Food for yesterday...

[br!t3r]

I stayed home from work yesterday. I was supposed to be going to a concert in Philly but my friend bailed. The point of my story is I tried just eating when I was hungry and I feel like I probably didn't eat enough? I'm also trying to do as much Paleo as I can being a picky eater and such. Please let me know your thoughts!

1 Mountain Dew (this is cutting back from at least 8 a day in two weeks so I'd say I'm doing much better on sodas)

4 bottles of propel (flavored water, 0 calories)

2 glasses of water

3 scrambled eggs

1/2 a hamburger and bun

1/2 a hotdog, no bun

some watermelon/ cantaloupe

a banana

[ZenGwen]

My main thought is... no, you probably didn't eat enough, because all the veggies that should've been in there are totally missing.

Otherwise, looks like you're making good progress. Awesome job cutting down on the soda, I know how addictive Mountain Dew can be. I drank two liters a day when I was in high school. (Nearly two years with no soda at all, now...it can be done!)

I think as you get used to cutting down on the stuff like soda and other processed, sweet stuff, you'll find that you develop more of a taste for things which might be a little bit outside of your picky eating habits right now. So just stick with it, and try new things whenever you can. If you don't like them, it's okay, but it's important to try.

[br!t3r]

Yeah it seemed like I ate nearly nothing yesterday but I wasn't really that hungry either. I was planning on having a big salad for dinner but I ended up cutting up watermelon and cantaloupe and snacked on that while I was cutting it up so I wasn't hungry after that. I appreciate your input and I hope you're right on the eating habits! I have been a picky eater my whole life and this Paleo diet is going to be hard if I don't learn to like more vegetables. The ones I like are pretty much the ones that aren't good for me ugh!

[Dio]

Good progress!

And paleo won't be "hard" if you don't start liking veggies, it'll be impossible! Gotta really go strong in the veggie department. Find ones you like, ways you like, and just eat as many as you can. I like doing beef and broccoli in a nice rich brown sauce, and can put away a couple plates of it! Slicing zucchini thinly, drying it out (not dehydrating it) makes a great pasta substitute, too, that you can make a chicken dish with! I've found that for a lot of "picky eaters" the trick is incorporating the veggies with the good stuff. Don't like eating leafy greens, paleo-pesto!

Good luck!

[br!t3r]

Thanks for the advice Dio! I appreciate that. It's also that some of the vegetables I like I don't know what to eat with it...

I like the following veggies:

Broccoli

Spinach

Lettuce

Cucumbers

Asparagus

Peas

Cali flour

potatoes

.... I guess I like more vegetables than I think I do I just need good recipes to go along with them?

[Shoshie]

My favorite thing to do with veggies is to roast them. Broccoli and asparagus are particularly delicious with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh oregano (or leave out or use dried). Brussels sprouts too, if you slice them lengthwise and put them on the tray, facedown, though that's a bit more work. Roast in an uncovered pan for 30-45 minutes at 400. The veggies should become crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Mmmm.

[Elastigirl]

asparagus: I brushed mine with oil and stuck them under the broiler for 8 minutes. Or just cut them up raw and put in your salad

Spinach: obvious is salad. You can also stir fry it in a little bit of oil

[Jcannon98188]

Good job cutting down on Mtn Dew! I am on the 3rd week of no Mtn Dew for me, not nearly as hard as I imagined it to be!

[br!t3r]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions!! I will surely be trying them! I will have to try Brussels sprouts as I've never even tried them. The mountain dew was pretty hard. I've tried before to quit cold turkey and it wasn't so much about craving them as the headaches I was getting from lack of all that caffeine. I defiantly feel 100X better just cutting out all that soda!

[leadchipmunk]

Brussel sprouts, I cook them in bacon grease in a cast iron skillet (any skillet will work fine) with some onion and garlic.

I steam asparagus, watch ti carefully though because it doesn't take long before they get soggy. I then put some basalmic vinegar on it.

Only potatoes I do now is sweet potato, and I just bake them and add a little bit of ghee.

Broccoli is good roasted and stir fried.

Greens including spinach is good when wilted in some melted ghee and garlic and a little bit of pepper.

[epaleocookbooks]

excellent work!

Here are a few of my favorite veggie recipes:

Asparagus - Drizzle with a little olive oil on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil @ 500 for 5-6 minutes until bright green. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over them.

Brussels sprouts - In a skillet, cook 4 strips of diced bacon or pancetta and 1 cup sliced mushrooms in a skillet until the bacon is crisp and the fat has rendered down. Meanwhile, Cut brussels sprouts in half and blanch in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Strain and toss the sprouts into a bowl of ice and water to stop the cooking process. Add 1/2c chicken stock and 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard to your skillet and whisk together. Add your sprouts and stir to mix thoroughly. Let simmer until almost of your stock has evaporated. My sister doesn't like mushrooms or mustard and I've seen her put away two bowls of these sprouts. lol

Cauliflower - as a hash. Here's a link to my recipe.

Keep up the good work! If you need more ideas, "Well Fed" is a great paleo cookbook for people transitioning into the diet.

[br!t3r]

Wow guys, thanks so much for the recipes. I've really been stressing about this and now i wanna go out and get more veggies!! Thanks so much!

[TeaKwonDo]

Another delicious cauliflower idea is to steam it until soft, then mash it, add 1/2 cup coconut milk with a dash of curry powder and salt/pepper, and BAM. Bangin' curried cauliflower. If you don't like the curry flavor, then mashed cauliflower makes a super mashed potato alternative.

[br!t3r]

Awesome I can't wait to try Cauliflower "mashed potatoes" (: