Paleo Lessons: Week 11

Whew it's been a busy week. There were a couple of things I noticed this week.

I forgot how good hardboiled eggs are. I'm not kidding. I made some to go with lunch salad this week, wow. Not only are they protein and fat filled, but they're super portable and come with their own packaging. If you do it right, they take less than a minute to peel and don't need anything else to taste good (although that second bit might just be me).

This was a little stranger, but I realized my tastebuds are changing. For example, almonds taste slightly different now, with have more depth of flavor. The chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream I splurged on last week tasted... fake. It tasted full of preservatives and sweet chemicals made in a lab. It wasn't as good as I was expecting (might be the type of ice cream though, since the black raspberry - no judging, 20% and a 2/$5 sale - was delicious). As mentioned earlier, hardboiled eggs are fantastically delicious now, and I grew up enjoying them only for their ability to be colored. It's not just a physical adaptation, I think. I also wouldn't dream of giving up my lunch salad for any type of sandwich, and eggs are pretty much my go-to for breakfast now.

Last week I was sorta dreading doing a Whole30 and had all but completely dismissed the idea. Now I'm actually considering it and somewhat planning to do one relatively soon. It seems like a neat challenge. With that in mind, I'm trying to see what I can do to remove dairy from my diet. Not yet, and probably (hopefully) not permanently. Just to see what I would use instead on the Whole30. It's little things, like replacing the cheese on my lunch salad with cucumber chunks and coconut flakes and using bacon grease (my usual go to) and coconut oil instead of butter.

And finally, because this has been the most important lesson this week, allow yourself time to recover after a race. Do not go somewhere and walk around for 6+ hours the next day when you quad muscles were screaming if you merely stood the day before. Especially don't do this if you suspect you might be dehydrated. Let yourself sleep, even if that means putting off prepping some type of food until the next day. Your body needs sleep to recover. You will thank yourself the next morning, or afternoon - let yourself sleep in a little bit. I could only afford an hour, but boy did that extra hour help.

Cinnamon Eggs

Yep, you read it right. Cinnamon eggs. Scrambled eggs with cinnamon. And coconut (which is optional but not as good without).

Let me back up a second. Who's heard of the Whole9 or Whole30 program? The idea is that for 30 days, you eat nothing but meat, veggies, a little bit of fruit, and maybe some nuts. You don't eat grains, legumes, dairy, any kind of sugar (including chocolate), or foods that resemble anything processed and packaged and treat or cheat like (such a Paleo-brownies or Paleo pancakes).

Well, I like my chocolate and I like delicious glucose bombs (aka bananas) at the end of the day for a sweet moment of ... well, sweetness. Only thing is, on a Whole30 protocol, I wouldn't be able to have either one of those. Maybe some fruit, but not a baked banana with chocolate chips.

Then, Super A made breakfast. And whoa was it pretty darn sweet (without any added sugar or fruit).

Ingredients:

• eggs
• onion (chopped or diced)
• butter
• cinnamon
• coconut flakes (unsweeted, optional)

Melt the butter (or coconut oil) in a frying pan on the stove. Scramble the eggs, but add in the cinnamon, onion, and coconut flakes as they cook. Keep mixing. You should add enough cinnamon that you can see it everywhere in your eggs. Serve immediately

I'm actually going to ask him to make it again this weekend, because it was so yummy last time we had it!

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Garlic Chicken

This week is moving week, and there are two things I knew coming into it:

1. I needed to not get a ton of food at TJ's, because I would need to move it all.
2. I would be coming off a race weekend, be tired, and generally not want to cook.

So I decided to whip out the handy dandy slow cooker. It needed to be something that would last a few days in the fridge, leave me full afterwards, and not be too time consuming for the prep-work. Also, it had to be delicious. I've really been into cinnamon lately, so when I found this recipe for chicken legs, it sounded just about perfect.

Note: this recipe is in portions for a 6 quart slow cooker. You might need to make adjustments if yours is smaller.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb chicken legs
• 1 onion, chopped or diced
• butter (optional, add on top of everything)
• 5-6 cloves garlic, smashed (not chopped or diced at all!)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3-4 tbsp chicken broth, white wine, or water

Toss the chicken in the pot. Dice the onions, smash the garlic, and add them to the pot. Add the spices and the water. Cook on medium-high heat for 3-4 hours.

The original recipe called for a full tablespoon of cumin, but I like my food a little less spicy (and I think Abbs might have accidentally snagged mine), so I left it out. It probably needed it. I don't think I can emphasize enough to make sure your chicken is cooked through. If you find pink bits (which I did as I made this the night before and was slightly impatient to go to bed), put them aside and nuke them (politely of course) in the microwave for a minute or so until the pink goes away. Also, you don't need to add that much water. It might look like it, but you don't.

Now I have a meal that lasted 2 nights and meant I didn't have to actually cook anything. Cue the packing!