Paleo Challenge: Day 1

From May 11 – June 10, I’m doing a paleo challenge with Gina. I decided to journal this as something to look back on and also for others to follow along and to use as reference in case they want to take on this challenge in the future. I’ll link to recipes (either mine that I developed on this journey or other people’s) when applicable, but I don’t usually cook from recipes for myself so if you leave a comment asking for the recipe for something, there is none unless otherwise noted. My purpose of doing this isn’t to lose weight. It’s changing up my eating habits to see how it works for my body. I’m not a health professional so I cannot offer you any advice. There are numerous resources out there for paleo. Do your research before committing.

Follow along with our Instagram posts #RTTKTFTpaleochallenge for more ideas on what we’re shopping for, eating, and more!

May 11: Day 1

Notes: On Sunday, I prepped breakfast for the week and some dinner and lunch. I figured I could use leftovers from dinner to bring to lunch the next day. Breakfast is one thing I struggle with the most because I never think about it until I’m starving. That is when I reach for that muffin or scone which is bad, bad, bad! I was thrilled to actually make these egg cups for the week. I’ll have the recipe posted soon, I promise! I also figured out how to get them re-heated without the rubbery texture. I’ll share soon!

Breakfast: two egg cups, apple, one cup of cold-brew coffee w/unsweetened coconut milk (from the carton, not the canned ones)

Lunch: created my own Chop’t salad: kale, boiled egg, red onions, kalamata olives, and cucumbers w/Dijon vinaigrette. Brought an avocado from home and added to the salad.

Dinner: chocolate chili with roasted zucchini

Snacks: banana with cashew butter

Drinks: H2O all day every day unless I have some fruit juice in the fridge

Exercise: 15-minute abs and obliques workout

Thoughts: for my first day eating “cleaner” than I normally would, I think I did pretty well and I’m not deflated by any of this. I’m still nervous about the snacking department because I feel like I don’t have enough variety for snacks. Any recipes or ideas that are paleo-friendly for snacking? I will say, the hardest part of this so far is the black coffee in the morning. Blech. The coconut milk helps cut some of the bitterness but damn, do I really miss my condensed milk and half-and-half! Haha, again, definitely shows how much unnecessary sugar we put into coffee. Hoping this coffee business will get better in a few days!