Am I ready for this?
I’m feeling a little anxious, not sure how this is going to go. I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on what I’m absolutely not allowed to eat. No bread, no rice, no corn, those are the big ones. Okay, got it. So lots of vegetables, no problem. And protein? Luckily I’m not a vegetarian — going to cooking school cured me of that — so all is well so far.
I haven’t got any real plan for meals and snacks yet. I figure I’ll just focus on the things I enjoy and try not to think too much about what I’m missing. Like, well, you know, the B word. Yes, bread.
One thing I thought would be interesting is to track my weight this month. It’s normally steady, stubbornly so, staying within a 2-3 pound range all the time. But if this is supposed to be a life changing diet, will my weight finally budge a little?
On the eating front, breakfast was a big bowl of mixed fruit and an americano from our gorgeous espresso machine. Here I admit a deviation from a strictly Paleo diet that doesn’t allow any dairy whatsoever: I must have coffee cream in my americano, the full 18% fat kind. Not negotiable.
Lunch was a tuna salad with loads of fresh lemon juice and herbs, like a grown-up version of the tuna salad my mom used to make, on top of salad greens. Delicious.
For dinner I went to my sister’s place, a very safe outing since she’s adopted a strictly gluten-free diet for the past few months. I brought some Terra Chips for a pre-dinner snack and tried not to feel too guilty about eating them. They’re deep fried yes, but they are vegetables right? Later we whipped up a mango salsa that went perfectly well with barbecued chicken breasts and sauteed spinach. Yum. Not missing the bread at all. Did I just say that?
The bonus of the day was my sister lending me a few cookbooks — Make It Paleo and Paleo Comfort Foods — so I’ll be busy for the next few days doing some research. My favorite kind. Cool!
More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the next 30 days