Cave is a Verb

Or: If You Are What You Eat, Then I Am a Nut!

Last night I violated my Paleo-minus parameters and ate some walnuts. Do I feel guilty, discouraged, or even disappointed? Nope. It was late, I was so hungry I knew I would not be able to sleep, and there was nothing else quick to eat (aside from fruit [of which I had already eaten too much yesterday], and I know sometimes a high-carb snack can be disruptive to sleep). So I chose a protein-and-fat-rich snack that is Paleo-regular compliant.

It is definitely challenging to stick to the elimination of eggs, nuts, and Nightshades. But especially the eggs and nuts, because they are both great quick-and-easy protein sources. Last night was the first time I have deliberately eaten one of those foods in almost three weeks, but there have been a couple of times that I have unintentionally eaten Nightshade spices or nuts. No eggs whatsoever, though. So by the end of tomorrow I will have gone three full weeks without eggs in any form, and I am thinking to myself that maybe three weeks is going to be enough for me... Just for the eggs. We'll see.

Yummy improv discoveries in the past week plus include:

• throwing together leftover carrots and green beans with leftover nitrate-free bacon
• semi-supremed oranges topped with coconut flakes and coconut cream
• tuna-avocado salad (mashed avocado in place of mayo) lettuce wraps

Melissa Joulwan's book, Well Fed,  http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/wellfed/ continues to prove invaluable to me for inspiration, and for specific recipes. She describes her method of doing a weekly "cook up" to pre-prep proteins and some veggies, and then on any given evening one simply decides what flavor profile to pursue and then combines protein, veggies, and seasonings on-the-spot to create a fast and delicious meal (she calls them hot plates). My tongue is totally crushing on her Caramelized Coconut Chips http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2011/06/13/carmelized-coconut-chips/ (which are almost as fast to make as microwave popcorn!), and her Ras el Hanout spice blend http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/01/10/these-are-a-few-of-my-favorite-things-ras-el-hanout/ is SO amazing--even without the cayenne (a Nightshade spice)--that it has helped me not to miss Indian and Mexican flavor profiles so much.

My "new vegetable of the week" was bok choy. Shockingly quickly I had a tasty Chinese-inspired "hot plate"combo of grass-fed ground beef, onions, garlic, ginger, coconut aminos (tastes just like soy sauce), and bok choy. It was so good I did it again the following night with broccoli florets! My guys and I loved it.

I still have not gotten into a rhythm of planning, shopping, prepping, and executing. But, then again, I cannot say that I was so great with that before this little adventure began... I just kind of go into a grocery store two or more times per week gathering whatever vegetables look fresh (and trying to challenge myself to try new ones), and trying to stay stocked on protein foods.  

Despite last night's spelunking, I am having a great time trying so many new things!