Day 25: A Beautiful Day!

Today was such a beautiful day (at least most of it)! I am so glad I had the opportunity to get outside and enjoy a little bit of sun and warmth! Can't wait until spring and especially summer. I am definitely a warm weather person. My ideal location to live is Arizona. I have always known that I am someone who craves the sunlight and the past 8 weeks on maternity leave have really reinforced that. This is my first (and only)winter baby. My other two were born in the summer. I think a big part of my recovery after the first two was sunlight and warmth. I know that I have been lucky that this winter hasn't been as rough as usual, but there is such a big difference in how I feel on days that it is sunny out (even if it is a little chilly). We try to get outside as much as we can, but when it is cold it is rough, especially with an infant. Here's hoping we have a warm spring!
Breakfast: Leftover turkey stir fry

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Sweet potato and turkey slices

Snack: Cashews and some apple slices

Dinner: Apple Shallot Pork Chops (Everyday Paleo, 94). I never realized I like pork of any kind until this past month. The recipe was great and Scott made a tasty side dish of jicama, carrots and some olive oil. It is so nice when something so simple tastes so good!

Day 16: Ginger CItrus Skillet Chicken

Today was a fairly simple day foodwise. Very easy for a Monday.
Breakfast: 2 egg muffins and leftover sausage hash

Snack: Apple slices and almond butter

Lunch: Lunch with the parents. They made a pork tenderloin yesterday and had some leftovers, which Alexis and I were happy to take care of. The pork was great. Alexis had several helpings. We paired the pork with some steamed broccoli which really hit the spot.

Snack: 1/2 avocado, some cashews, banana

Dinner:  Ginger Citrus Skillet Chicken (Everyday Paleo, 49): This was a very yummy and simple dish. Some of the ingredients in the dish were chicken thighs, mushrooms, bell pepper, green onions, 1 medium orange (we used 2), and basil. There were some others as well. We served the chicken on top of kale, which is becoming one of my favorite greens (high in calcium too). Scott said that this recipe might be in his top five when this challenge is through.

Day 15: Halfway There!

Can't believe today is the halfway mark of the challenge! So far it has been going really well. We have discovered some great recipes and really bonded as a family throughout the process.

Breakfast: Leftover egg muffins and a leftover tortilla

Snack: Lara Bar/apple slices

Lunch: Ginger Shrimp Sald (Everyday Paleo, 123). This was one meal that I thought was just OK. It called for arugula lettuce which I wasn't a huge fan of and the tast was a little bland. Scott seemed to enjoy it though. As Scott said "it's very earthy." The kids were also not big fans of this and we ended up making them a separate lunch. I know I said we usually don't do that and it is true. This was a special situation where I should have known they wouldn't like it when we made it.

Snack: Cashews/banana

Dinner: Perfect Pork Pot Roast (Everyday Paleo, 93). We invited Scott's parents over for dinner. They happened to have a pork roast and we had a recipe so we put it together and it was amazing. I was a little hesitant about the sauce at first but it really made the dish. It is a bit labor intensive to make as there were a lot of steps. It included a lot of veggies like carrots, and celery and onions that needed to be chopped as well. We paired the truly "perfect" pork chops with a salad that Scott's mom made and bacon-wrapped asparagus. Easiest recipe ever - just wrap bacon around asparagus and pop in the oven under the broiler. It hit the spot. The kids would have had several helpings of those if we would have let them. By the way, the kids loved the pork roast (especially the sauce)!

Dessert: For our dessert we used a recipe that one of our friends passed on to us for a banana "ice cream" called Banana Soft Serve. No I did not completely jump ship and go for the dairy. It was just bananas that were frozen and then food processed until they are light and fluffy. It really looked and tasted like ice cream. We also made a little chocolate sauce using agave nectar, organic raw cocoa powder and a little water to loosen it up. I cut up some fresh blueberries and strawberries to top it. Now I know this does not officially fit in with the Paleo challenge, but I did have some in moderation. We loved it, and the kids loved and you never would have been able to guess it wasn't ice cream. Tough on the food processor though. When we get our new and improved food processor and the challenge is over we will definitely try it again!