DAY TWENTY ONE & TWO

I have been slacking on this! Apologies! I have been mad busy at work and in the evenings this week. That said, I have been sticking like glue to the induction!

Could there a better way to feed yourself than with a bird? During the week, I like to roast a chicken. It's so easy and provides a bunch of food for lunches. J roasted a chicken and we ate the legs with some greens and leftover summer squash (this thing went for miles). The next day, I had some breast for lunch at work. The skin on this thing was the best! A crispy and chewy treat.

For dinner that night, I picked all the chicken off the bird and made a stock with the bones and neck. I turned the stock into a very yummy chicken soup and made up some coconut and almond flour biscuits. I totally winged it (pun intended) and they turned out really great! I used coconut oil instead of butter and a bit of salt. Not sure of the measurements because I'm a jerk like that...but I'm sure if you measure out a bit of the flours, work in a tablespoon or so of the fat and then add water until it comes together--they should be fine! Bake until golden at 325.

DAY EIGHTEEN: Why Paleo?

Here is where things get a bit serious. I've never been happy with my body. Ugh! That kind of sucks to say out loud.

My naturopath once asked me to think of a time when I was happy with myself just the way I was. I couldn't. I couldn't think of a time that I didn't feel like I was too big or too round or too whatever. I remember being 14 and feeling like my hands were too big. Seriously. My hands. I dated a dude who once asked me what my favorite body part was and I told him "my feet." I mean, come on! My feet?

I am very slowly figuring out that I'm not too anything. I'm very slowly figuring out that I am ok. It's not an easy or quick thing like flicking a switch. It's taking a lot of time and work to change my patterns. For a long time I told myself that I wasn't ok. I did it because to me, it seemed like everything that was suppose to be cool and interesting and edgy and sexy was skinny. I was totally and utterly had by all kinds of really dangerous images of the ideal. I still need to check myself. I still find myself comparing. Images are everywhere. It's hard to get away from it.

I don't want to be skinny. I want to be healthy. I want to be really strong and really fit. When I'm walking, I want to feel like I need to run. I don't want it because someone says I should. I want it because it will improve my life. I feel better when I don't eat a bunch of sugar and processed stuff. I preform better! I'm happier and nicer to my boyfriend! I already know this but knowing it has not been enough.

I really love real food. I love getting local, organic produce directly from farmers. I dig finding new foods and things that I haven't tried. Have you ever had sea asparagus? Oh man, that stuff is the most delicious salty snack! I think it's so important that we support local agriculture and food security. I know how awful over-processed and over-packaged foods are for people and the environment. Knowing and believing all that hasn't been enough either. Sometimes my emotions and desire to comfort myself with food win out over all that. Part of my goal in this is to change that. I want to change my idea of what "comfort food" is and to take back all that power that I lost and do what I say I do all the way, all the time.

I started at The Academy of Lions in the spring time. I got myself a Fab Find thing for a 30 day trial of a ladies crossfit boot camp. One of my pals had been going and really loved it. I committed myself to 3 days a week for the whole month. I kinda surprised myself my actually hitting every day. I felt really awesome right away. I felt like I found my thing. The vibe was so amazing. A mix of people socializing and pushing each other to do better, go faster, be stronger. I signed up for a year membership did a few more months steadily and then summer hit. I did some work traveling and had weddings and camping and blah, blah, blah. Lots of good summertime reasons that when I looks back, were not good enough reasons. The end of September hit fast and I got a "what's up with you" e-mail from Dhani. It was just what I needed to get out of faileo mode and back into feeling stronger, faster and better.

The challenge came up after being back for almost a month. I knew it was the kick that I needed. I didn't even hesitate to sign up. My boyfriend decided to be as supportive as possible by participating too. It has made it so much easier and more enjoyable to have him along for the ride. I actually feel like we have learned a lot about each other in the process and after almost 6 years that's pretty awesome. He says he is learning a lot about cooking and I feel like I have been a more patient and open teacher. I don't know if I would have survived this without him.

Faileo is not an option anymore.

DAY SEVENTEEN

Sunday was the best day of the challenge so far! A couple of pals and myself organized a brunch and being that they are awesome, supportive ladies...we did it PALEO STYLE! I don't think we actually noticed that we were missing out on anything.

Hannah has the cutest apartment with lovely natural light. We took full advantage of the sexy food to catch some snaps. Hannah made latkes with zucchini and almond flour. She served them with smoked salmon, chives and sour cream (for the non-paleo peeps to enjoy). I drank coffee--straight-up!

The little loaf was not paleo but I swear I didn't partake. There was a crazy little monster voice person (not unlike the personality "Gimmie" from the show The United States of Tara) that was telling me, "EAT IT! Just shove it in your mouth you freak!" I didn't though...they had jam and I still didn't touch the stuff.

Amy made an amazing shirred egg dish with kale and sausage. This was so good! Which reminds me that I need to get the the recipe from her, stat!

I made a frittata! I know, you are shocked. I only live on the things! This one had bacon, broccoli, mushrooms, tomato and some greens. I also made a salad with mustard greens, arugula and sorrel from the garden and served it with a super-herby olive dressing of lovage, chervil and dill.

If you can't tell...it was perfect! We followed up our noshing with talk of soap-making and a tree-gazing walk to Koreatown for an essential oil sniffing session. BLISS!

DAY FOURTEEN

I made a super quick coconut green curry with lean ground beef and SO. MANY. VEGETABLES! There is still some kale in the garden so I've been picking and using as much as possible. Red onions, broccoli, peppers, and some mushrooms thrown in here. We ate it with kelp noodles which were surprisingly tasty. After a quick bite I went to The Academy of Lions for another crazy WOD. My workouts suck right now. I can't wait to get some of my old energy back. Any day now, right?

Also...it's official, the first thing I will eat on DAY 31 is an apple.

DAY THIRTEEN

I have reached the point of not needing to eat. It's so weird. If it wasn't for getting dizzy, basically forgetting my name or leaving the stove on, I wouldn't even realize that I needed food.

I feel worn out. Yesterday's WOD was pretty brutal for me. Lots of lifting that I could barely manage. I know it will get better but I am feeling a little bit freaked out by my lack of energy. I walked to the subway from work and felt like I was gonna pass out. I'm definitely not taking in enough calories. I need to get back to eating lots of veggies with my meat and fat. It's just challenging because I'm kinda burnt out on cooking right now. I just feel a little "over it" and not being hungry isn't really helping matters.

Last night J made some haddock with bacon, shallots and garlic. I didn't end up having any but I did eat some for lunch today! I had an egg and some bacon for breakfast and some cucumber after work. One of our current favorite snacks is celery with almond butter...so good!

I'm working on a moose roast and some broccoli and purple kale tonight! I will eat it (so I'm not a zombie tomorrow) and it will be delicious and nourishing.

DAY TWELVE: Happy Halloween

DAY TEN: 1/3 Down

Before breakfast we headed up the the Wychwood Market. It's the last weekend for their outdoor market before it moves inside which means, winter is here! WHOA! We picked up some salad greens, bacon, pork ribs, some lamb stewing meat, cabbage, onions, leeks, purple kale, haddock, broccoli and romanesco cauliflower.

After the market, I made an omelette with bacon, greens, onions, and dill. I topped it with leftover salmon and paleo hollandaise sauce that I made up. J said he couldn't tell the difference but I think he was being nice. It wasn't buttery like hollandaise (I used olive oil) but it was still very good.

After breakfast I headed to Academy of Lions for the Saturday WOD. I put on bunny ears for Halloween and brought a pumpkin to work out with. It was a tough, long WOD with lots of running. I was beat at the end...almost to the point of spewing! YIKES!

For dinner I roasted a duck based on a recipe I found on Epicurious. The recipe called for slow-roasting a seasoned bird stuffed with shallots, fennel and herbs. It was pretty good! I am all for crispy, fatty duck.

A radish coleslaw with onions, dill and chervil.

The recipe called for extra fennel and olives to be cooked in the pan juices and then blended into a "gravy." I also made up some fried green tomatoes with some romas from the garden.

DAY EIGHT AND NINE

I missed posting for 2 days! What have I been doing? Scouting for a new cave? Stalking a glyptodont? Feeding my prehistoric cats? Basically. Basically just being heavily paleolithic.

What did I eat?!

Bacon and eggs for breakfast on both days. On day eight, we had leftover pork chops and salad for lunch. I snacked on dried coconut and beef jerky that I had picked up from The Academy of Lions Primal Food Shop. Super excellent snack! I would totally recommend stopping in to check out their selection of meats, and snacks. They have very delicious, induction friendly treats at the cafe as well!

That night we made open-faces portobello burgers. My apologies, these don't photograph well! Trust that they were delicious!

We used a little paleo mayo on them but they didn't even really need that. I was surprised at how lean the grass-fed ground beef was! I put them in the pan with no oil at first, thinking there would be enough fat. NOT SO! Next time, a little coconut oil will help.

We had leftover burgers yesterday for lunch. I also made up a salad to have on the side. J picked up some wild-caught salmon after work from St. Lawrence Market and he cooked it up with lemon and salt and pepper. He roasted brussels sprouts to have on the side. Simple and delicious. I think could live on salmon!

Yesterday was definitely the hardest day so far. I had a dull headache, was feeling off my game, hungry and a bit crabby all day. It was one of those days when I would normally come home from work, pick up some random "comfort food" junk and watch tv. I think I was feeling sorry for myself that I couldn't do that. I was like, "is this paleo shit worth it?" I felt like I wasn't being ME if I couldn't make myself feel better with food! But do I really want to have that kind of relationship with food? Do I really want to need it to get me through feeling down? No, not really. I'd like to build the kind of relationship with eating where I can have treats on special occasion and really fucking enjoy them. I want to learn to cope with stress through some other means. Something that doesn't make me feel WORSE in the long-run.

I made a cup of herbal tea and had a bath with a bunch of decadent bath things. It helped so much! I tidied up the house a bit and watched some scary TV. Sleep ensued and this morning, the shitty feelings of yesterday had turned into, "fuck yeah, I didn't faileo."

Guess what else? I was serious about the knitting!

DAY FOUR

26 more days to go! So far, today has been pretty alright. After my frittata breakfast, I was nice and full for most of the day. I did the hip mobility session with Erin at noon which was awesome! I kinda felt like I was floating on the way home!

I sprained my ankle in September which lead to some hip pain. It was mostly when I ran but has come and gone for the last few weeks. Erin showed me some awesomely painful but effective muscle massage techniques and stretches. My whole lower half was feeling fine! I will totally be implementing these moves on a regular basis.

Made up some crab cakes for dinner and I gotta say, they were pretty delicious.

BREAKFAST: Sans Bacon

I have something to confess. I cheated this morning. I ate 5 irresistibly ripe, red raspberries off my raspberry bush when I went out to collect greens for breakfast. Oops.

It's Sunday and I really wanted to make a substantial breakfast with lots of green things and vegetables. I grabbed some chard, kale, dill and chervil from the garden. I also noticed my lemon balm going bananas again. I snatched some to make tea!

On a side note! Last night I experimented with wakame seaweed. I was thinking I could make some seaweed "chips" if I baked the soaked, slimy greens in the oven. It worked, sorta...they were SUPER salty. I crumbled up the brittle bits into flakes, threw them into a jar and I planned to use them for seasoning.

Back to breakfast...

You can pretty much make a frittata with anything. It is an excellent "fridge cleaner." I used the smoked whitefish that I picked up yesterday along with the greens, onions, mushrooms and a bit of the noted seaweed seasoning.

To make a delicious frittata, I like to preheat the oven to about 450 degrees. Once it's heated, I put a small, cast iron skillet into the oven to get it nice and hot. (This summer when camping I realized that a super-hot skillet is less likely to make your eggs stick.)

Take some time to prepare your filling. Some combination of protein and herbs will do! For two people, I used 4 eggs cracked into a medium bowl. I added about 1/2 cup of flaked smoked fish, chervil, dill, seaweed flakes and pepper.

Whisk up the mixture and set it aside.

Once everything is chopped and diced, take the pan out of the oven and put it on a burner at medium-high heat. I used a bit of coconut oil in the pan and then tossed in the mushrooms and onions to soften them. The pan is very hot so you need next to no time and should stir to prevent burning. I then tossed in the greens and cooked everything for about 2 minutes. I poured in the egg mixture and stirred it for about a minute which helps to make sure it heats at an even temperature. Toss the pan into the oven and cook until the centre is firm.

We had our frittata with a salad of lettuce, broccoli, avocado, watermelon radish and basil sprouts. Topped with olive oil and lime.

I'm on my way to Academy of Lions to participate in the lovely Erin Mccutcheon's Mobility Clinic. Erin is an amazing-ass-kicking coach at The Academy. I will update y'all about the session later!

Happy sunday!

DAY TWO

Today was kinda hard. I know, it's only day two! I feel like yesterday was fun and exciting and today is like, "ok, the challenge starts."

It probably didn't help that I was sitting still and stiff in a closed room with a bunch of strangers for 8 hours. So not a natural, healthy way to be. I need open spaces and regular movement.

I had half a venison steak and an egg for breakfast. Coffee. Coconut milk. I need to find a good way to incorporate more vegetables into the am in a short amount of time. I'm thinking frittatas with kale or chard or some other delicious greens? I am open to suggestions!

Let's talk about coffee for a second! I am hardly a coffee drinker but I do have a few cups a week. I really love the packaging, idea (and TASTE!) behind this coffee by ChocoSol. It's available at most markets around the city. My favorite is the Evergreen Brickworks. Totes going there tomorrow. Long live Saturdays!

More on food...

For lunch I had leftover stew and some raw broccoli and a bit of nuts and cacao. I was wondering about hazelnuts (filberts?) today...are they ok for paleo induction? I dunno!

Anyways, I was downtown for this meeting stuff and feeling extra hungry...actually, all day I was feeling REALLY hungry. I think my body/mind is starting to notice the change. We got a break and I was out of snacks so I grabbed a chunk of grilled, wild-caught salmon and a couple olives from a grocery store deli (it was a fancy neighborhood, I guess) to munch on. It did the trick!

For dinner we cooked up the wild-caught ocean perch that J had bought yesterday. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and some cayenne pepper. I fried it for a few minutes on each side in virgin coconut oil. I put the fillets in the oven to keep them warm and sauteed some leeks and mushrooms in the same pan.

When they were a bit soft, I tossed them in a tablespoon of organic, lactose-free basil pesto (so good and totally paleo.) I served the fish with the mushroom/leek mixture on top with a side of cauliflower and squash, cut up into bite-sized bits, seasoned and roasted.

My new favorite drink is Pellegrino, lotsa lime and a big chunk of ginger. It's almost like a soda!

DAY ONE

It's day one of the Academy of Lions paleo challenge.

My boyfriend e-mailed me to say that he picked up wild-caught perch from St. Lawrence Market. So much better than flowers, in my food-loving opinion.

For breakfast this morning I had some nitrate-free bacon with two scrambled eggs and coffee with coconut milk. Coffee with coconut milk is the best thing! Lunch was a salad with half an avocado, onion, broccoli, a boiled egg, mustard greens, and a few sliced radishes dressed with lemon and olive oil. Oh, and more bacon. MAYBE a little bacon heavy today? I wanted to start off delicously. Can you be too bacon heavy on the paleo diet? This is a serious question...if you know the answer, I'd love to hear it.

I snacked on almonds and cacao nibs at my desk and sipped green tea and water until I almost peed my pants.

Meat. Fat. Vegetables. No fruits and no roots.