Week 4 Review of "Paleo"

Since the end of this week means that I've been doing paleo for a whole month, I've decided to break this post into two parts. This first part will be like the prior ones and focus on what I ate and how I feel. The next one will hopefully talk about any changes signified on the scale or with my measurements.

How did I feel this last week? Great! I just keep noticing benefit after benefit to eating this way. I don't get so hungry in between meals, which is great. I think my taste buds are resetting, too. Things that I didn't necessarily like before taste really good to me now. For example, we got some Trader Joes's Organic Dried Banana Chips for Christmas and when I opened them then I didn't really like them very much, but lately I've been putting them in my "trail mix" and snacking on them pretty frequently--they taste so good. I'm sure its due to the fact that I'm more in tune with the sweetness of the fruit. Another acquired taste is pecans--I've always thought I hated them (especially pecan pie) but they've been going into my trail mix, too. Another new-to-me yummy food!

Okay, so let's get to the juicy details on the food...

Bought the girls some grapes. Washed and picked them off the stems then...

Froze them. If you've never had frozen grapes, you are missing out. It's one of their favorite go-to snacks.

Remember that sweet potato fries recipe I posted last week? Here's a picture of the yummy things.

I had the leftovers for lunch with a turkey, bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich...

Made out of portabella mushroom caps! I didn't follow the recipe except for the mushroom part, but I intend to try the rest of it sometime. Gotta work on making room in the deep freeze for some whole chickens first!

Made these beauties for a Vault Denim Party I hosted this past week and they were complete hits. I loved them and what a fun and easy paleo snack to serve!

Cooked up some yummy tbones from the quarter cow we got...

And served them with broccoli, sauteed mushrooms and cauliflower "mashed potatoes". All of my mashed potato loving family members liked the cauliflower, so its a recipe I will surely be making again.

Also from Everyday Paleo was this recipe I tried on Thursday night. Her blog pictures of it looked yummy but it wasn't until I was actually throwing the ingredients into the pot that I realized it required a lot of curry powder. Well, I was already committed, so I threw in the curry and hoped for the best. It had to simmer for an hour and I thought it smelled pretty good, so I was hopeful. It didn't disappoint! It was super yummy and I couldn't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.

On Thursday I decided to bake cookies.

No, I didn't lose my mind or give into major sugar cravings.

Instead, I stumbled across a recipe for Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Let me just say, these were a HUGE HIT with Erik and the kids. They were also a huge hit with me!

They were so good that I think I ate five of them that night. So, despite the fact that they are better for me, they will still be a once-in-a-while thing because I don't need to eat that many cookies! It sure is nice to know they are there when I need them though!

I picked up some kale on a whim to try for the first time this week. I know it's got some great health benefits, so I wanted to see if it's something I like. It is! :-) I followed this recipe and although my family didn't like it much, I gobbled it up!

Served a plain ol' green tossed salad of which Lindsay went back for thirds. She loves her salad!

Served the kale and salad with a simple and yummy Pecan Chicken recipe from over at Everyday Paleo.

Then on Sunday I whipped up some egg muffins to have for the week and ate a couple for lunch with my leftover kale. Yummy! I made some with no veggies, just leftover cooked ground beef and eggs, and Lindsay loves them, which makes for an easy breakfast for her, too!

I've got some thoughts on my month of eating paleo that I will share with you tomorrow after I finally take some measurements. Stay tuned! :-)