Christmas has now come and gone. It’s a little unbelievable that 2012 is almost here. I have to admit, I am ready for a “fresh start.” I have alot of exciting food-and-fitness goals for the new year (I’ll share those with you in a later post), so I am looking forward to getting started on them!
This post will be a little more personal than most, but I just wanted to give a quick update on what’s been happening around here, and tell you a few “holiday thoughts.” Don’t worry- they are all Paleo-related!
I had a fantastic weekend! My husband and I celebrated Christmas with both our families, and it was so fun to hang out with them (I am pictured here with my little brother T.J.). Family-time is such a treasure, and I am so thankful that we are only 2 hours from my family, and only 30 minutes from my husband’s family.
We spent Sunday (Christmas Day) at my parents’ home. It was really fun to catch up with my sister (she lives in CA), who is also eating Paleo-style. My parents are transitioning into Paleo-eating, so they were gracious enough to provide delicious, [mostly] Paleo-friendly meals and snacks while we were there. Not everything was 100% balanced… I’m sure I ate a little dairy, and more sugar than I should have had, but the one thing I try to stay away from, at ALL cost, is gluten. “Since it was Christmas,” I splurged a little on the gluten-free items that still contained sugar and a little dairy. Here’s look at the menu…
Breakfast: My Mom made Egg Cupcakes, Morning Glory Muffins (in loaf form), a fruit tray, and coffee. It was delicious! I also had a few bites of my Mom’s amazing Potato Casserole (which does contain white potatoes and some cheese).
Snack-Food: For lunch we snacked. I showed my Mom how to make Paleo Mayo, and then whipped up some chicken salad. We ate lots of guacamole with raw veggies, and yes… a few corn chips. Later I made Maple Spiced Pecans and Bacon-Wrapped Dates. We also had Sweet Potato Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Dinner: For dinner, we had ham, deviled eggs, more chicken salad, and Garden Meatballs with marinara.
After dinner, we snacked, and snacked, and snacked, and kept snacking. Ultimately, I ate way too many chocolate chip cookies (even if they were gluten-free!).
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The next day (the 26th) we celebrated Christmas with my husband’s family. We arrived near dinner-time.
Dinner: My Mother-in-Law made barbecued pork, roasted butternut squash, broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes, and a cranberry salsa. She is a fantastic cook, and the butternut squash was my FAVORITE!
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Even though most everything was pretty Paleo-friendly, I still woke up very bloated, and with an awful stomach ache this morning. I am not sure if it was because I ingested a little gluten (I do know that the broccoli had some breadcrumbs on it), or simply because my body is not used to so much dairy and sugar. Either way, I was pretty happy to know that my diet would definitely be 100% clean today!
This morning I started thinking about how wonderful it is to eat Paleo-style. I have not had a stomach-ache like the one I experienced this morning in a very long time… but I used to have them regularly! It is wonderful to know that they can be prevented. I just have to be a little more strict about the foods I eat, and not be so worried about hurting the feelings of those around me.
What did I receive for Christmas, you ask? Well, let me tell you! Apparently, word has gotten out that I kinda like to cook. 🙂 I think that I was pretty easy to shop for this year!
My parents gave me new knives! I am so excited to finally have sharp, high-quality knives. The ones I have been using are definitely sub-par, so this was very exciting!
They also gave me mixing bowls, an avocado slicer, spatulas, really neat measuring cups, and kitchen shears (along with lots of other non-cooking items). Thanks Mom and Daddy!
My husband and his parents gave me a Vita-Mix Blender! I have been wanting one of these for a LONG time, so I was so excited to see it! It is an amazing machine, and I’m sure you will be hearing more about it very soon.
I made my first blend tonight… Blueberry Sorbet! It was delicious.
All in all, I had a wonderful weekend with family, and I am so grateful for the love and generosity that they displayed.
I am also very grateful that the craziness of the holiday season is just about over (I guess we still have New Year’s). It is time for some RECOVERY! Time to get back track with my eating (100% clean rather than 95% clean… that 5% makes a huge difference!) AND with my blogging! Thanks for sticking with me!
I would love to hear some of your holiday thoughts and stories… feel free to comment!
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