Let's Get Paleoized

So, I changed the name of the blog today, but seeing as I don't have any followers I'm guessing it won't be a big deal. I was standing in the kitchen debating whether or not my paleoized banana bread actually turned out or not and suddenly it hit me. Paleoized! This is what I try to do to all of my favorite non-paleo recipes so why not call the blog what it really is? Hence, the name change.

My ultimate goal is to paleoize all of my past favorites. Sometimes I succeed (chocolate mint cookies anyone) sometimes I fail (banana goo anyone). The fun is really in trying and learning a lot about food chemistry as I go along.

I'm aiming to try to post more frequently to the blog as I've really been trying to get my life back on track with cooking more and more paleo meals and now that it is summer hubby has been helping with dinners (thank goodness for a grill!!). I will also attempt to take pictures of my food from now on. This blog needs a little life.

Crockpot - Pot Roast

The weather in SF has been pretty rainly lately, in fact down right stormy. Which makes me crave comfort food. This is right up there on the comfort food top 10 list for me. 

1 -  2.5 lb grass fed chuck roast

1 -  28 oz can of diced fire roasted tomatoes

1 -  6 oz can of tomato paste

1 -  medium onion chopped

2 -  large carrots peeled and chopped

1 T - oregano

1/2 T - tarragon

1 t - garlic powder or one clove of fresh garlic minced

2 bay leaves

1 T balsamic vinegar (optional - will add a bit of tanginess)

1. Put roast in bottom of crock pot

2. In a separate bowl mix together all other ingredients.

3. Pour over roast 

4. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5

Note: I have a tendancy not to measure the spices. This is just a guide. Add as much or as little as you like. 

Changes...so many changes

Well, well. It has been too long since I last blogged. How did my February challenge go? Not so well. Not that I completely failed, but I did realize that it is much harder to do 100% strict paleo on one's own with no support system. Something to try again soon enough.

The biggest thing that has been happening in my world is: I started Crossfit. Yup. I began on-ramp classes at Crossfit Oakland on March 19th. It's been one week and here are my thoughts:

a) It's hard
b) It is freakin' empowering to lift heavy shit
c) I can't wait to be able to walk normally again
d) It makes me really, really happy, even though it's hard and I can't walk normally (see a and c)

I've also been working my booty off at work, which makes it hard to find time to blog, but blog I will. I'm looking forward to updating my blog, possibly moving to a different template, adding more recipes (I'm getting more adventurous in attempting my own recipes), and blogging about my new fitness journey.

Freakin' happy with life right now.

February Paleo Challenge

Today begins Day 1 of my February Paleo Challenge. This is really just a challenge to myself to get be back on target (not that I have strayed too far, but I feel like I need to reset).

I have to say that I didn't start out quite how I expected. I sort of woke up and realized that it was February 1st rather than having prepared at all of this I'm winging it today. Which meant I skipped breakfast. Bad. I also neglected to bring my lunch so I went out for thai food and ordered Tom Kha soup and Larb Gai - both are paleo.

My goals for tonight are to: get back to the gym and to plan out meals for the rest of the week.

We shall see how this month shapes up.

Getting back on the wagon

It's funny - I did very well at sticking to Paleo during the Christmas holidays. I spent 5 days at home in rural Washington state with my family, where finding some paleo friendly food items can be challenging, so I did what any good paleo girl does - I brought it with me. Yup, I packed my suitcase with coconut oil, coconut flour, and almond meal, and two of my favorite paleo cookbooks (check out Make it Paleo and Paleo Comfort Foods).

My goal: eat well and show my family that it still tastes good.

Upon arriving at my parent's house and looking in the fridge I realized that they really had no REAL food in the house. I'll talk more about this in another post, but at any rate, I needed to go shopping stat. I was able to find coconut butter, almond butter, and some other ingredients I wanted at their local grocery store that carries more of the natural and organic foods, but I was still very thankful that I packed my staples.

After shopping, I decided that I would start with making breakfasts for my family while I was there and by breakfasts I don't just mean eggs and bacon. We had that too, but I wanted to show them that you could have things like pancakes and not have to eat gluten.

I first made them coconut flour pancakes, which would have been great if my mother had a gas stove and a griddle. They tasted good, but I couldn't get them cooked quite right. FAIL

What's a girl to do, but try again. This time I borrowed my sister's electric griddle and made pumpkin pancakes. SUCCESS

Of course in making pancakes I had to have the conversation with my mother that sugar free syrup is not actually food. I bought real 100% pure maple syrup for those who felt they must have syrup and I used frozen blueberries and raspberries from my mom's garden for me - it was delightful.

At any rate, the more dishes I made the more they discovered that paleo is actually pretty darn good. I even made some paleo fudge from the Make it Paleo cookbook, but it was a little bit rich for my taste given that I rarely eat such treats.

All in all the holidays were a success, but post holidays are another story. All I will say is I went to Vegas for MLK weekend. So, beginning February 1st I will be doing another paleo challenge.