The Paleo challenge is approximately 0.17% of my life……..

Due to the fact I am an engineer and sometimes actually enjoy doing calculations, I calculated the percent of my life this challenge is consuming.  I assumed I will live to be 100 years old, so 9 weeks is approximately 0.17% of my life.  Even if I only live to be 80 years old, it is still only about 0.22%.  Then, I ask myself the question, “Can I eat whole unprocessed foods and follow a clean diet for 0.17% of my life?”  Of course I can!

I am not saying I will not ever eat ice cream or pizza again, but for the next 9 weeks of my life, I am going to try my hardest to follow the Paleo diet.  I will only eat meat, fish, vegetables, a little fruit, small servings of nuts, healthy oils, and the occasional glass of red wine.  Why?  Because I want to prove to myself that I can.  I am in control of my nutrition, and if I cannot go 9 weeks without eating grains and processed junk, then maybe I should not be eating them in the first place.  I also want to see how my body changes.  There is the potential nothing will change, but I just want to see what happens! J

Challenge Update

Here I am, Day 3 of the challenge and I am feeling good.  I have not experienced any excruciating hunger pains, no headaches, and no moodiness.  I have not had any cheats and I am working towards a perfect diet week.  It is the 1^st week after all!

Cooking has been going pretty well.  I made a huge egg frittata to have as quick go-to breakfast meals.  I also made chicken curry in the crockpot, and a Roasted Garlic Red Pepper Pesto Tilapia (check out www.paleomg.com).  Everything was really good and I had lots of leftovers for lunches.  I also made homemade Larabars with apricots, pecans, almonds, and dates.   The recipe was from www.everydaypaleo.com.  They are wonderful and the easiest things ever to make (as long as you have a food processor). 

Snacks for tomorrow: Carrots, green pepper, cucumber, and a Homemade Larabar

Homemade Larabars

½ cup raw almonds

1 cup raw pecans

¼ teaspoon sea salt

12 Medjool dates

1 cup dried apricots (unsweetened)

1) In a food processor, pulse the nuts and the sea salt until finely chopped but still chunky.

2) Pour your nuts into a mixing bowl.

3) Add the dried dates and other dried fruit to the food processor and process until it makes a paste (it will probably turn into a giant sticky ball when it’s done).

4) Add the date mixture to the nuts and use your hands to knead the nuts and the dates together until well mixed.

6) Grease a baking sheet with EVOO or coconut oil.

7) Make a big ball out of your bar mixture and push it down onto your greased baking sheet.  Cover the ball with some plastic wrap and using a rolling pin, roll out the mixture to your desired thickness.

8) Cut the rolled out mixture into your desired shape and size.

~ Savannah FitNut aka Morgan McNeal