40 Day Paleo Challenge - Day 14

Two weeks, people!! Shyaaa!! I'm super-tired today. Long day at work followed by an AMAZING hot yoga class, plus cooking, cleaning the kitchen, and now my husband just started an episode of Star Trek. Which means my ability to focus on this blog is quickly fading.... Also, a forewarning. I am going to the Pink concert tomorrow (I can't begin to express how excited I am without sounding like a giddy little teenager!!!!!!!!!!!!), so, there likely won't be a post until the following day. You'll live. No really, you'll get through it.

Back to Star Trek... who's your favorite character? I'm watching Next Generation, so my knowledge is limited to those characters. My favorite is Lieutenant Commander Data. I keep waiting for him to use a contraction, but haven't caught him yet.

Day 14
Breakfast
The usual. I don't even know why I list breakfast.

Lunch
Leftovers: curry and pistachio/walnut crusted snapper and flounder. Shortly thereafter, a banana. My mouth was on fire from the ghost pepper spice, needed something to chill it out.

Snack
Paleo Simplified bar....and a banana. They were stating to get brown so I was clearly trying to rid our stock of them.

Dinner
1 grill chicken drumstick, 1 hot Italian sausage, and leftover curry. Italian/Indian fusion, anyone?

Snack
A much smaller portion than normal of Double Layer Fudge. My piggy complex yesterday kinda bothered me. but I couldn't NOT eat this! :)

40 Day Paleo Challenge - Day 13

I feel like, for the first time in my life, that I am truly, truly happy. I didn't just have this realization today, I think I've been slowly building up to it over the last few months.  Not that I was miserable in the past - sure, there were times - but I don't think I felt like my life made sense. I never felt centered, and I always felt like I was missing "something." Not that I knew what the "something" was. And I think that not knowing lead me on all kinds of paths and had me trying to find that missing piece in many different ways. But I am finally here. I'm where I want to be.  And it is such a good feeling. I didn't even intend for it to happen!

• For starters, I have the most amazing husband. He's the nicest guy in the world. And we get along so well that it's borderline creepy. I often look at him and wonder how I got so lucky.
• I have an amazing family - from my immediate family to my extended family to my in-laws - boy did I luck out there. People say, "you can't pick your family" - and that phrase has never really applied to me. I lucked out to have some of the craziest, most fun people in the world in my family tree.  
• My friends - I have a small group of friends, and honestly, I don't even see them that much any more with all of our crazy lives. But I love them all dearly and am blessed to have them in my life. 
• My health. Rewind to December 2012 and I will forever be thankful for my health. That virus was a fluke, but a great reminder that I should be thankful that I am one healthy chick.

I could go on and on... about my cats, my favorite blogs, Paleo food, and all the other things I'm thankful for... but I'll spare you.  Why am I rambling about these beautiful things in my life?  Because I think a large component of why I am so happy is because I focus on my blessings. Sure, sometimes work is stressful, or I may be in a grumpy mood (usually caused by lack of food).  But then something will happen to remind me of all the greatness going on in my world. I thank the Lord for each day that I have -- it's truly a gift to be here, and I am appreciative for every breath I take.

Okay, too much seriousness there for me. Let's talk food.  What did I eat today? BTW - I'm going start posting recipes at the very bottom of the post. Mixing them in with the Food Diary is just too cluttered.

Day 13

Breakfast

The usual, as usual.

Lunch

Eggplant fries, 1 chicken drumstick, 1 hot Italian sausage. Later, a banana, because I'm a piggy.

Snack

Caramel Pecan Bars oink oink.

Dinner

Leftover pistachio/walnut crusted fish, and some curry. We are suckers for curry in this house.

Dessert

Double Layer Fudge heeeeere piggy piggy. I don't know what's wrong with me today, I ate a ton. Oh well!

Easy Curry Recipe

Ingredients

Your veggies of choice

1 or 2 cans of organic coconut milk (will depend on the quantity of veggies you use)

Cayenne Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes

Curry

Salt

Savory Spice Ghost Pepper Salt (optional... but SO worth it) 

Directions

1. Chop veggies. Tonight, I used red onion, red pepper, 2 yellow squash, 1 zucchini, 1 head of broccoli, 10 mushrooms, 4 carrots, bok choy.
2. Saute veggies in a large pot. I use this huge wok thing. It's awesome. Cook most but not all of the way. I recommend adding veggies in order of difficulty to cook. For example, bok choy is leafy, so it went last.
3. Add coconut milk and spices. I use lots of the hot spices (cayenne, red pepper flakes, ghost pepper salt), but we're nuts. Add at your own risk.
4. Bring the mix to a boil, then reduce to low/simmer and cover. Let cook an additional 10 minutes or so.  
5. Scarf. Have water available if you are a wimp on the spices ;)

40 Day Paleo Challenge - Day 12

Wow. Sometimes I'm impressed with the food that we are able to put together at our house. I hate to brag, but goodness gracious. I ate SO much today, and it was all delicious and Paleo!! Pictures never do it justice, but the flavor is ALL there!

Breakfast
The usual.

Lunch
Walnut and pistachios crusted fish (we did both snapper and flounder), and roasted asparagus.

Walnut and Pistachio Crusted Fish
Ingredients
8 oz or so walnuts
6 oz or so pistachios
Fish of choice
Salt
Black Truffle Salt (optional)
2 eggs (whisked)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Put walnuts and pistachios in a food processor, and let 
3. Process until you achieve a flour-like consistency.  
4. Put the mix onto a plate, and add any spices that you desire (I think we added just a little salt).
5. Coat fish fillets with egg (I dipped them into the egg), then coat both sides of the fish with the walnut/pistachio mix by laying the fillet in the mix.
6. Place fillets onto an oiled baking sheet, and cook per the fish thickness. The snapper and flounder cooked 15 minutes for us.

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients

Asparagus

Sea salt

Olive Oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place asparagus on baking sheet.
3. Sprinkle some salt and olive oil on top.
4. Put in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Snack
Caramel Pecan Bars from PaleOMG. I think I may have an addiction to this treat.

Dinner
Grilled chicken drumstick, grilled hot Italian sausage, eggplant fries, and salad (mixed greens, grated carrots, grape tomatoes, salt, pepper, Kalamazoo Olive Co.'s Tuscan herb olive oil and balsamic vinegar).