Paleo Week #2 Recap

At the end of the day, I will go with conformity and organized over witty humor and spontaneous fun (ok, on some things).  Here are list of the many titles I debated using above...

I have the best friends ever.  ...of all time!

What a weekend turn around!

Paleo culinary arts 101  ...an independent study course

Other than yesterday's short post, the last time you heard from me was Friday's post where I complained about how dismal this diet was making my life .  Later that day, I was invited to a friend's place for food.  Apparently two of my friends read that blog and it "broke their hearts," so they offered to fix me a caveman meal.  How awesome is it to have a super strict and albeit odd diet experiment and you have friends offering to help! 

I went over for brunch Saturday after spin class (my third for the week!).  I had steak and eggs with fried mixed bell peppers, spinach, and avocado.  Awesome!  But that's not all.  They proceeded to surprise me with attempting a caveman friendly pumpkin pie!

Caveman Pumpkin Pie

Crust
Blend pecans and almonds until finely chopped.  Broil dates for ~10 minutes.  Mix nuts and dates together and form to your pan of choice.  Bake at 350 for ~15-20 minutes.

Filling
Roast one sugar pumpkin and one sweet potato.  Puree softened "meat" of the pumpkin and sweet potato with the juice of an orange.  Grate as much cinnamon as you can from cinnamon sticks before you get tired, bored, or feel it's no longer worth it and add to puree.  Place filling in the crust and bake for ~20-25 minutes. 


It sure wasn't Sara Lee, but it was a nice change up.

Then when I got home that afternoon I had the urge to attempt apple pie; I figured that had to be easier than pumpkin!  Right?

Caveman Apple Pie

Crust
Blend peanuts and walnuts in a food processor until finely chopped.  Add nuts to one beaten egg.  If the mixture is runny, add more nuts.  Place in the pan of your choice (I chose a muffin tin) and bake at 350 for ~10 min.

Filling
Grab an apple of your choice.  Cut apple into chunks and blend in food processor.  Blend apple to your preference.  I left the skin on as well.  Add grated cinnamon as you'd like and scoop into crust.  Bake for ~15-20 minutes at 350 and enjoy!

It was too bad I forgot the muffin wrappers and couldn't figure out a non-stick spray alternative.  However, even as an apple pie crumble, it wasn't bad.

I also decided to fry a banana.  Why?  Don't ask me.  I was in a creative mood.  Turns out caramelizing the sugar in a banana tastes GREAT!

I went back over to the same friend's place the next night for our weekly LOST evening and they impressed me with yet another caveman dinner, a form of eggplant parmesan.  They used spaghetti squash instead of spaghetti, crushed almonds instead of  bread crumbs, and threw tomatoes into a pan of fried squash with oregano and thyme as a sauce.  Then they made chicken and almond meatballs with garlic and rosemary.  I gave them a raving 10 for creativeness and it was the best meal I've had in the last 14 days. 

My perspective has completely changed.  Four days ago I was about ready to give up on this diet.  Thankfully, due to the creative minds and empathetic hearts of my amazing friends, I'm back on track and ready to tackle the remaining 16 days!  It will take some ingenuity and lots of cooking time, but I'm going to make it.

And here is a look at what I've eaten in Paleo Week #2

Monday
Breakfast
2 Clementines
5 Scrambled eggs
Swai fillet
Snack
Banana
Lunch
Spring mix salad with chicken and lime
yellow bell pepper
peanuts
Snack
Granny smith apple
Dinner
none (breakfast was at 11:30am)

TUESDAY
Breakfast
Clementine
5 eggs
Swai fillet
Banana
Lunch
I don't recall
Dinner
I don't recall

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast
Eggs
Lunch
Spinach salad with chicken and lime
yellow bell pepper
Dinner
I don't recall

THURSDAY
Breakfast
Clementine
4 Eggs
Lunch
Swai fillet
Clementine
2nd Lunch
Sweet potato
Pomegranate
Banana
Peanuts
Dinner
Swait
6 Eggs
1/2 green and 1/2 yellow squash

FRIDAY

Breakfast
Banana
Clementine
Mushrooms with red onion
Lunch
Swait
Handful of mixed nuts
green squash
Dinner
Spring mix salad with chicken
yellow bell pepper
banana

SATURDAY
Breakfast
Clementine
4 Eggs
Snack
Mixed nuts
Clementine
Lunch
4 Eggs
Sirloin Steak
Mixed bell pepper (red, orange, yellow)
pumpkin / sweet potato pie
Dinner
Apple pie (peanuts/walnuts, egg, apple, cinnamon)
Swai
Clementine
Banana
Fried banana
Mixed nuts

SUNDAY
Breakfast
1 egg with apple and banana
Swait fillet
Snack
Mixed nuts
Lunch
Chicken breast
Spring salad
yellow pepper
pumpkin / sweet potato pie
Snack
Mixed nuts
Banana
Dinner
spaghetti squash
baked eggplant with almond crust
chicken & almond meatballs with garlic & rosemary
mixed tomatoes and squash with oregano and thyme

Only 16 Days Left!!!

Swim fast.  Bike smart.  Run hard.