11th day of paleo

As usual, it's been way too long. blogspot even changed what my blog looks like. So much catching up to do. In 26 days I'll step out of a cab, suitcases in hand, and walk up 12 flights of steps to my new home in New York City. Woah. So much more to say on that, but that will come later. (I'm also, as of June 13th no longer a teacher, so I may have to think this whole "teachers who run" thing.)

A couple of girls at work (part-time job that's now full-time job) have taken part in the 28-day paleo challenge. Paleo is also know as "caveman diet"- fruit, veggies, meat, nuts (nut butter importantly, almond not peanut, a peanut is a legume). What I can't eat- dairy, legumes, soy, grain, alcohol. It's suppose to make you more lean and really clean out your system of all the bad stuff we eat daily. Want more info? check it out here.

This makes trips to the grocery store very interesting. You certainly stay around the perimeter of the store. That's the best way to go you know? All the junk food is in the middle. So, here is my journey in pictures. I've found some great recipes, so I'll add those websites too.

This was my first paleo meal at a restaurant. It was delicious! This is the lunasagna from Luna's Kitchen in Southend. (That's homemade kombucha too, mmm.)

Example of what I haven't been eating. Friday was the last day of school. We ordered pizza for the kids and had all these desserts for them: oreos, candy (reese's my FAVE), and chocolate chip cookies. Oh, and Doritos. This was hard to be around and say no.

This is one of the first big meals I made. I made way too much of it. It was really good though. Basically ground beef and tons of veggies. I ate it plain and one time stuffed a large red bell pepper in it. That was good. This was the first time I'd eaten red meat in a while. I couldn't eat tons of it.

Today is day 11 of 28. Last night I "broke" paleo by having a "yay the school year is FINALLY done" beer. Was it worth it? While it was hot outside and a beer sounded fantastic, it made me feel awful. Pretty instantly bloated and headache. I think this was from the grain/gluten more than the alcohol. This is absolutely the longest I've ever been, ever, not eating grain and sugar. So I headed to the farmer's market and trader joes this morning and loaded up on paleo friendly food. 

What's the one thing I miss the most? Pizza! I just love it. Thankfully I found this recipe online. It was actually pretty simple. I used almond meal/flour to make the dough.

After cooking the dough for a little I loaded it with veggies, tomatoes, and chicken (instead of ground beef like recipe suggests).

Here's the finished product. Yes, I immediately ate a piece and it was actually really good! It is missing the cheese, but it still satisfied the craving for now. And a little bit of the crust stuck to the pan. But it's really nice to have a meal that somewhat represents bread. I can't wait to have more for lunch tomorrow!

So, I'm almost half way there. It's challenging in a fun way for me to do the 28-day cleanse. I'll post more on it and on my whereabouts and soon-to-be like in the City.