3 weeks. 3 cheats. An update.

Hello All! I've been off the blog for a few days. We had a staycation where Jon took a few days off and we did family things. I cooked a whole bunch of Paleo stuff ahead of time and took a mini-cooking vacation at the same time. It was a nice break. Paleo definitely involves kitchen time.

But I'm back and YES we are still eating Paleo! It's been THREE weeks! I gotta say, I'm pretty darn proud of everyone.

As I had hoped, eating this way has gotten infinitely easier as the weeks have passed. I no longer scour the web/books for recipes every meal. We just make a lot of them up ourselves. That's not to say I'm not using cookbooks. I am. I actually have made some epic WINNERS and epic LOSERS based on collected recipes lately. I'll post more about those later this week. But in general, menu planning and shopping stress I felt that first week is gone. The oddity of skipping 95% of the aisles of the grocery store is fading. So I guess you can say cooking wise, we're rolling along just fine. BUT, we had 3 cheats in the last 3 weeks.

The Cheats
#1. Popcorn. I've made popcorn a 3 times so far. Contrary to the Green Giant's extensive marketing, corn is a grain - not a vegetable. And if you want to get technical about it, it's a Paleo no-no. But guess what? This is crispy living - not hardcore zealot living - and I love popcorn. So do the kids. We had a camp out in the living room last night with a movie and I made popcorn. I've seen no adverse reactions to it the times we've had it and science wise, it's not even close to being on the same destructive scale as other grains like wheat. But I will buy/make only organic popcorn. Anything else is guaranteed to be a GMO.

mmm....

#2. Jon had two beers. To be specific, they were black and tans at the local Irish pub with a buddy. And I would have done the exact same thing! B&T's are a personal favorite. But guess what? Beer has gluten because, duh, it's made from wheat. As self-described beer connoisseurs, we think this fact sucks. Thanks mother nature. Alcohol wise, we've only had wine now and again since we went Paleo. But ordering a red wine at an authentic Irish pub that makes the best B&T's in the world? I don't think so. I would take the gluten bullet for that any day of the week. Unfortunately, Jon dealt with the after effects. Having been completely grain-free for 19 days, his body had gone through detox. Those beers truly set him back for the next 2 days. I'm not exaggerating. He was tired and felt "hazy" - not a fun time for him and a stark contrast to the Jon he was. Could it be solely from the beers? Who can say, but he was feeling great up until that point. In the meantime, he and I took a dive into the "gluten-free" beer world. If you have the slightest fondness for beer, please, please, please never try one of them. Follow my advice and I just saved you $10/6-pack and lots of disappointment/gagging. This no beer thing is a bit of an issue, though. We will have to figure this one out!

#3. Dinner out. Part of our staycation involved a day trip up north. We had an early breakfast (egg cupcakes I made the night before), I packed our lunch for a picnic (nitrate-free lunchmeat roll-ups & lots of veggies) and brought a bunch of car-friendly Paleo snacks. But I knew we would eat dinner out. I didn't have the luxury of researching restaurants/menus ahead of time - we just sort of were winging the trip. We chose a popular place and I crossed my fingers there would be SOMETHING grain-free on the menu. And there was something. ONE thing. I'm not joking. There was one dish on the menu that was grain-free (and only if you said to hold the wontons): a mandarin chicken salad. I had this. I'm pretty sure the dressing was pure sugar as I felt super jittery afterwards. Jon had a steak and salad, but it came with a big fat onion ring. The kids, well it was processed, refined grain-heaven (or hell depending on your view): breaded meat on a bun, deep fried breaded cheese, or refined white pasta with fake cheese. That was it. Oh, and they all came with an insulin stick...er, I mean breadstick.  The younger 3 opted for the mac & cheese. I was pretty upset by the choices as I had spent the last 3 weeks pouring a lot of time and energy into cleansing their systems, but put my frustration aside and let go (crispy, crispy, crispy).  Everyone devoured their dinners, but my son and daughter felt immediately sick and complained of bellyaches for the 3-hour drive home. Conversely, my oldest opted for hot wings and a side of sauteed mushrooms - no grains. She is totally into this grain-free eating as she has noticed a huge physical impact: NO MORE BREAKOUTS...which is like hitting the tween lottery. I was pretty proud of her.

Feelin' Fine
Overall, kids are doing a-ok. Minus the restaurant dinner, they have been bellyache-free. Everyone seems happy and content. They now run to the fridge for snacks - not the pantry for granola bars or goldfish. All mention of those snack foods has ceased, though my 4 year-old seems to say, "When we can have cereal again, I'm having (insert cereal name here)," more frequently than I'd like.  Hoping as time goes on, that will fade. Hoping anyway. They also are becoming snobby with likes and dislikes. One likes the carrots this way. The other that way. Then they switch. One day it's all about raisins. The next it's about blueberries and raisins are gross. I've just decided to concede to these fickle desires. If the battle is less raisins and more blueberries....they can win that one.

Jon and I feel good - energized and positive. Our weight loss is not as rapid as it was, but we're still down 12 and 9 lbs. respectively. At this point, I'm not focusing on weight loss anymore...now I just want to get in better shape and actually hope to gain some muscle weight. I've been biking and swimming. I'm also looking to take a stand-up paddleboarding class with my sister when she visits soon! We are beyond blessed with beautiful lakes at every turn here - must take advantage. Jon is a biking fool these days. He's been biking so much, he broke 7 spokes on his rear tire. I took that as a good thing!

(*Warning: sappy husband moment...) I'm very thankful for Jon and his commitment to this lifestyle change we've made. He's always been uber-supportive of anything I've ever wanted to do, but this goes beyond just supporting me. He is my partner in crime on this. He's been the rock when my resolve gets iffy. Together we've been a united front for the kids to see - which we hope is teaching them lessons that stick with them for life: 1) We can't be played against each other - on this or your request to break curfew when you are older. 2) The food we choose to nourish our bodies with is important for many reasons.  3) And Our health is something we should all take delicate care of because no matter how much money someone has, they can never buy back good health. Most nights he's right along side me chopping and stirring, laughing and joking, drinking a glass of wine and having fun. We've stumbled upon yet another thing in which we make a great team.

Coming up
This week I'll post some more recipes as well as some thoughts about crispy naysayers...we've come across a few lately. I've also developed a new view on the theory behind why we eat grains which helps me feel strong when everything else is tearing me down. Finally, we need to talk about school lunches as that is right around the corner.  Until then, be well and enjoy!