our paleo meals today

we've been trying to eat paleo for almost a month now. it's had it's challenges, but we are sticking to it and feeling good. i wanted to show you what a day looks like for us, kids and all, hunter/gatherer style (basically, no more happiness). 

first off, i meal plan. i spend about an hour scouring cookbooks and online recipes to find meals i feel would meet the paleo guidelines and also be tasty enough for the kids to actually eat. we live on a budget and i try to make sure i'm not being wasteful, so meal planning helps me buy what we need and eat what we buy. i don't have a big list of paleo food blogs to use as a resource yet, but one i go to often is PaleoPlan.com. 

for breakfast we had baked eggs in bacon rings (i omitted the onions and mushrooms for the kids sake) and paleo zucchini bread. i made whipped coconut cream from a recipe i found on Pinterest and topped my morning coffee with it. 

i adapted a recipe for the zucchini bread from my Betty Crocker cook book:

3 c shredded zucchini

1 tsp stevia + 1/3 c honey (someone online said the stevia to sugar ratio was 1c sugar to 1 tsp stevia and boy were they wrong! the bread turned out more savory than sweet, which was NOT a pleasant surprise.  i need to try this again)

2/3 c coconut oil (the bread was really greasy so i think i'll half it next time)

2 tsp vanilla

4 large eggs

2 c almond meal

1 c tapioca flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 c chopped walnuts

mix wet ingredients. add dry ingredients. bake in loaf pan for 50 minutes. makes two loafs. 

little a loved it. big A said never to make it again. my husband topped it with honey. 

for the kids lunch i gave them some cubed ham, a hard boiled egg, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, and some grapes. i ate the same thing, on an adult plate. i'm a firm believer that your children learn their eating habits from you and i want to be a good example by feeding them what i would eat and eating each meal with them. 

dinner was a recipe i adapted for chicken tortilla soup, so now i'm calling it mexican chicken soup. 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 medium zucchinis, chopped

6 c chicken broth

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 tbsp chopped cilantro 

juice from half a lime

avocado

heat oil. add onions and saute til translucent. add garlic, cook til fragrant. add broth, zucchini, and tomatoes. bring to a boil, then add chicken. simmer for 20 mins. remove chicken, let cool. shred chicken. add cilantro and lime juice to soup. salt to taste. add chicken. garnish with avocado. 

the kids and the husband all LOVED this. for reals. so tasty. 

snacks for the day include my fav trail mix (almonds, walnuts & dried blueberries), a smoothie, apples and peanut butter, veggies and hummus. 

mkay, it's a little after 8pm and now i'm starving. some of the challenges i'm facing with this type of diet are being super hungry about 30 minutes after a full meal. i feel  like i'm CONSTANTLY running out of food. we are consuming so much more because we are always hungry. my kids wake up STARVING. they cannot wait even 5 minutes, sometime they can't fall asleep at night because they are so hungry right after dinner and we have to give them a snack. oh, i'm also cooking more. which means more dishes. 

it's hard to keep food in the house and stay satisfied. it's also really hard when my blood sugar drops and all i want is a freaking PASTRY! it's also hard to be on Pinterest and see all those dang fall pumpkin trifles and breakfast casseroles. 

ok. now i'm getting more hungry. 

and a little angry. 

you should totally try paleo. i think you'd like it. 

i made it sound awesome, huh? 

kisses,

keepin-it-real-tara