This morning’s breakfast:

– Two scrambled eggs with rosemary
– Half of a zucchini, chopped and sauteed in coconut oil
– One leftover bacon-wrapped date stuffed with Italian sausage
– One-fourth of an avocado

Those bacon-wrapped dates with sausage are super filling, which is good because you’re not supposed to eat too many at a time. They’re meant to be treats, since dates are naturally sugary and bacon is… well, bacon. But, yum, they are so delicious!

The rest of the photos are a throwback to this weekend, including a few more snaps from Saturday’s Second Ascent Ballard Criterium. I love watching those guys flyyyy by on their bikes! It made me want to rescue my Bianchi from my dad’s garage and… stare at it lovingly until my ankle is healed enough to ride. (The sideways twisting motion of unclipping from my clipless pedals makes me nervous that I’ll injure it again.)

Yesterday, Aaron and I saw Snow White and the Huntsman (very good!!), then headed to his parents’ house for dinner. Momma Pass, aka Greta, always puts together amazing meals for us, and she loves paleo cooking!

Greta really outdid herself with apple and bacon rosemary pork burgers, avocado (for me), sweet potato fries (for the boys) and a huge salad with chopped pears, nuts, dried cherries and more. For dessert? Cocoa date balls that tasted like brownies!

Thanks so much, Greta! Everything was so good, and I was stuffed. : )

The Audi team is sick. Nice car. Nice gear. Nice guys, too. We had a great time cheering for them on Saturday night.

Fun fact: The elite men’s bikes are worth $11,000. EACH!

Another fun fact: Aaron knew that just by looking at them. Craziness.

aaronpass:

A couple shots of the Audi Cycling Team from the Second Ascent Ballard Criterium Mens Category ½ Road Race. I brain farted and forgot my camera so I had to make do with my iPhone.

Really entertaining to watch the elite guys race.

Breakfast:

– One chicken-apple sausage
– Two scrambled eggs
– Half of a zucchini, sauteed in coconut oil
– One-fourth of an avocado

If you have trouble staying full until lunch, try a breakfast like this! I can’t see myself going back to carb-and-fruit breakfasts that would leave me starving just an hour or two afterward.

Off to see Snow White and the Huntsman with Aaron! I have paleo blueberry muffins, plain dates and an apple tucked in my purse for us to munch on during the movie.

P.S. Reluctant Runner asked if Aaron is eating paleo with me; it’s more like I’m eating paleo with him! He’s been paleo since last August. It’s much easier for us to eat together now, and we had lots of fun making the bacon-wrapped dates and muffins yesterday!

Sausage-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon!!

From Everyday Paleo:

– Stuff pitted dates with mild Italian sausage
– Wrap in bacon
– Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes
– Eat!

These are soooo good! I had two for lunch, plus a big salad with tomato, cucumber, bell peppers, dried cranberries, shelled pistachios and avocado.

De-light.

Breakfast: Leftover steak, two eggs, ¼ orange bell pepper, ¼ avocado. Yum!

Last night, Aaron made steak and roasted broccoli for dinner. I’m not even joking – he ate 2.5 heads of broccoli by himself. WHAT?? I had the other 0.5 and had to save my leftovers, ha.

We also had raspberries and blueberries for dessert, plus – gasp! – a beer each. My faaaavorite beer is Kona Wailua Wheat and, although it’s obviously not paleo, I figure one beer a week won’t hurt. (Gluten-free beer, like Redbridge, is better for strict paleo eaters.)

I’ll be back later with an amazingly delicious recipe. Happy Saturday!!

Paleo, Day 3 — cell phone pictures because I’m lazy.

Breakfast: Asparagus, avocado and two chicken-apple sausages, but I could only finish about 1.2 of them — I was full.

Lunch: Leftover pecan-crusted chicken with mustards for dipping, huge salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, dried cranberries, avocado and a bit of olive oil for dressing.

Snack: The leftover sausage from breakfast, a few dates (not pictured).

I know I said I wouldn’t post about everything I ate, but someone messaged me to say that seeing what I’ve been eating so far encouraged her to try eating paleo as well! So I might post about it a little more.

***

Again, I woke up today without an alarm at 6:50! I could have gotten up, but went back to sleep till 8:15 instead… just because.

As I made breakfast, I realized how much I’m enjoying this paleo thing for the following reasons:

* For every meal, I’m chopping, sauteeing, baking, roasting, etc. I’m cooking! I’m not usually big on cooking, but I’m loving it.

* I’m thinking about what I eat. Take my breakfast, for example — I purposefully put sausage, asparagus and avocado on my plate so that I’d start my day with a protein, a vegetable and a healthy source of fat. It left me satisfied and feeling full till 12:30!

* I’m letting myself get hungry before my next meal. Not starving hungry, but just that little feeling your stomach gets when it’s all like, “Hey, I’m ready to eat soon!” Before, I would eat just because it was “time to eat,” whether I was actually hungry or not. I think waiting until I’m legitimately hungry is helping me view food as fuel rather than something just to eat out of habit.

* I’m not counting calories, restricting portions or lamenting over all the foods I can’t eat. What I really like about eating paleo is that it’s a lifestyle, not a crash diet. I’m eating real food that’s good for me, and I’m allowed to eat as much of it as I want (within reason — obviously not a pound of bacon at a time). So far I’m content with the food I can eat and I haven’t missed bread, pasta, etc. at all. I’m sure there will come a time… and I’ll let you know.

And, pssst… I snuck in an unofficial weigh-in this morning just to see if anything has changed — I won’t post an official weigh-in until Wednesday — but just FYI, I’m down a 5K… as in 3.1 pounds. Wooo! I won’t celebrate too much until Wednesday, though, when I’ll see if that loss sticks.

Now, off to Aaron’s place for dinner!

What you eat today has to …
…make your heart beat tomorrow and create new blood, renew your bone marrow, fuel your brain, ease your mind, make your lungs work, support your immune system, heal your skin (including that tattoo you had done yesterday), keep your digestive system working smoothly, lubricate your joints, repair and build your muscles, ………

What will you eat to do all that?

The Reluctant Raw Foodist (via thereluctantrawfoodist)

Oh. My. God.

I just came across this photo from when Aaron and I went to Oahu in February 2011. I now see that it’s an awesome picture, but I specifically remember that I never posted it anywhere online at the time because I thought I looked chubby. Really?? Really.

Fun fact: Aaron and I are going to Kauai in July!

And you know what?

I’m going to post a photo just like this one, whether I look like I did back in 2011 or exactly the same as I do now, because I simply refuse to feel bad about myself. I can’t believe my own skewed sense of reality made me feel ashamed of what is really a fun, joyful snapshot of my life.

I’m better than that.

Paleo, Day 2

I have no idea whether this has anything to do with eating paleo yesterday or not, but I woke up this morning at 7 a.m. without an alarm.

That’s not something that just happens for me. As I’m currently a FUNemployed traveler on hiatus, I have little reason or motivation to get up before 10:00. Or 11:00. Or noon.

But this morning, I woke up at 7:00 even though my alarm was set for 8:00, and I was wide awake. Woo-hoo!

I had a second successful day of eating 100% paleo and found myself feeling more than satisfied after each meal. A lovely red-pepper-and-asparagus scramble kicked off the day.

And it kept me full until about 12:30, when I enjoyed pecan-crusted chicken and a big salad for lunch.

A few dates, bacon slices and an apple with almond butter rounded out the afternoon, and dinner consisted of leftover pecan chicken and a bunch of roasted carrots and broccoli.

My attempt to exercise today was… interesting. I wanted to do a yoga DVD, but I quickly realized that so many movements and poses required my ankle to twist and/or support my weight in a way that it just can’t do yet. Laaame.

Instead, I did a haphazard mix of sit-ups, knee pushups, free weights and stretching (I’ve lost alll my flexibility!). And guess what? My ankle still swelled up like a mother. WTF is up with that?

I would so love to be able to go for a run or do a Jillian Michaels DVD or even practice yoga like I used to. Once my ankle is back to 100%, I won’t take those abilities for granted for a very, very long time!!

Do me a favor and don’t taken them for granted, either.