in the day and wrap them in paper towels to get most of the water out. That makes them more "pasta-like" to me. I have also read you can pop them in a warmed oven for a few minutes before you eat, and that sounds like a good idea too so I am not putting warm sauce on cold zoodles. But, that Giada sauce never disappoints.
Day 6: Today was my first real cranky day. It wasn't too bad, but I definitely noticed a change in my mood from the previous days. My attitude was mostly improved by mid-day however, so it didn't end up so bad. It is freezing cold here - Polar Vortex or whatever they are calling it - but we really needed a way to get out of the house. So, for our cultural pleasure we headed out to Walmart in Laurel. I hadn't been in a Walmart for quite some time, so it was just funny to walk around and hang out. Ben had a free day today so he was with us on our adventure. As is so often the case, we didn't really need anything, but still managed to find things to purchase at Wallyworld. I was happy to find Kale, which our grocery store was out of on Monday, and roasted it up later in the day. I haven't tried it yet, but the most shocking thing was how much it shrunk in the oven! If I end up liking it I will definitely do a double batch next time.
Breakfast: Eggs over veggies and bacon. I think on Friday I will get some ingredients for some egg muffins. The everyday breakfast is getting boring.
Lunch: We were out and about so we went to Panera bread. I was pleasantly surprised that they had a Cobb Salad I could modify to fit what I needed. I omitted the cheese and dressing and ended up with lettace, onion, tomato, bacon, and chicken. It was very good and they had EVOO and lemon wedges I used for dressing. It was really good and I might have found a new dressing option!
Dinner: I had started Nom Nom Paleo's Chicken and Gravy (http://nomnompaleo.com/post/4807547385/slow-cooker-roast-chicken-and-gravy) in the crockpot before we left. I made some mashed potatoes for Ben and the kids and mashed cauliflower for myself. Since I was already making the mashed cauliflower I also prepped some cauliflower rice for tomorrow - I am going to try a new recipe to go with our Balsamic Beef tomorrow. I have tried mashed cauliflower a few times and I am not a big fan of the taste, but I did find that with the chicken and gravy with cauliflower mash all in one bite it worked ok. But, as with some other paleo-ified dishes, I don't think I will be making this substitution permanently. Mashed potatoes were one of my preggo comfort foods, and some things can never be substituted. But, I think I could try a half-and-half mixture and see if that works once I am off W30. The other thing I would do differently is add some of the arrowroot powder to the gravy to thicken. I had ordered some from Amazon and it hadn't arrived yet, and the gravy was a bit thin. But, altogether another successful dinner.
I wrapped up the evening watching The Biggest Loser with my sparkling water. It is getting down to near the end of the season and I am always amazed at how much these people change in such a short period of time. When I watch I always find myself reflecting on my own health and wellness journey and thinking about the lifelong choices I will have to make to continue to be healthy and present for my family. I tend to find the saddest aspects of the many of the stories on the show involve people who are not able to be active participants in their lives because of their weight and/or health. I could not imagine not playing with the kids and taking them to the park. I am reminded again how lucky I am to be on this journey now and not when I have gotten so far down the road that I have lost so much time.
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