Evil Applesauce Cake

June 20, 2016 paleosherry1 Comment

Ok, maybe it’s not fair to say it’s evil – in fact, it’s one of the moistest, most awesomest Paleo desserts I’ve had to date, but I’m having to officially take this off of the “make again” list.

If you’re looking for a paleo dessert you can wow your non-paleo friends with, here’s the recipe: Paleo Applesauce Cake

Here’s why I’m not making it again:

This cake is officially Paleo and it follows all of the guidelines defined in the rules, but it makes my blood sugar go through the roof. I made this cake last Sunday as part of my weekly ritual of experimentation, and the immediate result was absolutely beautiful. It’s golden brown and pretty with the apple slices sticking up through the top. It slices like a crumbly, wheat bread-like consistency and melts in your mouth with every honey-laden bite. But that’s the problem – I think there’s just too much sweet here. It’s not that it really tastes over the top sweet, but within 10-15 mins of eating a small portion, I started feeling jittery, and then later bloated. It was even worse when I ate it with breakfast rather than dinner, and E.J. reported a similar reaction.

One of the strange byproducts of going Paleo is that you start to recognize the effects of high-sugar food & drink and they’re not very pleasant. It’s like taking a cough syrup, or pseudoephedrine, or some other medication that makes your pulse race and your muscles twitchy…. I just hate that feeling.

I guess it’s just one more way my body is telling me what I already know. Sugar is the devil!!

…And We’re Back

May 3, 2016 paleosherryLeave a comment

E.J. and I had a lovely vacation last week full of adventures. As a direct result of all of our weight loss, we were getting up early every morning and pretty much going non-stop until bedtime. E.J. had so much energy that he was literally running across streets and up hills, and through forest trails. I had to push to keep up with him, and that’s definitely a first for our vacations.

Here’s a short list of things we saw and did:

Ate salmon for breakfast (multiple times)
Had AMAZING sushi and Indian food
Visited lots of awesome Seattle museums like the EMP Museum, the Museum of Flight and the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum
Had dinner in the Space Needle
Got a tour of the Boeing plant and watched airplanes being built
Walked all the levels of Pike Market and visited the Gum Wall and the Fairmont Troll
Watched an Improv show
Sang in a Karaoke bar
Watched (and E.J. participated in) a Can-can/burlesque show – be sure to ask him about this one!
Took a horse-drawn carriage ride tour of Stanley Park
Shopped all the stores on Granville Island
Walked across the Capilano Suspension Bridge and across all of the platforms and trails in the park
Took a Seaplane tour above Vancouver
Rode the gondola to the top of Grouse Mountain
Walked and played in the snow (and threw snowballs)
Visited the waterfalls along the Sea-to-Sky highway
Visited Whistler
Watched F-18s fly overhead as we drove across Whidbey Island and enjoyed the views of the ocean

13055420_10206166732316386_1108829993677692875_n We consciously decided that we would allow ourselves to go off-diet on the trip, though we tried to stick with some of our good habits like avoiding sugary drinks and breads at mealtimes and trying not to snack during the day. Still, we found ourselves choosing to try some local desserts (there were some irresistible chocolate and cobbler-like desserts) and delicacies like poutine and fried pork belly.

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As expected, we gained weight on the trip, but oddly enough we were both ready to get back to our regular diet by the time the week was over, and we’re both within a couple of pounds already today of being where we were before we left. I consider that a win.

We flew back Saturday, so I spent Sunday doing laundry, unpacking, and making chili and an Enchilada Bake along with some Sweet Potato Bites for lunches this week.

I’m also starting a new role this week with a lot more responsibility, so I’m happy to have my lunches completely covered so I don’t have to leave the office to eat well… yay for planning ahead!

Reality Checks · Recipes · Victories

Paleo Easter

March 28, 2016March 28, 2016 paleosherry1 Comment

At Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, my strategy was to make all the favorites for everyone, and then make some separate dishes that were paleo for E.J. and I. The result is a lot of extra work, a bunch of leftovers we can’t eat, and a feeling like we’re missing out on something and/or giving into the temptation.

So for Easter, I decided to try to make the meal as compliant as I could, which meant looking for recognizable dishes with an alternate preparation. Here’s how the menu went:

Appetizers:

Deviled Eggs – ok, I didn’t go compliant on these and used Miracle Whip. This was one of the concessions I made, only because I’ve tried to make them with avocado oil mayo, and it’s just not as good.
Italian Style Zucchini Rolls – Oddly enough, these turned out to be the star of the show. They’re fairly simple to make (I used sherry balsamic vinegar for the zucchini) and everyone loved the flavors. I made these right before everyone arrived, and if I had it to do again, I would have done them the night before. I think they would have kept just fine. They were technically primal since I used goat cheese, but they were very good.

Main Course:

Ham – I tried to find one that didn’t have any sugar, but struck out and settled on one that had less.
Stuffed Mushrooms – These were also very well received and we didn’t really miss the breadcrumbs or cheese that normally would go in a recipe like this.
Sweet Potato Casserole – This was the other star of the show. I made some mashed sweet potatoes just with butter and salt for the goody two-shoes (like E.J.) and made the casserole for the rest of us that like them candied. They were well received by all.
Green Bean Casserole – I wasn’t as impressed with this as I had hoped. I used coconut milk to keep it paleo, but missed the creaminess that comes from the dairy. I might try another approach altogether next time rather than trying to stay close to the original. It was also VERY time consuming, and I’d like to find something a little quicker and easier
Paleo Rolls – These turned out very well, and my guests were pleasantly surprised by the taste. Very satisfying, and I was able to limit my portion to 1. They have lots of tapioca flour so they’re not exactly low-carb, but they were a fair alternative to the standard butter rolls I also had available.

Also on the table was a salad and honeyed carrots provided by our good friend Anita (also doing the Paleo thing with her husband)

Dessert

Strawberry (and Blueberry Pie) – I threw some blueberries into this recipe, but otherwise stayed true to it. The pie turned out ok, but the crust was very hard. I think next time I’ll try a honey graham crust for a paleo pie and see how that goes.
Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Cake (Against All Grain) – this turned out pretty well. E.J. thinks its awesome, while I would rate it OK. It’s just not as bright and sweet as my old recipe, but it’s still good.

Reality Checks

Rainy Days

March 8, 2016March 8, 2016 paleosherry1 Comment

We’ve had overcast skies now since yesterday morning, and today it’s actively drizzling. I don’t know if it’s because of the disappointment at losing 2 people in our I.T. department this week, or if it’s the lack of sunshine, but my craving for sweets and/or snacks has been absolutely out of control since yesterday. As far as I’ve come, I think I could still sit down with a box of Thin Mints and finish both sleeves without breaking a sweat right now.

Ok, I probably would break a sweat as my stomach did somersaults afterward, but you get what I mean. I’m tired and a tiny bit depressed, and just want something to make me feel better. I can’t even go for a walk in the sun, which typically helps for some reason when I’ve got cravings.

Of course, when it gets bad like this, I lean on my hubby, if not directly, then at least in spirit. Wouldn’t he be disappointed it me? I would probably feel guilty as hell about it and have a stomach ache to boot. And he would have no sympathy either. Damn it.

Ok, new plan. Obviously wallowing in whatever this is and giving into cravings isn’t healthy behavior. And whatever leftovers they just said are sitting in the breakroom for anyone who wants some probably aren’t all that good anyway. So, I’m going to get up from my desk and find someplace where I can do some stretching. Not for long, but just long enough to refocus and try to dig into a project that will keep my mind occupied for the rest of the afternoon. Hopefully I can make it through the rest of the day and not do something stupid.

FOLLOW UP: I ended up finding a quiet room for some good stretching, and then walking down 8 floors in the stairwell and coming back up. My thighs are burning a bit, but now my heart rate is up, I’ve got a fresh glass of ice water with lemon, and I’m ready to tackle the afternoon. Yay, willpower!

Reality Checks

Dairy Woes

February 29, 2016 paleosherryLeave a comment

Ok, so you know that awesome Primal Cannelloni recipe I posted last night? Well, apparently my body is really unhappy with something in it, and it’s probably the cheese.

One of the things Whole 30 teaches you is that there are foods out there that are probably causing you problems, whether it’s something small like bloating and gas or something big like muscle pain or fibromyalgia, the foods we eat can have a major influence on how we feel.

Before E.J. and I started, I was a big milk drinker. I had a glass of milk with my breakfast daily (either in cereal or as a drink – sometimes both) and ate tons of cheesy foods. I absolutely love cheese, yogurt, sour cream and ice cream… pretty much I just adore dairy foods. E.J. and our daughter have always had a bit of an intolerance to dairy which manefested itself as intestinal discomfort. But I thought I was fine – after all, I’d been eating/drinking dairy products my whole life, and never had an issue.

Fast forward to now, and I’ve learned a thing or two about myself when it comes to dairy. After severely limiting my dairy intake for the last six months, I’ve discovered that I do indeed have a reaction to dairy in the form of swelling. It’s funny though because it doesn’t happen every time. I can typically eat caesar salad with Parmesan without any problems, and we’ve had Paleo pizza with a mozzarella topping a couple of times, and I don’t remember having trouble with it. But something about the cannelloni last night must have triggered it, because I woke up with my arms and legs feeling puffy and sore. My fingers actually ache a little.

Of course, I can’t guarantee the cheese was the culprit. I don’t eat eggplant very often and it’s a nightshade, and I did some work in the back yard yesterday morning, so I could be getting a reaction to the plants I came in contact with, but just in case, I’m going to stay away from the Italian today and maybe try again later in the week.

In the meantime, Benadryl is my friend.

Reality Checks · Recipes

Meet George, my Sugar Dragon

February 23, 2016February 23, 2016 paleosherryLeave a comment

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When E.J. and I started our Whole 30, I read a lot about sugar and what it does to our bodies long term. I guess I always knew that sugar was bad for me, but I always thought it was kind of like caffeine – something that was bad, but not going to kill you long-term. In fact, growing up, so much emphasis was put on low-fat foods that sugar was considered the lesser of the 2 evils. But when you start reading about Paleo and Whole 30, there are some things that you’ve observed with your own experiences that just seem to make sense all of a sudden. Here are some truths I’ve observed personally over my journey:

Sugar is everywhere – like, in way more places than you think it should or would be. Finding any type of processed foods that don’t contain some form of sugar (dextrose, corn starch, corn syrup, cane sugar, etc) is really hard, and requires careful reading of labels.
Sugar is addictive – as in cocaine-like addiction. Seriously.
Sweet (ANY sweet) feeds the Dragon

Ok, that last one is really hard to admit until you have actually tried a Whole 30, but I swear it’s true. ANY sweet, and that means artificial sweeteners, honey, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and other sweeteners that you can technically have under Paleo & Primal will feed the Dragon.

Call it a sweet tooth, a sugar craving or whatever you like, but Whole 30 introduced me to the term “Sugar Dragon” and I think it’s spot on for me. And mine is such a monster, I decided to call him George. George and I have a long and sordid history together, and even when I am able to banish George for short periods of time, he’s always there lurking in the shadows.

This past weekend I was describing our diet to some friends who are starting to dabble in Paleo and were asking questions about sweets. I explained that the beauty of Paleo is that there is pretty much a Paleo version of any food out there – most are not going to be exact replicas, but often are very tasty in their own right, so they’re easy to transition to. So of course, I was challenged to make a Paleo chocolate chip cookie… oh hell yes, challenge accepted! (And I had already had a couple of glasses of wine which (duh) also becomes sugar, so I had primed the pump, so to speak)

Good news, I found a Paleo chocolate chip cookie that is absolutely TO DIE FOR. Bad news, it fed George, and I found myself craving cookies all day the next day. For me, it seems I can handle sweet better when it’s paired with savory – like honey & mustard glazes or a little balsamic vinegar with pork, but the minute I start having dessert-like sweets, even when made from better sugars than refined sugar, I have to watch out for George. And George is a beast – I mean dreaming about donuts and waffles bad. The only cure is to banish the sugars from the diet again for a few days and the cravings go away, but it’s that first 24 hours that is the slippery slope towards going back to my old habits.

Good news again is that I’m getting better at recognizing George and knowing how to tame him when he appears. You see, while E.J.’s strategy involves restricting temptation as much as possible and trying to have a mindset of NEVER eating certain things again, I’m taking a much more practical approach. There will be days when I am going to choose to eat something off-diet, or borderline off-diet (like this salted paleo fudge and paleo thin mints which are also really good). But if I can learn to recognize the ledge and step back from it rather than assume I’m already falling and I might as well hit the ground, then I’m just that much closer to a happier, healthier me (both mentally and physically).

I may not ever be able to slay George completely, but maybe he and I can learn to live together with a healthy mutual respect.

Reality Checks

Hello World!

February 22, 2016February 24, 2016 paleosherry2 Comments

Ok, so for those that don’t know me already, I’m a geeky software developer-turned-manager chick, and some traditions must be upheld. So, Hello World! I’ve never been much of a good blogger in the past, because frankly, I never seem to have much to say that I feel is worthy to publish to the very public and permanent realm of the Internet, but for the first time in a long time, I feel like I have something to share.

After being a pretty heavy person most of my life, I am less than 20 lbs from being “Normal”. I’ve lost more than 50 lbs since September, and I’ve dropped 4 dress sizes. Now, any rational person would say, “That’s amazing! You should be so proud of yourself!” and while I am to some degree, the truth of the matter is that I’m terrified. I know that makes absolutely no sense, but it’s the truth. Part of me thinks this is just some kind of fluke, and that any day now, reality will set in and I’ll start gaining it all back, and part of me is afraid that I’ll never feel “normal” if I keep the weight off. You see, there’s a kind of bliss in ignoring your weight. The freedom to eat what you want, where you want, when you want is enormously satisfying and is one of the great pleasures of my adult life.

I live in Houston, the fattest city in America and home to an incredible quality and quantity of restaurants. You could eat every meal at a different place for years and never repeat. And because there are so many restaurants here, they have to be good (both in food and service and price) or they don’t survive. Good food, at good prices, delivered with a smile vs. grocery shopping, planning, prepping, chopping, and slaving in a hot kitchen only to be rewarded with a mountain of dishes and dirty countertops – it’s a wonder anyone cooks anymore. And for years and years we did what every other busy family with kids did – we ate quick and cheap on the run between everywhere else because it was convenient and way less stress (as long as the kids were behaving reasonably well). The price we paid was with our health and our weight. And because everyone else is doing it too, it’s easy to ignore the ever increasing waistline.

But all of that blissful ignorance takes a toll. Small pains become big ones, and heart disease, cancer, and other scary medical conditions start happening to people around you and at some point you have to ask yourself – what are the chances that I’m next? E.J. and I both had high blood sugar and were technically diabetic. We were starting to get tingling and small pains in our arms and legs, and under it all is a well-repressed sense of self-disgust that just wouldn’t go away with the standard rationalizations anymore. At what point is enough enough?

Honestly, if it had been up to me, I don’t think anything would have changed. E.J. finally hit his breaking point – and for his sake I agreed to go down this crazy path. I told him he was out of his mind and that there was no way we were going to be able to change our diet so radically, but when someone you love with all of your heart looks you in the eye and tells you that they’re pretty sure that their life is at stake and that they need your help, you do what needs to be done. And here we are, almost 6 months later and more than 120 lbs lost between the 2 of us, and I’m still not doing it for me.

My goal with this is to share my thoughts, fears, successes and failures in the hopes that it inspires someone else to take one step and then another toward a healthier self. If not for yourself, then for the people in your life who love you fiercely.