Paleo Challenge - Week 3

After two weeks following the Paleo lifestyle I’m feeling pretty great. The Keratosis Pilaris  (chicken skin) on my arms is clearing up, my IBS has calmed down completely, and I feel really energised.

Kombucha, Coconut Oil, Cacao Nibs and Kelp Noodles - Paleo staples

Last week we had a few unforeseen things come up which meant we went “off plan” for a few meals, but I still managed to keep within the Paleo guidelines. I did have a couple of glasses of wine out to dinner with a friend one night, but I’m OK with that! That was my only slip up, so I’m pretty happy with myself. I think the main reasons the Paleo lifestyle is working for me is that I can eat until I feel satisfied (i.e. I'm not hungry!), I’m not counting calories or weighing portions, and I can fit it into my real life.With a bit of prep and planning it's really pretty easy.

I’ve become a little bit obsessed with making Paleo waffles (using this Against All Grain recipe). I make them on the weekend and then freeze some for a quick breakfast during the week – they’ve been satisfying any lingering cravings I have for a piece of toast in the mornings. I might try them without the honey and make savoury ones… with bacon?  Mmmmm…. Bacon….

Week 3’s meal plan is below.

Paleo Challenge Week 3 meal plan

This week I’m using the Quirky Cooking cookbook and the Skinnymixers website for inspiration. They're all Thermomix recipes, which work perfectly in Boris the Bellini. These recipes are available freely online:

Beef Madras - I serve this with cauliflower rice, and it is AMAZING!

Vietnamese Fish Curry - I might do this with a broc-cauli rice combo, for a splash of colour.

Singapore Noodles - I’ll replace the soy with coconut aminos, and the vermicelli noodles with kelp noodles.

Mexican Pulled Pork - I'm serving this with some sauteed onion and capsicum, and a spicy guacamole, in butter lettuce cups.

Chicken Tikka Masala - also with cauli rice, and I might make some Paleo naan bread if I’m feeling decadent.

I’ve only managed to fit in two cross-trainer sessions this week, but have just tried to be a lot more active in general. Yesterday I walked about 30 minutes carrying Little Miss in the Manduca (baby carrier), which was quite a workout. At 16kg she’s pretty much at the max weight limit for babywearing, but it was actually quite nice to have her so up close and personal for our walk, we had some lovely little chats along the way. I won’t be doing it again anytime soon though, my shoulders are still killing me!

The main thing I’ve been missing is some kind of salty, crunchy snack, so I’m on the hunt for a tasty Paleo savoury snack recipe this week.

How is your January going? Are you still working on your New Year's goals and resolutions?

I've linked this post to I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday

Paleo Challenge - Week 2

Well week 1 of this Paleo challenge was a breeze! I really only felt hungry on the first day, and after that have been feeling pretty darn good. No real cravings for anything, except for pizza on Saturday night, which was satisfied by Pete Evans’ Meatzza! That will definitely be going on the meal rotation – so many possibilities of different flavour combinations. I’m going to experiment with a Vietnamese chicken Meatzza next weekend, based on our favourite pizza from Crust.

My version of the Meatzza

I haven’t yet managed to fit in any exercise, and I’m struggling to figure out when I can actually do any. The kids are awake by 6am (I say ‘by’ because sometimes it is much, much earlier) so I can’t sneak in a quick workout before they get up, and then by the time we get them into bed of an evening, then cook and eat our dinner, it’s nudging 9:30pm and all I’ve got left in me is to stare at the TV for an hour before falling into bed. Little Miss has also now dropped her day sleep, so I’ve even lost that blessed midday break that I’d become so accustomed to.

Paleo Challenge - Week 1

I've decided to make January a ‘reset’ month, where I focus on improving my health, fitness and general wellbeing. D's along for the ride (whether he likes it or not) because I do all the cooking! I'm going to follow the Paleo lifestyle for the rest of the month, use the Cross-trainer that’s been hiding in our laundry every couple of days, and avoid alcohol (apart from Australia Day ;). Easy!

My meal planning inspiration

After a heavy couple of months of eating, drinking and being very merry, I’m actually looking forward to getting things back on track.