Is Butter a carb? Paleo Peas - Week 1

Ah Mean girls, That movie never gets old right?

Just before Christmas the Husbeast declared he would like our family to “Go Paleo”

Righto! I thought. Yippee.

So for Christmas I bought him (me) the Pete Evens Paleo cook book  Family Food. You can get your copy here or most bookstores.

It's an awesome cookbook with recipes that I think my kids will actually eat! However I guess the the proof is literally in the pudding, so as we go through i'll learn what the kids like and not like. 

So during 2015 I hope to track our progress with a series of blog posts - The Paleo Peas ( see what I did there?)

This isn't actually a huge jump for my Pod. We have been trying to cut the sugar and processed foods from our cupboards for over 12 months so the Paleo style of eating is the next step. We are taking a gently gently approach and we have decided not to cut dairy. I'm really not ready to give up my coffee, and the girls don't eat enough dark leafy greens to get their calcium needs. 

Plus I love cheese. Like really love cheese. Alot. I'm practically a rat.

I also went along and bought Nom Nom Paleo. You can read her blog and buy her book here.

Great. sorted. So now what?

First step I decided was to create 4 weeks worth of meal plans. Meal plans are great - they help keep me organised and when I’m organised I feel less stressed. Also it takes the thinking part out at the end of the day when my brain not so worky.

Meal plans would mean that we would have snacks ready to go - and less likely to crack open the ‘bad stuff’

Meal planning takes a bit of practise with trial and error to get it right. And I'm certainly no expert and I’m sure there's stuff I can still improve on. 

Just because I have created a meal plan it doesn't mean we save money at the checkout. Often I just write out the  meals that I like the sound of with out thinking about the ingredients or the cost.

But here are some tips for successful meal planning that I’ve learnt along the way:

1. Use what you already have. - Take an inventory of what you have in your freezer, fridge and pantry and try and create your meals around this. - I'm very guilty of not doing this and then finding I’ve got 3 trays of chicken thigh which is not only a waste of freezer space but a waste of money.
2. Use your dairy and make sure your meals fit what you have going on for each day - If you aren't walking in the door until 6 or 7 then maybe a slow cooker meal for that day - or something you can prep ahead of time.
3. Try and plan your meals for leftovers and shared ingredients. e.g. Don't buy a lettuce for just one meal - Make sure the lettuce will be used up across different meals.
4. Gather your favourite cookbooks and don't forget to use the index - this will save you a lot of flipping back and forth
5. Don't write your meal plan when your hungry. This goes for shopping too - don't shop hungry.
6. Make a list and stick to it. If your shopping with kids then plan ahead and let them know there can only be one treat that’s not on the list. This cuts the winging and the spontaneous purchases.
7. If your stuck for what meals to include go for 3 meat dishes, (chick, lamb or beef), 2 Vegetarian based meals,1 fish based meal and a leftovers night. This helps to mix it up so the meals don't get boring.

Meal Planning doesn't have to be boring - Grab your fav cook books and a snack - Paleo friendly of course!

There are loads of free printables for meal planners off the internet - just google! - 

But I use Kiki K ones (I'm a Kikki K addict) - you can buy those here.

Once we eat our way through the meal plans I’m going to check which meals and snacks worked the best, which plans fit in our budget and laminate and rotate them so our meals aren't boring or repetitive. This seems like a lengthy and involved process just for dinner but then I only have to do it once.

Laminated Meal Plans! Yep Im bringing my organisation to the next level in 2015.

Heres what our first week of Paleo Peas meal plans look like:

Monday - Fish and steamed veggies

Tuesday - Butter chicken with cauliflower rice

Wednesday - Pulled pork tacos

Thursday - Pulled pork and slaw

Friday - Chicken nuggets, steamed veggies and sweet pot chips

Saturday - Sausage and Veggies and egg

Sunday - Steak and salad.

For snacks - Seed and nut bread

         Protein balls

     Paleo Banana bread

Most of our lunches include leftovers from the night before or a ham and salad lunch box.

Breakfast I don't normally plan except on the weekend, - Hipster fruit salad ( in a jar ) and mixed berry pancakes, otherwise its bacon and eggs or fruit. 

( Its really hot here in WA at the moment so the kids don't really feeling like eating heavy foods in the heat, they are happy with just fruit mostly.)

Phew.

Educating our girls on healthy eating is really important to us, in a generation where genetically modified food and processed food are the norm. 

It’s important to the Husbeast and I that they understand where ‘real’ food comes from. And the best way to to that is to lead by example.

Ugh. Isn’t  that annoying?

So now I have to eat healthy too.

Have you made healthy New Year Resolutions? Are you going Paleo? Do you write out Meal Plans? Let me know Peabodies! - I’d love any tips you might have for me.

Peas Out

Jane.

My fangirl moment - Meeting Sarah Wilson

Hi Peabodies

A few days ago I went to listen to Sarah Wilson speak. She came to Perth and I was really excited to see her live in the flesh. As you know quitting sugar has been revolutionary to my life ( you can read all about it here) and although cutting out the sugar is a bit of a roller coaster for me at the moment - I’m definitely eating less processed food and looking at my health from a whole wellness perspective.

Thats what Sarah Wilson's message is really about, as she said on the night: 

“Wellness is about sorting out our appetite”

So I went (gulp! by myself) and rocked up to The Urban Coe op (check it out here)  its a really cool studio, industrial hipster style place, and had myself a glass of wine and milled around, checking out the large wall murals and stuff. Then I took a seat in the front row - one lonely little chair on the end - (some advantages to go going by your self.)

I’m not in a corporate environment so going to swanky, cool talks like this is a real rarity for me - it was super cool.

She spoke a bit about nutritional science and where its headed, her I QUIT SUGAR team and the cool stuff they are doing and she spoke a little bit about her own journey. 

When you read and follow someones work or see them on book jackets - to then see them and hear them in person is really weird, but really great when they confirm your expectations. And Sarah Wilson confirmed mine!

Sarah didn't speak for long but she left lots of time to open the floor for questions - which was great - it was interesting to hear what other people were asking!

"Eat lunch like you mean it" Sarah Wilson

And little ‘ol me even asked a question! - had to get my dollars worth you know!!

Sarah Wilson often talks about her morning routine and flow, and how that helps her set up her day - getting out of bed is real issue for me at the moment - in fact I think its the biggest blockage to really living a whole wellness lifestyle. 

I think its mainly due to the fact that I have problems going to bed on time. The Husbeast and I started a little project of our own - Operation Sandman and failed miserably. You can read about that here.

So very nervously with microphone in hand, I asked if she had any tips on how to go to bed early so you can get up early…….

She roughly answered with the following points

Turn off your screens 

Aim to be asleep by 10:30. 

Trust the process and when your ready you'll just go, 

Keep trying and keep going for whatever your reasons are and 

Be committed.

(She was much more friendly and eloquent than the above dots points convey but thats generally the gist.)

Sarah was also asked about her energy levels - which is also something I’m trying to work on - She said she gets a lot of her energy through meditation, her morning routine and she uses food to balance out. When she's feeling low on energy she has something to eat!

When it was time to go I scored a goody bag and lined up to have my I Quit Sugar for Life cookbook signed.

Total fan girl moment!

Peas out 

Jane.