One Week In…..

I am wrapping up the 1^st full week of my "Mostly 30 Day Paleo Challenge". I have been successful in my goal of having 18 out of 21 meals being Paleo-compliant, so I am happy about that. It's required some fancy footwork in terms of cooking methods and ingredient substitutions, but I imagine that this is going to get a little easier as time goes on. The toughest part has been breakfast. Given the no grains/dairy requirement for the program and the fact that most breakfast foods have either grains and/or dairy, I've had to re-adjust my thinking on this.

First I should add that I am not a "breakfast person" typically. Whether I am getting a workout before work, or just waking up and heading to straight to work, I am focused just on that. Eating gets in the way of that mission. And yes, I have known for a very long time that eating breakfast reduces overeating later in the day, etc. If I am going out for a long run, I get some food in beforehand, and obviously on the morning of a race, I get food in well before we start. But I'll just be honest in that I am focusing on eating a more proper breakfast as opposed to eating a Clif Bar on the go.

I read in one of the books on Paleo that breakfast shouldn't be treated any differently than lunch or dinner in terms of food selection. Yes, we have traditional breakfast foods in the US but as I said earlier, I can't have dairy or grains so that takes 90% of those foods out of the equation. So I started building my breakfast around having a protein and then accompanying it with a good fat or a vegetable. I really don't want to have eggs every day, so I might as well learn to get creative now. Last week, I made a cauliflower soup that ended up being breakfast for three days (recipe in last blog post)…. Hey, whatever works.

This weekend, I added something else to the equation –Spicy Crab Salad with Avocado. It was also pretty easy to make and fits in the Paleo requirements, so I am happy. It's probably not the cheapest of meals, but baby steps. I'm approaching things on a somewhat tactical level so if I find something that works, I'll tinker with it later to get it to be more price point friendly, or easier to cook.

On Friday, we had dinner with friends and I made a dish that ended up being fabulous and will probably be re-purposed for other proteins. It was called Cod Basquaise, but we could easily use the sauce for chicken, pork, beef or other seafood. The other bonus is that Marc had 2 seafood courses, and liked both of them. As more choices of fresh seafood come in for the season, this could end up being a very positive development for us.
For my fellow Paleo partners-in-crime, here are the recipes to share for the group cookbook:

Ultimate Spicy Crab Salad – original recipe is here.
Adapted from Tyler Florence's "Tyler's Ultimate" cookbook

• 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise – substituted Paleo-friendly mayo here
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons garlic chili paste – substituted red hot pepper flakes
• Juice of 1/2 lime plus lime wedges for garnish
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• One avocado, halved and pitted

Put the crab meat in a bowl and add the mayonnaise, cilantro, chili sauce, and lime juice. Mix gently to combine the ingredients without breaking up the large lumps of crab meat. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Cod Basquaise – original recipe is here.
Adapted from Eric Ripert's "Avec Eric" cookbook

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely diced yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ½ cup small diced red bell pepper
• ½ cup small diced yellow bell pepper
• ½ cup small diced orange bell pepper
• 1 cup diced seeded peeled tomato
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• ½ cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
• Piment d'Espelette
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 (6-ounce) cod fillets
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a heavy large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the ham and bell peppers and sauté until the peppers are soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Add the diced tomato and thyme and simmer, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the red wine and cook out the alcohol, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley and season to taste with salt, white pepper, and piment d'Espelette. This Basquaise can be made 1 day ahead; cool then cover and refrigerate.

Heat a griddle or a griddle pan over medium-high heat until it is very hot, then add the canola oil. Season the cod on both sides with salt and pepper. Add the cod to the pan along with the thyme and garlic, lower the heat to medium and cook until the fish is golden brown on the bottom, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the fish over and finish cooking until a metal skewer can be easily inserted into the fish and, when left in the fish for 5 seconds, feels just warm when touched to the lip, another 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the Basquaise until hot. Spoon the Basquaise onto plates, place the cod in the center and serve immediately.

So how am I feeling? I only had one day (Friday) where I felt like I was hitting an afternoon wall so I consider myself fortunate. I do not think I am drinking enough water so I need to focus on that. And now that the initial shock to my body is probably mostly gone, I now need to focus on ratcheting down the portions of my meals. It seems like a few of us were eating A LOT more than normal in our portions to compensate for what we couldn't have. While it was all high-quality ingredients, I still need to be mindful of the portion sizes for little me. That will be the focus for this week.