So, remember last year when The Mister and I did our crazy Paleo Challenge? Yeah, that whole no grains, no legumes, no dairy, and NO SUGAR thing was TOUGH. Well, y'all, we did it all again. Tomorrow is the last day of our 30-Day Paleo Challenge, and this time we got some of the athletes at our gym to join in all the FUN! This year, I found it much easier. Probably because my world consists of the gym, the grocery store, and my kitchen. I did not have to navigate many non-Paleo social events.
As the official 30-day challenge comes to a close, I will continue on strict Paleo through the end of Lent. Easter is on April 8. I am allowing myself some latitude in that I have chosen 5 VERY specific occasions on which I can go non-Paleo, one of which is my one-year wedding anniversary celebration weekend on March 17. I'm for sure making these amazing cupcakes to help celebrate St. Patty's Day and one year of marriage. And this Friday my sister-in-law is trucking in an authentic Chicago deep dish pizza. I'm salivating just thinking about the butter crust on that baby, which for sure will sit like a rock in my stomach and put me into a carb coma after I devour the living sh*t out of it.
The point of my continuing Paleo-ness, with a few delights here and there, is to train myself that treats should be a rare occasion and something to be savored and anticipated. I have a major sweet tooth and I often convince myself that I need a sweet treat just for being human. A wonderful, if not very healthy or nutritious philosophy. The result of this philosophy is, however, me ending up rather dissatisfied with the sugary crap I put in my mouth. Reality often disappoints the taste sensation I created in my imagination. So I'm trying to focus more on quality, rather than quantity. I'm training myself to make the more nutritious, and ultimately, more satisfying choice while saving those less healthy choices for special occasions.
And, even though I LOVE to bake, I found over the past 30 days that cooking often satisfies this creative desire. Plus, I'm sifting through so many great recipes to find the ones that will truly wow me when the occasion arises for a sweet treat. So, in addition to the cupcakes above, come April I will likely make either these, these, or these to share with some lucky, lucky people. You better hope you have a birthday coming up.
I firmly believe, especially after this second go-round with The Whole30, that eating real, whole foods that do not require nutritional labels (e.g., meats, fruits, veggies) and minimally-processed foods (e.g., roasted red peppers, tomato sauce, almond butter) are the KEY to maintaining one's health. The food industry has manipulated the hell out so many things by adding fillers (maltodextrin, soy) and sugars (dextrose, Splenda, cane juice) that the average American is consuming more than 150 pounds of sugar per person per year. That is ludicrous and it is painfully, morbidly obvious what the effect of this huge science experiment is on the population: obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Both conditions are preventable and curable. Yet sacrificing convenience for healthy, wholesome food choices is just too hard for a majority of Americans, especially in the face of diet pills, diet soda, fast food, frozen meals, SlimFast, and our nation's need for instant gratification. Yes, it is more time consuming to plan and cook my meals, and God knows what would happen if I had kids thrown in the mix, but as the saying goes "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." It's easier to prepare and eat real food than deal with reversing the consequences of always eating crap. Plus, I do not assume some huge corporate food producer is actually looking out for my personal health instead of a larger profit.
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