Children's Book of the Week!

Lane Smith never lets us down.

He is a very funny children's author and I'm not sure how we missed this one!

Especially cute if your little one needs glasses, but its cute for everyone.

Another one of Smiths we enjoy is 'It's a book' about a donkey that just can't understand the simplicity of a book! 

Paleo a no-no? I'm torn!

Although it is already day three of my paleo journey, I'm wondering if I should classify my new diet as just "grain free and low sugar". I make this statement as I read articles and guidelines to this paleolithic lifestyle. Guy could live on sweet potatoes and chicken thighs- well guess what! I just read starchy tubers such as sweet potatoes are a 'forbidden food'. Vinegar too! 

So my Day 4 post will have to be given a new title until I understand exactly why I would cut out certain foods from my diet.

Here are two articles I read immediately before posting this post.

Forbidden Foods

Against the Grain

(I like that, I may just use it!)

Primal Day 2 & 3

Any day with your exercise of choice is swimming, is a good day.

As for the recipes I chose, that was a bit of bust, but not entirely! I failed at making fruit smoothies so I had a great big, loaded salad for brunch, drank a bunch of water and snacked on dark chocolate covered bananas from trader joes!!! 

I understand that bananas are not entirely primal friendly but I can't cut them out of my diet completely.

For dinner we grilled some chicken, hotdogs, onions and peppers in balsamic vinegar, Guy an elk steak and some turkey burgers. I stuffed the turkey burgers with fresh mozzarella and about 2 tablespoons of homemade salsa- no bun, delicious!

Here is the tasty Salsa recipe:

Blender Salsa by Mountain Mama

Today I tried another smoothie, GNC's chocolate meal replacement blended with a banana and ice. I didn't like it too much.. I will find a smoothie recipe i like before this week is through!!!!

For lunch was a bowl of Trader Joes full fat cottage cheese with pieces of their frozen pineapple.

For dinner is Paleo Jumbalya!

Here is that recipe:

PaleOMG Jumbalaya

I must say that so far I am not struggling, I even enjoyed 2 glasses of Protugese white wine last night. I don't feel deprived and certainly not hungry.

Happy Eating!

Primal Day 1

I'm stuffed and haven't eaten dinner yet, so thats a good sign!

For breakfast I had 2 eggs with 3 pieces of Applewood organic bacon. We followed breakfast with a 3 mile walk to and from the spray ground where Van met the most fantastic kids! 

What I packed for the playground was cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries and mango. Along with the fruits I packed a loaded salad, separate was a hard boiled egg and balsamic vinegar but together in one bag was romaine lettuce, red peppers, fresh mozzarella, raw cashews, dried cherries and grilled chicken. I brought along some fresh iced tea with lemon, too!

DELICIOUS!

For dinner I made steak sautéed with an onion and 4 italian peppers. I seasoned it with Trader Joes 21 Season Salute, oregano, fresh basil and garlic and a bay leaf. As a side I followed the recipe for cauliflower bites. Van at those for dinner and loved them!

Here is the recipe:

Paleo Tater Tots

Today was successful and I only thought about Starbucks Mocha Frappachino a few times ;)

Travel Book, Page 1.

With all of the time we spend in nature, including camping out in our own back yard; we've decided to put together a travel book! 

I'm starting off with a stargazing page! While camping, we love to look up at the stars. Since Guy and I are deprived city kids, we can lay and stare the whole night when we are out under the country sky.

This fun page I found on Mr. Printables.com could be fun for kids and adults to reference the evening before the lights go out and the gazing begins.

I've also included pages for down time in the car or while dinners being made, sitting in a restaurant or just hanging out by the campfire. I found this blank face template on pinterest.

Children's Book of the Week!

With planning our trip this September across the country; our summer reading list has been stuffed with books about national parks. We've read about the wolves in Yellowstone, John Muir, camping in Yosemite but this book has been our favorite!

With colorful pages of fun park facts, birds to watch for and an alphabetical state listing of parks we have been thinking about buying a copy for our trip. Along with this book my mom has been collecting magazines all year for Vans trip. Scholastic magazines and others about fish, animals, safety tips and puzzles. I'm excited to read these to Van and answer all of his questions in the car.

Taking control.

Who hasn't made promises to themselves that they never kept? Two of mine this year; which is halfway through were making drastic changes in my diet and shaping up for future endurance races.

I'm taking on both quests this week! Which would I rather: a Star bucks frappachino or the natural energy from eating loaded salads and taking hikes? That high from finishing a race or the anxiety of not fitting in those shorts from last summer? Well, duh.

It's been years now that Guy, blogs, Mark Sissons books and a family member have been encouraging me to take the primal plunge. See ya grains, I'm getting my small thighs back!

I start by admitting that I suffer from a minimal amount of willpower and love bread, A LOT. Tomorrow is day 1, but this past week I have been prepping myself for a lifestyle change with exercise and diet enhancements. I'll be posting my progress as well as recipes I use. 

Wish me luck!

Some of todays bounty from the farmers market.

Cantaloupe, santa clause melon, strawberries, blueberries, cherries. 

As well as lychee nuts, cucumbers, mangos, sweet plums, bacon, organic milk and grape tomatoes!