Friday Distractions -- Random Links & Recipes Bookmarked

Ready for the weekend? To help you pass your Friday here are the highlights of what distracted me this week online, what I bookmarked that I hope to one day eat, and a picture.   

For those of you curious about Paleo, here are two great links I would've enjoyed at the start of my completed challenge: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Paleo and Debunking Diets: Paleo Pros and Cons. One day I'll write my thoughts about it, from the standpoint of someone who adhered more like 90-95% of the time than 100%, and I'll work on posting related recipes too.

A clever French advertisement involving physical activity. 

The Blue Moon may not have been truly special, but it resulted in some amazing photos. P.S. Farewell Neil Armstrong.

"The 2012-2013 VCU Basketball schedule is AWESOME." I can't wait!

How do people come up with ideas like this? Egg separation sans hands or fancy equipment. (via Epicurious)

Recipes Bookmarked
Paleo Apple Blueberry Pie at The Sweet Spot
Jam Cake with Chocolate Caramel Ganache at Epicurious
Lamb Stew with Lemon and Figs at Epicurious

 Backyard Butterfly Bush (SO many butterflies hang out there!), August 2012, Mechanicsville, VA

Paleo Challenge: Days 13-15

I was more successful with documenting almost everything I ate the past few days. I think the first breakfast is missing, but just go ahead and assume it was eggs with some veggies mixed it. That is always a safe bet.

Behold my eating!

1/2 can of Sardines (water packed, drained) mashed with Avocado and a generous squeeze of Lime Juice, 10 Carrots and a ridiculously juicy Plum

 Mediterranean Summer Squash "Pasta"

Eggs, Cumin and Chili Powder Spiced Ground Beef, Green Pepper, Onion and Salt

 1/2 can of Sardines (water packed, drained) mashed with Avocado and a generous squeeze of Lime Juice, 10 Carrots and a crisp, sweet Apple

 That core is a pear. I think. This Jocalat bar didn't do much for me. 

A luxurious soup made of Chicken, Ginger, Shitake Mushrooms and Coconut Milk (adapted from this recipe at Simply Recipes). I wanted to keep this all to myself. 

 

Do these eggs look familiar? They should. I already told you about them above. The bosc pear was a delicious addition to this breakfast - so crisp and clean.

 

"Mexican" Pulled Pork from the freezer over raw shredded cabbage, which melted when I heated the whole container.

 A much, much better Larabar than that Jocalat one.

 Buffalo Turkey Meatloaf wrapped in Collard Greens (adapted from this recipe at PaleOMG) and Pureed Cauliflower flavored with Garlic Confit

Items not pictured: sampled peach hunk and an ounce of Naked Very Berry Smoothie from a trip to Costco, an almost daily pond sludge drink smoothie involving baby spinach, fruit, chia and a tiny bit of flax milk and quite possibly some raisins, another piece of fruit, a bit of homemade Larabar and/or coconut water.

Paleo Challenge: Days 3-12

I'm a terrible lazy blogger and food intake logger. While I didn't take pictures and/or write down everything I've eaten since that last post where I thought I would post daily, I havea good idea of what I ate. The main thing is until this past weekend (travel + wedding + bridal shower) I hadn't actually cheated other than inhaling a Larabar with cashews one day when starving.

Shockingly, I hadn't had any headaches or significant discomfort. Outside of having to explain what I am doing and/or alter my meals out in a direction I'd rather not go. In fact, my stomach has been calmer on a day to day basis than it has been in a long time. You might wonder if I can attribute this to the diet specifically... I would too except that on Saturday, the first time I cheated, I ate illegal foods and immediately had a reaction. Now I just need to figure out what caused the kickiness to return.

Here are the sketchy details of what I have eaten that was Paleo friendly. I'll try to do a better job logging, blogging and adhering to the rules for the remainder of the challenge.

Roasted Sweet Potato, Broccoli Salad and Bone-in Pork Chop with a Blueberry Baslamic Reduction

 

Gazpacho and Shredded Pork topped with super garlicky Pesto

Sesame-Encrusted Ahi-Tuna Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette (On the side... It was the most paleo-friendly dressing option at 3 Monkeys. I can't say it was the best with the tuna, but I was trying to be good.)

Prosciutto-Wrapped Cod with Thyme

Peaches, Plums, Nectarines and a Coconut Milk Reduction flavored with a touch of Vanilla Extract 

Sauteed Shredded Cabbage with Apples, Bacon and White Wine Vinegar

Fresh-Picked Figs and Kale Chips (Olive Oil, Dill, Garlic Powder and Salt)

"LaraBars"

Lime Chicken with Steamed Broccoli (No, I couldn't actually finish all that chicken in one sitting.)

Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie

Mediterranean Summer Squash (Squash "Pasta," Capers, Zucchini, Black Olives and Artichoke Hearts) with Okra "Fries"

Paleo Challenge: Days 1-2

After months of debate (nothing new when it comes to big decisions) I'm dipping my toe into the Paleo Diet with a strict trial run of approximately 30 days. I've needed to do an elimination diet for a while to see if I could resolve some, uh, GI flare-ups and haven't had the discipline. The opportunity to do a challenge with a group from Crossfit Full Circle was the perfect motivation to get with it!

Plus it gave me a group to commiserate with and that always helps. I've been pinched for body fat, measured and weighed and am a few days into the challenge. Technically I started Sunday, but I didn't start logging until Wednesday post-measurements. Posted below is what I've eaten thus far with brief descriptions and some photos. If I ever nail a recipe, I'll post it in full. But something tells me recipes, like the whole challenge will be a work in progress with plenty of repetition.

It hasn't been too bad so far other than my stomach feeling heavy often; I assume it is from all the protein as I wasn't eating much meat. That said I know I'll miss my sweets, with a vengeance, eventually!

Breakfast has been a medium apple plus two egg muffins (eggs, egg whites, Trader Joe's uncured turkey bacon, arugula, spinach and garlic).

Lunch Wednesday was this stir-fry of beef stew tips, onions, green and red peppers and jicama generously doused with lime juice and chili powder. Think of fajitas without the tortilla. Jicama tastes like a cross between an apple and potato.
 

Post-work smoothies have been my favorite part of the day... Wednesday's was 1/2 cup coconut water, 1 cup of spinach, 1 frozen peach, 1 teaspoon chia seed and 2 tablespoons of reduced fat (via dehydration) unsweetened shredded coconut.

Dinner Wednesday was a whole cucumber topped with avocado-lime-basil chicken salad. The chicken salad needs refining, but was pretty tasty and definitely filling. I followed it with 10 raisins for "dessert."

Thursday's lunch was 1/2 an avocado, a cup or so of spring mix and a hamburger patty with a bit of lime juice. 

 

This is not pond sludge. It is Thursday's smoothie made from 1/2 cup flax milk (don't get it...it has trace amounts of tapioca starch...my bad), 1/2 cup spinach, 1/2 cup dinosaur kale, 1.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon of chia seeds and a frozen banana. It probably needed a tad less cocoa powder as it was a tiny bit bitter.

Dinner was super sketchy leftover pulled pork from last Friday's Crossfit grand opening party/Jess's going away party sauced up with a puree of coconut oil, whole cilantro, salt and ground red pepper with the equally sketchy broccoli salad from the same place. I heated this for a good while in the microwave to be safe. ;)

For filler and to maximize veggies, I improvised Gazpacho in the Vitamix from tomatoes, tomato juice (home canned), zucchini, cucumber, olive oil, sesame oil, red wine vinegar, onion and garlic. I'm working on having a cup per day.

Unpictured from Wednesday: 1 date, 1/3 cup blueberries, Cherry Pie Lara bar, 1 ounce barbeque and 3 pieces of broccoli salad.

Unpictured from Thursday: 5 or 6 small pieces of grilled zucchini, a slice of Tavern Ham and some blueberries. We'll see how many I'm still getting there!

I've consumed about 50 ounces of water each day, which for me is good. I'm sure sure my body can handle more liquid.

We'll miss you Jess! Have a safe move.

Sugar Stacks

One of the many daily newsletters I suscribe to circulated a link to Sugar Stacks this morning. It illustrates the amount of sugar in foods with sugar cubes - a great way to see exactly how much sugar you are consuming visually. The carrot stacks section is awesome too.

Note per its blog: "We don't differentiate between different types of sugar - i.e., sucrose, fructose, cane sugar, corn syrup, honey, etc., although there are differences in how these sugars are metabolized. We just used cubes of white sugar as a visual aid."