I've invested in a seriously different direction of cookbooks than I've ever been exposed to. Overcoming the habits of southern eating is a huge challenge when your family thinks a balanced meal consists of meat with a side of starch and another starch, followed by dessert. Growing up, the only way I'd even think about eating a veggie is for it to be smothered in cheese or deep fried and dipped in ranch. Even after dramatically improving my eating habits through Weight Watchers last year, I still don't think I ever had a meal that didn't include wheat/legumes/dairy.
But with a goal in sight, and a supporting husband by my side, I'll now be dedicating extra time in the kitchen to consume a Paleo friendly diet. A ratio of 85/15 is our goal, that's 3 cheats per week based off 3 meals a day, and so far (a little over 2 weeks into it) we've been sticking to it.
It's been time consuming so far, learning new ways to prepare things, bringing along extra food when we visit family so we can be successful at rejecting temptation, but I HAVE to change what is happening with my body. I refuse to let the statistics capture me. I don't want be blind to my future and 10 years from now cry because I've been diagnosed with Diabetes and wished I'd done something sooner to change my fate. And hopefully by adapting this new style of eating, the improved insulin levels in my body with have a positive effect on my hormones as well. 
We've been eating really good food, like chipotle wild caught salmon with mango salsa, avocado slices, and asparagus. Or sesame crusted tuna steak with tangerine carrots. Or apple-cider vinegar brined country ribs with sauteed apples and bacon and a side of brussel sprout coleslaw. Or homemade spaghetti using veggies from my mom's garden with spaghette squash as a noodle substitue. Or dijon honey mustard chicken with a pecan crust in a lettuce wrap and curry sweet potato fries. Or eggs over easy with seared avocado.
(I don't have many pictures because I ate everything so fast.....) And I'm loving almond butter now. But we still miss some of our favorite staples.
Just before we started this adventure, some of the girls I work with found out I'd never in my life had a PB&J sandwich, so they planned my first experience and popped my cherry. Everyone had a different opinion of what my fist time should be like. Crunchy vs. smooth, strawberry jelly vs. grape jelly, white bread vs. wheat bread.......To be honest, I'd never even had a desire to try one. I always thought it would be kinda gross. But come to find out, now that I'm not suppose to consume any of those ingredients any more, I actually liked it. I think I'm a crunchy girl with a mixture of the different jellies, definitely wheat.
Delicious or not, with hopes to be healthy and functioning properly, PB&J's are going to have to once again take a back burner in my life, but the good news is I'm not in it alone!
P.S. Did you know there's a whole world out there for PB&J's on Pinterest and Google search? I even found a blog entry from a girl who tried her very first one last year at the ripe age of 28, just like me!!
P.S. Did you know there's a whole world out there for PB&J's on Pinterest and Google search? I even found a blog entry from a girl who tried her very first one last year at the ripe age of 28, just like me!!
Is there an American Staple food out there that people think you're crazy for never trying or not liking?
Posts
