30 Day Paleo Challenge - Week 4

Egg Salad Wraps

I'm on my final week of my paleo challenge and I feel amazing! It is great to be on track mentally and in the kitchen. We have refined the recipe selection so that our meals don't get too repetitive, but our usual ingredients can be put to good use. We always have a goal to eat healthy while keeping our wallets full of monies. :)

Our meal mainstays:

• Egg bake or scramble
• Tuna, turkey, or egg salad
• Meatloaf or meatballs - beef, turkey, chicken, or combo
• Marinated Slaw - any combination of cabbage, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, fresh herbs, and occassionally nuts and dried fruits
• Taco wraps - ground meat, homemade taco seasoning, greens for wrap
• Soups - carrot, pumpkin, pear, apple, or any combination of veggies and meat along with homemade stocks and seasonings.
• Chili 
• Stir Fry or curries
• Baked or grilled fish - right now we have plenty of salmon straight from Alaska. We also buy tilapia, tuna, flounder, or any other fish that's on sale.
• Smoothies - fruits, flax meal, and greens (primarily kale). We add primal fuel when weightlifting and working out. 
• Homemade pasta sauce and spaghetti squash. We will also try our hand at veggie noodles in the form of zucchini/yellow squash as well as onion, etc.
• Salads, salads, salads. Using dressing comprised of either oils and freshly squeezed citrus juices or my favorite Paleo Dressing.

Other meal items that are meant to be eaten only on occasion:

• Muffins. Using nut and coconut flours and honey or agave nectar for sweetener. Fruits can also be used as a sweetening agent. 
• Trail Mix
• Bacon, sausage
• Uncured, natural chicken hot dogs
• Dark chocolate
• Beans - usually in the form of hummus or additional protein in chilis or soups.
• Yogurts - probiotics

I certainly have other meal ideas and recipe adaptations I plan to test in my kitchen and with the husband. Our meal plans will continue to shift and improve. Now that we have a remodeled kitchen, it has only gotten easier for us to prepare a weeks worth of food together. (Before and after photos to come!!)

Green Smoothie

Since dairy isn't a mainstay in our diet, we ensure that we get enough calcium in other ways. Kale is a calcium-rich food, with 15% of our DV (according to the FDA) in one serving. I know, kale is a garnish right?? Wrong! Sure, it is difficult to eat raw, but not in a smoothie.

I really crammed it in.

After an open meal at a friend's birthday brunch, I was full most of the day. So, instead of dinner I enjoyed a green smoothie:

Fruity Kale Smoothie
-cranberry water, 8oz (It is a mixture of 56oz water and 8oz unsweetened cranberry juice. Cranberries have a lot of benefits, so I use this sometimes.) or plain water
-banana
-2 large strawberries
-3+ leaves of kale

-frozen strawberries and blueberries

Put the ingredients in the order listed and let the blender rip! Don't be shy, let it run because kale is quite fibrous! When I feel in the mood for a sweeter smoothie, I'll use a bit of stevia. The taste of the kale is greatly muted and my husband and I love and now crave them.