More Paleo

One of the reasons I can't seem to get my 2nd Paleo post up is that I never remember to take pictures of what we're eating. I have the layout of this post all planned in my head. I'm going to take wonderful pictures, cite where I got the recipe, and voila! Almost like a real blog! But I just can't ever get it done.
One thing I was discussing with Cory last night before bed was that I really feel like my plate is full right now. I have a good handle on everything that I'm doing right now but I literally cannot add one more activity. A lot of that time is cooking. I spend a good amount of time in the kitchen these days. Sometimes I am fine with it, other times I really just want to thrown a frozen pizza in the oven.
I am still planning on taking pictures and showing you guys what we eat around here. I want  people to know that if I can keep my family paleo, than ANYONE can. It's difficult, but it's not out of reach.  In order to make this diet fit our budget we buy our pastured or organic meat, seafood, oils, nuts and other specialty items every two weeks at Whole Foods (about 1.5 hour drive away) and we buy our produce (it is not organic) from the commissary. We get our pastured ground beef and pastured eggs from the local organic co-op. We do get some fruits and vegetables with the co-op as well, but not enough to make it through the week.
Here are some examples of what we eat throughout a typical day:

Breakfast:
Eggs and bacon or eggs and sausage. We usually cut up some bell peppers or squash and zucchini and sautee those to put on our eggs. I also save the 'bits' from when I slice sweet potatoes with my food processor. You know, those little pieces that aren't quite round and not thick enough to make a sweet potato chip? Yeah, those ones. I cook those up with our eggs for some good carbs.

Every now and then I'll make a sausage, veggie, egg quiche or lemon blueberry muffins (these are made with almond flour and coconut oil instead of wheat flour and vegetable oil)

Also, paleo cereal if I have some on hand. I make this about once a month and once it's gone, it's gone. I just don't have the time to make it as much as I'd like.

Snacks:
Honestly, we eat mostly fruit and nuts. When I'm feeling extra adventurous I force the veggies. Carrots, kale chips, real pickles (not ones pickled in vinegar, ones that are fermented) and cherry tomatoes. The kids like these okay and eat them when I insist. Also, they like to eat a lot of hard boiled eggs and salami and avocados.

I usually have zero problems getting the kids to eat what I tell them. Because there are literally no other options. We have no crackers, no macaroni, no chicken nuggets even in the house. And we haven't for 4 months. They know that whatever I'm offering is probably just as good as the next option, so they take it without complaint. Every now and then I'll get some push back about fruits versus veggies, but it's not often.

Lunch:
I make my own chicken nuggets probably once a week. They're coated in egg, almond flour and shredded coconut. The kids love them. So do I. And I love to put the chicken nuggets on a spinach salad with some olive oil and a drop or two of honey for myself.
Flank Steak and bell peppers, you can also put this over some spinach
The kids also eat a lot of dinner leftovers. When I make dinner, I make a lot. I need to make enough for Cory to take at least one serving to work the next day and for the kids. This isn't exact. But it makes my life a lot easier during the day.
Shrimp salad - avocado, cilantro, shrimp, lime juice and some olive oil and salt. We all devour this.
Sausage, squash, zucchini and shallots. I use nitrate free links that I slice into little bite sized pieces. Dice it all up and cook it in a pan. We eat this probably once a week.
When we're out of leftovers and I'm too lazy to cook we eat nitrate free lunch meat, avocados, carrot sticks with almond butter and berries. We add a hard boiled egg in there or substitute an orange. But, you get the idea.

Dinner:
I love my cookbook Practical Paleo
I use these websites pretty religiously:
Deliciously Organic
Paleo Plan
Paleo Parents
Paleo Mom
We eat meatloaf, spare ribs, steaks, meatballs, chicken, some lamb and seafood mostly. I usually only make one other 'side' and it's a vegetable. Green beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts, cooked carrots, broccoli, sometimes a salad.
We don't eat casseroles anymore, they almost all require grains or dairy. But this week my favorite blog just posted a chicken and 'rice' casserole (It's riced cauliflower!) and I am making it TONIGHT. I cannot wait!

Desserts:
We do eat dessert! Probably twice a week. My cookbook has several great ones, and Deliciously Organic has the best ones in my opinion. Her coconut tart and grain free cookies are my favorite!
The difference with most of our desserts is that instead of sugar we use honey or maple syrup.
We do have a few recipes we use on occasion that use sugar but are still grain and dairy free.

Other Random Things I Make:
Mayonnaise
Garlic Lime Dipping Sauce for my
Sweet Potato Chips
Bone Broth
Chicken Stock
Bacon wrapped dates

I am still learning and trying to add new things to our Paleo diet to make it more well rounded. We still need to incorporate more fermented foods and it's my next 'thing' I'm going to attempt. But it's just seemed more intimidating (fermenting my own food - because buying real fermented stuff is expensive, Sheesh!) than other items.

I know there are many more things to add and discuss, and I'm still planning on writing a post about just the benefits that I've seen so far. And I WILL post pictures.....one day.