Day 4: I'm still Living Paleo

Today has been so so busy. I have 4 weeks to get Girls Camp situated and ready to go. I was out and about for most of the day unexpectedly and Costco was one of my stops- yes they had samples, but I turned the other cheek. That is until I got to the Organic Fruit Snacks, which actually were all natural fruit and raw coconut sugar so yes I partook of the sampling. 

I've had people asking me what and how Paleo is. So paleo is eating natural foods- grass fed beef, poultry, and wild caught fish. There are no grains, rather there are seeds, nuts berries, organic produce, organic eggs and natural oils (coconut oil, butter).

If you read the labels on your foods you'll notice there is sugar, dairy, soy, or things you don't even know how to pronounce. The "caveman diet" eliminates these things (soy, sugar, dairy, grains, vegetable oils, and legumes) because lets be real- our bodies really don't know what to do with things we can't even pronounce.  I was kind of sad about the no bean/legume situation, but I only ever eat the canned beans and those are loaded with sodium. 

I'm no expert but I definitely did a lot of reading and research before I started the diet. I read medical entries and blogs. The best blog is by Jackie called The Paleo Mama. She has the absolute best 101 on Paleo. 

I went grocery shopping today. Here is a little advice, COSTCO! I love costco they have a lot of the cooking oils and such that you need and you can get them by the "giant" size: Pure Vanilla Extract, Nuts, Coconut Oil, Flaxseeds, Chia Seeds.... It's worth it. They also have a great deal of produce and eggs that are organic. There are also some organic meats available at Costco, and you will save money. Paleo can be more expensive but if you know your prices you won't go over your budget! 

Also, I LOVE my ninja blender. Its not only a blender, but a mixer and a food processor. I can pretty much do everything with one kitchen gadget.  

In fact I made myself a little condiment to make things more exciting. Yes I made Cashew Butter. 

Here is the Blog where I got the directions for this. 

The Healthy Foodie- Who Says Eating Healthy Has to Be Boring

I was craving something salty to add to my apples, and this turned out perfect. 
In fact I'm obsessed. 

Dinner was incredibly better today than yesterday

In fact today I can honestly say I could eat like this forever 
I really liked this meatloaf recipe. The last time I made meatloaf it involved a ton of brown sugar and ketchup along with bread crumbs and eggs. 
This one didn't involve sugar-which concerned me, but it actually was so good. 

 

Italian Meatloaf

Ingredients 

2 lbs ground beef
2 c tomato sauce- I used Prego ( no sugar or preservatives )
2 eggs-whisked 
1 finely chopped onion
salt & pepper to taste 
spinach-optional 

1.preheat oven to 400 degrees 
2. Combine beef, 1 c of tomato sauce, 2 whisked eggs, chopped onion (if you do decide to add spinach- throw it in the microwave for one minute to soften it and get the extra water out)
 3.into a bowl 
4. mix with your hands 
5. put mixture into a bread pan or glass pan
6. cook for 35 minutes 
7. Pour another cup of sauce onto the top of the loaf. 

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients 

3 sweet potatoes 
1 T ground cinnamon 
1tsp ground ginger 

1. Cut sweet potatoes into small chunks
2. boil in water for about 20 minutes or until soft 
3. Drain and put pieces into food processor 
4. add cinnamon and ginger 
5. blend until it is smooth