Orange and cashew glaze for the salmon. Yum. And paleo!
Showing posts with label paleo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paleo. Show all posts
Thursday, June 06, 2013
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Hey look, I can cook!
Going paleo has lighted some sort of a cooking fire in me. I guess out of a desire to really stick to it, I've been cooking a lot more. Now, I'm not a great cook, but I can follow a recipe all day long. Here are some of the best ones I've followed so far:
I also tried out the concept of using spaghetti squash instead of pasta. When I first cut into it, I was a little unsure - it basically looks like the inside of a pumpkin, gooey and thready and lots of seeds, and the flesh looks very much like any other squash you might come across. But I went with it, cooked it in the pressure cooker, and when it was done, this is what it looked like - just like angel hair pasta! Its a little sweeter, but works perfectly as a vessel for a nice hearty meat sauce, as well as in this recipe, which I didn't take pictures of.
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| Moist Chocolate Zucchini Bread |
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| Spicy Pineapple Chili |
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| Sugar Detox Pumpkin Mug Cake |
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| Apple Shallot Pork Chops (from Everyday Paleo) and Cauliflower Mash (from Paleo Comfort Foods) |
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| Puerto Rican Beef over Mashed Sweet Potatoes (from Everyday Paleo) |
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| Coconut Shrimp (from Everyday Paleo) |
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| Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hash (modified from Everyday Paleo) |
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| Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs (although we did them in a skillet, not on the grill), Curry Roasted Cauliflower (from Everyday Paleo), and steamed broccoli |
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| My new favorite thing - spaghetti squash! |
Monday, August 13, 2012
3 weeks down...
A little update on the paleo transition... Three weeks in, and I'm down 5.5 pounds! Myclothes are fitting better, I have had zero stomach issues, I'm far less hungry, I snack less, and I feel overall really really good.
And best of all, the little switch that's supposed to tell you that you're full so stop eating now, which had been broken in me for a VERY long time, has started working again. And it even works before I'm uncomfortably full!!
I've had a little bit of trouble getting out of some old habits, but so far, I'm really liking this. I won't lie, I've thought about having a big bowl of pasta or a bagel with cream cheese in the morning, especially this weekend when I was staying with friends. Their kid thought I was super weird when I stopped for beef jerky, but I just told her I eat funny :) But then 2 nights ago I had a dream that I ate a big old slice of pepperoni pizza, and it was SO GOOD. But then I started feeling like general ass after eating it. I think that's a good sign!!
In reality, I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything. The old me, when I cut something out of my diet solely because it was supposed to be bad for me, or because it was too many WW points, or whatever, it was really really hard to keep away from it. Eventually, inevitably, I would cave and have way too much of it. With this, though, I'm realizing how good I feel, and understanding that chances are, if I try to eat that bowl of pasta or that bagel there's a really good chance that I will not feel very well afterwards. I'm going to try it eventually, just to see what happens, but I'm going to plan it out for a Friday night or Saturday morning, when there's nothing else going on, and where I will be able to spend however long it takes to feel better laid out on the bed or the couch in front of the TV. For now, though, I'm liking how I feel, so I see absolutely no reason to do that anytime soon.
And best of all, the little switch that's supposed to tell you that you're full so stop eating now, which had been broken in me for a VERY long time, has started working again. And it even works before I'm uncomfortably full!!
I've had a little bit of trouble getting out of some old habits, but so far, I'm really liking this. I won't lie, I've thought about having a big bowl of pasta or a bagel with cream cheese in the morning, especially this weekend when I was staying with friends. Their kid thought I was super weird when I stopped for beef jerky, but I just told her I eat funny :) But then 2 nights ago I had a dream that I ate a big old slice of pepperoni pizza, and it was SO GOOD. But then I started feeling like general ass after eating it. I think that's a good sign!!
In reality, I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything. The old me, when I cut something out of my diet solely because it was supposed to be bad for me, or because it was too many WW points, or whatever, it was really really hard to keep away from it. Eventually, inevitably, I would cave and have way too much of it. With this, though, I'm realizing how good I feel, and understanding that chances are, if I try to eat that bowl of pasta or that bagel there's a really good chance that I will not feel very well afterwards. I'm going to try it eventually, just to see what happens, but I'm going to plan it out for a Friday night or Saturday morning, when there's nothing else going on, and where I will be able to spend however long it takes to feel better laid out on the bed or the couch in front of the TV. For now, though, I'm liking how I feel, so I see absolutely no reason to do that anytime soon.
Monday, July 23, 2012
And now, for something completely different
I've been struggling with my weight my entire adult life. Yup, even in the military. I remember the first time I had to be "roped and choked" to make weight/body fat standards - it was my junior year, and where I had always been just on the edge of the weight limit for my height, I had, for the first time, gone over, and was required to be taped to measure my body fat. I didn't feel fat. I wasn't wearing huge sized clothing. I was working out fairly regularly, and was arguably in better shape than at almost any point in my life. So, as you can imagine, a bit of a complex set in, especially as this was the standard for my entire Naval career. It wasn't until my very last weigh in in the Navy, where I had just lost a significant amount of weight, that I was able to make weight without having to be taped.
Keeping weight down was a lot easier at the Naval Academy, when people were forcing my hand, and even on the ships, where workout gear was readily available and I was moving around a lot. But once I made the move to a desk job, and then to the civilian world, it became much harder. I'm not helped by the fact that some of it is in my genes - both of my parents and all of my adult siblings are constantly struggling with their weight. But even while at Annapolis, I was surrounded by girls and women who were just plain naturally much smaller than me, and who had much more discipline when it came to exercise and working out. Being at USNA was really the first time I remember being truly unhappy with my body.
I joined Weight Watchers for the first time about a year after graduation. The guy I'd been in love with for years was coming home from deployment and I wanted to look good for him. I made my goal, and didn't really think much more of it for several years. I was on ships, I was moving around, and I was in a pretty good spot, I thought.
Fast forward to 2007. I was the heaviest I had ever been at that point, and basically, some jerk on a free dating site I was trying out for shits and grins saw a picture of me and said no offense, but I'm not into fat people. OUCH. But it was the kick I needed. I got back on Weight Watchers, and managed to lose nearly 30 pounds over the next 6 months or so. I managed to plateau at about 20 below the starting number, and stayed there for a little over a year.
When I got out of the Navy, finding a job ended up being far harder than it was supposed to be. I finally did find one, but it wasn't what I wanted, and it was incredibly hard to be successful. It became more and more obvious that if I didn't find a new job, I was going to lose the one I had, but finding a new job was proving impossible. All of that stress, which culminating in finally losing my job and making the decision to move back to the DC area, resulted in me not only gaining back that other 20 pounds, but gaining nearly 20 more on top of that.
Since then, I've been back on Weight Watchers (although not always 100%). I lost about 15, gained about 5 of that back, and have been pretty much stuck. For YEARS I've been hearing about this paleo diet, and I finally started doing some actual research on it. Turns out, its not a diet, but a complete lifestyle change. Its focused on eating whole foods of the sort that our hunter/gatherer ancestors ate - meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, nuts. It removes dairy, grains, processed foods, added sugar, juice, and most starchy foods. The best part about it is because its not a diet, you don't totally screw yourself if you cheat, or if you just go 80 or 90%. On top of that, everything that I'm reading seems to show that people like me (who struggle with weight, even when calorie counting) do really well on it, because instead of tracking the number of calories taken it it is focusing on the kinds of food, and the types of calories. I decided that I'm going to give it a whirl - people say they feel better, have more energy, and lose weight. It can't hurt - I know all the chemicals and processing can't be good for me.
Has anyone else tried paleo? Have any good recipe / food ideas?
Keeping weight down was a lot easier at the Naval Academy, when people were forcing my hand, and even on the ships, where workout gear was readily available and I was moving around a lot. But once I made the move to a desk job, and then to the civilian world, it became much harder. I'm not helped by the fact that some of it is in my genes - both of my parents and all of my adult siblings are constantly struggling with their weight. But even while at Annapolis, I was surrounded by girls and women who were just plain naturally much smaller than me, and who had much more discipline when it came to exercise and working out. Being at USNA was really the first time I remember being truly unhappy with my body.
I joined Weight Watchers for the first time about a year after graduation. The guy I'd been in love with for years was coming home from deployment and I wanted to look good for him. I made my goal, and didn't really think much more of it for several years. I was on ships, I was moving around, and I was in a pretty good spot, I thought.
Fast forward to 2007. I was the heaviest I had ever been at that point, and basically, some jerk on a free dating site I was trying out for shits and grins saw a picture of me and said no offense, but I'm not into fat people. OUCH. But it was the kick I needed. I got back on Weight Watchers, and managed to lose nearly 30 pounds over the next 6 months or so. I managed to plateau at about 20 below the starting number, and stayed there for a little over a year.
When I got out of the Navy, finding a job ended up being far harder than it was supposed to be. I finally did find one, but it wasn't what I wanted, and it was incredibly hard to be successful. It became more and more obvious that if I didn't find a new job, I was going to lose the one I had, but finding a new job was proving impossible. All of that stress, which culminating in finally losing my job and making the decision to move back to the DC area, resulted in me not only gaining back that other 20 pounds, but gaining nearly 20 more on top of that.
Since then, I've been back on Weight Watchers (although not always 100%). I lost about 15, gained about 5 of that back, and have been pretty much stuck. For YEARS I've been hearing about this paleo diet, and I finally started doing some actual research on it. Turns out, its not a diet, but a complete lifestyle change. Its focused on eating whole foods of the sort that our hunter/gatherer ancestors ate - meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, nuts. It removes dairy, grains, processed foods, added sugar, juice, and most starchy foods. The best part about it is because its not a diet, you don't totally screw yourself if you cheat, or if you just go 80 or 90%. On top of that, everything that I'm reading seems to show that people like me (who struggle with weight, even when calorie counting) do really well on it, because instead of tracking the number of calories taken it it is focusing on the kinds of food, and the types of calories. I decided that I'm going to give it a whirl - people say they feel better, have more energy, and lose weight. It can't hurt - I know all the chemicals and processing can't be good for me.
Has anyone else tried paleo? Have any good recipe / food ideas?
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