What's cooking? Day 2

Day 2 was a little bumpy.  It was a reminder of how quickly life can derail even the best of attempts.  My little one was sick, leaving me without much time to slave over the stove.  Nonetheless, paleo prevailed in the Bowen house.

Breakfast was bacon cups and blackberries.

Lunch was leftover roasted chicken from the night before.

Dinner was a new experiment. Some good.  Some not so good.

Since I spent most of the day holding and consoling my 2-year-old, I tried to just use what I had on-hand to make a meal.  We have plenty of fresh paleo-friendly food stocked so it was just a matter of putting something together. Truth is, I had plenty of time to browse Pinterest while I held my baby.  I never found anything I could replicate as I was always missing a couple of key ingredients--the weird stuff unique to Paleo that I haven't accumulated yet.  So I took a little of this, a little of that, and made this:

Seasoned salmon and asparagus, wrapped in bacon atop baby spinach and red peppers.  Sounds a little pretentious, but it was quick and easy--my favorite.  I attempted a sauce, and it turned out wonderfully until I added too much dill weed.  Apparently that stuff is potent.  I didn't have enough oil to try a second batch so it was sauceless.  The flavors were still amazing, but a sauce drizzled on top would have put it over the edge of flavorland. 

What's Cooking? Day 1

I've said it before, and I'll say it again! Planning and preparation are the hardest parts to changing your eating habits.  It's the struggle that leads to those moments where I've said "Forget it! I'm ordering pizza."

In an effort to prevent such moments, I'm going to keep a simple record of recipes I've tried, things we've liked, and ideas that maybe, just maybe, will help you too!

Disclaimer: I'm not a chef.  I'm not a photographer.  These pictures aren't going to win any awards, but that was never the point. ;)

Our first Paleo meal was a little something I like to call "bacon cups".  The Mr. leaves for work early and there usually isn't time for a sit-down meal.  Let's face it, we choose extra sleep over the family breakfast.  It is what it is.  These bad boys are quick, easy, and definitely better than his previous McD's sausage biscuit(s).  When I can find/afford all-natural, uncured, minimally processed, pastured bacon, that's obviously the best choice, but we're taking baby steps here.  The way I see it, cutting out grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, and all the processed junk food is an enormous step.  The rest will come.  We do, however, have the awesome advantage of having organic, free range, farm-fresh eggs in abundance thanks to our faithful backyard hens.  More on that later.

So I just lined a muffin tin with a strip of bacon, cracked open an egg and dumped it in.  Sprinkled a little seasoning on top and baked at 350 for 15ish minutes.  Delish!  This was definitely a hit, and will probably be our weekday morning staples for awhile.

This is a salad.  Original, huh?  I'm actually only throwing this in here to show you what I will not be doing again.  This was my Paleo Day 1 lunch.  I cooked a chicken breast on the skillet, threw it on top of some baby spinach, shredded a carrot, tossed in some grape tomatoes, and dressed it with 1 tbs. each of EVOO and red wine vinegar.  And I was hungry 30 minutes later.  It just wasn't enough protein to hold me over.  I spent the entire afternoon trying to fill up without overdoing it and ended the day with a terrible headache. So word to the wise--this isn't enough.

My first Paleo dinner.  Not too bad, eh?  I think this is only the second time I've cooked a whole chicken.  Ever.  It was actually crazy easy!  It was also cheaper per pound than breast meat, and we had tons left over.  So what you're seeing is a plain 'ol chicken with coconut oil, garlic, lemon, onion,  carrots, and an herb seasoning.  Absolutely nothing special.  I think butter would have given it a better flavor than the coconut oil, but it was new and I was anxious to use it.  The carrots and onions weren't quite as soft as I would have liked, but the chicken was insanely moist.

Altogether, not a bad first day!  The Mr. says he can't believe this is a diet. 

Why Paleo?

We needed a change for many, many reasons.  Maybe someday I'll write about it. After a lot of research, Paleo seemed to fit the bill.  Weight loss is my primary goal, but I've read some amazing research about the curative benefits of simply switching to a primal lifestyle.  Only time will tell, but my curiosity keeps me going.

The hardest part of upsetting habits and switching to a healthier way of eating, from my own experience, is the planning and preparation. As the caretaker of my family, this responsibility falls on me.  I believe the health and quality of life my husband and son have is directly proportional to the amount of effort I put forth to ensure their meals are healthful.  So this conviction keeps me going and helps me stay out of the drive-thru. 

When I'm tired and am tempted to just do what's easy, I remember the wife of noble character from the 31st Proverb.

"She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life. 

 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands. 

 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar. 

 She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants."

As I reflect on this, I'm immediately thankful.  Obviously technology has advanced tremendously, making the homestead a lot less labor intensive.  Also I don't have any servants so I've got even less to do. Ha.

What really stands out to me is the effort this wife puts forth for her family.  Surely she was tired at times.  Surely there were moments she wished to do things that were more enjoyable.  But she worked with eager hands.  Because this type of effort isn't required in our convenience-enhanced society, it's easy to get by with a lot less work.  But at what cost? I can't help but wonder.  This isn't a scientific blog, but a quick Google search can provide you with a lot of information about the correlation between the modern diet and the prevalence of modern disease. 

Let me be clear, I do not have it all together.  I don't get up while it is still night, and I'm not even 100% sure what flax is.   But I do know, that God has called me to take care of my family, and this  blog is about that effort. I pray to bring him good, not harm, all the days of my life.  

Why blog?

Why blog?

That's a question I keep asking myself.

I've followed blogs for years.  They're often my go-to source for recipes, parenting dilemmas, home improvement inspiration, biblical commentary...  The list could go on and on.  I love blogs.  Real people talking about real life in an uninhibited, informal space.

I've thought about dipping my own feet into the blogosphere on many occasions, but I always retreated, keeping the shade pulled down on my private life.  The internet is an abstract place, and the mystery of its onlookers sort of creeps me out.

More importantly, I'm pretty sure I don't have anything interesting to offer anyone.  But since you are, in fact, reading this now, I'll go ahead and give it a try. 

It certainly isn't fancy, but neither am I.

Welcome to my world.  :)