The wonderful co-workers (I mean that sincerely, my team at work is chockablock full of lovely people), decided to have a potluck of sorts, that had some healthy foods, giant grapes, celery, broccoli, peas in pods, tomatoes etc. But they also brought donuts and cookies, and brownies. I didn't even want to approach the table because I was afraid of the donuts.
Well, I was afraid needlessly, because I walked over, filled my plate full of vegetables (and no dip- huzzah!) and walked right back to my desk. My eyes didn't even see the donut box. I was prodigiously proud of myself. I ate my veggies with the steak I brought to work, and I felt sated and full. It was great. It hit me how far I'd come.
One Meal At A Time.
When I first started paleo in 2011, I was overwhelmed by the amount of information. I was bogged down by percentages, intermittent fasting, no this, forget that, micronutrients, BMR, how many carbs, grass fed this, whole that, full fat WHAT?!
Given naturally to anxiety (family trait), I was overwhelmed. I was confused. I freaked out. This was too hard. Nope nope nope NOPE. I went full on Jenny Shut Down Mode. My overwhelmed, weak self would give right in to temptation. Sure, the potluck would have veggies, but next to the veggies were donuts. I wanted those instead. No one would know. I'd re-start my paleo tomorrow. But then, tomorrow, it would be just the same.
Then Beautiful Yulia, who introduced me to paleo, said, "Why are you making this so complicated for yourself? Do yourself a favor and follow these three steps: #1 Cut out all grains, this includes wheat, corn and potatoes. #2 Eat animal proteins. #3 Eat fresh fruit and vegetables in large quantities. The rest of the details will work themselves out."
She also said, "Don't think of this as a huge big new thing. Just take it one meal at time. Slowly, you'll notice changes. Don't look at it in one month's time, or one year, forget what you'll be a year from now, or five years. Think about where you'll be at dinner this evening. What will you eat then? And then tomorrow, you can think about where you'll be at breakfast. One meal at a time."
She was totally right. After I went through my initial carb flu, I started feeling better. I didn't realize how bad I was really feeling until I started to feel better. One meal at a time was doable. It was small. I only had to think about the next meal. Yes, the changes went slowly, but there were changes. And I started noticing differences with every meal.
One night I noticed that I no longer thought about having a piece of bread with dinner. One breakfast, I realized my portions weren't as big as they used to be. One lunch, I felt like I didn't have to battle myself for control as I coveted my neighbor's meal. One snack, I felt like instead of having my inevitable afternoon pick me up, I wanted to go for a walk instead. One commercial for the Olive Garden didn't leave me sweating and quaking in my boots, aching to eat bowls and bowls of corporate mandated pasta.
I also noticed how different foods made me feel. After a while, I noticed that if I cut out peppers and tomatoes, my skin cleared. That is how I find out I have a nightshade allergy. I noticed that all the coconut oil I ate with made my hair, skin and nails all glowy. I got excited.
I began to experiment with foods and food combinations. I quickly discovered foods that I never considered before. Kale is nature's manna, coconut was sent to us from the gods and sweet potatoes are DELICIOUS.
Good segue-way, Jenny.
Thank you, Jenny.
Sweet potatoes. Oh thou holy sweet potato, the best potato of all potatoes. Huge provider of beta-carotene, an amazing source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamins B3, B5, B6, potassium and manganese. Killer of free radicals in the digestive system due to sporamins (anti-oxidants), restorer of overall health and a very low glycemic index starchy food, the sweet potato is an amazing way to get carbohydrates into your system without raising you insulin levels.
I never liked them as a food.
Shock and horror, I know. Mostly, they were reserved for Thanksgiving, simmering in sugary sauces and covered with marshmallows and apricots. My siblings and parents would dive into them, but to me, they were WAAAAY too sweet. (I have never been a sweet tooth person. When I crave, I crave bread and sour things)
BUT! Baked in the oven and served with a small pat of butter and a tiny bit of salt?
HOLY. YUM.
So in honor of my love for sweet potatoes, here is one of my favorite recipes:
Super Simple Sweet Potato Hash
(serves two)
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato, grated (either white or red - haven't tried purple yet, but it's on the list)
Bacon - 4-6 slices depending on how much you love bacon
1 half sweet onion, diced
2 eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
Herbs
Directions:
- In a large pan or griddle, fry up your bacon til it's crispy - crumble-able. Remove the bacon to dry but leave the grease.
- Add the shredded sweet potato, and some herbs, I like to use rosemary and black pepper.
- With your cooking tool, turn over the whole mix, making sure everything is properly covered in bacon grease.
- When the potatoes start to get a little mushy, crack eggs over it and stir in til scrambled in the hash.
- Crumble bacon and add back in.
Voila! A filthy delicious paleo breakfast. Stuff your face with all the yum. This is my favorite breakfast.
IF!!
- If you do not eat bacon (Travesty! Where is my guillotine?), you can use any type of meat. You can also use any type of oil, if not bacon, ghee or coconut oil would be the better choices. Bacon fat is simply convenient and an animal fat, which you need anyway. Also, by cooking bacon- it's already in the pan!
- If you add ham, do yourself a favor and add in green peppers.
Well that's it for me today. I'm sure it's enough. I do tend to write novels, but whatever. Tomorrow I'll post again. And spoiler alert:
Whole30 day 2 is going just as well, if not better than Whole30 day 1.
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