Elessar's Primal Journey

We had another showing of our house last night so we didn't get to go home for dinner until late. Makes the evening a little rough and I'm feeling tired this morning.

Breakfast: Yogurt
Lunch: Big salad, 4oz almonds
Dinner: 3 egg ham & cheese omelet with two habanera peppers and two tablespoons of pizza sauce on top.

Weight: 219.0
Bodyfat: 29.1

I switched my greens to collard green from mixed lettuce with spinach. I don't know if I've ever had collard greens before but they are good. I also noticed that both Walmart and Kroger have mustard greens as well, so I'll be trying those soon too.

Let's get out there and make it a great day!

 

Quiet evening with good news on the showing of our house for sale. Now, we wait and see how much they liked it...

Breakfast: Yogurt and a cup of black coffee
Lunch: Big Salad
Dinner: Chili
Snack: 1oz dark chocolate, 1oz macadamia nuts, 4oz almonds

Weight: 218.4
Bodyfat: 29.1

Let's get out there and make it a great day!

 

Yarddart: Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad that someone finds my journal helpful. One of the things that I was searching for personally was a record of what a person ate as they progressed through their PB plan. I hope to be able to post for a year here so that others will find the "trail" of my journey.

Shushhhh, spring might be here today....don't tell mother nature....

Breakfast: yogurt
Lunch: Big Salad
Dinner: Pan fried pork chops in olive oil, acorn squash, mash cauliflower

Weight: 217.0
Bodyfat: 29.9

Let's get out there and make it a great day!

 

Beautiful day on hand so I rode my motorcycle to work today! Whooohooo!

Breakfast: yogurt
Lunch: Big Salad
Dinner: Chicken Stir Fry
Snack: 2oz pumpkin seeds

Weight: 218.4
Bodyfat: 29.2

Let's get out there and make this a great day!

 

We enjoyed a very productive weekend working at the new house: removed the shutters and awnings in preparation for the new siding. Cut out the juniper bushes in front of the house to reclaiming a major portion of the front yard and will enable new flower beds that will look a lot nicer. Prepped the kitchen for new paint. All good stuff.

Saturday
Breakfast: yogurt
Lunch: none, we were working on the house
Dinner: 8oz grilled chicken with steamed asparagus

Sunday
Breakfast: four egg ham and cheese omelet with cilantro and hot sauce
Lunch: Salad from Arby's with vinegarette dressing
Dinner: Chicken vegetable soup

Weight: 217.6
Bodyfat: 28.2

Let's get out there and make this a great day!

 

Well, I've noticed an increasing amount of gap in the waistband of my pants. I'm having to cinch my belt up more and more each day, which is good. I can't actually measure the amount of loss in inches because I still wear a military "web" belt that includes a slip buckle, so I don't see the belt holes going by like most people. However, my pants used to be able to hold my pants up without a belt. Now, I need the belt or I'll be flashing people! Not a good result, but I'm enjoying the improved and reduced waistline.

Breakfast: avocado, yogurt, 2oz pumpkin seeds
Lunch: 2cups chicken vegetable soup left over from last night's dinner
Dinner: three bowl fulls of Chili w/beans (hey, I was pretty hungry)
Snack: 4oz raw almonds

Weight: 217.2
Bodyfat: 32.1

Let's get out there and make this a great day!

 

I received my latest order from Santa Barbara Chocolates yesterday. Ummmm...

Breakfast: yogurt
Lunch: 4oz dark chocolate
Dinner: Big salad with leftover chili on top. That was interesting and yummy!
Snack: 1oz dark chocolate

Weight: 216.4
Bodyfat: 28.6

Let's get out there and make it a great day!

 

Breakfast: two hard boiled eggs
Lunch: 6oz cottage cheese with cilantro and hot sauce
Dinner: Three Bean & Chicken caserolle
Snack: 7oz yogurt, 2oz dark chocolate, a few cocktails

Weight: 218.2
Bodyfat: 27.6

Let's get out there and make this a great day!

 

Feeling a little confused about menu options, but this isn't new because that has always been the big question at our house at dinner time; "What's for dinner?" The PB doesn't make it any easier despite having bought the books, it's difficult to reprogram your mind to think in terms of lists of new/revised ingrediants for cooking.

Breakfast: 2 hardboiled eggs
Lunch: leftover chicken chili with beans
Dinner: Big Salad
Snacks: 3oz pumpkin seeds, 2oz dark chocolate, 7oz yogurt

Weight: 217.8
Bodyfat: 28.7

Let's get out there and make this a great day!

 

Are you on Pinterest? If so, do a search on Primal and you'll get scads of recipes. I'm itching to try this Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders.

 

Agreed, but we've made strides by trying to plan dinners out ahead of time. If we need a fresh ingredient for a recipe then we can pick it up on the way home. My wife also got me a Paleo Slow Cooker Cookbook. Lots of great ideas.

 

Quig: thanks for the suggestion. I love tuna but my wife doesn't. I have some in the pantry, but just haven't been creative enough to think about using it in a pinch for a quick fix, which it would be really good when in a bind. This weekend, I crashed and burned when I gave into cravings for an energy bar that was in the cabinet and ate 8 of them over this weekend. Yup, eight. They were Lora bars and there was no sugar in them, but there was rice flour, peanuts, and molassass. I know that this was all my doing, or undoing, and accept responsibility for my failing. Oh well, I think if I make better meal plans, I won't be so easily distracted to evil food choices.

We were on the road on Saturday traveling to visit our newest grandchild and celebrate a birthday for our oldest granddaughter. It was 3 1/2 hours each way so it was an extended road trip. I don't mind the time but the drive sucked so bad because the weather was rainy and blah!

Saturday
Breakfast: 2 Lora bars
Lunch: none
Dinner: Ruby Tuesday's for steak and salad bar! I love Ruby Tuesday's!
Snacks: 2oz almonds, a few cocktails, 2oz dark chocolate, 2 Lora bars

Sunday
Breakfast: 4 Lora bars (I know, I know, weakling!)
Lunch: 3 egg ham & cheese omelet with hot sauce and 4 strips of bacon
Dinner: none
Snacks: 3oz dark chocolate, 4oz almonds

Weight: 217.4
Bodyfat: 30.1

Let's get out there and make this a great day!

 

I feel like I'm not eating enough of the good fats. I believe that's why I'm struggling with the cravings you've read in my ravings. The real issue is my laziness. I've sat here struggling with a better way to word that last statement, but it comes down to being too lazy to research or prepare the correct foods. It's on me folks. Huh, as I type this, I realize the irony of the statement that I've made before; "If it's meant to be, it's up to me." So, let's get going...and when I say "let's," I mean me.

Breakfast: 2 hardboiled eggs, 7oz yogurt, 1 cup black coffee
Lunch: 2 Clif bars, 1 cup black coffee
Dinner: 4 bowls of chicken vegetable soup (chicken, cauliflower, squash, carrots, onions, new potatoes, celery)
Snacks: 2oz dark chocolate

I've been stuggling to avoid snacking because I've been hungry in the evenings. You can look back and see the nuts and chocolate things that I've added as snacks to my intake.

Weight: 218.2
Bodyfat: 28.1

Let's get out there and make it a great day!

 

After over 25 years of trying to make fried chicken, I achieved success last night for the first time. I need to extend a special thanks to a co-worker and friend that coached me on technique to finally be able to make some really good fried chicken. Now, I can mess with the recipe and change the spices to create something that will become my own. Actually, I intend to try to recreate my dad's recipe, but that may take another 25 years...hahaha

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs
Lunch: big salad
Dinner: Fried chicken (boneless skinless chicken breasts, corn meal, salt/pepper fried in coconut oil), squash, green beans
Snack: 3oz dark chocolate, yogurt

Weight: 217.2
Bodyfat: 31.1

Let's get out there and make this a great day!

 

Last night I tried another new recipe that most of you will probably have made before, but because I have been an instant gratification cook, I've stayed away from many of the things that hard time consuming or harder to complete. Fried Chicken is one of those things and I learned, this week, why many people have made Fried Chicken a traditional Sunday dinner meal. It takes a lot of time to do it right. I found the same thing about meat balls last night. I intended to make Swedish Meatballs but I have to admit what I ended up with was not particularly true to the recipe or Swedish.

I used two pounds of venison mixed with 2 eggs, pepper, nutmeg, beef stock, and I added sweetened shredded coconut. Pan fried in olive oil, I ended up with about three dozen 2 inch meatballs. I ate about 10 of these as I was making the rest for spaghetti for tonight's dinner. They turned out very mild and quite good. I intentionally left out the onions and garlic because the angel whom God has blessed me with as my wife doesn't like that stuff very much and said she didn't want any. After I reported how mild and yummy they were, she volunteered to have that for dinner this evening. I think I'd add either soy sauce or worstersher to the recipe for a little kick next time.

Breakfast: yogurt and 1 cup black coffee
Lunch: big salad
Dinner: 10-12 meatballs (I wasn't counting too closely)
Snack: 2oz dark chocolate and a few almonds

Weight: 216.2
Bodyfat: 29.1
Let's get out there and make this a great day!

 

The Fried Chicken I made was based on a lot of research as well as some personal coaching from a woman I work with...but the biggest key to success for me was what I didn't do. I have been trying to recreate my father's chicken and failing for almost 30 years. While discussing my many failures with a woman I work with, she informed me that I needed to leave the chicken alone while in the pan. Turns out I was attempting to turn the chicken before it was ready, probably because I was too hungry and not being patient to wait for the chicken to tell me when it was time to flip. I was instructed to put the fork or tongs down and resist the urge to "help" the chicken cook and simply watch. When the edges began to brown and the sound began to change from very active to slightly quieter, it was time to pick up my fork/tongs and gently flip each piece of chicken. Well, that worked. It was hard for me, and it took what seemed like an eternity, that was actually like 10-12 minutes per side and I ended up with a nice crusty coating of golden brown crust.

My recipe was so incredibly simple that you'll laught and I'd invite you to play with the spices to find a balance for your tastes:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - thawed and drained
1 cup corn meal
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 inch of olive oil in frying pan heated to medium heat (I recommend the deepest pan you can work with to reduce splattering)

Combine the dry ingrediants in a large bowl
Roll each piece of chicken in the dry meal/spice mix gently coating the entire piece and place on a plate to the side
Wait five minutes and roll each piece of chicken again to to ensure complete coating
Place each piece of chicken directly into a medium hot pan of olive oil and LEAVE IT ALONE
Listen to the sound of the chicken frying and make a mental note of the volume and level of activity
When the chicken begins to show a golden browning color creeping around the edges and the sound of the frying has quieted slightly, nudge the piece and see if it's loose from the pan. If it moves, gently flip it over. If it won't move, leave it a lone for a few seconds allowing it to break free of the hot pan on it's own. This is where I would force the chicken from the pan, breaking the breading/coating loose and end up with a pan full of gooy breading and naked chicken. My wife looked in while I was starting and she thought that I had the fire too high so I lowered it a little. I think that having the fire too high will burn the chicken and to low will create oil soaked chicken. You'll have to experiment with your cook top to find the right place.

I intend to mess with the spice to create some creole like spicy chicken as well as swap the corn meal for flour and try to achieve something more like Southern Fried Chicken. My dad used crushed saltine crackers and Lowry's Season Salt for his chicken that we'd fight over at the dinner table. That's my goal, but I was smart enough to watch when he made it so it's taken me this long to figure this much out. duh...