Day 5 of a Paleo Diet

I have been reading and implementing the book Your Personal Paleo Code by Chris Kresser and trying out the meal plan that it lays out. I am going to do my best to do the 30 day reset. My goal is to make my regular diet a healthier one. Right now I am drinking bone broth that I made for the first time in my life. It turned out oily and not very flavorful. The more I drink the cup of it the more I like it though.

I started this diet because I want to feel healthier. I am wondering if it will help with some chronic problems that I have had such as dry skin, digestive issues, mood swings, low energy and farting too much. To me, this diet is quite different than how I was eating. I had 4-5 lbs of carrots the first few days and a ton of garlic. My farts smelled like eggs and garlic all day at work on Monday. It was great. I'm used to eating fast food during lunch and then a prepared dinner of some sort during the evening. I also was eating a candy bar a day which has been bothering me for while.

What makes simple sense to me about this diet is avoiding sugar and its substitutes. I remember being a child thinking that candy did nothing good for my body. I realize now there were a lot of things that I had right as a child but they were stamped out by the world we live in.

I didn't realize that the problem with grains is that they don't absorb. I also didn't realize how important it is for vegetables to be eaten with fats so that some of the nutrients in them become more bio available. If anything this diet has been teaching me things every day. I feel like that is reinforcement to keep plugging away at it.

Time and the will to cook have been my greatest challenges so far. I only enjoy cooking so much so I have had to force myself to do it during some moments. I have been basically using all my free time to buy ingredients, cook, or research what I need to be doing next. I haven't developed a pattern or a wide knowledge base to make things easier yet. Tasty foods such as this dish have made it worth the time though.

Tuna, Bok Choy, Cabbage, Shitake Mushrooms

If anything it has helped me find out that I am a better cook than I realized. I've realized I am good at following step by step directions. Receiving an education from a government indoctrination center can do that to a person. However, I think it is important because knowing this may have helped me figure out that I need clearer plans to follow in order for success in other areas of life.

I have had quite a few firsts this week as well. I had never poached an egg before or eaten Chard. Nor, did I know what the heck a chard was before this. Now I do...yay.

Poached Eggs and Chard

I thought that I would feel worse withdrawals from not having sugar. I have also lowered coffee intake from about 5 cups a day to 1 in the morning. I have noticed some irritability and a few minor head aches but for the most part nothing too crazy. The other morning I had a moment where for a couple minutes my body seemed to warm up, I felt sick and then it went away. This happened after a banana, spinach and kale smoothie. I am suspicious the banana is what made me feel sick as they do that to me sometimes. I have been trying to be extra aware of what is going on in my body and how I feel. It's almost like a breathing practice except the it's all coming from concentration of feeding myself good food.

My favorite meal I've made so far is this one.

Hamburgers with Mushrooms Provencale-Style and Roasted Carrots with Garlic

This was so so yummy. I was sastified with myself after this one. I have had to be more happy with myself as I am mostly enjoying these meals alone. I think it would be easier if I had a partner doing the diet with me. Maybe splitting some of the work with cooking would help with the time.

A good thing about all this cooking is it has helped me with another one of my goals. Which was to start waking up early. Now if I don't wake up early enough to prepare some food I may go the day without breakfast or snacks. That's some motivation! I had been aimlessly waking with no concrete goal only to snooze snooze snooze. With a goal it is suddenly easier.

Sourcing the food has been a challenge. I have not been perfect with the vegetables, but I have been picky about obtaining pastured animals or grass fed beef. I hope to incorporate more wild game, veggies, and mushrooms in the future. I have been buying eggs from a guy at work that lives on a farm.

Another meal I enjoyed was this Butternut Squash Frittata. I think it turned out really well! The squash was not too mushy or too hard.

Tonight was kinda aggravating. Mainly because I lost my patience waiting for a pork roast to finish. I did not realize how long it would take and ended up being very hungry eating my dinner later than I wanted. Oh well, it is a part of the learning process and it was pretty tasty.

The worst recipe I have come across in the book is the Nori Chips. The smell reminds me of fish food flakes that I used as a kid and the connection isn't the most appetizing. Happy I tried them though cause now I know what dried algae tastes and smells like. I wonder if it is better fresh wherever it is made.

My biggest complaint is that I have spent too much money these first few days. I am hoping it is because I had to stock up on spices and such. I will have to think and research more about how to do this on a more realistic budget. Also, I cut my finger! Owwie!!! The Chef's knife knows I want to eat me.

Thank you for reading.