6 weeks on Paleo, and all things considered I'm feeling pretty good. Way more successes now than fails, so that's always a good thing. I even went to Red Robin, and altho I did order a burger with no cheese & no bun, I did indulge in the Red Robin non-gluten free (GF) fry seasoning. And it was totally worth it. Not worth it, however, was the delightful new Oktoberfest menu item of Pretzel Bites. Those things punished me all night long. I'll spare you the details. You're welcome.
Still seeing my numbers go down, and into a size smaller jeans, am sleeping better (mostly), and am still holding off on renewing any hormone replacement prescriptions. I'll see my doctor in November and check my levels, but if it's all good, I'm hoping that's one less RX co-pay to cover. I seem to have completely overcome my constant desire for bread, cheese, and iced tea. I really haven't missed them at all. (Well, except for pizza. I do indulge in a little dairy for that. It would be so, so, so wrong not to.)
Here are 2 successful recipes I made this weekend. Sorry, no pictures this time, so you'll just have to take my word for it - they were pretty AND they tasted good. WIN WIN!
The pumpkin spice waffles were nothing short of amazing. Instead of almond flour, I used GF all purpose flour - which has a much less grainy texture than almond flour. I like it - alot. I left out the shredded coconut - I think it makes things too dry - and added a few pecans. And, I did whisk my eggs before adding them to the already mixed coconut oil & banana (wet) ingredients. I've noticed when baking that if you melt the coconut oil, then add something cold, like eggs right from the fridge, it rehardens the oil. And then your baked goods suck. Trust me. Also trust me when I tell you to just cook all of the waffle mix as waffles and don't think you can bake up the extra for muffins. Really...take my word for it.
http://paleomg.com/paleo-pumpkin-waffles/
These banana muffins were da'bomb! I did precious little to change them because they are practically perfect as is.
http://www.fishandforage.com/2012/06/grain-free-paleo-banana-bread-pancakes-or-muffins/
If my kids, husband, and coworkers will eat them and NOT ask if they are paleo, then you know it's the shizzle. I did combine the almond flour and coconut flour and I think it makes a big difference. Was trying to keep these purely paleo, so I skipped the all purpose GF flour on this one. I did use 1 TBSP raw honey and 1 TBSP maple syrup instead of the 2 TBSP honey - don't know why I did that, but I think it was a good move. And, of course, I added about 2 TBSP of broken up pecans, and non-dairy/non-sugar chocolate chips. Just barely more than a "few". I had enough batter for 11 out of 12 of the squares in my Pampered Chef Brownie Pan. Don't have one? You must have one because it's genius - every piece is a "corner" - so buy it here before my Pampered Chef demo on November 10th: https://www.pamperedchef.biz/sboss
And, because I needed a treat that seemed more glutenous than healthy, I frosted them with chocolate "ganache" made with grapeseed oil, non-dairy/non-sugar chocolate chips, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. It was a little runny at first, but then I refrigerated it over night, remelted it in the microwave for 15 seconds, and it spread like buttah.
Seriously.......these are the BEST paleo baked goods I've made to date - and I've thrown ALOT away! Looking forward to later this week: M's 13th birthday, more fall-inspired baking, and a cauliflower crust pizza cooked on the Big Green Egg. If you care, I'll keep you posted.
