Quick and Easy Pizza "crust"

A reader (hi, Lisa!) sent this recipe for a quick, and easy primal-friendly pizza crust. 


I'll have to wait until Grandma has the kids--they are all off dairy-- before I can make myself. But do try it out and comment here so we can see what you think!

Oops

We're home!


Today was a total failure (our first!) in staying Primal. I hate Fridays anyway because they have to be meatless, but traveling and Fridays? Forget about it.


I hesitated to even post what we ate, because I know it will inspire many "you could have just..." comments, but then, I thought "surely there are other Primal people out there who totally fail every once in a while."  And I'm honest to a fault most of the time, so... I'll tell you, but don't yell at me. ;)


Breakfast was at the hotel. The eggs looked like ... that yellow insulation stuff they put in houses. So I passed. And I couldn't have the breakfast meats. So what was I left with?  An apple. I knew I needed some protein, and all I could find was... peanut butter. D'oh.  Hey, at least I didn't grab the prepacked cream cheese pastry (which I would have killed for).


Tom had (yes, dear, I'm telling on you, too) an English muffin and some fruit. I'm not sure what the kids had, since Tom is awesome and made up their breakfasts.


Then we headed out of the hotel, and went to say goodbye to my grandparents. It was all fun and games until the baby stood in an ant pile and had about 100 ants swarm her. Thankfully only her feet (mostly the left foot) were bitten. The left foot was pretty red and swollen. Poor thing.


Soon after we headed out. After driving about 40 minutes both Tom and I were fading fast. I knew I needed more protein, but we were stuck. There is very, very little between Oklahoma and Kansas, so finding foods that fit into our Primal diet is almost impossible. So we finally stopped for lunch when we saw a road sign for... wait for it... Dairy Queen. 


The kids had hamburgers (without the top bun) and water. Tom and I had... um... ice-cream. Calcium, some protein, and sugar. Yum. Really, though, I was completely jealous of Elizabeth's cheeseburger. I really would have much rather had meat. Plus, sugary stuff now has this annoying after-taste that just stays in your mouth. Blah. 


Anyway, the "lunch" helped to perk us up, but not for long. After another twenty minutes, I felt like I could sleep for days. I don't know if that had to do with sugar or just the general lack of protein (or both), but it was really not fun. I was going to switch with Tom and drive the second leg home, but I was just too lethargic. 


We finally arrive in Kansas, and dropped the kids with Grandma, and then headed to eat at Jason's Deli. We had a bowl of soup and the salad bar.  Waaaaaaaaaahhh!!  I want steak, darn it! 

Poor Tom has had stomach issues for the last four or five hours now. He is FINALLY (I'll have to mark the calendar) admitting, after years and years of me saying it, that he is, indeed, allergic/intolerant to milk (I know some people say you can still drink raw milk and not be bothered but he isn't interested). Kinda sad. :(

Now we're sitting on the couch. Talking about meat.

Still Traveling

I meant to check in last night, but I was just too tired, oops. 


Yesterday we started with a hotel breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and yogurt. Of course it wasn't the type of yogurt you really should be eating, but it was grain free, and it was fun for the kids. So there ya go. 


Then we headed to the zoo. Oklahoma has one of the coolest zoos ever (actually, it's ranked as Third in the Nation). I grew up here, and it was cool back then, but there is so many new things, it was like a whole new experience. If you're ever passing through Oklahoma, check it out!


Anyway... we walked around the zoo for five and a half hours! The kids really loved it. And I loved the fact that I was out moving despite missing my Wed appt at the gym. We even got a bit of sun, but nothing more than a light "kissing."  I guess it's true that you are less prone to sunburn when you eat healthier. I have to admit I was skeptical of this claim*, but I am a believer now! I have some very Irish skin and it has always burned within about 20-30 minutes of being outside (in the dead of Summer, I have been known to burn in 10 minutes flat!). And while it is barely Spring, I should still be much more burned than I am now after five hours of being in the sun. Works for me!

The problem of lunch time arose while we were at the zoo. And the kids were starving after walking so long (this was about midway through our walk), so we found the cafe and sat the kids down. So we had three choices: All Beef Hot Dog, Hamburger, Chicken Breast.  We went with the hot dogs (w/o buns) and a side of fresh fruit. It wasn't really enough for the kids to fill full, but it was too expensive to buy as much as they really wanted, so we settled for just what they needed. Tom and I skipped lunch at this point. 

Then Tom left for a radio gig, and I continued on with my girls and some other family members. After a few more hours the kids were about to drop from thirst, so I looked for water, but kept running into soda machines instead. At one point there was a Coke Machine (no water) and a Powerade machine... so I went with the Powerade since I remembered a commercial saying it was pretty good for you. Shoulda known. The SECOND ingredient is corn syrup! UGH  I would have been better off getting them a Sprite.  I told them to enjoy the heck out of it since this wouldn't be happening again. Interestingly, after they each had some of it, there was more of a "you finish it... no, you!" type instead of the usual "give it to me! No, I want it!"  So I suppose the one upside to this is that they are beginning to realize on their own that they don't like this junky stuff. 

So we left the zoo. And went to hang out with my grandparents:

This is Mana (Barbara) and Papaw (Jim) Richard. And they are pretty awesome. They have 3 children, but 23 grandchildren, and... uh... something like... 30 great-grandchildren. They know it all! 


By 5pm I was starving since I still hadn't eaten since breakfast. We packed up the kids, and met the grandparents, one aunt, a cousin, and another second cousin at the local Chinese Buffet restaurant. It is really high quality food and a huge selection. So we were able to stay Primal quiet easily. I had roasted chicken (no MSG), green beans, beef and broccoli. And some cheese cubes.  The kids had a lot of the same, but I did give them some rice since they had been so active during the day. I don't know what Tom had, but it was Primal.  Now in interest of full disclosure, we did allow the girls to pick one dessert from the dessert bar (they choose a brownie). Why?  Like I tell my kids "Because I'm the Mom, and I said."  


So we had a very full day, and still managed to be (mostly) Primal. So it can be done people. hehe


I wonder what food adventures we'll have today.....

Traveling

Since my girls have Spring Break, we decided to drive to Oklahoma today so we could visit some family. It's about a four hour drive (with no stops), but we take an extra hour for the kids to eat and such. 

For breakfast we had eggs. Thanks to Tom for cooking!  

Then I packed a cooler with snacks. Well, at least, I wanted to pack a cooler with snacks. Given that I knew we'd be traveling, I skipped the grocery store this week, so we had very little on hand. 

So I ended up packing:

 2 cans of coconut milk (why? I don't know. It just seemed so... Primally.)
 1 bag of celery
 1 bag cheese cubes
 1 sm bag of dark chocolate chips
 1 lg bag of mixed nuts

Yeahhh... Next time I should go grocery shopping before taking a trip. Lesson learned. 

For lunch we stopped at Two Brother BBQ and had smoked turkey, pork, and brisket. We ordered the green beans (instead of fries or potato salad), but didn't eat many since they were obviously canned. Well, the meat was good!

For dinner we went out with my grandparents to a steak house of sorts. The kids had hamburgers in a lettuce wrap. Tom and I had steak (Tom a T-bone and I had a sirloin). 

But now we're hungry again, so Tom went to Walmart and bought some Organic milk for the baby. And a vegetable tray and a rotisserie chicken for us to munch on. 

So I'd like some cake... which always seems to happen when I travel. Maybe it's the stress of it?  Well, I guess I'll have to just be content with my water. Mmmm. 

Brownies

I ran across a brownie recipe (I think maybe a FB posted it?), and I thought it looked interesting. 


As a baker I was decent, cupcakes were my expertise, but brownies, ugh! I loved brownies, but they hated me... I never could get them to bake up the right way. It was really annoying. 


So now I'm skeptical of brownie recipes, but given that we are desperate, and the recipe is ridiculously easy, I thought we'd try it. 


Brownie recipe:


1 cup Nut Butter  (I wanted to use cashew butter, but I didn't have enough, so I went with Sunbutter)
1/2 Cup Honey  (you could use less, I think)
1/4 Cup Coconut oil 
1 Egg


Mix all ingredients together.


Pour into an 8x8 dish. 


Bake* at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  


*I sprinkled a few dark chocolate chips on top before baking.


Mine burnt a bit, so I'm not posting a photo (next time!)


Anyway, they looked like brownies... even if they were a little flat, but hey, it was a brownie! And it was soooooo yummy. Nutty, yet sweet, and a hint of chocolate.


Most of us always have the ingredients around anyway, so it's a great pick-me-up if you need it. 


Try it! 


Happy St. Joseph's feast day too :)

Primal at a Glance

Sometimes it gets tedious explaining what Eating Primal means to people, right? And usually the information blows their minds (which is kinda fun), so after about three minutes they turn off their minds and ears. 


I ran across this article, The Definitive Guide to the Primal Eating Plan, from Mark's Daily Apple (posted in July) which is a good, quick introduction to why Primal followers eat what they do.


Anyway, it's a good thing to have in your arsenal just as an FYI. 

So the girls are on Spring Break now. They asked if we could go to Oklahoma and visit their great-grandparents and other family members. I think we will head out Tuesday morning and come home on Friday. 

I think it will be interesting to see how we fare staying Primal while on this trip. I'm sure we can stay true to it, but I am curious to see if the emotional level will be lower this time or not. You can read about our first GP and being away from home HERE (well, it starts with this link, but you can read through the next few posts to get a real flavor of it.)

Not a fun time. But, hey, I did it with four kids in tow. You can too!

More Thoughts on Pesticides (from a reader)

 Thanks to Makovitza for this comment:

"I'm not sure about the situation in other parts of the world, but in Australia "certified organic" means a lot more than just "not sprayed with pesticides". For me the three main reasons I buy organic are health, animal welfare and the environment.

Health - as well as being pesticide-free, buying organic assures me that I am not ingesting GMO foods or any synthetic food additives (preservatives, colours, flavours etc). There have also been studies showing that organic foods can be higher in nurients and antioxidants than their conventional counterparts.

Animal welfare - certified organic animals are raised in humane conditions, with ample access to pasture, shade and shelter. Battery farming and cattle feed lots are prohibited. Organic animals are also free of antibiotics, hormones, growth promotants and preservatives (whether injected directly or given through feed).

The environment - certified organic farms must use sustainable farming methods. They do not disrupt ecosystems by using synthetic pesticides/herbicides/fertilisers or pollute local river systems with chemical run-off. The use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is prohibited, which massively reduces the carbon footprint of organic food. Because synthetic fertiliser is not allowed organic farms must use traditional methods to build healthy topsoil, which regenerates farmland rather than stripping it. A percentage of organic farmland must be set aside for natural vegetation, to protect biodiversity. Water usage must also be sustainable, which helps to reduce the issues of salinization and riverland distruction associated with agricultural irrigation.

As I say, I don't know the situation around the world. But in Australia there are so many more reasons to buy organic than just trying to avoid chemicals. I only discovered this recently. Before that I was ambivalent - I would try to buy organic for my baby, as I reasoned that his immature system would be less able to handle chemicals, but didn't worry too much for myself. Since I learned about the ethical and environmental impacts of conventional farming and agriculture, and the fact that the organic certification prohibits the worst of these, it has become a no-brainer."

Pot Roast

Okay, I'm back. I think. Sometimes having four kids sucks out your brains and leaves you with either nothing to say or lacking in energy to say it.

Anyway... so how is everybody?  If you've Gone Primal, how are you feeling about it?

I love pot roast. My daughter Regina is obsessed with pot roast. The other kids like it as well. I've never been able to make a delicious pot roast, so I made it sporadically. But that all changed when a friend here in Kansas suggested I Google The Pioneer Woman

So I did.

This woman is like a kitchen super-hero. She knows so many amazing tricks, tips, and how-to's in the kitchen, it is ridiculous. She's not necessarily primal. But she's awesome anyway. And it just so happens she makes a killer pot roast.

Now, it's true, there are more steps to this pot roast than to other recipes I've seen, but the end result is so worth it, you won't mind.

I am going to post a link to her blog/recipe, but here's the gist of it:

Put some fat (your choice) into a dutch oven.
Melt it.
Add onions (halved) (two onions)
Let them brown a bit, then take them out and rest them on a plate.
Brown some carrots (I chop about eight), rest on the plate with the onions.
Take your beef, and sear it on all sides.
De-glaze your pot with wine or broth.
Add the meat and vegetables back into the pot.
Add two-three cups of beef broth.
Sprinkle with Rosemary
And stick in the oven at 275 degrees for 3-4 hours (I used between a 3-4 lb cut of meat).

It is so delicious!  I miss not having mashed potatoes with pot roast, but I suppose you could serve sweet potatoes or the fauxtatoes (mashed cauliflower) if you'd like.

So go to this link: Pot roast is yummy!  The Pioneer Woman goes into more detail and has photos for each step involved, which is really helpful. :)

Regina's Veggie-Pup

Friday, Friday... Can't Stand That Day

Well it's another Lenten Friday. I dread it. I get all wobbly and tired and headachey. Blah. But my soul is being sanctified. I hope. 


So today was a whirlwind!  The girls had the day off school, which was awesome (more sleep!) until last night when I remembered I had an appt at the gym, so we'd have to get up and dressed anyway. Booo. 

Things took a while to get going this morning so I had no time to make breakfast. ACK! I had to grab the secret stash of Larabars, and pass those out (except for Veronica who is allergic to almond, so she had to have... uhm... pork rinds.

 Hey, don't judge! Four kids with no husband (he's on a trip) and a routine thrown off by kids not being in school... it was the best I could do. And it had protein. So there!

I had a bottle of water for breakfast. I do not recommend having only water to "eat" before working out. Instead of focusing on breathing, you will focus on "if I do 50 reps, can I eat a cheeseburger?" And your muscles don't like it. 


So anyway, we dropped Elizabeth with a sitter, and the three older girls and I headed to the gym. That took a little while.


Then we headed to a thrift store to buy some school supplies for class on Monday. 


By this point, I was about to drop dead, and the kids were hungry, too.  So I'm trying to think of what we can eat that is permissible on Friday, doesn't cost a lot, and isn't too far away.  The only thing I could come up with was Long John Silver's. BLECH  Well, it was our only option at this time. I don't even remember the last time I ate there, or if I've ever taken my kids... maybe?  


We ordered the fish. I thought the kids would be thrilled they had fried food, but instead, they picked all the batter off, and ate the insides. I had to do the same. Pretty awesome. 


Then we ran out the door to go to a political rally nearby. The kids were really excited about it... Amy (5) says "I can't wait to hear my first speech!"  The rally took a little over an hour. And by the time we got out we were all hungry again. Ugh. 


We rushed home and they had some apples with cashew butter. I had a spoonful of cashew butter (and I may or may not have sneaked a slice of apple), which really took away the edge of hunger. 


Right as I was headed out the door to pick up Elizabeth, the AT&T guy shows up to install some kind of line in Tom's office. Well, he had to wait out in his van since I had to leave. So we rushed to get E, rushed back home, and waited another 1.5 hrs for him to finish, and in the meantime, we're still hungry!


AT&T guy finally left, so we headed to grandma's (since the three girls are staying the weekend). The girls were very happy to see dinner already waiting (shrimp, vegetables, and maybe one other thing). So Grandma saved them from starvation. Whew. 


The baby and I were still hungry though. And I was not about to go home and spend an hour making dinner for an empty house. So E and I went to the local Mexican food place, and I tried a new entree. Chile Rellenos: a poblano pepper stuffed with cheese, and fried in corn masa flour.  When the dish came out, I scrapped away all the fried parts (which was easy because the breaded did not stick to the pepper) and ate what amounted to a steamed pepper with semi-melted cheese.  


EWW. Did not like it. At All. It was really watery, flavorless, and just not appetizing. I don't know if this is because this particular restaurant did not know how to make it properly, or if this is how chile rellanos are meant to taste, but no, thanks.  


So I'm STILL hungry. 


Anyway, my point in this post is someday things are just going to be crazy and hectic, and while you may not be able to be completely Primal (all organic items and such), you can still find some options that are maybe the least-worst of the worst.  


I think the important thing here (especially if you have children) is to accept that there will be days you won't be as good of a Primal Eater as you want to be , but that life will go on, and it won't do any good to beat yourself up over it. 


Yes, it is a good idea to have stashes of Primal-approved snacks, ready to go, in the fridge/pantry, but sometimes even that will fail. For us it was because I didn't cook as much this week since I knew Tom would be away most of the week. And also because today is Friday, which usually means we're down to the last few items before restocking on Sunday. 


Just one of those days.  Now I'm going to Google some snacks that will keep for longer than a week, and be better prepared next time. Hopefully.

"Won't somebody think of the children?!"

I've never been on for fad diets. I hate gimmicky things. I cannot understand why people spend thousands of dollars on diet pills, foods, and equipment they know they'll never use. But when Tom came to me with this idea of Going Primal. It just felt right. So we ordered the book 21 Day Total Body Transormation, and after Tom read it, I read it in one day.

 I've read about and studied food ever since I became pregnant with my first daughter (who is now 8). (My theory was/is if people know more about what's in the things they eat, they would probably make better choices.) And most fad diets just didn't make sense to the things I already knew about food and how it *should* work. Now, I'm not claiming I know a whole heck of a lot. I probably know more than the average American, but probably not much beyond that. I've always trusted my gut though, and when I finished reading Sisson's book, my gut said "Yep. This is the real deal. And it's something we should be doing." 


So we decided to take three months, really read more about it, really take our time in understanding what's involved, and developing a plan. 

There were several reasons for this: a) I'm a planner. I love to make lists. I love to check off my lists. And I *have* to know what my next step is. That's just how I am. b) It was/is a major change. And we felt we needed to be realistic about our transition. And finally c) I knew, just knew, we'd get the "are you guys for real?" question. 


We had to know our stuff, so we could combat the "I think you're crazy" line.  And boy did we get that line. A lot. 


My Dad was concerned about his grandchildren. "What is [Heather] going to feed the kids?! I just don't see how this could possibly work."  

My grandparents thoughts were that it is unsustainable, a lot like Atkins, and really not a good or fun way to live.

My sister asked "well, you're not going to get all weird, are you?" Too late. Already am.  

We had friends say "Yeah, well, it's not realistic to never eat grains."

 And we had other friends say "Sounds interesting, but I don't think it's something you could stick with for very long." 

 We got the "Won't you think of the children?!" line. And the "You're taking away the simple joys of their childhood." And most people thought the kids would lose weight, and they needed the grains in order to keep properly hydrated.

Then we had some (not all--some were very kind) vegetarians tell us how unethical we are, and how we'll die from protein overload, and how we should raise the kids differently. 

 Just to be clear, I am not making fun of anybody's concerns. Some of them are quite legitimate, some made me laugh, and some of them irked me, but criticisms are good since it make you really have to know your stuff. And it helps you think of things you may not have thought of before. 

I did the best I could to assure people we weren't going insane, we are just on a quest to be healthy. I do have to say that the most eye-opening experience of GP is how people (including myself) are so emotionally tied to food. When we would tell people about GP we were either met with surprise or ... anger. Anger surprised me. In fact, it surprised me so much, I didn't really know how to respond to it. 


Often we would get a sarcastic "Oh really, you're going to do that?" And then with a shake of the head a "well, I hope you do well, but I just would never do that."  Yeah, I know it sounds radical, but I found it puzzling people were so quick to dismiss GP without even taking five minutes to understand what it is. Without reading about it. Or without asking questions. Then I realized, people don't want to know about it. I suppose because it's a big change and most people don't enjoy change. But also, I think many people know they need to change something, but they can't allow themselves (for various reasons) to even think about it. So it stands to reason one would react with anger if they are faced with something as aggressive as GP. 


One of the first questions we would get was "Well, how are you going to eat sandwiches?"  This cracked me up. Why was that the first thing that came to mind for so many people? I suppose we are a society of sandwich eaters. A close second was "how are you going to do this with your kids?"


I knew I couldn't change the minds of those who weren't ready to hear it. So I didn't even try. And I suggest you don't waste your time on this either. I think a much better approach is for you to just start. Do your thing. And after a a few weeks or months, those who are ready to understand what you're doing will naturally begin to ask you about it. At that point, share some info, but don't ever shove it in their faces. It will backfire. 


So if you're about to GP, definitely take some time to understand the reasons behind GP and have some answers ready to some of these common questions/judgements you will get.


1) How will you eat sandwiches?  a: We won't. We'll eat steak! (somehow eating steak sounds a lot better than "well, we'll always have lettuce wraps!")


2) How will your kids react to this?  
 a: They won't enjoy it at first, and they'll miss some foods. But I'm responsible for their well being until they are old enough to make their own choices. And I am confident this is something that will benefit them for years to come. 


3) You're not going to go all weird, are you? 
 a: well, yes, I am, but I am sure that going a little outside of the box will mean a longer and healthier life. . . but, don't worry! I am still going to have birthday cake. (Red velvet cheesecake to be exact.)


4) It's not realistic to give up grains.  
a: It's will definitely be a challenge in the beginning, but your body and your taste buds will adjust and get to the point where grain is not the first thing you will reach for. Also, how realistic is it to be overweight, tired, and take a whole list of medications just to be able to get going in the morning? That's what is waiting for almost all of us by the time we reach middle age.  


5) So, you're basically doing Atkins. It's another fad.  
 a: It's not Atkins. I don't do any carb counting. I don't cut out vegetables (except for maybe corn and peas). I make a concerted effort to eat clean food; no antibiotic treatments, no mass amounts of hormones, no crowded living conditions, etc. We want to focus on foods locally grown. And with Atkins there is a whole aisle at the grocery store filled with candies, chocolates, and the other processed foods which are filled with things your body doesn't know what to do with. 

6) Well, I could never do it. 
a: I thought the same, but then I realized I can no longer be tired, sick, and overall unhealthy. Let me know if you're ever interested, I can give you some reading material. 

well, that's all for now, because I'm pretty tired and I have to go to the gym in the morning. Blah.  


Do you have question/comments I should add to the list?

Pizza!

Tom has really missed pizza. The kids have missed pizza. I haven't really missed it that much. (I'm a I'll- have-pizza-once-a-month and be fine type of person.) So I tried making a pizza crust with almond flour, and then with coconut flour... none of us cared for either one of those. Blah. 


A Facebook friend suggested I use cauliflower crust. At first I thought "Um. Ew." --I've never liked cauliflower--but then I realized I had a head of cauliflower in the fridge, and it really needed to be used. So I Googled a recipe. I found THIS. 


Soooo, I made the crust. It came out looking like this:

Not too shabby looking, I thought. The crust is much thinner than the almond/coconut flour, which is promising. 

I realized I didn't have the ingredients to make a sauce, so I had to use an organic pasta sauce I bought (for spaghetti squash). It smelled awesome. The problem was the sauce was too thin/watery. You definitely want to use a tomato paste based sauce. 


I topped the pizza with sliced bell peppers (yellow and orange), mozzarella cheese (although, I didn't have quite enough) and a good shaking of basil and oregano.


Then I baked it for another five minutes or so. I have no expectations at this point. I let it sit for about three minutes before I cut it. 


The crust was crispy on the edges, but the rest of it, though cooked, is not crispy, just FYI. I was able to cut the pizza into slices and eat it with my hands. I didn't need a fork like the recipe says you might. 


This crust/pizza was SO. DELICIOUS. I ate nearly the whole pizza all by myself. I didn't really mean to. It just happened.  Also, I hadn't eaten all day, so that may have had something to do with it. 


The crust does not taste of cauliflower. It did taste like a pizza crust (though it does not taste like a regular flour crust), and it's probably the closest thing to "normal" bread/grains I've had since going Primal. 

I didn't get to test it out on Tom or the kids yet. I'm doing that this weekend, I hope. 


But I think it would have made the early weeks of GP much easier if we had had this recipe. 


So try it!  Let me know how you like it. 

Last night... I Ate a Cheeseburger.

 So shoot me. 


Here's how it went down:  Yesterday was one of those days where the only thing that would make it better is if you had a big pile of grease to chow down on.  Yes, I know, emotional eating is a bad idea, but once in almost eight weeks, I think it will be okay. 

I've also had a few people say it's better for your metabolism to have a cheat-meal once a week or so. I'm a little skeptical of this, but I thought I might try it out since I already wanted a pile of grease. 

I went to Cheeburger Cheeburger since I've dealt with them before and I know they use fresh ingredients, and they don't add anything (like stabilizers and the like) to their beef.  I ordered the ten ounce burger with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and two fried onion rings.  I also asked for a small order of fries. Hey, I figured if I was going to cheat, I was going to cheat in style!


The fries came out a little undercooked. Normally I would just deal with it (having worked in a restaurant, I cannot stand picky food people), but I thought "this is my first french fry in... how long?! I am not going to pay five bucks for fries that aren't great." So I sent them back. They were obviously annoyed, but I wanted yummy, delicious fries, darn it! 


Anyway... it was all extremely delicious. I didn't eat the whole (small) order of fries, but I really enjoyed the ones I ate! And the bun was awesome. I really thought by this point (almost eight weeks into GP) I would have lost my taste for bread, but this bun was really awesome. 


So here's what happened about an half hour after I finished eating: I had a headache (just annoying, not terrible), my back pain flared up, and my stomach was obviously bloated. D'oh. This lasted until this morning. The rest of today (and it still hasn't gone away) I've craved sugar. Any kind of sugar. Fruit juice, cupcakes, chocolate, chocolate milk, candy... anything! I did have some dark chocolate, but I managed to steer away from anything else too terrible. 


So, really... is it worth cheating?  Maybe. I suppose it depends on your reasons and how often you do it.  I don't want to be one of "those" people who freak out at other people for deviating. I don't think you're not truly primal if you cheat, and I think it's probably more than okay to cheat every once in a while. For some people this means cheating once a week. For others it could mean cheating once a month or so. 


I guess I would say if you have a lot of weight to lose, you can't really afford to cheat often (unless my friends are right and cheating once or twice a week helps your metabolism--if this is true, can anyone find me some info on it?). 


I really hope the sugar cravings go away tomorrow.  Anyhow, I have to workout with the trainer, so I'll at least have to focus on something other than food for a while. Ha!

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Hallelujah!

As you know Veronica has been my toughest case to win over to Primal eating. She's always been my carbaholic, and has been outright angry about the loss of her favorite foods.

 She even told me (two weeks into GP) that maybe the household would be better if I left, and I just allowed them to live here with Dad. She's one of the sweetest kids ever, so I was shocked by this display of anger. I'm choosing to believe it was the yeast die-off talking. ;)


Anyway....  today on the car ride home from school, Amy was asking "when can we eat grains?" for the millionth time, and Veronica says "Ehh, who wants grains anyway? They'll just make you dead." I nearly slammed on the breaks. (please note, I am not saying (or teaching my children) that if people eat grains, you/they will die, so no need to email me and tell me how judgmental I am. hehe) 


Veronica has also been in a much better mood these last few days, so I'm hopeful she is getting on the Primal wagon... or, wheel?

You Know You're Primal When...

1. You have to make multiple trips per week to buy fresh produce.
2. You can actually taste the difference in vanillas. 
3. Foods/condiments which ones had subtle flavors are now strong even in small amounts. 
4. Your first thought when planning a trip is "how many grocery stores are along the way?"
5. You get looks of "did you escape from the looney bin" when you order Mexican entrees "without rice, beans, tortillas, or chips."
6. Your teeth hurt when you think of eating sandwich bread.
7. You tell your kids "if you have a good day, and eat all your dinner, you can have an orange!" And they cheer.
8. You now know how to prepare three different types of squash, six different ways.
9. You actually enjoy drinking water. 
10. And you eat your salads out of mixing bowls, because the "regular sized" cereal bowls just won't cut it.

# 2 Update from Tom.

"Overall I'm glad we're doing this. I needed to be jolted out of my growing and unhealthy affinity for sweets. I'm glad I now understand the truth about the "low-fat" craze. And I know I am taking better care of myself now that I'm not eating a lot of the stuff I used to eat.

But I can't bring myself to agree with people who think this is a breeze, that over time I won't miss my old favorite foods, etc. Maybe. I doubt it. Steak and salad can be great, but I don't want to eat meat all the time, and I don't want my only non-meat alternative to be salad.

Frankly, I still very much want pizza, pasta, an occasional Coke, orange juice with my breakfast, a bagel with cream cheese, a stack of real pancakes, and a cookie once in a while.

I envision myself moving forward as follows. I want to stay faithful to this at least 70-80% of the time, which means that the food I eat at home will conform to it. But when I travel, and occasionally when I'm just out for dinner, I do still intend to indulge in things that make me happy. On net I am still enjoying a vast improvement in my old habits, and I think that's about as far as I can make myself go."

I keep telling Tom that he doesn't have to give up his favorite things forever.  

He still feels guilty about it though... mainly, I think, because I don't cheat.  (Well, I did twice in the last 33 days.... one was HERE, and the other was I had a slice of cheese cake (which was awesome!) when we went out for Dinner Theater. Other than that, I've stayed Primal.) But he forgets that I have a lot of weight to lose, and therefore I can't afford to cheat often. Plus, I really don't like the way I feel when I do eat non-primally.

I've told Tom we are not going to police each other. If I want to cheat, I don't want eagle eyes on me. And if he wants to eat something that will totally have him out of commission for that day... well, that's his call. ;)  Seriously though, I don't care what he does as long as it doesn't kill him, and he makes a real attempt at staying Primal.

He's really done very well for the last month, so I'm really proud of us all that we have been able to make it work as well as we have.